My weekly column: Voting to end the Democrat shutdown and reopen the government
On November 12th, I voted to end the Democrat shutdown and reopen the federal government. For 43 days, Democrats forced our troops, border patrol agents, and Air Traffic Controllers to work without pay and hurt our farmers during harvest season to push their out-of-touch agenda. This political stunt by the Democrats caused unnecessary harm to Iowa families, farmers, seniors, and small businesses — and I’m glad it’s finally over.
But it never had to come to this point. On September 19th, I joined my Republican colleagues in voting for a clean funding bill that would have prevented this pointless shutdown and kept essential services operational for Iowans. The Republican approach of responsible governing would have also allowed us to continue the normal appropriations process and cut wasteful spending from the federal budget. Unfortunately, the Democrats prioritized free healthcare for illegal immigrants and an additional $1.5 trillion in spending on top of our $38-trillion national debt. Republicans stood firm, ensuring that we didn’t recklessly spend money we don’t have and supported American citizens over illegal immigrants. It’s shameful that only 6 Democrats in the House of Representatives joined us to end this liberal shutdown, but it is indicative of the radical state of the current Democrat Party.
In addition to ending the Democrat shutdown and reopening the government, we also passed three appropriations packages to support our farmers, veterans, and military. The agricultural appropriations bill funds critical operations at the Farm Service Agency to help farmers and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to protect our country from devastating foreign animal disease outbreaks. It also includes language from several of my bills to track and monitor foreign-owned farmland, particularly to keep our farmland away from China and other foreign adversaries, and to make investments in cutting-edge agricultural research, including at institutions like Iowa State University. This agriculture package further funds the Farm and Ranch Stress Assistance Network to support behavioral and brain health for farmers and rural communities.
We also passed appropriations for veterans, defense, and military operations, ensuring that we advance President Trump’s agenda of peace through strength and take care of those who made incredible sacrifices to keep our country the strongest, freest, and greatest on Earth. This legislation fully funds veterans’ healthcare programs and VA benefits while combatting veteran homelessness and protecting the Second amendment rights of veterans. This package further supports the construction of military family housing, invests in U.S. shipbuilding, and makes needed improvements to military hospitals, childcare facilities, barracks, and schools. Under Republicans, we took concrete steps to invest in our national defense and defend our nation from foreign threats.
Taken together, I voted to pay our troops, feed needy families, fully staff our FSA offices, and restore order to our nation’s airports while passing fiscally responsible appropriations bills to strengthen our military, protect our veterans, and support Iowa agriculture. As an elected official, I will always focus on my work for Iowa and ensure that I represent our families, farmers, veterans, seniors, and small businesses with dignity and professionalism. Working with President Trump and my congressional colleagues, I will continue to advocate for Iowa and deliver for our state in any way that I can.