Durbin Meets With NIU President As Trump Administration Slashes Research Funding, Restricts Financial Support For Students

Durbin Meets With NIU President As Trump Administration Slashes Research Funding, Restricts Financial Support For Students

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today met with Lisa Freeman, President of Northern Illinois University (NIU), to discuss the harmful impacts of congressional Republicans and the Trump Administration's One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which caps graduate student and Parent PLUS loans and institutes a lifetime borrowing limit that makes higher education increasingly more inaccessible for low and middle-income students. The legislation also places new limitations on Pell grants, which could make students who receive any additional non-federal student aid, including grants from the university they are attending, ineligible for a Pell award.

Durbin and Ms. Freeman also spoke about maintaining research funding for NIU as the Trump Administration decimates the National Science Foundation's (NSF) budget. In Fiscal Year 2024, Illinois institutions received more than $382 million in NSF awards, with NIU receiving more than $8 million in funding. However, the Trump Administration has since canceled $3 million of NIU's NSF grants.

"Illinois' universities are under serious threat as the Trump Administration claws back critical funding for education and research. And his so-called 'beautiful' bill only puts college further out of reach for Americans," said Durbin. "While President Trump turns his back on students and research institutions, I will continue to advocate for Illinois' universities and the students they serve."

Photos of the meeting are available here.

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