Bill expands veterans benefits

Last week, I introduced bipartisan legislation with Congresswoman Cherfilus-McCormick to support our nation's veterans.

This bill, named in honor of Specialist Fourth Class Keith Smith, was inspired by a letter Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick and I received from his widow, Linda Smith from Independence.

I had the honor of speaking with Linda, who is now a passionate advocate for this cause and was instrumental in helping us introduce this effort.

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Specialist Smith, a Vietnam veteran exposed to Agent Orange, died from glioblastoma, which is not currently recognized as a presumptive condition under the PACT Act, despite mounting evidence. As a result, Specialist Smith was denied critical PACT Act benefits.

Specialist Smith served our country with pride and honor; I am humbled to colead this bipartisan effort to update the law and expand access to care for those exposed to toxic substances during their service. Naming this bill in Specialist Smith’s honor is a deserving tribute to his life and service, Linda’s advocacy and an opportunity for Iowans and all Americans to help save lives while honoring one of our own.

I will always look out for our nation’s heroes who answered the call and look forward to getting this lifesaving bill across the finish line.

This week, I had a great visit to Heidelberg Materials in Cerro Gordo County. It was fascinating to see how this global company operates right here in Iowa. I'm thankful to their team for the tour and for the thoughtful conversations about supporting Iowa’s economy.

I also had the chance to see Church and Dwight’s operations firsthand and hear more about their production process. The animal nutrition products made right here in Mason City are utilized by farmers across the U.S. and around the world! Iowa manufacturing remains strong thanks to companies like this one investing in our workers and communities.

I recently joined the Daily Signal’s Bradley Devlin for an episode of the Signal Sitdown. We covered a wide range of topics, starting with the media bias contributing to the massive cover-up of President Biden’s mental decline. Americans deserve answers on how many unelected bureaucrats were making monumental decisions they had no business making — and House Republicans will get to the bottom of this.

We also discussed the rising threat that the CCP poses and the actions I'm taking in Congress to hold Communist China accountable. So far this Congress, I've introduced bills to target illegal CCP police stations within the U.S., crack down on China's illicit trade practices, and secure America's agricultural supply chain to ensure we aren't reliant on China for our food supply.