Serving Iowa's Third District is An Honor

Floor Speech

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Mr. NUNN. Madam Speaker, it is an honor to join this House, the newest Representative from the great State of Iowa. I rise not to speak of division within this Chamber but to champion the importance of providing pragmatic, solution-oriented leadership for the American people.

Serving the people of the Third District, I am humbled by the Iowans who voted for change and remain mindful that good representation includes being a fighter for every single Iowan, regardless of party.

That is why I am committed to ushering in a new era of public service for our community, one that begins with transparent, pragmatic, and bipartisan work.

With nearly two decades as a combat veteran, intelligence officer, and a former State legislator, service has always come before self. In the military, it is never 9 to 5. Deployments flying over Afghanistan meant spending time away from family, and tours overseas sacrificed memories shared with friends. But we had a call to serve, and our brothers and sisters in arms demanded that we complete the job.

My call to serve now is being a Representative for every Iowan in all 21 counties. Whether in Des Moines or Atlantic or Ottumwa, common challenges facing Iowans are dire. Inflation is crippling families and small businesses, taxes and governmental overreach are burdensome, our communities just this week are hurting from violent crime, and providing quality education is top of mind across our State.

As a servant in Iowa, we worked across the aisle, and we delivered, passing the largest tax cut in State history three times over. Growing productivity for Iowa's family farms, we are now first in corn, first in soybean, first in hogs, and first in high school graduation--not to mention, we are still first in the GOP caucuses.

In Iowa, small businesses kept going during the pandemic, and we ensured that Iowa's schools were open so students and parents could work with educators to teach the next generation of Iowa leaders.

I am a sixth-generation Iowan. I know the struggles we face. I come from a century family farm. My mother was a nurse, and my father was a high school math teacher; they taught my brother and me to take responsibility and to serve with grace in our hearts. Our community helped raise all of us.

In high school, I met my future wife, Kelly, and we are blessed with four kids and two foster children. Our hope for them is that we can offer what our parents provided for us.

In times of tragedy, we are reminded that family always comes first. This week we were saddened to lose my father-in-law, Kelly's dad, Jim. He was a union electrician, and he only voted once for a Republican.

Thank you, Jim.

He was the best grandpa to our kids, the best dad, and the best husband. He was a man who lived his life to the fullest with the ones he loved, which is what the world needs more of today.

The importance of family is something every Iowan can agree on. In Congress, I would like to see more of this realized, that there are more things that can be done to achieve the 80 percent of priorities that we all agree on. Americans would rather spend time seeing us work together than in partisan dogfights.

In 2023, we entered a period of divided government. But this is no excuse for gridlock or inaction. The American people demand and deserve leaders who are willing to work for meaningful policies to address the challenges that we all face: high inflation, educating our kids, protecting our communities, and energy independence that serves both our national security and protects our natural resources.

There is always more that can be accomplished when we work together than when we are alone. Together we can ensure a prosperous American future for the next generation by making our country safer, stronger, and more accountable.

With that goal in mind, I am honored to bring Iowa's influential voice to the House Agriculture Committee and bring Des Moines' expertise in the insurance industry to serve on the Financial Services Committee. We have the opportunity to bring homegrown Iowa values and priorities to the Nation's Capital. And as a D.C. outsider and citizen legislator, I plan to take full advantage of these opportunities to make what works in Iowa an opportunity for the entire country.

Most importantly, I will strive every single day to be a servant to my fellow Iowans. I will also work to be the best father and husband to my family. This means being present right in my hometown back in Iowa where together we all work and live.

I will be traveling across the district nonstop to hear from all Iowans in all 21 counties both urban, suburban, and rural in the new Third Congressional District. I look forward to delivering pragmatic solutions for Iowans and helping D.C. along the way to operate a little bit more like we do in Iowa: family and neighbors first, common sense, hard work, and--as always--a little bit of Iowa nice.

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