Media

Over the last few years, the agriculture economy has taken a turn for the worse. Commodity prices have fallen below producers’ break-even points, our agricultural trade deficit has eclipsed $43 billion, farm debt stands at a record $540 billion, and inflation combined with high interest rates continue to squeeze profit margins. A recent report from Purdue University also found that three in every four farmers expect conditions in the farm economy to deteriorate in 2025.

The other week, I had the pleasure of welcoming the Carroll Chamber of Commerce to Washington, D.C. and meeting with Mayor Jerry Fleshner, City Manager Aaron Kooiker, County Supervisor Scott Johnson, Calhoun County Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Theresa Hildreth, Executive Director of the Carroll County Growth Partnership and Carroll Chamber of Commerce Kimberly Tiefenthaler, and President and Chief Executive Officer of St. Anthony Regional Hospital Allen Anderson.

Over the last several weeks, we’ve received negative reports and forecasts about the economy and our fiscal outlook. Inflation rose in September – opposite expectations – and was up 2.4% from just a year prior while the National Federation of Independent Business’s Small Business Optimism Index registered at 91.5 in September, which is the 33rd consecutive month under the 50-year average of 98.

When I was first elected to Congress, I pledged to visit every county in Iowa’s 4^th Congressional District to hear directly from Iowans about not only the challenges they face, but also see firsthand the amazing investments being made in our communities. My conversations with our families, farmers, small businesses, seniors, and local officials inform my work in Congress to create solutions to the problems confronting our communities. It is a responsibility that I take very seriously.

Since I was first elected, I have traveled to every county in Iowa’s 4^th Congressional District at least twice a year. It’s a commitment that I made to my constituents that I would be transparent and accessible while taking their concerns, ideas, and suggestions back to Congress and offering meaningful solutions to the problems facing our communities, state, and nation.

The other week, I had the pleasure of meeting with members of Iowans Supporting Israel – an incredible non-profit organization of Iowans who are passionate advocates of U.S.-Israel relations -and recounting my recent trip to Israel as part of a congressional delegation. I also had the opportunity to answer very thoughtful questions about the need to continue supporting Israel and the threat that Hamas and terrorists everywhere pose to our world.