Joni Ernst: “The United States is a beacon, and we are a beacon on a hill.”

From the fields in Iowa to the battlefields in Iraq, I have worked my entire life. Unlike most of my colleagues in the Senate, I am not a millionaire. I know what it is like to live paycheck to paycheck.

In Iowa, we believe in a simple rule: you plug in, you pay up.

In 2024 alone, 10,100 million-dollar earners received nearly $97.4 million in unemployment compensation. That amounts to each being paid $9,650, roughly the cost of a new Rolex watch.

I’m disappointed that Senate Democrats refused to protect hardworking families from Big Tech companies who can afford to pay their own way.