NBCC Joins Congressional Briefing to Advocate for Future Counselors

A Counseling degree is more than an educational goal for Natalie Zuluaga-Vargas. Like for so many graduate students, it is a commitment to serving others and improving access to mental health care. But as a first-generation graduate student in George Washington University’s Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, she knows firsthand the financial barriers many aspiring Counselors face.

At a congressional briefing on June 8, Zuluaga-Vargas spoke on behalf of Counseling students across the country alongside NBCC and the Advanced Professional Workforce Alliance (APWA) —a coalition representing professions including Counseling, public health, architecture, occupational therapy, physical therapy, social work, and others.

The briefing, “The RISE and Fall of Graduate Student Access,” focused on the impact of the Department of Education’s (ED) Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) final rule on current students and the future workforce.

The event opened with remarks from staff representing Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Re p. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), underscoring congressional interest in the issue and the potential impact these policies could have on access to graduate education and the nation’s future workforce.

“My greatest concern is the effects of not being supported financially through federal loans,” Zuluaga-Vargas told attendees during her remarks. “While I am a proud first-generation Latina who does not come from generational wealth, I did decide when I embarked on this academic path that I would be investing in my education to better myself and make an impact in the community around me.”

Her statement reflected a growing concern among students pursuing careers in Counseling and other degree fields not deemed “professional” by ED’s rule. The proposed federal student loan changes, slated to take effect July 1, could make it more difficult for future students to access graduate education and enter the workforce. This is particularly true for first-generation students and those from lower-income or underrepresented backgrounds.

For the Counseling profession, the stakes are particularly high. Counselors play an essential role in addressing the nation’s growing mental health needs, yet many graduate Counseling programs exceed the proposed borrowing limits.

As Brian Allen, senior lobbyist for the American Physical Therapy Association, remarked: “The cost of education should be lower, but this is not the way to do it.”

The briefing also highlighted ongoing efforts to challenge the RISE final rule before its July 1 implementation date. Members of Congress have introduced Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions that would overturn the rule and restore broader access to graduate student borrowing. The resolutions, led by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Rep. John Mannion (D-NY), Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-IL), and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), were introduced in the House and Senate. Both resolutions seek to reverse provisions that eliminate Grad PLUS loans and narrowly define which degree programs qualify for higher federal borrowing limits. APWA and numerous organizations representing graduate education and workforce professions have endorsed these efforts.

Attendees, including congressional staff, were urged to take the information shared during the briefing to their respective members of Congress and encourage them to act before the July 1 implementation date. Speakers emphasized that without congressional intervention, these changes could have lasting consequences for the pipeline of professionals entering Counseling and other critical workforce sectors.

NBCC continues to work alongside APWA and coalition partners to advocate for policies that support Counseling students, strengthen the behavioral health workforce, and ensure communities have access to qualified mental health professionals.

Read more about the RISE rule in our previous blog posts:

• 25 State Attorneys General Sue to Overturn ED RISE Rule
• The Fight for Counseling’s Future: NBCC’s Response to the Dept of Education’s Professional Degree Exclusion

There is still an opportunity for Counselors to take action against the RISE final rule! Join our active campaigns and make your voice heard:

• Contact your congressional members and make them aware of the harm the RISE final rule does to Counseling students, the behavioral health workforce, and the public.
• Thank your attorney general for joining litigation challenging the RISE final rule, if you are a constituent of one of the 25 states, or the District of Columbia, that signed on (AZ, CA, CO, CT, DC, DE, HI, IL, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, MN, NC, NJ, NM, NV, NY, OR, PA, RI, VA, VT, WA, WI).