Jill Biden conceded on Monday that two free years of community college has been removed from Joe Biden's signature Build Back Better bill, the president's trillion package of social safety net programs, and slammed political game playing as the cause of its demise.
The first lady, who teaches English and writing at Northern Virginia Community College, said she was 'disappointed' in the decision and slammed political game playing in Washington - in which people are the losers - as the reason.
'One year ago, I told this group that Joe was going to fight for community colleges,' she told the Community College National Legislative Summit.
'Congress hasn't passed the Build Back Better agenda - yet. And free community college is no longer a part of that package. We knew this wouldn't be easy - Joe has always said that. Still, like you, I was disappointed,' Biden, wearing a red Brandon Maxwell dress, said.
Jill Biden conceded that two free years of community college has been removed from President Joe Biden's signature Build Back Better bill
In an unusually political speech, Jill Biden slammed political game playing in Washington
The writing had been on the wall for tuition-free community college as President Biden struggles to get his bill past the Senate amid stone walling from members of his own party.
Still, Jill Biden was usually political in her remarks, where she compared Washington politics to team sports and said it's 'people' who are the losers for it.
'Too often, we treat what happens in our nation's capital like a sports game,' Jill Biden told the Community College National Legislative Summit, 'wondering which team will score the most points with voters. Legislation becomes a football to keep away from the other side, and Americans get lost in the playbook.'
'Governing isn't a game. There are no teams to root for or against, just people - Americans from all walks of life - who need help and hope. There's no scoreboard -there's no 'us' versus 'them.' If someone wins it doesn't mean someone else has to lose,' she added.
During her tenure as first lady, Biden has focused her attention on promoting COVID vaccines, visiting schools, and comforting the country. She's visited many community colleges, including one in New Jersey last week.
In fall 2020, about 4.8 million students were enrolled in public two-year colleges, 29% of undergraduate students, according to federal data.
There are 942 community colleges in the United States, and about 12.4 million students are enrolled in them. On average, the total cost of tuition and fees for community college costs is about $3,600 per year for a full-time study.
Community colleges typically offer members of the working-class, immigrants and students of color a more affordable path to careers.
But they also have high dropout rates, which critics point to: fewer than 40% of community college students earn a degree within six years.
President Biden pushed to include tuition-free community college in his Build Back Better bill but had to cut that program when some moderate Democrats raised concern about the bill's overall price tag
Jill Biden visiting Bergen Community College in Paramus, New Jersey, last month
President Biden reportedly told progressive Democrats back in October that he expected to drop tuition-free community college and curtail the child tax credit program in the final version of his Build Back Better bill.
But publicly that month he also said free tuition community college would happen.
'I'm going to get it done,' Biden said during a CNN town hall with Anderson Cooper. 'And if I don't, I'll be sleeping alone for a long time,' he said, alluding to the fact the first lady was a champion of the measure.
Biden initially proposed that Congress appropriate $109 billion for two years of free community college.
But moderate lawmakers like Senator Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema had expressed concern about the overall price tag of the president's bill - which contained funding measures for education, child care, health and the environment. It was last estimated at $1.75 trillion.
Last week, Manchin said the current version of Build Back Better was 'dead,' but noted he was open to a new round of talks with the White House.
'What Build Back Better bill?' Manchin told reporters on Capitol Hill when asked about the legislation. 'It's dead.'
Meanwhile, Jill Biden vowed to continue the fight for free community college.
'Governing does have one thing in common with sports. When you get knocked down, you have to get back up. When you lose, you work harder and you come back for more,' she said.
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