Today, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a mark up of their portion of the budget reconciliation bill. Termed the Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan, the bill advanced out of the House Education and Workforce committee and now goes to the House Budget Committee before being packaged with other committee’s bills and then going to the House floor. The bill cuts about $350 billion over 10 years, after the budget resolution passed by both chambers included reconciliation instructions for the committee to find savings of at least $330 billion.
The bill makes changes to student loan programs and student loan repayment plans as well as Pell grants. It caps the total amount of federal student aid a student can receive annually at the “median cost of college,” defined as the median cost of attendance for students enrolled in the same program of study nationally and calculated by the Secretary using data from the previous award year. It terminates the authority to make Grad PLUS loans and subsidized loans for undergraduate students.
The bill expands eligibility for Pell Grants to students enrolled in short-term, high-quality, workforce aligned programs that meet certain requirements.
The bill creates skin-in-the-game accountability for colleges and universities by amending the terms of the Direct Loan program participation agreement to require institutions to reimburse the Secretary for a percentage of the non-repayment balance associated with loans disbursed on or after July 1, 2027.
The bill establishes a “PROMISE” grants program to provide performance-based grants to institutions.
The bill repeals regulations such as the 90/10 rule, gainful employment, and regulations pertaining to borrower defense to repayment and closed school discharges.
The House hopes for their reconciliation bill to go to the House floor the week of May 19, with the package being signed into law before the Memorial Day recess.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said July 4th is the target date for the budget reconciliation bill’s passage in both chambers. The budget reconciliation bill is to include components from various congressional committees, including an extension of the 2017 tax cuts.
The bill text is here, a section-by section summary is here, a press release including an opening statement from Chair Tim Walberg (R-MI) is here, a press release from the commitee’s Republican majority is here, a press release including an opening statement from Ranking Member Bobby Scott (D-VA) is here, letters of opposition and Democratic amendments are here, a Democratic summary of the bill is here, the Congressional Budget Office’s preliminary cost estimate is here. Video of the mark up is here.