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Folks, I’m not sure how else to say this: climate change isn’t coming; it’s already here. 

The evidence is all around us. In Iowa, we’ve seen terrible droughts and equally devastating storms — like last year’s derecho and once-in-a-century floods. And across this country we’re seeing worse natural disasters happening more often: from wildfires in the West to hurricanes in the East.

For this kind of crisis, we can’t just rely on one solution. We need to use every tool in our toolbelt to lower greenhouse gas emissions and reduce our reliance on fossil fuels.

That’s why I’ve been advocating in Washington for greater investments in biofuels: which have been shown to be up to 50 percent cleaner than regular gasoline. Renewable biofuels have been making huge leaps in recent years — and are on track to be carbon neutral — making them a key part of the solution when it comes to protecting our planet.

This week, I was able to make a big announcement in the pursuit of those investments. Read on to find out more and to see other things I've been up to this past month.

$1,000,000,000 for Biofuels Infrastructure

I've been leading the fight to make sure biofuels investments are included in the Build Back Better Act, a comprehensive legislative package that will tackle a range of issues from infrastructure to health care, education, and climate.

Earlier this week, I was able to announce that the initial draft of the bill will include $1 billion in funding for biofuels infrastructure — which will allow the USDA to give out grants over the next 8 years to expand biofuel pump infrastructure, upgrade existing tanks and pumps, and increase the use of higher blends of ethanol and biodiesel.

If we’re going to drastically reduce our reliance on fossil fuels quickly, we can’t just rely on energy technologies that are still years away from being available in our rural areas. That’s where renewable fuels come in.

While this bill is not finished yet, this is an important step that is great news for our rural communities, our agricultural economy, our planet, and for hundreds of thousands of Americans whose jobs are supported by the renewable fuels sector.

Read more about how I pushed to secure this funding by clicking here.

Helping National Guard, Reserve Members Succeed After Their Service

Recently, legislation I wrote to help provide in-demand skills training to members of the National Guard and Reserve advanced through the House Committee on Armed Services is headed to the House Floor.

Here at home and across the globe, members of the Iowa National Guard and Reservists put their lives on the line alongside their active duty brothers and sisters. Especially in light of these servicemembers’ work helping evacuate allies in harm’s way in Kabul over the past month, I think it is only fair that we give Guard and Reserve veterans the same opportunities to succeed after serving our country.

I wrote the Transition to Success Act because I want to make sure those same servicemembers who are putting their lives on the line while serving our country can successfully transition back to civilian life with a good-paying job.

The legislation will help National Guard and Reserve members get trained to perform in-demand and high-paying jobs to ensure their future success, all at no cost to the American taxpayer. I will continue to fight for this bipartisan, commonsense legislation as it advances through the House and hope to see it on the President's desk soon.

Learn more about the Transition for Success Act by clicking here.

Through New Task Force, Reinvesting in Rural America

Rep. Cheri Bustos and I hosted a roundtable in Indianola to hear about what types of investments could help Iowa's rural communities and schools the most. 

As a fifth-generation Iowan, I know that sometimes it can feel like the federal government has overlooked states like ours and the rural communities that folks have called home for generations.

And in the halls of Congress, I’m up against states that have dozens of representatives – so I’ve had to do the work of ten representatives to make sure Iowans’ voices are heard.

That's why I worked with Illinois Representative Cheri Bustos and my colleagues with the New Democrat Coalition to launch the Rural Reinvestment Task Force, to ensure folks in rural Iowa, Illinois and small communities across the country are being heard in Washington.

Last week, Congresswoman Bustos and I held our first listening sessions of the Task Force — hearing the concerns of school administrators, economic development officials, farmers, producers and small business owners as our group begins to consider policies.

I'm excited to get this Task Force off the ground, and to make sure central and southwest Iowa is represented well. I will keep you updated as we continue our work.

Be well and enjoy the last days of summer,

Cindy