H.R. 7892, No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026

May 13, 2026

Cost Estimate

As ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and Workforce on March 17, 2026

H.R. 7892, No Aid for Ghost Students Act of 2026As ordered reported by the House Committee on Education and Workforce on March 17, 2026
By Fiscal Year, Millions of Dollars		2026	2026-2031	2026-2036
Direct Spending (Outlays)		0	0	0
Revenues		0	0	0
Increase or Decrease (-) in the Deficit		0	0	0
Spending Subject to Appropriation (Outlays)		*	*	not estimated
Increases net direct spending in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037?	No	Statutory pay-as-you-go procedures apply?		No
	No	Mandate Effects
Increases on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2037?	No	Contains intergovernmental mandate?		No
	No	Contains private-sector mandate?		No
* = between zero and $500,000.

H.R. 7892 would require the Department of Education to use an identity fraud detection system to review federal financial aid applications and would require institutions of higher education to verify the identity of any suspicious aid applicant identified by that system prior to disbursing federal student aid to that applicant. The bill also would require the department to establish guidelines for institutions of higher education to verify the identity of suspicious applicants. Finally, H.R. 7892 would require the department to report annually to the Congress on the effectiveness of its identity fraud detection system.

On June 6, 2025, the department announced it was planning to implement many of the requirements in H.R. 7892, including an identity fraud detection system.[1] On that basis and based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that the cost to implement H.R. 7892 would be less than $500,000. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Leah Koestner. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Director of Budget Analysis.

Phillip L. Swagel Director, Congressional Budget Office

Phillip L. Swagel

Director, Congressional Budget Office

1.Department of Education, Federal Student Aid Office, “Significant Actions to Prevent Fraud through Identity Verification,” APP-25-16 (June 6, 2025), https://tinyurl.com/mtz6jsvr.