Iowa Senate Democrats

Fighting for a Better Deal for Iowans.

  • Legislative Democrats’ COVID-19 Recovery Agenda

    News Release
    June 1, 2020

    Focus on Keeping Iowans Healthy and Restoring Financial Security  

    DES MOINES – Democratic lawmakers outlined their plan today to address the needs of Iowa families and business during the upcoming session of the Iowa Legislature. 

    The plan was developed by lawmakers to keep legislators focused during the final days of the 2020 session on addressing problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “Iowans have worked hard to protect each other from the spread of COVID-19 and deserve to be at the front of the line in our recovery efforts,” Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen said. “We need to stay focused on fixing the problems created by the pandemic and passing a balanced budget.”

    “In these uncertain times, the state needs to be more transparent than ever so Iowans have all the information available to protect their family, open their business, or go back to the office,” said House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard. “When session starts again on Wednesday, the Legislature must also fulfill its duty to provide oversight and make sure our Iowa tax dollars are spent wisely.” 

    In releasing the COVID recovery agenda, the two leaders also said lawmakers must work together to find solutions that balance the physical health and safety of Iowans with their need to work and put food on the table. The full agenda is below.

    COVID 19 Recovery Agenda

    Keeping Iowans Healthy 

    • Access to affordable health care, including mental health
    • Ensure universal access to COVID testing, contact tracing and PPE in all 99 counties
    • Keep hospitals and local health care clinics open 
    • Free coronavirus vaccine once available
    • Support mitigation efforts by cities, counties and emergency management commissions 
    • Prepare for fall COVID resurgence 

     Opening Businesses Safely & Protecting Workers

    • Help small businesses reopen safely and help them stay open 
    • Tests for Iowans returning to the workforce and retesting at workplaces when an employee tests positive
    • Financial security for businesses and workers with COVID positive case
    • Expand whistleblower protections and workers compensation during pandemics, including first responders and health care workers  
    • Expand protections for renters and homeowners during pandemics and severe economic downturns
    • Expand community college opportunities to help Iowans get back to work
    • Paid pandemic leave for workers to stay home when they are sick 

    Kids Learning & Growing Safely

    • Protect K-12 public education funding 
    • Provide universal access to technology and home-based internet for student
    • Provide PPE for all educators and students
    • Increase childcare services for Iowa families
    • Provide timely guidance to schools, parents and students on reopening


    COVID Transparency & Accountability 

    • Expand vote-at-home opportunities statewide
    • Oversight of Test Iowa and other no-bid contracts
    • Require immediate public notification of COVID outbreaks and end threshold reporting requirement
    • Require OSHA inspections and enforcement during health care emergencies

     –  end –

  • Petersen: Let’s give Iowans a healthier way to restart the economy

    By State Senator Janet Petersen

    Iowans have made big sacrifices to protect our families, friends and neighbors.

    Businesses have been forced to close, people were laid off, and many parents are now at-home teachers—all while keeping a distance from the kind of community and family support we count on during a crisis.

    And then there’s the lack of leadership at the top.

    Save grandma or save the economy. Save Iowans working in meatpacking plants or save protein. Protect privacy or protect virus-outbreak data. Protect health or protect freedom of religion. Save Iowa’s economy or save ourselves.

    These are false choices. Even Governor Reynolds knows it.

    Yet, the Governor and Republican legislators continue to deliver narratives that are heavy on spin and light on facts and data.

    Ignoring the warnings of health experts is more than dangerous. It’s deadly for our health and economy.

    Iowa hasn’t flattened the curve. The number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing, and nationally ranked hotspots are popping up all over the state.

    Despite the numbers and the clear warnings from health experts in Iowa and across the country, Governor Reynolds is distancing Iowans from the facts with ribbon-cutting rhetoric.

    Instead, Iowans deserve:

    COVID-19 REPORTING WE CAN TRUST: Iowans need daily access to ZIP Code-specific COVID-19 numbers. Data from the botched Test Iowa program is giving us inaccurate information on cases, deaths, hospitalizations and contact tracing. It is unacceptable that the Governor is allowing workplaces to hide COVID-19 outbreak information from employees, customers and the public. 

    ACCURATE, ACCESSIBLE & TIMELY TESTING: Nebraska legislators are calling for their Governor to put the kibosh on the failed Test Nebraska program. Governor Reynolds’s $26 million no-bid, no-results Test Iowa program is a failure. Iowans deserve access to testing and contact tracing in all 99 counties, every day. Local county health departments should be in charge of running testing and contact-tracing programs. 

    WORKPLACE & SAFETY NET POLICIES TO PREVENT SUPER-SPREAD: Keeping Iowans safe will require new policies that incentivize people to stay home instead of spread COVID-19 because they are pressured to go to work. We need a better safety net, more accountability for taxpayer dollars, and an end to sweetheart deals for campaign donors.

    SAFE ACCESS TO FOOD, HEALTH CARE & DEMOCRACY: One of the easiest ways to make sure Iowans don’t go hungry is to expand nutrition assistance programs. They help families access food, while providing business for our local grocery stores and farmers. The Legislature also should extend telemedicine parity so that Iowans can get health care no matter where they live. And we ought to access federal aid to help more Iowans safely vote from home in the November general election. 

    ACCESS TO BROADBAND & TECHNOLOGY: Finally, the first day back to school will look completely different than what we’ve seen in our lifetimes. That’s why every Iowa family and child needs access to broadband and technology. Let’s expand Iowa’s networks. It will pay off in many ways for decades to come.

    It is time to give Iowans confidence that the decisions to reopen ourbusinesses, local schools, childcare facilities, and houses of worship are based on data and common sense, not polling. Our lives and our economy depend upon it. 

    Senator Janet Petersen of Des Moines is the Senate Democratic Leader

  • Dem leader on decision by Republicans to resume session

    Statement from Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen

    “The landscape in Iowa has changed dramatically since the Legislature recessed on March 17. At that time, there were 29 positive cases and no COVID-related deaths. Today, we are faced with more than 13,000 confirmed cases and more than 300 COVID-related deaths.

    “We hope the focus of the reconvened Legislature will be to complete a balanced state budget and provide necessary oversight of the Executive Branch’s actions during this pandemic.

    “Because of the expanding health care crisis in our state, we are recommending additional steps to ensure the health and safety of Iowans when the General Assembly reconvenes, and we support additional measures to ensure transparency for all proceedings.”

    ###

  • Dem leaders: Take precautions when re-opening state Capitol

    Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen and House Democratic Leader Todd Prichard submitted a memo April 29 to the Legislative Council with recommendations for protecting the health and safety of legislators, staff and constituents when the state Capitol re-opens to complete the 2020 session.

  • Petersen: Not time to randomly open segments of economy

    Statement from Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen

    “Governor Reynolds needs to put the health and safety of Iowans first. Iowans don’t want to be used as guinea pigs.

    “Iowa is experiencing staggering daily infections, record-high deaths, and it has yet to hit its peak.  This is not the time to try to make people happy by randomly reopening segments of the economy like crowded farmers markets. 

    “Governor Reynolds was elected to lead.  That means listening to health experts, sharing all the data and analysis with Iowans, and doing what it takes to protect all Iowans.  Iowans are strong and resilient. We can do hard things and make sacrifices, especially when we know the lives of our neighbors, families and friends are at stake.

    “Safely reopening our economy will require a massive scale-up of testing and contact tracing and more social distancing until we begin to flatten the curve.  We need to listen to and follow the advice and guidelines of national health experts to get Iowans back to work and protect the people we love.”

  • Petersen: Need transparency in fight against COVID-19

    By Janet Petersen, Iowa Senate Democratic leader

    When trouble hits our state, Iowans want leaders who talk straight and make sure all Iowans can be part of the solution.

    That’s true when we are helping fellow Iowans recover from flooding, tornadoes and other natural disasters. And it’s certainly true of our efforts to battle the COVID-19 pandemic.

    If we are not all pulling in the same direction, that hurts everyone.

    Last fall, I had a conversation with a member of Gov. Kim Reynolds’ team who was refusing to invite lawmakers to attend a Maternal Health Summit to discuss such dangerous trends as labor and delivery departments shuttering across the state at record speed.

    I reminded him, “You are the Department of Public Health, not the Department of Private Health.”

    Like many Iowans, I was frustrated. I could see our health care infrastructure crumbling, and the Reynolds administration was continuing its alarming pattern of not sharing information.

    Since the for-profit privatized Medicaid program began, Iowa’s health care infrastructure has taken a beating. Iowa’s nursing homes, rural hospitals, ambulance services and public transportation services, and mental health providers were already financially reeling before COVID-19 crossed our state’s borders.

    The onset of this pandemic was like pouring lighter fluid on Iowa’s financially shaky health care system. In this perfect storm, the virus could trigger a wider health care disaster.

    It’s impacted our everyday lives, our jobs, our paychecks, our education, and our future.  It’s gone from being a public health crisis to a full-blown economic crisis, too.

    Fortunately, Iowans want to be part of the solution. That requires more Iowans knowing what is going on.  We deserve straightforward leadership that includes timely, accurate data, and clear directions.

    Iowa should take lessons from leaders in states who are doing things right.

    Governors who have been clear in their message and have had tough conversations with the people they represent about what to do to beat the virus are seeing better results. Most important, they’ve acted quickly to save lives, knowing that time matters.

    Leaders shouldn’t keep people in the dark. There is no reason to withhold knowledge of COVID-19 cases from Iowans who share the same living space or workspace with those infected. Iowa families with relatives in nursing facilities and meatpacking plants deserve to know immediately if their loved ones are being exposed.

    Iowans are frustrated that Reynolds is basing her decision-making on a “mystery model” instead of the scientific modeling that other states are using, especially when they are seeing better results elsewhere.

    Iowans deserve to know the governor’s plan for testing. The lack of widespread testing may give some a false belief that COVID-19 is not going to hit our state as hard as it has hit other states. The truth is that the continued lack of widespread testing and contact tracing puts us at greater risk than states with more aggressive testing measures.

    Our continued shortage of personal protective equipment should have more Iowans sounding the alarm because it’s putting our front-line workforce in danger.

    Overcoming the COVID-19 crisis will not be simple, but we can get there sooner with bold leadership, better information, and more confidence that everything possible is being done to protect the health and safety of all Iowans.

    Iowans want to be part of the solution. We want to help our front-line workforce. We want to protect our friends and neighbors. Most important, we want more sunshine, especially from the governor and her team.

  • Democratic leaders call for statewide stay-at-home order

    Download pdf of letter, April 2, 2020

  • Healthy Moms and Babies Act will address growing maternal health concerns

    Iowa Senate News Release

    For Immediate Release: Feb. 19, 2020

    DES MOINES – Senate Democrats have proposed legislation to address the growing maternal health crisis in Iowa.

    “Iowa is facing a maternal health crisis that we simply cannot ignore,” says Senator Janet Petersen, the Senate Democratic Leader. “Iowa’s maternal mortality rate has more than doubled in the past three years, hospital labor and delivery departments are shuttering at record speed, and 66 Iowa counties no longer have a single OB/GYN practicing in their county.”

    The scope of the problem includes:

    • Iowa has lost 37 labor and delivery departments.
      MAP OF OB UNITS | LIST OF CLOSURES
    • Iowa has the lowest number of obstetricians per capita in the country. Two-thirds of rural Level 1 hospitals have no obstetrician on staff.
    • Compared to other states, Iowa has a high rate of cesarean births, an indicator of potential health problems for mother and child.

    “Iowa taxpayers pay for more than 40% all births in our state through Medicaid,” Petersen said. “Governor Reynolds has put a system in place that allows out-of-state companies to make a profit off of labor and delivery services while our rural hospitals are financially penalized for providing care. Iowa’s privatized Medicaid doesn’t cover the full cost of delivering babies, which hurts rural and urban hospitals.” 

    The Healthy Moms and Babies Act (SF 2062), co-sponsored by 18 members of the Iowa Senate, will address the maternal health care crisis by:

    • Adjusting Medicaid rates so that hospitals are adequately reimbursed for the care they provide.
    • Ensuring labor and delivery units use proven practices—known as “safety bundles”—that save lives during delivery.
    • Expanding home visiting services for pregnant women, new moms and babies.

    – end –

    Summary of SF 2062: “Healthy Moms and Babies Act”

    Background

    Maternal health in Iowa is experiencing a crisis.

    Maternal death rates are higher in the U.S. than in any other developed nation, and they are rising.  In Iowa, maternal mortality has more than doubled in three years.

    In addition, moms-to-be are now sicker than in the past, with increasing maternal age, higher levels of obesity and related health complications, and societal problems such as substance abuse and mental health, all playing a role.

    To compound these problems, access to care is diminishing and the provider workforce is shrinking. Iowa has seen 37 labor and delivery units in critical access hospitals close since the year 2000, and Iowa has the lowest number of obstetricians per capita in the country, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

    • 64% of rural Level 1 hospitals have no obstetrician on staff
    • Iowa ranks 50th out of 50 in the number of OB/GYNs per capita
    • Iowa has a high rate of cesarean births which can lead to future health problems

    As of October 2019, 37 of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals have closed their birthing units since 2000, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. There were two closures in 2019, down from eight closures in 2018 — the most in a single year. Since then, Mount Pleasant, New Hampton and Muscatine have announced closures.  Most of those closures have happened at smaller facilities. Hospitals are not reimbursed for the cost of the standard of care for labor and delivery so they lose money on every birth.

    About 40% of births in Iowa are Medicaid so making improvements to maternal care in the Medicaid program is key to improving maternal health and birth outcomes in Iowa. Privatized Medicaid doesn’t cover the costs for delivering babies in Iowa when health care providers follow the standard of care.

    Division I:  Medicaid Maternal and Child Health Improvements

    DHS is directed to adopt rules under both fee-for-service and managed care Medicaid, amend any managed care contracts, and apply for any Medicaid plan amendments or waivers necessary to improve care for moms and babies in all the following ways:

    1. Provide reimbursement in an amount that appropriately covers the entire standard of care costs for labor and delivery;
    2. Provide the same reimbursement for maternal-fetal medicine services and comprehensive maternity care when provided in person or via telehealth (covering both facility and professional fees);
    3. Allow continuous Medicaid eligibility for a woman for a 12-month postpartum period (compared to 60 days currently);
    4. Provide comprehensive maternity care which includes the basic number of prenatal and postpartum visits recommended by ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists), any additional prenatal or postpartum visits that are medically necessary, necessary laboratory, nutritional assessment and counseling, health education, personal counseling, managed care, outreach and follow-up services, and treatment of conditions which may complicate pregnancy;
    5. Provide reimbursement for doula care;
    6. Reimbursement for breastfeeding supports, counseling, and supplies including the standard cost of breast pumps and electronic breast pumps;
    7. Reimbursement for transportation to all prenatal and postpartum care appointments; and
    8. Reimbursement for all postpartum care products such as breast pads, period pads, comfort products, pain relievers, and other similar products.

    Division II:  Maternal Best Practices/Safety Bundles and Hospital Requirements

    Licensed hospitals that provide labor and delivery services shall be required to do the following:

    1. Adopt and implement the current best practices or safety bundles recommended by ACOG and the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health; details here https://www.medpagetoday.com/obgyn/pregnancy/74631

    These maternal safety bundles include action measures for:

    • Obstetrical Hemorrhage
    • Severe Hypertension/Preeclampsia
    • Prevention of Venous Thromboembolism
    • Reduction of Low Risk Primary Cesarean Births/Support for Intended Vaginal Birth
    • Reduction of Peripartum Racial Disparities
    • Postpartum care access and standards
    1. Provide information to the public, including but not limited to maternity and neonatal level of care status and the meaning of that status;
    2. Provide cesarean birth statistics;
    3. Provide statistics on the number of vaginal births after cesarean (VBAC) and vaginal births after two cesareans (VBA2C);
    4. Provide rate of exclusive breastfeeding upon discharge;
    5. Provide all moms and babies receiving labor and delivery services with information and assistance in applying for services and health care coverage including but not limited to Medicaid; AEA agencies; WIC; and home visiting programs; prior to discharge from the hospital; and
    6. Have a comprehensive labor and delivery unit closure plan in place that includes a plan for future births and pregnancies and the capacity of other providers to absorb the services in case of unit closure.

    Division III:  Expanded Home Visiting Services

    DHS is directed to seek federal approval for any state plan amendment or waiver necessary in order to collaborate with the Department of Public Health and the Department of Education to expand maternal and infant home visiting services under Medicaid that:

    • promote healthy pregnancies;
    • positive birth outcomes; and
    • healthy infant growth and development.

    The departments shall design a home visiting approach that maximizes coordination and blending of programs and funding, reduces duplication of efforts and ensures that the services provided meet federal evidence-based criteria. Home visiting should start prenatally and include mental health services.

  • Senate Republicans vote to take away women’s rights

    TRANSCRIPT:

    Ladies and Gentleman of the Senate, on the opening day of the Legislative Session, I said,

    “Iowans shouldn’t have to worry that their human and civil rights are on the line when the Legislature is in session.”

    But here we are…

    Today, Senate Republicans, under the leadership of Senator Schneider and Senator Whitver, are pushing a Constitutional Amendment designed to strip away the freedom of Iowa women, girls and their families.

    President Schneider and Leader Whitver – this debate calendar for today is one for the history books – one you will both be remembered for.

    First, you celebrate the 100th anniversary of women’s right to vote.

    Then, on the same debate calendar, the only other piece of legislation you put forth is a Constitutional Amendment to strip women and girls of their basic human rights.

    You’ve chosen today to push an extreme agenda with the ultimate goal of an all-out abortion ban in Iowa –with no exceptions granted under any circumstances, instead of focusing on real problems facing young Iowa families in our state.

    Iowa women and girls need MORE access to safe health care close to home, NOT LESS.

    But that doesn’t seem to faze you.

    Never mind that Iowa is facing a maternal health crisis facing our state.

    Never mind that Iowa’s maternal mortality rate has more than doubled in the past three years.

    Never mind that 66 Iowa counties don’t even have a single OB/GYN.

    Livestock in our state has better access to doctors than Iowa women and girls, but I guess that doesn’t matter to you.

    Never mind that Iowans are losing labor & delivery departments and safe places to go for decent reproductive health care at a dangerous and deadly pace.
    ¬
    Iowa families represented by Senator Sinclair have lost three labor & delivery departments in Chariton, Knoxville and Leon.

    The families Senator Miller-Meeks represents have lost three labor & delivery departments in Bloomfield, Keosauqua, and Fairfield.

    Moms-to-be in Senator Rozenboom’s district lost their labor & delivery department in Centerville.

    Young families who are represented by Senator Segebart lost access to three labor & delivery departments in Audubon, Manning, and Sac City.

    Senator Waylon Brown – young families in your district had already lost labor & delivery services in Osage. Now you can add New Hampton to the list of places that won’t serve moms-to-be in your district anymore.

    Moms-to-be represented by Senator Johnson no longer have a labor & delivery department to deliver their babies in Oelwein and Independence.

    Senator Johnson was assigned the Healthy Moms and Babies Act to help address the maternal health crisis facing Iowa. But Senator Johnson hasn’t scheduled a subcommittee on the bill yet.

    Senator Edler: you promised the families in your district more access to health care. But Marshalltown because the Iowa community to lose a Level 2 labor and delivery department.

    Iowa parents-to-be that Senator Costello represents no longer have labor & delivery departments in Clarinda and Hamburg.

    Families Senator Sweeney represents lost labor & delivery departments in Iowa Falls and Eldora.

    Families Senator Whiting represents lost labor & delivery departments in Sibley and Rock Rapids.

    Parents-to-be and families living in Anamosa, Corning, Dyersville, Estherville, Guttenberg, Hampton, Humboldt, Ida Grove, Jefferson, Keokuk, Maquoketa, Washington, Webster City – all lost labor and delivery departments.

    Mount Pleasant is soon to shutter its labor and delivery program. And NONE of these hospitals that closed their labor and delivery departments are required to make sure other communities can take on the additional patient load, or that women have safe transportation to get to distant hospitals.

    So, even if your senate district hasn’t lost a labor and delivery department, your constituents health care is compromised as well. Access to a labor and delivery room matters.

    And the problem is getting worse.

    We know we’re likely to see an additional 10 labor & deliveries close down in the near future. A significant number of OB/gyns and family practitioners are planning to retire soon. And, we are starting to lose family practice residency programs in the state.

    These, my friends are real issues.

    BUT instead of making Iowa a safer place to have a baby, or help women get health care to regulate problematic periods, and address period health care issues that impact their ability to go to school and work, or improving access to family planning services so parents can choose when to have kids, and safely space their pregnancies, or choose not to have kids.

    Instead government is intruding on their lives.

    You have chosen to take away freedoms from Iowans.

    Instead of dealing with real problems that can truly be life or death problems for women and girls in our state, you have chosen to ram your power into women’s bodies once again.

    Wasn’t it enough, when you banned thousands of Iowa women from getting their reproductive health care from Planned Parenthood, Unity Point and the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics…while you still enjoyed your taxpayer funded health insurance that allowed you, your spouses and your kids to access those providers and even get the same services you denied to the women you represent?

    Women are getting tired of you making your political statements with our uteruses.

    It’s time to quit punching women and girls in the uterus with your policies, and pretending it’s for our own good.

    This Constitutional Amendment steals the rights away from Iowa women and girls by taking away our ability to make personal decisions about what is best for our bodies, our future, our families, and our pregnancies.

    I can’t think of a single body part that is regulated more than the UTERUS.

    Not a big toe.

    Not eyes.

    Not even the penis, which is responsible for 99% of all rapes and 100% of all unintended pregnancies in our country, according to facts and science.

    To my Senate Republican colleagues – it is time for you to quit treating Iowa women and girls as second-class citizens whose rights and opportunities are inferior to your own.

    I don’t like to be mansplained on what human rights are.

    This constitutional amendment is written with the sole purpose of banning access to safe abortion care in Iowa.

    Don’t let the misleading language in this amendment confuse you.

    This amendment is not designed to protect women.

    The intent of this constitutional amendment, and the politicians behind it, is to make sure Iowa can ban abortion without exception.

    When you take away access to safe, legal abortion care, and maternal health care, you do not protect women and girls – you put their lives at risk.

    That’s why the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists oppose efforts to ban abortion.

    Iowans – not politicians – should be in charge of our own personal medical decisions.

    Make no mistake about it – this Constitutional Amendment is part of an extreme abortion ban agenda pushed by Republican politicians here in Iowa and across the country – designed to do one thing. End access to safe abortion care, no matter what the cost to the lives of women, girls and families living in our country.

    President Schneider, you chose to use the power of the Senate Presidency to have the Iowa Senate celebrate women’s right to vote today. And then in the very same day, you allowed a debate on an ultra-extreme Constitutional Amendment that strips women and girls of their basic human rights.

    Isn’t it ironic, don’t you think!

    President Schneider, I am glad you don’t have the power to take away women’s RIGHT TO VOTE that our grandmas and great grandmas fought for more than 100 years ago because I know WOMEN intend to use that right.

    I urge a no vote.

  • Video: Our leader’s opening day remarks

    On the opening day of the 2020 legislative session, Senate Democratic Leader Janet Petersen detailed how legislators can work together to “build healthier, happier, safer and stronger Iowa neighborhood for our parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and our friends.”

    Read her complete remarks.