Democrats argued their measure would help reverse “gifts to predatory lenders.” Republicans said it would be a “return to the Biden administration’s student loan disaster.”
New student loan rules come into effect in July
Americans with federal student loans could be affected by some changes coming next month. A new analysis also reveals that 3.5 million Americans will lose food stamps and SNAP benefits under President Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill.”
Fox – Seattle
WASHINGTON – Senate Republicans on June 24 passed a desperate bid to repeal a Trump administration regulation that introduced new caps on federal student loans for graduate schools.
Democrats proposed the bill, which failed on a party-line vote, ahead of a July 1 deadline for borrowing limits to apply to Americans across the country.
The changes were passed last year as part of the so-called “One Big, Beautiful Bill” law and later finalized by regulations from the U.S. Department of Education. These represent some of the most significant changes in the college financial aid system in years, but the Trump administration has faced criticism from some congressional Republicans over their implementation.
Despite supporting the big, beautiful bill that was the centerpiece of Trump’s second term in Congress, some Republicans have since expressed concerns about how the cap, particularly for graduate nursing students, could affect the health care worker shortage. The Department of Education was given leeway to decide which areas of study would be subject to a total borrowing limit of $200,000. However, some fields, such as nursing, were ultimately removed from that list.
The law eliminates the Grad PLUS loan program while placing limits on Parent PLUS loans. Undergraduate loans will be largely unaffected.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) introduced a measure on Wednesday, June 24, that would block any new student loan rules from taking effect and stop what he called the Trump administration’s “gift to predatory lenders” that would push borrowers into the private market.
“Some people say, ‘But wait, some people think schools will lower tuition as a result of us taking out loans,'” Merkley said on the Senate floor. “That’s a false assumption. I’ve never worked anywhere. Schools have to pay professors. They have to pay for infrastructure. They have to pay interest on the buildings they’ve already built. So they have to charge accordingly.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), chairman of the Senate Education Committee, opposed this. He told Merkley that he believes the new rules will ultimately force schools to cut costs. Voting to completely overturn them “would be a return to the student loan disaster of the Biden administration,” he said.
Still, he said he shares concerns about how the Department of Education’s regulations will affect graduate medical programs.
“Frankly, I have some concerns about that,” said Cassidy, himself a physician. “That discussion is a separate, targeted conversation.”
Zachary Schermele is USA TODAY’s Congressional Correspondent. You can email us at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him at @ZachSchermele on X and @zachschermele.bsky.social on Bluesky..
