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Early Thursday morning the Trump administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request, which included significant cuts to certain federal student aid programs, and decreased the Pell Grant Program surplus.

This Week on "Off The Cuff," the policy team gives us the latest information and new developments concerning the IRS Data Retrieval Tool outage, including a letter NASFAA sent to the Department of Education, urging officials to give some reprieve while the tool is down. Stephen gives a preview of what might come in President Donald Trump's "skinny budget," including potentially devastating cuts to some student aid programs, and Allie fills us in on two gainful employment lawsuits. Plus, learn who's NASFAA's resident "cockroach killer," who was #TeamRaven and #TeamVanessa for this season of "The Bachelor"... or who was just #TeamSanity.

Using the power of social media, the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) is bringing awareness to the financial aid barriers placed in front of young men and women who have been caught up in the justice system.

In response to concerns about the unavailability of the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT), which has now been nonfunctional for nearly two weeks, the IRS last week released guidance encouraging applicants to provide their tax return information manually on the FAFSA and income-driven repayment (IDR) applications. "The online FAFSA and IDR applications remain operational, and applicants can continue filing the FAFSA or applying for an IDR plan as they normally would,” the guidance advised. Though it offered practical help for students and parents looking to obtain a copy of their past tax returns, the IRS guidance did not address the application and verification burdens likely to result from the outage.

Once a student’s eligibility and need for Title IV funds have been established, the school’s financial aid office can determine which forms of aid can be offered to the student, and in what amounts. The school’s policies must conform to rules regarding the use of funds, statutory maximums, priority awarding rules, and so on. The school determines its ___________ parameters within those rules. Think you know the term(s) we're referring to? Head to NASFAA's Student Aid Index to see if you're correct.

NASFAA's Credential Earners Honor Roll was established to celebrate all the individuals who have successfully earned one, or more, NASFAA U professional credentials. Each person had to demonstrate knowledge in the subject area and pass the respective test. Please join us in congratulating Metropolitan Community College, a two-year public institution in Missouri with an FTE of 10,555. To date, 27 individual staff members at Metropolitan Community College have earned a total of 253 credentials. View the Credential Honor Roll, and learn how to receive your own professional credentials.

The G5 website verifies the Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number in the System for Award Management (SAM) website before carrying out administrative actions that involve a DUNS number, such as making an award or performing DUNS number changes or reassignments.

"For years, the annual chore of completing a crucial financial aid form for college has been eased by a handy digital tool that automatically transfers a family's tax return data into the online form," The New York Times reports. "But the Internal Revenue Service, citing concerns about identity theft, has taken its 'data retrieval tool' offline, and it is likely to remain unavailable for weeks, the agency said in a joint statement with the Education Department." NASFAA President Justin Draeger is quoted in this story.

"Senators Marco Rubio and Michael Bennet this week reintroduced a bill that would create an alternative accreditation pathway," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"The federal bankruptcy law’s failure to help heavily indebted borrowers of student loans will be studied by a new panel of law professors, federal judges and consumer advocates," The Wall Street Journal reports.

"Higher Learning Advocates, a bipartisan policy-focused organization, announced its formation today," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Pay rose and many perks fell for higher education administrators between the 2016 and 2017 academic years, according to a report released Tuesday by the College and University Professional Association for Human Resources," Inside Higher Ed reports.

"Imagine a financial institution that loans out a trillion dollars to students and families across America, but regularly ignores government regulations and uses questionable accounting practices," Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY) writes in an opinion piece for The Daily Caller.

"A dozen Democrats in the U.S. Senate are seeking answers from the Department of Education over its decision last week to delay the effective date of the gainful-employment rule until July 1," The Chronicle of Higher Education's The Ticker reports.

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