Ernst Blasts President for Heavy-Handed Regulatory Approach
WASHINGTON, DC – In remarks yesterday morning before a breakfast meeting of The Ripon Society, U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) blasted the Biden Administration for its heavy-handed approach to government regulation, saying it is not only driving up costs for American businesses, but driving up prices for hard-working American families who are struggling to make ends meet.
Ernst opened her remarks by talking about another pressing challenge facing families and businesses she represents – the challenge of recovering from recent tornados that have devastated communities in her home state.
“We’ve had a number of storm systems that have been sweeping across middle America,” Ernst began. “We had some communities, and one in particular just over these past few days, that sustained a lot of damage. Greenfield, Iowa – a little community of 2,000 folks and not too far from where I live – is completely gone. Senator Grassley and I will be visiting the community tomorrow to see the cleanup efforts underway.
“We had another community, Minden, which was also devastated. Sixty percent of the community was wiped out just about a month ago … So, I would ask that you all just say a little prayer for all those great folks. We lost three souls in the latest storm system. But looking at the devastation, we are really grateful that there were not more.”
Ernst is a native of Red Oak, Iowa, who served in the military for over 23 years and was elected to the Senate in 2014. She now serves as the Ranking Member of the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Committee, where she is leading the effort to create jobs and boost economic growth.
She talked about this effort in her remarks yesterday morning, and what she is hearing about the economy as she meets with workers and business owners back home.
“What I’m hearing when I’m doing town halls, when I’m going out to small businesses, when I’m visiting with folks in school systems and hospitals, they’re all saying that their number one concern is inflation,” Ernst stated. “We have families who are really struggling with their mortgage payments and their rent payments. And certainly if they’re trying to buy a new vehicle, they’re going to struggle there. These are issues that need to be addressed. And the only way I see these being addressed is if we have a change at the top. Bidenomics is not working for families in Iowa.”
“Since President Biden took office, he’s imposed more than a trillion dollars worth of regulatory costs on American businesses. He’s not passing a bill or something that says you owe x number of dollars. What he is doing is putting additional regulations out there that cost those businesses to comply with those regulations.”
Ernst noted that the Senate is trying to push back on this regulatory onslaught by the Administration, most recently by approving legislation this past week to block a proposed rule by the Department of Energy that would have effectively banned non-condensing gas furnace models, dramatically increasing costs for American families. Ernst said she has also introduced legislation to rein in unelected bureaucrats who try to impose new rules on American businesses.
Called the Prove It Act, the Ernst plan would force federal agencies to demonstrate that any new regulation is compliant with existing laws and considers both the direct and indirect costs placed on small businesses. The legislation would also provide small businesses with a seat at the table when government regulators are weighing whether a proposed rule would have a negative impact on entrepreneurs.
Following her opening remarks, Ernst took a number of questions, including one about the agenda in the Senate for the remainder of the year and whether the Farm Bill will be brought to the Floor for debate.
“The Farm Bill is really important to Iowa, but not so important that we are going to support something that does so very little for our farmers,” she stated. “The cost of the package is one and a half trillion dollars. The last Farm Bill we did in 2018 was just over $800 billion, doubling in cost when only 14 percent of the package actually goes to farm programs. I’m not going to be part of that package.
Ernst – who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee along with fellow Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley – noted that she has sat down “many, many times” with Committee Chair Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) to discuss the issue further. Unfortunately, the Iowa lawmaker added, the Michigan Democrat “will not budge on any of that spending. She wants us to go in her direction and we’re like, ‘We have nothing we can give up.’ So, the Farm Bill – we’ll probably take it back up next year. And that’s really unfortunate.”
To view the remarks of Senator Ernst before The Ripon Society yesterday morning, please click the link below:
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.