The 2021 legislative session is now in overtime. Although the scheduled end date was April 30, most of the state budget still must be finalized and discussions about taxes are ongoing. There are also many outstanding policy issues.
It’s time to finish our work on behalf Iowans. My focus all session has been on a COVID Recovery Plan to get our state back on track following the upheaval of the pandemic. Thankfully, we are making real progress in the fight against the coronavirus– but we still have a long way to go.
That’s why I was baffled to learn Governor Reynolds had sent $95 million in coronavirus relief back to the federal government instead of giving schools the option to use it for COVID-19 testing that would keep students and educators safer.
Whether it’s small businesses, front-line health care workers, or our public schools, Iowa still needs all the help we can get to put the pandemic behind us and get our economy going again.
Democrats on the House and Senate Oversight committees have requested meetings to review the Reynolds Administration’s handling of Federal COVID relief funds, which should be used to the benefit of Iowans.
This need for additional oversight is why we proposed a Blue-Ribbon COVID Commission to investigate and better understand the successes and failures of our state’s response to this pandemic. Thankfully, the end is in sight, but we need this oversight to ensure we learn the painful lessons of this pandemic and are better prepared when– not if– the next pandemic strikes.
Iowans deserve to know where their tax dollars are going and how their state government is performing. As legislators, we should responsibly monitor funding that comes our way to ensure it’s used as intended. It’s the only way we can build back better, bigger and stronger than ever.
Contact information
State Senator Zach Wahls represents Iowa Senate District 37, which includes Cedar County, portions of Johnson County, and Wilton in Muscatine County. Contact him at 515-281-3901 or [email protected].