Do you support providing Mission Oriented Protective Posture (MOPP) equipment and other CBRN defensive equipment to Peshmerga forces to enhance their force protection?
Joni Ernst
The Public Record
Joni Kay Ernst is an American politician serving as the junior United States senator from Iowa since January 6, 2015. A member of the Republican Party, she is the first woman to represent Iowa in the U.S. Senate. Ernst has focused on issues such as agriculture, rural development, and veterans' affairs throughout her tenure. She has been an advocate for bipartisan efforts to address the needs of rural communities and has emphasized the importance of legislation that supports farmers and agricultural interests in Iowa.
I am concerned of potential consequences to our national security and the security of our allies in the Middle East brought by the prospect of providing Iran with potentially up to $150 billion in sanctions relief.
What specifically are you doing to prevent these groups from obtaining United States weapons and equipment?
I continue to see photographs in the open source media of Iranian controlled Iraqi Shiite militias with United States weapons and equipment.
It appears as though the Turkish government has mostly mobilized its political, military, and security apparatus not primarily to assist the coalition in defeating ISIS--but to fight the Kurdistan Workers party (PKK)
I still see some reluctance coming from the administration on admitting that ISIS continues to expand.
I think establishing at least a safe zone... is a step in the right direction.
I believe, and where I am coming from, is that we simply have no strategy in that region.
This was not just one isolated case in one hospital, but it was in many different locations across the United States that this happened.
It is hard for the VA to say, we help veterans, when there have been a lot of instances where veterans have been let down.
Tens of thousands of dollars to obtain permits along with fees for both lawyers and technical consultants is beyond the means of most farmers and ranchers.
I wish we would have had the Corps members and the EPA representatives here.
The regulation of these areas means that any activity, including everyday farming activities, could be a violation of the Clean Water Act.
The proposed rule has only expanded confusion and uncertainty as to how far the jurisdiction of the Clean Water Act reaches.
Expanding EPA's regulatory authority under the Clean Water Act to include these and similar areas will have many negative consequences for my farm business.
It is incredibly important that before this rule is finalized, we stop it from having any negative consequences on our producers and businesses.
If this agency can regulate every body of water on my farm, including those that are dry most of the time, then there are effectively no limits to the agency's regulatory reach.
If we cannot do the right things for our land and our crops when the job needs to be done, farming and ranching will be much more costly and more difficult.
If the EPA still fails to listen to the many voices raising concerns... then we should all come together and oppose this rule.
I have yet to hear back from the EPA, which I thought was--at least they could have responded to me.
The EPA's proposed expanded definition of waters of the United States... will add unnecessary bureaucratic red tape for our producers in the agriculture and small business communities.
I do appreciate the fact that you are working with your Department to streamline it, make it more efficient, and more effective for our citizens.
It seems to me and to many others that Turkey has been maybe not such a strong ally as they should have been.





