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A group of Republicans is fighting to overturn the Trump administration’s decision. CAP Loan for Undergraduate Nursing StudentsA move that sparked widespread anger across the profession.
Provision was made in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act””and set lifetime borrowing limits on student loans for graduate and professional degrees.
Nursing removed from the list of professional degrees considered eligible to apply for the highest loan limit By the Education Department, The price of which was set at $200,000. Those pursuing graduate degrees in nursing are limited to a maximum borrowing of $100,000, which no longer covers the full cost of some advanced programs in the field.
This decision “threatened the very foundation of patient care” by limiting the number of student nurses. access to fundingNursing organizations warned.
GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York is cosponsoring legislation with four other Republicans to add nursing to the Education Department’s list of “professional” degrees, along with occupational therapy, social work, audiology and physician assistant, which were also excluded. politico Report.
“There’s a very easy way to solve this,” Lawler told the outlet, whose allies include fellow Republican Reps. Jane Kiggans of Virginia, Don Bacon of Nebraska, Brian Fitzpatrick and Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania.
He was among 140 MPs who signed bipartisan letter On December 12, the department was requested to reconsider. “At a time when our country is facing health care shortages, especially in primary care, now is not the time to cut the student pipeline for these programs,” the letter said.
Lawler said it was “important” to add nursing to the list of professional degrees eligible for higher funding.
“I don’t think it’s that controversial,” the lawmaker said. politico,
Kiggans, a nurse practitioner and vice chair of the House Nursing Caucus, said she spoke with Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent in November.
“I made it really clear that this did not involve nurses,” he said of the call.
“It’s disrespectful to the nurses,” Kiggans said. “And we have a nursing shortage.”
If the changes go ahead with the limits for nursing students, the new measures are due to come into effect from July 1, 2026.
Following reaction to the decision in late November, the Department of Education published a “Myths vs. Facts” news release claiming that “95 percent of nursing students borrow below the annual loan limit and therefore are not affected by the new limit.”
It also states that “professional degree” is an internal definition used by the Department to distinguish between programs that qualify for a higher loan limit, and not a value judgment about the importance of the programs.
“Congress has decided not to change the existing definition of professional student, but they can amend the law at any time, and the agency will issue responsive regulations,” Ellen Keast, press secretary for the Department of Education for Higher Education, said in a statement.
Nursing organizations have opposed the move.
“At a time when our nation’s health care is facing historic nurse shortages and increasing demands, limiting nurses’ access to funding for graduate education threatens the foundation of patient care,” said Jennifer Mensick Kennedy, president of the American Nurses Association.
“Excluding nursing from the definition of professional degree programs ignores decades of progress toward equity in the health professions and contradicts the Department’s own belief that professional programs lead to licensure and direct practice,” the American Association of Colleges of Nursing said in a statement.
Mary Turner, president of National Nurses United, previously told Independent That the Trump administration’s priorities were “contrary to the needs of nurses and patients.”
“If the Trump administration really wants to support nurses, it will work to improve working conditions, expand education opportunities, and ensure patients get access to health care,” Turner said. “Instead, this administration is stripping nurses of their union rights, making it harder to access education, and cutting health care to those who need it most.”