Email from Rep Feenstra

Dear Friend,

In this week's roundup: The second video of my Farm Bill Breakdown series and passage of the National Defense Authorization Act. 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!

THE SECOND VIDEO OF MY FARM BILL BREAKDOWN SERIES

For the second video in my Farm Bill Breakdown series, we’re talking about my FRIDGE Act, which is part of the Farm Bill and would help build cold storage and make port improvements at home and abroad to ship our perishable ag products across the globe.

The need to build export infrastructure in new and developing markets is urgent.

According to the USDA, our ag trade deficit is projected to top nearly $43 billion for Fiscal Year 2025. And without proper storage for perishable goods, this gap will be hard to close.

Beef, pork, turkey, chicken, and other products that require cold temperatures to prevent spoiling have a significant disadvantage in global markets.

My FRIDGE Act will help address this issue by making investments in necessary export infrastructure – including cold-chain storage – so that our perishable goods can reach consumers worldwide and our farmers can sell to more markets.

TEACHING THE DANGERS OF COMMUNISM TO THE NEXT GENERATION

Nearly 1/3 of America’s youth hold a favorable opinion of communism and nearly 20% believe communism is better than capitalism.

These alarming findings cannot be the norm for future generations of Americans if we want our country to succeed and prosper.

That's why I voted for the Crucial Communism Teaching Act to push back against the spread of this dangerous ideology in our schools and educate our children about communism’s ugly past.

Rep. Feenstra Backs Bill Requiring Schools To Teach Dangers Of Communism

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) today (Friday) voted for the Crucial Communism Teaching Act that would require schools to teach about the history and failures of communism to high school students. The bill seeks to develop and

CONTINUING EXCELLENCE ON THE WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE

Congratulations to my friend — Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri — on being reappointed as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee!

Chairman Smith has been a phenomenal leader for our committee the last two years, and I look forward to working with him to reauthorize and build upon the Trump Tax Cuts!

CONGRATULATIONS TO IOWA'S 2025 TEACHER OF THE YEAR!

Congratulations to Melanie Bloom — who teaches agriculture at Sioux Central High School — on being named Iowa’s 2025 Teacher of the Year!

Educators like Melanie work incredibly hard to help the next generation of Iowans reach their full potential.

Sioux Central agriculture teacher named 2025 Iowa Teacher of the Year

The Sioux Central Community School District agriculture teacher has taught for 16 years.

CATCHING UP WITH THE IOWA HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION

It was great to catch up with representatives from the Iowa Hospital Association to talk about protecting access to healthcare in rural Iowa.

I’m focused on expanding telehealth options for our families and strengthening maternal and infant care in our rural communities.

ADVOCATING FOR HIGH-QUALITY PEDIATRIC HEALTHCARE

I enjoyed meeting Mikki with ChildServe on Tuesday.

ChildServe is a great nonprofit that advocates for high-quality pediatric healthcare and promotes the wellbeing of our kids.

As a father of four, ensuring that our children have access to the care they need is a top priority for me.

106TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE IOWA FARM BUREAU

On Wednesday morning, my District Director — Emily — attended the 106th Annual Meeting of the Iowa Farm Bureau.

President Brent Johnson — who is from the 4th District — spoke about the urgent need to reduce our growing ag trade deficit and pass the Farm Bill.

Together, we will fight for our farmers!

WE MUST PASS THE FARM BILL

Crippling inflation, rising input costs, and government overreach are crushing our farming communities.

Senate Democrats need to stop playing political games with the livelihoods of our farmers.

American farmers and producers deserve a five-year Farm Bill signed into law!

DISCUSSING PRO-GROWTH TAX POLICIES WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS

Tuesday afternoon, I met with members of the National Association of Manufacturers to discuss my work on the House Ways and Means Committee to advance pro-growth tax policies that benefit our manufacturing sector.

Almost every small town in the 4th District has a local manufacturing company, which keeps our rural communities strong.

ONE LAST THING: EXPANSION OF APPOINTMENT-BASED SERVICES AT SOCIAL SECURITY OFFICES

Beginning January 6th, all Social Security offices in the 4th District will begin enforcing an appointment requirement. Read this message from the Social Security Administration below:

"Dear Colleague,

In our ongoing commitment to serve the public more efficiently, we are expanding appointment-based services at our local Social Security offices. By scheduling appointments, we will aim to reduce wait times, streamline service delivery, and improve the overall customer experience. Nearly 400 field offices have already moved to appointment-based service this year. These offices have seen significant improvements in wait times due to more efficient and helpful visitor experiences and increases in the number of customers able to complete their business online.

We are implementing appointment-based services nationwide in two phases. The first phase is a transition period now through January 5, 2025. The purpose of this transition period is to educate our customers about needing to schedule an appointment for SSA services. As a reminder, many of our services can be provided via phone with an appointment and do not require a customer to walk into an office for service.

Effective January 6, 2025, we will require customers to schedule an appointment for service in our field offices, including requests for Social Security cards. We encourage customers to become accustomed to our:

Online Services where many transactions can be completed conveniently and securely: https://www.ssa.gov/onlineservices/
Automated Services available on our National 800#: 1-800-772-1213.

Customers who are not able to handle their business online or with the automated options, may call their local Social Security office or our National 800# to schedule an appointment.

We want to make clear that we will not turn people away for service who are unable to make an appointment or do not want to make an appointment. For example, members of vulnerable populations, military personnel, people with terminal illnesses, and individuals with other situations requiring immediate or specialized attention may still walk in for service at our field offices. Some of our offices also have minimal to no wait times, and they will still serve customers who walk in.

We appreciate your partnership in sharing this information and helping our customers through this transition. Thank you for your continued support as we work together to improve service accessibility and responsiveness."

We are government together. If you have any questions about the changes being made, please contact my office at Feenstra.House.Gov or by phone at 202-225-4426.

MY WEEKLY COLUMN: KEEPING OUR MILITARY THE STRONGEST FIGHTING FORCE IN THE WORLD

Our national security depends on a strong military laser focused on defending our country and our values. China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, terrorist groups, and other diabolical forces are intent on destabilizing our nation, dismantling our economy, and sowing chaos across the globe. We cannot let this new Axis of Evil and their proxies undermine American leadership on the world stage nor can we let them get away with openly disregarding the rule of law, international norms, and global security interests.

To ensure that our troops have the resources and support that they need to keep our enemies in check and protect our communities, I recently voted for the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets the military’s budget for the year and includes other defense-related measures. This year’s NDAA makes needed investments in military housing, servicemember pay, healthcare, childcare, and military recruitment and readiness. It also includes provisions to deter China’s growing influence globally, eliminate radical DEI initiatives, and support Israel against terror. All in all, it represents a commitment to our mission of peace through strength.