$6,385 Pell Grants and no new subsidized Stafford loans

For students trying to get through college without taking on more debt than they can manage, the House Labor-HHS-Education bill is a split screen. In Washington, Alabama Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt’s measure would lift the maximum Pell Grant for award year 2027-2028 to $6,385, put new money into community-college training, and end new subsidized undergraduate Stafford loans.

That matters because federal aid is rarely one thing at a time. For some students, a bigger grant can mean one fewer shift at work. For others, especially when tuition, housing and books outrun aid, the loss of a subsidized loan means the remaining gap gets filled with less forgiving borrowing terms.

Grant money first

The bill provides $24,179,352,000 for selected Higher Education Act, or HEA, title IV programs, a sign that this is not just a trim or a boost but a reshaping of how federal aid reaches students. The strongest direct help is on the grant side: the maximum Pell Grant for 2027-2028 would be set at $6,385.

It also sets aside $75 million for developing, offering or improving educational or career training programs at community colleges. That puts a smaller but focused federal pot behind students who are trying to build job skills quickly, often while staying close to home.

The cheaper loan disappears

The more consequential change for many undergraduates is the end of new subsidized Stafford loans. Those loans have been one of the more student-friendly borrowing options because interest does not build while a student is in school.

Take that away, and the bill changes not just how much aid is available, but what kind. Pell recipients still get a grant that does not have to be repaid, and community-college training still gets a dedicated line. But students who need to borrow after aid runs out would have one fewer low-cost federal option, and the remaining cost of college would sit more heavily on families already trying to stretch every dollar.