Lansing, Michigan – Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel is part of a group of 24 attorneys general and two governors who are against a proposed federal rule that they claim would make it harder for important healthcare workers to get student loans.
The group sent an official letter to the U.S. Department of Education opposing a plan related to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, also known as H.R. 1.
A new limit on federal student loans for graduate students is at the heart of the disagreement. H.R. 1 would limit most graduate students to borrowing $20,500 a year, with a total limit of $100,000 over their lifetime.
Students who are getting “professional” degrees, on the other hand, might borrow up to $50,000 a year and $200,000 total. Congress gave a broad definition of “professional degree” and gave ten instances, although it was evident that the list was not meant to be complete.
The proposed rule would make that list the only one. The greater borrowing limits would only be available to students who are working toward the specified degrees and clinical psychology. Nessel and the group say that method would leave out nurse practitioners, physician assistants, physical therapists, and other highly trained healthcare workers.
“Nurses, physical therapists, and other healthcare professionals are essential to the health and safety of our communities,” said Attorney General Nessel.
“With Michigan and states across the country already facing shortages in these necessary frontline fields, the federal government should support students pursuing these careers, not limit their access to the financial resources they need to fulfill their academic requirements and obtain their degrees.”
Read also: Freeze thaw cycle leaves Flint battling surge in potholes and water main breaks
The coalition’s letter says that the Department’s plan goes against what Congress wanted by making an example list into a set limit. The attorneys general said that the original examples are from the 1950s, which is before many of today’s popular graduate healthcare programs were ever around. They say that using that outdated framework means that the Department is leaving out professions that obviously fit Congress’s expanded definition.
The group claims that if the plan goes through, students in nursing and other fields who go above the lower cap would have to either seek private loans with worse terms or stop going to school completely. The letter asks the Department to take a wider view of what a “professional degree” means, one that includes all the health-related professions that Congress had in mind.
Read also: Genesee County secures $100,000 Rocket Community Fund grant to prevent tax foreclosures
Attorneys general from more than 20 states, as well as the governors of Kansas and Kentucky, signed comments against the regulation.