(Radio Iowa) Democrats in the Iowa House are calling for an increase in the minimum wage, an expansion of the annual state sales tax holiday and a state subsidy for some child care workers. “We, as Iowa House Democrats, are proud to remind Iowans we are focused on the things they care about,” House Democratic Leader Jennifer Konfrst said. “…Iowans are telling us what they need and we’re responding.”

House Democrats propose raising the minimum wage to $10.80 in July — to equal the minimum wage in Minnesota — with another increase in 2025 and then setting it at $15 dollars in mid-2026. Iowa’s minimum wage has been $7.25 an hour since 2008. “No other adjoining state in this northern plains region pays less to its minimum wage workers,” said Representative Ken Croken, a Democrat from Davenport. “It’s wrong. It’s indecent.”

Representative Tracy Ehlert, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, said it’s time to take a pilot project statewide and provide state assistance to child care workers, to help pay for child care for their own kids. “This not only offers an incentive for the child care workforce who’s often underpaid,” Ehlert said, “but it also helps address access issues across the state and will help families looking for child care.”

Representative Sue Cahill, a Democrat from Marshalltown, said Iowa’s two-day sales tax holiday should go for two weeks and cover items worth up to $250 rather than just $100. She’d also include far more than just apparel, exempting school and art supplies, musical instruments, computer supplies and sports gear from the state sales tax in the first two weeks of August. “I’m submitting this bill to provide relief or more money in the pockets of more Iowans,” Cahill said.

House Democrats also propose speeding up the process for thousands of Iowans with disabilities who are waiting to hear if they qualify for Medicaid coverage. Representative Josh Turek, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, said 21,000 Iowans with disabilities are currently on a waiting list. “This is abhorrent, honestly, and morally reprehensible that individuals would have to wait for six years for basic health care,” Turek said.

Turek told reporters that as “the sole disabled legislator,” this issue is “near and dear to him.” Turek was born with a condition called spina bifada and has used a wheelchair since childhood.