For new member of Congress Abby Finkenauer, it's been an eventful first six weeks in office

For a new member of Congress, such as Eastern Iowa's Abby Finkenauer, it usually takes a little bit of time to get familiar with a new office and new surroundings.  But this year's first year U.S. House members took office in the middle of a government shutdown.

In an interview with decorahnews.com prior to an appearance before First District Democrats met in Calmar Saturday, Finkenauer said it was "heartbreaking" to hear the stories told to her by federal government employees affected by the shutdown.  She said the experience of talking to federal employees such as West Union resident Jesse Wagner, who was her guest at the State of the Union speech, made her get together with other freshman lawmakers to draft legislation to outlaw such shutdowns in the future.

Finkenauer is also concerned about the National Emergency declaration made by President Trump as a way to get extra funding for border security.  "This isn't how we get things done," she says.  She's worried that the White House might use funds appropriated for the Cedar Rapids flood project as one of the ways to pay for the border wall.  She says her office is contacting the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is in charge of the Cedar Rapids project, to make sure the project won't be affected.

Finkenauer has been named to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee of the House of Representatives and says she welcomes the chance to work across the aisle to come up with an infrastructure funding package.  The House of Representatives has already passed Finkenauer's first piece of legislation, a bill which will help bring federal investment to small businesses in rural America.  She is now the youngest woman in history to pass a bill in Congress.