A Republican-led House panel on April 29 supported a measure that caps the amount of federally backed student loans, protects taxpayers against debt forgiveness bailouts, and amends Pell grant requirements.
The Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan Bill, passed by the House Committee on Education and the Workforce along party lines with a 21–14 vote, forms a component of the larger reconciliation bill, aimed at avoiding the 60-vote filibuster Senate requirement, to advance President Donald Trump’s policy agenda.
The legislation discussed Tuesday rolls back former President Joe Biden’s student loan program, which did not impose limits on loan amounts and attempted to forgive more than $1 trillion in student loans without legislative approval, committee Republicans said.
Chairman Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said this countermeasure will save taxpayers $330 billion. Loans are capped according to the median price of a college or university program of study, incentivizing colleges to reduce costs to remain competitive rather than continually raising tuition and fees in sync with skyrocketing government grant and loan amounts.
“It’s no secret that spending in Washington has been a disaster,” Walberg said. “Dumping more into a broken system doesn’t mean that system will work.
“This is a cruel way to use borrowers as political pawns.”
During the markup session, Democrats proposed several amendments to the bill, ranging from assuring borrowing students don’t lose access to entitlement programs for food and medical care, to prohibiting the government from garnishing wages on defaulted loans, to counting the on-the-job training periods of physicians and teachers as years of service toward the 10-year service requirement for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program.
All amendments were voted down.
Democrats said loan limits will restrict academic choices for students, resulting in the loss of college majors across the country and fewer Americans furthering their education. The cuts will also push many students to obtain private loans from predatory lenders with high-interest rates, they said.
“This bill turns financial aid from a bridge into a barrier,” said Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.).
The bill also amends the Pell grant program, which currently provides up to $7,295 annually to full-time, low-income students. Walberg, noting that Pell is on track to run a shortfall of $70 billion to $100 billion within a decade, wants to increase the full-time academic requirement from 12 credits per semester to 30 credits a year, and also expand it to include short-term vocational programs.
Opponents said the increased credit requirement is unfair to nontraditional students who are also working full-time or raising children.
“It makes college access harder for everyday Americans,” said Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the ranking committee member.
