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House Education and the Workforce Committee Passes Concerning Reconciliation Bill

On Tuesday, April 29, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a markup of the Republican drafted Reconciliation bill named the “Student Success and Taxpayer Saving Plan.” The bill passed the Republican Majority Committee on a party-line vote. The legislation is being considered by the House Budget Committee. Then, it will move to the House floor.

The House Education and Workforce Committee was tasked with finding $330 billion in cuts for deficit reduction and to enable Congress to extend the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provisions that will expire at the end of 2025.

In advance of the vote, WAICU reached out to Congressman Glenn Grothman, Wisconsin’s only House Education and Workforce Committee member, to express concerns with the legislation, as did many WAICU institutions. WAICU is coordinating with NAICU on the timing of advocacy outreach going forward.

Given the many detrimental components of this legislation, WAICU will be asking member institutions to contact elected representatives to oppose many of the provisions included in the proposal. Below are provisions of concern identified in the Reconciliation bill.

  • The creation of a “risk-sharing” scheme that would penalize colleges and universities for positive outcomes
    • Risk-sharing has a disproportionately negative impact on private, nonprofit colleges and universities, often expropriating funds from institutions with the best outcomes and rewarding institutions with low graduation rates.
    • Institutions with large numbers of students entering careers of service, including teaching, ministry, and social work, are particularly at risk for large risk-sharing payments.
    • Enrollment-dependent independent institutions could be forced to close due to large risk-sharing payments, cutting off a critical higher education access point for many rural and other marginalized student populations.
  • Eliminating Grad PLUS loans and the in-school interest subsidy for undergraduates
    • Grad PLUS loans are a critical financing tool for many graduate students, including those pursuing graduate programs related to careers of public service.
    • The elimination of the undergraduate in-school interest subsidy would shift more of the college cost burden onto students and families, resulting in elevated debt loads.
  • Capping graduate student borrowing at $100,000 for non-professional master’s degrees and $150,000 for professional degrees
    • These proposed borrowing caps could pose existential challenges to medical, dental, and health sciences degree programs, contributing to healthcare professional shortages.
    • Many students are at risk of not being served by the private loan market, including many graduate students studying theology, ministry, and the arts.
  • Limiting federal aid to the “median cost of college,” effectively establishing price controls on colleges and universities and forcing students to the private loan market
    • This proposal fails to understand the baseline differences in the financing model between private, nonprofit, and public colleges and universities, punishing independent higher education institutions for their lack of state support and general financial independence.
  • Making several changes to Pell Grant awards and eligibility that would:
    • Increase the threshold for “full-time” enrollment to fifteen credit hours a semester, resulting in cuts in grant aid to students taking twelve credits.
    • Reduce Pell Grant awards proportionately for every credit hour below fifteen.
    • Eliminate Pell Grant eligibility for students enrolled at less than half-time, who are often working-class students.

We appreciate some of the positive proposals in the legislation to address the projected Pell Grant budgetary shortfall, preserving the Federal Work-Study and Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants programs, and tackling the improper treatment of small businesses and farms in federal need analysis.

Please sign up for our advocacy network at the link below to receive WAICU’s calls to action prior to key Congressional action on the reconciliation bill.

For more information, email WAICU Executive Vice President for External Relations Rebecca Larson.