Rep. Steve King (R-IA) stopped in at the Farm Progress Show media tent to visit with us about the latest topics on his mind in Washington DC.

King talked about the inability of Congress to get much done this year. “It’s the nature of the political gridlock that exists when the Democrats run the Senate and the Republicans run the House,” he said. “We do the best we can with what we have to work with.”

Talking about the Environmental Protection Agency, King noted that both the proposed Waters of the United States rule and the delayed Renewable Fuel Standard 2014 volume requirement are both issues where the agency is “standing in the way of agriculture progress.” He is especially concerned about the RFS rule with a record corn crop in the fields. “What are we going to do with all this corn if you’ve got the EPA ratcheting down the Renewable Fuel Standard?” said King, who added that he agrees with Iowa Governor Terry Brandstad blaming the EPA proposal for John Deere layoffs.

I also asked King about immigration reform and his adamant opposition to any type of amnesty provisions. A member of the House agriculture committee, King understands the reasons why agricultural organizations have an interest in reforming guest worker provisions, but he thinks there is a better answer. “There are 104.1 million Americans of working age who are not in the work force,” he said. “Why would we go to a foreign country to import people with no skills that don’t speak our language to do this work?” King disputes the notion that Americans won’t work on farms. “Tell me a job that Americans won’t do and I will take you there and show Americans doing it. That’s never been true,” said King.

Listen to my interview with King here: Interview with Rep. Steve King, Iowa

2014 Farm Progress photo album.

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