No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026

Key Points

Starting in October 2026, the Department of Education would be required to run every federal student aid application through a fraud detection system to look for stolen identities.
If an application looks suspicious, the government will alert the applicant and the colleges they are interested in attending to let them know there is a concern about identity theft.
Schools would be prohibited from handing out federal grants or loans to flagged students until they verify the person's identity through an in-person visit or a live video chat.
This plan aims to stop "ghost students," which are fake accounts or stolen identities used to illegally collect financial aid money without actually attending classes.
The Department of Education would have to keep records of these checks and give Congress a yearly report on how many fraud cases were caught and how well the system is working.

Impact Analysis

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Milestones

3 milestones17 actions

Jun 10, 2026House

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

Jun 10, 2026House

On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 249 - 172 (Roll no. 217).

Jun 10, 2026

Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 249 - 172 (Roll no. 217).

The House of Representatives voted to approve this bill. It now goes to the Senate.

Jun 10, 2026House

Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H4076-4077)

Jun 9, 2026House

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on H.R. 7892, the Chair put the question on passage of the bill and by voice vote, announced the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Scott (VA) demanded the yeas and nays and the Chair postponed further proceedings until a time to be announced.

Vote Results

1 vote

HousePassedPassageJun 10, 2026

On Passage

249

172

Democrat

36 – 172 · 4

Republican

212 – 0 · 6

Independent

1 – 0

View full roll call

News

No related news coverage found for this legislation yet.

Related Bills

2 bills

S. 4428Identical bill

No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026

Apr 29 — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

H.Res. 1333Related bill

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8646) making appropriations for Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies programs for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2027, and for other purposes; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7726) to amend the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990 to withhold funds from noncompliant States under such Act; providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 7892) to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require to the Secretary of Education to use an identity fraud detection system to review each FAFSA to determine whether the FAFSA presents a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud; and providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 8872) to amend part A of title IV of the Social Security Act to target funds to low-income families, strengthen program integrity guardrails for State expenditure of funds, require measurement of improper payments, and establish goals for eliminating fraud and improper payments under the program of block grants to States for temporary assistance for needy families, and for other purposes.

Jun 3 — Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026

Legislative Progress

Key Points

Impact Analysis

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Vote Results

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