First Lady Jill Biden said Monday that she was “disappointed” by the fact that free community college was “no longer part” of the Build Back Better bill.
While speaking ahead of the Community College National Legislative Summit on Monday, per the Washington Post, Biden told the audience they know “what’s at stake” and pointed to what she described as the “incredible progress” brought on by the American Rescue Plan of 2021.
“But Joe has also had to make compromises,” Biden acknowledged. “Congress hasn’t passed the Build Back Better legislation yet. And free community college is no longer part of that package. We knew that this wasn’t going to be easy. Joe always said that. Still, like you, I was disappointed because, like you, these aren’t just bills or budgets to me.”
Biden added that free community college no longer being a part of the bill marked a “real lesson in human nature,” suggesting that some lawmakers don’t know what such legislation can mean for “real people.”
Last year, Biden—a community college professor—was publicly vocal about the need for such a plan. Later in 2021, however, the two-year community college element was widely speculated to be unlikely to appear in a final form of Build Back Better.
President Biden, meanwhile, has recently been at the center of criticism regarding ongoing concerns over student loan debt. This month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she’s “not sure” why Biden hasn’t taken stronger action, arguing that resuming payments in May could further complicate the pandemic recovery process.
“Not only that, but forgiveness is the just thing to do,” Ocasio-Cortez told Yahoo Finance. “It’s the right thing to do. Why the president hasn’t done it yet, I’m not sure. But I do think this is an issue of increasing urgency.”
