As the Biden Administration recently announced that they will look at canceling student loans for some people and a US Congresswoman thinks it’ll benefit Iowans

US Congresswoman Cindy Axne says this proposal would forgive $10,000 to anyone receiving student loans and not get any Pell Grants along with canceling $20,000 for those who went to college on Pell Grants. Axne explains the income driven repayment plan tied into this proposal. She says this policy would set monthly student loan payment at an amount that is intended to be affordable based on income and family size. 

“The stories we hear are those stories I’m sure you have of folks who took out $20,000 for a loan. They made their payments for ten years and now they owe $30,000. So that’s more money than they borrowed to even start with. Part of this decision that the president made is to address that.”

People who oppose this are saying that taxpayers are going to pay for other people’s loans. Axne tells Raccoon Valley Radio she has paid off her own student loans and understands people’s frustration. 

“I personally understand where people are coming from on this issue. I look at this job holistically and what’s going to benefit our communities. And given the data that we’re seeing, there should be an economic impact on a positive note for thousands of Iowans who can then contribute back to their community.”

Axne believes that canceling $10,000 of debt for those earning under $125,000 a year will only affect those people who didn’t graduate college or went to junior college and not wealthy individuals.