On the campaign trail, Biden repeatedly pledged to cancel student loan debt—and it was highlighted as part of his administration’s plan to advance racial equity.
Americans collectively hold roughly $1.75 trillion in student loan debt. In December, the Biden administration extended a pause on student loan repayments through May 1, 2022, citing the ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Some advocates were hopeful the president would outline a plan to cancel student loan debt during Tuesday night’s address.
While he did mention plans to tackle college affordability, including increasing the maximum Pell Grant award, the issue of the student debt crisis didn’t come up at all during Biden’s 62-minute speech.
“President Biden may not have felt compelled to address the student loan problem in his address, but the reality is that very few people will be compelled to begin repaying their loans on May 1,” Alan Collinge, the founder of grassroots organization Students Loans Justice, told Newsweek.
“This lending system is catastrophically failed, and nothing the president might say—or not say—will change that fact.”
Collinge added that Biden can “spend the next three years pretending this lending system is still legitimate, or (possibly) the next seven years replacing this failed experiment with a higher education financing model that actually works.”
In a progressive response to Biden’s speech, Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib said Biden could “use his executive power to take action right now to deliver for the people” on issues like canceling student loan debt.
“He can cancel federal student loan debt, which would be a lifeline for millions of Americans and a transformative economic stimulus,” she said, speaking on behalf of the Working Families Party.
Many people also took to Twitter to note Biden’s failure to mention the issue and urge him to take action.
“My favorite part of the State of the Union tonight was when @POTUS talked about every reason Americans are struggling financially EXCEPT crushing student loan debt,” Rachel Bridges wrote. “If you want to give people relief in the face of rising inflation, #CancelStudentDebt now.”
Briahna Joy Gray, Bernie Sanders’ former press secretary, wrote: “A reminder that @POTUS promised to cancel the student loan debt of all #HBCU graduates, could do so by executive order, and is choosing not to do so.”
Ahead of Biden’s address, the nonprofit Student Borrower Protection Center and Data for Progress released the results of a new poll that found that a majority of likely voters support government action to cancel some or all student loan debt.
Support is higher among people of color—with 74 percent of Black likely voters and 82 percent of Latino likely voters saying the government should eliminate some or all student loan debt.
“When Joe Biden ran for president, he promised to take bold action to close the racial wealth gap by canceling student debt for everyone,” SBPC executive director Mike Pierce said in a statement ahead of the State of the Union address.
“We know most Americans with student debt are worried about what it means to add a student loan bill on top of the rising cost of basic necessities. As President Biden addresses an anxious nation facing war abroad and an enduring pandemic at home, the Americans who put him in office cannot wait any longer for him to deliver.”
