Professional Degree Access Restoration Act

Key Points

• This bill would reverse recent cuts to federal loan availability for graduate and professional students by amending the Higher Education Act of 1965. It specifically targets reductions enacted under Public Law 119-21, which capped how much graduate students could borrow from the federal government.
• The bill restores Direct PLUS loan access for graduate and professional students by removing a subparagraph (C) that restricted these loans, which are often used to cover the full cost of attendance when standard loan limits fall short.
• It also removes new annual and aggregate borrowing caps that were imposed on graduate students, reverting loan limits to pre-restriction levels for instruction periods beginning on or after July 1, 2012.
• The bill eliminates a paragraph (4) that created additional loan restrictions, and renumbers the remaining provisions accordingly. It was introduced by Rep. Torres of New York and referred to the Committee on Education and Workforce.