Millions of federal student loan borrowers rely on income-driven repayment plans like Pay As You Earn (PAYE), the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan, and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR), as well as Grad Plus Loans. These plans were created to make student loan repayment more manageable by tying payments to income and offering forgiveness after long-term repayment. For many, these plans were the reason they were able to go to college, start a family, pursue public service, or stay afloat during economic uncertainty. But now, those protections are under threat. The House bill passed in May 2025 does not explicitly name PAYE, SAVE, or ICR, but it restructures the repayment system to phase out their availability for new borrowers. It introduces a single default plan and the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), and offers no clear, binding language to protect people currently enrolled in the existing plans. This new plan would dramatically increase what many borrowers have to pay each month. It would calculate payments based on total income, not what is left after basic needs. It would strip away poverty protections. It would delay forgiveness until 30 years or more. Even borrowers who are unemployed or earning very little would be required to make minimum monthly payments. Let’s be clear about what is really happening here. The push to end these repayment plans is not about reform. It is about politics. Many lawmakers have decided that income-driven repayment is too generous. They see it as backdoor loan cancellation. They say it allows too many people to pay too little and be forgiven too soon. Instead of addressing the root causes of college costs, these lawmakers are targeting the few protections that borrowers have. The truth is: Borrowers entered these plans legally, based on the rules they were offered.
These plans were not loopholes. They were part of the official federal student loan system.
Many people built their entire lives around these plans, choosing jobs, homes, and families based on what they were promised. The new plan being proposed by Congress would force people to pay more, for longer, with fewer options to reduce their burden. It punishes people who chose public service. It punishes people who got sick, took care of family members, or struggled to find a stable job. It punishes people who borrowed during a time when these plans were the only responsible choice they had. This is not about fairness. It is about reducing forgiveness at the expense of borrowers. It is about austerity disguised as fiscal responsibility. And it breaks the trust that millions of people placed in their government. We are calling on the United States Senate to reject this bill unless it includes clear and legally binding grandfathering protections for current borrowers. Anyone already enrolled in PAYE, SAVE, or ICR should be guaranteed the right to stay in their plan and recertify, so long as they remain eligible. Vague statements of intent are not enough. Borrowers need enforceable protections in law and not empty gestures that can be reversed later. The House bill does state that the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) may allow previous payments made under IBR, ICR, and other IDR plans to count toward forgiveness. However, it fails to specify whether $0 payments will count, how this applies to PAYE or SAVE participants, or if time already earned toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) will be preserved. Without binding language, this clause does not provide sufficient protection for borrowers who have followed the rules in good faith. We urge you to sign this petition and stand up for fairness, transparency, and the right to keep the agreement you made. Borrowers kept their end of the deal. The government should keep its end too. Furthermore, we urge lawmakers to amend Section 30021 of the April 2025 House Reconciliation Bill, which introduces the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). While the bill mentions that qualifying payments “may include” those made under previous plans like PAYE, SAVE, and IBR, this language is vague and insufficient. The use of “may” instead of “shall” introduces uncertainty and fails to provide the legal guarantees that borrowers need. Without explicit statutory language that codifies protection, including a firm guarantee that all past qualifying payments (including $0 payments under IDR plans) will count toward forgiveness ; millions of borrowers could see their progress invalidated. Legislative intent is not a substitute for clear legal protection. Borrowers need enforceable safeguards written into law to preserve the promises made under the existing system. This petition is not misinformation. The threat is real. The bill is available for public review here. We are citing the facts directly from the legislative summary. If we wait for the damage to be done before speaking up, it may be too late to undo it. What You Can Do Now? This isn’t over and the Senate still needs to vote. That means we still have a chance to make our voices heard. After signing this petition, please take a moment to contact your Senators directly. Call, email, or use their “Share Your Opinion” forms to urge them to demand clear, binding protections for current borrowers before this bill advances. If you are part of an advocacy group or campus community, share this petition. Awareness is power, and the more people understand what’s at stake, the harder it will be to pass this quietly.