Joni Ernst Announces Reforms to ‘Drain the Swamp,' Rein in 'Administrative State'

Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst is rolling out a reform package in an effort to hold the “entrenched federal bureaucracy” accountable, “drain the swamp,” and “cut red tape.”

Sen. Ernst announced on Wednesday reforms to the “administrative state,” which is “bogging down” Americans.

A press release revealed that the Iowa senator is rolling out a reform package to “cut red tape, hold the entrenched federal bureaucracy accountable, and drain the swamp.”

“Ernst’s efforts will bring decision-making closer to the American people, repeal outdated regulations, rein in unelected bureaucrats imposing arbitrary rules, and require taxpayer-paid bureaucrats to show up and work,” it reads.

As the first female combat veteran elected to the Senate and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, the senator accused President Joe Biden’s “bureaucrats” of “writing regulations and bogging down households, family farms, and small businesses with arbitrary rules.” 

“I’m draining the swamp and reining in the administrative state that has run unchecked at the taxpayer’s expense,” she added. 

The Iowa senator emphasized that bureaucrats “need a reminder of exactly who they are serving.”

“That’s why I’m working to get government beyond the beltway bubble, scrub regulations, and hold unelected bureaucrats accountable,” she concluded.

The package of solutions includes bringing decision-making “closer to the American people and mak[ing] government responsive to the real needs of Americans” through the Strategic Withdrawal of Agencies for Meaningful Placement (SWAMP) Act, which she introduced yesterday.

The act seeks to move the headquarters of federal agencies outside of Washington, DC, and distribute them “across America and among the people most impacted by agency decisions.”

In addition, Ernst unveiled the Searching for and Cutting Regulations that are Unnecessarily Burdensome (SCRUB) Act, which aims to cut red tape and repeal outdated requirements by forcing a “review of current federal regulations to cut down costs and ease the burden on households, family farms, and small businesses.”

The senator is encouraging the Supreme Court to repeal its ruling that has “required courts to side with federal bureaucrats over the American people when the bureaucrats loosely interpret laws,” and she hopes to “rein in the unaccountable, unelected bureaucracy.”

Through support for the Stopping Home Office Work’s Unproductive Problems (SHOW UP) Act, she is also seeking to require federal bureaucrats “‘teleworking’ on the taxpayer’s dime” to “show up for work,” demanding investigations into their “abuse” of remote “work.”

The matter comes as the Biden administration has imposed nearly $617 billion in regulatory costs on American businesses within three years — $340 billion more than the previous two administrations combined.

In March, Ernst unveiled what, at the time, was the latest examples of egregious government spending and waste, which included taxpayer dollars used to train pigs to play video games, provide dolphins with an underwater touchpad with “dolphin friendly apps,” and establish a comedy center in New York.

She has continued to champion the Cost Openness and Spending Transparency (COST) Act, which would require every project supported with federal funds to include a price tag that is “easily available for taxpayers.”