As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, Congresswoman Ashley Hinson (IA-01) participated in twelve markups of fiscal year 2023 federal funding bills. Throughout these markups, Hinson advocated for responsible spending, resources for border security, pro-life priorities, and for taxpayer dollars to come back to Iowa. Key highlights are below.
Hinson Offers Proposal to Block Biden Administration from Transferring Student Loan Debt: “All that this Administration is proposing to do is shift that debt onto the backs of hardworking Iowans and Americans. It will be being paid for by those who chose not to go to college and those who worked hard to pay back their loans.”
Hinson Fights for Reliable Energy for Iowans: “This amendment would help to keep the lights on for Americans across the country. Right now, the EPA is pushing environmental standards and alternative energy while simultaneously discouraging the use of traditional fuel sources, I believe in really understanding the real-world impact that this has on people across the country, including my constituents in Iowa.”
Hinson Stands Against Government WOTUS Overreach on Iowa Farmers: “These discussions are many times taking place by government employees who have never stepped foot on these family farms. If they had stepped foot on these farms, I think they’d know what I know having been out visiting the district: that farmers are the best stewards of their land – they know how to best manage their resources, not the government. Farmers care more about the quality of their water, their soil, and their crops more than the government does. It is in their best interest to do that.”
Hinson Advocates for Border Security: “Just recently it was reported that a known suspected terrorist was released into our country. ICE had to wait to be able to get the authorization just to arrest him. That doesn’t make sense. This is a flat-out failure by DHS leadership and we need to end these ridiculous priority hoops our agents have to jump through to be able to do their jobs.”
Hinson’s Bipartisan Effort to Stop Opioid Trafficking Unanimously Adopted: “Who is making this illicit fentanyl? China. China is the main source of all illegal fentanyl in the United States. How is it getting into American communities? It’s being illegally shipped through international mail, and it is being trafficked across our Southern Border. The good news is that we have all these agencies doing work on the problem – they just need to be coordinating better. That’s exactly where my amendment comes into play. It takes $15 million from other FDA funds – that’s right, it’s offset – and ensures we are tackling this problem.”
Hinson Fights to Ensure Taxpayer Dollars Don’t Fund Abortions, Forced Sterilization Abroad: “I want to be clear: one of my colleagues said we should be focused on advancing and empowering women, I don’t think this is advancing and empowering women, it is coercing them to abort their babies. It is fining them like the Communist Party in China does. They have a social compensation fee where they fine these women for going beyond their allotment for how many babies they are allowed to have. That does not empower or advance women is any way, shape, or form. That is despicable, and we should not be sending American taxpayer dollars to fund that overseas. That is what the intent of this amendment is.”
Hinson Advocates for Hyde Amendment to Ensure Taxpayers Don’t Fund Abortions Against Their Will: “The bottom line here is we should not be forcing Americans to fund abortions against their will. As Members of the House Appropriations Committee it is our job to stand up for American taxpayers and be accountable to them. It is their money, it is not the government’s money.”
Hinson Stands up for Renewable Fuel Standard: “I am here today to speak on behalf of the Iowa family farmers and the biofuels community. They have an immediate solution to the problems facing every single American today, unfathomably high gas prices and a dependence on our greatest foreign adversaries for a stable fuel supply.”
Hinson Successfully Ensures Pro-Life Pregnancy Centers Can Receive Federal Security Grants: “What we do agree on is we want expectant mothers and their babies to be safe, and we want to make sure they have access to care no matter what their zip code is. My amendment clarifies that these grant dollars should also be available for the safety and security of women who are visiting health care providers, including pregnancy help centers.”
Hinson Advocates to Bolster Cybersecurity Instead of Throwing Taxpayer Resources at IRS: “This account is absolutely essential, providing the cyber protections for the Treasury’s non-IRS activities. Right now, we know the Treasury is vulnerable, we know what these attacks are doing to our departments. Like this one, by Russian hackers who broke through the security of our key agency networks and were able to access top officials information. This is unacceptable. We need to be making those investments in cybersecurity right now.”
Additionally, 13 of Hinson’s Community Project Funding requests were included in the Committee-passed bills.
- $1 million for Iowa Heartland Habitat for Humanity’s Targeted Neighborhood Revitalization project to improve safe housing access in the City of Waterloo.
- $500,000 to construct a new emergency services building in Gilbertville. The building would enable Gilbertville to provide emergency services, including fire and rescue services, to its 2,800 residents.
- $208,000 for an emergency operations center in Buchanan County to help coordinate disaster response across several counties.
- $375,000 for Northeast Iowa Community College’s National Education Center for Agricultural Safety to make equipment upgrades at the Peosta campus’s training facility.
- $1 million for Granger Creek Lift Station improvements to meet increasing community demand for waste removal by increasing Dubuque’s sewage capacity.
- $4 million to rehabilitate roads in Fayette and Clayton counties using innovative material sourced from soybean oil instead of petroleum polymers.
- $1.725 million for the 5th Avenue gatewell and flood pumps in Cedar Rapids. The 5th Avenue Gatewell and Pump Station, including two pumps, is a key part of Cedar Rapids’ flood protection plan.
- $360,000 to support Kirkwood Community College’s Aviation Maintenance Technician Program to train, mentor, and graduate certified aviation mechanic technicians.
- $7 million for the Eastern Iowa Airport (CID) Taxiway Expansion Project to expand an existing taxiway and runway leading to a new centralized deicing and maintenance shop location.
- $7 million for the Alburnett Road extension project to allow the City of Marion to execute construction of a north-south corridor that will significantly improve safety and efficiency for motorists and pedestrians alike.
- $3.5 million for the Maquoketa Wastewater Plant to allow the City of Maquoketa to upgrade a seventy-year-old plant that is essential to the health of nearly 6,000 residents. It will also help the city comply with EPA standards that will be enforced in 2023 that it would otherwise be unable to meet.
- $333,200 for the Osage Municipal Utilities Orchard Fiber Project to empower Orchard residents to finish their fiber buildout, strengthen local businesses’ ability to recruit new employees, and provide needed parity for students in this small rural community.
- $1 million for advanced hydrologic monitoring, assessment, and flood forecasting for Eastern Iowa to allow the Iowa Flood Center to install new rain gauges, water quality sensors, and other remote sensing technology along the Lower Cedar River and Maquoketa River Watersheds to monitor hydrological data in real-time.
