Hello, Iowa House District 84 from the State Capitol!

We finished our second week under the golden dome, and in my experience as a state representative in the Iowa House, there have been only a handful of bills voted on in the first few weeks of session. On Wednesday, January 21^st, the house passed House File 2104 with 64 AYEs and 28 NAYs, which pertains to the use of eminent domain for a private company such as Summit Carbon, to bury several hundred miles of pipeline to transport liquid carbon dioxide to an eventual underground site in North Dakota. HF 2104 does not prohibit the pipelines; it just protects landowners’ rights.

Companies such as Summit Carbon Solutions want to take advantage of approximately $85/ton paid by taxpayers for stored carbon sequestration credits that to eventually make ethanol a market for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and reduce “greenhouse gas” emissions.

The total corn crop produced last year in the U.S. was about 17 billion bushels. The Farm Policy News from the University of Illinois a couple weeks ago quoted Todd Neely of Progressive Farmer DTN (www.dtnpf.com ) that “allowing year-round E15 would create new demand for more than 2 BILLION bushels of corn and sorghum.” The U.S. House recently failed to pass an appropriations bill to allow the sale of E15 gas year around. If passed, it would’ve been a HUGE economic boom for farmers nation-wide. In my opinion, everyone should have the option of buying E15 year-round.

There were many people from District 84 who came to the Capitol this week. FFA members from Benton Community, Vinton-Shellsburg, and even Marengo stopped by for the Iowa FFA Legislative Symposium. It’s always great to talk with these energetic young adults! Also, several constituents came to discuss the good things the Iowa State Extension Office does.

Despite the very cold temperatures outside, February will be here Sunday, and now there’s about 45 minutes more daylight than Dec. 21^st, which is very welcome, so stay warm!