Reynolds steals credit from Biden… Again – Daily High Five

Early voting began yesterday, and many Iowans will be voting in new congressional and state legislative districts. Check out this article from The Des Moines Register to find out if you're in a new district. You can also head to the Iowa Secretary of State website to find your polling location. Of course, you can also cast your vote on Election Day, which is June 7th.

Before you do that, check out today's top story:

1. REYNOLDS KEEPS TAKING BIDEN'S CREDIT: If you look up hypocrite in the dictionary there should be a picture of Kim Reynolds. The Governor broke Iowa's child care. And now she's relying on President Biden to fix it, with funding she opposed. Make no mistake: this $25 million dollar grant program is made possible by the American Rescue Plan, a bill Reynolds spent months campaigning against. We're only seeing this investment because Rep. Cindy Axne voted in favor, and President Joe Biden signed ARPA into law. Unfortunately, this grant program won't be nearly enough to fix Iowa's worst-in-the-nation childcare crisis. We need leaders who will undo Reynolds' mess by lowering childcare costs for families and paying childcare workers what they deserve.

Click to tweet: Thank you to @POTUS and @RepCindyAxne for providing Iowans access to affordable childcare w/ the grant program @IAGovernor is trying to steal credit for! Reminder, @IAGovernor OPPOSED the American Rescue Plan. #CorporateKim

After you share that message, let's take a look at some of the top stories this week:

2. IOWA SENATE *FINALLY* PASSES BUDGET BILLS: After weeks of meeting behind closed doors, the Iowa Senate Republicans finally voted to advance legislation passed by Iowa House Republicans over a month ago. However, this budget proposed by Republican lawmakers doesn't provide enough to public schools, healthcare, and the hard-working people of Iowa. We need elected officials who will prioritize Iowa children and families. Instead, Corporate Kim Reynolds pushed through major tax reforms that will benefit the ultra-wealthy and large corporations in the state, while ignoring the needs of working families.

3. REPUBLICAN CENSORSHIP HAS WIDESPREAD CHILLING EFFECT: And some of the harmful legislation that was proposed and passed earlier this session is having an immediate effect on our children's education. The Spark Foundation, a children's literacy nonprofit focused on delivering high quality, diverse books to elementary students in the Des Moines area, has been struggling to hand out their latest book as public schools try to navigate the uncertainty that this legislative session caused. We need lawmakers who will focus on providing the highest quality-education to every child in Iowa, and not censor our educators and lower Iowa's standard of education.

4. FARM WORKERS NEED MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT: May is Mental Health Awareness month, and Dan Bauer of the Wisconsin Farm Center is reminding us that mental health issues affect all areas of industry, including agriculture. Thanks to Reynolds' failed leadership and corporate price-gouging, over 90% of farmers say that they have anxiety or other mental health issues related to financial concerns on their farms. Iowa must do better at providing affordable, quality mental healthcare for all.

5. BIDEN PROVIDES FREE MEALS TO STUDENTS: And to end today's High Five on a happier note, Des Moines Public Schools announced that thanks to increased funding from Biden's Department of Agriculture, the school district will be providing free lunches to every student in all of their buildings. Once again, President Biden has delivered for Iowans.

Our team is here to keep you up-to-date on all the important political news in the state. That's why Progress Iowa is hosting a couple of different events this week to help you stay informed!

Tonight, May 19th, our team is hosting a training on inclusive activism at 7 p.m. You can register for that event here: Making Activism Inclusive.Want to hear more from our team? You can go to our online news blog, Potluck, to hear from Iowans and leaders around the state. Want to help progressive messaging and policy in the state of Iowa? Sign up at ProgressIowa.org to volunteer, donate, and hear more from our team!

Thanks for reading, and we'll get back with you tomorrow for another Hive Five!

- The Progress Iowa Team

Public link

Please use the above public link if you want to share this noodl on another website.