2024 was a busy and successful year representing our families, farmers, businesses, and rural communities in Congress. I made over 320 stops on my biannual 36 County Tour, launched the second iteration of my Feenstra Agriculture Tour, held several town halls with Iowans, and advocated for our shared values on Capitol Hill.

It is truly the honor of a lifetime to be entrusted by the good people of the Fourth District to serve our communities every day and be a strong voice for our families in our nation’s capital. It is a responsibility that I take very seriously.

Now, let’s rewind and take a look at the past 12 months.

In January, I introduced legislation to permanently repeal the death tax on our family farms and small businesses, and it is a top priority for me to have this bill included in next year’s tax reform package. I also co-sponsored legislation to prevent the Biden administration from tearing down Texas’ border barriers, led a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas demanding answers over reports of illegal immigrants flying on American planes without proper identification, and voted to protect Iowa pregnancy centers from funding cuts.

In February, I introduced a bill to help lower childcare costs for families and workers by allowing small businesses to create Dependent Care Flexible Spending Accounts for their employees, which allows parents to set aside money tax-free to pay for daycare and other childcare services. I further voted to overturn President Biden’s ban on American liquefied natural gas exports and to impeach Secretary Mayorkas for his intentional failure to secure the border.

In March, legislation that I introduced with Sen. Joni Ernst — Sarah’s Law — to detain and punish illegal immigrants who harm or kill American citizens passed the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. I also led a letter to President Biden opposing his proposed tax hikes on our family farms and small businesses and joined the Iowa delegation in urging year-round sales of E-15. Additionally, I introduced legislation requiring the President of the United States to submit a balanced budget to Congress and led the Save Our Seniors Act to protect the solvency of Social Security for future generations.

In April, two pieces of legislation that I introduced — the National Weather Service Communications Improvement Act and the Weather Innovation for the Next Generation Act — passed the U.S. House of Representatives. These bills will help ensure that our weather radar can better detect inclement weather, especially low-hanging tornadoes, and modernize the National Weather Service’s outdated communications network to disseminate time-sensitive information more quickly. I also voted for the Iran-China Energy Sanctions Act to prevent Chinese oil companies from refining Iranian oil and supported a resolution condemning Iran’s missile attack against Israel.

In May, another two bills that I introduced to keep rural hospitals operational and preserve access to over-the-phone telehealth services passed the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee. This legislation would help keep rural hospitals open by providing critical financial support, particularly to those on the verge of closing, and extend access to over-the-phone telehealth services for our seniors and rural communities with limited broadband connectivity.

I also voted to pass the Farm Bill out of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. With the input and feedback of our producers, I worked to strengthen crop insurance protections, open new export markets for Iowa agriculture, gut wasteful spending in the SNAP program, overturn California’s Prop 12 mandates, and keep China away from our farmland. The Farm Bill also includes my work to expand broadband in rural Iowa, deliver fair market prices for our cattle producers, and invest in homegrown Iowa biofuels.

In June, I surveyed damage from the catastrophic flooding with Gov. Reynolds, met with local officials and law enforcement, and worked to deliver relief as quickly as possible. We continue to keep our neighbors who were struck by this year’s powerful tornadoes and floods in our hearts. I also introduced legislation to help our small businesses offer paid family and medical leave to their employees in a more affordable way.

In July, I led over 150 of my colleagues in a letter to EPA Administrator Michael Regan urging the Biden administration to overturn its de facto electric mandate on trucks, tractors, buses, and semis, and voted for legislation to require proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections. I further voted to establish a task force to investigate the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.

In August, I welcomed both the chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee — Rep. Jason Smith from Missouri — and chairman of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee — Rep. G.T. Thompson from Pennsylvania — to Iowa to hear directly from Iowans about their suggestions for everything from tax reform to agricultural policy. I also sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack to call on the USDA to establish a strategic nitiative to combat the spread of bird flu, and voted to add the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to thoroughly review purchases of American farmland by foreign adversaries, including China.

In September, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Supporting America’s Children and Families Act, which included my bill — the Strengthening Evidence-Based Prevention Services Act — to help keep vulnerable children out of the foster care system by funding comprehensive evaluations of prevention services so that these programs can be certified and deployed in our communities. I also voted to prevent China from receiving generous tax credits for the production of electric vehicles, supported legislation to overturn the Biden administration’s electric-vehicle mandates, and helped introduce a bill to implement guardrails and strengthen oversight to keep U.S. taxpayer dollars away from the Taliban.

In October, Rep. Dan Kildee of Michigan and I led a letter with 19 of our colleagues urging the Biden administration to continue to engage with the newly elected president of Mexico — Claudia Sheinbaum — over Mexico’s ban on American corn imports and other trade barriers. I also helped reopen the Storm Lake Post Office after it was closed for roughly three months due to damage sustained from a car accident in July.

In November, I voted for the Social Security Fairness Act that would repeal the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and the Government Pension Offset (GPO) to ensure that public servants like teachers, police officers, and firefighters receive the full Social Security benefits that they have earned. I additionally voted for the Senator Elizabeth Dole 21st Century Veterans Healthcare and Benefits Improvement Act to deliver top-notch care to our veterans.

In December, I led a letter to U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Capt. Andrew Bender urging the USCG to reconsider its decision to remove 36 Aids to Navigation (ATONs) on the Missouri River north of Blencoe, Iowa and led a separate letter to Acting Director of the Air National Guard, Maj. Gen. Duke Pirak, and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin requesting that ongoing runway and ramp projects at the 185th Air Refueling Wing (ARW) in Sioux City be included in the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP).

I also voted for the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which delivers a 14.5 percent pay raise for junior enlisted troops and a 4.5 percent raise for all other servicemembers, and formally joined the Delivering Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) Caucus, which will work with the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to cut reckless government spending, eliminate burdensome government regulations, and reduce our $36-trillion national debt.

As we begin 2025, I look forward to continuing my work to deliver for our families, farmers, businesses, and rural communities.

U.S. Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, represents Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District.