Iowa’s Blum sees ‘repeal, replace, reignite’ on congressional agenda

CEDAR RAPIDS - The 2017 session of Congress is likely to be about the three Rs - repeal, replace and reignite - U.S. Rep. Rod Blum predicts.

He expects Republican President-elect Donald Trump to carry through on his pledges to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act and to lighten the regulatory burden on businesses as a step toward reigniting the nation's economy.

'That's a lot to tackle. I imagine that will be the focus for the first six months or even a year,” he said earlier this week.

It won't be easy, not only because of the complexity of repealing and replacing Obamacare, but Blum expects Senate Democrats to obstruct floor votes on repealing President Barack Obama's signature issue. Under Senate rules, 60 votes are needed to bring most measures to a floor vote. Election results earlier this month give Republicans a 51-48 majority. That may increase to 52 after a runoff in Louisiana.

'It's going to be challenging,” Blum said. 'Everything's going to have to be negotiated. That's the way government works.”

For the most part, Blum embraces Trump's 'drain the swamp” approach to changing Washington because he thinks that's the message voters in Iowa and across the country delivered in the election.

'They're tired of the ruling class in Washington, the political class, the professional political class, whatever you want to call it, they're just tired of it,” said Blum, who was re-elected by a 54 percent to 46 percent margin over Democratic challenger Monica Vernon. 'They're tired of being over-regulated, overtaxed. ‘There's just too much government,' is what I hear.”

Blum is hoping to get support from the president-elect for his congressional reform measures including term limits, ending first-class air travel and luxury car leases for members, tying congressional pay to Americans' income and a lifetime ban on lobbying by former members of Congress.

'With Trump's statements that he wants to drain the swamp I hope the message gets to him that Congressman Blum has some good bills to drain the swamp,” he said. 'If he gets behind them then that would help a lot.”

Although he's never been told it's the case, Blum thinks the reason his congressional reform measures have not gained traction is because House leaders don't want votes on those bills.

'If the president wants a vote on them, then I think we'll get a vote on them,” he said.

Blum also said:

He's in communication with Kellyanne Conway, his pollster as well as Trump's campaign manager and a member of the transition team.

'We text each other. I've been in communication about, you know, stuff in general. Nothing specific.”

Asked about taking a post in the new administration, Blum thinks that is unlikely.

'This is a very difficult job doing this, but a job I'm honored to have, so it would have to be a pretty significant thing in the administration.”

It remains to be seen what Trump's proposed wall on the Mexican border would look like. Although he believes voters want to secure the border, 'I don't know if it's going to be a wall or what it's going to be.”

And he's not as sure as Trump that Mexico is going to pay for it.

'If we can get them to pay for it, that would be wonderful,” he said with a laugh, 'but I don't know how that works.”