The Iowa Legislature has resumed the 2020 session. Over the next two weeks, I hope we will:
** Pass a balanced budget based on the latest revenue estimates.
** Fight for the needs of Iowans, businesses and communities impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.
** Push for laws to address racial inequities in Iowa.
Iowans and Americans everywhere are coming together to say “enough is enough.” It’s time that our actions condemn hate and racism. It’s time that our actions advance equality and justice for all.
Hospitals and other healthcare providers accessed advanced payments through the CARES Act Medicare Loan Fund to bridge losses. Loan forgiveness is vitally important and is much more critical now, given the fact that hospital losses have far exceeded the relief from Cares Act grants.
The number of COVID-19 cases is still increasing, and nationally ranked hotspots are popping up all over the state. Yet, the Governor and Republican legislators continue to deliver narratives that are heavy on spin and light on facts and data.
So far, TestIowa has not delivered on its contractual promise to test at least 5,000 people per day. Sen. Celsi is calling for expanded testing in cooperation with other entities.
For 11 days in a row, COVID-19 cases have increased faster in the 77 counties where Gov. Reynolds loosened restrictions than in the rest of Iowa.
More than 100 years ago, Upton Sinclair chronicled the misery and abuse of American workers in the meatpacking industry, describing them as “centers of contagion, poisoning the lives of all of us.” Today, we are witnessing a new chapter in the life and deaths of meatpacking workers and other essential workers through the COVID-19 pandemic.
The failure by bad actors in the meatpacking industry has imposed heavy costs on Iowans. Independent, ongoing health and safety reforms are essential to recovering from this economic and health care disaster.
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.
With the dramatic increase in positive cases at the prison (IMCC) at Coralville, it is obvious that the State of Iowa has not done enough to protect Iowa’s public servants who are working the front lines during this public health disaster.
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