A wonderful fourth week of session

With the Iowa Caucuses complete, our coffee shops are a little quieter and our conversations are back to basketball and wrestling. I am so thankful for all of the volunteers who helped the candidates, and for the candidates who spent so much time getting to know Iowa. Both parties had a great turn out and many first time attendees. Iowas take our jobs seriously in this presidential selection process, and I will fight to keep Iowa first in the nation to caucus.

At the State Capitol session is flying by, and we just finished the fourth week of session. This week House Republicans advanced legislation out of committee to increase child care provider rates and to address the “cliff effect” in the child care assistance program. These are just a couple of the priority topics that House Republicans have brought to the table to address access and affordability of child care.

House File 2067 unanimously passed the Human Resources Committee to increase child care provider rates in the Child Care Assistance Program, and also increases rates to child care providers under the quality rating system bonuses to reflect the increased rates as appropriate.

House File 2203 was introduced this week to address the “cliff effect” in the child care assistance program. The cliff effect occurs when a family begins to earn above the limits set by the state and becomes ineligible for subsidies on food, housing, child care, and other benefits. Parents receiving Child Care Assistance are actually discouraged to increase take home pay and encouraged to remain on assistance programs. House Republicans are committed to help Iowans stuck in welfare dependency by creating a transition to self-sufficiency, instead of a cliff.

Last session, House Republicans passed House File 771 to help working Iowa families afford child care by increasing the threshold to qualify for the tax deduction. The bill remains alive and is currently in the Senate awaiting action.

Finally we have House File 2041 that encourages more small (or large) businesses to consider on-sight child care where access is limited.

I would once again like to thank all of my constituents back home who have allowed me the privilege and honor to serve as their voice in the Iowa House.

As always, please keep in touch. As legislation moves forward, feel free to send me comments, questions or feedback that you may have regarding issues before us in the House. I can be reached at linda.upmeyer@legis.iowa.gov or 515-281-3521