Blog Home

U.S. Capitol Building on a summer day with trees and a blue sky.
U.S. Capitol Building on a summer day with trees and a blue sky.
Policy and Advocacy Student Loans News Summary
Policy and Advocacy Student Loans News Summary

Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 9 - Issue 23

This Week In Washington

Today, Congress passed its budget reconciliation bill referred to as the “One Big Beautiful Bill” aimed at funding President Trump’s domestic agenda. The bill makes sweeping changes to higher education funding including:

  • Eliminating the Grad PLUS Loan Program;
  • Setting annual caps on borrowing at $20,500 for graduate students and $50,000 for professional students;
  • Setting aggregate caps on borrowing at $100,000 for graduate students and $200,000 for professional students; and
  • Creating a new repayment plan that ties monthly payment amounts to adjusted gross income, forgives a borrower’s loan balance after 30 years of qualifying payments, and waives monthly unpaid interest.

The bill now heads to the President to sign the package into law ahead of the July 4th weekend.

On Monday, the Education Department (ED) held its negotiated rulemaking sessions which took place over the course of three days. The third and final session concluded on Wednesday, July 2nd with negotiators unable to reach consensus over proposed changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program. Because consensus was not met, ED may now move forward with drafting its own language for changes to the program.

News You Can Use

Read about what the budget reconciliation bill will mean for institutions of higher education.

Recent Legislation

There were no relevant student-aid related bills recently introduced for consideration by the 119th Congress (2025-26).

Back to Results