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House Committee on Education and the Workforce Advances Catastrophic Reconciliation Bill That Raises Student Borrower Payments and Limits College Access

Posted
Press Releases, Higher Education, Workforce & Finances, National

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 30, 2025
Contact: Emma Bittner
(972) 510-3395 | Emma.Bittner@younginvincibles.org

House Committee on Education and the Workforce Advances Catastrophic Reconciliation Bill That Raises Student Borrower Payments and Limits College Access

(Washington, DC) – Yesterday, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce advanced a deeply damaging reconciliation bill that proposes $330 billion in cuts that threaten to devastate student borrowers and restrict access to higher education, particularly for students from low-income and working-class backgrounds. This legislation represents a direct attack on the American Dream and economic opportunity for millions of young people striving to build a better future through education.

The bill includes sweeping changes to student loan programs and federal financial aid that would make higher education more exclusive and largely accessible only to the wealthy. Among its most harmful provisions:

  • Eliminates existing income-driven repayment plans such as Income-Contingent Repayment, Income-Based Repayment, and Pay As You Earn, consolidating borrowers into a single “Repayment Assistance Program” that could triple monthly payments for many.
  • Limits Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans, the latter effectively reducing access and capping federal financial aid for students pursuing graduate or professional degrees for new borrowers after July 2026.
  • Caps annual federal student loan aid based on the median cost of college, making it harder for students to afford tuition at more competitive institutions. This could push students to cover the difference between available financial aid and cost of attendance with unregulated private loans that have fewer protections for borrowers. 
  • Redefines “full-time” Pell Grant eligibility to 30 semester hours per year, disproportionately harming close to a million of low-income students who must work part-time while completing their degrees.

Advancing this bill to the House floor sends a disturbing message: that Congress is prioritizing limiting access to higher education and protecting privilege, rather than investing in students’ futures. If enacted, this legislation would erect new barriers for millions of young adults and put college, and the economic mobility it offers further out of reach.

In response, Alex Lundrigan, Federal Policy Manager of Young Invincibles said:

“There’s no other way to see this reconciliation legislation than as a blatant attack on student borrowers and young people striving for economic opportunity. The changes to repayment plans will skyrocket monthly payments, even mine, limit access to college for low-income students, and stifle upward mobility for millions. But the cruelest blow? These cuts are being used to bankroll massive tax breaks for corporations and the ultra-wealthy, offering no real relief for working-and middle-class Americans during a cost-of-living crisis. It’s a gut-wrenching reversal of national priorities.”

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Young Invincibles (YI) is a national advocacy and policy nonprofit organization focused on amplifying the voice of young people in the political process at the local, state, and federal levels. YI focuses on issues impacting young adults ages 18 to 34 in higher education, health care, economic security, and civic engagement. Our offices include Washington, D.C., California, Colorado, Illinois, New York, and Texas. For more information, please contact Emma Bittner at (972) 510-3395 or emma.bittner@younginvincibles.org