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Iowa’s pork industry is a vital economic engine for our families, farmers, main street businesses, and rural communities. Our 5,400 pig farms raise roughly 23 million hogs every year, which account for one-third of the nation’s total pork production, generate nearly $41 billion in sales across the entire pork supply chain, and support almost 150,000 Iowa jobs in production, processing, and harvesting. However, a critical, yet often overlooked, component of pork production is trade.

Every day, families in every community of every state in our nation receive the devastating news that a loved one has died from a drug overdose. I have heard these stories firsthand from heartbroken parents who have lost children far too young and from families that, to this day, endure the wrenching pain of the empty seat at the dinner table. As a father of four, it breaks my heart. Tragically, these stories are all too common.

American fuel retailers, corn growers, ethanol producers, and our families face unnecessary uncertainty year after year awaiting the Environmental Protection Agency’s arbitrary, last-minute waivers to allow for the summertime sale of E-15 at gas stations nationwide. This unpredictability raises gas prices for American families, prevents fuel retailers from consistently marketing low-cost, low-carbon E-15, and threatens the livelihoods of corn growers and ethanol producers not only in Iowa, but across the Midwest.

Traveling to All 36 Counties in the 4th Congressional District Iowa represents the very best of the Midwest and our nation’s rural values. We help our neighbors, serve our communities, feed and fuel our country and the world, and raise our families to respect and carry on our proud traditions. We are also home to 99 counties each with rich histories, thriving communities, and hardworking, honest people. From the world’s largest popcorn ball in Sac County to beautiful West Okoboji Lake in Dickinson County, every community contributes an important chapter to Iowa’s story.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Agriculture marked another disappointing development in the Biden administration's lackluster trade agenda. It projected that our agriculture trade deficit—which already shattered records this past fiscal year—will climb to $27.5 billion for Fiscal Year 2024.