Higher Ed Policy Roundup: Vol. 9 - Issue 16

On Monday, the House Education and Workforce Committee released its proposed legislation aimed at cutting $330 billion from education programs. The Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan, which was passed out of committee on Tuesday, would make substantial changes to student aid programs, including:

• Eliminating the Grad PLUS program;
• Setting annual caps on borrowing at the median cost of attendance;
• Setting aggregate caps on borrowing at $100,000 for graduate students and $150,000 for professional students;
• Creating a new repayment plan that ties monthly payment amounts to adjusted gross income, forgiving a borrower’s loan balance after 30 years of qualifying payments, and waiving monthly unpaid interest;
• Sunsetting all other income-driven repayment (IDR) plans; and
• Sunsetting economic hardship and unemployment deferments.

The bill now heads to the House Budget Committee where it will be added to the larger budget reconciliation package and then ultimately sent to the full House for a vote. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) has said that he hopes to have a completed bill passed by Memorial Day weekend.

A fall 2024 survey from Trellis Strategies on student financial wellness revealed nearly half of undergraduate students consider their current financial situation a barrier to focusing on their coursework.

A recent policy brief from Arnold Ventures, which explored the rising cost of graduate education, proposed federal-level recommendations to address concerns about return on investment and increasing graduate student loan debt.

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