Advocate for Students and Campuses in the 2025 Budget Reconciliation Bill

How to Use This Toolkit

​​The House has passed a sweeping reconciliation bill that threatens to upend college access, affordability, and student support. 

Now under Senate consideration, the bill would impose deep cuts to student aid, new taxes on higher education, and harmful Medicaid rollbacks that could devastate students and institutions alike.

​Budget reconciliation is a fast-track legislative process originally intended for adjusting federal spending and revenues. But in recent years, it has become a tool for pushing through major—and often deeply partisan—policy shifts. Unlike most legislation, reconciliation bills can pass the Senate with a simple majority, bypassing the 60-vote threshold normally required to overcome a filibuster. 

The current bill is central to President Trump’s push to shrink the federal role in education, privatize public services, and shift costs to students and families—prioritizing tax cuts and political ideology over college access and long-term economic competitiveness.​ Higher education leaders, students, and advocates must speak out now. The stakes are high—not just for campuses, but for the future of an educated workforce and an equitable society.

​This toolkit offers a few simple ways you can take action:

LEARN THE ISSUES
Review the key facts, talking points, and context.

​CONTACT CONGRESS
Urge your lawmakers to support policies that protect access, innovation, and student success.

​SPREAD TH​E WORD
Use your platform to raise awareness through social media and campus networks.​

Learn the Issues

STUDENT AID: DEEP CUTS THAT THREATEN ACCESS​

The bill slashes $349.1 billion from federal education and workforce programs—cuts that fall hardest on low-income students. It narrows Pell Grant eligibility, eliminates subsidized loans, and ends key graduate and parent loan programs. New restrictions on aid, repayment, and deferment would raise costs and increase the risk of loan default, making it harder for students to enroll, stay enrolled, and graduate.

Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan (the reconciliation package; renamed the "Big Beautiful Bill)

Read the summary​

Letter to House Leaders on the Reconciliation Package

read​

College Cost Reduction Act: By the Numbers

See the data​​

TAXES ON HIGHER EDUCATION: PUNISHING COLLEGES THAT SERVE STUDENTS​

The bill dramatically expands the endowment tax, with rates up to 21% for some institutions, and includes student loan and research income in the tax base. It would also make permanent tax code changes that reduce charitable giving to colleges and impose new burdens on tax-exempt institutions—redirecting resources away from financial aid, research, and student support.

Ways and Means Reconciliation Tax Package: Key Higher Ed Provisions

read the summary

Tax Reform and Higher Education in 2025

Full Details on each provision​

MEDICAID CUTS: UNDERMINING STUDENT HEALTH AND PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS​

Proposed Medicaid reductions threaten coverage for millions of college students, disproportionately harming those at community colleges and minority-serving institutions. Teaching hospitals and student health centers would face higher costs, while states may be forced to divert funds away from public higher education—leaving students to pay the price.

Letter to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce

read​
Contact Congress

Make your voice heard. Use our easy tool to send a message to your senators and representative urging them to support policies that invest in students, innovation, and access.​​​

Student aid icon 

Protect Student Aid and Campus Support

Congress must reject proposals that slash student aid, limit repayment options, and penalize institutions that serve the students who need support the most. The House-passed reconciliation bill would reduce Pell access, increase loan costs, and cut Medicaid—jeopardizing both student success and the financial stability of the colleges and universities that serve them.

contact your lawmakers
Pell Grants icon 

Make Pell Grants Fully Tax-Free

Pell Grants should help students, not trigger tax bills. Current law treats Pell Grants as taxable income when used for basic expenses like housing or child care—and it unfairly blocks many recipients from claiming the American Opportunity Tax Credit. Congress should repeal the taxability of Pell and fix this outdated policy to maximize aid for low-income students.

contact your lawmakers
Charitable giving icon 

Defend Charitable Giving

Past tax changes have reduced the number of taxpayers who itemize their deductions, limiting incentives for charitable contributions and leading to a decline in donations that support students, families, and institutions. Restoring the universal charitable deduction—like the temporary one included in the CARES Act—would ensure that all taxpayers, regardless of income level, have an incentive to give.

contact your lawmakers
Endowment icon 

Stop the Endowment Tax Hike

Congress needs to hear from students, faculty, alumni, and others who care about the future of higher education about the importance of preserving endowment resources for student financial aid and other educational purposes. As lawmakers work on tax reform, some proposals would significantly expand the endowment tax—diverting critical funds from institutions without improving student access.

contact your lawmakers
Green campuses icon 

Sustain Green Campuses

The Inflation Reduction Act has provided institutions with critical tools to make their campuses stronger and more resilient. However, proposals to repeal these provisions would strip institutions of vital funding for sustainability projects, increase costs, and make communities less resilient.

contact your lawmakers
Share on Social Media

​Your voice matters—and so does your network. Use these graphics and sample posts to raise awareness and encourage support for tax policies that protect students, research, and access to higher education. The more people who speak out, the stronger the message.

To use the images, right-click (or tap and hold on mobile) to save them to your device, then upload them when posting on social media.


Sample Posts

GENERAL

The Senate is now considering the House-passed reconciliation bill, which cuts Pell Grant eligibility, limits student loans, guts Medicaid, and expands the endowment tax. Tell your senator to reject these harmful provisions: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/126608/respond
#HigherEd #StudentAid #TaxPolicy

The House reconciliation bill has moved on to the Senate. It would cut Pell eligibility, limit student loans, and impose new taxes on colleges. Tell Congress: This is not the way forward. https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/126608/respond
#HigherEd #StudentAId #TaxPolicy

STUDENT AND INSTITUTIONAL AID

Low-income and first-gen students would be hardest hit by the House reconciliation package. Tell Congress to protect access to college—not make it harder: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/126608/respond 
#HigherEd #StudentAId 

According to the CBO, 700,000 students could lose Pell Grant access under the House reconciliation bill—a blow to college opportunity. Tell Congress: This is not the way forward. https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/126608/respond 
#HigherEd #StudentAId

SUSTAINABILITY

The reconciliation bill threatens funding for campus sustainability by repealing key clean energy investments. Colleges need tools to build resilient, climate-ready campuses—not more barriers. Tell the Senate: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/124882/respond 
#HigherEd #ClimateAction

MEDICAID

3.4 million college students rely on Medicaid. The reconciliation bill would gut this lifeline—cutting health access, hurting student success, and straining teaching hospitals. Urge Congress to protect student health: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/126608/respond 
#HigherEd #Medicaid

PELL TAXABILITY

Pell Grants shouldn’t be taxed. Students using aid for housing or childcare deserve support—not surprise tax bills. Tell the Senate to repeal the tax on Pell: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/124879/respond
#HigherEd #StudentAid #TaxPolicy

ENDOWMENT TAX

The expanded endowment tax would divert scholarship dollars away from students at private colleges. It’s a tax on opportunity—and it’s bad policy. Tell Congress to reject this harmful provision: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/123811/respond
#HigherEd #TaxPolicy

CHARITABLE GIVING

Tax code changes have discouraged charitable giving to colleges, cutting off a critical source of student support. Tell lawmakers to restore the universal charitable deduction: https://www.votervoice.net/ACENET/campaigns/124885/respond
#HigherEd #StudentAid #Nonprofits​​

Contact Us

​Have questions or need further information? We're here to help. Email govrel@acenet.edu.

 
Make Your Voice Heard

Click the links below to send a message to your lawmakers.

cuts to student aid and institutional supporttaxability of pell grants

Charitable Giving and PhilanthropyEndowmentsSustainability

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Higher Education & The Trump Administration

From research cuts to civil rights rollbacks, follow how federal policy is changing higher education.

resources​​​