In October, I completed my fourth biannual 36 County Tour, which takes me to all 36 counties in Iowa’s 4th Congressional District at least twice every year. My visits, meetings, and conversations contribute greatly to my work in Congress for our families, farmers, businesses, and rural communities. It’s through my discussions with Iowans that policy ideas take shape, and we begin to roll out solutions to the challenges facing our communities, state, and nation. On this year’s 36 County Tour, we had much success pinpointing potential legislative fixes to a variety of obstacles and I worked back in Washington to deliver actual solutions that help our communities prosper.

A major piece of legislation that passed out of the House Agriculture Committee in May and incorporates the priorities of our farmers is the Farm Bill. When crafting the Farm Bill, it was very important to me that our producers had a voice in the process and their needs were met. It’s why I launched my second annual Feenstra Agriculture Tour at the beginning of this year and held my 7th Farm Bill town hall in Treynor to listen to our farmers and hear their thoughts on agricultural policy. I also met with FFA groups, toured farms, sat down with the Harrison County Farm Bureau in Logan, spoke to the Buena Vista County Pork Producers in Storm Lake, visited Smitty Bee Honey in Defiance, and met with Ryan and Mark Zomer at Zomer Company Realty & Auction in Rock Valley.

I worked to include legislation in the Farm Bill that would benefit our producers and farm families. My Crop Insurance for Future Farmers Act would lower the cost of crop insurance for the next generation of Iowa farmers during their first ten years in operation, my FRIDGE Act would help build refrigeration and port infrastructure at home and abroad to ship our perishable goods worldwide, and my FARMLAND Act would help us keep China and our foreign adversaries away from our farmland. The Farm Bill also includes a fix to overturn Proposition 12 mandates on our hog farmers and reforms the Livestock Indemnity Program to ensure that our cattle producers receive a fair price for their high-quality cattle.

The looming expiration of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is another topic that I heard repeatedly on my 36 County Tour. If this legislation is allowed to sunset at the end of 2025, Iowa families, farmers, and businesses — including manufacturers like Hood Packaging in Sibley, Art’s Way Manufacturing in Armstrong, and Hi-Way Products and Hawkeye Fabrication in Ida Grove — would face massive tax hikes. The family farms and small businesses that I toured throughout the year agree with me that we must extend these tax cuts for the good of our economy. As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, I have supported legislation to maintain the doubled standard deduction for our families, make the 20% tax cut for small businesses permanent, and protect investment provisions for our producers and manufacturers. I also introduced the Death Tax Repeal Act to get rid of the death tax on our family farms and small businesses for good. As a strong, fiscal conservative, I believe that Iowans deserve to keep more of their hard-earned money.

Additionally, access to affordable, high-quality healthcare is a concern for all of us in rural Iowa, and I am particularly passionate about this matter. This past year, I toured Stewart Memorial

Community Hospital in Lake City, Franklin General Hospital in Hampton, Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City, Palo Alto County Health System in Emmetsburg, Sioux Center Health, and Loring Hospital in Sac City. Following my conversations with hospital administrators, doctors, and nurses, I introduced the Rural Hospital Stabilization Act — which passed out of the House Ways and Means Committee in May — to help keep our rural hospitals open, operational, and fully staffed. Funds from this legislation can also be used for renovations, training, hiring, compensation, and equipment purchases. As a father of four, I will continue to work to strengthen our healthcare system and protect healthcare services in rural Iowa.

It remains my promise to Iowans that I will be transparent and accessible. It’s why I’ve hosted town halls in communities like Pocahontas, Treynor, and Manson to answer questions and provide updates on my work in Congress. I look forward to kicking off the fifth iteration of my biannual 36 County Tour in January and meeting with Iowans across our incredible district.

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Randy Feenstra represents Iowa’s 4th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives.