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D.C. Dispatch: Iowa lawmakers rail against EV rules, push for biofuel exports • Iowa Capital Dispatch [1]
['Jay Waagmeester', 'More From Author', '- March']
Date: 2024-03-22
The U.S. House approved funding Friday that would avoid a government shutdown. The package awaits Senate approval before being signed by President Joe Biden.
Rep. Randy Feenstra voted against the funding, while the remaining three supported the funding.
Rep. Ashley Hinson issued a statement in support of the bill but criticizing its timing. “Congress should not be finalizing last year’s appropriations bills six months into this fiscal year, and I share Iowans’ frustration with the shutdown politics,” she said.
Delegates are set to return to their districts for the next two weeks, but first, delegates blasted the Biden administration’s electric vehicle rules, pushed for biofuel exports, and introduced legislation regarding artificial intelligence, banning oil sales and more.
Here’s a look at what Iowa’s congressional delegation was up to this week:
Electric vehicle conversation
Feenstra released a statement encouraging Biden to reverse his “misguided” decision to approve the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) ruling on electric vehicle production.
The ruling requires vehicle manufacturers to produce 67% of light-duty vehicles and 46% of medium-duty vehicles as electric by 2032.
“The Biden administration’s approval of an EPA rule that essentially forces Americans to buy electric vehicles is just another example of the President’s reckless and misinformed regulatory agenda,” Feenstra said in a news release.
Rep. Ashley Hinson accused Biden of trying to ban gas-powered cars, repeating a statement that independent factcheckers have said is false.
“This out-of-touch mandate will hurt American autoworkers and drag down our economy while giving a boost to Communist China, and I will do everything in my power to fight it and ensure Biden cannot achieve his ultimate goal of banning gas powered cars,” Hinson said in a news release.
Sen. Chuck Grassley spoke up about a different proposed regulation from the EPA that would regulate vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. This rule would phase in over a five years span, starting with model year 2027.
Grassley raised concern about a cost estimate made by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) regarding electric vehicle tax credits affecting the national debt.
Grassley wrote a letter to the EPA.
“The CBO released its ten-year budget and economic outlook on February 7, 2024, which projected a $224 billion increase in the cumulative deficit caused by higher electric vehicle tax credit claims and reduced gas tax revenues,” Grassley wrote. “CBO made sure to note that EPA’s market-shifting EV Rule is the largest factor contributing to these revisions. The American taxpayers have not voted for and can’t afford the EPA’s proposed EV Rule.”
Banning oil sales
Sens. Joni Ernst and John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, introduced a bill to prohibit the export and sale of oil from the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve to a specific list of countries.
The countries that would be banned from receiving American oil include China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Syria and Cuba.
“Energy security is national security, which is why it is essential to safeguard our strategic supply of oil from benefitting our enemies,” Ernst said in a news release. “This bipartisan bill will ensure America’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve does not fall into the hands of those trying to harm us and ensure CCP-controlled businesses are not making money by stockpiling taxpayer-subsidized oil.”
Speaking up on biofuel exports
Reps. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Zach Nunn, Feenstra and Hinson joined two letters regarding biofuel exports, asking for the repeal of a Brazil tariff on American ethanol.
One letter was sent to U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, calling for an end to the Brazil tariff on ethanol.
The 20 members of Congress who signed on to the letter asked for the two executive cabinet members to be engaged in an upcoming consultation and comment period by the Foreign Trade Chamber at the Brazil Ministry of the Economy (CAMEX) regarding its tariff.
“We urge you to engage during CAMEX’s comment period to further highlight this issue and remind CAMEX that this tariff imbalance, coupled with ongoing non-tariff barriers such as Brazil’s impenetrable RenovaBio biofuel program, puts American ethanol, farmers, and rural communities at a severe economic disadvantage,” the lawmakers wrote.
The other letter was sent to Tai and Biden and called for increased biofuel exports by removing trade barriers.
“With the global [sustainable aviation fuel] market anticipated to grow from under $2 billion this year to more than $133 billion in 2033, and with American-based biofuel feedstocks well poised to meet the scale of that growth, it is critically important that USTR remains committed to supporting American biofuel producers during global trade discussions,” the lawmakers wrote.
The delegates stated that the U.S. should negotiate free trade agreements to level the playing field for Americans.
https://twitter.com/RepFeenstra/status/1770080896151859416
Black Hawk bridge reopening
Grassley and Ernst wrote to the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) encouraging the agencies to continue to work with the Iowa DOT and Wisconsin DOT toward a quick reopening of a bridge on the the states’ border.
The bridge connecting Iowa Highway 9 and Wisconsin Highway 35 in Lansing, Iowa, shut down on Feb. 25 after a sudden structural failure.
“The bridge’s closure impacts thousands of Wisconsinites and Iowans, with an estimated 2,200 vehicles previously crossing the bridge daily, and there are limited other options for crossing the river,” the senators wrote. “We strongly support the efforts to get the existing bridge reopened and request that FHWA continue to work with the Iowa and Wisconsin Departments of Transportation to restore traffic on this bridge as soon as possible.”
The bridge is projected to be completed in late April.
Refrigerator Freedom Act
A bill introduced by Miller-Meeks passed out of the Energy and Commerce Committee. The bill would stop the Department of Energy from “prescribing or enforcing energy efficiency standards for refrigerators that are not cost effective or technologically feasible, or that fail to save a significant amount of energy,” according to Miller-Meeks.
The Refrigerator Freedom Act is a response to a final rule on refrigerators and freezers aimed at saving consumers money. Miller-Meeks argues the amount of time taken to save money with the rule in place may not be as beneficial as stated.
“The Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden Administration have done nothing but implement outrageous regulations that only serve to limit consumer choice, increase energy prices, and control everything Americans are able to do on a day-to-day basis,” Miller-Meeks said in a news release.
Perry pork plant
A Tyson Foods pork processing facility will close in June, the company announced March 11. Grassley weighed in on the closure in his weekly call with reporters.
“I’ll take the words of Trump over the weekend and what he was talking about the automobile industry and the unemployment, it’s a bloodbath for the city of Perry, it’s a bloodbath for each one of the 1,276 people that were earning a living and now unemployed,” Grassley said.
Nunn stopped at the facility this week, he shared in a social media post.
After Tyson’s announcement last week, I spent time in Perry today talking with employees impacted by the closure. I’m working closely with state and local leadership to ensure our community has the resources needed to move forward together. pic.twitter.com/fSoYVrRoUR — Congressman Zach Nunn (@ZachNunn) March 19, 2024
Stillbirth prevention act
The Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act sponsored by Hinson passed out of committee and is now up for consideration by the House.
My bipartisan Maternal and Child Health Stillbirth Prevention Act passed unanimously through @HouseCommerce today. We are one step closer to ending this silent & preventable crisis and ensuring no parent endures the tragedy of stillbirth. Next stop: the House floor!
https://t.co/UVfnojZU93 pic.twitter.com/cqaUYORMHX — Ashley Hinson (@RepAshleyHinson) March 20, 2024
Nunn introduces AI misinformation bill
Nunn introduced a bipartisan bill that would develop a plan for federal agencies against “nefarious artificial intelligence use.”
The bill would make requirements for the U.S. Departments of Treasury, Commerce and Homeland Security as artificial intelligence develops.
Specifically, the bill would require those agencies to promote U.S. innovation of technology like AI, implement cross-jurisdictional techniques to defend against AI-driven attacks and utilize current enforcement tools to combat fraud, financial crime and AI-generated misinformation.
Nunn stated that nefarious acts could be foreign countries coercing Americans into turning over data, disrupting financial markets and falsely triggering defense components.
“Artificial intelligence is an emerging technology that has created new opportunities and technological advancements to help move our society forward,” Nunn said in a news release. “There is also a ton of risk that our adversaries – like the Chinese Communist Party, North Korea, Russia, and Iran – will use it to generate misinformation, commit fraud, and perpetrate crimes.”
Collecting data on law enforcement attacks
In response to a “sharp rise in anti-police rhetoric and a corresponding rise in violent acts against law enforcement officers,” Hinson introduced a bill that would alter how attacks on police are reported.
Her bipartisan bill would increase the categories reported regarding anti-police attacks such as intention and coordination of perpetrators.
The bill would also bring awareness to the mental health and stress-related impacts police officers face and would explore the extent that mental health resources for police officers are used.
“Our law enforcement officers put themselves in harms’ way to protect us and always have our back, and this bill will ensure we have their backs, too,” Hinson said in a news release. “I will always back the blue and stand strong against all destructive defund the police rhetoric.”
National Women in Ag Day
The Senate unanimously passed a resolution led by Ernst and signed by Grassley to recognize March 22, 2024 as National Women in Agriculture Day.
“I keep a sign on my desk with the words, ‘the future is female’ and that especially rings true in the agriculture industry,” Ernst said in a news release. “Women who are producers, educators, advocates, and mentors lead the way in the field today and foster the next generation of agriculturalists for tomorrow.”
Grassley says government transparency ‘getting worse.’
On a call with reporters this week, Grassley commented on the processes and behaviors associated with government transparency, coming shortly after Sunshine Week, in which Grassley and Ernst participated.
“I think it’s getting worse, not better,” Grassley said. “That ought to be a concern to you journalists, radio, TV, print, whatever the case might be and you can see that in the longer time it takes to get a FOIA request responded to compared to 10 or 15 years ago, you can see it in my requests for information through letter to various bureaucracies in my oversight work, it’s just not very good.”
U.S. Agency for International Development reporting
Ernst is part of a bipartisan effort that aims to save tax dollars by improving U.S. Agency for International Development Improvement (USAID) processes and its relationship with its partners.
The legislation is an effort to increase transparency and would publish annual reports and evaluate staff shortages and rate abuses. The bill would also allow partners to submit applications or proposals in native languages.
“While USAID has resisted my previous oversight, I’m taking bipartisan action to clarify USAID’s policies to ensure they are localizing needs and ending abuses of taxpayer dollars, so developing countries reduce their dependence on U.S. dollars,” Ernst said in a news release.
Air marshals at the border
Hinson introduced a bill that would prevent the deployment of federal air marshals to the U.S.-Mexico border unless a crisis is declared at the border.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas would have to declare a crisis before air marshals could be deployed. Hinson said the bill would prevent Mayorkas from dodging accountability.
“The Biden Administration’s decision to divert an unprecedented number of Federal Air Marshals from their primary duty of ensuring the safety of Americans on commercial flights to perform administrative functions at the Southern Border is unjustifiable and has left a concerning void in our aviation security,” Hinson said in a news release. “There haven’t been this many flights unguarded by an air marshal since before 9/11. Instead of leaving Americans unprotected in the skies, Biden should enforce our current immigration laws to secure the border.”
Air marshals have played a role in assisting in humanitarian, administrative and civilian duties at the border. The Trump administration also included air marshals in reinforcements at the southern border.
Typically, air marshals have a duty of protecting passengers and crew members from threats and attacks on board aircraft.
Mayorkas is taking Federal Air Marshals away from their job of protecting Americans on commercial flights & forcing them to process illegal immigrants at our Southern Border. This is a disgrace. My new bill will hold Mayorkas & Biden accountable for making Americans less safe. — Ashley Hinson (@hinsonashley) March 19, 2024
Credit for small businesses
Grassley and Ernst introduced the Protecting Access to Credit for Small Businesses Act, an effort to counteract a proposal made by Biden.
The bill would prevent the Small Business Administration (SBA) from being a direct 7(a) lender. According to Grassley’s office, the SBA serving as a 7(a) lender would create competition between the federal government and banks and credit unions.
“The government doesn’t need to get involved where the private sector suffices,” Grassley said in a news release. “Our bill ensures small businesses and local lenders can continue their work without the government’s heavy hand in the way.”
Ernst said the bill is an effort to protect community banks.
“The SBA has repeatedly shown that it is incapable of running a direct loan program without millions in subsidies from the American taxpayer,” Ernst said in a news release.
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