Ernst Week in Review
Working to Lower the Cost of Prescription Drugs for Iowa Families
Senator Ernst continues to work to lower the cost of prescription drugs for Iowa families. She is a cosponsor of a number of bills focused on this issue, three of which advanced in the Senate this week. On Thursday, during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, Senator Ernst spoke about her Preserving Access to Cost Effective Drugs (PACED) Act which will close the loopholes that allow bad actors to take advantage of the system and allow for generic, lower cost alternative prescription drugs.
Click here on the image above to watch Ernst’s on her PACED Act.
Another Ernst sponsored bill that advanced in the Judiciary meeting is the Prescription Pricing for the People Act, which provides for greater transparency and increased competition in the marketplace. A third Ernst bill—the Creating and Restoring Equal Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act—moved out of the Senate HELP Committee this week.
Senator Ernst joined Neil Cavuto on Fox Business to discuss her ongoing efforts to lower the prices of prescription drugs.
Click here or on the image above to watch Ernst’s interview.
Providing for Our Troops and Their Families
Senator Ernst, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities, proudly supported this year’s annual defense bill, the Fiscal Year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. This year’s bipartisan defense bill includes a number of Senator Ernst’s priorities, including her work to provide additional support for our troops and their families, to address military sexual assault, and to harness Iowa’s critical contributions to our nation’s defense. For a full recap of Ernst’s provisions included in this year’s bill, click here.
Click here or on the image above to watch Senator Ernst discuss her priorities for FY20 NDAA.
Helping Address the Humanitarian Needs at the Southern Border
Earlier this week, the Senate acted in an overwhelmingly bipartisan way to provide desperately needed aid to help address the humanitarian needs at the border. Senator Ernst supported this bill that will provide funding for the care of unaccompanied children and basic necessities for migrants. Fortunately, the House did pass this Senate bill, and this legislation that will provide assistance for folks at the southern border, is on its way to the president for signature.
Ensuring the Safety of Iowa’s School Children
In response to a non-partisan government report confirming systemic problems in the reporting of seclusion and restraint in schools, Senator Ernst is pushing the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to immediately take action to ensure data is reported accurately. This comes after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) sent a letter to Congress revealing widespread inaccuracies in ED data on seclusion and restraint as a result of systemic misreporting in school districts around the country.
Senator Ernst, joined by Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA), sent a letter to the ED this week stating: “We respectfully urge you to immediately implement GAO’s recommendations and take additional steps to ensure school districts provide accurate seclusion and restraint data.” Read the full letter here.
Communicating Priorities
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