Lowering Costs for Iowans
 Many Iowans are finding it harder to get by. Fair wages, the ability to pay bills on time, affordable child care, and reducing the cost of living expenses are at the top of many Iowans’ minds.
While the Iowa Legislature will not start session again until January, there has been some good news out of Washington, DC the last few weeks. A new bill signed into law will lower living expenses for Iowa families and create good jobs. Here are just a few of the highlights that will have the biggest impact.
- It lowers your health care costs. Medicare can finally negotiate drug prices to drive down costs – meaning; the cost of prescription drugs will not rise more than inflation. Insulin has been capped at $35 for everyone on Medicare, and out of pocket costs for Medicare Part D are capped at $2,000. Additionally, the 67,000 Iowans with health insurance through the Iowa exchange can rest easy knowing they’ve got affordable health care through 2025.
- It cuts your energy costs. New rebates and tax credits are now offered for energy efficiency efforts like weatherization and highly-efficient appliances which will reduce costs.
- It creates more jobs in Iowa. New investments in clean energy means more jobs in Iowa’s wind and solar industries. This includes a provision aimed at encouraging new technology to be sourced in Iowa rather than overseas.
Iowa House Democratic lawmakers will continue to work to put more money in the pockets of Iowa families.
Request to Vote by Mail in November Election
Iowans who are wanting to vote from the comfort of their own home can now request an absentee ballot to be sent to their residence for the November election.
Recent voter suppression bills approved by Iowa Republican lawmakers shortened the time to request a ballot by 55 days. The deadline to request an absentee ballot is now only 15 days before the election, creating more confusion and potential conflicts for voters.
Iowans who want to vote from home must fill out a request form with their local county auditor one of two ways: in-person, or by printing the form and mailing it to their county auditor. Besides having less time to request a ballot, voters will now have less time to return a completed ballot, as the return time was cut by nine days as well.
Important Links
Print off a vote by mail request:
sos.iowa.gov/elections/pdf/absenteeballotapp.pdf.
Contact information for county auditors:
sos.iowa.gov/elections/auditors/auditorslist.html.
Track the status of request & ballot:
sos.iowa.gov/elections/absenteeballotstatus/absentee/search.
Three Things to Know About the New Student Loan Forgiveness Program
A plan announced last week will help many Iowans still struggling to pay off their student loans despite years of repayment. While the announcement from President Biden marked a significant turning point in the student loan forgiveness conversation, it’s nowhere near the end of the road. Below are a few key points Iowans should be aware of:
- Over 90 percent of forgiveness will go to borrowers earning less than $75,000: Any person who makes less than $125,000 per year, or $250,000 for joint filers, will be eligible to have some of their outstanding student loans forgiven. Under the plan, a person meeting those income guidelines is eligible to have up to $10,000 of outstanding student loan debt forgiven, or up to $20,000 forgiven if they received a Pell Grant. None of the student loan debt can be a private loan.
- Almost all Pell Grants are awarded to students whose families make less than $60,000. In Iowa, 57% of Pell Grants recipients were families making less than $30,000, 30% of the grants went to families making between $30,000 and $60,000, and 12% of the grants went to families making over $60,000 (Source: College Student Aid Commission).
- Borrowers will have to apply for loan forgiveness: Borrowers who receive assistance could have attended a community college, a four-year public or private college or university, or graduate school, and would not have otherwise been able to attend higher education without loans. This student loan forgiveness will be applied directly to outstanding debt, not in the form of a refund check to borrowers. Parents and graduate students can also benefit from this program if they took out Parent Plus or Grad Plus loans and still have outstanding debt, as long as they meet the criteria previously mentioned.
- Applications are expected to be available in October. Sign up to be notified when the application is available at the Department of Education’s subscription page at ed.gov/subscriptions.
- It is recommended that you apply before November 15, 2022, to receive relief before the pause on student loan repayments expires on December 31, 2022. Applications can be submitted after December 31, 2022.
- Repayment for many borrowers will start back in January 2023 after being paused during the pandemic.
- Declining state investments to higher education has caused the cost of tuition to skyrocket: Tuition at Iowa’s community colleges has gone up 69% in the last decade, while tuition at Iowa’s three public universities has risen 17% – 25% in the same period. Underfunding our public colleges and universities leads directly to increased tuition paid for by students and their families, which increases student debt. The following chart shows the percentage of tuition paid by the state vs. tuition has flipped when comparing 2001 and 2022.
Over the last several legislative sessions, House Democrats have proposed increasing the assistance to public universities and community colleges, only to be rejected by Republican lawmakers.
More information about the loan forgiveness program can be found at: studentaid.gov/debt-relief-announcement.
Labor Union Appreciation Month
September is Labor Union Appreciation Month! Members of labor unions have fought for workers’ rights since their genesis. The labor movement is the reason the U.S. has child labor laws, 40-hour work weeks, weekends, overtime pay and benefits, vacations, the minimum wage, sick leave, parental leave, OSHA standards, employment nondiscrimination laws, pensions, Social Security, and health insurance.
Unions continue to fight to ensure all employees are treated fairly, make a living wage, and have safe working conditions. In recent years Iowa Republicans have gutted collective bargaining for public employees and have fought ceaselessly to dismantle unions. Iowa House Democrats have fought to restore public employee collective bargaining rights, expand workers’ rights in joining a union, and raise the minimum wage.
Be sure to thank a union member for helping improve the lives of all workers. Find more information about labor union appreciation month online, at thankaunion.com. Visit, aflcio.org/formaunion to learn how to join or form a union.
Flu Shot Clinic and Resources Drive-Thru for Veterans
Veterans will be able to receive their flu shots and meet with local community partners from the comfort of their vehicle during a free event in Des Moines. The flu clinic and resource drive-through will be held on Thursday, September 29, 2022, from 8 am to 2 pm and Saturday, October 1st from 8 am to 2 pm in the Des Moines VA campus parking lot (3600 30th St).
Community partners at the event will assist veterans with benefits, recreational therapy, women’s health issues, suicide prevention, caregiver support, and homelessness. For more information on this event, please visit: va.gov/central-iowa-health-care/events/48691/.
Other Iowa News
IOWA SUPREME COURT ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR NEXT TERM: The Iowa Supreme Court announced its 2022-2023 adjudicative term will be from September 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023. During this term, the Iowa Supreme Court will hear the cases granted further review by the court. Opinions will be released every Friday during the term. During the 2021-2022, the Iowa Supreme Court decided over 100 cases. This included Planned Parenthood v. Reynolds which reversed a previous decision of the court and found that there are no constitutional protections for abortion in the Iowa Constitution. In addition, the makeup of the court has changed since last session as Justice Brent Appel, who was appointed by Governor Vilsack, reached mandatory retirement age and was replaced by Justice David May. This change assured all seven justices on the state Supreme Court are now appointed by Republican Governors. Supreme Court decisions will be posted on the Judicial Branch website at iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/supreme-court-opinions/. Additional information on upcoming cases and the current oral argument schedule can be found at iowacourts.gov/iowa-courts/supreme-court/supreme-court-oral-argument-schedule/.
 IOWA RANKS 9TH IN THE NATION FOR CHILD WELL-BEING: The annual Kids Count data from Annie E. Casey Foundation has ranked Iowa ninth in the nation for child well-being. The non-profit’s report ranks states on twelve factors divided into four categories. Iowa ranked fifth for economic well-being, 11th for education, 17th for health and 11th for family and community. Iowa’s education numbers got a boost because it ranked first in the nation for high school kids graduating on time. However, other significant education numbers put Iowa in the middle of the pack at best. For young children attending preschool (21st) and the share of 8th graders not proficient in math (25th), Iowa’s numbers got worse than last year. Iowa was also ranked 22nd on the share of 4th graders not reading proficiently. To find the full report go to: assets.aecf.org/m/databook/2022KCDB-profile-IA.pdf
CYBERSECURITY SERVICES AVAILABLE FOR SCHOOLS AND NONPROFITS: Last week, the Office of Chief Information Office (OCIO) announced Iowa educational institutions and nonprofit organizations may access scalable security services. This allows schools, school districts, and nonprofits to access a special rate and utilize state-of-the-art cybersecurity services offered by the OCIO. Services include next-generation Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) for managed endpoints including PC’s, servers, and other devices. Service also includes 24×7 state-of-the-art, around the clock, security incident monitoring and response at $8.24 per device monthly. Qualifying educational institutions and non-profits wanting more information on scalable security service may contact government.services@iowa.gov.
HARVEST SEASON WEIGHT LIMIT EXCEPTIONS: To support the transport of this year’s crops, a temporary weight limit exemption for trucks operating on Iowa roads has been put in place. The 2022 Harvest Proclamation specifically increases the weight allowable for shipment of corn, soybeans, hay, straw, and stover, up to a maximum of 90,000 pounds without the need for an overweight permit. The proclamation applies to all loads transported on all highways within Iowa, excluding the interstate system. Trucks must still comply with posted weight limits on roads and bridges. The proclamation was signed on September 1st and is effective through the 1st of October. |
