CHEROKEE, Iowa (Iowa Media Wire) — With just a few days left before Iowa’s primary election, two Republicans vying for Iowa’s 4th district congressional seat met for a public forum Thursday.
Around two dozen people gathered on the Western Iowa Tech campus in Cherokee for the Rural and Renewable Fuels Issue Forum. Incumbent representative Randy Feenstra and entrepreneur Kevin Virgil laid out their beliefs and priorities if they are selected to represent Iowa’s 4th district on Capitol Hill this November.
The pair answered questions submitted by Iowa voters. The topics included issues pertaining to Iowa’s biggest industries, including the pork industry and new regulations, ethanol and biofuel innovations and challenges, as well as meat processing monopolies.
One thing most communities face is a lack of workforce housing.The candidates had differing opinions on how they see the government helping address housing needs in Iowa.
“There’s a role for states and communities to set up programs to make housing available for the needy, for those that need it,” Virgil said. “But I don’t think the federal government should have a role at all.”
“So I sit on [the House Committee on Ways and Means],” Feenstra said. “And the solution is: alright, builder, if you want to build a home, I’ll give you a tax deduction. Give them a reason to build in small towns. It’ll work.”
Both also addressed the current situation with the U.S. farm bill that expires at the end of September.
“This really isn’t a farm bill, it’s a welfare and school lunch bill,” Virgil said. “And there is certainly a lot in this bill that needs to be passed. Certainly there’s a lot of support in there for young farmers, there’s certainly a lot of suport in there for crop insurance, two things that are absolutely essential to the agricultural industry… there’s a whole lot in there that is really just unconscionable for a true conservative to support.
“We’re going to have to figure out, do we want to work together or not have a farm bill at all?” Feenstra said. “What does that do to us as farmers? What’s it going to do? You all think about that.”
The winner of Tuesday’s Republican primary faces democrat Brian Melton in November.