Sen. Joni Ernst Talks Agriculture, Health Care During Round Table Discussion In Malvern

U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst was in Malvern last week holding a round table meeting with area farmers while on her two-week Easter recess from Washington.

Ernst, a Montgomery County native, held an informal discussion at the Malvern City Hall Wednesday afternoon where the 20 in attendance peppered the Republican senator on agriculture and livestock issues facing Iowa’s farmers. She later toured Gregory Feedlots south of Tabor.

At the roundtable, Ernst faced several questions on the future of crop insurance and the Conservation Reserve Program and the role of both in the upcoming 2018 Farm Bill. Ernst serves beside fellow Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry committee.

Congress isn’t likely to take up the next farm bill for several months, Ernst said, with a vote to follow next year, but that hasn’t stopped her from listening to farmers about issues they’re facing now.

The Farm Bill was last passed in 2014 and comes under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Agriculture but it covers far more than simply ag issues. The bill also touches on conservation, rural development renewable fuel trade, food and nutrition, credit, research, forestry, energy, horticulture and crop insurance among others. This year’s bill is expected to exceed 2014’s record $478 billion price tag.

“It’s awfully early and a lot is up for discussion,” Ernst said. “I do want to remind people just a small fraction of the farm bill is focused on agriculture. It’s related but a lot of that is food supports and nutrition programs and so forth. It’s hard to know what the cost will be right now.”

With President Trump proposing a trillion dollar infrastructure plan, concerns have been raised how such a plan might impact the Farm Bill, and more importantly, agricultural production and trade.

“I think he stands firmly for agriculture,” Ernst said of Trump. “He may not understand the intricacies behind everything in agriculture. He claims to be a strong proponent. We will continue to remind him he is a strong proponent of agriculture but it is up to folks like Chuck Grassley and myself and the Midwestern delegation to remind him rural America has been very supportive of him and we need to find solutions to work for rural America.”

International trade was a subject on several farmers’ minds. With the Trans-Pacific Partnership falling apart last year and rumblings the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) might be in danger, Ernst said she’d love to see a renewed focus on more multi-nation trade agreements.

“NAFTA is a big concern for Iowa,” she said. “Because NAFTA was very positive for Iowa. Are there areas that could be renegotiated? OK. But we need to make sure we’re protecting our interests as well.”
As the Senate re-convenes this week, health care and Trump appointee confirmations are in the forefront of the legislative agenda. But, Ernst said, rural development is her priority for this congress.

“We have a number of projects related to this area, rural poverty is a big issue,” Ernst said. “If we can’t tackle this issue in these communities it’s going to be real hard for them to grow.”

Ernst has drafted legislation that would combat the “cliff effect,” wherein a single parent’s earnings might increase above the official poverty level and as a result  lose eligibility for tax credits, childcare subsidies, health care coverage and food stamps even though they are not yet self-sufficient. So although parents may be working and earning more, their families can’t reach financial security. The bill would target the working poor with an aim to allow women the opportunity to incrementally increase their wages to work toward self-sufficiency.

“My idea is a sliding scale, we help them tailor different programs to meet their needs to get them up out of poverty,” Ernst said. “Rural development, economic development, housing, all of that ties in together in Mills County, and Fremont County and Montgomery County and Adams County. All of these really rural areas need to think through programs like this.”

Agriculture issues will remain, as always, her personal priority.

“We provide food and fuel for the world, and we need to sustain that,” she said.

Ag issues may have been at the forefront of topics Ernst discussed, but that doesn’t mean hot button political issues weren’t in the offering. When asked about the Affordable Care Act and published reports large insurers, Wellmark and Humana are pulling out of the Iowa health care exchange next year, Ernst pulled no punches.

“It’s failing horribly,” she said of the ACA.

In an interview after the roundtable, Ernst expanded on her feelings the ACA isn’t working for Iowans or Americans despite the fact a recent Gallup poll showed more than 54 percent of Iowans viewed the ACA favorably.

“I hope they’re paying attention to the fact after Wellmark and Humana pull out, we have one very small insurer who may not be around for very long,” Ernst said. “What good is the ACA if there are no insurance providers? I think the issue should be studied very closely. While it worked for some families, exponentially I’ve heard from more families who have been hurt by the ACA because their policy was cancelled.

“Again, what good is your coverage if you can’t use it? It’s a tough issue, and an emotional issue we need to tackle.”