Connecticut lawmakers propose providing graduate students with loans to make up for federal student loans that were eliminated in the “One Big Beautiful Bill” signed by President Donald Trump last year.
The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan program is to be eliminated for new borrowers in July. It provides about $90 million in loans to more than 2,000 graduate students in Connecticut.
The state’s Higher Education Committee is to consider legislation that would require CHESLA — the Connecticut Higher Education Supplemental Loan Authority — to provide low-interest graduate loans to make up for the loss of the federal loans, said Representative Gregg Haddad (D-Manchester), the co-chair of the committee.
“While Washington retreats from their responsibilities, Connecticut is ready to lead. We have a proposal that can directly mitigate the damage and protect our students from these federal cuts,” Haddad said.
His committee will also consider legislation to make up for the public interest loan forgiveness program that the federal government has cut back, he said.
Connecticut’s legislative session begins in February.
