Loebsack addresses broadband accuracy, health care at Noon Rotary

By Grace King, Mt. Pleasant News

State Representative Dave Loebsack (D-IA) sat down with members of Noon Rotary at Iowa Wesleyan University on Wednesday, Aug. 15, to discuss their concerns and ways he is working with the district to meet their needs as best he can.

Before taking questions from Noon Rotary members, Loebsack touched on accurate rural broadband, safeguarding Critical Access Hospitals and Telehealth and the Renewable Fuel Standard.

With the recent passing of Loebsack?s Precision Agricultural Connectivity Act in the U.S. House, Loebsack stressed the accuracy of broadband data for rural Americans, especially the agricultural community who need GPS services available during planting season. The bipartisan bill establishes a task force partnering with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Federal Communications Commission to provide farmers access to broadband technology.

The representative said he is working with Congressman Ryan Costello, from Pennsylvania, to make sure the FCC uses accurate data when putting together maps that show where broadband is and isn?t.

As it stands, Loebsack said the data is ?bad data.? In speaking with the chairman of the FCC, who was in northwest Iowa a year ago, Loebsack asked him if he had dropped calls in areas where the map shows strong broadband. The chairman admitted that yes, he had, and that his maps didn?t show it.

?It?s about making sure we have broadband to serve our agricultural community ? those kinds of things are really important,? Loebsack said.

As one of the few Democrats serving a rural district, Loebsack said he wants to make sure Critical Access Hospitals stay open and that regulations do not cause overwhelming burden. ?I want rural areas to have access to good, quality health care,? he said. ?You can?t do that if you don?t keep the 80 rural Critical Access Hospitals open.?

Loebsack briefly discussed the importance of Telehealth in meeting the health care needs of rural Iowans. ?Someone from Mt. Pleasant ought to be able to access health care in Iowa City at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinic,? he said.

?That?s connecting a more rural community with a more urban community. We?re tied together,? Loebsack said.

Another bill Loebsack had a hand in introducing is the Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act that would allow E15 ethanol to be sold during the summer months. Currently, there is an Environmental Protection Act regulation that restricts the use of E15 during the summer because it supposedly creates more smog.

?It doesn?t,? Loebsack said simply.

Taking questions from Noon Rotary members, Loebsack said that there is a lot of fear in Washington, D.C. right now. While there is concern from both Republicans and Democrats about President Donald Trump?s tweets and general ?lack of civility,? it?s more difficult for Republicans to speak out against, Loebsack said.

The response Loebsack receives from his Republican colleagues is that Trump has a 75 percent approval rating in their district. ?That?s a hard thing to go up against. You have to have a lot of courage,? he said.

However, Loebsack praised Senator Chuck Grassley and Senator Joni Ernst, both Republicans, for their efforts to take on the president when it comes to tariffs.

When it comes to the issues, Loebsack lamented that they need more bipartisanship to pass legislature. ?It?s perverse,? he said. ?Those of us who want to get along are more often than not in the districts that get targeted by the other side. When are we going to ? come together to work across the aisle??

Loebsack will oppose Republican Christopher Peters in November. Loebsack is serving his sixth term in the U.S. House.