Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Republican no-shows for Tuition Task Force meeting hamper efforts to make college more affordable for Iowa students

    July 25, 2017

    The Board of Regents Tuition Task Force has canceled its July 27th meeting due to a lack of participation by Republican legislators and members of the Reynolds Administration.

    According to the Board of Regents’ web site, the task force was “established to facilitate public discussion regarding the issue of tuition at Iowa’s public universities.  The task force will examine the core issues and strategies central to the process of setting tuition at the three Regent Universities and welcomes input from legislative and business stakeholders, university representatives, and the public.”

    The July 27th meeting would have been the first of four public meetings on future tuition policy.  The Board of Regents announced the meeting was canceled due to lack of participation.  Confirmed participants included the members of the taskforce, Iowa Workforce Development, and Democratic members of the Iowa House and Senate.

    “I’m disappointed that Republican legislators, Governor Reynolds’ office, and other Reynolds state agencies failed to indicate any interest in participating in tomorrow’s Regents’ Tuition Task Force meeting,” said Senator Herman Quirmbach of Ames, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee.  “Republican legislators especially need to participate because their budget cuts to the state universities this year have caused steep tuition increases, more than double what the Board of Regents had initially planned.  These late increases have slammed Iowa’s college students and their parents.”

    The remaining meetings on student tuition and fees are scheduled to be held at college campuses when the majority of students won’t be there:  August 7 at the University of Northern Iowa; August 9 at Iowa State University; and, August 14 at the University of Iowa.

    “All the meetings should be rescheduled to days when students are actually on campus,” said Quirmbach.  “That way we can hear from the people we are counting on to be the next generation of Iowa innovators and leaders.  Student voices need to be heard—and listened to!”

    -end-

     

     

  • July 25 Senate informational meeting on Public Retirement Systems

    TUESDAY, JULY 25

    9:30 AM, Room 22, Iowa Capitol

    This meeting is open to the public and will be LIVESTREAMED at www.facebook.com/IowaSenateDemocrats

     

    Here is the agenda prepared by Sen. Charles Schneider
    (a West Des Moines Republican):

     

    PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEMS SENATE INFORMATION MEETING

    Tuesday, July 25, 2017

    9:30 a.m. Room 22

    State Capitol, Des Moines, Iowa

     

    MEMBERS

    Charles Schneider, Chair                     Michael Breitbach

    Jeff Danielson                                        Mark S. Lofgren

    Matt McCoy

     

     

    9:30 a.m.         Introductions

     

    9:45 a.m.         Donna Mueller, CEO IPERS

    • Update on IPERS experience study
    • Unfunded liability issues

     

    10:45 a.m.       Len Gilroy and Anthony Randazzo, Pension Integrity Project at the Reason Foundation

    • Analysis of IPERS’ economic assumptions
    • Overview of the IPERS portfolio

     

    11:30   a.m.     Participant Discussion

    • Future Meetings and topics

     

    12:00   p.m.     Adjourn

     

  • Latest state deficit figures show GOP budget is ‘out of whack’ and hurting Iowa families

    A statement from Senator Joe Bolkcom, ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee:

    “Iowa is not in a recession. Iowa is experiencing slow revenue growth because the policies of Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans are out of whack. Delaying tax refunds for Iowa families and other gimmicks will not solve this budget mess.

    “Republicans must stop showering tens of millions on large tax giveaways to out-of-state corporations.  These tax giveaways now top $500 million annually and are the fastest growing part of the state spending.
    “The really bad news is that Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans are balancing the budget on the backs of working Iowans. Senate Democrats will continue to oppose Republican-sponsored cuts to the services that Iowans depend on.  These cuts threaten public safety, the quality of education, and the safety net for seniors, children and vulnerable Iowans.
    “These cuts to services could have been avoided if Republican legislators and Governor Reynolds had delivered on their promises to increase family income by 25% and create more than 200,000 new jobs in Iowa.
    “So far, working Iowans have seen nothing but broken promises and horrible cuts to state services from Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans.”
    – end –

  • Gov. Reynolds: Convince Pres. Trump to stop Iowa health care disaster

    June 21, 2017

    (Open letter from Senator Joe Bolkcom to Governor Kim Reynolds)

    Dear Governor Reynolds:

    Today, you will have an opportunity to speak one-on-one with President Trump in Cedar Rapids.

    I support your announced plan to raise the issue of Iowa’s failing individual insurance market.  However, that issue is only one part of Iowa’s health care problems.

    Governor Reynolds, you must be aware that the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress is rushing to send President Trump health care legislation.  This legislation will devastate Iowa families, Iowa health care providers, the State of Iowa’s budget, and the Iowa economy.

    That’s why Iowans are counting on you to convince President Trump to oppose this impending disaster.  Here are some of the reasons why the Republican health care bills are so bad for all Iowans:

    1. Proposed cuts to Medicaid expansion threaten health care for 150,000 Iowans.
    2. More Iowans will be living without health insurance. There will be more uninsured charity care, care that is less effective, more costly, and will increase everyone’s health care costs.
    3. Older Iowans, who make up an increasingly large share of Iowa’s population, will be hit especially hard by these changes.
    4. Cuts, caps or block granting federal Medicaid spending will cost the state of Iowa hundreds of millions of dollars.
    5. Health care providers will be paid less. It will be harder to recruit and keep qualified doctors, nurses and other caregivers, especially in Iowa’s small towns and rural communities.
    6. Health care is a large part of Iowa’s economy. Health care layoffs and wage cuts will hurt all sorts of Iowa businesses and weaken our economy.

    Iowa’s response must be bipartisan. That’s why at tomorrow’s meeting of the Legislative Council, I will propose that we create a special legislative interim committee to examine Iowa’s health care crisis and offer solutions.

    This committee would look at proposed Medicaid cuts, the collapse of the individual market, the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, and the impact on the state budget.

    Governor Reynolds, please use your influence with President Trump to make sure Iowans can keep their health insurance, to protect rural hospitals and health care providers, and to prevent a devastating blow to Iowa’s economy.

    I hope you will return to Des Moines with some good news.  We need some right now.

     

    Signed,

    Joe Bolkcom

    State Senator

    PDF of letter to Gov Reynolds

     

  • Wednesday: Legislators host discussion about “Medicaid for All” proposal for Iowa

    For Immediate Release: June 20, 2017

     

    Legislators host discussion about “Medicaid for All” proposal for Iowa health insurance mess Wednesday at 6 PM

    (Des Moines)  State Senator  Matt McCoy and State Representative John Forbes invite the public to a public discussion of their “Medicaid for All” solution to Iowa’s health insurance mess.  The goal is to ensure that every Iowan has access to more affordable and reliable health insurance.

    The event will be held at Des Moines Central Library, 1000 Grand Avenue, from 6 PM to 8 PM on Wednesday, June 21.  The event will be livestreamed on Senator McCoy’s Faceboook page, https://www.facebook.com/senatormccoy/.

    The collapse of Iowa’s individual health-insurance market has drawn national attention.  Medica, the last insurer willing to provide individual health insurance policies in Iowa, has announced that a rate increase of an average of 43.5 percent is required for it to continue doing business in Iowa.

    The two legislators seek to allow Iowans on the individual market to purchase health insurance coverage through Medicaid.

    “Given the uncertainty in the individual insurance market, it’s absolutely necessary for Iowa to forge it’s own path to provide access to insurance to all Iowans. It is to critical economic development that self-employed individuals and small businesses have access to more affordable and reliable health insurance. This plan will do that,” said McCoy.

    “The gridlock in Washington, DC makes it imperative for states like Iowa to act independently in providing health insurance coverage. Iowans are practical and self-reliant, and we have the ability to implement this solution,” said Forbes.

    -end-

  • Quirmbach responds to tuition increase at Iowa’s state universities

    IOWA SENATE NEWS RELEASE
    State Senator Herman Quirmbach, 515-292-8984
    For Immediate Release: June 8, 2017

     

    State Senator Herman Quirmbach, ranking Democrat on the Senate Education Committee, said Republicans in charge of state government must reverse course to keep higher education affordable for Iowa families.

    Quirmbach’s comments follow today’s vote by the Board of Regents to increase tuition at Iowa’s three state universities this fall.  Previously, the Regents had approved a modest 2-percent increase for 2017-18, conditional on a matching 2-percent increase in state funding.  Instead, the Republican-controlled Legislature cut state funding by more than $30 million.

    With today’s action, the 2-percent tuition increase balloons to a 5-percent increase for most in-state undergraduates.  At ISU, instead of an increase of $142, next year’s tuition will rise by a whopping $358.

    “Affordable access to higher education is more than ever a critical piece in achieving a middle-class standard of living.  Our Republican-led state government has not done its part to keep the door to college open for average Iowans,” Quirmbach said.  “We must do everything we can to ensure that average kids are not priced out of an education or burdened with crushing student debt that prevents them from ever getting ahead.

    “Iowa businesses, too, depend on an increasingly skilled workforce,” said Quirmbach, noting that 68 percent of all Iowa jobs are expected to require education and training beyond high school by 2025.  “Making college unaffordable is the worst thing we can do to Iowa businesses when the number one problem facing those businesses is a critical shortage of qualified workers.”

     

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  • Top Senate Democrat on tax committee invites Governor to support bipartisan tax reform

    Senator Pam Jochum

    For Immediate Release:  June 5, 2017

    DES MOINES — Senator Pam Jochum of Dubuque, the lead Democrat in the Iowa Senate on tax issues, has written a letter in response to Governor Kim Reynolds’s call for comprehensive tax reform.

    “Iowans deserve a tax system that is fair to everyone, not just the special interests,” Jochum said. “Because of the state’s cobbled together tax policies, many Iowans believe the system is rigged against them. Iowans deserve a tax system that works for all of us and increases prosperity for more Iowans.”

    Jochum wrote that she welcomes the Governor’s promise to support bipartisan legislation and then outlined four essential principles of truly bipartisan tax reform.

    In her letter, Jochum noted that:

    • “Tax reform must be fair…Iowa’s lowest income earners pay the largest portion of their income in taxes. Changes to Iowa’s tax system should address this situation and not make this problem worse.”
    • “Tax reform must make Iowa’s tax code more transparent so Iowa can show its true competitiveness to the nation…Our tax rates appear to be among the highest in the nation — but according to the Tax Foundation, the amount paid by Iowans through our tax system ranks Iowa in the middle of the pack.”
    • “Tax reform needs to take into account our current budget situation…We must not repeat the mistakes of Kansas, which passed massive tax cuts that have resulted in a continual budget crisis where schools are underfunded…”
    • “Tax reform needs to examine corporate tax credits…We must determine if these corporate tax credits a good return on the investment and benefit Iowans, not just those few businesses.”

    “True tax reform would be fair, transparent, affordable, and include reforms of corporate tax credits,” said Jochum.  “There is strong Democratic support for true tax reform.  If that’s Governor Reynolds’ goal, I say: ‘Bring it on!’”

     

    June 2 letter on bipartisan tax reform from Senator Jochum to Governor Reynolds

  • TODAY: Tell your senator to stand up for injured workers

    This is an action alert for Monday, March 27. Please e-mail state senators to urge them to support Iowa workers by rejecting two bills Iowa Senate Republicans have placed on the daily debate calendar for today:

    1. House File 518 – the bill to gut workers compensation for injured and disabled workers.
    2. House File 295 – the bill to take away local minimum wages and reduce the minimum wage for tens of thousands of Iowa workers.

    You can find their email addresses at www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find, or call the Iowa Senate switchboard at 515-281-3371 to leave messages for specific individual Senators.

    On social media, urge Iowa’s state senators to #SaveIAWorkers and #RaiseTheWage.

     

    Update on Rest of “Dirty Dozen”

    1. Prohibit Local “Pre-Qualification” for Bidding (SF438) – passed Iowa Senate, pending in Iowa House
    2. Circumvent “Buy American” on local road projects (HF203) – passed both Iowa House and Iowa Senate, now signed into law by Governor Branstad
    3. New Government Barriers to Voting (HF516) – passed Iowa House, amended by the Iowa Senate to shorten the window for absentee voting from 40 to 29 days, pending again in the Iowa House
    4. Make Planned Parenthood Ineligible for Medicaid Reimbursement (SF2) – passed Iowa Senate, still pending in Iowa House
    5. Create Religious Exemptions for Boarding School Regulations (SF443) – still pending in Iowa Senate
    6. Eliminate Permits to Acquire Firearms, Other Firearm Changes (HF517) – passed Iowa House, pending in Iowa Senate
    7. Unfunded Mandate on Local Officials to Enforce Immigration Laws (SF481) – still pending in Iowa Senate
    8. Dismantle Des Moines Water Works (HF484/SF456) – still pending in both Iowa House and Iowa Senate
    9. End Bottle and Can Deposit Law (HF575) – pending in Iowa House Ways & Means Committee
    10. Restrict Right to Bring Nuisance Lawsuit (SF447) – passed Iowa Senate and Iowa House, now pending consideration by Governor Branstad. Call his office at 515-281-5211 to urge him to veto it.

  • March 20 action alert on anti-worker bills

    Two of the “dirty dozen” are on the debate schedules for today, one in the Iowa House and one in the Iowa Senate. This update is to ask for your help today, and to encourage you to keep speaking up on other “dirty dozen” issues and on the revised Branstad-Reynolds-Republican budget we expect to see any day now.

     

    Speak Up For Iowa Workers

    In the Senate, we continue to need your help to stop the legislation (SF435/HF518) that would gut Iowa’s highly-rated workers compensation system.

    The Insurance Journal rates Iowa’s system as the third best in the country. Premiums have fallen three of the last four years. Case filings are down. This bill is NOT an Iowa solution to an Iowa problem. Republicans did not campaign on this issue. This legislation is being pursued at the request of big-money, out-of-state special interests.

    By speaking up, you have slowed down this legislation, but it did pass the Iowa House on Thursday and is now back on the debate schedule for today—Monday, March 20—in the Iowa Senate.

    With your help, we can find 4-5 Senate Republicans who will finally stop this bill and give Iowans a chance to consider this legislation more carefully before next year’s legislative session.

    Please e-mail Republican Senators today and call the Senate switchboard (515-281-3371) to leave messages for specific individual Republican Senators this afternoon. E-mail contact information for Republican Senators is available at www.legis.iowa.gov/legislators/find.

    Here are some of the provisions in SF435/HF518 that would create new barriers to workers’ compensation or arbitrarily reduce compensation:

    • Additional barriers due to alcohol or drug use, even if unrelated to employment.
    • Reduction of compensation for all shoulder injuries.
    • Reduction of compensation for all second work injuries.
    • New “light duty” requirements that could reduce or bar compensation.
    • New and unrealistic time deadlines for asserting a claim.
    • Discriminatory age limitations against people age 67 or older.
    • A new “predominant factor” test that will take away compensation from injured workers because of pre-existing conditions such as age, weight and prior work injuries.
    • New provisions that allow or encourage employers and their insurers to delay paying compensation.

    Stop the Attack on the Des Moines Water Works

    Just like we need your help in the Senate, House Democrats need your help today to stop the bill (HF484) that would take over the Des Moines Water Works, dismantle the utility, and deprive voters from having their say on what should happen to its $300+ million in assets.

    HF484 is on the debate schedule today in the Iowa House, so e-mail state representatives or call the House switchboard (515-281-3221) to leave messages for specific individual Representatives. If House Democrats can find 9-10 House Republicans to oppose this bill, they will be able to stop it.

     

    Update on the Rest of the “Dirty Dozen”

    Here is the status on the rest of the “dirty dozen”:

    1. Prohibit Local “Pre-Qualification” for Bidding (SF438) – passed Iowa Senate, now in Iowa House
    2. Lower Local Minimum Wages (HF295) – passed Iowa House, now in Iowa Senate
    3. Circumvent “Buy American” on local road projects (HF203) – passed both Iowa House and Iowa Senate, and is now pending Governor’s signature. You can call his office at 515-281-5211 to urge Governor Branstad to veto HF203.
    4. New Government Barriers to Voting (HF516) – passed Iowa House, now in Iowa Senate
    5. Make Planned Parenthood Ineligible for Medicaid Reimbursement (SF2) – passed Iowa Senate, now in Iowa House
    6. Create Religious Exemptions for Boarding School Regulations (SF443) – still in Iowa Senate
    7. Eliminate Permits to Acquire Firearms, Other Firearm Changes (HF517) – passed Iowa House, now in Iowa Senate
    8. Unfunded Mandate on Local Officials to Enforce Immigration Laws (SF481) – still in Iowa Senate
    9. End Bottle and Can Deposit Law (HF575) – still in Iowa House
    10. Restrict Right To Bring Nuisance Lawsuit (HF468/SF447) – passed Iowa Senate, now in Iowa House

    Almost every day there is another misguided bill added to our daily debate calendar. Today, the Iowa Senate is expected to debate new caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases (SF465) that would be particularly hard on children, seniors and others who do not have “economic” losses—such as lost wages—to recover in the rare cases when medical providers make mistakes that cause harm. This bill is in the Iowa Senate now, and if it passes, will go to the Iowa House for more consideration.

    Last Thursday, the Iowa Senate passed a proposed Constitutional amendment (SJR9) that would incorporate today’s budgeting rules into our Constitution (99 percent spending limitation and revenue forecasting) and would also place a hard cap of 4 percent annual budget growth in our Constitution, regardless of inflation or other emergency health or safety situations that may arise. This amendment is at best unnecessary, and at worst, would tie the hands of future Legislatures at the exact moment when action is most needed. This resolution has passed the Iowa Senate, so please speak up with Iowa House members about it.

  • Workers deserve protections for on-the-job injuries

    Our state’s workers’ compensation system is the only recourse for Iowans injured on the job, but it may soon be turned upside down by a bill scheduled for debate today in the Iowa Senate.

    Iowa’s workers’ compensation has delicately balanced the interests of employers against the need to provide reasonable medical care and fair benefits for workers who suffer disabling on-the-job injuries.

    The system exists to protect those who are injured, become sick or lose their hearing because of the dangers of their employment. However, SF 435 makes sweeping changes that gut those protections, reduce an employer’s liability for workplace injuries, and encourage employers and insurance companies to avoid paying claims.

    This is another attempt by the Legislature to fix something that isn’t broken–and another act that cuts away workplace rights for hard-working Iowans. Our workers’ compensation system earns an “A” grade from the Insurance Journal, and the Iowa Economic Development Authority raves that our state is below average for workers’ compensation premiums.

    In addition, work injury claims are down in Iowa, dropping by 21 percent over the last eight years, according to the National Council on Compensation Insurance. The costs of workplace injury and illness are already borne primarily by injured workers, their families and taxpayers. The bulk of workers’ compensation dollars in Iowa goes to medical providers for care.

    Some of the worst measures in SF 435 include:

    • Discriminating against older workers. Iowa workers permanently and totally disabled by a work injury prior to age 67 lose their benefits at age 67; and those injured at age 67 or older are limited to 150 weeks of benefits. This leaves taxpayers to pick up the costs when these older workers become disabled simply because they need to work later in life to make ends meet.
    • Eliminating protections based on an employee’s loss of earning power if the employer returns the injured employee to work for a made up job, but then terminates them, leaving them with no compensation for lost earning ability due to injury.
    • Reducing protections for workers who suffer a shoulder injury, one of the most common work-related injuries that can easily end a career for a manufacturing, construction or meat-packing worker. A workers’ loss of earning capacity would no longer be taken into account when calculating benefits for severely limiting shoulder injuries.

    SF 435 is an overreach that does nothing to help workers or move Iowa’s economy forward. It’s phase two in the attack on the working Iowans whose labor is the very backbone of our economy.

    It’s unforgivable to do this to the workers who literally sacrifice their bodies to provide for their families and Iowa’s economy as a whole.