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I was just at a meeting where this subject was discussed. The purpose of the FAFSA will be to determine Pell eligibility. Programs such as ACG, SMART, and SEOG may be done away with in favor of increasing Pell. If at all possible (not yet), a direct link with the IRS would be established. The streamlined FAFSA would not determine an EFC; it would determine a Pell grant amount.
The rest of the info - assets, etc. - wouldn't be needed because the idea is to do away with aid to all but the lowest income. I even heard discussion of ending subsidies for loans (that is, all student loans would be unsubsidized) and education tax credits in order to fund the Pell. I did raise opposition to this. The middle class gets the shaft once again - not that subsidized loans and tax credits were the be all & end all, but every little bit helps. Instead, the proposal is to provide encouragement to save for college (I even heard a proposal to give every kid $500 to start a savings account for college).
All of these things are preliminary discussions. There are no concrete plans for any of this.
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