Joe Biden’s free community college plan failed to get congressional support

President Joe Biden did not pass legislation to make community college and skilled training programs tuition-free as he promised during his 2020 campaign. 

Biden's free community college promise was part of a plan to make higher education more affordable, along with college tuition subsidies for low-income Americans and broad student debt forgiveness.

Biden initially included the provision in the 2021 American Families Plan, which covered education, child care and worker benefits. The community college program would have ensured that all "first-time students and workers wanting to reskill can enroll in a community college to earn a degree or credential for free." If all states, territories and tribes participated, the White House said, about 5.5 million students would pay no tuition for community college.

The American Families Plan lacked the support to pass through Congress, and the education portions were struck in negotiations. Biden continued to push to make community college free through his presidency, but no additional bill materialized to advance the promise. In his annual budget proposals, Biden called for expanding free community college tuition. The White House budget proposals are statements of priorities; Congress makes  final decisions on the federal budget.

Biden pushed for legislation to make community college tuition free, but signed no such legislation into law. 

We rate this Promise Broken.