Ernst Hosts Gathering
Source: Emmetsburg News
By Anesa McGregor
With 97 Iowa counties under her belt, Palo Alto County was the 98th stop this year for United States Senator Joni Ernst. Ernst began the town meeting that was held in Emmetsburg on Saturday, September 19 with a brief overview of what is happening today in United States Senate.
"The Iran Nuclear Agreement has been a very hot topic for many months. I am opposed to this deal as are Iowans in general," Ernst said.
Ernst spelled out very basically what Iran Nuclear Agreement says, "Years ago when discussions first started, the main objective was to stop Iran's nuclear enrichment capabilities so they could not move toward nuclear armament. The secondary objective was that the International Atomic Energy Association would be allowed anytime, anywhere access into Iran to do inspections with no notice. Neither of these objectives was met in the agreement. First and foremost Iran is allowed to continue working with enrichment of uranium. Second, Iran has a minimum amount of time to be notified of an inspection, which is 24 days. This agreement also gives Iran the ability to purchase advanced armament for their military and others within five years and within eight years Iran will be able to purchase intercontinental ballistic missiles. After ten years, we will have no ore control over what Iran does and we have just accelerated their program."
Ernst believes we need to be very vigilant about arming our allies and ourselves by pumping more money into the military and defense. Unfortunately, the yes or no vote that was scheduled was blocked and so the agreement will go forward no matter what.
The Avian or Bird Flu was another topic touched on. According to Ernst, most newspapers out east did not want to discuss the problems with this epidemic in the Midwest until prices started to rise, then it was important.
"The United States Department of Agriculture has admitted they were slow to move in this area. They have since developed new guidelines should this unfortunate occurrence happen again. We are keeping a close watch on poultry in the southeast since wild birds are beginning to migrate and this was a potential starting point in Iowa."
When asked about the new Environmental Protection Agency's new law Waters of the U. S., Ernst had this to say, "We would like to see more done in regards to clean water, but this went too far. The federal government hasn't sent any guidance to the states even though the rule is in place now. There is a lawsuit involving 13 states against the EPA and it is my hope that Iowa will join this lawsuit. This new law is an overreach of control by the EPA. United States Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming has developed a bill to narrow down the scope of the control of the Federal Government. We are hoping this bill passes but if it doesn't, we are looking at all options to push back on Waters of the U.S. This last week I did file a Congressional Review Act. It is a resolution of disapproval and right now I have 46 co-sponsors for this CRA. This is one way we can nullify or narrow the scope of the rule."
The Trio program was another area that Ernst feels strongly about. By getting young people trained earlier, we get a jump on the future.
With only one county left in Iowa, Ernst is looking forward to taking back the ideas and thoughts from Iowans, sending a message to the federal government that will help our state in the future.
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