Breaking through the political noise to deliver bipartisan solutions

I’ve been named the most bipartisan member of the Iowa congressional delegation by the Lugar Center and Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy for two years in a row because as a mother and small business owner I know that solving problems is more important than scoring political points.

The noise from the political extremes is drowning out common sense in Congress, and I know that Iowans are looking for leaders who are working to help bring prices down at the grocery store, keep their communities safe, and deliver real results for our first responders and veterans. 

In my last four years in Congress, I have been working on solutions to all of these problems, and I’m happy to share I’ve made progress that’s already starting to show here in Iowa. 

For example, when fellow Iowa Rep. Randy Feenstra introduced an amendment to provide assistance to Iowa Ag producers who suffered losses from the derecho I broke with my party to support his legislation and make sure Iowans had the resources they needed to recover. 

I also recently introduced the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act with Rep. Feenstra to help lower meat prices at the grocery store. This legislation, championed by Senator Grassley in the Senate, would return fairness to the cattle marketplace that is currently dominated by four major meatpackers that are unfairly squeezing out Iowa cattle producers.

I have been working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle on the bipartisan Invest to Protect act, legislation that would set up a new grant program for police departments with fewer than 200 officers. This would help every police department in Iowa. 

I was pleased to see Sen. Grassley help introduce the Senate companion to this bill. The grant money can be used to train officers so they are better prepared for any situation. 

Finally, I led the entire Iowa delegation in working to protect veterans’ healthcare and mental health by passing the Sgt. Ketchum Rural Veterans’ Mental Health Act and PACT Act. Both bills have been signed into law.

These pieces of legislation are having real impact on Iowa families, but too often this gets drowned out in the news by partisan bickering. 

You may not always see my name in those flashy headlines, but you will always find me hard at work fighting for Iowans.