{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-andrea-salinas-leads-bipartisan-letter-urging-us-department-education", "Rep. Andrea Salinas Leads Bipartisan Letter Urging U.S. Department of Education to Recognize Clinical Psychologists in Federal Student Loan Limits to Address Mental Health Professional Shortages", "2025-11-06", "2025", "2025-11", "Democrat", "House", "OR", "Andrea Salinas", "S001226", "salinas.house.gov", "salinas", "https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "Washington, D.C. \u2013 Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) led a bipartisan letter to Education Secretary Linda McMahon urging the Department to include clinical psychologists in the department\u2019s definition of \u201cprofessional degrees\u201d under Public Law 119-21. The change would allow students pursuing doctoral-level degrees in clinical psychology to access student loans with higher limits. With greater access to student loans, more students would be able to pursue careers as clinical psychologists, helping combat a shortage in mental health workers across the country.\n\nClick here or see below for the full letter:\n\nDear Secretary McMahon:\n\nAs the Department\u2019s Reimagining and Improving Student Education (RISE) Committee implements the student financial aid provisions of Public Law 119-21, we urge the Committee to explicitly include doctoral-level clinical psychology within the definition of \u201cprofessional degree\u201d for purposes of the new federal student loan limits. We believe it is essential that doctoral-level clinical psychology be recognized alongside other health professions requiring advanced postbaccalaureate study and licensure, ensuring that clinical psychologists are bothfully qualified to serve communities across the country and available in sufficient numbers to confront the nation\u2019s escalating mental health crisis.\n\nP.L. 119-21 created new student loan borrowing limits for postbaccalaureate study, with two separate limits for graduate and professional degrees. Specifically, the law utilizes 34 CFR \u00a7668.2 to define a \u201cprofessional degree\u201d as:\n\n\u201cA degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginningpractice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normallyrequired for a bachelor\u2019s degree. Professional licensure is also generally required. Examples of a professional degree include but are not limited to: Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. orD.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), and Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.).\u201d\n\nWhile P.L. 119-21 does not explicitly list clinical psychology among the examples of a professional degree, it clearly states that such degrees are \u201cnot limited\u201d to those examples. In utilizing this language, Congress intended to allow for the inclusion of a broader range of programs that meet the established criteria, even if they are not specifically named. Doctoral programs in clinical psychology clearly fall within this scope.\n\nFirst, clinical psychology is a practice-oriented degree in psychology. Second, licensure is a requirement for professional practice in clinical psychology in every state. Third, licensure as a clinical psychologist requires completion of a doctoral degree in psychology (Ph.D., Psy.D., or equivalent). This standard plainly \u201csignifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor\u2019s degree,\u201d as stated in the above definition. Clinical psychologists complete this rigorous, doctoral-level, practice-oriented training to ensure they are fully prepared to meet the behavioral health needs of individuals and communities across the nation.\n\nIf doctoral clinical psychology students cannot access sufficient federal student aid to enroll and graduate from their degree programs, this will further exacerbate our mental health provider shortages. It is estimated that 158 million U.S. residents live in a mental health workforce shortage area. Over the next ten years, these shortages are projected to worsen, particularly in rural areas. Today, psychologists are already reporting high demand for their services and long wait times to see patients. By 2037, the nation is projected to meet only 55 percent of the need for psychologists, further exacerbating today\u2019s shortages and wait times. To help address this crisis, it is essential that doctoral-level clinical psychology programs be classified as \u201cprofessional degrees,\u201d ensuring that qualified students are not barred from entering this critical field due to financial barriers.\n\nWe understand that during the RISE Committee\u2019s first negotiated rulemaking session, held from September 29 to October 3, 2025, the Department considered adopting a narrow interpretation of the term \u201cprofessional degree,\u201d effectively disregarding the \u201cinclude but are not limited to\u201d language in the statute and limiting the designation to only the ten programs listed as examples. The week-long session concluded without consensus on the definition of \u201cprofessional degree.\u201d However, we understand that negotiations are still ongoing, as the RISE Committee is currently meeting for its rulemaking session that began on November 3.\n\nTo uphold Congressional intent and ensure clarity in the application of the new federal student loan limits, we urge the RISE Committee, in defining which programs qualify as professional degrees, not to limit the designation to the ten program examples listed in the statute. Moreover, we urge that doctoral-level clinical psychology, which fully satisfies the statutory criteria, be clearly included within the Department\u2019s definition of \u201cprofessional degree\u201d to ensure that individuals pursuing this essential profession have access to the same federal student loan levels as those in other comparable health professions.\n\nThank you for your attention to this matter.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://salinas.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-andrea-salinas-leads-bipartisan-letter-urging-us-department-education"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4829263091087341, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}