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WEEK IN REVIEW
Dear Friend,
I’m excited to be back in the state on my 99 County Tour this weekend, but I wanted to take a moment to give you an update on the work I’ve been doing in Washington this past week.
Protecting and Defending Innocent Life
As a longtime and outspoken pro-life advocate, I was proud to vote this week in support of two important pieces of legislation to defend life: one that would provide commonsense protections for unborn children at 20 weeks after fertilization and a second bill that would simply require health care practitioners to provide the same degree of care to a baby who survives an abortion as they would any child born naturally premature at the same age.
I joined fellow members of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus on the Senate floor to speak the importance of both bills.
Click here or on the image above to watch my floor speech.
In my speech, I shared the remarkable story of Micah Pickering, a native of Newton, Iowa, who was born prematurely at 22 weeks of gestationan age at which the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would protect a baby in the womband described how Micah, now 7 years-old, has gone on to lead a healthy and energetic life. I was also able to meet with Micah and his family in my office before the vote.
The Pickering Family
Click here for a video highlighting Micah’s story, and the importance of fighting for legislation that would give all the Micah Pickering(s) of the world a fighting chance.
Pushing for A Trade Deal with the UK, Relief for Caregivers
After meeting with farmers and other Iowans last week on my 99 County Tour who were optimistic because of the recent news on tradelike the signing of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the phase one deal with ChinaI called on U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to move quickly in negotiating a trade agreement with the United Kingdoma deal that could provide another big boost for Iowa’s farmers and businesses.
I also noted that last Friday was National Caregivers Day. I’m working on a bipartisan bill to provide relief for the more than 300,000 family caregivers in Iowa, many of whom juggle their own employment while caring for a loved one.
Click here or on the image above to watch my remarks.
Urging Support for Iowa’s Minor League Baseball Clubs
I’ve heard from folks in the Quad Cities, Burlington, and Clinton about how our Minor League clubs are important sources of community pride and are key contributors to our local economies and charitable cause. It would be a terrible loss, for our communities and for the many lifelong baseball fans across our state, for us to see them go.
Along with Senator Chuck Grassley, I’m urging support for preserving Minor League Baseball clubs across the country, including those in Davenport, Burlington, and Clinton, in response to Major League Baseball’s (MLB) proposal to eliminate 42 teams nationwide.
Improving Conservation and Providing Farmers Flexibility
As chairman of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, I successfully secured bipartisan provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill to incentivize rural and urban partnerships for conservation by strengthening the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). Now, USDA is beginning the process of implementing these important measures.
Last week, USDA published their interim final rule to implement improvements to the RCPP, and I am urging Iowans to provide their input on this rule.
By cutting Washington’s bureaucratic red tape, we’re working to provide our farmers the first conservationists with greater flexibility in their efforts to improve water quality and soil health.
For more updates on what's happening in Washington, D.C. and Iowa, be sure to 'Like' my Facebook page, follow me on Twitter @SenJoniErnst, and subscribe to my YouTube channel.
Thank you!
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