Joni Ernst Quotes

It's not enough to be a woman. You have to care about women's issues. And women's issues here in Iowa are that we have a strong economy. We have jobs that our sons and daughters can go off to someday. We have a great educational system. And women want strong national defense. We want to know that our families are going to be safe.

- Joni Ernst

In the fields of southwest Iowa, my parents and grandparents worked and sacrificed. Like so many Iowans, the American Dream for them was never about wealth or fame. Their dream was to leave their children and grandchildren a better life, with greater opportunity, than their own.

- Joni Ernst

Growing up, I had only one good pair of shoes. So on rainy school days, my mom would slip plastic bread bags over them to keep them dry. But I was never embarrassed. Because the school bus would be filled with rows and rows of young Iowans with bread bags slipped over their feet.

- Joni Ernst

I am deeply concerned for the safety of our people brought by a lack of a comprehensive strategy to defeat ISIL.

- Joni Ernst

I grew up in southwest Iowa, on a farm north of Stanton, Iowa, which is a tiny little town, a farming community. I went to Iowa State University and joined Army ROTC while I was there and just have had such a phenomenal life. I am a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

- Joni Ernst

As a young girl, I plowed the fields of our family farm. I worked construction with my dad. To save for college, I worked the morning biscuit line at Hardees.

- Joni Ernst

It's time to stop spending money we don't have and balance the budget.

- Joni Ernst

I believe that wholeheartedly - that we have to maintain a strong national defense.

- Joni Ernst

Our fighters would be nowhere if they didn't have the support coming from folks like those that served with me.

- Joni Ernst

It was only by luck and the blessings of God that my soldiers did not encounter an assault, that we did not run over an IED. And to dishonor our service by saying we're not worthy of being called combat veterans is insulting to the majority of men and women who serve their country honorably.

- Joni Ernst

I can tell you that the Iowa way - the Iowa way is to find out that there is a problem and acknowledge it and address it head-on.

- Joni Ernst

Cleaning up the mess in Washington is gonna take a whole lot of Iowa common sense.

- Joni Ernst

We are way overstepping bounds as federal legislators.

- Joni Ernst

Those that have received care here in Des Moines at the VA center or the VA hospital here have said that they do receive good care. However, it's getting into the system - the wait periods. We have to do something about that. The care here has been good. We're not seeing that in other states.

- Joni Ernst

I say scrap the IRS. Let's start all over again.

- Joni Ernst

I am very proud of my service, and by law, I am defined as a combat veteran.

- Joni Ernst

The push for 'Meatless Mondays' in our military is misguided at best and goes against dietary guidelines. Our men and women in uniform should have the option to consume the protein they need, including meat, on a daily basis.

- Joni Ernst

I believe that businesses will do what is best for their business. I don't know that the government needs to be stepping in and telling them, 'This is what you will do.'

- Joni Ernst

Let's shut down the EPA.

- Joni Ernst

I do believe that we need to lower taxes on our hard working Iowans immediately.

- Joni Ernst

I don't know the science behind climate change. I can't say one way or another what is the direct impact, whether it's man-made or not.

- Joni Ernst

Americans have been hurting, but when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare. It's a mindset that gave us political talking points, not serious solutions.

- Joni Ernst

The state knows best how to protect resources.

- Joni Ernst

There's a lot we can achieve if we work together.

- Joni Ernst

You have to be committed to expand rights and opportunities for all women.

- Joni Ernst

We have to have somebody that will express conservative views, of course, and I'm looking for somebody that is very Reaganesque. Someone that can reach all aspects of our voting population here in America.

- Joni Ernst

I have a beautiful little Smith & Wesson, 9 millimeter, and it goes with me virtually everywhere. But I do believe in the right to carry, and I believe in the right to defend myself and my family - whether it's from an intruder or whether it's from the government, should they decide that my rights are no longer important.

- Joni Ernst

I do not support a federal minimum wage. I think every state has a different economy, a different cost of living. I don't believe that's the role of the federal government.

- Joni Ernst

I am a woman and, second, I have been to war. I am a combat veteran. This is not a war on women, and anytime Democrats use the word 'war,' they need to do it to honor our servicemen and women.

- Joni Ernst

We want Iowa to remain red. We have worked so hard to get here. We will not be a purple state: we will be a red state.

- Joni Ernst

I have never once claimed that I have a Combat Action Badge. I have never claimed that I have a Purple Heart. What I have claimed is that I have served in a combat zone.

- Joni Ernst

Republicans think tax filing should be easier for you, not just the well-connected.

- Joni Ernst

Taxpayers should not be on the hook for subsidizing former presidents' lives to the tune of millions of dollars.

- Joni Ernst

The forces of violence and oppression don't care about the innocent.

- Joni Ernst

When I get to Washington, I'll know how to cut pork. Washington is full of big spenders. Let's make them squeal.

- Joni Ernst

My parents taught us to live within our means. It's time to force Washington to do the same.

- Joni Ernst

I think we do have cyclic changes in weather, and I think that's been throughout the course of history.

- Joni Ernst

You have to be a leader with a vision, and you have to show Iowans that you want it... and not just a woman.

- Joni Ernst