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Category: Higher Education

GOP Education Plan Hits a Byrd Rule Snag

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Senate Republicans were dealt a major blow in their proposed plans to overhaul higher education this week. Two important provisions contained in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions’ reconciliation package have been deemed to violate the Senate’s Byrd Rule.
The Senate Parliamentarian — the nonpartisan official tasked with interpreting and issuing rulings on Senate rules — has ruled that the Workforce Pell and consolidated loan repayment provisions of the bill are in violation of the Byrd Rule.
The Byrd rule, officially known as Section 313 of the Congressional Budget Act, requires that reconciliation legislation comply with certain parameters, including that the provisions must directly relate to the budget, can’t contain unrelated policy priorities, and can’t grow the deficit beyond the budget window provided in the bill.
The Parliamentarian’s ruling means that, unlike the simple majority needed for passage of a reconciliation bill, these provisions would need to clear a 60-vote threshold if challenged on the Senate floor — which they almost certainly would be.
The proposed Senate loan repayment changes attempt to end the multiple existing income-driven student loan repayment plans. In their place, both current and future borrowers would be transitioned into one of two consolidated plans: a standard repayment plan, and a single income-driven repayment plan.
The Parliamentarian’s ruling determined that repealing these repayment plans for current borrowers was in violation of the Byrd rule. Senate lawmakers and committee staff will need to rewrite elements of the bill in order to comply. The proposed changes were expected to net over $200 billion in savings, which Republicans may now seek to find through other avenues.
While current borrowers will now likely be permitted to maintain their current repayment plan, the Parliamentarian’s ruling did not apply to future borrowers, meaning that borrowers who take out new student loans on or after July 1, 2026, may only have access to two repayment plans.  One would be a Standard plan, with monthly payments stretched out over a term ranging from 10 to 25 years. The other would be a new income-driven repayment plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan, or RAP. RAP would use a repayment formula that differs in many ways from current IDR options and would in some cases have higher monthly payments.
The situation remains fluid. The Office of Federal Relations will continue to update with the status of the bill and changes.

Senate Education Package Released

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On Tuesday, Senate Republicans on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee released the text of their portion of the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” The legislative proposal would make significant changes to student borrowing and higher education throughout the country, though some of these changes would be less drastic than those contained in the bill passed by House Republicans last month.

The Senate plan mirrors the House plan in its call to reshape the federal student loan system by eliminating Grad PLUS loans along with capping Parent PLUS loans at $65,000 ($15,000 increase from House plan) and graduate student borrowing at $100,000 (same as House plan).

Furthermore, both the Senate and the House bills would create a workforce Pell program, expanding grant eligibility to short-term credential programs that run from 8 to 15 weeks.

Some of the most controversial plans in the House text, however, are either scrapped or significantly altered in the Senate version. For instance, the Senate scrapped a House plan that would require colleges to cover unpaid student loans, preferring instead to tie colleges’ access to federal student loans to students’ earnings after graduation. Under the Senate’s plan, undergraduate programs could lose aid eligibility if their students earn less than an adult with a high school diploma. For graduate and professional programs, student earnings would be compared with bachelor’s degree holders.

Additionally, the Senate version does not cap undergraduate borrowing or eliminate unsubsidized loans, and it scraps the House’s plan to increase the number of credits needed to be considered full-time for Pell eligibility from 12 to 15.

While these changes have been approved by the committee, the bill still faces a long road ahead. Significant changes between House and Senate versions of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” still need to be worked out, meaning another vote in the House may be necessary if it passes the Senate. Additionally, some GOP Senators remain wary of Medicaid cuts and other controversial provisions contained in the massive legislative package.

 

 

 

Dept. of Education Budget Request Released

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The Trump administration has released its budget request for the Department of Education for Fiscal Year 2026, proposing steep funding cuts of more than 15%—a $12 billion reduction in budget authority. The administration characterizes these cuts as part of a broader effort to “responsibly wind down” the department.

While the president’s budget request serves as an important policy statement, it carries no legal authority. Final funding decisions rest with Congress, which determines allocations through the annual appropriations process. Several key Congressional committees are set to begin deliberations in the coming weeks, shaping the future of federal education spending.

Included below are some of the key higher education policy changes proposed in the budget request:

  • Pell Grant Reduction: The maximum Pell Grant award would be cut by $1,685, reducing it to $5,710 in total. The administration argues that this is necessary to address a $2.7 billion shortfall that has resulted from increasing instances of fraud as well as congressional irresponsibility.
  • Elimination of TRIO Programs: Federal funding for TRIO programs would be ended entirely. The administration argues that programs to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds will be better administered by individual states.
  • Cuts to Federal Work-Study: The administration requests to cut funding for work-study programs by $980 million. The administration hopes these proposed cuts will help to “enact a more appropriate split between Federal and employer wage subsidy, where employers pay 75 percent of a student’s hourly wages and reduce the federal contribution to 25 percent.”
  • Defunding GEAR UP: The GEAR UP program would also be defunded under this proposal.
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House Republicans passed their multi-trillion-dollar reconciliation package this morning, a major victory for Speaker Johnson and President Trump. The passage comes after weeks of infighting amongst Republicans, with both moderate members and conservative hardliners threatening to withhold their support over certain provisions. Eventually, after a meeting with President Trump and last-minute changes made by Republican leadership, the bill passed by a 215-214-1 vote. Every House Democrat voted no. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) were the two Republicans who voted against the legislation. House Freedom Caucus Chair Andy Harris (R-MD.) voted present.

The legislation includes $3.8 trillion in tax cuts and cuts to Medicaid and SNAP coupled with the phase out of clean energy tax credits from the Inflation Reduction Act. These programs were cut in order to offset the impact of the extension of President Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, and the Congressional Budget Office estimates that the bill will result in $698 billion in cuts to Medicaid and $267 billion in cuts to SNAP.

Additionally, the bill makes significant changes to higher education legislation — particularly student borrowing. If signed into law, this package would cap lifetime borrowing for a student or their parents at $200,000 and eliminate entirely subsidized student loans and Grad PLUS loans. The bill also includes changes to Pell Grant eligibility, the creation of a risk-sharing program for universities, and would cap the availability of federal aid to the median cost of a specific program nationally.

The reconciliation package now heads to the Senate for consideration, where it will likely be significantly altered.  While reconciliation bills are not subject to the filibuster in the Senate, meaning only a simple majority is needed for passage, there are stricter rules around what can be included in the Senate. Furthermore, many Senators have expressed misgivings over many of the cuts made by House lawmakers.

 

 

 

Reconciliation Update

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House Republicans are pushing forward with their reconciliation bill, an ambitious effort to enact the bulk of President Trump’s legislative agenda in a single package. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is determined to pass the final bill before Memorial Day, but obstacles remain as intraparty divisions and strong Democratic opposition threaten to complicate the process.

So far, two major steps in the reconciliation process have been completed. First, Congress adopted a budget resolution that outlines the framework for reconciliation, allowing lawmakers to fast-track legislation. Second, key committees—including Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means, Education & Workforce, and Agriculture—held exhaustive markups, working late into the night to finalize their respective proposals and move them out of committee.

Now, these committee proposals must be consolidated into a single reconciliation bill by the House Budget Committee. Once packaged into a bill, the House Rules Committee will set the terms for debate and determine how amendments will be handled on the floor. After this, the bill will be brought to the full House for a vote. Speaker Johnson has expressed optimism that Republicans can unite behind the bill, but divisions within the GOP present challenges. Conservative members have called for deeper spending cuts, while moderate Republicans are concerned about provisions that reduce Medicaid funding. Meanwhile, Democrats remain firmly opposed, arguing that the bill prioritizes tax cuts for high-income individuals at the expense of essential social programs.

If the bill passes the House, it will head to the Senate for further consideration. Senate committees may review the bill and propose amendments, but reconciliation guidelines such as the Byrd Rule prevent non-budgetary provisions from being added. Unlike other types of legislation, reconciliation bills are not subject to filibuster, meaning debate is strictly limited to 20 hours and only a simple majority is required for passage.

Although Republicans hold a majority in the Senate, it is likely that they will make substantial modifications to the House proposal. If changes are made, the bill must return to the House for final approval before it can be sent to the President for signature. With the Memorial Day deadline approaching, lawmakers will have to navigate difficult negotiations and political pressure to push the bill through both chambers.