Working + Economy
State contests ruling on workers’ right to be heard on safety issues
The state of Iowa is challenging a ruling that it violated prison workers’ right to be heard on issues of personal safety and assaults on the staff committed by inmates. In a petition filed last week in Polk County District Court, Attorney General Brenna Bird, representing the state, is arguing that state agencies are under […]
States see record low unemployment across the US
Across much of the country, the jobs market is as strong as it’s ever been, and Black women, young people and people with disabilities are among the workers benefiting, recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. Twenty states reported an unemployment rate under 3% in April, while 15 states saw record lows, led by […]
GOP’s desired work requirements for federal aid would kick roughly 21M from anti-poverty programs
Congressional Republicans’ efforts to slash federal spending by tying work requirements to Medicaid and SNAP would have far-reaching consequences for people with mental health issues, chronic health problems, and some people with disabilities if enacted, policy experts on anti-poverty programs say. They say the work requirements as laid out by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s “Limit, […]
Reynolds signs law loosening Iowa’s child labor restrictions
Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law a measure allowing workers under age 18 to work longer hours, in some restricted fields and in jobs serving alcohol. The governor signed Senate File 542 Friday afternoon. Reynolds said Iowa is joining 20 other states in providing “tailored, common sense labor provisions” that let minors develop skills in […]
Treasury secretary pinpoints June 5 as earliest date for U.S. debt default
WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress and the Biden administration have until at least June 5 to broker and enact a debt limit bill under new estimates from the Treasury Department, giving negotiators a few more days before the country would default. “Based on the most recent available data, we now estimate that Treasury will have […]
Economist: Iowans to see personal impact if U.S. defaults on debt
With a potential federal debt default less than a week away, Iowans will feel the pain if the U.S. reaches the point of failing to pay its bills, University of Iowa Economics Professor Anne Villamil said. Congress has left Washington, D.C., for a weeklong holiday break with no deal on addressing the debt limit. Treasury […]
With debt default as soon as a week away, U.S. House jets off for holiday break
WASHINGTON — U.S. House members walked down the steps of the Capitol building Thursday to head back to their districts for a Memorial Day recess that began exactly one week before the country could default on the debt. House Democrats took to the floor after the final vote of the week to give a series […]
After years of bipartisan spending boosts, U.S. House GOP won’t lift debt ceiling without cuts
WASHINGTON — Republicans and Democrats in Congress together brokered dozens of debt limit agreements, including several during the past decade, marked by a desire in both political parties to increase federal spending. But U.S. House Republicans now are pushing for the federal government to spend less next year than it will this year in order […]
U.S. officials say Iowa child labor bill does not comply with federal law
The child labor legislation awaiting Gov. Kim Reynolds’ signature does not comply with federal law, according to a letter from U.S. Department of Labor employees. Seven Democratic state senators sent a letter to the federal department in March, requesting a review of the provisions in Senate File 542 to determine whether they meet federal labor […]
Some movement reported in debt limit talks as Biden cuts short overseas trip
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden and congressional leaders struggled to find common ground on the debt ceiling during a Tuesday meeting, though lawmakers said afterward there was some progress toward a deal. Biden and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will become the two primary negotiators on a bipartisan debt limit bill that could include other […]
Fast federal response to pandemic key to US economic recovery, economists say
The public health emergency declaration ended this week, and with it some of the policies that helped the U.S. recover from the many of the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Although COVID-19 is still a public health threat, the national economic crisis it created has subsided, with the U.S. economy back to its pre-pandemic […]
Reynolds’ response to lawsuit: Feds don’t ‘get to run the state of Iowa’
Responding to a lawsuit over her decision to deny federally funded unemployment benefits to tens of thousands of Iowans, Gov. Kim Reynolds issued a statement Friday saying “the federal government doesn’t get to run the state of Iowa.” Reynolds comments follow the filing of a potential class-action lawsuit over her 2021 decision to terminate pandemic-related […]