Rural America is the backbone of the American economy. Our farmers feed and fuel our country, act as good stewards of our land, and have represented the American identity for generations. They value hard work, live within their means, and support our communities. They never ask for recognition, but the result of their hard work is on display in every grocery store and meat counter across the country.
However, since the beginning of his administration, President Biden has enacted radical policies and imposed ridiculous mandates that would devastate our rural way of life and inject Washington bureaucracy into the heartland. Frankly, it should come as no surprise to the president that his poll numbers have plummeted in the Midwest, with 64 percent of Iowans alone disapproving of his performance. He attacks everything that makes our rural communities thrive.
In late 2022, on the eve of the new year, the Biden administration quietly published an expanded version of President Obama’s controversial and destructive “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) rule. With no warning whatsoever, President Biden and his radical Environmental Protection Agency subjected 97 percent of Iowa land and millions of hardworking American farmers to arduous bureaucratic red tape, mountains of paperwork, and unnecessary headaches. Ironically, for someone who claims to advocate for all Americans, President Biden’s abysmal record of targeting America’s family farmers begs otherwise.
As the second-largest agriculture-producing district in the nation, I represent thousands of families who have farmed the same land for generations, providing for themselves, preserving their farmland, and living the American Dream. These same families – who are the best conservationists – also support clean water and take steps every day to protect our rivers, lakes, ponds, and streams in Iowa. From installing buffer strips and bioreactors to planting cover crops, our farmers exercise commonsense conservation practices – that the federal government intentionally ignores – to keep our water clean and drinkable.
FARMERS, RANCHERS SLAM BIDEN ‘ATTACK ON FARMERS’ WITH EPA WATER RULE
Regrettably, when he had the chance to reverse course and stand up for our farmers, President Biden turned his back on the heartland, opting instead to veto a bipartisan resolution offered by House Republicans that would ease WOTUS regulations, eliminate red tape for our producers, and return local control of American farmland to our farmers.
President Biden also promised that he would never raise taxes on American families making less than $400,000 a year. This, of course, was another lie. In his nearly $7-trillion annual budget, he proposes eliminating vital tax provisions – including step-up in basis – that our farmers rely on to pass their farms on to the next generation. Step-up in basis, which protects family farmers from accruing massive tax bills in the tragic event of the owner’s passing, is vital to our rural communities and farm economy. This is the crux of President Biden’s failed tax policies. With one hand raised vowing to never raise taxes on the middle class, he’s signing family farmers’ foreclosure papers with the other.
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President Biden’s veto of a bipartisan resolution to overturn his invasive WOTUS rule and his absurd plans to tax our farmers out of existence represent clear examples of his callous disregard for Rural America. Born and raised in rural Iowa, I know the devastating consequences of federal overreach and higher taxes on our communities. It’s a playbook that D.C. bureaucrats use to bully American farmers and impose their Green New Deal agenda on our country.
Until President Biden recognizes these same consequences and abandons this failed schtick, his reputation will smell just as bad as the legislative manure he’s imposing on Rural America.
