Iowa Senate Democrats

We started this week with snow, but we're ending it with Spring!

It's nice when the other side just comes out and says the quiet part out loud. "This is all in the consideration of the limiting of powers of the executive, of the governor." (An amendment is considered germane if it is relevant to the bill to which it is being attached.)

Happy Women's History Month, from the women of the Iowa Senate Democrats!

The majority party is injecting D.C.-style politics into the Iowa Senate to avoid negoatiating on a budget when things get tough.

Iowa has never had a shut down. This is just a further consolidation of power.

Senate Republicans are trying to revive their don't-pass-a-budget bill and stick it onto a separate bill in the State Government Committee. Read Sen. Winckler's full statement here: bit.ly/41hUmy8

The House is currently holding a hearing on a Republican proposal to raise Iowans' monthly health insurance costs. Tell your senators what you think about that idea: bit.ly/45VUCFY

ACTION ALERT: The Iowa House is holding a hearing tomorrow morning on the Republican proposal to increase health insurance costs. You can sign up to weigh in or leave a public comment here: bit.ly/4sTANbu

Republican lawmakers are fast-tracking a bill that would increase YOUR health insurance costs to try to fill the budget deficit THEY created.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Iowa!

A big THANK YOU to the men and women working to clear the roads and keep Iowans safe during winter storms!

The latest update from the state's Revenue Estimating Conference shows Republican lawmakers have been off on their 5-year projections by $1.44 billion so far. Some plan.

Iowa continues to have the second-highest rate of new cancers in the U.S., according to the new report from the Iowa Cancer Registry. Read the report here: bit.ly/Cancer2026

"Republicans have made an unprecedented mess of the state's budget." An earlier post of this video mistakenly misspelled Sen. Petersen's name, which has been corrected here.

How do Republican lawmakers plan to follow up their billion-budget deficit for FY26? With another billion-dollar budget deficit for FY27. Ta-da!

Read Sen. Petersen's full statement on the REC's latest estimates here: bit.ly/MarchREC

Iowans with disabilities who rely on home- or community-based care are facing steep cuts that threaten their services and the state's Department of Health and Human Services isn't being transparent with families. Read more here: bit.ly/4ruTMIa

HF 2716, which passed the House this week and is now eligible in the Senate, would further restrict access to federal assistance for children in need.

Violent, disruptive behavior is a real, growing issue in our classrooms. SF 2428, which passed unanimously today, can help by establishing policies that protect both teachers and students.

"Iowans are paying the cost of pollution in their water bills. To say that policy language that would help with those things is not germane to the Department of Natural Resources bill is truly unbelievable." -- Sen. Janet Petersen