Keeping up With Iowans

During the congressional recess after the 4th of July, I met with constituents in Adams, Audubon, Clark, Guthrie, Lucas, Madison, Polk and Union counties. 

These meetings were part of my ongoing dialogue with Iowans.  Every year, I hold a meeting at least one time in each of Iowa’s 99 counties to hear what people have to say and respond to their questions.  This back-and-forth communication is necessary to make the process of representative government work.

During this last set of meetings, the most frequently discussed items were worries about government spending and the debt and deficit, border security and immigration enforcement, Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan, renewable energy, the financial regulation bill, and permanent repeal of the estate tax, also known as the “death tax.”

I appreciate hearing the common sense insight of Iowans on these and the many other topics we discussed.  It’s clear that people continue to be fed up with what’s happening in Washington.  I’ll be using the ideas and sentiment I heard last week, and in other ongoing dialogue with Iowans, to push for good, common sense legislation that cuts spending, enhances border security, and lessens America’s dependence on foreign oil.

I do not support amnesty for illegal immigrants.  America was built on the rule of law and granting amnesty to illegal immigrants defies this core principle.  It also encourages more illegality.  More information on this topic was included in a previous newsletter and is available here.

I participated in the Senate Judiciary Committee’s nomination hearing for Supreme Court Nominee Elena Kagan in June.  I sought information about her view of the role of the judicial branch in our system of government, which the Constitution establishes is to interpret, rather than make, law.  More information on that hearing was included in a previous newsletter and is available here.

Like many Iowans, I am extremely concerned that the ethanol tax credit will be allowed to expire, resulting in the kind of devastating job loss that happened when Democratic congressional leaders allowed the biodiesel tax credit to expire.  I’m pushing for passage of legislation I’ve introduced that would extend the tax credit for five years to combat this possibility.  More information on this legislation is available here.

The final version of the financial regulation bill that advanced in the Senate this week increased spending and watered down reforms that were in the original Senate version, which I supported.  The changes included spending TARP funds that should, instead, be returned to the taxpayers and used to pay down the deficit, a budget gimmick that counts FDIC fees twice, and important reforms to credit rating agencies and derivatives trading.  The final bill also failed to require a full audit of the Federal Reserve, where transparency and accountability is sorely lacking.  More information on this conference report was included in a previous action alert and is available here.

I support permanent repeal of the estate tax.  It’s wrong that because of the high estate tax, heirs are often forced to sell family assets upon the death of their loved one.  Democratic leaders have pushed this off too long, leaving family farmers and small business owners who want to pass their farms and businesses to the next generation stuck in limbo, wondering what to do.  More information on this topic is available here.

I look forward to discussing these, and other issues, with Iowans as the year progresses.