Perpetrators must pay for bad behavior – not Iowa taxpayers
A group of Senators introduced legislation today to ensure that state employees – not all Iowa taxpayers – would be financially responsible for egregious and illegal workplace behavior.
Herman Quirmbach
Senators introduce bill to end privatized Medicaid
All 20 Democrats and the one Independent in the Iowa Senate have introduced SF 2058, a bill to end privatized Medicaid and put Iowans back in control of a state-run system that provides affordable health care to more than 560,000 citizens.
Democrats call on Statehouse Republicans to ‘put Iowans back in control of Medicaid’
In a letter emailed today to Governor Reynolds and Republican lawmakers, Iowa’s Democratic state legislators are asking for bipartisan cooperation during the 2018 session to end Iowa’s failed Medicaid privatization experiment.
Governor Reynolds’ claim to balance budget ‘without cuts to education’ is astoundingly false
“Yesterday Governor Kim Reynolds made the astoundingly false claim that she has managed the state budget ‘without cuts to education.’ That’s a real whopper! The truth is that the mid-year budget cuts (Senate File 130) sliced a total of $31.5 million from education. The $4.5 million cut from the Iowa Department of Education was just the beginning.”
Quirmbach: GOP’s “tuition tax” will hurt students and weaken Iowa’s economy
Now, instead of ending huge giveaways to out-of-state corporations, Governor Reynolds and legislative Republicans hope a steep, multi-year ‘tuition tax’ on Iowa students will balance Iowa’s busted state budget.
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 […]
Quirmbach responds to tuition increase at Iowa’s state universities
Republicans in charge of state government must reverse course to keep higher education affordable for Iowa families. Today, the Board of Regents voted to again increase tuition at Iowa’s three state universities this fall. That increase was prompted by more than $30 million in Republican cuts to our universities during the 2017 session.
Superintendent Survey: Continued Underfunding Will Result in Higher Class Sizes, Teacher Layoffs in Iowa Schools
A new survey of Iowa Superintendents has found that about 2/3 of them will be forced to raise class size, cut teachers, and reduce opportunities for students if lawmakers approve a 2% or lower increase in basic school funding.
Democrats release committee assignments for 2017 session
Senate Democratic Leader Rob Hogg has released the committee assignments for the Democratic members of the Iowa Senate for the 2017 session of the Iowa Legislature. “A lot of groundwork is done during committee meetings, where there are opportunities for open discussion and bipartisan work,” Hogg said.
Hogg elected leader of Senate Democrats
Iowa Senate News Release For immediate release: November 19, 2016 Hogg elected leader of Senate Democrats [Des Moines] At a Statehouse meeting Nov. 19, Democratic members of the Iowa Senate unanimously elected State Senator Rob […]