The education secretary and Democrats on the House education committee tussled over caps on federal student loans, what role the government should play in trying to improve abysmal literacy rates —and whether the U.S. Department of Education should exist at all.

The Federal Student Aid office plans to hire 334 full-time employees by 2027, despite staffing cuts last year and efforts to send the department's work to other agencies.

Federal officials argue that capping graduate loans will pressure postgraduate programs to rein in tuition and shrink the nation's trillion-dollar student debt load.

Many students starting college this fall could leave with about $43,000 in debt as tuition keeps rising. New federal loan rules may make repayment tougher and push more families toward private loans.