Katherine Knott

With student loan payments set to resume, a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau report shows more borrowers are struggling. “The situation is worse than we could have imagined,” one advocate said.

Lawmakers voted to not spend more money on domestic programs in order to avert default. That doesn’t leave much wiggle room for appropriators to increase the Pell Grant or give more money to Federal Student Aid.

The proposed ban comes as more states are restricting colleges and universities from withholding transcripts when a student owes money to the institution. The planned federal ban would only apply in some cases.

Biden administration wants to add a host of new conditions to the agreements that allow colleges and universities to receive financial aid. Critics say those proposals need more work.

President Biden has said he would veto the resolution, while some said it would cause “irreparable damage” to the federal student loan system.

Informal negotiations over how to expand the Pell Grant to job-training programs have begun but lawmakers face uphill challenge in getting a bill through Congress.