On February 25 and April 10, 2025, Bill Huizenga cast deciding votes for a budget resolution instructing House education writers to produce $330 billion or more in savings; on May 22 his yes carried the House bill by one vote; and on July 3 he cast a yes vote for the final law, which abolishes Graduate PLUS and, in the Center for American Progress's estimate, adds $1,884 a year, on average, to what Michigan borrowers owe once they shift from SAVE into its Repayment Assistance Plan.
That increase climbs with schooling: Michigan borrowers with a bachelor's degree face $2,443 more a year and those with a graduate degree $2,428 more, the same analysis found.
Bill Huizenga's Votes on Student Loans and College Aid
- Huizenga Voted to Abolish Grad PLUS, Limit What Parents May Borrow and Charge the Lowest-Income Borrowers More. Huizenga was one of the 218 members who approved the finished bill on July 3, 2025, 218-214. It closes Graduate PLUS to graduate students from here on, and a parent paying for a son's or daughter's education may borrow no more than $20,000 annually and $65,000 in total per student. Repayment on new loans runs through RAP, the Repayment Assistance Plan, which TICAS found "will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level," and under which, New America reported, "those with the lowest incomes will face higher monthly bills" than under the system it replaced.
- Huizenga's One-Vote House Margin Created RAP, the More Expensive Repayment Plan, in May 2025. A single vote separated the two sides when H.R. 1 cleared the House 215-214 on May 22, 2025, and Huizenga's aye was part of the majority. Written into that version was "the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan", which survived into the final law. Nationwide, the shift from SAVE to that plan averages $2,163 a year in added payments, by CAP's calculation, and the group warned that the new graduate ceilings open "financing gaps for 13 percent of master's degree borrowers and 46 percent of professional degree borrowers," pushing many of them toward private lenders at higher rates.
- Huizenga's Votes Decided a Budget Resolution That Demanded $330 Billion From the Education Committee, in 2025. Twice in 2025 the budget resolution passed by two votes with Huizenga voting yes, 217-215 on February 25 and 216-214 on April 10, and each time his switch alone would have tied it, sinking it. It directed the Committee on Education and Workforce to "reduce the deficit by not less than $330,000,000,000" over ten years. The law that resulted, which Huizenga voted for on July 3, 2025, "takes away about $300 billion in federal support" meant to help students from low- and middle-income families afford a degree, CAP concluded.
What Bill Huizenga's Student Loan Votes Cost Michigan Borrowers
- A Michigan borrower who leaves SAVE for RAP pays $1,884 more each year. Shifting from SAVE to the law's Repayment Assistance Plan costs the average Michigan borrower an added $1,884 a year, CAP's state estimates show, money that has to come out of the rest of a household's budget every month.
- Michigan graduates with bachelor's and graduate degrees face increases near $2,400 a year. Broken out by schooling, CAP's Michigan numbers are $1,296 a year at the some-college or associate level, $2,443 for bachelor's holders and $2,428 for those holding a graduate or professional degree, and under the plan even very low earners owe a payment each month.
Frequently Asked Questions About Bill Huizenga on Student debt
What is Bill Huizenga's record on student debt under Trump?
Bill Huizenga's votes decided the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's 2025 budget resolution and its May House passage, and on July 3 he voted for the version that became law. Graduate PLUS is gone under that law, Parent PLUS stops at $65,000 per student, and new loans go into a repayment plan that lifts SAVE borrowers' annual payments in Michigan by $1,884 on average. CAP says it removes about $300 billion in federal college support.
When do Michigan student loan borrowers feel the changes Bill Huizenga voted for?
Many already have: since Bill Huizenga's July 3, 2025 vote for the law, notices went out starting July 1, 2026 telling SAVE borrowers they had 90 days to pick a new plan, and anyone borrowing after that date gets only two choices, RAP or the new Tiered Standard Plan. Two older income-driven plans shut down on July 1, 2028, forcing their borrowers to move, and for Michiganders going from SAVE to RAP the average added cost is $1,884 a year.
Did Bill Huizenga's vote decide whether the student loan changes passed?
Yes, in the House on May 22, 2025: the bill that created the Repayment Assistance Plan passed 215 to 214 with Bill Huizenga voting yes, and his votes for the February and April budget resolutions, which carried the $330 billion education instruction, were each needed too. The final law passed 218 to 214 on July 3, 2025.
Last updated: 2026-10-27