The House Education and Workforce Committee held a Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development hearing titled “Runaway College Spending Meets the Working Families Tax Cuts,” to examine the rising costs of higher education and potential strategies to increase access for working families.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT-02) highlighted concerns over the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed regulation to narrow the programs that qualify as professional degrees, meaning students pursuing an array of advanced degrees in high-demand professions, such as allied health, nursing, and public health—would not be able to borrow as much as those in unaffected fields.

Republican members focused on institutional accountability, performance-based funding models, tuition transparency, and program efficiency. Members highlighted state-level reforms aimed at reducing costs and encouraging student work opportunities. They criticized the growing size of administrative positions at colleges. They encouraged better education of high school students on postsecondary pathways and costs.

Democrats emphasized the burden of rising college costs on working families, the risks of an expanded private student loan market, and the importance of federal protections and grant aid. Members discussed strategies to improve affordability, including dual and concurrent enrollment programs and increasing federal oversight on predatory lending practices. Many challenged their Republican colleagues that reducing the federal student loan limit will actually reduce college costs and on the U.S. Department of Education’s proposed professional degree classification changes.

Bipartisan consensus emerged around the importance of accountability and data-driven decision-making in higher education, including tracking program outcomes, and monitoring cost burdens.

Read the full memo here.