Our country is only as strong as our families, kids, and seniors. That’s why I’m working on policies to improve education opportunities, support foster services, improve community safety, and defend livelihood programs like Social Security and Medicare. 

Whether in the Des Moines metro or rural Iowa, education is a top concern. We have an obligation to support our kids, which means ensuring public education is meeting the needs of every single child. In the case that every child’s needs aren’t being met, we should be able to provide options for parents to look at when deciding the best fit for their child. Educational success should not be dictated by zip code and there is no one-size-fits-all for education, which is why I support parents having a strong say in their own child’s education. In Congress, I’ll fight to put parents and kids first.

My wife and I are blessed to have 6 children with 2 of our children being foster children who we’ve now adopted. Every single child is deserving of a good shot at life, which is why I’m working in Congress to improve our nation’s foster and adoptive services. I’m honored to serve as a co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, which works to connect foster and adoptive services with willing and eager families. I’m also working to help ease the regulatory burdens on adoptive and fosters services and families, making this a simpler option for families.

Additionally, in order to have a prosperous country, we must also have safe communities for our families. To that end, we must support our law enforcement and give them the proper training needed to do their job. We also need to work on reforming our criminal justice system. With domestic violence cases on the rise, human trafficking more prevalent, and gang violence peaking across the country, we can do more to stop these heinous crimes. I worked in the Iowa Statehouse to protect victims of domestic violence, stop human trafficking, and address mental health issues.  I’m working to bring these commonsense ideas to Washington, D.C.

Finally, when it comes to supporting our community’s seniors, nothing is more important than ensuring that a lifetime of earned benefits are still intact for retirement and future retirees. That’s why I will defend Social Security and Medicare in Congress. I strongly oppose cuts to these programs. Along with defending promised programs, we should be looking at ways to lower the cost of prescription drugs because having affordable health care is critically important for every Iowan.