John,

As I email you now, the House Education and Workforce Committee is debating a budget bill that will make college less affordable for millions of students.¹

The proposal will slash financial aid programs, restrict access to Pell grants for low-income students, eliminate student loan interest subsidies, and remove hardship protections.²

Overall, this could mean only students from the wealthiest families can attend college without amassing hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt.

Expanding access to quality education doesn’t end in secondary school. Post-secondary education and training can help move people out of poverty and into lifelong careers. Congress must reject this regressive anti-education budget and instead pass policies that expand access to college for all.

Send a direct message to Congress telling them to vote against a budget package that puts higher education out of reach for millions of students.

By restricting access to Pell grants and eliminating the Parent PLUS loans, millions of students will be directed towards predatory, private loans that lack consumer protections.

The Public Service Loan Forgiveness program allows borrowers who work in public service for 10 years―such as teachers, healthcare workers, and military service members―to have their loans forgiven as long as they make payments during those ten years. The current budget proposal would limit access to that program for 3.6 million borrowers.³

While the House is debating ways to put college out of reach for millions of students, this will end up as part of a larger budget package that threatens basic needs programs including SNAP, Medicaid, consumer protections, and more. And, House committees will also vote this week to spend hundreds of billions of dollars on Trump’s mass deportation machine and give more handouts to Pentagon contractors.⁴

Instead of these harmful cuts, Congress should be investing in critical human needs and expanding access to opportunity.

Join us in calling on Congress to reject attacks on access to higher education.

Thank you for all you do,

Meredith Dodson
Senior Director of Public Policy, CHN Action

¹ Markup of Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan
² Congress’ Reconciliation Bill Will Make Higher Education Less Affordable and Accessible for Everyone
³ Congress’ Reconciliation Bill Will Make Higher Education Less Affordable and Accessible for Everyone
⁴House Homeland Security Committee Releases Text for Budget Reconciliation Recommendations