Moulton Leads Massachusetts Delegation To Protect Professional Degree Student Loans

WASHINGTON, D.C. -Congressman Seth Moulton (MA-06) led members of the Massachusetts delegation-Representatives Richard Neal (MA-01), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Lori Trahan (MA-03), Jake Auchincloss (MA-04), Katherine Clark (MA-05), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Stephen Lynch (MA-08), and Bill Keating (MA-09)-in calling on the Department of Education to remove or delay implementation of a proposed framework that would narrowly redefine which professional degree programs are eligible for federal student loans.

The proposal would exclude critical fields such as nursing, social work, library science, occupational therapy, and others, limiting students' access to affordable graduate education and threatening workforce development across Massachusetts and the nation.

In a letter to Secretary McMahon regarding the Department's Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the members warned that the proposal would undermine economic mobility and restrict access to the very programs that prepare students for high-demand careers.

"Massachusetts succeeds because we invest in talent and give people a fair shot at building a future here," said Congressman Moulton. "The Department's narrow definition of a professional degree is in line with the Trump Administration's latest attack on higher education. If we make it harder for students to afford graduate programs in fields like nursing, social work, and occupational therapy, we're not just hurting them-we're shortchanging our communities and our economy. Limiting access to federal student loans won't reduce demand for these careers; it will only push students toward riskier private loans and make it harder to fill critical workforce gaps. We should be lowering costs and expanding opportunity, not putting up new barriers."

You can read the full letter here.

###