Mike Lawler, who represents New York's 17th District, cast the deciding House vote for a bill that created the Repayment Assistance Plan, under which New York borrowers moved off the SAVE plan pay an average of $2,483 more a year, the Center for American Progress estimates.
The final One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Lawler voted for on July 3, 2025, ended Graduate PLUS loans and capped what parents can borrow for a child's college. His deciding votes for the 2025 budget resolution demanded at least $330 billion from the committee over student aid.
Mike Lawler's Votes on Student Loans and College Aid
- Graduate Students Lose Grad PLUS and Parents Face Borrowing Caps Under the Law Lawler Voted For in July 2025. On July 3, 2025, Mike Lawler was a yes when the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act cleared the House, 218 to 214. The law bars graduate students from new Graduate PLUS loans and caps what parents can borrow for a child's undergraduate education at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student overall. The Center for American Progress calculates that the new graduate-loan limits leave a financing gap for 13 percent of those borrowing for a master's degree and 46 percent of those borrowing for a professional degree, who are left to turn to "more expensive private loans."
- Low-Income Borrowers Pay More Under the Repayment Plan Created by the House Bill Lawler's Vote Passed, in May 2025. Lawler's yes on May 22, 2025 went to H.R. 1 in its House form, which cleared 215 to 214 with one member answering present and would have failed without him. That bill created "the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan" that the final law kept for new loans. TICAS found the plan "will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level," and the Center for American Progress estimates that borrowers moved from SAVE to it pay an average of $2,163 more a year nationwide.
- Lawler Supplied Deciding Votes for a Budget Plan That Ordered $330 Billion From the Education Committee, in 2025. Lawler voted for H.Con.Res. 14 when it was adopted 217 to 215 on February 25, 2025, and for its final version, adopted 216 to 214 on April 10, 2025; either vote would have deadlocked had he alone switched, and a deadlocked resolution fails. The resolution instructed the House education committee to "reduce the deficit by not less than $330,000,000,000" over ten years. The final law, which got Lawler's vote on July 3, 2025, "takes away about $300 billion in federal support" that helped low- and middle-income students pay for college, the Center for American Progress found.
What the Student Loan Changes Mike Lawler Voted For Cost New York Borrowers
- New York borrowers moved off SAVE pay $2,483 more a year. The Center for American Progress estimates that New York borrowers shifted from the SAVE plan to the law's Repayment Assistance Plan will see payments rise by $2,483 a year on average, more than the $2,163 national figure; that is money a young family in the state no longer has for rent, child care or groceries.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mike Lawler on Student debt
What is Mike Lawler's record on student debt under Trump?
On student loans, Mike Lawler cast the deciding House vote in May 2025 for the bill that created the Repayment Assistance Plan and voted in July 2025 for the final law, which ended Graduate PLUS loans and capped parent borrowing. Both versions of the 2025 budget resolution, each decided by his vote, required at least $330 billion in savings from the committee over student aid.
Can Hudson Valley graduate students still borrow through Grad PLUS after Mike Lawler's vote?
No: the law Mike Lawler voted for on July 3, 2025 ends Graduate PLUS loans, so graduate students are held to new federal limits, which New America reports are $20,500 a year and up to $100,000 in total for most graduate students and $50,000 a year, up to $200,000, for professional students such as doctors and lawyers.
Who pays more under the student loan repayment plan Mike Lawler voted for?
Under the Repayment Assistance Plan in the law Mike Lawler voted for, New America found that "those with the lowest incomes will face higher monthly bills" than under the old income-driven plans. In New York, borrowers who move off SAVE face $2,483 more in yearly payments, by the Center for American Progress's estimate.
Last updated: 2026-10-27