Axne Addresses Flood Funds, Social Security, Prescription Drug Costs At Glenwood Town Hall Meeting

Appearing in front of a Glenwood town hall audience of around 50 people Friday afternoon, Iowa District 3 U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne addressed several issues, most notably flood recovery dollars for southwest Iowa, agriculture, drug prescription costs and protection of Social Security benefits.

Axne was part of a bipartisan coalition that worked to secure a disaster aid bill last spring in Congress that provided over $3 billion in funds for flood-impacted states like Iowa, Nebraska and Missouri.

“So far, we’ve got over $550 million that’s come directly to our district here in Iowa and I’m going to continue to make sure that the $3 billion continues to get pushed out to us,” she said.

Axne said a flood fund tracking system she developed is helping ensure disaster recovery dollars are being utilized and distributed properly and in a timely manner.

“When we started hearing from folks saying ‘we don’t have the money we need, it’s not coming in as quickly,’ I put a letter out to all the departments telling them to show us the money,” she said. “I want to see where the money is and now we’re constantly tracking it and having them update us on a monthly basis of where the money is being spent.”

Responding to a question from the audience, Axne said she will fight “tooth and nail” to protect Social Security and Medicare benefits, despite a proposal in President Trump’s 2020 budget that calls for billions of dollars in Social Security disability cuts over the next decade.

“The unfortunate thing is this president does want to attack Social Security and Medicare - Medicaid in particular,” she said. “We have people in this country fully reliant on Social Security and we have folks who it’s a big part of their income. We take any of that away and we’re going to see a really difficult time for a lot of our older Americans and I want to make sure every single American retires with dignity. Those are hard-earned benefits that people have paid into their entire lives.”

Axne touted the “HR3” drug prescription bill that passed out of the House late last year, legislation aimed at reducing the cost of medications.

“AARP, all the voices of healthcare, everybody is behind this bill. It will help us reduce the cost of prescription drugs for every single person in this country,” she said. “It allows us to negotiate the cost of the 250 most expensive and most used drugs in Medicare and then have that same pricing extended to every single American.”

Axne, who serves on the Agriculture and Financial Services committees, noted that she’s been involved in several bi-partisan pieces of legislation drafted in the House over the past 12 months, most recently an African Swine Fever bill she co-sponsored with U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, (R-Neb.).

“It will increase the number of inspectors at U.S. ports to make sure we’re not bringing in any feed or product because this is a disease that can transfer very easily to our food product here in America,” she said.

Axne lauded passage of the United States Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is expected to provide a boost for Iowa’s agriculture community. She added that the biodiesel tax extender she worked on with Iowa’s Republican U. S. Senators - Charles Grassley and Joni Ernst - will also benefit Iowa farmers.

“I’m thrilled to bring some relief to our agriculture industry here,” she said.

Axne noted that one of the first bills she worked on after taking office last year will provide expanded grant opportunities for rural communities.

“In visiting some of our small towns, I realized we didn’t have the administration or instruments to get all the grant money we could be using in towns like Glenwood, where we could get more access to community development and opportunity to invest because we don’t have giant non-profits and entire departments of people working on grants,” she said. “It will actually make our grant system much easier to use, more transparent and will allow places like Glenwood to get more access.

“My job is to make sure states like ours, places like Glenwood get the opportunities they need.”

The Opinion-Tribune

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