Letter to the Editor: Left wondering after recent town hall

To the Editor:

At her recent town hall in Decorah, Senator Joni Ernst spoke about working with anyone right or left in Congress. One issue where Ernst could work together with Democrats is election security. Recently, Senator Amy Klobuchar put forth bi-partisan legislation, the Secure Elections Act, to protect our democracy from attacks and foreign influence. Ernst’s name is not listed as a co-sponsor. Instead, at the town hall, she blamed former President Obama for election interference.

Since the start of the new session, the Democratic-led House has taken up and passed over 50 bills. They range from lowering drug prices, protecting people with pre-existing conditions, and securing elections. GOP Senator Mitch McConnell boasts about his ability to halt House bills, and Senators like Joni Ernst stand by McConnell. At the town hall, Ernst failed to acknowledge McConnell’s role in stalling these important bills that are being passed by the House. Ernst claimed she didn’t know if McConnell was holding them up or not.

Ernst also accused Democrats in the House of holding up funding to aide the border crisis, which simply isn’t true. House Democrats wanted to ensure money heading to the border would address the humanitarian crisis of those detained and would not be misspent by this administration. More spin from Ernst.

Senator Joni Ernst’s recent town hall in Decorah left many to wonder if Ernst will say anything to get re-elected. And, it was clear that she would rather blame Democrats than work with them to get meaningful legislation passed.

Sincerely,
Ann L. Hart
Waukon