Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa)

Ernst Calls to End Taxpayer-Funded Terrorism and Border Disorder

United Nations Staff Carried Out Terrorist Attacks, Contribute to Illegal Immigration

U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) is working to permanently end U.S. taxpayer funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and redirect the unspent money intended for that United Nations (UN) agency towards the construction of a wall along America’s southern border.

The U.S. contributes more than $18 billion in taxpayer dollars to the UN a year, which is about a third of the agency’s entire budget.

However, Ernst points out that at least a dozen staff members of UNRWA helped Hamas plan and carry out the October 7 terrorist attacks against Israel that killed hundreds of people, including 32 American citizens. Additionally, the UN is contributing to the humanitarian and national security crisis at our southern border by distributing millions of dollars in financial assistance to help support migrants who are crossing into our country illegally.

“Funding the UN is like paying for a security system that enables, rather than deters, intruders,” Ernst said. “U.S. taxpayers shouldn’t be giving billions of dollars to an international organization facilitating the crisis at our southern border and whose own staff helped harm and take hostage American citizens. Not another cent to terrorist sympathizers. We could make the world a safer place by putting those tax dollars to better use securing our own border, instead of facilitating illegal immigration, and helping our friend, Israel, eliminate the threat of Hamas.”

 

Ernst: Taking Attendance at the White House — Friday, January 26, 2024

Imagine one of your coworkers skips out—for days—and nobody, not even the boss, notices.

Sounds pretty farfetched, since the workplaces I’ve visited across Iowa are pretty short-staffed these days. Just one missing team member would be immediately obvious to everyone. That is, unless the absent employee is the head of a government agency, like the Department of Defense, and the boss happens to be the President of the United States.

With wars in Europe and the Middle East, and the Pacific teetering on the brink, America’s defense chief went AWOL for four days this past month. Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief and de facto head of the Pentagon were also both out of the office, on tropical islands far away from Washington.

Without informing the White House or his own senior staff, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin went under general anesthesia on December 22 for a medical procedure. A little over a week later he was rushed by ambulance back to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where he would be hospitalized for the next two weeks. Austin’s chief of staff also happened to be out on sick leave at the time the Secretary was admitted to the hospital.

Biden wasn’t even aware his Secretary of Defense was away from the job until he was informed days later during his weeklong Caribbean vacation, where he was relaxing at a private beachfront villa owned by big dollar Democratic donors.

Also without the president’s knowledge, the Defense Secretary transferred some of his responsibilities to his deputy, who coincidentally was vacationing in the Caribbean on a different island, Puerto Rico. Austin’s “deputy ended up running the Pentagon from the beach.”
Folks, the defense of our nation isn’t a part-time job. While the president and his advisors are busy packing for sandy island beaches, thousands of men and women in uniform are being deployed to the shifting sands of the Middle East, where American citizens are being held hostage by terrorists right now. And Iranian-backed militants have launched more than 100 attacks against U.S. troops in the region over the past three months.

“Out of office” messages bounced back by Biden administration officials on leave are not going to repel attacks from America’s enemies. But despite being called back to work by the White House, Washington’s bureaucracies remain largely abandoned.

Even Biden’s administrator of the General Services Administration, who is supposed to manage over 8,300 government buildings, spent most of the year following the agency’s “full re-entry” to the office not in Washington, but in Missouri.

This is how the Biden bureaucrats do business: when, where, how, and if they want to.

Secretary of Transportation Peter Buttigieg noted, “When you take a job like mine, you understand and accept that you’re going to have to be available 24/7, depending on what’s going on, and you’re going to have to engage.” But then he went offline for four weeks of paid paternity leave in the midst of a nationwide supply chain crisis, even declining to take a call from Senator Chuck Grassley about a transportation issue in Iowa.

President Biden himself is setting this example for how Washington “works from home.”
The president was out of the Oval Office last year more than any other modern American president, spending nearly 40 percent of his time away from the nation’s capital. Biden’s getaways include frequent trips to the beach, the estates of billionaires, and other posh destinations. Even when not vacationing, the president limits his participation in public events to weekdays, between the hours of 10 AM and 4 PM.
While Biden and his bureaucrats are living like every week is beach week, the hardworking Americans paying their salaries don’t have the same luxury of setting their own office hours. That’s why I am giving my January 2024 Squeal Award to the absentee administration officials. Apparently only they know who they are, since no one is taking attendance.

Folks, Biden and his bureaucrats can reschedule their beach getaways until January 2025 when they all will be out of office, permanently. In the meantime, I’m calling on the White House Office of Management and Budget to start auditing and posting the schedules of the heads of every agency and department so taxpayers know who is showing up to work and who isn’t.

 

Traveling River to River — Friday, January 19

Each year, I am excited to travel from the Mississippi River to the Missouri River to meet with Iowans.

On Monday, I stopped in Shelby County at Monogram Prepared Meats. I enjoyed my tour of this bacon processing plant in Harlan. Then, I traveled back home to Red Oak and joined Montgomery County officials to see the Red Oak Child Development Center’s new 140-student facility.

My visits with Iowans across our beautiful state in 2024 are just getting started.

Stay tuned to find out when I’ll be in your area!

 

Ernst: All in for Life

This week, we witnessed Americans from tiny towns and big cities come together on the National Mall in celebration of the gift we all share – life. During this year’s March for Life, thousands gathered to focus on our desire to extend love and care for both the mother and child during pregnancy and in the years after.

This mission reminds me of the heroic work of pregnancy care centers and maternity homes that stand at the forefront of this fight. These centers serve as the bedrock of families across the nation, providing parents with compassionate support and resources like housing, transportation, education, and health care.

That’s because being pro-life means recognizing the joint responsibility of a mother, father, and society at large to protect and nurture each and every child from the moment that it is created throughout his or her life. To truly change our culture, communities must go all in on life and wrap around families who are struggling.

As I travel throughout the state of Iowa, I am inspired by the life-affirming message of hope at resource centers and adoption facilities. Each and every day, these folks provide a roadmap to how we can truly achieve a society that respects the inherent dignity of each and every one of us and makes sure no mother faces the challenge of parenthood alone.

To support their work, I am leading the fight to safeguard taxpayer dollars for women’s health care by redirecting them from Planned Parenthood, the nation’s single largest provider of abortion, and instead using them to support other eligible entities, like community health centers, which provide important health care services but do not offer abortions.

In addition to supporting healthy families, my bill ensures Iowa taxpayers are not forced to fork out billions of dollars for an organization that violates the consciences of many Americans. To prevent this, the historically bipartisan Hyde Amendment has protected hard-earned taxpayer dollars from funding abortions. I’m dedicated to continuing this tradition to ensure Iowans do not have to foot the bill – literally – for abortions.

As a mom and soon-to-be grandma, I know it takes a village at every age and every stage to support a family. To help parents with little ones, I’m also working to increase the availability of affordable, high-quality childcare by allowing small, non-profit childcare providers, including religiously affiliated non-profits, to participate in Small Business Administration loan programs.

This week, I’m encouraged that many dedicated Americans came together during the March for Life, united by one message: life matters. We are stronger when we can tackle the challenge of pregnancy and parenthood by leaning on friends and family to get us through. It’s a precious thing when a child is brought into this world, something so valuable that a community must unite around mother and child, committed to protecting that life.

Joni Ernst, a native of Red Oak and a combat veteran, represents Iowa in the United States Senate.