While D.C. Fights, Finkenauer Keeps Focused On Passing Bills

While the U.S. House was engaged in a high-profile floor fight over the President’s tweets, Iowa Congresswoman Abby Finkenauer stayed above the fray and continued to work on a number of key pieces of legislation.

“Glimpse into my world in Congress that’s very different than what you see on TV at night: Passing 5 bills out of Small Business right now, all bipartisan, all standing up for our veterans,” Finkenauer said on Twitter Wednesday.

In a series of tweets, the 1st District congresswoman highlighted bills supporting military reservists and veterans who aspire to be entrepreneurs. Others provided financial support to spouses of disabled veterans who own their own businesses.

“I still have hope and I’m proud of this work and so grateful to have the back of #ia01,” Finkenauer wrote.

The House Committee on Small Business passed five bills this week that now are eligible for a full House vote.

While Finkenauer came to the defense of the Democratic congresswomen taunted this week by Republican President Donald Trump, calling his racist comments “terrifying,” the freshman lawmaker largely kept her commentary focused on legislative work.

“I came to Congress to focus on the issues that matter to Iowans,” Finkenauer wrote Monday. “Iowans — and Americans — deserve leaders who unite our country and work to make their lives better, rather than dividing our country with racist rhetoric.”

On Wednesday, Finkenauer and Iowa’s two other Democratic House members voted in favor of legislation repealing the “Cadillac Tax” on high-cost insurance plans. Once considered an integral part of paying for the Affordable Care Act, but nearly all Democrats have since come to oppose it due to how employers were handling it.

That same day, she sided with 332 members to table an impeachment article against Trump drafted by Democratic Rep. Al Green of Texas.

And today, Finkenauer and her Democratic colleagues passed legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2025.

by Elizabeth Meyer
Photo by Julie Fleming
Posted 7/18/19