The future of the federal student loan program after OBBBA

Last summer, Congress passed sweeping changes to the student loan program as part of the budget reconciliation process that produced the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The legislation reduced how much students can borrow for graduate and professional programs and how much parents can borrow on behalf of their children. It also remade the student loan repayment system for both new and existing borrowers.

On Thursday, March 19, the Brookings Center for Economic Security and Opportunity hosted a discussion of how the changes to the federal student loan program under OBBBA will affect student loan borrowers, their families, and institutions of higher education. 

The event began with keynote remarks and audience Q&A with Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.). After the keynote, a panel of experts discussed the likely impact of recent changes to the student loan program. The event concluded with a fireside chat with Undersecretary of Education Nicholas Kent.

Online viewers posed questions in advance by emailing [email protected].

A page collecting recent Brookings work on student loans is available here.