Rep. Thompson introduces bill in U.S. House to strengthen federal student aid identity verification

The new bill authored by U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson in the U.S. House aims to improve oversight of student identity verification in federal financial aid disbursement, according to the U.S. Congress.

H.R.7891 was introduced on March 12, 2026 during the 2026 regular session of the 119th Congress. The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill amends section 498A of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to require the Secretary of Education to prioritize program reviews of higher education institutions that issue federal financial aid without properly verifying students’ identities when there is a reasonable suspicion of identity fraud. Specifically, starting October 1, 2026, institutions that disburse aid to students flagged for potential identity fraud must be identified by the Secretary, unless they can demonstrate that they confirmed the identities of students through in-person or live audiovisual verification prior to disbursement. The bill also stipulates that identifying an institution under this provision can inform oversight activities but does not itself imply that the institution has violated federal requirements.

The bill was introduced only by Rep. Glenn Thompson (Republican-PA-15th District).

Since the beginning of the current session, Rep. Thompson has introduced another 20 bills.

Congressional bills can originate in either the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate, except for revenue-related measures, which must begin in the House. After introduction, bills are assigned to committees for review, hearings, amendments and debate before they can advance to a vote in each chamber. If both chambers approve identical versions, the legislation is sent to the president, who may sign it into law or veto it. Congress operates in two-year terms, with each term numbered sequentially and divided into two annual sessions. The legislative process and official bill records are maintained by the U.S. Congress and published through Congress.gov.

Glenn Thompson is a Representative from Pennsylvania who was born on July 27, 1959. He holds a B.S. from Pennsylvania State University and an M.Ed. from Temple University.

Thompson served on the Bald Eagle, Pa., school board from 1990 to 1995. He was the chair of the Centre County Republican Party from 2002 to 2008 and has been elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Eleventh Congress and the eight succeeding Congresses since January 3, 2009. He is the chair of the Committee on Agriculture for the One Hundred Eighteenth and One Hundred Nineteenth Congresses.

Information in this article was obtained from the U.S. Congress. The source data can be found here.