When I attended UT, my focus this time of year was on the midterms closing out and finals approaching. Sadly, paying for college and avoiding student debt now loom larger for many Longhorns than even the most challenging coursework. Fortunately, some federal student financial assistance is free — but you have to ask for it first. And the paperwork needed to make that ask can be frustrating and intimidating. Recognizing that UT is working to make tuition more affordable by offering scholarships for in-state students whose families make $65,000 or less per year, we also must create a more just system statewide and nationwide. It should be far less burdensome for high school students to enroll in college, and for college students to graduate without crushing debt.

Addressing the student debt crisis is central to promoting a strong economy, opening up opportunities, and ensuring security for those who work hard. Cracks in our financial aid system often perpetuate inequality — inequality that stands in the way of the American dream. To close the widening economic gap, we have to close the college affordability gap.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid for the 2020-2021 school year is already available at https://studentaid.ed.gov. If you submitted a FAFSA last year, you are eligible to use the Renewal FAFSA this year. On this form, some of the data you previously provided will be prefilled. The priority deadline to complete the FAFSA is Jan. 15, 2020.

After a decade of working for a more streamlined financial aid process, the FAFSA is still too complicated, confusing and underutilized. I am working to reform the process and remove the intimidation. Last year, high school graduates who failed to submit a FAFSA missed out on $2.6 billion in free money for college. With the ever-rising cost of college, aid is needed more than ever.

I successfully authored an amendment to simplify this process and make the FAFSA available Oct. 1 so students have more time to navigate the process. Because barriers remain, I have filed two bills this Congress. These reform efforts are particularly important in Texas because, in order to graduate, next year’s seniors will be required to complete the FAFSA.

My bipartisan Student Aid Simplification Act requires the Department of Education and IRS to do the heavy lifting for students by securely sharing the remaining taxpayer information required for FAFSA completion.

My second bill, the Equitable Student Aid Access Act, would allow students from households with income below $34,000, or that already receive certain means-tested benefits, to use a simplified FAFSA form and automatically qualify for the full Pell Grant. That bill also makes it easier for students to make financially informed decisions about the cost of college by ensuring colleges and students speak the same language and developing universal terms and formatting for aid offer letters.

Given the roadblocks we currently face in the FAFSA, it is particularly important for you to get an early start.

As I push forward to make aid more accessible to all, I welcome your counsel; please email me at [email protected]. I have a number of Longhorns as fellows and interns in my Austin and Washington offices. If you are interested, please let me know if you want to help work to put our nation on a better course.

Likewise, I always welcome your input on any of the many federal issues that confront us right now at this difficult time for our nation. From issues like climate action to expanding health care access to holding President Trump accountable for his abuse of power, I welcome your advice and your advocacy.

Congressman Doggett represents Texas’s 35th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives.