In this week's roundup: Celebrating National Agriculture Week, my work to balance our budget, and my meeting with the Iowa Farm Bureau. Dear Friend, In this week's roundup: Celebrating National Agriculture Week, my work to balance our budget, and my meeting with the Iowa Farm Bureau. That and more – remember to follow my Facebook page by clicking here and my Twitter page by clicking here to stay up-to-date throughout the week! PROTECTING AND SUPPORTING OUR BRAVE BORDER PATROL AGENTS House Republicans support our brave border patrol agents who are on the front lines of the border crisis. That’s why we passed legislation to punish and deport illegal immigrants who kill or harm Americans and border patrol agents while evading capture. Protecting and supporting our brave border patrol agents Under President Biden's open-border policies, the work of our brave border patrol agents has become increasingly difficult, but even more consequential. More than 7.2 million illegal immigrants have unlawfully crossed Read more carrollspaper.com RECOGNIZING IOWA'S HARDWORKING FARMERS AND PRODUCERS This week is National Ag Week – a time to recognize and thank our farmers and producers. Serving on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, I’ll continue my work to pass a strong Farm Bill for Iowa and be an unwavering advocate for agriculture and biofuels in Congress. Feenstra: Recognizing Iowa's hardworking farmers and... Randy Feenstra: Iowa retains the cherished status as the breadbasket of the world because of the sacrifice, dedication, and long-held traditions of our farmers and their families. Read more iowatorch.com MEETING WITH THE IOWA FARM BUREAU On Wednesday, I met with the Iowa Farm Bureau and producers from Ida, Shelby, Kossuth, Fremont, Hamilton, Sac, and Hancock counties. As I told them, I’m working to pass a strong Farm Bill, strengthen crop insurance, support biofuels, and open new export markets for our farmers. STOPPING BY THE COUNCIL BLUFFS POLICE DEPARTMENT On Tuesday, my Regional Director based out of Council Bluffs — Abby — stopped by the Council Bluffs Police Department and met with Chief Matt Davis and their K9, Murphy. Abby talked about my legislation — the Honoring Police Officer and K9 Service Act — to help our law enforcement cover veterinary costs for their four-legged partners. MY LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN OPPOSING HIS PROPOSED TAX HIKES ON FAMILY FARMS AND SMALL BUSINESSES President Biden’s $7.3-trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2025 proposes tax hikes that would crush our family farms and small businesses. This bloated budget includes a new tax on the transfer of agricultural and business assets, a devastating cap on like-kind exchanges, and a combined capital gains and dividend tax rate more than double that of China. These economic policies will stifle economic growth in our rural communities, prevent young producers and entrepreneurs from continuing the family tradition, and sadly give family farms and small businesses no other choice but to close for good. That’s why, in response to President Biden’s reckless budget, I led a letter to the White House urging the President to abandon these crippling tax hikes on the backbone of our economy – our nation’s farmers and small business owners. To grow our economy, we must end wasteful government spending, balance our budget, and keep taxes low for our farmers, producers, business owners, and innovators. Rural district Republicans slam Biden budget over 'tax... President Biden's budget is under fire in a new letter by more than a dozen House Republicans who are concerned about how his proposals would impact rural America. Read more www.foxbusiness.com CHATTING WITH DR. PAT HALBUR FROM IOWA STATE Earlier this week, I met with Dr. Pat Halbur, Executive Director of Iowa State’s Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at the College of Veterinary Medicine. We covered a bill that I helped introduce to reauthorize three programs that help defend American agriculture from animal disease outbreaks. MY LETTERS TO THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION CONCERNING BIOFUELS Iowa leads the nation in the production of ethanol and biodiesel. Our thriving biofuels industry powers our economy, supports our farmers, generates economic activity in our rural communities, and supports American energy independence. Unfortunately, despite our repeated calls, the Biden administration has failed to actively engage in the development of new markets for American biofuels exports or hold foreign countries accountable for unfair trade practices and market manipulation. That’s why my colleague from Illinois, Rep. Darin LaHood, and I sent two letters asking the Biden administration to open new export markets for our farmers and biofuels producers and to help repeal Brazil’s costly tariff on American ethanol. With a $30-billion agricultural trade deficit projected for this fiscal year and farm income forecast to plummet by $40 billion, we must negotiate trade agreements that benefit American agriculture and advocate for our producers in global markets. It is our hope that President Biden and his agency heads will heed our requests and stand up for American farmers and biofuels producers. Feenstra Urges Action on Biofuels Markets U.S. Reps. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and Darin LaHood (R-IL) led two letters to the Biden administration urging greater action in developing new markets for biofuels exports and calling on U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and U.S. Secretary of ... Read more kiow.com SITTING DOWN WITH THE IOWA BANKERS ASSOCIATION As always, it was great to have the Iowa Bankers Association in my office. We had the opportunity to discuss my ACRE Act, which would give our community banks and main street lenders much-needed flexibility to offer agricultural and home loans at affordable rates for Iowa families and farmers. ONE LAST THING: CONGRESSIONAL PASSPORT DAY AT THE MINNEAPOLIS PASSPORT AGENCY Tomorrow, the Minneapolis Passport Agency will host a passport application acceptance event at their office at 212 3rd Avenue S Minneapolis, MN 55401 by appointment only. Please don't hesitate to contact my office if you need any help with your passport. You can find more information below! Minneapolis Passport Agency By Appointment Only Closed Federal Holidays Mailing Address: U.S. Department of State Minneapolis Passport Agency CA/PPT/MN 44132 Mercure Cir. PO Box 1101 Sterling, VA 20166-1101 Application Numbers Start With: 54 To apply at this passport... Read more travel.state.gov MY WEEKLY COLUMN: FIGHTING BACK AGAINST PRESIDENT BIDEN'S BLOATED BUDGET AND TAX HIKES In my weekly column last week, I outlined my strong opposition to President Biden’s $7.3-trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2025, and this week I took action. I introduced legislation – the Balanced Budget and Accounting Act – to require the President to submit a balanced budget to Congress and sent a letter directly to President Biden urging him to abandon his crippling tax hikes on our farms and small businesses. Read more in my weekly column below! My Weekly Column: Fighting back against President... In my weekly column last week, I outlined my strong opposition to President Biden's $7.3-trillion budget for Fiscal Year 2025. Read more feenstra.house.gov CLOSING POLL FOR THE DAY Do you support President Biden's $7.3-trillion budget proposal? Yes Select No Select Unsure/Indifferent Select LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULTS: Do you think that TikTok is a threat to our national security? Yes - 70% No - 17% Unsure/Indifferent - 13% If you have more thoughts on this week's question, feel free to leave your comments on my official website HERE. We are government together, and I am here to serve you. Your thoughts, concerns, and comments are very important to me. Always feel free to call (202) 225-4426 or visit my website at feenstra.house.gov. Sincerely, Rep. Randy Feenstra Member of Congress ‌ ‌ ‌ Rep Feenstra | 1440 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | Constant Contact Data Notice Sent by [email protected]