Unified Republican government will deliver for America
On Nov. 5, the American people elected President Trump and Republican majorities in both the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives to deliver conservative victories for our country and put America first. With over 76 million Americans casting their ballot for President Trump, Republicans have received a mandate to undo the damage caused by the Biden-Harris administration and get our country back on track. As the new year approaches, we are preparing now to hit the ground running and enact a conservative policy agenda that benefits our families, farmers, businesses, and rural communities.
Our first order of business is to end the chaos at our borders. Under the careless direction of President Biden and Vice President Harris, drug traffickers, sexual predators, terrorists, and millions of illegal immigrants were allowed to cross our border without any official vetting process. As a result, innocent Americans have lost their lives to criminals and the fentanyl epidemic continues to plague our rural communities. It never had to be this way, but the Biden-Harris administration opted instead to repeal President Trump’s successful border policies. We have all seen the disastrous and dangerous consequences of this open-border agenda.
Republicans are committed to working with President Trump to restart construction on the border wall, bring back “Remain in Mexico,” end radical “catch-and-release” policies, and fully fund our Border Patrol agents who put their lives at risk to defend our borders. I’m also very interested in working with President Trump to make his calls for a compensation fund for Americans victimized by illegal criminals a reality. Last year, I introduced the Build the Wall and Fight Fentanyl Act, which would create two separate funds — the Southern Border Wall Fulfillment Fund and the Combating The Fentanyl Epidemic Fund — to use money confiscated from the drug cartels to build the border wall and support fentanyl treatment and recovery services in our communities. This is a common goal that I share with President Trump to protect our families and our children, and I hope to see my bill become law.
As we prepare to kick off the 119th Congress, we also have substantial work ahead of us to reauthorize and build upon the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act — also known as the Trump Tax Cuts — before the law’s 2025 expiration. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I have been very involved in voicing Iowa’s priorities in tax reform and even hosted our chairman — Jason Smith — at the Iowa State Fair for a field hearing on conservative tax policy. We will work to maintain the doubled standard deduction, make the 20 percent tax cut for small businesses permanent, reauthorize vital investment tools for our farmers and manufacturers, and promote domestic research and development. I am also pushing for my bill to permanently repeal the death tax on our family farms and family-owned businesses to be included as well as my legislation to deliver tax relief to our small business so that they can offer their employees paid family and medical leave. Tax reform remains a major priority for Republicans to grow our economy, lower costs for our families, and boost domestic manufacturing.
Finally, Republicans will prioritize domestic energy production and put an end to the Biden-Harris administration’s attacks on American energy. We will work to reverse President Biden’s de facto ban on liquefied natural gas exports, repeal the EPA’s tax on natural gas, streamline the permitting process for energy projects, and boost the production of critical minerals here at home. I will also be a strong voice for our homegrown Iowa biofuels — like ethanol and biodiesel — that can help reduce our reliance on foreign oil and gas, lower gas and diesel prices, and make our country energy independent again.
This is by no means a comprehensive list of our agenda for the 119th Congress. Republicans will continue our work to ban China from buying American farmland, balance our federal budget, cut reckless government spending, require proof of U.S. citizenship to vote in our elections, strengthen our military, and support our veterans. I look forward to a very productive and successful term of unified Republican government in our nation’s capital to deliver for the American people and restore American greatness.
U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, represents Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District.