Vulnerable Rep. Cindy Axne, Iowa’s lone Democrat congressional member, is silent on whether she supports President Joe Biden’s student loan forgiveness scheme, which has the potential to cost American taxpayers over $1 trillion.
Axne, who is arguably the most vulnerable lawmaker up for reelection this year, is the only member of the Iowa delegation not to release a statement explaining her stance on the plan.
The congresswoman has not made a statement on her official taxpayer-funded or campaign-operated website or social media platforms.
Axne’s office did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Breitbart News.
Additionally, it appears that Axne also did not respond to requests for comment from the Axios De Moines or the Des Moines Register.
Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley (R) and Joni Ernst (R), and U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R), Ashley Hinson (R), and Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R), all made statements, the Register reported.
Grassley and Ernst came out with similar statements acknowledging that Biden’s plan would further fuel inflation, while Feenstra and Hinson’s statements noted that it would amount to a “handout to the wealthy” and a “massive redistribution of wealth to the wealthiest.”
Additionally, Miller-Meeks said that Biden’s student loan forgiveness scheme would “undercuts students who work to afford tuition and parents who for years sacrificed and saved for the opportunity of a college education.”
While Axne has yet to make a statement, Axios reported that Zach Nunn, Axne’s Republican challenger, made a statement of his own. He disagreed with Biden’s student loan forgiveness scheme because it is unfair to Americans who have already paid off their debts and others who did not attend college.
Nunn said that colleges need to address their rising tuition costs and that he is concerned loan forgiveness would weaken incentives for people to enter underfilled careers like teaching, nursing, and the military.
On Wednesday, Biden announced his decision to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for Americans making less than $125,000 a year. The president announced details of his plan on social media, describing it as a “campaign promise” to give “working and middle-class families breathing room” on student loans.
University of Pennsylvania’s Penn Wharton Budget Model analysis on Friday noted that the “debt cancellation alone will cost up to $519 billion,” but “depending on future IDR program details to be released and potential behavioral (i.e., “non-static”) changes, total plan costs could exceed $1 trillion.”
Axne’s refusal to give members of the media a statement was quickly attacked by Republicans looking to unseat her in November.
National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Mike Berg said, “Cindy Axne’s refusal to take a position on something that will cost taxpayers $500,000,000,000 is disrespectful to Iowans. She should immediately condemn this reckless proposal.”
Additionally, Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann added, “This isn’t the kind of representation Iowans expect from their elected officials. It seems as if Axne hasn’t received her marching orders from Pelosi yet and that she’s too afraid to face Iowans.”
Kaufmann added, “Iowans and the media should be lining up for Axne’s next public event, who knows when that is, to demand answers!”
Jacob Bliss is a reporter for Breitbart News. Write to him at jbliss@breitbart.com or follow him on Twitter @JacobMBliss.
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