On July 3, 2025, Jeff Crank cast an aye for the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, and under its new Repayment Assistance Plan a Colorado borrower coming off the SAVE plan sees yearly payments climb by $2,512 on average, according to state figures from the Center for American Progress.
Earlier votes paved the way. Crank's yes decided the February 2025 budget resolution and its April 2025 final version, which set the education committee a deficit-reduction floor of $330 billion. Then, on May 22, the House version that created the repayment plan squeaked by 215 to 214 with him in the majority.
Jeff Crank's Votes on Student Loans and College Aid
- Crank Voted to Abolish Grad PLUS, Limit Parent Loans and Charge Low-Income Borrowers More. Final passage of H.R. 1 came on July 3, 2025, 218 to 214, with Jeff Crank voting aye. The law shuts down Graduate PLUS lending and holds parents who borrow for a son's or daughter's degree to $20,000 a year, with a $65,000 lifetime ceiling per student. Anyone borrowing after the changeover is limited to RAP or the new tiered standard plan, with the older income-driven plans closed to them. TICAS found the plan "will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level," and New America concluded "those with the lowest incomes will face higher monthly bills" under it.
- Crank Delivered the One-Vote Margin for the House Bill That Invented the New Repayment Plan. Without Crank, the House version of H.R. 1 would have failed on May 22, 2025: it passed 215 to 214, one member voting present. That version set up "the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan" that survived into the final law. Across the country, a borrower leaving SAVE for the new plan owes an extra $2,163 a year, American Progress researchers calculated. They also found that the graduate loan caps open a financing hole for about one master's-degree borrower in eight and nearly half of professional-degree borrowers, pushing many toward "more expensive private loans."
- Crank Cast Both Deciding Budget Votes Behind a $330 Billion Order to the Education Committee. Crank's yes votes adopted H.Con.Res. 14 by 217 to 215 on February 25, 2025 and, on April 10, the Senate-amended text by 216 to 214. Had Crank alone reversed himself, either count would have deadlocked, and a deadlocked resolution fails. The plan required the Committee on Education and Workforce to "reduce the deficit by not less than $330,000,000,000" over ten years. In the law Crank voted for on July 3, student aid took the hit: it "takes away about $300 billion in federal support" that helped low- and middle-income students afford college, according to American Progress.
What Jeff Crank's Student Loan Votes Cost Colorado Borrowers
- Coloradans who leave SAVE for the new plan face an extra $2,512 a year. By American Progress's state estimates, the average Colorado borrower who goes from SAVE to the Repayment Assistance Plan owes $2,512 more every year, above the $2,163 average nationally; spread over twelve payments, that is about $209 a month taken from rent, child care or savings.
- Colorado graduate students lost Grad PLUS on loans made after July 1, 2026. For loans taken out after July 1, 2026, borrowers in Colorado and elsewhere have only two repayment choices, RAP and a new tiered standard plan, and graduate students can no longer borrow through Grad PLUS, so many in Colorado's medical, law and other professional programs will turn to private loans with fewer protections.
Frequently Asked Questions About Jeff Crank on Student debt
What is Jeff Crank's record on student debt under Trump?
Among Jeff Crank's 2025 yes votes on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act were the two budget resolutions his votes decided, which set a $330 billion target for the education committee; the House bill his vote carried, which created the Repayment Assistance Plan; and the final law, which ended Grad PLUS loans and capped parent loans. By American Progress's estimate, a Colorado borrower switching from SAVE to the new plan owes $2,512 more each year.
When do the student loan changes Jeff Crank voted for hit Colorado borrowers?
The law Jeff Crank voted for phases in on July 1 dates. Starting July 1, 2026, the Education Department began telling SAVE borrowers to pick another plan within 90 days, and new loans after that date carry only two repayment options. From July 1, 2027, new borrowers lose hardship and unemployment deferments and are limited to nine months of forbearance in any two years, and the PAYE and ICR plans close on July 1, 2028.
Did Jeff Crank vote to end Grad PLUS loans for Colorado graduate students?
Yes: Jeff Crank was a yes on the July 3, 2025 law that ends Graduate PLUS loans. Under the new caps, American Progress found, 46 percent of professional-degree students cannot cover their costs with federal loans and may need "more expensive private loans."
Last updated: 2026-10-27