Skip to content

Ernst Week in Review

Securing Wins for Iowa in Historic Infrastructure Package 

Senator Ernst, a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), scored major wins for Iowa in the America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act, a historic, bipartisan five-year transportation infrastructure package. She successfully included in the bill her own legislation to help address mobility challenges in rural areas, a provision that gives states, like Iowa, the option to use federal highway funding for lock and dam rehabilitation and modernization, and language that directs the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to adopt policies that help deliver highway projects faster.

In support of Iowa’s ethanol producers, Senator Ernst also raised issue with a charging and fueling infrastructure grant program that unfairly neglects biofuels, like E15 and E85.

Click here to watch Ernst’s remarks at the Senate EPW hearing in support of Iowa’s ethanol producers.

Putting the Rollback of Obama-era WOTUS Rule into Law

Senator Ernst also introduced legislation to codify into law the Trump Administration’s rollback of the Obama-era “Waters of the United States” or “WOTUS,” rule. While the Trump Administration has taken tremendous steps to roll back this overreaching regulation with a new, clearer definition of WOTUS, it’s the job of Congress to make it permanent in law, and that’s what Senator Ernst’s bill does. This bill will ensure more predictability and workability for Iowans for years to come.

USMCA is Important for Iowans

Senator Ernst, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Rural Development and Energy, spoke this week on the importance of passing the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). She noted that members of Speaker Pelosi’s own Democratic caucus have urged the Speaker to continue trade negotiations with the Trump Administration.

Click here or the image above to watch Senator Ernst’s remarks.

Communicating Priorities

###