(Radio Iowa) – Iowa Senator Joni Ernst says the recent deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit wasn’t perfect, but it was acceptable to enough Republicans and Democrats to avert a federal government default. “I actually think Republicans got a lot more out of this bill than the Democrats wanted to give and were willing to give on,” Ernst says, “but they, in the end, had to.”

President Biden said months ago he would not negotiate on raising the so-called debt ceiling, but the bill he signed last week includes spending reforms. Ernst and the rest of Iowa’s congressional delegation voted for it. “It does force Washington to spend less than we did the year before. We’re clawing back all of the unspent COVID funds, which is really important,” Ernst says. “…A big, huge win is that it does add necessary work requirements for people that are trying to get welfare.”

The deal removes work requirements for veterans and homeless adults who receive what are commonly called food stamps, but more older adults who do not have children will be required to work. Under current rules able-bodied adults between the ages of 18 and 49 who don’t have dependents must work or be training for a new job at least 20 hours a week to qualify for food stamps.

By 2025, that rule will apply to about 750-thousand more Americans between the ages of 50 and 54.  “It’s very important to weaning people off the dole, basically,” Ernst says. “Those that are able-bodied should be working, so we are pushing them into a work requirement.” According to the U-S-D-A, 41 million Americans received government food assistance at some point last year.

Some Democrats say low income older Americans who’ve been laid off and face age discrimination as they look for a new job will likely become ineligible for food stamps just when they need the help. Some Republicans say the work requirements don’t go far enough and they’ll press for action on the issue in the next Farm Bill.

(Radio Iowa) – A new state law will let rental car companies charge a security deposit for vehicle rentals in Iowa, starting in July. New York and Iowa have been the only two states to make it illegal for rental car companies to place a security deposit or temporary authorization on a credit card. It’s typically about 200 dollars, plus the cost of the rental. Representative Gary Mohr is from Bettendorf, where one rental car company has its regional office.

“Just Enterprise rental cars in Iowa, 50 cars a month are not returned on the date that they’re paid through,” Mohr says, “so they have to charge extra and go after those people for those additional days that they keep the car.” Mohr says on average, three or four rental cars get stolen in Iowa every month, plus 30 percent of ALL car rentals in Iowa have some sort of excess charges when they’re returned that were not initially authorized, like extra days or weeks, toll road charges or an empty gas tank.

“They have the same problems hotels do when you check in and you drink alcohol out of the bar in your room or you eat snacks from the bar,” Mohr said during House debate this spring.” The credit card deposit simply covers some of those costs.” The bill authorizing rental deposits for Iowa car rentals passed the House and Senate unanimously and was signed into law by Governor Reynolds last week.

Once a vehicle is returned to the rental car agency, it typically takes a couple of weeks to get a security deposit hold lifted from your credit card if there are no excess charges.

(Radio Iowa) – Recovery crews have ended their work looking in the rubble of the partially collapsed building in Davenport for survivors, and now the focus shifts to accountability for what happened. A Philadelphia-based structural collapse attorney Jeffery Goodman is representing former resident Dayna Feuerbach in the first lawsuit.

“By filing a civil lawsuit, we’re able to help get answers to what happened and why it happened. Able to determine who is accountable and hold them accountable. And hopefully by doing so to help inspire change,” Goodman says. Building owner Andrew Wold, the City of Davenport as well as prior owners have all been named in the lawsuit.

Goodman led the litigation team that resulted in the one-point-two billion dollar settlement to the families of the 98 people who died and the survivors of the Surfside, Florida Condo collapse in 2022. The city of Davenport says operations transitioned today (Tuesday) to the dismantling of the partially collapsed building. Crews have cleared the debris pile to the foundation floor and will continue removing debris from the site.

(Radio Iowa) – A new law requires the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services to come up with a formula to raise the Medicaid reimbursement rate for Iowa nursing homes that accept registered sex offenders.

The higher reimbursement would only be available to nursing homes that establish a separate unit for sex offenders. “This is a growing need in our state,” Representative Joel Fry, a Republican from Osceola, said during House debate of the plan. “I’ve been working on this for a number of years, so we will hopefully come back with a rate that we could house these offenders at.”

The Department of Health and Human Services is to present their proposed Medicaid reimbursement rate for sex offenders in nursing homes by January 1.

Six years ago lawmakers discussed whether the state should establish a facility to care for geriatric patients who are convicted sex offenders or are sexually aggressive. Hundreds of the nearly 6,600 people listed on the state’s sex offender registry need skilled nursing care. And some of those who’ve been committed to the state unit for sexually violent offenders are in declining health or have been diagnosed with dementia and need to be transferred to a nursing home.