Courtney Slams McMahon’s “Insulting” Nursing Student Loan Caps

May 14, 2026 Press Release WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), a senior Member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, slammed Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s new rule which excludes nursing from the Department of Education’s definition of “professional” graduate-level degrees, capping available federal student loans for nursing students at half of what is available for “professional” degrees. This is a result of the Big Ugly Bill (H.R. 1) and will raise education costs for critically needed nurses. “250,000 nurses, who understand their financial situation very well, signed a petition to you organized by the American Nurses Association… vehemently protesting this rule during the comment period, which, of course, the Department [of Education] unfortunately brushed aside,” Courtney said. “ Your own data in terms of analyzing this rulemaking process actually showed that for nurse anesthetists, at least 28% of them who are in education right now have costs that exceed the [student loan] caps. Nurse practitioners 23% and family practice nurses by 22.6%. This is from your own Department,” Courtney continued. “So you didn't even listen to your own people and staff in terms of what cohort of nurses are going to be excluded because of these caps and who are going to have higher borrowing costs if they want to complete their degrees.” To watch and download the full video, click here. Issues : Education Health Care