House Appropriations Committee Advances FY 2027 Budget, Includes Amendment to Reclassify Nursing Programs as ‘Professional’
By Maria Carrasco, NASFAA Staff Reporter
The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday night, in a 34-28 vote, advanced its fiscal year (FY) 2027 funding bill for the Department of Education (ED) and other government agencies, adopting a bipartisan amendment that would reclassify nursing programs as a professional degree.
Notably, the House’s budget proposal, which was released last week, would make several changes to federal student aid programs, including funding cuts to the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs and eliminating funding for subsidized federal student loans, which are only available for undergraduate students. Additionally, the bill would increase the maximum Pell Grant award by $50, and would add about $15 billion in mandatory Pell funding to address the projected funding shortfall.
Overall, the budget proposal allocates $70.7 billion for ED, an $8 billion, or 10%, decrease from the FY 26 enacted level.
Throughout Tuesday’s markup, lawmakers debated and offered amendments on various aspects of the budget proposal, which covers the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, ED, and related agencies.
Notably, a bipartisan manager’s amendment was adopted by the committee, which included a provision that would reclassify advanced nursing programs as professional degree programs.
The amendment clarified that the term “advanced nursing program” means a post-baccalaureate educational program that prepares students for advanced practice registered nursing licensure, certification, or authorization, including nurse practitioner, clinical nurse specialist, certified nurse midwife, certified registered nurse anesthetist, or other advanced practice registered nurse programs.
With the implementation of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), ED recently released final rules clarifying which programs would be considered as professional degrees – meaning that some students would face lower loan limits if their program is considered a graduate degree, and higher loan limits if their program is considered a professional degree. Many lawmakers have expressed concerns with ED’s definition, noting that some students – especially those studying nursing – would be impacted and could ultimately lead to nursing shortages. States and nursing organizations have already filed lawsuits against ED over its definition of a professional degree.
“This rule would saddle students with mountains of debt and put advanced nursing careers out of reach for many,” Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) said during Tuesday’s markup. “America needs more nurses, not fewer, but this decision would worsen our nursing shortage and put more of a strain on our health care system, especially in rural and underserved areas.”
Underwood continued, and said this amendment is a good start but “unfortunately it does not go far enough.”
“The Trump administration's harmful student loan rules hurt dozens of professionals and will lead to workforce shortages in a wide range of healthcare fields and other industries, threatening public health and raising costs on everybody,” Underwood said. “The entire rule must be blocked or rescinded.”
While this amendment had bipartisan support, the House’s FY 27 funding bill for ED was advanced on a party-line vote, without any amendments offered by Democrats being adopted by the committee.
Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Penn.) offered an amendment to remove a provision in the bill that would terminate funding for new Direct Subsidized Loans for undergraduate students beginning July 1, 2027.
“For decades, the subsidized loans program has been one of the federal government's most effective tools for helping students from low-income families afford higher education,” Dean said. “Let me be clear, taking away subsidized loans from students with financial need in order to finance a modest increase in Pell grants is not a meaningful investment in college affordability.”
Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Ala.), chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee, opposed Dean’s amendment, saying this policy is not new and that Congress has already ended subsidized loans for graduate students in 2011.
“Students will still have access to unsubsidized loans to finance their college education up to existing annual and total limits,” Aderholt said. “This bill reinvests the savings from this loan policy into the Pell Grant program.”
Ultimately, Dean’s amendment was rejected by the committee.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, introduced an amendment to block ED’s interagency agreements (IAAs) with several federal agencies. This amendment was also rejected.
The budget bill now moves to the House floor for consideration, though the expected timeline is currently unclear. The Senate has yet to release its budget proposal for ED for FY 27. Stay tuned to Today’s News for more updates on the appropriations process.
Publication Date: 6/11/2026
Jeff A | 6/11/2026 10:35:00 AM
The OB3 reconcilation bill does not have this language, unfortunately.
It is hard to understand the chances of PA programs, for example, being classified as profiession in time for this Fall's cohorts.
If anyone has insight, please share, but is is so difficult to understand whether this Fall's accepted class will be able to pay tuition. Frustrating.
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