October 28, 2025

This past July, Congress passed and the President signed the "One Big Beautiful Bill" Act (OBBB) which cut over $1 trillion from education, health, and nutrition programs.

These cuts will have a profound impact on students in higher education. Federal agencies, such as the U.S. Departments of Education, Agriculture, and Health & Human Services, are now moving to implement the massive new law, with some provisions taking effect immediately and others phasing in over the next year. They include policies such as:

• New caps on federal student loan borrowing
• Work requirements on Medicaid with student-specific rules;
• Cost-sharing requirements on states for the SNAP program
• Other cuts to federal programs that will put massive budget pressure on states.

We feature the following panelists: 

• Bryce McKibben, Senior Director of Policy & Advocacy, The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs
• Mark Huelsman, Director of Policy & Advocacy, The Hope Center for Student Basic Needs
• Viviann Anguiano, Managing Director of Higher Education, Center for American Progress
• Jessica Thompson, Senior Vice President, The Institute for College Access & Success
• Gina Plata-Nino, Interim Director, SNAP, Food Research & Action Center

Watch the webinar above to find out how all of these changes affect student basic needs security and college affordability.

You can download the slide deck here.

Additional Resources