‘One Big Bill’ Story-Gathering Campaign Launches to Document the Financial Harm of OBBBA on Working Families with Student Loan Debt

WASHINGTON—On July 1, the unprecedented cuts to the federal student loan system as a result of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act went into effect. In response, a broad coalition of labor unions, consumer protection, students, borrower advocates and civil rights organizations launched the “One Big Bill” campaign today to elevate the stories of millions of Americans with student loan debt, documenting their spiking student loan bills and other devastating financial consequences from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Borrowers are invited to share their stories and new monthly student loan bills at onebigbill.org and describe how rising costs are affecting their households. The story-gathering campaign is backed by the AFT, Protect Borrowers, the NAACP, the National Association of Social Workers, the Student Debt Crisis Center, Young Invincibles, EdTrust, the American Association of University Women, the Consumer Federation of America, the United States Student Association, and the Council on Social Work Education. In addition, the groups will be monitoring stories for examples of student-loan servicers failing to do their jobs and making it even harder for working families to repay their student loan debt. 

“President Trump’s Big Ugly Bill is now forcing student loan borrowers to pay hundreds more per month in repayments,” said AFT President Randi Weingarten. “But Congress seems determined to ignore the financial damage its signature legislation has inflicted. That’s why we’re encouraging borrowers with unaffordable student debt to publicly share their own One Big Student Loan Bill at onebigbill.org. It’s time for lawmakers to pay attention to the struggles of working- and middle-class borrowers squeezed by rising costs and finally act to fix America’s $1.7 trillion student loan crisis.”

“The One Big Beautiful Bill Act will do exactly what its name suggests: It hits American families with one big student loan bill,” said Amy Czulada, senior advisor for outreach and engagement of Protect Borrowers. “When President Trump signed the OBBBA, he cut millions in resources that families rely on to pay for college and repay their student loan debt, all to cover tax cuts for billionaires and big corporations. Today, the consequences of this law are hitting families in their pocketbooks when they can least afford it.”

“For Black borrowers, the student debt crisis is already holding back millions of families from building generational wealth and achieving the American Dream. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill law will make this crisis even worse,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson. “This new law will force student loan bills to skyrocket and bury even more families in debt. That’s why the NAACP is standing with this coalition and calling on borrowers to submit their new student loan bill at onebigbill.org. We must show policymakers in Washington the consequences of their decision to put billionaires over families.”

The One Big Bill campaign will amplify the stories of student loan borrowers from communities across the country, make sure policymakers understand the financial devastation they have caused for working families, and urge policymakers to repair this harm and provide much-needed relief.

Background

The launch of this campaign comes as the student loan cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act take effect, triggering massive cuts to long-standing student loan safety net and financial aid programs, while gutting other critical programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The launch also coincides with the Trump administration’s decision to force 7 million borrowers out of the Biden-era Saving on an Affordable Repayment Plan and into significantly more expensive plans. 

Rising student loan costs are hitting as Americans face an ongoing cost-of-living, affordability and debt crisis. Most Americans are already struggling to afford rent, groceries and childcare. In particular, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act changes arrive at a moment of serious chaos and hardship in the student loan system. One in 5 borrowers (nearly 9 million Americans) are in default, and 1 in 4 borrowers with a payment due are now delinquent. During the first year of the second Trump administration, a student loan borrower defaulted every nine seconds, a rate three times higher than before the pandemic.