As a Congressional Representative for Iowa’s 4th District, Tom Latham said he’s always had a strong working relationship with Iowa State, even before a redistricting plan in 2001 brought Ames into his constituency.

In an interview with the Iowa State Daily on Wednesday, Latham outlined his views on a variety of issues and related his past efforts to serve Iowa State and his district.

Latham, an Alexander resident and ISU alumnus, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1995, and he has since been appointed to the House Appropriations Committee. Before that, Latham worked as a farmer and owned Latham Seed Company in Alexander.

The 4th Congressional District is composed of 28 of the 99 counties in Iowa, including Story County.

Latham said he has always had an eye for the ISU community, which was reflected when he worked to provide funding to update the National Animal Disease Center and other veterinary sciences buildings, which provide important research and educational opportunities for Iowa State.

In 1999, Latham began working to obtain $460 million in federal funding to help repair and update the complexes. The final amount, $178 million, is undergoing approval now, he said.

According to Daily staff reports, ISU officials have said that the project has been one of the largest publicly funded projects to date.

Another initiative Latham has taken on is increased funding for Pell Grants. Latham said when he first went to Washington, the maximum grant amount was $2,200, but it has since been increased to $4,000.

The need-based grant program has had a 47 percent increase over the last four years, he said.

“I’ve tried to make sure all students have access as far as loan programs go,” he said.

Another place Latham said he’s been working to help education is pushing a measure attached to the Higher Education Act, which is currently being reauthorized by Congress.

The measure deals with student loan interest rates. Currently, loans have a fixed interest rate, though if the mammoth act is authorized, loans could have a variable rate with the possibility of a cap at 6.8 percent.

“It would give [students] more flexibility and cost them less,” Latham said.

Other issues have occupied Latham’s attention as well.

As a member of the House Subcommittee on Agriculture, Latham said he has used his connection to Iowa State to promote the growth of technology and to help the Iowa economy grow.

Such technologies as Thin Film, a plastic solar conductor that can be integrated easily into items like tent fabric for the Army, and Fake Space, which is based on virtual reality technology, have already made it into the private sector, he said.

“What I’d like to see happen is we become like the Research Triangle in North Carolina,” he said.

Other technology initiatives include Iowa’s burgeoning biotechnology industry. Latham said he strongly favored promoting things like ethanol, biodiesel, and wind energy during his time in Congress, which has led to the development of one of the largest wind farms in Iowa, covering parts of Wright, Hamilton and Buena Vista Counties.

He has also been an advocate of protecting area farmers who are helping fuel the biotechnology industry in Iowa.

In 2002, Latham joined other House Republicans in attempting to defeat a farm bill that he said would only benefit large farms and make it harder for younger farmers to get into the trade.