Assuming congressional Republicans can find the votes to pass their “big, beautiful” budget bill, it’s likely to cause profound changes to higher education financing—slashing aid not only to institutions but to student grant recipients.
As it currently stands, the package includes a policy change regarding student debt that would also have major repercussions. The bill would put colleges and universities themselves on the hook for portions of loans taken out by students who do not pay them back after a certain period of time.
Michigan Republican Tim Walberg, who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, acknowledges that risk sharing is a controversial proposal. “But educators and colleges, universities, trade schools, community colleges, need to understand that they have skin in the game as well,” he said at a recent appearance at the American Enterprise Institute.
Read more at Governing.
