M

Holding Our Government Accountable

The main goal of a public servant should be putting service first. My entire life, I’ve strived to put service before self. I served our country on the battlefield with almost two decades in the United States Air Force, Air National Guard, and Air Force Reserve. I served our state in both the Iowa House and Iowa Senate, working to lower taxes and balance our budget to return money to Iowans. Now in Congress, I’m working to bring some Iowa commonsense to our nation’s capitol.

Since my first day in Congress, I’ve been introducing bills aimed at government oversight and accountability. Government has gotten too big, and politicians have gotten too greedy. On Day 1, I voted to end a covid-era rule in the House that permitted Members of Congress not to show up to work for their constituents. We now show up to do the job we were sent to do, have bipartisan discussions, and get meaningful legislation passed in person.

Moreover, I support term limits to make sure good ideas are always cycling though D.C., and I’ve introduced legislation to end automatic pay raises for Congress. If Iowans are pinching pennies, Members of Congress shouldn’t be getting an extra $7,000+ in raises year after year. Service is about people, not profit.

I’ve also been working to get accountability for the American people, especially when it comes to failures like the military withdrawal from Afghanistan that caused 13 American servicemembers to lose their life. As a combat veteran with tours in Afghanistan, I cannot stand by and watch Americans, Afghan allies, and millions of dollars of military equipment be left behind with no consequences. The volatility of our withdrawal caused Afghanistan to fall quickly, and since then, many other aggressors around the world like China and Russia have taken notice of the lack of leadership from our country. That’s why I’m fighting to ensure a disaster like this never happens again, while also working to get every single American and ally that was left behind get out of Afghanistan.

Finally, I am working to eliminate corruption in our federal government.  For example, I introduced a bill to ban congressional stock trading for Members of Congress and their spouses to ensure people are put over profits. Nearly 100 Members of Congress have violated stock trading laws, which is unacceptable. Banning stock trading by Members of Congress is a commonsense way to ensure public service is about serving people. 

The bottom line is that Iowans should have open, transparent, and honest representation without conflicts of interest getting in the way. This isn’t a partisan issue—this is a way to stop corruption in politics that has unfortunately become all too common.

More on Holding Our Government Accountable