Stop Republicans' Plan to Segregate College

The House Education and Workforce Committee just advanced a sweeping higher education bill that threatens to dismantle financial aid and trap millions in lifelong debt.

Under the guise of “simplification,” Republicans are pushing a plan that would eliminate affordable repayment options, slash Pell Grant access for part-time students, and cap federal loans in ways that disproportionately harm low-income, Black, and first-generation students. 

Their plan is to create economic and racial segregation in higher education, and we have to stop it.

The Republican higher-ed bill, led by Rep. Tim Walberg, would eliminate subsidized undergraduate loans, end the SAVE plan, and consolidate repayment into just two rigid options. Borrowers could face ballooning payments over 30 years, with no adjustment for inflation. The plan also resumes aggressive collections on defaulted loans starting May 5, including wage garnishment and tax refund seizures—after a five-year pause.

These changes are part of a broader $330 billion cut to higher education designed to fund massive tax breaks for the wealthy. As Democrats have pointed out, this bill has nothing to do with lowering college costs or wasteful spending and everything to do with funding tax cuts for the wealthy.

If enacted, this legislation would widen the racial wealth gap, punish working-class families, and turn higher education into a luxury for the privileged few. Education should be a path to opportunity, not a debt sentence.

We must act now. The full House could vote on this bill in the coming days. Tell Congress: reject this cruel, classist attack on students. Demand that they protect income-driven repayment, preserve Pell Grant access, and stop turning college into a debt trap.