Publications

March 8, 2022

By imposing new, burdensome eligibility verification requirements for safety-net programs, HF 2438 would set up nearly 8,000 Iowans, including children, to lose Medicaid and Hawki  — insurance that helps them get the health care they need and helps Iowa further its goal of becoming the healthiest state in the nation. This bill will increase bureaucratic red tape and administrative costs and make it harder for Iowans to stay healthy and support their families.

April 4, 2023

SF 494 would undermine the integrity of SNAP and Medicaid and put new burdens on low-income Iowans. The bill will erect additional administrative hurdles that will remove people from SNAP, Medicaid and Hawki — even when they’re eligible to receive benefits — and make it harder for Iowans, including children, to get enough food to eat and the health care they need.  

March 27, 2023

HF 613 would undermine the integrity of Iowa’s SNAP and Medicaid programs and create burdens on low-income Iowans. The bill would kick eligible people off critical supports that help them put food on the table and get the health care they need by creating more cracks for families to fall through when seeking assistance.

February 9, 2023

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) helps people put food on the table and get back on their feet after tough times. SSB 1105 would kick Iowans off SNAP though they are eligible, by putting up unnecessary red tape and creating more cracks for families to fall through when seeking food assistance.

February 2023

HF 3 would undermine the integrity of Iowa’s SNAP and Medicaid programs and create burdens on low-income Iowans. The bill would kick eligible people off these critical supports that help them put food on the table and get the health care they need by putting up unnecessary red tape and creating more cracks for families to fall through when seeking assistance.

March 8, 2022

SNAP plays a central role in fighting hunger. In fall 2021, 26% of Iowa households with children reported that the children sometimes or often were not eating enough because the household could not afford enough food. HF 2438 would impose new, burdensome eligibility verification requirements, including requiring custodial parents to cooperate with child support recovery.

January 25, 2022

Iowa is among more than 40 states that uses a federal SNAP option called Broad-Based Categorical Eligibility (BBCE) to assure that low-income working families — who pay high shares of their incomes for basic needs like housing, child care and transportation — don’t go hungry. BBCE gives states some flexibility in how they structure their SNAP programs. HSB 508 would stop the state from using BBCE to waive asset tests for SNAP. That's a costly, counterproductive move that would set back families and increase hunger.

February 10, 2022

SNAP, called Food Assistance in Iowa, helps people put food on the table and get back on their feet after tough times. SNAP provides nutrition assistance to eligible individuals and household based on their household size and income. HSB 698 would require custodial parents to cooperate with child support recovery. This provision would threaten child food security without increasing child support payments.

January 2020

HF 2030 is not a common-sense approach. It’s a pointless, pricey scheme that will increase bureaucratic red tape and administrative costs and make it
harder for Iowans to stay healthy, put food on the table and support their families. 

December 18, 2023

The income tax is a way Iowans come together to lay strong foundations that create opportunity and help people thrive. Governor Reynolds and legislative leaders want to eliminate Iowa’s personal income tax — a virtual promise to decimate the services that make Iowa a better place to live, work and raise a family. Here are important facts to help you make sense of the coming debate, along with an alternative agenda that rejects forced austerity in favor of sensible investments to meet our common needs and aspirations.  

March 27, 2023

SSB 1207 and HSB 232 would place on the statewide ballot a constitutional amendment that, if approved, would essentially lock in draconian income tax cuts long after their proponents have left office. The bill betrays fundamental democratic principles by making one “no” vote worth two “yes” votes. It would prevent majorities from funding popular services by giving a fringe minority veto power.

February 14, 2023

Taxes have one purpose: to fund public services that benefit everyone and reflect the state’s priorities and values. They should be rooted in well-established tax principles. Proposals now in the Legislature would make special deals for people in specific professions or life circumstances that run counter to good policy. 

April 6, 2022

SJR 2006 would place on the statewide ballot a constitutional amendment that, if approved, would essentially lock in devastating income tax changes long after their proponents have left office. The proposal would allow a mere one-third minority in either the House or Senate to block any increase in income or corporate income tax rates.

by Peter Fisher | February 16, 2022

People do not move from state to state over tax policy, research has consistently shown. This is true for the elde­­rly or for people of all ages. While those pushing a tax-cut agenda use the contrary argument to make their case, it is good to take a step back and look at the research.

February 2022

Our state’s tax system — like those of most other states — favors white Iowans over Iowans of color, especially Black Iowans. That’s because the tax code advantages those at the top of the income distribution, who are disproportionately white, as it disadvantages those at the bottom, who are disproportionately families of color. Current tax proposals would exacerbate disadvantages facing families of color. 

January 7, 2022

Within months of passing tax cuts that when fully phased in will cost hundreds of millions of dollars, lawmakers are proposing a new round of income tax cuts, up to the full elimination of the state income tax. Eliminating or significantly cutting the state income tax is irresponsible. Here's why.

February 22, 2022

Unemployment is a matter of public interest — it affects the well-being of our neighbors and our economy, and it can happen to anyone unexpectedly. Iowa Code calls it a “serious menace” that “so often falls with crushing force upon the unemployed worker and the worker’s family.” Bills in the Legislature would strike this language, walking back the commitment of Iowa’s unemployment insurance to protect against “this greatest hazard of our economic life.”