The One Big Beautiful Bill Act closes off Graduate PLUS loans, caps what parents can borrow, and replaces income-driven repayment for new loans with a Repayment Assistance Plan that charges even very low earners, and Brad Knott of North Carolina's 13th District voted for it on July 3, 2025; for a North Carolina borrower pushed off SAVE onto that plan, researchers at the Center for American Progress estimate an average added cost of $1,767 a year.
Knott's May 22, 2025 vote was needed to pass the House bill that first created the Repayment Assistance Plan, and his votes in February and April 2025 each decided the budget resolution whose education instruction sought $330 billion in savings, a target the law then pursued with student aid cuts.
Brad Knott's Votes on Student Loans and Repayment
- Knott Voted to End Grad PLUS Loans, Cap Parent PLUS Borrowing and Move New Borrowers to a Costlier Repayment Plan, in July 2025. With Brad Knott's yes, the House sent the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to the president 218-214 on July 3, 2025. Under it, Graduate PLUS lending stops for new graduate borrowers, and a parent borrowing for a child's degree can take no more than $20,000 in any year or $65,000 overall per student. For new loans, income-driven plans give way to the Repayment Assistance Plan, which TICAS found "will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level," and New America found that under it "those with the lowest incomes will face higher monthly bills" than before.
- Knott's Deciding Vote Passed the House Bill That Created the Repayment Assistance Plan, in May 2025. The House version of H.R. 1 squeaked through 215-214 on May 22, 2025, one member voting present, and Knott's yes was one it could not lose. That bill established "the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan" the final law kept. Moving from SAVE onto the new plan adds $2,163 a year for the average borrower nationwide, CAP estimated, while the law's graduate borrowing caps leave a funding gap for 13 percent of master's students who borrow and 46 percent of those in professional programs, steering many to "more expensive private loans."
- Knott's Deciding Budget Votes Ordered $330 Billion in Savings From the Education Committee, Followed by Student Aid Cuts, in 2025. Knott was a yes as the House took up H.Con.Res. 14 twice, adopting it 217-215 on February 25, 2025 and again 216-214 on April 10, 2025, and a reversal by him would have left either vote tied, which in the House means it fails. The resolution directed the Committee on Education and Workforce to "reduce the deficit by not less than $330,000,000,000" across ten years. Student aid cuts in the final law came next: the Center for American Progress found the law "takes away about $300 billion in federal support" that helped low- and middle-income students afford college.
What the Student Loan Changes Brad Knott Voted For Cost North Carolina Borrowers
- Leaving SAVE for the law's new plan raises a North Carolina borrower's bill by $1,767 a year. For North Carolina borrowers who leave SAVE for the Repayment Assistance Plan, the Center for American Progress figures payments climb by an average of $1,767 a year, roughly $147 more every month.
- North Carolina bachelor's degree holders face $2,430 more a year, and those with some college or an associate degree $1,309. Broken down by education, the Center for American Progress puts the average yearly increase for North Carolina borrowers at $1,309 for borrowers with some college or an associate degree, $2,430 for those who earned a bachelor's, and $1,652 for holders of graduate or professional degrees, so bills go up at every level of schooling.
Frequently Asked Questions About Brad Knott on Student debt
What is Brad Knott's record on student debt under Trump?
Brad Knott voted in July 2025 for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which ended Grad PLUS loans, capped parent loans at $65,000 per student and moved new borrowers to the Repayment Assistance Plan. That plan first passed the House in May 2025 by a single vote with Knott's yes, and North Carolina borrowers moved to it from SAVE pay $1,767 more a year on average. He also cast deciding votes for the budget plan that ordered $330 billion in savings from the education committee.
How does the repayment plan Brad Knott voted for change payments for a North Carolina borrower with a low income?
Under the law Brad Knott voted for, a North Carolina borrower on the new Repayment Assistance Plan owes a monthly payment even at incomes where SAVE could charge nothing, TICAS found. The Center for American Progress reported that about 60 percent of SAVE borrowers once earned too little to owe any payment.
What does ending Grad PLUS, which Brad Knott voted for, mean for a graduate student in North Carolina?
With Graduate PLUS gone under the law Brad Knott voted for, most graduate students in North Carolina are limited to $20,500 in federal loans per year, up to $100,000 over a program, and professional students to $50,000 a year, up to $200,000, New America reported. The Center for American Progress found those limits leave 46 percent of professional-degree borrowers with a gap to fill, often with "more expensive private loans."
Last updated: 2026-10-27