Iowa Starting Line Report Details Ernst’s Refusal to Hold Herself Accountable To Her Own Standards
DES MOINES – A new report by Iowa Starting Line sheds light on Senator Joni Ernst’s latest effort to rewrite her hypocritical record: campaigning on a ‘No Budget, No Pay’ policy after she continued taking a taxpayer-funded salary when her party caused the longest budget shut down in history. Despite pushing for no pay for Members of Congress during federal shutdowns, Ernst refused to join at least 20 of her Senate colleagues who offered to turn down their paychecks during the partial shutdown.
In fact, Senator Ernst’s self-exemption is just the tip of the iceberg of how Ernst has shattered her promises to Iowans. From voting for tax giveaways for her corporate donors, to undermining the health care Iowans rely on, Ernst has demonstrated time and again that she puts her political career over what’s best for Iowans.
Below are key excerpts from today’s report:
Iowa Starting Line: Make ‘Em Squeal? Ernst Didn’t Live Up To Her Own Legislation
By: Elizabeth Meyer
February 24, 2020
- In January 2019, in the midst of the nation’s longest government shutdown, Ernst had a chance to put her proposals, including the “No Budget, No Pay” Act, to the test… Instead, Ernst continued to collect a paycheck as hundreds of thousands of federal workers went without.
- At the time of her remarks, more than 100 members of Congress had said they would turn down their paychecks during the partial government shutdown, including 20 of her fellow senators.
- In a Jan. 7, 2019, interview on the Simon Conway radio show, Ernst deflected when asked about bills in Congress that would restrict pay during a shutdown as a way to incentivize members to fund the government on time.
- Fast-forward to her reelection campaign, which officially kicked off in June 2019, and Ernst is on the campaign trail and in Congress touting her commitment to reducing wasteful spending. That includes the measure for legislators to go without a paycheck and stay in D.C. if the budget doesn’t get finished.
- “As a federal government, nobody is looking over our shoulder,” Ernst said last July at a town hall event in Clinton. “Nobody is held accountable. So, I offered up a number of these amendments or bills, so no budget, no recess. No budget, no pay. Okay? But the majority of members would not support it. Yeah. Because, why would I want to hold myself accountable, right?”