Senate Higher Ed Bill Walks Back Some House Proposals
Jessica Blake and Liam Knox
June 12, 2025
Senate Republicans did not cut Pell Grants and replaced a controversial risk-sharing plan proposed by the House. Higher ed advocates are relieved but wary.
Both chambers of Congress have now outlined their higher education budget proposals, giving colleges a clearer sense of the scope and impact of what would be a sweeping federal student aid overhaul.
The Senate version, released late Tuesday night, is largely similar to the House’s proposal, which prompted widespread condemnation from student aid advocates when it passed in late May. Both would cap graduate loans, open up the Pell Grant program to short-term programs and cut all but one option for income-driven loan repayment.
But the Senate proposal includes a few key differences that have quelled some of higher education leaders’ most dire concerns—at least for now.
