S4039Referred to Committee

Professional Degree Access Restoration Act

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Introduced
In Committee
3
Passed One Chamber
4
Passed Both
5
Signed into Law
119th
Congress
2026-03-10
Introduced
16
Cosponsors
S
ⓘ
Type

Sponsor

Angela D. Alsobrooks
Angela D. Alsobrooks
Democrat · MD · Senator
Votes with party: 62.5% (320 recorded votes)

Full profile: /officials/A000382

Source: Congress.gov · FEC

Cosponsors (16)

Members who have signed on to support this bill since introduction. Source: Congress.gov.

Latest Action

The most recent step in the bill's legislative path. Committee Activity below shows referrals and reports; the full action-by-action history including floor proceedings lives at Congress.gov →

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

2026-03-10

Source: Congress.gov

Committee Activity

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Plain-English Summary

This bill would likely restore or expand access to federal student aid programs for people pursuing professional degrees like law, medicine, and dentistry. The legislation appears aimed at removing barriers that may have been created by previous policies that limited financial assistance for graduate and professional students. It would help make these expensive advanced degrees more affordable for students who rely on federal loans and grants.

AI-assisted summary generated from the official bill metadata (title, subjects, actions) sourced from Congress.gov. Cached and reviewed. Always verify against the official text linked below.

Subjects

Education

Full Bill Text

Verbatim text published on Congress.gov via GovInfo. Use Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search within this excerpt.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4039 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4039 To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reverse the reductions in Federal loan availability for graduate and professional students enacted under Public Law 119-21. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES March 10, 2026 Ms. Alsobrooks (for herself, Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Duckworth, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Kim, Ms. Cantwell, Ms. Smith, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Markey, Mr. Merkley, and Mr. Lujan) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to reverse the reductions in Federal loan availability for graduate and professional students enacted under Public Law 119-21. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Professional Degree Access Restoration Act''. SEC. 2. ANNUAL AND AGGREGATE LOAN LIMITS FOR GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDENTS. (a) In General.--Section 455(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)) is amended-- (1) in paragraph (3)-- (A) in the paragraph heading, by striking ``and federal direct plus loans''; (B) in subparagraph (A)-- (i) by striking the heading for subparagraph (A), and inserting the following: ``In general''; (ii) in the matter preceding clause (i), by inserting before the dash at the end the following: ``, for any period of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2012''; (iii) in clause (i), by striking ``for any period of instruction beginning on or after July 1, 2012,''; and (iv) in clause (ii), by striking ``for any period of instruction beginning on July 1, 2012, and ending on June 30, 2026,''; and (C) by striking subparagraph (C); and (2) by striking paragraph (4), and redesignating paragraphs (5) through (8) as paragraphs (4) through (7), respectively. (b) Technical and Conforming Amendments.--Section 455(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087e(a)), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended-- (1) in paragraph (4), as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), by striking ``paragraph (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (7)'' both places the term appears; (2) in paragraph (5), as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), by striking ``paragraph (8)'' and inserting ``paragraph (7)''; and (3) in paragraph (7), as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), by striking ``Paragraphs (3)(C), (4), (5), and (6) shall not apply, and paragraph (3)(A)(ii) shall apply as such paragraph was in effect for periods of instruction ending before June 30, 2026,'' and inserting ``(4), and (5)'' and inserting ``Paragraphs (4) and (5) shall not apply''. <all>
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