The AAMC June joined 17 organizations representing medical, professional, and higher education communities in support of the reintroduction of the Protecting Our Students by Terminating Graduate Rates that Add to Debt Act (POST GRAD, H.R. 3418) [See Washington Highlights, June 2, 2017].
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.), would make graduate students eligible to receive Federal Direct Subsidized Loans. Graduate student eligibility for Federal Direct Subsidized Loans ended with the signing of the Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA, P.L. 112-25).
Upon reintroduction of the bill, Rep. Chu released a statement saying, “some of the best paying jobs are jobs in fields like healthcare, mental health, and school administration — growing fields that require advanced degrees. But while we may want the best and brightest, the high cost of one of those advanced degrees means the jobs are often left just for those who can afford high tuition costs and onerous loans.”
Rep. Chu noted that “at a time when our country is facing a shortage of specialized workers in critical fields, we should be doing everything we can to encourage students to enter these fields, rather than creating additional barriers to higher education.” The AAMC projects a shortage of nearly 122,000 physicians by 2020.