Gillibrand, Colleagues Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Effort To Oppose New Limits On Student Loans For Nurses

Gillibrand, Colleagues Lead Bipartisan, Bicameral Effort To Oppose New Limits On Student Loans For Nurses

Dec 17, 2025

Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), joined a bipartisan group of over 140 lawmakers to sound the alarm over a proposed framework by the U.S. Department of Education to declassify nursing degrees as "professional" and undermine the entire future of the nursing workforce.

Their letter follows a recently released proposed framework from the Education Department's Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee that omits post-baccalaureate nursing degrees from the regulatory definition of "professional degree," meaning they would be classified as a "graduate degree." If this framework is adopted during the upcoming rulemaking, the proposed definition threatens more debt for post-baccalaureate nursing students, as student loans are currently capped for new borrowers at $20,500 annually and $100,000 in the aggregate for "graduate" programs and $50,000 annually and $200,000 in the aggregate for "professional" programs.

"Nurses play an essential role in delivering high-quality health care to millions of Americans, and their degrees must be recognized as the professional credentials they are," said Senator Gillibrand. "Especially as we continue to face shortages in our vital nursing workforce, I am proud to join my colleagues in this bipartisan effort and will continue fighting to ensure post-baccalaureate nursing students have access to the resources and financial support they need to enter the workforce and continue their critical work."

"At a time when our nation is facing a health care shortage, especially in primary care, now is not the time to cut off the student pipeline to these programs," the bipartisan group of over 140 lawmakers wrote to the Education Department. "According to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), fifty-seven percent of Medicare beneficiaries received a primary care service from an NP or physician associate (PA), and sixty-six percent of rural Medicare patients received a primary care service from an NP or PA. Consequently, we believe that post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be included in the department's definition of a 'professional degree.'"

"Nurses and nurse faculty make up the backbone of our health system, and post-baccalaureate nursing degrees lead to demonstrated outcomes, with a recent study from the Foundation for Research on Equal Opportunity showing that nursing was one of the top three master's degrees for return on investment. As such, post-baccalaureate nursing degrees should be treated equally to other accredited post-baccalaureate health profession degrees," the lawmakers stressed.

The bipartisan letter is supported by over 65 organizations including, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing; American Association of Nurse Practitioners; American Nurses Association; American College of Nurse-Midwives; Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses; National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners; National Council of State Boards of Nursing; and the National League of Nursing.

Read the full text of the bipartisan letter here.

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