Congress considers flood resiliency bill

I was excited to reintroduce my bipartisan Flood Resiliency and Land Stewardship Act with Congressman Eric Sorensen. This legislation would expand and strengthen flood and drought mitigation for Iowans through USDA’s Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

As Iowans know all too well, flooding can pose major challenges and has resulted in devastating effects on our communities and to Iowa’s agriculture industry. Agricultural conservation practices are a critical component of efforts to mitigate risks associated with flooding, but none of the five major USDA conservation programs specifically mention flood prevention or mitigation in their statutory purpose sections.

That’s why I teamed up with Rep. Sorensen once again to elevate flooding as a natural resource concern within the Regional Conservation Partnership Program — ensuring that flood mitigation will be a long-term focus of the program and providing the necessary resources to protect our communities.

When I covered the devastating Flood of 2008, I saw Iowans band together to recover and rebuild in a more resilient way. Even today, this continues to inspire me to fight for proactive solutions that prioritize common sense flood mitigation and prevention efforts. I'm proud to lead on this issue that is near and dear to Iowans, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to turn this into law.

I recently had the opportunity to meet with the employees of Alliant Energy to answer their questions and discuss my work to support Iowa's workers and energy sector. After years of high energy prices and overregulation, Iowans are counting on Congress to unleash an all-of-the-above and an all-of-the-below energy strategy.

Every Iowan deserves clean and reliable drinking water, regardless of their ZIP code. I got the chance to catch up with community leaders from Belle Plaine on their Drinking Water Resiliency Project. I’m proud to advocate for this project in Congress and will continue fighting for critical investments in Iowa’s communities.

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A rainy week might have kept farmers out of the field last week, but a group of Iowa Corn members was able to step out of the cab and get together to chat in Tama County. We had a meaningful conversation about expanding new markets, unleashing access to biofuels, and passing a strong Farm Bill.

Our Iowa farmers are the best of the best at feeding and fueling the world, and I’ll continue to fight for them in Congress.

Iowa leads the nation in biofuels production thanks to our dedicated farmers and innovative biofuels producers. I was pleased to meet with the Clean Fuels Alliance this week to discuss ways we can continue to advocate for Iowa’s biofuels industry, and I look forward to our continued partnership.

I also had the pleasure of meeting with a group of interns from Sen. Grassley’s office. I applaud their passion for public service and am always proud to see Iowa’s dedicated and driven college students coming to D.C. to learn about the inner workings of Congress and serve the great people of Iowa.