Nearly All Iowa Congressional Republicans Vote Against Money, Infrastructure Updates for their State
Just 13 House Republicans crossed the party line to pass President Joe Biden’s $1.2 trillion infrastructure package, and not one of them was from Iowa.
A fact sheet put out by the White House said the bill would bring over $5 billion in infrastructure investment to the state.
It includes over $3.8 billion for repairs to highways and bridges, $100 million to expand availability of high-speed internet, and hundreds of millions more dollars for clean water, public transit and airport revitalization.
“This bipartisan infrastructure package… will support thousands of Iowa jobs and fund vital investments that I’ve fought to see included in our agenda this year — like the largest investment in rural broadband connectivity in history,” Axne said in a press release.
“As we have promised from the first days of this new Administration, these investments are made without raising taxes on middle class families or passing large amounts of debt on to our children’s generation,” she said.
Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (IA-2) disagreed on that point, saying the bill was “tied to a multi-trillion dollar reckless tax and spend package that increases inflation.”
A 2021 report by the American Road and Transportation Builders Association highlighted Iowa as the state with the highest number of bridges in poor condition.
But Iowans have been telling Republicans they want the infrastructure bill and the benefits for their state that comes with it.
Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, who voted the bill through the Senate with 19 other Republicans and every Democrat in August, told the Des Moines Register in a statement that constituents had voiced infrastructure concerns at nearly every meeting he’d held.
“Iowa’s aging infrastructure risks slowing economic growth and eroding daily comfort and convenience,” he told the Register. “Investing in Iowa’s infrastructure will pay dividends for decades to come.”