Republicans Seek to Shield Nursing Student Loans from New Federal Caps
Federal student loan borrowing caps, established by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) and set to take effect on July 1, are prompting legislative action from some Republicans. The OBBBA, signed by President Donald Trump last year, will cap graduate degrees at $100,000 and professional degrees at $200,000, eliminating previously unlimited Grad PLUS loans. A bipartisan effort is underway in Congress to exempt advanced nursing degrees from these new limits, citing concerns over potential impacts on the ongoing national nurse educator shortage.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law by President Donald Trump last year, included provisions for federal student loan borrowing caps. These caps, set to take effect on July 1, will limit federal student loans for graduate degrees to $100,000 and for professional degrees to $200,000. Previously, advanced degrees could be financed with unlimited Grad PLUS loans, which were eliminated by the OBBBA.
The OBBBA defines professional degrees as medical, dentistry, and law. However, a growing bipartisan movement in Congress is seeking to increase borrowing limits for master's and doctoral-level nursing degrees, which would otherwise be subject to the $100,000 graduate degree cap.
The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Tom Cole (R-Okla.), recently advanced an amendment to its budget bill aimed at raising these borrowing limits for advanced nursing degrees. This measure, which also expands funding for nurse training and biomedical research while cutting programs for refugees and unaccompanied minors, passed the committee in a 34-to-28 vote.
Separately, Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced a bipartisan bill in May to classify advanced nursing degrees as professional degrees. This would raise the borrowing limit for students pursuing roles such as nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse-midwives, and certified registered nurse anesthetists. In December, five Republican representatives also sponsored a bill to expand the definition of professional degrees to include nursing, other healthcare degrees, MBAs, and master's in education and theology. Furthermore, a bipartisan group of over 150 members of Congress signed a letter in March urging the Education Department to include nursing in its list of professional degrees.
Politicians and nursing associations have voiced concerns that the federal borrowing caps could compel students to rely on private loans, which typically carry higher interest rates and could lead to increased student debt. This legislative push occurs amidst a national nurse shortage, partly attributed to an insufficient number of nurse educators. Nurse educators are generally required to hold at least a master's degree, and the new borrowing limits could make these advanced degrees more challenging to obtain.
(Source: Fortune)
