PRESS RELEASE: DFI-Led Coalition Commends Secretary McMahon’s RISE Rule for Lowering College Costs and Reining in Student Debt

WASHINGTON—The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies today led a coalition of 16 organizations and individuals in supporting the U.S. Department of Education’s final Reimagining and Improving Student Education regulations, known as the RISE Rule.

In a letter sent to House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg ahead of Secretary of Education Linda McMahon’s testimony before his committee this week, the coalition applauded the Department for faithfully implementing the Working Families Tax Cuts Act (WFTCA) and carrying out congressional intent to stop runaway graduate borrowing, reduce tuition inflation, and protect taxpayers.

As directed by Congress in the WFTCA, the RISE Rule establishes new loan limits for graduate and professional programs and defines what constitutes a “professional” degree for the purpose of reserving higher federal borrowing limits for costlier programs whose graduates can afford to pay off their debt. These reforms reflect Congress’s decision to rein in the free flow of federal student loans that helped drive up tuition and left too many students with staggering levels of debt.

“The Department’s RISE Rule reflects Congress’s goal of imposing discipline on an unruly student loan system that fueled higher tuition, pushed students deeper into debt, and left taxpayers footing the bill,” said Bob Eitel, President and Co-Founder of DFI. “Congress should recognize that this rule carries out the clear intent of the WFTCA to restore needed discipline to graduate student lending and push institutions to lower costs for students.”

The coalition’s letter points to early evidence that the rule is already having an effect: The University of California at Irvine has announced that it is cutting tuition for two business-degree programs by more than 20 percent in response to the Department’s new loan limits.

According to the Department of Education, the RISE Rule will save taxpayers $409 billion and reduce student loan debt by $224 billion by simplifying repayment, ending costly loan cancellation schemes, and protecting students from excessive borrowing.

The coalition wrote, “Secretary McMahon and the Department have faithfully implemented Congress’s intent to curb excessive graduate borrowing, aggressively attacked tuition inflation, and thoughtfully reserved higher loan limits for a category of licensure-based programs with demonstrated value and unavoidable cost structures. We wholeheartedly support the Department’s logical, well-reasoned, and fiscally responsible regulations that honor congressional language and intent.”

To read the coalition letter and view the full list of organizations supporting the RISE Rule, click here.