Congress expands student loan access, hands Secretary a blank check
H.R. 6718 — Professional Student Degree Act · Filed by Michael Lawler (R-NY) · 26 cosponsors · Introduced Dec 15, 2025 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill amends the Higher Education Act to redefine what counts as a 'professional degree' for federal student loan purposes. It removes a reference to a specific federal regulation and replaces it with a statutory definition that explicitly lists 25 named professional degrees (pharmacy, law, medicine, nursing, MBA, etc.) plus a catch-all allowing the Secretary of Education to recognize additional degrees meeting the criteria. The effect is to clarify and potentially expand which graduate degrees qualify for federal student loan benefits.
Why we flagged it
The bill's core function is to redefine which graduate degrees qualify for federal student loan benefits under the Higher Education Act. It replaces a regulatory definition with a statutory list and grants the Secretary discretion to expand that list, making it a definitional/eligibility amendment rather than a funding or appropriations measure.
What the text implies
- The Secretary's discretion to recognize 'any other degree' meeting the criteria is unconstrained by statute — no requirement for notice-and-comment rulemaking, congressional notification, or public transparency, potentially allowing loan eligibility to shift with administrative preference.
- Removing the CFR cross-reference eliminates a fixed regulatory baseline; future changes to federal regulations will no longer affect the definition, but the Secretary's interpretation of 'professional skill beyond bachelor's degree' remains undefined and subject to administrative drift.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
graduate students in the 25 named professional fields; educational institutions offering those degrees; student loan servicers (increased loan volume)