Bohannan talks key issues ahead of 2022 election

Oct. 18—Democratic candidate Christina Bohannan is running for Iowa's 1st Congressional District because she believes "not all Iowans are getting a fair shot."

"I think people love to be from Iowa — they feel it's a special place. They're working really hard, but a lot of people are not getting a fair shot, and I know what that's like," she says.

Bohannan grew up in a trailer off of a dirt road, and neither of her parents graduated high school. Her father also struggled with emphysema, a medical condition in which the air sacs of the lungs are damaged and enlarged, causing breathlessness, for 10 years before he lost his insurance.

"Back then, that was a pre-existing condition. We couldn't go get other health insurance, and so things got really, really hard for my family," she says. "Public education really changed my life. I owe my life to my public school teachers and things like Medicare and Social Security were lifelines for my family. They lifted me out of poverty, helped me go on and get an education."

Bohannan says she hears many of the same struggles from constituents throughout her district — and there's a significant disconnect between the district and Washington, D.C.

"We see Rep. [Mariannette] Miller-Meeks telling Iowans one thing and voting exactly the opposite way in Washington, D.C.," she says.

As Iowa and the rest of the country continue to struggle with inflation, Bohannan says making America more energy independent is one way to combat the rising costs of goods.

"I support kind of an 'all of the above' approach to do that. That includes ethanol. That includes renewable energy, which Iowa is already a leader in and where we can expand and grow our economy to create jobs while also making America more energy independent," she says. "That's a win-win. It's a win for Iowa. It's a win for the country. It's a win for the planet."

Additionally, Bohannan says the United States needs to become more independent from other countries when it comes to other goods in the long term, such as military-grade semiconductors, "to make the United States more resilient to things like supply chain issues."

"We've got to bring that manufacturing back to the United States, because if we are dependent on other countries for those things, then number one, our national security is in real trouble. But also, there are going to be supply chain problems ... We need to be in charge of more of that manufacturing, and those kinds of jobs are exactly the kind of jobs that we can have right here in Iowa," she says.

As someone who credits public education for lifting her out of poverty, Bohannan does not support Gov. Kim Reynolds' education proposal, which would give up to 10,000 students a total of $55 million in taxpayer-funded scholarships to pay for private school expenses. The proposal did not pass the state's most recent legislative session but is expected to be proposed again in 2023.

"Frankly, I don't understand it ... It benefits such a tiny percentage of people. And meanwhile, the overwhelming [number] of our students are struggling with underfunded public schools," she says. "We already have school choice. People can send their kids wherever they want to go. I support that ... but I do not support the further funding of a tiny percentage of students ... I think it's going to be bad for our rural schools."

When it comes to higher education, Bohannan is concerned about the rising costs in college tuition. She also does not believe President Joe Biden's one-time student loan debt cancellation solves the long-term problem of college affordability.

"I am worried that colleges might increase tuition and keep doing that, telling people 'Oh, your debt will be forgiven, don't worry.' So, I worry about that unintended consequence," she says. "I also think, quite frankly, it's unfair that people who didn't go to college, didn't take out loans, are subsidizing people who did ... I am very concerned about the fairness and the cost of that on taxpayers."

As a law professor at the University of Iowa, Bohannan says roughly two-thirds of the university's operating budget comes from tuition, and one-third comes from the state. However, it used to be the other way around.

"That is a problem ... especially when we are seeing the governor and others in the state talk about $2.7 billion dollars that she has to spend, and then we're appropriating dollars to our public schools and our universities that don't even keep up with inflation. I think that's really short-sighted," she says. "I think that's hurting our universities, which are our crown jewels of the state. It's hurting our kids. It's hurting our workforce. I think we could be doing a lot more to fund education."

Bohannan says she is also disappointed in the United States Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v Wade, especially as a constitutional law professor.

"It's the first time in my memory that the [U.S.] Supreme Court has taken away a fundamental constitutional right ... and the Iowa Supreme Court took away the state constitutional right shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court rendered its decision," she says. "This is going to put women's lives at risk. It will throw doctors in jail for providing health care that has been legal in this country for half a century. There's no dispute about that. That is what's going to happen ... and it's pretty astonishing, and it's pretty scary for people right now."

A more local issue is the use of eminent domain for the proposed Navigator CO2 carbon pipeline, which will run through Mahaska County, if built. The proposed pipeline, named the Heartland Greenway Project, will capture and transport liquefied carbon dioxide from local facilities.

It is estimated to be a $3 billion investment and would bring in approximately $25 million in property tax revenue to the state, according to Navigator CO2. The company would receive 45 Q federal tax credits, which could either reduce the amount of taxes owed or increase tax refunds, according to the Internal Revenue Service.

Bohannan does not support the use of eminent domain to construct the pipeline.

"The [United States] Constitution, which I take very seriously as a law professor, says that the government can exercise eminent domain for public uses. These pipelines are not public uses. These pipelines are corporate uses," she says. "This would be the government taking people's private property for a huge, multi-million or billion dollar corporate project. That is not how property rights and constitutional rights are supported to work in a free country."

Bohannan says she is "very independent-minded" and doesn't always agree with her party. But, in the end, her goal is to "reach across the aisle," because she believes in Iowans.

"I think there are some areas where Democrats don't always do as well as they should and do need to think more about, you know, everyday working people, people in Iowa, in the Midwest, so I'm pretty independent-minded that way," she says.

"I'm working as hard as I can and talking to as many people as I can to try to get in touch with [them]."

Emily Hawk is the associate editor of the Ottumwa Courier and the Oskaloosa Herald. She can be reached at ehawk@oskyherald.com.