House GOP Tries to Override Trump’s Loan Limit Regulations

A recent change to a House bill that funds the Education Department could allow master’s- and doctoral-level nursing programs access to higher levels of federal student borrowing.

Starting July 1, nursing students and most other graduate students will only be able to borrow $20,500 per year, under a new rule from the Education Department. Meanwhile, students in a select group of 11 programs, including optometry, medicine and law, have access to $50,000 per year. Various colleges and professional associations have argued that ED’s decision to limit the higher loan caps to handful of programs will exacerbate workforce shortages in critical areas such as health care.

The budget amendment, which advanced out of committee Tuesday, is attempting to address those concerns. But even if it survives the House, Senate and President Trump, it wouldn’t take effect until Oct. 1 at the earliest, and Congress has historically failed to pass a federal budget by then.

Policy experts also note that the provision would only expand aid access for nursing students. Other degree programs focused on high-demand professions like physician’s assistantship, teaching and social work argue that without sufficient aid, fewer students will be able to enroll and that could hurt the pipeline for public service workers. Financial aid representatives warn that a policy change midyear would require them to make major pivots and students could get caught up in a confusing transition process.

So while college-access advocates and university leaders are largely celebrating this budget provision as a step forward, they’ve also warned that the fight to finance advanced degrees is nowhere near over.

“APLU greatly appreciates Congressional support to address the inadequacies of the current definition of professional programs, which leaves many students without the support they need to enter fields critical to the U.S. workforce,” said Craig Lindwarm, senior vice president for governmental affairs at the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. “While this is a very limited expansion and has many more steps to go in the legislative process, it’s important progress nonetheless.”

Congress passed the postbaccalaureate loan limits last summer as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. In capping the loans, lawmakers say they hoped to crack down on ballooning student debt and force universities to lower their sticker prices. Many universities and professional associations have since argued that the legislation would actually cut students off from graduate education, as it would be very difficult for institutions to lower the cost of attendance enough. When the cost is higher than the loan cap, private loans could help students fill the gap, though they often require a strong credit score or a co-signer.

OBBBA set the dollar amounts of the loan caps, but Congress left it up to the Education Department to determine which degrees were deemed graduate or professional. The agency opted to label the vast majority of programs—including nursing—as graduate. Multiple Democratic-led states and professional associations have since sued the agency over how it defined professional programs. No judge has yet to rule in those lawsuits.

The new provision added to the fiscal year 2027 budget bill would prevent the Education Department from using federal funds to administer federal student aid programs “in a manner that does not designate advanced nursing programs as professional degree programs.” Based on the language of the budget bill, “advanced nursing” would include programs for nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, nurse-midwives and nurse anesthetists, among others.

To higher ed lobbyists like Emmanual Guillory, senior director of government relations at the American Council on Education, this policy proposal is “a big deal” and shows Congress is trying to expand some loan access. And though the timeline for implementation may not be perfect, he’s pleased to see the amendment gaining support.

“It would be more ideal if Congress could agree to this before July 1,” Guillory said. “But the Department of Education would have to abide by this if and when it is agreed to, regardless of timing.”

He also hopes that this budget provision could create traction for other legislation like the Professional Student Degree Act, a separate bipartisan bill sponsored by New York Republican Rep. Mike Lawler that would deem a broader range of degrees as professional—not just nursing. (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a New York Democrat, has introduced identical legislation, which also has bipartisan support.)

In the meantime, Jill Desjean, director of policy analysis at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said she is thinking through what any of the changes to the loan limits would mean practically for advisers and students. She anticipates any potential change will occur after July 1. Even if Congress passes legislation that’s signed into law or a court order comes down before then, she said, it will take time to adjust.

For example, the Education Department would have to make software changes before colleges could start doling out aid. So while an increase in loan limits is better than a decrease, Desjean stressed that the change should be made comprehensively rather than in bits and pieces.

“[Nursing] is just one of the many groups that asked to be treated as professional students,” she said. “NASFAA hasn’t taken a position on specifically which programs should be eligible for the $50,000 cap, but however they decide to do it, I really don’t want to see it changing every couple of months or every couple of days. We just need to have a static list of rules that says, ‘This is who qualifies’ and have it be done.”