House committee votes to overhaul student aid programs

House Education and Workforce Committee Republicans advanced draft legislation Tuesday to slash billions of dollars to student aid programs to help offset the cost of legislation to enact President Donald Trump’s domestic agenda.

Chair Tim Walberg’s plan, which advanced in a 21-14 party-line vote, would make major changes to federal student aid programs under the Higher Education Act of 1965 and is estimated to produce $351 billion in savings, according to a preliminary score from the Congressional Budget Office — exceeding the $330 billion in cuts the panel was tasked with finding to help pay for the larger package of tax cuts, border security investments, energy policy and more.

“Higher education is at an inflection point,” Walberg of Michigan said in his opening remarks. “We are on a fiscally unsustainable path, so we must deliver on the promise of economic mobility to our students and families.”

The measure, dubbed the “Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan,” includes significant changes to the Pell Grant like addressing the shortfall in funding and adjusting eligibility for the award. It also would place stricter limits on federal loans borrowers can take out,; repeal regulations related to gainful employment and borrower defense; and include a risk-sharing provision that would put schools on the hook for a portion of unpaid student loan balances.

It also would incorporate a risk-sharing provision that would put schools on the hook for a portion of unpaid student loan balances. Many of the plan’s provisions stem from Republicans’ signature higher education bill known as the College Cost Reduction Act, which has stalled on Capitol Hill.

In a major rebuke of former President Joe Biden’s student loan plans that Republicans have long criticized, the committee’s draft bill would repeal the last administration's income-driven repayment plan known as SAVE, which offered an easier path to student loan debt forgiveness.

“The Biden-Harris administration’s foolish actions in the federal student loan program exacerbated this budgetary catastrophe,” Walberg said. “From their radical SAVE loan repayment plan to the never-ending repayment pause, Democrats are intent on forcing taxpayers to pay for free college.”

Democrats introduced a little over three dozen amendments that were all rejected during Tuesday’s markup.