WHAT MATTERS?

A Decent Paycheck Matters.

Earning a decent paycheck means more than just money to Iowa families. It means financial stability and family stability. A good paycheck with decent benefits helps keep families together. It puts food on the table.

It produces opportunities for our children and for our future. Iowans working full-time hours deserve paychecks that can support their families.

Janet believes policymakers should focus on policies that can increase family incomes and help more Iowans get better-paying jobs.

Invest in our community colleges
Support apprenticeship and job-training programs that help Iowans get ahead
Invest in safe roads, water and other important community infrastructure
Make sure Iowa families have affordable and safe housing
Help Iowa companies succeed – especially employers providing decent-paying jobs in our small communities.

Safeguarding Taxpayer Dollars Matter.

Too many Iowa families are now paying the price for a state government that is failing to provide essential services and safety net programs for its citizens.

Republicans call the budget cuts “belt tightening” and “finding efficiencies.”

But, in reality, these budget cuts are painful and irresponsible. Not only are they hurting Iowans, they will end up costing Iowa taxpayers more.

Iowans didn’t vote to stop providing Iowa children with hearing aids. Iowans didn’t vote to take away the specialized food and formula program to help babies born with genetic disorders, but these programs were cut back to zero under the Republican budget. Millions of dollars were cut from autism services and mental health services for our children. And we know more painful cuts are being proposed by the Reynolds Administration as “COST CONTAINMENTS” – like cutting in-home and group care for Iowans with disabilities.

These cuts are bad for Iowa. Iowans don’t want our state to be like Kansas.

Clean Water Matters.

Iowans deserve safe drinking water and waterways where we can swim, fish and go boating. We don’t have 10,000 lakes, but we certainly could make Iowa the “Clean Water State” if we open our minds and open the doors to allow all Iowans to come to the table. Let’s start the conversation with a message that unifies us instead of tearing us apart. No matter where you live in Iowa, the water coming out of your faucet must be safe to drink. Safe drinking water is a public health issue. It’s an economic issue. It is an issue affecting all of us. And the solution should involve all of us too.

Education Matters.

Janet believes in investing in our children and grandchildren. They are Iowa’s future. It’s time to make Iowa’s public schools #1 again. That means responsibly investing in them. It means backing our teachers and all the professionals who show up for our children in Iowa classrooms every school day, teaching and preparing our kids for the future.

Let’s help young families send their kids to safe, quality childcare settings they can afford. With strong early childhood and preschool programs, we can get those kids off to a great start in school and in life.

Retirement Security Matters.

Iowa has a growing number of older Iowans, many of whom live alone.

Let’s make Iowa the state that’s known for taking great care of its older population – helping them stay connected to their communities and helping them live happy, healthy and safe lives in their homes for as long as possible.

That starts by protecting Iowans’ retirement accounts.

Janet believes every Iowan should be able to retire with dignity. She opposes any effort to dismantle or weaken the retirement security of Iowans.

She also believes we must do everything possible to protect seniors from financial exploitation, neglect and abuse.

Clean Energy & Connections Matter.

The best ideas for Iowa come from the people we represent. Let’s push for home-grown ideas that spur our local economy.

Let’s start by spreading the sunshine with more homegrown energy – solar, wind, and biofuels.
Local energy means more local jobs and money. Local energy means energy independence and doing our part to stop climate change.
Wind and solar energy support more than 7,000 Iowa jobs and nearly 300 Iowa businesses. Ethanol and biodiesel support thousands more jobs and generate wealth for Iowa farmers.
Let’s give all Iowans access to high-speed internet so they can connect to each other, to the world and have tools at their fingertips to create entrepreneurial ventures in towns across our state.
Let’s build more home-grown talent: We can create an Iowa where more of our children and grandchildren will choose to live, work and raise their families close to home.