Republicans’ “big beautiful” bill, if enacted as drafted, would make some of the biggest changes to the federal student loan system in decades.
GOP House and Senate lawmakers’ proposals would eliminate several repayment plans, keep borrowers in debt for longer and roll back relief options for those who become unemployed or run into another financial challenge.
The House advanced its version of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in May. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions released its budget bill recommendations related to student loans on June 10. Senate lawmakers are preparing to debate the massive tax and spending package.
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, said his party’s plans would lift the burden on taxpayers of subsidizing college graduate’s loan payments.
“Biden and Democrats unfairly attempted to shift student debt onto taxpayers that chose not to go to college,” Cassidy said in a statement on June 10. He said his committee’s bill would save an estimated $300 billion from the federal budget.
