HR1 Approved by Congress and Signed Into Law by President Donald Trump

The House and Senate passed identical versions of the budget reconciliation bill, and President Donald Trump signed the ‘One Big Beautiful Bill Act’ into law on July 4, 2025. AASCU issued a statement upon congressional action, thanking Senate leadership for making significant improvements to the final legislation, while simultaneously recognizing that portions of the bill will have a negative impact on colleges and universities and millions of their students, as well as on state budgets. The bill resets many tax and revenue laws for the next 10 years.

AASCU advocated for significant changes to the version of HR1 originally approved by the House, achieving many improvements to the bill reported out of the Senate. Some of the policy improvements include the removal of the risk-sharing proposal, eliminating proposed changes to the definition of a full-time student, and curtailing most proposed limitations on Pell Grant eligibility. Among its most significant changes, the law imposes a first-time-ever accountability requirement on colleges and universities, expands Pell eligibility to accredited short-term programs, significantly alters federal student loan policies, ends the GRAD Plus Program, imposes a 15% cut to federal Medicaid spending, while providing new mandatory funds for the Pell Grant program. AASCU will keep the membership informed about the regulatory development phase that will be required to implement many of these new policies.