Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
Serving O'Brien & Clay Counties
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It’s often said that your own education is one of the best investments you can make. For many students, that investment looks like heading off to college. Even as the cost of higher education skyrockets, students continue to convene on campuses around the country each fall because they recognize hard work and dedication can unlock opportunities and brighter futures. Because of that mindset, higher education has become woven into what it means to pursue the American Dream, and going to college i...
In a time of intense division in Washington, one thing Republicans and Democrats still agree on is that no child should ever go to bed on an empty stomach. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), also known as food stamps, helps ensure that does not happen. But, with rising prices hitting hard and tens of thousands of families across the country waiting in a backlog to be approved for aid, some administrators of the program are jumping the line to snatch up the SNAP dollars, either...
Two years ago, I warned against the risk a hurried withdrawal from Afghanistan would cause. Now, the consequences of a Taliban takeover are a reality. Even against the advice of his own military advisors, President Biden doubled down on a rushed process to meet his arbitrary exit deadline, resulting in the greatest U.S. foreign policy disaster of my lifetime. By abandoning Americans and our allies, emboldening our adversaries, and making the world a less safe place, President Biden sent a...
Washington is borrowing money from China to pay for pointless projects in China. You read that right! Since 2017, more than $1.3 billion U.S. tax dollars have been sent to our adversaries, Russia and China. It’s a scary thought, but this sum likely doesn’t reflect the total amount because federal agencies do not follow the trail of tax dollars to their final destination. What we do know is your tax dollars have left the country and gone straight into adversarial countries. Just a few of the poi...
Traveling across the state, from River to River, I hear directly from working families who are looking for more childcare options and small business owners on a mission to find more employees. Childcare remains a workforce issue in both our metropolitan areas and rural communities, with childcare availability having a direct impact on employers and economic growth. Serving as the Ranking Member of the Senate Small Business Committee, I have the unique opportunity to bring the stories of middle A...
In almost every single county I visit on my 99 County Tour, I see help wanted signs. From public schools to the National Guard, Iowa is facing a shortage of nearly every essential worker our economy depends on. Sadly, Democrats’ response to the nationwide need for essential workers is to bloat our bureaucracy even more, to the tune of 87,000 IRS agents. And, no matter what the liberal talking heads say, these agents are not going to stick to auditing billionaires and the top tier of the tax code...
Two weeks ago, I led a group of 10 senators, Republicans, Democrats, and even one Independent, on a bipartisan Senate delegation visit to Poland and Germany. We traveled together to demonstrate America’s unwavering support for the freedom-loving people of Ukraine and affirm the strength of the world’s most powerful alliance. We departed with the conviction that the United States, Ukraine, and the free world have the will and the means to unite and stand up to Vladimir Putin’s tyranny. Ukraine ca...
After weeks of dragging their feet, and under bipartisan pressure, on Tuesday the Biden administration finally took steps to ban imports of oil and natural gas from Russia. As Putin continues his assault on freedom and slaughters innocent men, women, and children in Ukraine, the president made the right decision to end purchasing of Russia’s bloody oil. But what took so long? It’s important to remember that in his first days in office, President Biden took unilateral action to reduce Ame...
Just last year, Washington insiders colluded to try to overturn the will of the people of Iowa in a fair and free election. The Speaker of the House of Representatives attempted to steal a House seat. Iowa's Second District congresswoman, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, won her election in 2020 and was certified by Iowa's secretary of state, 24 county auditors from both parties and the bipartisan State Board of Canvass. But in a total political power grab, the Speaker of the House spent over $600,000...
A humanitarian crisis. A national security crisis. A public health crisis. That’s the reality at our southern border. We’re nearly seven months into the Biden Administration, and they are refusing to step up and take action. It’s hard to ignore the facts. 210,000 illegal immigrants were encountered at the southern border last month – the most we’ve seen in over 20 years. Just recently, about 50,000 migrants who illegally crossed the border were released into our country without a court dat...
When an American president makes a decision on military deployment, the action sends signals to friends and foes alike around the globe. Take for example President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan by September 11, 2021. Not only was this hasty and misguided, disregarding conditions on the ground, it was also a political message calculated for a front page or primetime talking point on the 20 year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. We can’t ignore the reali...
A gut punch to Iowans. That’s the only way to describe the Biden Administration’s decision to roll back the previous administration’s Navigable Water Protection Rule. Sadly, for those of us who have been on the frontlines of this fight since 2015, this news is not a surprise. Now let me be clear: everyone can agree that clean water should be a national priority. Iowans, and all Americans, want sensible safeguards that protect our environment and keep our nation’s water clean. But what they don’t...
It’s no secret that the worst global pandemic in a generation has brought unforeseen challenges and hardships. But it’s often during these challenging times when the American people band together, and we’ve seen it: folks across Iowa have risen to the occasion to help out their friends, family members, neighbors, and communities. We’ve also seen it in our government. Even in increasingly partisan times, state legislatures – and even Congress – have worked across party lines to provide rel...
Wednesday was a tragic day in our nation’s history. The very institution that millions of people from across the world revere, visit, and look to for democratic decision-making was pillaged by an angry mob incited by false hope. To say I’m saddened by what happened is an understatement. I’m furious. This is not the America that I know, that I love, and that I fought for. In this nation we have a beautiful history of debating and disagreeing on very, very tough issues. We also have a long-...
Last year ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, I joined a congressional delegation trip to visit U.S. troops, including Iowans, deployed in the Middle East. As a former company commander in Kuwait and Iraq, I understand the significance of our elected leaders being on the ground in warzones and personally assessing our continued combat operations. It’s an important part of my job as a U.S. Senator and as a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. This visit served as a reminder of the m...
As Iowans know, biofuels are an essential part of our state’s economy. From Burlington to Cedar Rapids and Sioux Center to Council Bluffs, and every community in between, Iowans depend on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). And they expect the federal government to uphold and adhere to this law. In both Washington, D.C., and Des Moines, we’ve relentlessly pushed the administration to take action on the so called “gap-year” small refinery exemptions since the minute oil companies came up with th...
Doesn't it just seem like one thing after another? We're in the midst of a global pandemic, which has taken the lives of more than one thousand Iowans, and then we get hit by a derecho. It's been a trying year for folks across Iowa. The challenges we're facing as a state, and a nation, are some of the toughest in a lifetime. But it's in these dark times that the light can shine through. I believe in Iowans. I've seen your grit and determination throughout this pandemic and as we start to...
Derecho. A word you probably haven't heard often, and frankly haven't seen enough coverage of. In Iowa, lives have been lost, farms upended, and communities ravaged at the hands of a derecho. Cedar Rapids, our state's second largest city, is demolished. Communities and rural areas across Iowa have been devastated. Folks are without power, and have been for seven days. I was on the ground with the National Guard in 2008 responding to the devastating floods, and folks, what I'm seeing now - it's...
