Kansas borrowers shifted from the SAVE plan to the Repayment Assistance Plan will owe an average of $2,008 more a year, as projected by the Center for American Progress. The plan was first set up in the House bill that Derek Schmidt's May 22, 2025 vote carried, and the final law he voted for on July 3 kept it.
On July 3, Schmidt voted for the final law, which shuts down Graduate PLUS lending and puts a ceiling on parent loans. His votes in February and April 2025 had already decided the budget blueprint that instructed the Education and Workforce Committee to find at least $330 billion in deficit reduction.
Derek Schmidt's Votes on Student Loans and College Aid
- Graduate PLUS Loans Disappear and Parent Loans Are Capped by the Law That Got Schmidt's July 2025 Vote. The final One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed the House 218 to 214 on July 3, 2025, with Derek Schmidt among the yes votes. Under it, Graduate PLUS lending ends for new graduate students, and parents who borrow for a child's schooling are held to $20,000 a year and $65,000 in total per student. Borrowers taking new loans are steered to the Repayment Assistance Plan, which, the Institute for College Access and Success says, "will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level," and under which, New America found, "those with the lowest incomes will face higher monthly bills" than they paid before.
- Borrowers Moved to the Repayment Plan Schmidt's May 2025 Vote Created Pay About $2,163 More a Year Under the Final Law. On May 22, 2025, the House approved the bill by 215 votes to 214 with Derek Schmidt voting yes and one member voting present, so the bill would have died without him. The bill established "the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan", and the enacted law kept it. Under the enacted law, which kept the plan and which Schmidt voted for on July 3, 2025, the Center for American Progress calculated that nationally a borrower switched from SAVE to the new plan pays $2,163 a year more on average, and the law's tighter graduate loan limits fall short for 46 percent of professional-degree students and 13 percent of master's students, sending many to "more expensive private loans."
- Students Lose About $300 Billion in College Aid Under the July 2025 Law That Followed the Budget Blueprint Schmidt's Votes Decided. Derek Schmidt voted for H.Con.Res. 14 both times it came up: on February 25, 2025, when it was adopted 217 to 215, and on April 10, when the House accepted the Senate version 216 to 214. Each margin was small enough that his no would have tied the vote, and a tie fails. The blueprint directed the Committee on Education and Workforce to "reduce the deficit by not less than $330,000,000,000" over a decade. Once Schmidt's July 3, 2025 vote helped enact the final law, student aid was cut: the Center for American Progress tallies that the law "takes away about $300 billion in federal support" that lower- and middle-income students relied on to pay for college.
What Derek Schmidt's Student Loan Votes Mean for Kansas Borrowers and Families
- Kansas borrowers leaving SAVE will pay $2,008 more each year. For a Kansas borrower moved from SAVE to the new plan, the average increase comes to $2,008 a year, close to $170 a month, according to the Center for American Progress, money that comes out of a household budget every year the loan is in repayment.
- New Kansas Parent PLUS borrowers lose the income-based repayment option. Kansas families taking out new parent loans lose the income-based route: "Parent PLUS loans that originated on or after July 1, 2026, will no longer be eligible for the ICR pathway," the Center for American Progress notes, and the law limits new Parent PLUS borrowing to $20,000 a year per student.
Frequently Asked Questions About Derek Schmidt on Student debt
What is Derek Schmidt's record on student debt under Trump?
Derek Schmidt's votes decided the budget blueprint, which told the education committee to produce $330 billion or more in deficit reduction, and the House bill that began the new repayment plan, and he voted for the final law. The law ends Grad PLUS loans, caps parent borrowing and pushes new borrowers into a costlier repayment plan. Kansas borrowers moving from SAVE will pay $2,008 more a year on average.
Will my student loan payments go up because of Derek Schmidt's vote?
Derek Schmidt voted for the law that moves borrowers off SAVE onto the Repayment Assistance Plan, where the average Kansas borrower pays $2,008 more a year. The plan also charges a minimum payment, so even borrowers with very low earnings owe something each month.
Can Kansas graduate students still get federal loans after the law Derek Schmidt voted for?
Under the law Derek Schmidt voted for, new graduate students lose access to the Graduate PLUS program, and the Center for American Progress found the remaining federal limits leave 46 percent of those seeking professional degrees short of what their programs cost.
Last updated: 2026-10-27