- Biden did not mention the student debt crisis during his first State of the Union address.
- He did mention other issues concerning college affordability, like increasing the Pell Grant award.
- Stalling on broad student-loan relief, which is popular among voters, could hurt him at the polls.
President Joe Biden did not mention the $1.7 trillion student debt crisis during his first State of the Union address, disappointing voters and advocates as the midterm election season heats up.
During his speech Tuesday night, Biden covered a range of pressing issues facing Americans and the world today, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, inflation, and the minimum wage. And as tuition prices continue to rise across the country, Biden also outlined his plans to tackle college affordability, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant award and directing more federal aid toward Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and minority-serving institutions.
But one of the most significant ways some Democratic lawmakers and experts say Biden can confront college affordability head on is by canceling student debt for every federal borrower — something the president pledged to do during his campaign — and he did not mention any plans to fulfill that pledge during his speech.
"45M Americans with nearly $2 trillion in skyrocketing student loan debt heard rhetoric — not results — from President Biden tonight," Braxton Brewington, spokesperson for the Debt Collective, the nation's first debtor's union, told Insider. "No member of Congress can obstruct federal student debt cancelation through executive action, and thus far, Biden has failed to fulfill this key campaign promise, allowing looming payments to financially crush families amid record inflation."
"If Biden's plan is to make family costs and inflation worse, he's on track to do so on May 1st — the arbitrary date he plans to turn student debt payments back on," Brewington added.
Student-loan payments have been on pause for nearly two years, and Biden just extended the pause a third time, through May 1, as part of his pandemic relief measures. But while some advocates point to his continued extensions as a reason why Biden can just wipe out the student debt crisis altogether, Biden himself has been largely silent on the issue, and his State of the Union address was no different.
For example, during his first solo press conference of the year, Biden ignored a question regarding his student debt campaign promises, and when reporters asked White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki if there was any update on broad student-loan relief, she has punted to Congress multiple times, saying Biden would be happy to sign a bill to cancel student debt — he just wouldn't do it by an executive order.
This lack of action on a major progressive issue casts uncertainty over Democrats' success at the polls in the coming midterm congressional elections this November. New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in December it would be "actually delusional" to think Democrats could win elections if they fail to follow through on voter priorities, like student-loan relief, and a voter told Insider last year that she switched her party affiliation from Democrat to independent because she felt "betrayed" over Biden's failure to implement major student-loan relief.
Recent polls also reflect voter support for continued, and broad, student-loan relief. A CNBC survey found 57% of Americans want Biden to make student-loan forgiveness a priority, and a recent Data for Progress poll found nearly two-thirds of voters support some or all student debt being canceled.
Despite Democratic pressure, the impact of broad student-loan relief remains controversial. Republicans on the House Committee of Education and Labor published a blog post before Biden's address urging him against loan forgiveness, and they said doing so would be "reckless" and cost taxpayers.
As of now, 43 million federal student-loan borrowers can expect to resume paying off their debt in two months, and Biden has yet to indicate otherwise, even amid pressure from his own party.
"The ultimate persuasion is impact, and Democrats win when we deliver bold, impactful policies that improve the daily lives of our constituents," Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley told Insider last month. "Student-debt cancellation is one such policy and shouldn't be a partisan issue – it's good policy, good politics, and it would change the lives of millions by boosting our economy, helping to close the racial wealth gap, and allowing folks to buy homes, save for the future, and more."