Administration Must Crack Down on "Sanctuary Cities"

The recent murder of an innocent woman in San Francisco by a man who should have been deported has shocked and saddened our nation. Kathryn Steinle was killed July 1 by Francisco Lopez-Sanchez while she walked along a scenic pier with her father. The sad fact is that this senseless murder could have been easily prevented... Read more

Wind Energy, a Breath of Fresh Air

Wind energy is popular wherever consumers have access to it. It’s so desirable that huge tech firms have located data centers in Iowa, a leader in wind energy, in part to take advantage of a natural, abundant, renewable energy source.

Unfortunately, in Washington, D.C., wind energy’s supporters have to dodge knives from those who don’t want the competition. Just like wind energy producers, the oil, gas, nuclear and coal industries have allies in Congress. Those allies fight over wind energy’s production tax credit and whether to renew it every year or two... Read more

Avian Flu Gets Congress' Attention

The Avian Flu outbreak hit Iowa especially hard. It’s had a near catastrophic effect on the Iowa poultry industry, and the economic impact will likely total in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Overall, 223 detections have occurred affecting 48 million birds in the United States. Almost two-thirds of those birds were in Iowa.

It’s fair to say that all levels of government learned a great deal during the outbreak, and admittedly still have a lot to figure out. Federal officials, as well as producers whose farms have been hit by Avian Flu, came before the Senate Agriculture Committee last week to talk through some of the issues. It was the start of a very important dialogue within the Congress, and brought attention to the concerns of producers with the response by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Committee members were able to learn more about the effort to contain the disease from both producers and the government, and there were some clear areas for improvement identified. We also discussed what can be done to prevent the spread of the disease in the future... Read more