Randy Feenstra: We're delivering on our commitment to America
As a unified conference, we are actively delivering on the promises that we made to the American people, and I promise that our work has only just begun.
- Randy Feenstra represents Iowa's 4th Congressional District in Congress.
Commitment. It’s a word that evokes hope, promises leadership, and delivers results. No other word in the English language constitutes a more ironclad bond between individuals than a commitment. Roughly four months ago, House Republicans made our own commitment — a Commitment to America — that we would rebuild our economy, end wasteful spending, stand up to the Chinese Communist Party, and defend the American Dream for every person, family, and community who calls our great nation home.
Because of our commitment, the American people entrusted Republicans with the House majority, not to regurgitate empty rhetoric, but to deliver real results. I’m proud to say that, in the first weeks of our new majority, Republicans delivered on our promises.
First, we fought for hardworking American taxpayers, families, and small businesses. When President Joe Biden signed into law his so-called Inflation Reduction Act, which funneled $80 billion in taxpayer dollars to the IRS to hire 87,000 new employees, Republicans pledged that we would defund this ridiculous expansion of government. And we did.
Despite what the Democrats claim, the IRS does not exclusively audit billionaires and large corporations. According to the Government Accountability Office, more than 90% of audits target American families who make less than $400,000 a year, and Biden himself has made clear that his administration will audit pass-through businesses with assets greater than $200,000, which includes most family farms and small businesses in the U.S. Additionally, according to IRS data, low-income families who claim the earned income tax credit are five and a half times more likely to be audited than any other individual. It’s not rocket science. Supercharging the IRS will only raise taxes on middle-class families, cause unnecessary headaches for small business owners, and target honest, hardworking American taxpayers. The Senate should pass this bill and Biden must sign it.
Second, we fought for America’s farmers, producers, and rural communities. By establishing, for the first time in our nation’s history, a select committee to investigate the Chinese Communist Party, we will hold China’s feet to the fire for stonewalling investigations into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and infiltrating rural America through massive farmland purchases. This new committee, through hearings, subpoenas, and rigorous oversight, will also hold China accountable for defying our trade laws, stealing our intellectual property, surveilling our children, and violating the sovereignty of free nations across the globe. To compete with China in the 21st century, we must assert and cement our unyielding economic, military, and technological dominance. I’m confident that this committee will help us do just that while maintaining global security and protecting our national interests.
Third, we fought for America’s energy producers and Iowa’s ethanol and biodiesel industries. In the United States, we are blessed with an abundant supply of energy — from ethanol and biodiesel to natural gas and oil — to power our nation, keep the lights on, and fuel our economy. Therefore, it is common sense that our emergency oil reserves should be used for emergencies only — right here at home for American families, not for financial gain or policy blunders. Regrettably, just months ago, Biden sold oil from our reserves to China to compensate for his war on American energy production. No price, no matter how high, justifies supplying China with American-made energy. That’s why Republicans, and more than 100 Democrats, voted to permanently end oil sales from our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to China: a victory for our families and energy independence. While Biden has depleted our oil reserves and coddled the Chinese Communist Party, Republicans are united in standing up to China and restoring American energy dominance.
The 118th Congress is off to a roaring and productive start. In one week alone, we made real progress to strengthen our economy, protect taxpayers, defend farmers, and take on China — because our Commitment to America is not just empty rhetoric. It’s a conservative movement. As a unified conference, we are actively delivering on the promises that we made to the American people, and I promise that our work has only just begun.
Randy Feenstra represents Iowa's 4th Congressional District in Congress.