A Michigan student-loan borrower pushed off SAVE and into the Repayment Assistance Plan created by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act owes, on average, $1,884 more every year in CAP's estimate, and future graduate students can no longer take out Grad PLUS loans. Tom Barrett voted for the law on July 3, 2025, and in May his vote decided the House bill that created the new plan.
Barrett's votes were also needed for both 2025 budget resolutions, which set a $330 billion savings target for the House education committee; the law he voted for in July 2025 takes about $300 billion in federal college aid from students, in the Center for American Progress's accounting.
Tom Barrett's Votes on Student Loans and College Aid
- Michigan Graduate Students and College Parents Can Borrow Less From Washington Under the Law Barrett Voted For in July 2025. Tom Barrett was a yes on July 3, 2025 when the final One Big Beautiful Bill Act got through the House, 218 to 214. The law shuts Graduate PLUS loans to new graduate borrowers and puts a ceiling on Parent PLUS: $20,000 a year, $65,000 per student. New loans are repaid under the Repayment Assistance Plan instead of the old income-driven plans, and TICAS found the new plan "will require payments from even those earning far below the poverty level," while New America concluded that "those with the lowest incomes will face higher monthly bills" than before.
- Michigan Borrowers Face Higher Bills on the Repayment Plan Born in the House Bill That Passed on Barrett's Vote, in May 2025. Only one vote separated yes from no on May 22, 2025, when H.R. 1 cleared the House 215 to 214 alongside a single present vote, which made Barrett's yes indispensable. That bill created "the income-based Repayment Assistance Plan" that the final law retained. The Center for American Progress puts the national average increase at $2,163 a year for a borrower pushed from SAVE to the new plan. It also found the graduate borrowing caps open financing gaps for 13 percent of master's borrowers and 46 percent of professional-school borrowers, steering many toward "more expensive private loans."
- Michigan Students Lose College Aid After Barrett's Deciding Votes for a Budget Plan Setting a $330 Billion Education Savings Target, in 2025. Barrett's yes was among the 217 that adopted H.Con.Res. 14 against 215 in February 2025 and the 216 that passed its final version against 214 on April 10; on either day a lone switch by him would have tied and sunk it. The plan instructed the Committee on Education and Workforce to "reduce the deficit by not less than $330,000,000,000". The law that followed, which Barrett voted for on July 3, 2025, "takes away about $300 billion in federal support" that helps students from low- and middle-income families pay for college, the Center for American Progress found.
What Tom Barrett's Votes Cost Michigan Student-Loan Borrowers
- The new repayment plan costs Michigan borrowers leaving SAVE $1,884 a year. The switch from SAVE to the Repayment Assistance Plan lifts the average Michigan borrower's payments by $1,884 a year, the Center for American Progress estimates, money that now goes to the loan servicer instead of rent, child care or groceries.
- Michigan bachelor's-degree holders moved to the new plan pay $2,443 more a year on average. Sorted by education, CAP's figures show the yearly increase for Michigan borrowers at $1,296 with some college or a two-year degree, $2,443 with a four-year degree, and $2,428 with graduate or professional schooling, and TICAS notes the new plan stretches the longest repayment term to 30 years.
Frequently Asked Questions About Tom Barrett on Student debt
What is Tom Barrett's record on student debt under Trump?
On student debt, Tom Barrett's record under Trump runs through three decisive votes, two for the 2025 budget resolutions that set a $330 billion education target and one for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act's House passage, plus his yes on the final law, which ended Grad PLUS for new borrowers, capped Parent PLUS and moved borrowers onto a plan that raises Michigan SAVE enrollees' payments by an average $1,884 a year.
Is Tom Barrett responsible for ending Grad PLUS loans?
Yes. The July 3, 2025 law Tom Barrett voted for shut Grad PLUS to new graduate borrowers from July 1, 2026, so most graduate students in Michigan and elsewhere can take no more than $20,500 a year, and $100,000 altogether, in federal loans, according to New America. CAP expects many to turn to pricier private loans or to come up short.
How many borrowers have to leave the SAVE plan under the law Tom Barrett voted for?
Some 7 million borrowers were still enrolled in SAVE as of June 2026 and must move under the law Tom Barrett voted for, CAP reported. At one point about three in five SAVE borrowers had incomes so low that the plan required no payment from them.
Last updated: 2026-10-27