More than 100 lawmakers from both parties urged Education Department officials to classify advanced nursing programs as "professional degrees" after negotiated‑rulemaking language would treat them as standard graduate degrees. The classification determines student‑loan limits under new law that caps borrowing at $100,000 for most graduate programs but sets a $200,000 ceiling for professional degrees. Senators Jeff Merkley (D‑Ore.) and Roger Wicker (R‑Miss.) led the letter to Education Under Secretary Nicholas Kent, warning that lower loan limits for MSN, DNP and PhD nursing students would exacerbate workforce shortages in health care, especially primary care. The department has argued the broader reforms simplify borrowing and repayment rules. If the department adopts language excluding nursing from the professional‑degree category, institutions and prospective nursing students face immediate financial uncertainty that could chill enrollments and slow pipelines feeding hospitals and clinics.