Senator Joni Ernst is now chair of a subcommittee that oversees U-S-D-A programs that promote renewable energy and broadband expansion.
Ernst is a member of the Senate Ag Committee and just this past week she was named chairman of the subcommitee on rural development and energy. Ernst says identifying ways to “enhance” rural life is a priority for the subcommittee and she sees former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack — who is U.S. Secretary of Agriculture — as a partner.
Ernst is also a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Anti-war protesters disrupted an Armed Services Committee hearing this week and Ernst says it was an unfortunate distraction from the testimony of former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger, George Schultz and Madeleine Albright.
Arizona Senator John McCain is chairman of the committee and he called the protesters “low-life scum.” Ernst says those are McCain’s words, not hers, and it’s up to McCain to defend that kind of “verbiage.” Ernst also suggests the protesters might be better off if they presenting their views “in a more civil manner.” The “Code Pink” protesters confronted former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger as the 91-year-old entered the room and waved handcuffs near his head as he sat down at the witness table.
