Now is an important time to be representing Iowans in Washington D.C. said the United States Congresswoman from Iowa’s first district.

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-Iowa) met with Republicans of Marshall County Friday afternoon at Legends American Grill to talk about her mission and priorities as a representative.

Hinson said there are a number of crises facing the world and in Washington D.C., mentioning Afghanistan, the Mexico-United States border and federal government spending in the form of the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill backed by Democrats in congress.

She said it’s time to put pressure on President Joe Biden’s administration for answers regarding the military’s exit from Afghanistan. She wants a full accounting of U.S. citizens still in Afghanistan, details on a plan to get U.S. citizens and allies out of Afghanistan, plus a full accounting of military equipment left behind.

Hinson said there is also a vulnerability at the southern border.

“I think those things are going to intersect and I think it’s going to be bad for safety and security for our country,” Hinson said.

She wants the ability to properly track undocumented immigrants once they are released into the country.

Hinson then addressed the $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill which she will be called to vote on in congress in the coming weeks.

“It is the furthest move towards socialism we’ve ever seen in this country and there’s no other way to put it,” she said. “The vast expansion of social programs we’re seeing as a part of these proposals, I’m just not sure if we’ll ever be able to recover from it.”

The bill seeks to expand education, childcare, healthcare and address the climate crisis. The bill may include proposals such as universal preschool for 3 and 4 year-olds, two years of free community college, national paid family and medical leave, the addition of dental, vision and hearing benefits to Medicare and investments to reduce carbon emissions.

Hinson took questions from the audience, including on President Biden’s recently signed executive order requiring all businesses with 100 employees or more to require the COVID-19 vaccine or regular COVID-19 testing.

“I think I’ve heard more about this issue in the last 24 hours than I have almost any other issue in the past eight months,” Hinson said. “So the feedback has been fierce and fast.”

She does not agree with the executive order and believes receiving the COVID-19 vaccination should be a personal choice. Hinson is reviewing all options on next steps and has spoken with Gov. Kim Reynolds. The Republican National Committee plans to sue the Biden Administration over the mandate and Hinson believes more will begin to sue.

“I bet there are going to be a number of people who are going to sue when they are forced and accrue damage from their employer,” she said.

Hinson also addressed a challenger, State Sen. Liz Mathis (D-Hiawatha) who is intending to run for Iowa’s first congressional district in the 2022 election. Hinson and Mathis are former co-workers, both former news anchors at station KWWL-TV in Waterloo.

“We actually overlapped for about a year at the same location,” Hinson said. “Our backgrounds on paper may look pretty similar, but our voting records are very different and what we stand for fundamentally.”

Contact Trevor Babcock at 641-753-6611 or tbabcock@timesrepublican.