Rodney Blum

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Blum was born and raised in Dubuque, Iowa. His father served in the United States Navy during World War II, while his mother worked as a house cleaner.[2] Blum graduated from Loras College in 1977 with a degree in finance and went on to earn an MBA from the University of Dubuque in 1989.[3] In 1990, he became the CEO of Eagle Print Software, where he worked until becoming the owner of Digital Canal, another software company, in 2000.[4]

Blum has also coached high school basketball, served as a board member for the Hoover Presidential Library, trained as a student pilot, and wrote a political column in the Dubuque Telegraph Herald.[4][5]

Prior to his congressional career, Blum served as the chair for the Dubuque County GOP from 1995-1997.[4]

Blum served in the United States House of Representatives, representing Iowa's 1st Congressional District, from 2015 until 2019.

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Campaign website

Blum's campaign website stated the following:

Social Security

My 84-year-old mother recently died. But before leaving us, she was independent for years thanks to her earned Social Security benefits. Our family saw — like thousands of other Eastern Iowa families — the good the program does for our elderly by empowering them to remain self-sufficient and independent long past their working days.

But here’s the reality: Social Security is going broke thanks to a lack of leadership from career politicians who care only about their next re-election.

For me, ensuring Social Security’s long term stability isn’t just good policy, it’s personal. It’s about my mom, and it’s about the promises we’ve made to millions of Americans just like her.

If we want this program to be around for future generations, we need to get our house in order. And the sooner the better – the longer we wait the more difficult the Social Security problem becomes to solve.

Now, this is the point where career politicians start the political scare tactics. They claims that anyone who wants to have a serious conversation about reforming Social Security is in fact trying to destroy it, using words like “privatize” to frighten voters into supporting their campaign.

But actually, it is career politicians who are jeopardizing Social Security by ignoring reality and putting their political ambition ahead of the American people. Their refusal to tell the truth and make tough decisions has put all of us at risk.

As a lifelong small businessman, I’m used to talking straight. And it’s my belief that Eastern Iowa voters deserve the truth rather than deceptive scare tactics. That’s why I’m not afraid to tell you – the citizens I hope to have the honor of representing in Congress – the truth about the options we have to preserve Social Security.

Both Republicans and Democrats have proposed ideas to save the program. Whether it’s slightly increasing the income cap on the Social Security tax, allowing young Americans to opt in to private retirement savings accounts, means-testing benefits for wealthier Americans, or gradually raising the retirement age for people younger than 55, our politicians must come to the table in good faith and work out a bipartisan compromise that preserves Social Security long-term.

If we come together as a nation, acknowledge reality, and implement reform, we can ensure that Social Security will be around for our children and their children. I’m not pretending it will be easy, but if we want to preserve Social Security we need the courage to do the right thing.

Agriculture

Agriculture is the backbone of northeast Iowa and throughout my two terms in Congress I have fought hard to protect the interests of Iowa farmers and will not stop doing so.

I support expanding markets for Iowa’s agricultural products and I am fighting for common sense free trade agreements that open up new markets for Iowa farmers. I demanded the Administration not jeopardize the industry while they negotiate better deals and I will not stop until our farmers have the security they need.

I have championed efforts to pass a Farm Bill and ensure vital programs, which provide much-needed aid and relief to farmers, are preserved.

But there is more to be done- I have been working closely with the Trump Administration and my colleagues in Congress to address the year-round sale of E-15, to undo the damage from the EPA’s unlawful granting of waivers to “small” refineries, to reverse the effects of tariffs on our agricultural exports, and to nominate a new, ethanol-friendly EPA Director.

Economy

Our economy is back to life thanks to a Congress and President that are committed to letting hard-working Americans keep more of the money they earn and eliminating job-killing regulations throughout every industry.

Passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act will bring an average savings of $2,564 to first district residents this year, along with more take-home pay for families, raises and bonuses from businesses throughout the country, the child tax credit doubling from $1,000 to $2,000 per child, the standard deduction doubling from $12,000 to $24,000, and the medical expense deduction allowing those with costly medical expenses to deduct from their taxes.

Our employment numbers, consumer confidence, small business confidence, and American competitiveness are at record highs and meanwhile, our unemployment for minorities is at record lows. In July 2018, it was announced our GDP growth has reached 4.1% — the best pace since 2014.

But there is more that can be done. My priorities going forward are to continue cutting the chains of taxes and regulations holding back small businesses and continue to make America competitive on the global scale.

Cleaning Up Congress

I was elected to Congress on a promise to Drain the Swamp and eliminate backward incentives in Washington, D.C. Here is an overview of my efforts to follow through with this promise.

Introduced legislation to cut the pay of Members of Congress each year the budget is not balanced

Introduced legislation to ensure taxpayer dollars are not used for first-class flights or luxury car leases for Members of Congress

Introduced legislation to prohibit Members of Congress from cashing in on their public service by becoming lobbyists after their time in office

Serve as the Chair of the Congressional Term Limits Caucus and have cosponsored legislation to enact term limits on Members of Congress

Cosponsored legislation to eliminate taxpayer dollars from paying off harassment settlements for Members of Congress

Cosponsored legislation to eliminate the taxpayer-funded pension program Members of Congress enjoy after serving their terms

I am Chair of the Whistleblower Caucus and have passed two bills to ensure whistleblowers are protected from retaliation when exposing waste, fraud, and abuse within the federal government[97]

—Blum for Congress[98]

Campaign advertisements

The following is an example of an ad from Blum's 2018 election campaign.

"Respect" - Blum campaign ad, released August 30, 2018

The following issues were listed on Blum's campaign website. For a full list of campaign themes, click here.

Social Security: My 84-year-old mother died earlier this year. But before leaving us, she was independent for years thanks to her earned Social Security benefits. Our family saw — like thousands of other Eastern Iowa families — the good the program does for our elderly by empowering them to remain self-sufficient and independent long past their working days.

Civil Liberties: We must always remember that most liberties are taken away from us in the name of “safety”. As our founding father Ben Franklin said, “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety”.

Agriculture: Agencies like the EPA and FDA consistently overstep the boundaries of common sense with regulations like the “Waters of the US” (WOTUS) act and restrictions on farm dust. These agencies are making it increasingly difficult for family farms to effectively operate their small businesses.

Economy: According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12 million Americans are unemployed and another 8 million are working part-time but desire full-time employment. All told almost 23 million of our fellow Americans are unemployed or underemployed. The “official” unemployment rate is around 8%. Add in those Americans who are underemployed and those that have given up and the “real” unemployment rate is almost 15%. Average family income has decreased by 8% over the last five years and median family net worth has decreased 25% over the last decade.

Debt: The federal government’s deficit in 2011 was $1.3 trillion. In 2012 it was $1.1 trillion. And our deficit this year is projected to be around $1.0 trillion. Over the last five years, Washington DC has spent $6 trillion it didn’t have. $6 trillion that it had to borrow. $6 trillion it had to print. If government spending was the answer, Greece and Italy would be economic powerhouses.

[97]

—Rod Blum's campaign website, http://www.rodblum.com/#

Blum's website highlighted the following campaign themes:[99]

Social Security

Excerpt: "Both Republicans and Democrats have proposed ideas to save the program. Whether it’s slightly increasing the income cap on the Social Security tax, allowing young Americans to opt in to private retirement savings accounts, means-testing benefits for wealthier Americans, or gradually raising the retirement age for people younger than 55, our politicians must come to the table in good faith and work out a bipartisan compromise that preserves Social Security long-term."

Economy

Excerpt: "The recent “recovery” is the worst in U.S. history. If our country had the same proportion of persons of working age employed as we did in 2000, we’d have another 14 MILLION Americans working. The current plan of higher taxes, higher debt, higher spending and greater regulations, combined with the coming burden of ObamaCare and declining economic freedom are the main reasons this recovery is so weak. America is ready for a rebirth of economic freedom – let’s take the government burden off the backs of entrepreneurs and working Americans."

Debt

Excerpt: "I support the Penny Plan for balancing the *Budget Committee The Penny Plan cuts 1% per year from the budget for the next six years. At the end of the 6th year the budget will be balanced. Congress can determine where the cuts come from or they can decide to cut the budget 1% across the board. This legislation is currently supported by 71 House members, including Steve King from Iowa and 13 Senators including Marco Rubio and Rand Paul."

Education

Excerpt: "I believe the current top-down structure of educating America’s youth is failing and it appears the numbers appear to back this up. You don’t have to look far to see that public schools aren’t what they used to be. Prior to the interventionism of the U.S. Department of Education, American learning institutions produced highly sought after professionals. Today, firms in America look to other countries for employees in areas such as technology and engineering."

Civil Liberties

Excerpt: "Government misuse of new technologies has eroded our Bill of Rights, and greatly expanded powers for our security agencies allow the government to invade our lives without due process or judicial oversight. Hence, our rights and liberties have deteriorated daily since 9/11."

Agriculture

Excerpt: "I support expanding markets for Iowa’s agricultural products and will fight for common sense free trade agreements that open up new markets for Iowa farmers. I also support measures like Fast Track Trade Authority that help expedite the approval process for free trade agreements."

Immigration

Excerpt: "I believe immigration reform needs to start with fully securing the US border. We have been told by the federal government that they would secure the border in 1986 and 2006 and both times they failed to do so."

Environment

Excerpt: "Nobody wants dirty air or dirty water, despite what you hear from partisan politicians and environmental extremists. And we don’t need Washington bureaucrats at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) telling us that it just makes sense to turn out the lights when you leave a room, recycle what you can, and pick up trash when you see it in public. Those are the kinds of things I teach my children about: taking personal responsibility for the environment."