What Was in the Funding Bill

Statement

On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed legislation funding the government until the end of the fiscal year. The bill was not perfect and the process was not ideal. However, Iowans didn't send me to Congress to complain about the process -- they sent me to Congress to work to make it better where I can. They sent me to make sure our policies and programs help Iowans.

While the passage of this bill seemed rushed, the House had already passed our government funding bills on time and through regular order. The Senate, on the other hand, failed to take up a single government funding bill which forced Congress to pass this legislation.

Ultimately, the priority in this bill was to give our military robust funding after years of neglect under the previous administration. Our army is outranged, outgunned, and outdated partially because it's 90,000 soldiers smaller since the start of the previous administration. Our sailors put in 100-hour weeks and have insufficient training time. Eighty percent of Marine aviation units lack the minimum number of ready and basic aircraft and fatal accidents have doubled over the past decade. And our Air Force is the smallest it has ever been.

Not only did the bill give the military the tools they need to train, fight, win, and return home, it also gave our troops the largest pay raise they have seen in nearly a decade.

I've heard from many folks who are concerned about funding for Planned Parenthood, but Planned Parenthood was not mentioned once in the entire bill. President Trump's administration has also said they will not give federal taxpayer dollars to Planned Parenthood. Additionally, the bill maintains the prohibition on the use of federal funds for abortion services.

Folks have also asked me about funding for sanctuary cities and bonuses for members of Congress. There was no funding laid out for sanctuary cities. And there were no bonuses for members of Congress -- Congress certainly doesn't deserve it.

The bill also included $1.6 billion to secure our border, including 90 miles for a border wall system. Customs and Border Patrol as well as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) received a 30 percent funding increase so we can enforce our laws and continue improving security along our border.

Also included in this bill was a provision called Fix NICS which makes sure local, state, and federal entities are reporting data necessary so those who shouldn't be able to get a gun don't fall through the cracks. It's important to clarify the provision will help protect our communities while also protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.

While negotiations were taking place on the bill, I secured a long-sought solution to the "grain glitch" -- an unintended consequence of the new tax law which gave an unfair advantage to coops over other independent businesses. The bill also included a temporary halt to the Electronic Logging Device, or ELD, mandate. This mandate has been a huge problem for livestock haulers and concerns were raised at every one of my 16 town halls.

Each day I try to bring Iowa commonsense to Washington, D.C. because the government needs to be working for the people. As Iowa's only member of the Appropriations Committee I worked to bring Iowa's values to this bill. I know there's still progress to be made, which is why I'm continuing to push forward so we don't face this process again. I am hopeful the Senate will do its job and follow suit.

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