President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday conspicuously contained no references to his administration’s attempt to cancel up to $20,000 in student loan debt, a fact congressional Republicans took notice of.
The president’s hour-long address Tuesday night contained only a passing remark about “reducing student debt” and did not tout the broad plan to forgive $20,000 in federally held student loans for Pell Grant recipients who make less than $125,000 and $10,000 for borrowers in the same income bracket who did not receive a Pell Grant.
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In a statement to the Washington Examiner, Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions committee ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) said the president’s omission of a signature policy in his address was an acknowledgment the plan is unpopular.
“President Biden must know how unpopular his student loan cancellation schemes are. Most Americans didn’t take out loans or sacrificed to pay theirs off if they did borrow.” Cassidy said. “His plan shifts hundreds of billions in debt to these Americans. As one person said, is he going to forgive the loan on my work truck?”
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), the chairwoman of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, echoed Cassidy’s statement and said the president’s failure to mention the program could be linked to legal challenges that could stop the program. Foxx and Cassidy have submitted amicus briefs to the Supreme Court asking the court to overrule the loan forgiveness plan.
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“President Biden’s silence on his illegal student loan bailout scheme during his State of the Union address speaks volumes about his administration’s lack of confidence in getting this campaign promise across the finish line,” Foxx told the Washington Examiner. “I have said all along that this plan is a shell game designed to boost the president’s ratings. Overpromising and underdelivering has become par for the course with this administration, and the American people see right through it.”
The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
