“Iowa’s Area Education Agencies work. Parents love them. Educators rely on them. Students benefit from them,” Iowa state Sen. Molly Donahue said. “But this legislation creates instability and uncertainty that will reduce educational opportunities for hundreds of districts and thousands of students across every Iowa community.”
“Gov. Reynolds and the Republican majority in the legislature are breaking our AEAs,” Donahue said. “Their changes turn AEAs into an unstable fee-for-service program that reduces access in rural Iowa and consolidates power in Des Moines.”
“Once again, Gov. Reynolds and the Republican majority are failing Iowa students, educators, and communities by underfunding our public schools,” Iowa state Sen. Herman Quirmbach said. “Under Gov. Reynolds, the state is throwing taxpayer dollars at private schools and building a new bureaucracy in Des Moines, but failing to support public schools enough to keep up with inflation.”
“Senate Democrats support a responsible plan to boost school funding by $300 million and begin to reverse years of chronic underfunding by Republican administrations,” Quirmbach said. “Senate Republicans continue to neglect public education.”
Quirmbach, D-Ames, serves as the ranking member on the Senate Education Committee. Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, serves on the Senate Education Committee and is a career special education teacher.
“We’ve heard from parents, students, educators, and community leaders: Iowans love their AEAs and depend on the educational services they provide,” Iowa state Sen. Molly Donahue said. “Slashing services and funding is not the answer. By breaking our AEAs, Senate Republicans are breaking Iowans’ trust and doing real harm to Iowa communities.”
“Instead of throwing special education into chaos and sowing instability and uncertainty for hundreds of districts and thousands of students, Senate Democrats offered an amendment to bring Iowans together to strengthen our AEAs,” Donahue said. “Iowa has a rich history of working together to solve challenges. Any changes to our AEAs should be cautious, inclusive, and collaborative.”
Donahue, D-Cedar Rapids, serves on the Senate Education Committee and is a career special education teacher.
Statement by Senator Janet Petersen, Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee
“For more than two months, the Senate’s Republican majority has run a budget process with no meaningful accountability, transparency, or action on behalf of Iowans,” Senate Appropriations Ranking Member Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said. “Now that the REC has done its job, it’s time for lawmakers to get to work.”
“We owe it to our constituents to fund our public schools, pass a balanced and responsible state budget, and then adjourn for the year,” Petersen said. “Iowans aren’t asking for more politics and culture wars. They’re asking for a government that does its job.”
Iowa state Sens. Sarah Trone Garriott, Nate Boulton, and Bill Dotzler released the following statements in response to the announced closure of Tyson Foods’ pork packing plant in Perry.
“We stand with Perry and the Iowans losing their jobs and their livelihoods because of Tyson’s decision,” Iowa state Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said. “The effects of this closure will touch every corner of Dallas County – from schools to city services to Main Streets and beyond – and it will take all of us working together to overcome these challenges and keep Perry strong.”
“The difficulties facing Iowa workers and the community of Perry due to this plant closure are just beginning,” Iowa state Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, said. “Tyson needs to own the consequences of its decision and make it right for the people of Perry – especially the workers who have shown years of dedication and loyalty to the plant. That means providing real, tangible support for workers and the community alike through this transition. After six decades of dedicated service, Tyson owes its workers and the community more than just pink slips as they close the door.”
“The Tyson closure is a terrible loss to the Perry community and thousands of workers inside and outside the plant,” Iowa state Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said. “But, unfortunately, that loss will be even worse due to the cuts in unemployment aid and support for displaced workers forced onto our state by Gov. Kim Reynolds and the Republican legislature in recent years.”
“Reductions in unemployment benefits and added red tape will add financial injury to the Perry workers facing this plant closure,” Dotzler said. “Anti-worker Republicans must share the blame for that.”
Dotzler and Boulton serve on the Senate Workforce Committee. Trone Garriott represents portions of Dallas County.
“The Religious Freedom Restoration Act is a blank check for people to impose their religious beliefs on others and to discriminate against people they don’t like,” Iowa state Sen. Janice Weiner said. “That’s wrong. Religious beliefs are not a shield for discrimination. That’s not what Iowans believe, and it’s not what they want written into state law.”
“If RFRA becomes law, Iowans will be harmed and Iowa will lose out on critical economic opportunities,” Weiner said. “Our state will miss out on economy-boosting business and cultural events. We will fall behind in the fierce competition for new economic investments. We will struggle to attract newcomers to live and work here. And we will see talented and valued Iowans move away in search of a more welcoming climate.”
“When we’re facing a historic workforce crisis, we must draw people to Iowa – not push them away. RFRA is wrong for Iowa,” Weiner said.
Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, is a member of the Senate State Government Committee.
Des Moines — Iowa Senate Democrats on Tuesday introduced a new package of legislation to ensure safety, support, and accountability in Iowa nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The legislative package includes four bills that provide a comprehensive approach to address the crisis of abuse and neglect in Iowa long-term care. Taken together, these bills will improve care and expand options for Iowa seniors while ensuring facilities have the support needed to thrive.
“The stories we’ve been hearing about understaffing, abuse, neglect and an overall lack of accountability in Iowa nursing homes are devastating – and unacceptable,” Sen. Claire Celsi, D-West Des Moines, said. “Our state’s current approach to long term care is fundamentally broken and failing to protect Iowans. Today, we’re offering a comprehensive approach that will protect seniors and give Iowa families confidence in their long-term care decisions.”
At the center of the package is Senate File 2304, which increases oversight and requires new transparency and accountability standards for long-term care facilities – ensuring regulators can adequately monitor nursing homes, enforce state law, and issue meaningful penalties for violations to help ensure residents are better protected.
“Iowans deserve safe, high-quality care that allows them to live their best lives and age with dignity in our long-term care facilities, but also at home and in their communities.” Sen. Janice Weiner, D-Iowa City, said. “Senate Democrats are introducing this comprehensive package of legislation to provide seniors with the safeguards, options, and accountability, no matter what kind of care they choose.”
Other elements of the package include legislation expanding alternatives to nursing-home care for Iowa seniors; increasing pay for direct-care workers to address staffing issues, and increasing the personal needs allowance provided to residential care facility residents through Medicaid.
Iowa is one of the worst-performing nursing home states in the nation, and legislative action is essential to fix it. According to federal nursing home data, Iowa is responsible for more than 4 percent of the nation’s immediate jeopardy and life threatening situations, despite accounting for just 1 percent of the nation’s 65+ population. Ultimately, state agencies are responsible for enforcing nursing-home safety standards, but they are currently failing to do so – with tragic consequences as a result.
The long-term care package is part of Senate Democrats’ Better Deal for Iowans agenda for 2024. Senate Democrats are listening to the needs of Iowans and introducing legislation to ensure accountability in our state government. Nowhere is accountability more urgent today than in Iowa nursing homes.
More about the package:
Oversight, Transparency, and Accountability in Long-Term Care: SF 2304
This bill creates a new Long Term Care Facility Safety Council, adding citizen review and input into the Department of Inspections, Appeals, and Licensing’s oversight of Iowa’s lowest performing care facilities.
The bill requires more regular facility inspections and stiffer penalties for violations, and hires 30 additional nursing home inspectors.
Alternatives to Institutional Long-Term Care: SF 2306
The bill launches a robust study of alternatives to institutional long-term care led by a group of advocates. The study will review innovative models for elder care in effect in other states and identify paths forward for Iowa
This bill invests in alternatives to institutional care, including home health care, adult day care, and dementia care specialists to enable Iowa seniors to stay at home.
The bill also expands the Return to Community pilot program to provide coordinated care for Iowans following hospitalization so they can return home, rather than enter and remain in an institutional care facility.
This bill establishes a $15/hour minimum wage for direct-care workers that will rise to $20/hour over a period of years and then match inflation. Increasing the wage offered to direct care workers will help attract direct care workers to Iowa, and encourage younger Iowans to consider entering the profession. The minimum wage is contingent on Medicaid reimbursement rate increases.
Ensuring Independence and Self Care for Residents: SF 2303
The Iowa Medicaid program currently includes a $50/month personal needs allowance for long-term care residents who rely on Medicaid. That allowance has stayed the same for 20 years, despite rising costs of living. This bill raises the allowance to $85/month, allowing residents to purchase self-care items and live more independently in long term care facilities.
“Bill Northey was a champion for Iowa agriculture who served our state and nation with distinction,” Iowa state Sen. Tony Bisignano, D-Des Moines, said. “I join the Iowa farmers who worked alongside him in mourning his passing, and offer my condolences to his family.”
Bisignano serves as the ranking member on the Senate Agriculture Committee.
Iowa state Sen. Nate Boulton released the following statement regarding Wednesday’s subcommittee hearing on Senate Study Bill 3158, Republican politicians’ latest union-busting legislation.
“In 2017, Republicans used their political power to undercut Iowa workers and gut public-sector union rights,” Sen. Nate Boulton, D-Des Moines, said. “They slashed worker rights and changed the rules to rig union elections in favor of employers.”
“In the years since, union workers have repeatedly and overwhelmingly voted to keep their unions, overcoming the unfair rules stacked against them,” Boulton said. “But now, Republicans are pushing Senate Study Bill 3158, which allows employers to cancel union elections before they even happen. The agenda is obvious: eliminate workplace rights, limit wages and benefits, and bust unions.”
“We fought against the Republican union-busting agenda in 2017, filling the Capitol with workers and debating the bill all through the night. We won’t let them make another anti-worker power grab without a fight,” Boulton said. “We know Iowans want higher wages, better workplace protections, and a higher quality of life – not weaker laws and fewer rights. Now is the time for Iowans to stand up and speak out against Republican politicians’ anti-worker agenda.”
Des Moines — Iowa Senate Democrats on Tuesday introduced a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing reproductive freedom and access to abortion care in Iowa.
The amendment is the centerpiece of a new legislative package from Senate Democrats to protect, expand, and codify legal protections and reproductive healthcare options in the state.
“Iowans prize their freedom – and that includes the freedom to plan and decide their reproductive future,” Senate Democratic Leader Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said. “With this legislative package, we’re answering their call for reproductive freedom by guarding against extreme bans and destructive policies that endanger the health of Iowans.”
The amendment recognizes a fundamental right to reproductive freedom, and is modeled on successful, voter-approved measures added to state constitutions in Michigan and Ohio in recent years.
“The majority of Iowans don’t want extremists in charge of our healthcare decisions,” Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said. “Reproductive freedom matters to Iowans, and those rights should be protected in our Constitution. Senate Democrats are united behind a constitutional amendment that protects our reproductive freedom and reflects the will of Iowans.”
Other elements of the package include legislation providing access to over-the-counter birth control; reinstating state support for family planning services; and expanding postpartum coverage under Medicaid to one year for new mothers and children.
The amendment and legislative package is a key element in Senate Democrats’ Better Deal for Iowans agenda for 2024. Senate Democrats are fighting for the freedom of all Iowans to make their own choices and live their own lives without undue interference or restrictions from the government.
This resolution enshrines the fundamental right to reproductive freedom in Iowa’s State Constitution through a constitutional amendment. This includes the right to prenatal and childbirth care, postpartum care, contraception, abortion care, miscarriage management, and infertility care. Restrictions imposed by the state would be subject to strict scrutiny by the courts, the highest constitutional standard.
This bill permits pharmacists to order and dispense birth control without requiring a doctor’s prescription, increasing access to birth control and contraceptives across Iowa.
This bill reinstates the State Family Planning program. Republicans defunded this program in 2017, drastically limiting the number of providers able to provide family-planning resources to low-income families.
This bill provides postpartum coverage for pregnant Iowans for up to 12 months after pregnancy, up from the current 60-day requirement. This bill aligns with federal requirements, ensuring all eligible Iowans can access postpartum care.
The legislation codifies Iowans’ right to access and obtain contraception and prohibits health providers from adopting limitations or requirements that would impede access to contraceptives. It also preempts any future state or local government restrictions on contraceptive access and authorizes enforcement for violations of the law.
Des Moines — Iowa Senate Democrats on Thursday introduced legislation requiring the state of Iowa to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Summer EBT program.
Summer EBT provides food aid during the summer months to children who qualify for free and reduced lunch during the school year. In 2024, it would provide $29 million in federal aid to provide food to 240,000 Iowa children. The legislation follows reports that Iowa has not yet applied for the program, despite rising food insecurity in the state.
Senate File 2039 was introduced Thursday, and is eligible for consideration immediately. The bill is sponsored by Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, and co-sponsored by all 16 members of the Senate Democratic caucus. Trone Garriott is the ranking member on the Senate Health & Human Services Committee.
“Iowans are asking us as elected leaders to do the right thing. Feeding children is always the right thing,” Sen. Sarah Trone Garriott, D-West Des Moines, said. “Our legislation will make sure that no opportunity is missed for Iowa kids.”
Lawmakers must advance SF 2039 quickly In order to secure participation in the Summer EBT program. The state faces a Feb.15 deadline for providing program plans to the federal government.
“SF 2039 is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together to address child hunger in Iowa,” Sen. Izaah Knox, D-Des Moines, said. “We’re asking our colleagues to meet the urgency of the moment and ensure families have the resources and the access to put food on the table this summer.”
