Thu Jul 03 21:10:00 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing the provided text:

**House Passes Spending Bill with Major Changes to Student Loan Repayment**

**Washington, D.C.** – House Republicans narrowly passed a major spending bill on Thursday, sending it to President Trump who is expected to sign it into law on Friday, July 4th. The bill, aimed at reducing federal spending and increasing tax revenue, includes significant changes to federal student loan repayment options for both current and future borrowers.

While many existing borrowers in repayment will not be immediately impacted, the changes, particularly concerning repayment plans, are poised to have a broad effect.

The bill consolidates the number of repayment options to just two: a standard repayment plan and a new income-driven plan called the Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP). Borrowers currently enrolled in SAVE, income-contingent or Pay as You Earn plans, along with those whose loans are dispersed on or after July 1, 2026, will be moved to the new system. Borrowers on any of the currently existing repayment plans except the SAVE, income-contingent or Pay as You Earn plans, will be able to keep their plans and monthly payments the same.

Under the new standard plan, borrowers will make fixed monthly payments to pay off their loans within 10 to 25 years, depending on the loan size. The RAP will cap monthly payments between 1% and 10% of a borrower’s discretionary income, a change from existing plans that can require 10%, 15%, or 20% of income.

For borrowers on the SAVE plan, which is currently blocked from going into effect due to legal challenges, the bill offers a transition period from July 2026 to July 2028 to select a new repayment plan. After July 1, 2028, these borrowers will be automatically enrolled in the income-based repayment plan.

The potential impact of these changes is significant. While RAP intends to make loan repayment more affordable, some analyses indicate monthly payments could be substantially higher than under the current SAVE plan. The new system is expected to impact borrowers considerably.

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