Senator Joni Ernst is in the middle of her first term in Washington D.C. and there’s a lot of issues to tackle.
As Sen. Ernst travels around Iowa on her 99 county tour, she said the number one topic she hears from constituents is health care.
“We hope that we can find at least a short-term fix to help stabilize that insurance market really help those that are trapped in the middle, they make too much to receive subsidies yet they can't afford the premiums for the insurance,” said Ernst.
While the vote in the Senate was mostly on partisian lines, Ernst hopes other bills like tax reform and infrastructure can have support from both parties.
“We need to find the funding mechanism for that and again move forward so that we're making our nation stronger when it comes to our infrastructure,” said Ernst.
Ernst co-sponsored a bill President Donald Trump signed last week to establish the Global War on Terrorism Foundation which will lay the groundwork on creating a monument on the National Mall in D.C. for those veterans paid solely by private donors.
“The hope is that we will be able to establish that monument on the mall so that while families can easily go out and see it, they would have that opportunity,” said Ernst.
A speech by President Trump last week called for more troops into Afghanistan but gave few specifics. It’s a move Ernst thought was clever, “I feel he is doing the smartest thing possible by not projecting to our adversaries, how many people we have on the ground, what a withdraw date would do or would be so he's holding his cards close and I think that's the best thing we can do.”
While some say President Trump’s rhetoric is stalling the GOP's agenda Ernst argues there's plenty being done in the Senate.
“The president will say what the president wants to say, it's up to us in congress to focus on those initiatives. So certainly we will focus on the work at hand and in those committees,” said Ernst.
On her 99 county tour Ernst said other topics of concern are cutting regulations and passing a comprehensive farm bill which could be passed by the end of this year according to Ernst.
The Senate goes back to work after Labor Day.
