Joni Ernst

USDA nominees for top trade and food safety posts will now have to wait until after the midterm elections in November for Senate confirmation votes.  The Senate wrapped up work Thursday to head home for campaigns without confirming Biden USDA undersecretary nominees Oregon Department of Ag head Alexis Taylor for trade and Jose Emilio Esteban for food safety.  That’s ...

Senators Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Joni Ernst of Iowa introduced bipartisan legislation last week to protect and expand access to high-speed internet in rural communities and encourage rural broadband investment. The Access to Capital Creates Economic Strength and Supports Rural America Act would provide regulatory relief to rural telecommunications service providers by allowing them to submi

Inflation is "front and center" for agriculture and other sectors as D.C. lawmakers prepare for the November midterm elections.  Iowa Senator Joni Ernst said farm families, regardless of commodity, are feeling the pinch. “We are in a recession, and a lot of these families that normally are exhilarated by the thought of spending a week-and-a-half away from home with their livestock, with

Iowa’s U.S. Senators are calling for more Americans to be eligible to obtain a commercial driver’s license, known as a CDL, to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst penned a letter this week to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration on the issue. They asked ...

Late last week, federal lawmakers introduced the Exposing Agricultural Trade Suppression, or EATS Act, to prohibit states and local governments from interfering with agriculture products from other states. Specifically, the bill seeks to block California’s Proposition 12, which would require meat products raised outside of the state to conform to the animal rights standards adopted by California.

Republican Senators on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee led the introduction last week of legislation to codify the 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Act. The lawmakers said U.S. farmers need certainty in the guidelines, so the Navigable Waters Protection Act of 2021 will provide it ...

Legislation introduced the week by Iowa Republican Senator Joni Ernst would provide tax relief to essential, front line workers. Under Ernst’s FRNT LINE Act, federal income taxes would be suspended for essential workers up to an annual income cap set at the highest level of pay for an enlisted person in the U.S. Ar ...

Senate negotiations continue on the next coronavirus relief package. While those close to the talks suggest there will not be a bill ready until sometime next month, there is promise for additional relief to agriculture. Senator Joni Ernst, an Iowa Republican who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Agri-Pulse this week the package will likely include an additional $20 billion in Commod

Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mike Braun of Indiana introduced the Define WOTUS Act last week.  The legislation will codify a definition of the Waters of the U.S. Rule and reassert Congressional authority to define the term.   Ernst says the Obama-era rule threatened Iowa’s farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses by giving the federal government authority to regulate water in 97% of Iowa.  

Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Mike Braun of Indiana introduced the Define WOTUS Act last week.  The legislation will codify a definition of the Waters of the U.S. Rule and reassert Congressional authority to define the term.   Ernst says the Obama-era rule threatened Iowa’s farmers, manufacturers, and small businesses by giving the federal government authority to regulate water in 97% of Iowa.