For regular updates on my work in Washington and information on when I’ll be in your neighborhood, sign up here for my e-newsletter. 

Friends, 

I’m back in Washington after three weeks on the ground in Iowa meeting with small business owners, farmers, child care workers, and first responders. It’s been a busy time, but I have a lot of updates to share.

While in Washington, I have been working on legislation that supports mental health programs for rural veterans, protects frontline workers while they are on the job, and provides COVID-19 relief to the businesses and farmers who are still trying to make ends meet as this pandemic continues.

Here are the highlights from the last couple of weeks, including some recent conversations with farmers and business owners.

Supporting Mental Health Programs for Rural Veterans

I testified before the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health about my legislation named in honor of veteran Brandon Ketchum that would expand access to mental health care for rural veterans. You can watch the video here.

Protecting Frontline Workers While On The Job

No one should go to work and have to fear for their personal safety on the job. But our social services and health care workers – including nurses, doctors, social workers, emergency responders, and other types of caregivers – experience disproportionately high rates of workplace violence.

That’s why I voted with a bipartisan majority in the House to pass the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Services Workers Act, which would provide health and social service workers the on-the-job protection they deserve.

I also joined Iowa House Minority Leader Todd Prichard and Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls in sending a letter to federal officials requesting an independent investigation into last month’s deadly assaults at the Anamosa State Penitentiary and the increasing violence within Iowa’s correctional facilities.

Providing COVID-19 Relief To Iowa’s Businesses

I spoke to local artist and business owner Emily McQueen at Arts on Fifth in Malvern during a recent 16 County Tour of Iowa's Third District.

So many Iowa businesses – from artists, to farmers, to movie theater owners – are still hurting from the uncertainty the COVID-19 pandemic brought us this last year. I’ve been working hard to make sure these businesses and farms remain operational, and that our communities are able to thrive.

To ensure some of the businesses that have been hardest hit by this pandemic won’t be shuttered for good, I joined a bipartisan, bicameral effort to urge the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to follow through on relaunching an emergency relief program set up by Congress to support local music, arts, cinema, and other entertainment venues.

Iowa’s farmers, ranchers and those who are running self-employed small businesses are also still hurting. Previous changes to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) allowed them to get larger loans, but not if their PPP loan had already been forgiven.

So, this week, I cosponsored the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) Equity Act of 2021, which would allow farmers, ranchers, and self-employed individuals to retroactively recalculate their loans to receive the full loan amount available, regardless of their previous loan status.

Congressional Art Competition Submissions Due

Iowa high school students who live in Iowa’s Third District are invited to participate in the 2021 Congressional Art Competition. The winner’s artwork, which will be chosen by a panel of artists from across IA-03, will be hung at the U.S. Capitol for one year.

The final day to submit artwork for consideration is April 26. You can learn more about the competition and see information on how to submit projects by clicking here.

Hearing from Iowa's Farmers Before the Start of a New Season

I visited the Edge of the Woods Raspberry Farm near Indianola and spoke with owners Beth and Rick McGeough during a recent stop in Warren County. The farmers grow several types of berries and sell jams and local goods in a store on the farm.

I recently spent a day hearing the perspectives of farmers from Dallas, Guthrie, Madison and Warren counties and talking about the upcoming planting season. I started my tour at the DMACC Learning Farm near Adel, and then visited a farmer in Guthrie County who runs a farm that’s been in her family for more than 160 years. I then visited with the owners of Rowe’s Red Cows in Madison County and the Edge of the Woods Raspberry Farm in Warren County. You can read more about my trip by clicking here.

Hearing directly from the Iowans that I’m working for helps me do my job better representing all of southwest Iowa in Washington, and I’ll never stop working for you.

Thank you so much for reading – stay safe and be well,

Cindy