Bill would make public college free, help undocumented students pay.
H.R. 10455 — Debt-Free College Act of 2026 · Filed by Mark Pocan (D-WI) · 17 cosponsors · Introduced Sep 16, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
The federal government would match money states spend on colleges. This would make college debt-free for students who qualify. The bill lets undocumented students get federal grants for college. It gives extra grant money to colleges that serve low-income students and students of color.
Who it affects
Low-income students and working-class students would benefit most. Undocumented students could get federal help paying for college. Public colleges would get more money from states and the federal government.
One thing to notice
The bill only works if states agree to spend more money on colleges. States that spend less on colleges may struggle to match federal money.
From the analysis of the bill text, linked under Primary records below.
Where it stands
17 cosponsors: 17 Democrats.
- Sep 16, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Sep 16, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Education and Workforce · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Words to know
- undocumented students — Students who live in the U.S. but do not have legal permission to be here.
- federal grants — Money the federal government gives to students to pay for college.
- colleges that serve low-income students and students of color — Schools that teach many poor students and many students from minority groups.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (39,553 characters) on Sep 19, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 14,522 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
As of — page rendered 2026-09-22.
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