Happy Easter Monday!
Public activity at the Capitol is slowing down as budget negotiations between the chambers continue.
The House version of the “education omnibus” bill, HF 2713, has passed the House Appropriations Committee by a vote of 17-6. The bill ensures that school districts cannot unfairly block community providers such as Catholic preschools from participating in the Statewide Voluntary Preschool Program. Another part of the proposal allows for a second fall ESA sign-up period for the second semester. The bill was amended to remove the unfunded revolving loan fund for nonpublic schools and we anticipate future amendments as well.
Thanks to the hundreds of you who have sent in a message in support of HF 2713 and SF 2425. You can find your legislator and sample messages on this and other important issues, such as human trafficking, at www.votervoice.net/icc/home. If you prefer you can leave a message at the Iowa House switchboard, (515) 281-3221, or the Iowa Senate, (515) 281-3371.
HF 2308, a bill that requires the state to participate in the new federal tax credit K-12 scholarship program, passed the House Ways and Means Committee by a 24-1 vote. It is anticipated that public and private school students as well as home school students could benefit through the new program if they meet the family income rules. Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell (D-Ames) said the program might be more effective in raising money than a bake sale.
Iowa House Democrats successfully invoked House Rule 60 to force six labor-related bills out of committee and onto the House Calendar, making them eligible for debate. They included such proposals as raising the the minimum wage and increasing unemployment benefits. All members present voted “aye” on the resolution. Later that day, the Speaker of the House referred the bills back to committee.
In other news, the chair of the Appropriations Committee, Rep. Gary Mohr (R-Bettendorf), said he doesn’t plan to move forward on the Health and Human Services budget until he gets more answers from the Health and Human Services Department.
Coming up this week
Monday’s debate calendar includes a couple of bills supported by the ICC:
- SF 473 protects prospective foster care and adoptive parents from being required to affirm any government policy regarding sexual orientation or gender identity that conflicts with the parent’s sincerely held religious or moral beliefs.
- SF 2231 has similar preschool provisions to the education omnibus bill. It also includes a “code clean up” following recent decisions by the U.S. Supreme Court to remove exclusions in state law based on religious content for aid for textbooks, tuition and early childhood development.
The ICC supports state funding to maintain the statewide water quality monitoring program headquartered at the University of Iowa. We expect you’ll hear more about this soon. Water is an essential element for life, and the Church considers the right to safe drinking water a “universal and inalienable” right.
Don’t forget
We encourage you to participate in the annual Iowa Religious Freedom Day breakfast next week at the Capitol. It’s on Tuesday, April 14 from 7:30 – 9 a.m. The Iowa Catholic Conference is one of the co-sponsors of the breakfast along with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and DMARC.
USCCB committee chair supports bill to end FDA approval of chemical abortion pills
The abortion pill represents an isolating and harmful response to women in need,” said Bishop Daniel E. Thomas, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Pro-Life Activities. Bishop Thomas wrote a letter to Congress in support of the “Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act.” The bill (S.4066/H.R.7902) would withdraw the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of mifepristone for abortions.
The ICC has not given up on finding a way forward at the state legislature for HF 2563, which would regulate the provision of abortion pills in Iowa.
U.S. bishops in favor of birthright citizenship
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments last week on a court case challenging President Trump’s executive order which would deny citizenship to children whose mother is “unlawfully present” or has “temporary” status, and whose father is not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. The Constitution’s 14th Amendment specifies that “all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
The U.S. bishops have long been in favor of birthright citizenship. In their 2003 pastoral letter, Strangers No Longer: Together on the Journey of Hope, the Catholic bishops of the United States and Mexico wrote, “family unity also is weakened when the children of immigrants are left unprotected. In the United States, birthright citizenship should be maintained as an important principle in U.S. immigration law. . . . Otherwise, their access to health, education, and other basic services may be denied later in life.” A decision on the case is expected before the end of the court’s term in June.
And finally,
Christ is Risen, Alleluia!
