Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill is good for Iowa

    We must lay the foundation for a robust and equitable recovery for all Iowans. The bipartisan infrastructure framework making its way through Congress can jumpstart our efforts.

    It’s a significant long-term investment in our infrastructure and competitiveness—something Iowa desperately needs. On its most recent infrastructure report card, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Iowa a C grade.

    The federal proposal would allow us to overhaul our critical infrastructure, build a stronger Iowa economy and improve life in every community, while creating great jobs and training students and workers with the skills they need to do those jobs.

    Here in Iowa, we’ll get to:

    • Repair and rebuild our roads and bridges. Iowa has 4,571 bridges and more than 403 miles of highway in poor condition. Commute times are on the rise, and expenses are going up for care repairs and other costs of driving on bad roads.

    • Improve transportation options. Iowans who take public transportation spend an extra 30% of their time commuting via transit vehicles that are often past their useful life. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework will allow us to modernize and expand transportation options Iowans need.

    • Strengthen infrastructure for 21st Century challenges, such as cyber-attacks and extreme weather events. From 2010 to 2020, Iowa had 32 extreme weather events, costing the state tens of billions in damages. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework aims to improve the resiliency of our infrastructure and support disaster recovery.

    • Deliver clean drinking water. Over the next 20 years, Iowa’s drinking water infrastructure will require $7.9 billion in additional funding. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework will invest in clean, safe drinking water for all communities, and eliminate lead service lines and pipes.

    • Connect every American to reliable broadband. 13.4% of Iowans live in areas where there is no access to high-speed Internet, and 61% have only one broadband option. The Framework will bring universal, reliable, high-speed, affordable service to every Iowa neighborhood.

  • Wahls: Labor movement is a pillar of America

    Cedar Rapids Gazette, 9/6/2021
    By Sen. Zach Wahls

    Since the New Deal, the Democratic Party has been defined by our dual commitment to civil rights and workers’ rights, the twin pillars of democratic politics in America. This Labor Day, workers across America will commemorate and celebrate the struggles, sacrifice and advancement of the labor movement, whose victories benefit every American. In addition, this Labor Day is a reminder to the Iowa Democratic Party about the importance of returning to our roots of prairie populism.

    While much of the focus on Labor Day rests on the rights secured by the labor movement, another way of looking at this progress is through the lens of responsibility. Over time, the labor movement has changed how our country considers the responsibilities of employers and governments. And the labor movement has taught us about the responsibilities we owe to each other and to the greater good.

    Our nation’s 18-month battle with COVID-19 has underscored the importance of strong workplace protections for every Iowan and continues to remind us that we all truly are in this together. Americans from all walks of life have learned and been reminded of the powerful lesson from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that we are all “caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

    Dr. King’s words foreshadowed a lesson from Sen. Tom Harkin, and his late colleague Sen. Paul Wellstone, that, “We all do better, when we all do better.” I couldn’t agree with these sentiments more, and these values are why I am so proud to be a leader in the Democratic Party. These are Labor values, and these are Iowa values.

    The Republican Party has recently started claiming they are the party of working people. But let’s look at the facts; when Republicans took power in Iowa, they wasted no time passing an agenda meant to hollow out the middle class. Gov. Kim Reynolds and legislative Republicans passed laws to gut collective bargaining rights, slash wages for union and non-union workers alike, and even to increase property taxes on middle class families.

    That’s not a party of working people. That’s not a party that treats Iowans fairly or rewards hard work. That’s not a party that believes in the Scripture that tells us “from those to whom much is given, much is expected.”

    The difference between the Democratic Party and the Republican Party is simple: the Democratic Party believes in fairness for every Iowan. We believe in improving the quality of life for all people, not just those at the top. We believe that we all do better when we all have great public schools, have affordable health care, and are members of strong and caring communities.

    The Republican Party believes you’re on your own. Period.

    The Republican mentality works for those at the top, but not for the people whose blood, sweat, and tears built this country and whose sacrifices ensured the rights and freedoms we will all be celebrating on Labor Day.

    The Democratic Party is at a unique moment in our party’s history. The lessons of COVID-19 are universal and speak to fundamental, democratic truths: no man is an island, we are all in this together, and we all do better when we all do better. These are guiding principles of the labor movement that built the American Middle Class. These are the roots of the Iowa Democratic Party’s progressive prairie populism. And they are the most promising path for our future.

    I hope you and your family have a safe, responsible, and healthy Labor Day.

    Zach Wahls of Coralville is the Democratic leader in the Iowa Senate.

    https://www.thegazette.com/opinion/wahls-labor-movement-is-a-pillar-of-america/

  • Community colleges help workers, economy rebound

    Community colleges are well-positioned to help Iowans and our economy bounce back from the pandemic.

    Since 1964, Iowa’s community colleges have provided education, training and services to students, businesses and communities throughout the state. As times change, so do our community colleges—always adapting to meet local needs.

    This year, the Legislature boosted support that will help our community colleges continue doing just that.

    As businesses and industries look to fully re-open, they’re struggling to find the workers they need to fill well-paying jobs. Iowans may be eager to apply, but often lack the specific skills required. That’s where community colleges come in.

    Looking for a better career? Now is a great time to contact your local community college about current education, training and financial aid opportunities.

    Last Dollar Scholarship

    In particular, you may benefit from a big increase to the state-funded Future Ready Last Dollar Scholarship, which covers a qualifying student’s tuition and fees not met by other federal and state grants and scholarships.

    To be eligible for this scholarship, you must:

    • Be Iowa residents
    • Enroll in an eligible program of study
    • Have applied for all other available financial aid
    • Plan to earn a credential for a high-demand job

    Iowa’s community colleges offer a variety of eligible programs, including welding, building trades, information technology, business and health care careers. Depending on the area of study, you can earn a credential in anywhere from 15 weeks to two years.

    Community college resources

    Learn about all career-training programs eligible for the Last Dollar Scholarship at futurereadyiowa.gov/college-list.

    There’s still time to apply for financial aid for the 2021-2022 school year. Go to studentaid.gov/apply-for-aid, and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) by August 1.

    See what community college leaders had to say on a recent episode of Iowa PBS’ Iowa Press about how they’re helping Iowa students, businesses and our economy right now: youtu.be/xweuAegc3zA.

  • Expanded Child Tax Credit: Boost for Iowans’ pocketbooks starts July 15

    The federal American Rescue Plan is the biggest piece of anti-poverty legislation in more than 50 years. It’s putting money into Iowans’ pocketbooks and lifting thousands of Iowa children out of poverty.

    One of the key features, an expanded  Child Tax Credit, will provide major tax relief for nearly all families:

    • 93% children under 18 qualify. That’s 669,000 Iowa kids.
    • 198,000 Iowa kids under 17 left out of the full $2,000 Child Tax Credit in prior law will benefit.
    • 48,000 Iowa kids under 18 will be lifted above or closer to the poverty line by the expansion.

    How it works

    All working families making up to $150,000 per couple or $112,500 for a single-parent family will get the full Child Tax Credit, which has been expanded to $3,000 per child for kids ages 6-17 and $3,600 per child for kids under 6.

    Starting July 15, payments will be made monthly (via direct deposit for most families and by mail for some)—$250 per child age 6-17 or $300 per child under 6.

    If you filed tax returns for 2019 or 2020, or if you signed up to receive a stimulus check from the IRS, you will get this tax relief automatically. You do not need to do anything.

    If you didn’t make enough to file taxes in 2019 or 2020, you can still get the Child Tax Credit. Families not automatically enrolled in the program can check their eligibility and enroll at irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-non-filer-sign-up-tool.

    Generally, a couple making less than $24,800, a head of household earning less than $18,650 or a single filer making under $12,400 will qualify.

    The tax credit is based on your income for 2021, which are the taxes that get filed in April 2022. The automatic pre-payment feature allows you to receive your tax credit in monthly payments starting July 15. However, if you wish to receive your tax credit in one lump sum, you may decline the advance monthly payments at irs.gov/credits-deductions/child-tax-credit-update-portal.

    Learn more about the largest Child Tax Credit ever at ChildTaxCredit.gov.

    You may not want advance payment on Child Tax Credit

    More help for your pocketbook

    According to an estimate by the Urban Institute, the American Rescue Plan will reduce overall poverty in the U.S. by a third and cut child poverty by more than half. It’s also putting more money into your pocketbook:

    • A third round of economic impact payments of up to $1,400 went to 91% of Iowa adults and 89% of Iowa children this spring.
    • Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child & Dependent Care Credit.
    • Providing emergency housing and rental assistance.
    • Expanding food stamp benefits.

  • Let’s work together to make Iowa public schools great again

    By Sen. Zach Wahls and Rep. Todd Prichard

    Public education has long been the foundation of our state. For generations, Iowans could count on a great public education from Iowa schools to set them up for success in life. When we were growing up, our public education system regularly led national rankings. 

    Today, however, many Iowans are watching with dismay as a decade of underinvestment from Republican leadership has resulted in Iowa placing in the middle of the pack in national rankings. We’re wondering: When will Iowa schools lead the nation again? 

    Despite a recent claims by Governor Kim Reynolds and Republican legislators that public education is a priority for them    , the facts demonstrate otherwise. The latest Annual Survey of School System Finance shows that Iowa now spends less money per-pupil than most of our neighboring states. Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, North Dakota, Michigan — and even Nebraska! — all invest more money per pupil than Iowa. South Dakota and Missouri are the exceptions.

    The truth is the Iowa Republican Party is being led by radicals who do not believe public education is important — or worse, who believe public schools are being used to brainwash our children. It sounds kooky when you say it out loud, but these beliefs are why the 2020 Iowa Republican party platform explicitly endorsed private school vouchers and called for the abolishment of the federal Department of Education. If they sound radical or out of touch to you, you are not alone. Today’s GOP is not your grandparents’ Republican Party. 

    Today’s Republican Party of Iowa is undermining public education at every opportunity. Here’s how they are doing it:

    ·        Private school vouchers: Consistent with their party platform, urged by Governor Reynolds, Iowa Republicans in the legislature recently voted to remove tens of millions of dollars from our kids’ public schools to fund private school vouchers. This system could drain tens of millions of dollars in its first year, and hundreds of millions when they expand the program, which they’ve already promised they will do.  

    ·        Inadequate school funding: Under Republican leadership, public school funding in Iowa has failed to keep up with a rising cost of living four of the past five years. On top of that, their 2022 plan would provide 137 Iowa school districts less state funding than they did in 2021, prompting higher local property taxes. This is unacceptable.

    ·        Disrespecting educators: Republican politicians can’t say with a straight face that they respect educators when they voted in 2017 to strip educators of their ability to have a say in their own workplace.  

    ·        Defunding preschool: Legislation approved by Iowa Republicans will cut $7.5 million from preschool funding with no way to make up that funding locally. A global pandemic is no time to take early childhood education choices away from parents and kids.

    Are these the actions of a party that truly values our state’s education legacy? We don’t think so. Iowa Democrats, on the other hand, continue to support better public schools for our students, parents, and educators. That’s why we believe the Legislature should be taking these steps:

    • Proactively investing in public schools to reduce class sizes and grow a highly-skilled workforce.

    • Providing universal access to high quality preschool and childcare.

    • Empowering and respecting educators.

    • Funding mental health services for students in rural and urban schools alike.

    • Ensuring that every student can afford to pursue higher education without leaving Iowa.

    • Protecting rural schools from forced consolidation and fewer opportunities for their students.

    That’s a public education agenda all Iowans can support. 

    Instead, Iowa Republicans support more tax cuts for the rich, spending our tax dollars on private education vouchers, and abolishing the Department of Education. Iowa Democrats believe better public schools start with investing in public education. The choice could not be more clear. 

    Zach Wahls is the Senate Democratic Leader and Todd Prichard is the House Democratic Leader.  

  • Our COVID Recovery Plan

    Iowans have been through a lot over the last year, particularly with the pandemic. It’s not over yet, but it is time for the Legislature to do all it can to help Iowa build back better, bigger and stronger than ever.

    My focus this session is on a four-part plan to help Iowa rebound from the ravages of the last year. Senate Democrats’ COVID Recovery Plan aims to:

    1. Defeat COVID-19 by rolling out vaccines to all Iowans as efficiently as possible. Our country has surpassed 400,000 deaths and is expected to hit the 500,000-fatality mark in February. With no time to waste, we should use some of the state’s budget surplus to get emergency funding to county health departments to speed up distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations and contact tracing.

    2. Help hurting Iowans. The pandemic has sickened Iowa workers and shuttered businesses throughout the state. The good news is that we have ample resources to:

    • Support struggling small businesses with direct grants and forgivable loans.
    • Help cities, counties and school districts bounce back from a tough year.
    • Assist food banks that are serving an increasing number of Iowans in need.
    • Exempt federal unemployment payments from state taxes.  

    3. Build back better by focusing on critical needs. This includes:

    • Developing an Essential Workers Bill of Rights that guarantees better pay and stronger workplace protections.
    • Keeping local small businesses that are part of the very fabric of our communities.
    • Expanding access to affordable child care throughout the state.
    • Investing in high-speed Internet that will make every corner of Iowa a great place to live, learn and work.

    4. Ensure accountability. An independent, blue-ribbon COVID Commission with representatives from all sectors of our economy should be given broad subpoena and investigative powers. Iowans deserve to know where their hard-earned tax dollars are going as we recover from this pandemic. The knowledge we gain will help us better prepare for future emergencies.

    Senate Democrats are currently putting together the bills that will help achieve the goals of this four-part plan.

    RELATED LEGISLATION

    Vaccinating Iowans

    • Emergency funding to county health departments to speed up distribution of COVID-19 vaccinations and contact tracing {SF 199}.

    Helping hurting Iowans

    • Using our budget surplus and the economic emergency funds to support struggling small businesses on Main Street with direct grants {SF 325}.
    • Support food banks and other efforts  to address growing food insecurity in Iowa {SF 153; SF 157; SF 273}
    • Exempt the first $10,200 in federal and state unemployment payments from state taxes {SF 290}.

    Building Back Better

    • An Essential Workers’ Bill of Rights, including:
    • Requiring employers to provide up to 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave for eligible employees. {SF 137}.
    • Provide hazard pay to essential workers exposed to the risk of COVID-19 {SF 412}.
    • Providing whistleblower protections for employees who file a complaint due to risk of contracting COVID-19 in the workplace {SF 471}.
    • Expanding access to child care {SF 437; SF 177; SF 186}.
    • Expanding access to preschool {SF 189}. 

    Blue-Ribbon COVID Commission

    • The Commission would help us understand state government’s mistakes and failures, investigate negligence or profiteering in the private sector, and show us how to better prepare for future pandemic {SF 519}.

  • Iowa Legislature Must Act to Feed Hungry

    By Sarah Trone Garriott and Rob Hogg
    This year in communities all over Iowa, the holiday season kicked off with long lines of idling cars. Our neighbors were not waiting to see displays of Christmas lights. They were not lining up to be first for the best shopping deals. They were not stuck in bumper-to-bumper holiday traffic.

    All over our state, Iowans could be seen lining up at food pantries and other distribution sites for a Thanksgiving meal. Our neighbors were waiting hours for food.

    According to Feeding America, more than 300,000 Iowans—including more than 100,000 children—are struggling with hunger. The economic devastation of this pandemic has already pushed many more Iowans to the brink. To keep a roof over their heads, too many Iowans are literally tightening their belts when it comes to food. Right now, our neighbors are skipping meals, filling up on cheap, unhealthy food, and seeking help from feeding assistance programs in record numbers.

    We face a difficult winter and, even when the coronavirus is under control, a long road to recovery. For the health of our communities, our families, and our economy, we must act now.

    We call on the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds to act swiftly in January to provide immediate additional resources to help Iowans struggling with hunger.

    We propose using the state's ending balance (more than $305 million at the end of the 2020 fiscal year) or the state's "rainy day funds" (more than $770 million at the end of the 2020 fiscal year) to provide $30 million or more in immediate supplemental food assistance for Iowans directly and through food banks, food pantries, and other feeding entities in Iowa.

    We can efficiently distribute these funds using existing or expanded programs. Options include:

    > Supporting community grocery stores and families across Iowa by providing supplemental funds to the 150,000 Iowa households already eligible for supplemental nutrition assistance through the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    > Supporting Iowa farmers and families through existing and expanded programs to purchase fresh produce, dairy, and meat products.

    > Reaching Iowans struggling with hunger who aren't eligible for USDA programs through existing or expanded food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, congregate meal providers, and other community food assistance efforts, including home food deliveries for food insecure families.

    > Helping Iowa’s restaurants by allowing the use of state supplemental food assistance funds to purchase take-out food.

    > Strengthening the food assistance infrastructure by permanently exempting feeding entities, including food banks, food pantries, and congregate meal providers, from Iowa sales tax.

    > Expanding communications about food assistance so that more Iowans know about existing and expanded efforts to help those struggling with access to adequate healthy food.

    We have the resources to make sure Iowa families get access to the food they need. We know that Iowans have the heart to help our neighbors in this challenging time.

    Speak up in support of this effort. Ask your state legislators and Governor Reynolds to provide the immediate help that Iowans need when the Legislature convenes on January 11.

    Sarah Trone Garriott is state senator-elect from Polk County. Rob Hogg is a state senator from Linn County. 

  • The Truth about Iowa Unemployment

    Statement by Senator Herman C. Quirmbach, D-Ames:

    “The headline today from the Reynolds administration of 4.7% unemployment in Iowa wildly underrepresents the dire current unemployment situation in Iowa.  A truer unemployment number would be 12.3%.

    “What the Iowa Workforce Development press release says up top is that there were 76,600 unemployed Iowans this September.  That is up from 48,700 unemployed in September a year ago.  That is a 57. 3% increase in the number of unemployed in just 12 months.  That would be bad enough, but the full story is much worse.

    “Only in the fine print at the bottom of the news release do you get the full picture.  In addition to the 76,600 unemployed workers, there are another 138,400 Iowans who have left the labor force in the last 12 months.  If all those people were also still looking for jobs, the unemployment rate would be 12.3%.

    “Here’s how people quitting looking skews the unemployment number.  The way unemployment is calculated is a little strange.  If you lost your job and are looking for a new one, you are counted as unemployed.  However, if you lost your job and have gotten so discouraged about your prospects that you have given up even looking, you are no longer counted as unemployed.  Indeed, you aren’t even counted as being in the labor force!  You’re called a ‘discouraged worker’ and become invisible to IWD when it computes the unemployment rate.

    “During the year, there is always some degree of churn in the labor force.  Older folks retire.  Young folks get out of school and look for a first job.  New parents leave and then reenter the labor force around the period when their kids are young.  People move in and out of the state.

    “But a loss of 138,400 workers is not normal churn.  That’s a loss of nearly 8% of the workforce—not quite 1 of every 12 workers—in just 12 months!  If job prospects were better, most of them would still be at least looking.

    “The Iowa economy will not recover until we crush the coronavirus.  And that won’t happen until we get serious about masks, widespread testing, and contact tracing.   Instead Governor Reynolds obstinately refuses to follow the White House Coronavirus Task Force recommendation to mandate masks.  With COVID-19 cases surging—nearly 7,700 in the last week, per the New York Times—contact tracing is unmanageable, even if Iowa were seriously trying, which we are not. 

    “Until the Reynolds administration is willing to commit to a serious effort to end the pandemic, Iowa businesses, Iowa consumers, and Iowa workers will continue to suffer.  No amount of rosy press releases and misleading claims will do the trick.”

    -end-

    Senator Quirmbach holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Princeton and taught as an economics professor at ISU for 29 years.

  • Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen’s 2020 closing day remarks

  • Boulton: Solutions to racial injustice must be new

    By State Senator Nate Boulton

    The last couple weeks have been heart-wrenching.

    We cannot forget the utter horror of seeing a black man in a midwestern city having the life literally crushed out of him so casually by an officer who refused to acknowledge his pleas or those of the witnesses to his killing. Over the course of nine minutes–Nine, stone-cold minutes. Three of those minutes where George Floyd didn’t move. Not a flinch. And not a moment of concern, let alone an attempt at aid, by the officer. In those nine minutes, it is undeniable: George Floyd was a black life that did not matter. Just nine minutes of deadly indifference.

    That indifference is also starkly symbolic. We cannot pretend that this is a new problem, a unique problem, or that it is going away. We also cannot pretend that the problems of a growing mental health crisis and escalations of gun violence have not made police work today exceptionally dangerous.

    Our city, state, and nation are struggling with what is broken in our society. Racial injustice isn’t new, but our solutions absolutely must be. We have seen powerful, poignant moments. A peaceful, massive assembly has inspired new conversations. It also inspired a powerful and real emotion for some: anger.

    We have seen people rise to the occasion, like Representative Ako Abdul-Samad, who has stood between the crowds and police. We’ve seen our police officers put in the awful position of being the subject of protest as they fulfill their sworn duty to protect our community. We need them. They, too, have felt the horrific sting of senseless murder.

    Just three years ago, we saw two police officers here lose their lives after they were targeted and shot dead simply because they wore the shield of protection and service on their chests. We need good people in our police force to keep our communities and neighborhoods safe, and we need to find ways to heal these wounds and right these wrongs to get there.

    This moment, awful as it is, can be an opportunity. Elected representatives of the people are duty bound to lift their voices and promote well-being. Those who are hurting should be able to turn to their government as a partner, not an adversary, in making their lives better.

    We need to root out implicit bias in our judicial system and eradicate the racial injustices that have led us to disproportionate rates of incarceration and poverty in our state’s racial and ethnic minority communities. Disparities cannot continue in education and health care. In short, we have a lot of work ahead of us in this state.

    I and Representative Ruth Ann Gaines are working now to plan community meetings in our neighborhoods to listen, collaborate on solutions, and offer new legislation to help make tomorrow a better day for Iowa. We must seek to understand each other, heal the wounds, and unite to create a better path forward for our city, state, and nation.