The Rozenboom Report – March 12th, 2021
by Ken Rozenboom
Before I review the week’s activity in the Senate I want to mention the great news we received this week as we learned that Iowa is ranked number one in the country for opportunity according to US News & World Report. This rating specifically measures affordability, economic opportunity and equality. Expanding opportunities for all Iowans has been a priority for many of us in the Iowa Senate, whether it is career opportunities, excellent education or reasonable tax rates.
This week much of our time in the Senate chamber was focused on floor debate. We continued our work on opening up job opportunities for Iowans with Senate File 424, which brings apprenticeships to all occupational licenses regulated by the state that currently don’t offer apprenticeships. Apprenticeships prioritize on-the-job training, and allow workers to earn a paycheck while seeking licensure. Expanding apprenticeships will increase employer investments in the state and create more work opportunities. This will also address the state’s need for skilled workforce in the trade and vocational industries, and is another step in easing unnecessary licensing requirements in Iowa.
Every Iowa family has experienced hardship and heartbreak throughout this pandemic, and it has been made even more difficult by not being able to see loved ones in care facilities. Family members have gone months and months without seeing parents, grandparents or friends, gathering for special occasions, or celebrating the holidays. These rules and regulations protected many from the spread of COVID-19, but also had sometimes devastating effects on the emotional wellbeing of long-term care residents. Unfortunately, we were unable to make the changes we wanted because many of the long-term facilities in Iowa receive payment under Medicaid or Medicare and must have certification from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). That certification requires they follow all the rules, regulations and guidance given by the CDC. If nursing homes decided to allow any type of visitations, they risked losing their certification.
The only way visitation rules can be changed in Iowa is if Congress approves legislation to give states more flexibility with visitation guidance. This week the Iowa Senate unanimously passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 5, urging Congress to give states more flexibility in visitation parameters in Iowa’s long-term care facilities. I was proud to support this resolution and see it receive unanimous support in the Iowa Senate, but this is a bitter reminder of how the federal government exerts undue control over our lives. I hope we all learn from this experience.
Only one day after our resolution passed, CMS did update guidance on nursing home visitation, and I’m thankful for that. While we are waiting to receive more updates, we are hopeful this new guidance will include lifting a number of the restrictions on nursing homes, and we’ll soon be able to see parents and grandparents in these facilities again.
The first function of government is to protect the people it governs, and their property. Protection for all Iowans is the reason we advanced a number of “Back the Blue” bills this week. In last week’s newsletter I explained SF476, SF479 and SF497 (now SF534), and after debate this week, all three of those bills passed out of the full Senate. These bills protect Iowans that exercise their First Amendment right to protest, protect our Iowa law enforcement officers doing their jobs, and protect our communities from property destruction.
As always, there are many other matters we dealt with throughout the week that can’t be covered in a short newsletter. So I’ll finish this week’s newsletter up with a reminder that the Iowa Legislature’s website, https://www.legis.iowa.gov/, is a wonderful tool that enables Iowans to closely track the legislative process. Bills and amendments can be reviewed, all Senate and House action can be watched live, and all video is archived to be viewed at will. Email is still the most effective way to contact your legislators and my address is ken.rozenboom@legis.iowa.gov.
