About this response & our editorial approach
About this candidate response
DutyStation contacts candidates to ask whether and how they support service members, military families and veterans, and invites them to share their thoughts and priorities. We share their replies here in the candidate’s or campaign’s own words, with minor formatting for readability and correction of obvious spelling mistakes.
No endorsement in either direction. Publishing a reply does not mean DutyStation endorses the candidate. Replying does not mean the candidate or campaign endorses DutyStation.
DutyStation’s website summaries and policy assessments are labeled separately.
Organized by topic. Email greetings and sign-offs are omitted; campaign contact details appear alongside.
Government shutdown and cooperation
- I oppose any government shutdown. Congress needs to keep the government open to ensure funding remains in place to ensure vital services are timely provided to all Americans. Even if Democrats win control of one or both chambers of Congress, I would work to keep the government open by ensuring both the legislative and executive branches of government have input in the final funding package. I have a history of working across the aisle to get things done as an Iowa state legislator. In the event of yet another avoidable government shutdown, I would push to fund benefits and programs for service members, military families, and veterans, so there are no interruptions. I pledge to stand with U.S. veterans and their families to ensure they receive the pay, benefits, and care they have earned by their service to our country.
Quality of life
- I support regular cost of living increases for active-duty pay. I support fully funding the VA so health care services are timely. I support funding to ensure that quality childcare is more affordable for all Americans. I support providing employment opportunities for military spouses, and I support strengthen the GI Bill so veterans and their families can pursue education and job training without financial barriers. I support policies to help prevent unnecessary moves for military families to provide greater stability for military children.
Veterans’ care
- I support fully funding the VA so veterans get the care they earned without long wait times. I supported expanding mental health care and suicide prevention services close to home, not hours away in distant cities. I support ensuring veterans receive adequate support for disability benefits. I want veterans to have connections to local housing and employment opportunities for when they transition back to civilian life.
Family housing
- I will advocate for greater oversight of military housing programs and including better defined standards for health and safety in barracks and military base housing. I support funding increases to provide adequate funding to maintain and improve housing conditions for military families.
First priorities and campaign platform
- My top priority will be fully funding the VA to address medical care and mental health care for veterans. My website has a section addressing Veterans. Here is the website content:
- “Iowa is home to more than 175,000 veterans, and Iowa’s 4th District has more veterans per capita than most of the country. Dave believes the country’s commitment to the men and women who served does not end the day they take off the uniform.”
- “Specifically, Dave will fight to fully fund the VA so veterans get the care they earned without wait times that put their health at risk. He will work to expand mental health care and suicide prevention services close to home, not hours away in distant cities. He will push to strengthen the GI Bill so veterans and their families can pursue education and job training without financial barriers. And he will hold Washington accountable when politicians use veterans as a talking point but fail to deliver real support for veteran healthcare, housing, and benefits. Public safety has been Dave’s career. He has worked alongside law enforcement and first responders, many of them veterans, for nearly two decades. He knows what it means to put service before self, and he knows our veterans deserve a representative who puts them first.”