Following the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (PL 119-21), Graduate PLUS Loans were eliminated, and fixed student loan caps were set for post-baccalaureate programs. This significantly reduces federal loan limits for graduate nursing students, dropping aggregate limits from $200,000 to $100,000 for standard graduate programs and has implications for prorating funding limits for those attending school part-time.
Outdated and arbitrary regulatory definitions (34 CFR 668.2) classify nursing as a “non-professional” degree program. Because of this, student loan limit reductions have the potential to limit access to advanced education, worsen workforce shortages, and threaten patient care.
Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Rep. Jen Kiggans (R-VA-02), and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR-01) are circulating a comment letter for members of Congress to sign onto in support of nursing being included as a professional degree. This is similar to a letter sent to the Department of Education in December 2025, which had over 140 bipartisan signatures.
Please contact your members of Congress to sign onto this new letter before the public comment deadline.