Measure Will Leave Students Saddled With More Student Debt and Higher Monthly Bills

June 4, 2026 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the United States House of Representatives Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services unveiled their annual funding proposal for Fiscal Year 2027. The bill proposes massive cuts to the Department of Education and several crucial student aid programs, including the elimination of Federal subsidized loans which provide low-to-middle-income undergraduate students access to interest-free student loans while the student is enrolled in school and six months directly after they leave their program. In the last year alone, more than 4 million students relied on subsidized loans to pay for their undergraduate education. The proposal is scheduled to be considered before the full House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, June 9th. 

The proposal comes as the Department of Education is implementing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which made unprecedented cuts to the Federal student loan system and safety net programs which will make it significantly more expensive and risky for students and families to pay for a higher education. Experts have sounded the alarms on how the elimination of subsidized loans will drastically increase college costs for low-to-middle income families.   

In response, Protect Borrowers Policy Director Aissa Canchola Bañez released the following statement:

“Not even a year has gone by since Congressional Republicans rammed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill’ across the finish line, decimating the federal student loan safety net and making it more expensive and risky for students and families to pay for college. Now, it appears that House Republican appropriators are coming back to finish the job—this time eliminating subsidized loans for undergraduate students in need and attempting to justify these cuts by increasing the maximum Pell Grant award by a measly $50.

“While we acknowledge the need to address the looming Pell shortfall, it is simply inexcusable that policymakers are doing so on the backs of low-income students who are already struggling to pay for college. This proposal will leave even more students saddled with thousands of dollars in additional debt in the midst of a growing affordability crisis. This is a classic case of ‘robbing Peter to pay Pell’ and students and families across the country deserve better. We urge policymakers to reject this proposal and stop their relentless attacks on student loan borrowers and their families who are simply trying to invest in themselves and their future through higher education.”

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About Protect Borrowers

Protect Borrowers (formerly Student Borrower Protection Center) is a nonprofit organization led by a team of experts, lawyers, and advocates fighting to build an economy where debt doesn’t limit opportunity. We investigate financial abuses, take predatory companies to court, and push for policies to protect working people from debt traps. We aim to deliver immediate relief to families while building power, driving systemic change, and fighting for racial and economic justice.

Learn more at protectborrowers.org or follow us on social @BorrowerJustice.