D.C. Dispatch: Iowa lawmakers join Trump for executive order, call for AM radio preservation

As Congress moved forward with nominations to fill President Donald Trump’s Cabinet and responded to administrative efforts like shuttering the U.S. Agency for International Development, Iowa’s delegation also worked this week on issues they said will help rural Iowa — including preserving AM radio stations in vehicles and restoring some federal student aid exemptions.

Members of Iowa’s all-Republican congressional delegation — have largely been supportive of the Trump administration’s actions on issues like immigration and reducing the size of the federal government. Trump and Elon Musk, who is heading the Department of Government Efficiency, known as DOGE, are taking steps they say will make the federal government more efficient.

Gov. Kim Reynolds testified in favor of the initiative at the U.S. House Oversight Hearing on Government Efficiency Wednesday, saying “not only do I believe Iowa is a model, but I’m committed to doing everything I can to help in the months ahead.”

Transgender athlete restrictions

Reynolds and U.S. Reps. Ashley Hinson and Mariannette Miller-Meeks joined Trump Wednesday as he signed an executive order prohibiting transgender women from participating in women’s sports teams. Hinson released a statement supporting the order, thanking Trump “for ensuring female athletes know that second place isn’t their ceiling.”

“Joe Biden and the Left tried to blur the line between boys and girls – the days of woke, radical nonsense having a megaphone at the White House are long gone,” Hinson said. “It was an honor to stand with President Trump today as he took action to protect girls’ sports and ensure that girls are never forced to compete against biological males. Today’s historic executive order means so much to the parents who lose sleep at night wondering whether their daughters will have private locker rooms and get a fair chance to compete in the sports they’re passionate about.”

Trump tariffs

Another high-profile action from Trump was the announcement of tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China Jan. 31, an action Trump said Monday was delayed for one month after leaders in Mexico and Canada agreed to act on illegal immigration and drug trafficking into the United States. Though U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Zach Nunn have said they support the tariffs as a bargaining chip as the administration works to stop drug trafficking, Sen. Chuck Grassley asked for an tariff exemption he said would help farmers.

Grassley called on the Trump administration Monday to exempt potash, a group of minerals containing potassium that is used in fertilizers, to help farmers who could be impacted by tariffs.

“Biden inflation increase the input cost to farming by 20% (including) particularly high prices on fertilizer,” Grassley wrote in a post on the social media platform X. “So I plead (with) President Trump to exempt potash from the tariff because family farmers get most of our potash from Canada.”

Some Iowa businesses and farmers have expressed concerns about the impacts tariffs will have on their exported products, as well as how tariffs could raise costs of products domestically. Matt Sinovic, executive director of Progress Iowa, called for Iowa’s U.S. lawmakers to push back against the tariffs because of their adverse impacts on Iowans.

“The ripple effects from higher tariffs on key industries in Iowa – such as agriculture – could lead to economic uncertainty in communities across the state,” Sinovic said in a statement. “Iowans need our members of Congress, including Congressman Nunn and Congresswoman Miller-Meeks, to oppose these tariffs and fight for Iowa families.”

Ernst, Grassley back measure keeping AM radio in new cars

Several members of Iowa’s federal delegation backed a measure this week to require auto manufacturers maintain access to AM radio in vehicles, a step they say is crucial for rural Iowans who depend on these stations.

Grassley joined U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas and Edward Markey, D-Mass in introducing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, a bill directing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to require new vehicles maintain AM broadcast radios in vehicles at no separate or additional charge. In a news release, Grassley said the measure will protect a “critical resource” for Iowa communities, especially when faced with disasters.

“AM radio is the backbone of our emergency alert system, especially for tens of millions of Americans in rural areas,” Grassley said. “It’s been a part of our daily commutes and road trips for decades. Iowans rely on AM radio to catch up on local news, weather and commodity and livestock markets, as well as to hear competing viewpoints about the important issues of the day.”

A news release from Ernst said during weather emergencies like the 2020 derecho, “AM radio remains a key communication service to relay life-saving information and updates” in addition to being a daily part of many Iowans’ lives.

“Iowans rely on our AM radio stations to receive updates on weather, business, government, and commodity prices, which is why it is so important that we continue this important avenue of communication,” Ernst said in a statement supporting the bill. “I’m working to ensure folks across our state can stay in the loop through this resource that delivers timely information.”

According to Radio Ink, a radio-industry trade publication, automakers spent $26.73 million in the past year on lobbying efforts related to the legislation. The measure, which has bipartisan support, has also been reintroduced in the House.

Feenstra says FAFSA exemption would help farming families

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, the Republican representing Iowa’s 4th Congressional District, helped introduce the Family Farm and Small Business Exemption Act Friday, a measure he said will help Iowans on family farms struggling with inflation.

The measure would restore an exemption on the value of assets on family farms and at small businesses from being assessed as a part of a family’s net worth when seeking college aid through Federal Application For Student Aid (FAFSA).

“Over the last few years, our farmers and producers have faced significant declines in net farm income, low commodity prices, inflation, and restricted export markets,” Feenstra said in a statement. “Counting assets — like farmland and equipment that cannot be easily liquidated — against farm families when applying for FAFSA only adds fuel to the fire.”

Ernst introduced companion legislation in the Senate, according to the news release.

“No one should have to sell off the farm – or their small business – to afford college. As a farm kid myself, I know the enormous impacts grants and financial aid have on rural students’ decision to go to college,” Ernst said in a statement. “I’m fighting for Iowa families, so unfair policies don’t hold them back from investing in their child’s education.”