Congressman Visits Malvern's Main Street

MALVERN - Iowa Third District U.S. Congressman David Young was in Malvern last Wednesday visiting a handful of area businesses and sharing his thoughts on rural economic development, agricultural regulation and the 115th Congress.

Young, a Republican from Van Meter who was re-elected to a second term last November, visited Malvern’s Main Street as part of his pledge to routinely visit communities in the 16-county Third District. After a meet-and-greet with three dozen area residents at Club 321, a new gym and wellness center in Malvern, he stopped in a recently-opened model train shop and the Kohll’s Pharmacy.

Young said he hopes his meetings, coffees and conversations with constituents can help him gain a better understanding of the issues his district faces and to help regain the trust between the people and public institutions.

“In order to make representative government work, it’s important to have a relationship with the people you serve,” Young said. “It’s important to remember who your boss is. I’m cognizant it isn’t the president and it’s not the majority leader in the house. It’s the over 700,000 people I represent in the district.”

Young serves on the House Appropriations Committee, which controls the federal purse strings, in addition to subcommittees on agriculture, homeland security, and transportation and housing and urban development.

The three most important issues Young sees facing the 115th Congress as it returns to session with a new president is economic security, national security and the role of government in securing civil liberties.

The impact of economic recession on agriculture, is an especially important issue for Young. He is a sixth- generation Iowan from a long line of farmers. Ag income showed a sharp decline last year and a 50-percent fall over the last seven years, he said. Young also pointed out median incomes for urban families haven’t fared much better over the last decade.

“These are issues that are important to me because they’re important to the people I represent,” he said. “In rural Iowa, agriculture is what sustains this state. It is our economy. I want to make sure we have reasonable rules and regulations that engage stake holders and commodity groups and farmers and producers because the regulators don’t always understand what goes on out here.

“I want to be a voice to make sure a one size fits all approach isn’t always best and we can do things better.”