I gotta a call from, I think, Nature Conservancy and they sent me to
Senator Earnst office and I left a message. Otherwise I would not have
called her office.

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Senator Joni K. Ernst <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Fri, Aug 27, 2021 at 9:08 AM
Subject: Responding to your message
To: <[log in to unmask]>



Dear Mrs. Neustadt,

Thank you for taking the time to contact me about our nation's
infrastructure. It is important for me to hear from folks in Iowa on policy
matters such as this.

As you know, on March 31, 2021, President Biden released a $2.3 trillion
infrastructure proposal. Over the past several months, my Senate colleagues
and I have been working to find a path forward on an infrastructure bill
that is paid for and focuses on traditional infrastructure, like roads and
bridges. Unfortunately, the final product, the *Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act, *which passed the Senate on August 10, did not meet that
standard. This legislation now awaits consideration by the House of
Representatives.

While ‘trillion’ has become a household word in Washington, that’s not the
case for me and many of my fellow Iowans. Congress and the American people
were promised an infrastructure bill that was *fully* paid for, but that’s
clearly not the case. This bill alone will add over $250 billion to the
federal government’s nearly $30 trillion debt tab and includes bottomless
boondoggles. While I certainly support improving America’s traditional
infrastructure—like our roads and bridges—I simply cannot support saddling
more debt onto the shoulders of future generations of Iowans and opening
the door for Bernie Sanders to ram through his multi-trillion dollar
liberal tax-and-spend spree.

I was elected to the United States Senate to guard against waste, fraud,
abuse, and the mismanagement of taxpayer dollars. Iowans deserve to know
how their money is being spent. I introduced the *Cost, Openness, and
Spending Transparency (COST) Act* to improve transparency on taxpayer
dollars and also offered it as an amendment to the latest infrastructure
bill before the Senate. This amendment seeks to lift the curtain and make
public how your tax dollars are being spent. Unfortunately, my amendment
did not receive a vote. I believe in responsibly investing in our nation’s
infrastructure, but the latest bill was just more Washington-style reckless
spending that failed to deliver for Iowa, which is why I voted against the
final passage of this bill.

Please know that I appreciate your interest in this issue. Feel free to
contact my office with any further information, as I always enjoy hearing
from Iowans.



Sincerely,

Joni K. Ernst
United States Senator

<https://outreach.senate.gov/iqextranet/iqClickTrk.aspx?&cid=JErnst&crop=15624QQQ31322407QQQ6832878QQQ8472171&report_id=1&redirect=http%3a%2f%2fernst.senate.gov&redir_log=324374319122164>
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[image: image]


-- 

*Debbie Neustadt *


*Des Moines, Iowa*

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
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