The Iowa House and Governor Continue to fail Iowans & future Iowans on issues

This past session I worked in the Iowa Senate and loved my job. Every day I got to see the inner workings of the state capitol and meet some of the most amazing people. All of these people converge on the Iowa Capitol every session asking for money from anything to female mammograms to road funding. I know that it is not a reality to fund every thing that comes through the doors of the Capitol but the Governor and the House has the wrong priorities when it comes to Iowa and it’s families.

Governor Branstad spent the entire session promoting STEM education with the support of his Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. I agree that there is an increased need for funding this type of education in an ever increasing technological era, but at the end of the year we found out that these were just empty promises and rhetoric when he eliminated the extra funding bargained in good faith between the House and the Senate. He continues to ask more of Iowa’s teachers without giving them the proper resources to educate their students effectively and efficiently. Education should be one of the top priorities, and it should be a quality education whether it be public or private. Education levels the playing field for many of today’s students and not properly funding it does not help us prepare for a more technological future. This governor would much rather give a $25 million dollar tax incentive to a fertilizer plant that fired hundreds of Iowans and give commercial property tax relief to mega-corporations who develop in the state (which would have probably developed with or without the incentives).

Mental Health is the subject that no one wants to talk about. People who suffer from these diseases are often shunned or hidden from their families. Families who have a member that suffers from one of many mental disorders often suffer in silence. I know personally the problems that this can cause in the family structure. Governor Branstad once again showcased his arrogance in vetoing funding for Iowa’s Mental Health Facilities citing that communities are prepared to meet the needs of these individuals. I can tell you from personal experience that rural Iowa is far from ready to take on the additional needs of the patients of these mental health facilities. Patient care should be another top priority in these situations and clearly it is not. I heard time after time about how sheriffs often have to call adjacent states to try and find beds for some of these individuals and that is just disgusting. Governor Branstad, are you so afraid of the conversation that you want to push these people on other states? These individuals often have no where else to go and their families are out of options.

Medical Cannabis, one of the most controversial issues (for the older generation that is) during this session. I still cannot believe that there is so much contempt for a drug that has proven to be effective in several scenarios against several different diseases. The Senate acted on this and as Joe Bolkcom of Iowa City said, “Iowa made a good first step, but that was all it was.” Once again, our Governor said that he believed that if we approved the bill last year that patient’s would be able to travel to Illinois to obtain the medical cannabis without problem. He lied. Illinois said they had no intention of allowing Iowans to access any medical cannabis from their state and, furthermore, Iowans could face federal charges if it was brought across state lines. (Rarely done with this Administration but it can be done.) So this year they were faced with a decision. Allow the supervised production of medical cannabis in a medical setting and have it distributed or allow Iowans dealing with many illnesses to suffer without it and face the ever growing cost of medications and treatments that may not work. The House and the Governor chose the latter option. House members requested the research and they got it, but they refused to hear it. It seems absurd to me that Alcohol and Tobacco (which kills thousands of people from its effects each year) is legal and people argue well that’s their choice… where is the choice in this? If it even has a glimmer of hope to help someone from suffering from a disease shouldn’t we give them that option?

If we want to build Iowa into the best state to live in, we need to build it from the ground up. That means raising the minimum wage for those families who, unfortunately, are not qualified to work anywhere else because they can’t get an education with kids at home. That means making life just a little bit easier for the Iowans at the lowest part of the income. The equation is clear to me. If you want to spend less on public assistance programs, then we need to get people the support they need to be lifted off of the programs.

It means following through with education, the ultimate equalizer, and putting the children of our state ahead of corporations and tax incentives. It means protecting those Iowans who reached out for help to deal with their mental illness and are getting the help they need. It means making sure that everybody in this state that is Gay, Straight, African American, Caucasian, Latino, Asian, Bi-Sexual, Transgendered, and Disabled are all treated equally and that all Religions (not just Christianity) are represented equally at all levels. It means having the conversation about police brutality and making sure that the people who are enforcing the law are following the law themselves because all lives matter.

We grow stronger when we stand together and Iowa is best when everyone is supported.