Friend,

Serving you and your family in Congress is the greatest honor of my life. I frequently travel to all 22 counties in Iowa's Second Congressional District, meeting with Iowans from all walks of life to hear about their challenges and successes and ask how I can best advocate for them in Congress. Based on Iowans' stories and feedback, my top priorities are: fighting inflation and lowering costs for families, cleaning up Washington, securing the border, and working across the aisle to deliver results.

Best,

Lowering the Cost of Living & Strengthening the Economy

The top issue I hear about from Iowans is inflation and lowering the cost of living. My economic philosophy is simple: it's your money, not the government's money. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris went on a $6 trillion spending spree - printing money we didn't have - and causing the worst inflation in modern history. I've heard from working parents who are struggling to make ends meet, seniors on fixed incomes who can't afford their medications and food, and from small businesses and farmers who are grappling with high costs that are impacting their bottom line. Kamala Harris has already promised to make this economic mess worse -- ignoring the concerns of Iowans and doubling down on tax increases and burdensome government regulations. I have worked on real solutions to inflation in Congress, and will continue to do so.

• Voted against over $6 trillion in inflationary spending and proposing additional cuts to restore fiscal responsibility.
• Supported legislation to keep middle-class and small business tax increases permanent (it's never a good idea to raise taxes, but it's unconscionable that Democrats want to do so during this inflation crisis.)
• Working to unleash American energy and streamline the permitting process to lower costs across the supply chain.
• Increasing the Child Tax Credit for working families so working parents can keep more of their hard-eared paychecks.

Securing the Border

President Biden and our so-called “border czar” Kamala Harris put a welcome sign on our Southern Border on the first day of their administration and they continue to incentivize illegal immigration. They intentionally undid President Trump’s secure border policies that deterred illegal immigration and kept our country safe. The consequences of this were predictable: over 10 million illegal immigrant encounters, at least 2 million “gotaways” (illegals that border patrol agents saw entering our country but were unable to apprehend), and drugs like fentanyl and meth pouring into our country. I have been to the Southern Border multiple times to hear directly from border patrol agents on the frontlines of this crisis and have heard from Iowa public safety officials about the impacts of the open border in our state, including increased drugs and criminal activity. I’m working to secure the border and stop illegal immigration:

•  Supported the Secure the Border Act to restart border wall construction, deploy border detection technology, require more transparency regarding illegal crossings from DHS, strengthen current law to protect unaccompanied minors from human trafficking, end catch and release, end the abuse of executive immigration authority, and strengthen the asylum process to prevent abuse.
• Working to ensure border patrol agents have more resources and manpower to stop illegal immigration.
• Advocating to shut down the CBP One app that allows illegal immigrants to enter our country with the click of a button.

Without a border, we don’t have a country. And without secure borders, we are not safe. I will continue working on secure border solutions to keep our communities safe.

Cleaning Up Washington

It’s no secret: Washington is broken and deeply dysfunctional. We need to root out corruption, end the chaos and dysfunction, put a check on lazy, unelected bureaucrats, and drain the swamp. That’s why I'm pushing for my "Make Washington Work Again" agenda. The bills in this package hold government accountable, shrink the administrative state, and uphold the principles of public service.

• The Strategic Withdrawal of Agencies for Meaningful Placement (SWAMP) Act moves federal agency headquarters outside of Washington, D.C. Rather than having bureaucrats, far removed from the realities of everyday American life, making and implementing major rules, this will bring agency headquarters closer to people whose lives are most impacted by federal decision-making.
• The Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act to repeal onerous, outdated regulations that hurt family farms, small businesses, and workers. This bill establishes a Retrospective Regulatory Review Commission for the sole purpose of finding and eliminating regulations that drag down our economy and then working with Congress to repeal them. 
• The Promoting the Unbiased Role of Employees in the Executive Act (PURE Executive Act) to ban senior administration officials from lobbying on behalf of foreign agents and governments for life. It also imposes a five-year ban on senior administration employees from lobbying a federal agency where they were employed. 
• The SHOW UP Act requires agencies to return to pre-pandemic telework policies and get bureaucrats back to work and serving taxpayers. This legislation is vital given that 17 out of 24 federal agency headquarters are operating at under 25% building capacity. 

Working Across the Aisle to Deliver Results

I have always said that I would work with anyone who would work with me - regardless of political party - to deliver meaningful results for Iowans. I'm proud of my ability to work across the aisle and cut through the D.C. dysfunction to solve challenges and get things done, including expanding maternal health care options and helping veterans in rural areas access mental health support.

• Led the bipartisan Sgt. Brandon Ketchum Rural Veterans’ Mental Health Act – legislation signed into law by President Biden in 2021 – to expand mental health access for veterans in rural areas. I have also voted to fully fund veterans’ benefits and my team and I have worked with the VA to help Iowa veterans receive the benefits and care they have earned.
• Spearheaded the bipartisan Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act to help prevent the tragedy of stillbirth, the unexpected loss of a baby after more than 20 weeks of pregnancy. President Biden signed this legislation into law earlier this year.
• Returned millions of dollars back to the district, securing federal funding for critical infrastructure projects, to expand child care facilities, build emergency operations centers, and bolster flood infrastructure.

While I will never compromise on our commonsense, conservative principles, I will always find common ground to deliver for Iowans.

Recent Highlights from IA-02

Medal Presentation for Corporal Dan McDowell

I was honored to present Corporal Dan McDowell with the Purple Heart and other medals that he earned while serving in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. Years later, his courage and sacrifice are now properly recognized. Thank you, Corporal!

Schmitt Island Veteran's Trail Ribbon Cutting

The people of Dubuque long ago recognized the need to honor Iowa hero Chaplain Aloysius Schmitt, renaming City Island and establishing a memorial. Now, with the opening of Veterans Memorial Plaza Trail, Iowans and visitors can easily access it. I was proud to secure federal funding to complete this project!