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Greetings!
Thank you to everyone who braved the frigid temperatures and attended the ECI Day on the Hill and Congress on February 9th and 10th. I have heard lots of positive feedback from legislators about their constituent visits and about the story boards. I think the entire event was a huge success - we couldn't have done it without you!!
There is a lot going on in the preschool policy world:
HSB 71 was introduced by the Education Committee on February 3rd. This bill repeals the Four Year Old Preschool Program. Since we don't know the fate of HF 45, the House Republicans wanted to make sure they had all their bases covered in repealing Preschool. The bill assignment states Lofgren is chair but Forristall stated at the ECI Congress that he is in charge of the bill. I will need to clarify who is the subcommittee chair next week - stay tuned! Other members of the subcommittee include Koester, Willems and Mascher
I have heard that the Governor is going to release details of his plan for preschool early next week. The Governor gave an address to the ECI Congress last Thursday and did reveal some of his goals for preschool. He stated that it would be a vouchers program and would run through the Dept of Education. The House Bill (HSB 71) states that the needs addressed by the preschool program will be filled by expansion of the preschool tuition assistance program provided to low income families (ECI). I am anxious to see how the House Republicans and the Governor come together on their proposals since one says vouchers will be run through the Dept of Ed and the other mentions ECI. Meanwhile, a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee met on Thursday and took up HF 45. The Senate Democrats offered a lengthy amendment that included language which strikes the repeal language of the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. The bill will be taken up in the full Appropriations committee on Monday at 2:00. Senate Democrats are standing firm and have stated over and over again that they want to save the Four Year Old Preschool Program. Even so, the Senate doesn't have the votes to override a line-item veto by Governor Brandstad if they were to pass an education budget that includes universal preschool.
Needless to say, things are getting quite interesting.
I look forward to Monday and another fun filled week at the Capitol!
Stay in touch ~
Sheila
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Children's Health Care Coverage Testimony
|  On February 8th, CFPC Senior Health Policy Associate, Carrie Fitzgerald, testified to a three-member Senate subcommittee against a proposed measure that would lower the income eligibility for subsidized health care for children from 300 percent of the federal poverty level to 150 percent. Moments after Carrie's and other child health advocates' testimonies, the Senate panel unanimously rejected the measure.
In her testimony, Carrie told lawmakers that lowering the income standards would mean 21,614 children now covered would lose their insurance benefits. She also presented information from a report from the Iowa Policy Project, which showed a drop of employer-sponsored insurance for kids 0 -18 from 77.5% to 65% during the years1999 - 2009.
"It isn't that parents aren't working, or they aren't trying. It's that the coverage is going away," by either the companies dropping insurance, or the insurance being too cost-prohibitive for the parents to keep it, Fitzgerald said. "What we do know about parents is that they work very hard to get their kids covered. Parents will forego their own insurance to get their kids covered."
After hearing about the quick end to the proposal, Carrie was thankful to all the child advocates and legislators who helped to make it happen.
The other advocates that spoke and provided moving testimony were: Kim Carson from the Iowa Hawk-I board, Dr. Bery Engebretsen, Anita Smith from Department of Human Services and the Administrator of Hawk-I, and Mary O'Brien from Visiting Nurse Services of Iowa.
To see her testimony, click here (Carrie is the second speaker)
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Bills of Interest
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HF 45 - An Act relating to public funding and regulatory matters and making, reducing, and transferring appropriations and revising fund amounts and including effective, retroactive, and other applicability date provisions. Passed House on January 19, 60 - 40. Messaged to Senate. Senate Subcommittee passed with big amendment on 2/10. In full Approps committee on 2/14.
HJR 5 - A joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the State of Iowa preserving the freedom of Iowans to provide for their own health care. Subcommittee, Horbach, Fry, and Oldson.
HF 4 - An Act providing for a reduction in the individual income tax rates and including effective date and applicability provision. Subcommittee, Helland, Byrnes, and Jacoby
HF 2 -An Act establishing the right to choose whether to purchase health care. SF 117 - Health Care Cost Containment. Subcommittees Feb. 17 and 24 at 7:45 a.m. in room 22. SSB 1060 - e-Health Information Exchange n Human Services Committee. Subcommittee on Feb. 17 at 11:30 a.m. in room 22. SSB 1077 - Reorganizing the state mental health system in Human Services Committee. Subcommittees on Feb. 17 at 12 noon in room 22 and on Feb. 23 at 7:45 a.m. in room 22. SSB 1063 - Iowa Health Insurance Exchange in State Government Committee. Subcommittee on Feb. 22 at 7:45 a.m. in room 22. HF 174 - An Act revising requirements for family support programs provided under the school ready children grant program and including effective and applicability date provisions. Subcommittee, Koester, Pearson, and Winckler. Subcommittee meeting on 2/17 at 8:45. SF 56 - An Act relating to donation of newborn umbilical cord blood. Subcommittee, Bolkcom, Boettger, and Jochum. HF 165 - companion bill. HF 221 - An Act providing for implementation of a voluntary licensure system for certain home-based child care providers. Subcommittee, Heaton, Mascher, and Pearson. SF 31 - An Act increasing the amount of the earned income tax credit and including retroactive applicability provisions. Passed out of subcommittee on 2/10. HSB 71 - An Act repealing the statewide voluntary preschool program for four-year-old children and including effective date provisions. Subcommittee - The bill states Lofgren is chair but Forristall says he is taking care of it. I will try to get you the right name next week. Other members - (Forristall), Koester, Willems and Mascher.
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Don't forget to "like" us on Facebook!
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Quote of the Week:
"You must work, we must all work, to make the world worthy of its children." Pablo Casals
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Federal Update
House Republicans proposed ending more than 60 government programs and cutting hundreds of others Wednesday in a $35 billion down payment on their promise to rein in federal deficits.
Funding for AmeriCorps, family planning funding and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be wiped out under the proposal.
- $758 million cut to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program. First signed into law by President Nixon, WIC provides supplemental food to infants, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant and postpartum women.
- $210 million cut to Maternal and Child Health Block Grants. With origins in the President Harding era, MCH supports children with special needs, newborn screening and genetic services, lead poisoning and injury prevention, and health and safety promotion.
- $405 million cut in Community Services Block Grant. Basically zeroes out the program.
- $27 million cut to poison control centers, $17.5 million of which is devoted to children. The 57 poison control centers provide 24-hour medical assistance.
- $400 million cut to the Low Income Heating Energy Assistance Program Contingency Fund, $150 million of which is devoted to children. LIHEAP assists low income households in heating and cooling homes.
The legislation is expected to reach the House floor next week. While the political focus is on the cuts demanded by Republicans, the bill is also needed to allow the government to continue normal operations when its funding authority expires on March 4.
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