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D.C. Dispatch: House Dems draft spending bill, Republicans fight back
['Katie Akin', 'More From Author', '- September']
Date: 2021-09-17 00:00:00
Welcome to the D.C. Dispatch, our weekly roundup of Iowa news from the nation’s capital. This week, fights continued over the budget reconciliation package and Iowa’s Republican representatives pushed back against vaccine mandates and foreign policy in Afghanistan.
House Democrats draft spending bill, Republicans remain skeptical
House Democrats spent this week drafting specifics for the $3.5 trillion budget reconciliation package. House and Senate leadership are working to find compromises on the package so it can clear both chambers by the end of the month.
Rep. Cindy Axne, Iowa’s only Democrat in D.C., touted amendments she proposed and supported, including $1 billion for Iowa housing and the extension of a biodiesel tax credit.
Republicans remain unhappy with the proposal, which they say is too expensive.
“They sacrificed the accountability and transparency to taxpayers — whose money they’re spending — in the name of ramming through a partisan, socialist agenda,” Rep. Ashley Hinson said in a video statement.
Democrats will also face conflict when it comes time to raise the debt ceiling. Sen. Chuck Grassley told Iowa reporters this week he strongly opposes raising the debt limit while Democrats are pursuing the reconciliation bill along party lines.
“When they want to spend in a partisan way, and Republicans oppose that partisan spending, then why would we vote to increase the debt limit for something we very much oppose?” Grassley asked.
If Congress fails to raise the debt limit, the U.S. could default on its bills. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in August that raising the debt limit does not allow new spending (like the $3.5 trillion proposal), but instead is necessary to “pay for previously enacted expenditures.”
Yellen warned that failing to increase the debt limit “would cause irreparable harm to the U.S. economy and the livelihoods of all Americans.”
Ernst remembers Red Oak resident killed in Afghanistan
Sen. Joni Ernst took the Senate floor on Wednesday to honor Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page, a 23-year-old Marine from Red Oak who was killed in the August bombing at the Kabul airport.
“Daegan may have been just 23 years old, but he died a hero who lived a life of service to his community and to his nation,” Ernst said in a tearful speech.
Ernst said she knew the Page family personally and she called them the day after the attack.
“Please accept my heartfelt condolences on the loss of your beautiful son Daegan,” she said. “The American people will never forget him, nor will they ever forget his life of service.”
Ernst and Hinson introduced a bicameral resolution to recognize the service of Afghanistan veterans. The resolution would say that “the peace the United States has experienced over the last twenty years is a direct result of the actions of the brave members of our Armed Forces, diplomats, and humanitarians.”
Ernst has also asked Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to designate the Taliban as a terrorist organization.
Grassley says Biden vaccine mandate ‘not constitutional’
Grassley told Iowa reporters Wednesday he believed Biden’s plan to require vaccinations or weekly COVID-19 tests was “not constitutional,” if done by executive action. Biden has ordered the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to create a policy that mandates COVID vaccines or testing for large employers. Federal employees are required to be vaccinated.
Grassley said the U.S. should encourage people to be vaccinated without mandating the shots. He said the key was reaching out to minority groups through trusted community or religious leaders, and for public figures to continue advocating for the vaccine.
“The best thing for me to do as an individual is to say that I believe in vaccination, I’m vaccinated,” he said.
Iowa redistricting could shake up congressional races
The Legislative Services Agency unveiled the first set of proposed redistricting maps on Thursday. The plan would cause major changes in Iowa’s congressional districts, flipping the First and Second districts geographically and creating new political balances.
The First District would see the most significant political and geographic changes. The district would include several of Iowa’s larger cities, shifting the political alignment of the district toward Democrats. Hinson, a Republican, currently holds that seat.
Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks would also represent a significantly different area: the proposed Second District covers the northeast corner of the state instead of the southeast. An analysis by Dave Wasserman, senior editor of the Cook Political Report, found that the district would become more solidly Republican with the change.
Axne’s Third District would remain a swing district, even as the makeup of counties changes. Rep. Randy Feenstra’s Fourth District would likely stay bright red.
Iowa lawmakers will convene in early October to vote on the maps.
Grassley turns 88
Friday was Grassley’s 88th birthday. The senator has been serving in elected office since he was 26 years old.
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