Axne wants more biofuels, broadband funding in infrastructure compromise

U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne said Tuesday that passing an infrastructure proposal without biofuels funding would be “short-sighted.” 

A bipartisan group of senators came to a compromise proposal last week on a $1.2 trillion infrastructure proposal. The deal includes $550 billion in new spending, but it’s still a far cry away from President Joe Biden’s initial $3 trillion proposal.

Axne, a Democrat who is currently serving her second term as Iowa’s 3rd District representative, said the compromise was lacking in several areas, including inclusion of funds for biofuels. In a statement last week, she called the lack of biofuel funding “unacceptable.”

Iowa is the nation’s top producer of ethanol. 

“The fact that this isn’t in there, honestly, I find it short-sighted,” she said. “It’s something that we absolutely should be pressing for.”

Axne did not say whether she would vote for the infrastructure package without additional funding for biofuels, saying she was still looking through the legislation. She also identified broadband as an area for improvement in the bill.

“I’d still like to see broadband (funding) higher,” she said. “They cut down our bill by about a third. That’s going to really impact some of the folks here in Iowa.” 

Other parts of the initial infrastructure package, like child care, were lost in bipartisan negotiations. Axne said she wants to see some of those pieces return in other bills.