To keep up on the latest from Congressman Randy Feenstra and his staff, visit his Facebook page at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/RepFeenstra
February 3, 2023
Dear Friend,
In this week’s roundup: My Farm Bill op-ed with Secretary Mike Naig, reintroducing Sarah’s Law, and my meeting with Iowans on fair-trade policies. That and more — remember to follow my Facebook page by clicking here to stay up-to-date throughout the week!
MY FARM BILL OP-ED WITH SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE MIKE NAIG
The 4th District is the second largest ag-producing district in the nation because of our hardworking farmers. As a member of the Agriculture Committee, I am focused on passing a strong Farm Bill that benefits our producers and protects the productivity of Iowa agriculture.
You can read more in my op-ed with Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig below.
Opinion: In the farm bill, protecting the productivity…
Randy Feenstra represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Mike Naig is the Iowa secretary of agriculture. With total output ranking second in the nation, Iowa agriculture is truly a productivity powerhouse. …
MY MEETING WITH IOWANS ABOUT FREE- AND FAIR-TRADE POLICIES
On Wednesday, I had a productive conversation with Iowans about the importance of free- and fair-trade agreements to the 4th District economy and our nation.
Serving on the House Ways and Means Committee, as well as the House Agriculture Committee, I will advocate for policies that open foreign markets and support our hardworking farmers and producers.
REINTRODUCING SARAH’S LAW WITH SENATOR JONI ERNST
Seven years ago, Sarah Root, a 21-year-old young woman from Council Bluffs, was killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk. Instead of being prosecuted for his actions, he was released from jail and never seen again.
That’s why Senator Joni Ernst and I are reintroducing Sarah’s Law to hold illegal immigrants accountable for their crimes and detain and punish those who break our laws. No family should ever have to endure the pain that the Root family did.
Ernst, Feenstra refuse to give up on Sarah’s Law
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-IA) and U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) this week reintroduced bicameral legislation that would require U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to take into custody illegal aliens who have been charged in the United …
Mexico’s proposed ban on GMO corn imports is a direct violation of the USMCA. This ridiculous mandate would devastate our economy, disrupt international trade, and harm Iowa’s corn growers.
In Congress, I’m working to overturn this ban and hold Mexico accountable for their unfair trade practices. Iowa corn growers deserve a swift resolution to this matter.
US farmers sound alarm on single-most catastrophic thing …
A regulatory move within Mexico’s agricultural sector has U.S. farmers concerned it will “corn-er” their corn crop production. “Most farmers, my generation and younger, have never even used conventional corn. We’re not set up to do it. We don’t…
STANDING UP TO THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION’S DESTRUCTIVE WOTUS RULE
I recently joined nearly 200 of my Republican colleagues in sending a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan demanding that the Biden Administration rescind its final and destructive WOTUS rule.
Our farmers and producers are the best stewards of their land. That’s why I am working with my colleagues to overturn this destructive rule and return local control back to our agricultural communities.
Nearly 200 GOP lawmakers blast Biden’s EPA for targeting …
FIRST ON FOX: Nearly 200 House Republicans penned a letter to the Biden administration Thursday, demanding that it rescinds a regulation that could threaten the livelihoods of thousands of U.S. farmers and ranchers. The letter – led by…
ONE MORE THING: INTRODUCING A RESOLUTION TO HONOR GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER
George Washington Carver was a trailblazer who conducted groundbreaking research that advanced agriculture, supported family farmers, and promoted food security worldwide.
As a fellow Iowa State University graduate, I’m proud to introduce this resolution with my Iowa colleagues to honor Carver’s life and legacy.
Feenstra Leads Resolution Honoring Iowa State University …
This resolution would designate February 1, 2023 as “George Washington Carver Day.” – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) introduced a resolution – alongside U.S. Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA), Ashley Hinson (R-IA), and Zach Nunn…
MY WEEKLY COLUMN: IOWA FARMLAND BELONGS TO IOWA FARMERS
In this week’s column, I discuss my work to stop China from buying American farmland and protect our rural way of life in Iowa.
You can read it under “Media” at Feenstra.House.Gov or click the link below.
My Weekly Column: Iowa Farmland Belongs to Iowa Farmers
China represents the greatest threat to our national, economic, energy, and food security. From buying up American farmland to stonewalling investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, China cannot be trusted .
President Biden and the Democrats are willfully ignoring our border crisis.
As part of our Commitment to America, House Republicans have a plan to keep Title 42 in place, punish drug traffickers, and finish the border wall to keep our communities safe and save lives.
U.S. border authorities have encountered more than 718,000 migrants attempting to cross the U.S.-Mexico border in the first 100 days of fiscal year 2023, Fox News Digital has learned.
FY 2023 began on October 1, and U.S. Customs and Border Protections (CBP) has encountered more than 230,000 migrants each month since, CBP sources told Fox. Of the 718,000 encounters, just over 198,000 were immediately removed under Title 42, which President Biden’s administration failed to end in December.
The data shows a shocking spike in migration compared to the same period in fiscal year 2022 when the CBP saw roughly 518,000 border encounters in the first quarter.
The most active sector of the border is the area surrounding El Paso, Texas where CBP has recorded 168,000 migrant encounters since October 1. The agency says they have also recorded 78,161 “got aways” in that sector alone over the same period.
The new data comes as President Biden travels to visit the border for the first time in his presidency Sunday.
The U.S. has seen record-breaking border crossings throughout Biden’s tenure, and especially in the final months of 2022. The White House long sought to dismiss the surge as an annual occurrence, but historical data shows the current crisis is far beyond traditional yearly surges.
The White House also unveiled a handful of policies aimed at stemming the flow at the border as Biden announced his visit. They include expanding a humanitarian parole program for Venezuelan nationals to include Haitians, Cubans and Nicaraguans, as well as increasing refugee resettlements.
Biden acknowledged the changes aren’t up to the task, however.
“These actions alone that I’m going to announce today aren’t going to fix our entire immigration system but they can help us a good deal in managing what is a difficult challenge,” he said.
“We’re beyond frustrated that it’s taken him two years. We’re beyond frustrated that he allowed this issue to get as bad as it is,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd told Fox News Digital on Saturday. “He’s not coming to the border of his own accord. He would have done that a long, long time ago.”
COMBATING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC IN RURAL AMERICA
Between July of 2021 and June of 2022, more than 107,000 Americans tragically died from a drug overdose, and from 1999 to 2015, overdose deaths increased by 325% in rural counties.
That’s why Senator Chuck Grassley and I introduced our Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act, which is now law, to tackle the opioid epidemic head-on at the local level.
ENDING STRATEGIC PETROLEUM RESERVE SALES TO CHINA
This week, I voted to end oil sales from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China. From buying up American farmland to stonewalling investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, China cannot be trusted.
We should never sell our oil or our farmland to the Chinese Communist Party.
Feenstra Votes to Suspend Oil Sales from Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra (R-Hull) voted for, and the U.S. House of Representatives passed, the Protecting America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from China Act. This legislation prohibits the sale and export of crude oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to China.
“China represents the greatest threat to our national, economic, energy, and food security. From buying up American farmland to stonewalling investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic, China cannot be trusted,” said Rep. Feenstra. “As part of our Commitment to America, I was proud to support legislation that permanently ends the sale of oil from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to Communist China. While President Biden has depleted our oil reserves to compensate for his war on American energy production, Republicans are united in standing up to China and restoring American energy dominance.”
More specifically, this bill prevents the Department of Energy (DOE) from selling petroleum products from the SPR to any entity that is under the ownership, control, or influence of the Chinese Communist Party.
Friday, January 6
MY QUANTUM IN PRACTICE ACT
Quantum computing has the untapped potential to lower input costs for our farmers.
That’s why I introduced the Quantum in Practice Act to ensure that our producers can realize the real benefits of quantum computing, not just in theory, but in practice.
Agriculture is much more closely intertwined with technology than many people think. In fact, the industry is often making an effort to be on the cutting edge of modern technology. Unfortunately, agriculture’s relation to modern technology is sometimes overlooked. Iowa 4th District Congressman Randy Feenstra said that including agriculture in the Quantum in Practice Act will help push efficiency in farming even further.
Even with all of this technology, not much progress will happen if farmers aren’t able to get their hands on any of it. Feenstra’s Precision Agriculture Loan Program Act seeks to help farmers in making those purchases and implementing those products on their farms.
With issues like these and more in the ag industry, Feenstra said it’s important for farmers to make their voices heard.
For more information, visit feenstra.house.gov.
Feenstra talks GOP’s new House majority
An Interview with the Northwest Iowa Review….
The congressman from N’West Iowa is in the majority for the first time as he and 221 other Republicans start the next term today (Tuesday, Jan. 3).
Randy Feenstra said he is focused on policy areas central to his district, the Iowa 4th, as his party takes back control of the U.S. House of Representatives.
“I’m just passionate about making sure that I represent the 4th District and advocate for them. I’ll do everything I can to make sure their voice is heard, and we deliver results from that,” Feenstra said.
Committee assignments will not be finalized until later in January, but Feenstra said he is looking forward to building on the work he has done on the House Agriculture Committee. The Farm Bill — last renewed in 2018 — is set to re-enter the congressional spotlight.
Among the goals Feenstra is targeting are support for biofuels, chiefly ethanol availability and production, and disruption of the “Big Four” meat packers, which control about 90 percent of feedlot cattle.
Bipartisanship can be relatively easy to find on ag policy, he said, which will be key given the red-blue makeup elsewhere on the federal level.
“Agriculture is, in essence, part of every state in our nation. We have to have a strong voice. I don’t care what party people are affiliated with as long as they see agricultural production as the breadbasket to the world,” Feenstra said.
While the House just barely tipped back over into GOP hands with November’s midterm elections — 222 seats to 213 seats — the Senate stayed with the Democrats, who even added a member in that chamber.
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra speaks about his support for ethanol April 12 at the POET Biorefining plant near Ashton. The federal government helped widen accessibility to biofuels in 2022, something the Republican from Hull said he wants to push further in 2023.Elijah Helton ehelton@iowainformation.com
Feenstra said Republicans will have the leverage to get the Senate and President Joe Biden on board with at least some of their goals.
“We do need both parties; however, I still think you’ve got to prioritize what’s important,” he said.
“I look at whether it be domestic energy; whether it be securing our border — we’re seeing what’s happening at our border right now and it’s scary; supporting our farmers and our families; starting to control inflation; getting wasteful spending under control. We have to lay this at the feet of our president and say, ‘Hey, you have to sign it or you’re going to veto it.’ But society needs to know where everybody stands.”
The Hull native has experience getting a Democratic signature on his bills. In the lame-duck period between Election Day and oaths of office, his bipartisan Rural Opioid Abuse Prevention Act passed the House. The president signed it Dec. 20.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: MY NEW OFFICE IN COUNCIL BLUFFS IS NOW OPEN
It was great to welcome the first visitor to my new Council Bluffs office! Jessica (right) works for the Iowa Alzheimer’s Association and met with my staffer, Abby (left).
If you need help with the federal government, please stop by the office at 149 West Broadway or call 712-256-5653.
