Restoring College Access and Affordability Act

Key Points

• This bill would undo several recent changes Congress made to the federal student loan system through the reconciliation law (Public Law 119-21). It restores previous rules for loan limits, repayment plans, deferment, and forbearance options that were recently altered.
• The bill restores the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program to its previous form. This program helps workers in government and nonprofit jobs, like teachers and firefighters, get their student loans canceled after 10 years of qualifying payments.
• It reverses recent changes to Pell Grant eligibility and removes a provision that excluded other grant aid when calculating Pell Grants. These grants provide free money for college to students with the most financial need.
• The bill restores borrower defense to repayment rules and closed school discharge protections, which help students who were misled by their colleges or whose schools shut down get their loans forgiven.
• It sets a flat 1.4 percent excise tax on the investment income of wealthy private colleges and universities with large endowments, replacing a tiered rate structure that was recently enacted.
• The bill refines which college programs can be penalized for low earning outcomes by defining specific types of "covered educational programs" subject to the test, including certificate, associate, bachelor's, and graduate programs.