Good Sunday Morning to you and welcome to Sunday Morning Coffee my weekly bit of news you love or love to hate. Before I share some remarkable news about President Biden and his accomplishments during his first term I've got a question, "Why does Iowa hate folks with disabilities?".
Early this morning I read a shocking story in the Des Moines Register authored by Rep. Josh Turek (D-Council Bluffs) about the abysmal record the Governor and the Iowa Legislature have when it comes to caring for the 15% of Iowans who are disabled. (If you want to do that math that means roughly 465,000 Iowans are disabled.) Josh should know a thing or two about being disabled as he is wheelchair bound and has been for years. He is also the only permanently disabled person in the Iowa Legislature. Some highlights:
- The Home and Community Based Services Medicaid waitlist grows by 1,000 people each year and is one of the longest in the country;
- Folks with intellectual disabilities are on a six-year waitlist plus an additional 14 months to qualify. These are people who need services such as personal care, food preparation and home modification. Who, while they wait, must go without or pay out of pocket;
- Median earnings for Iowa's disabled workers rank 47th out of 50 states largely due to the state's harsh Medicaid restrictions;
- Medicaid is severely limited in earnings to poverty and limited to $12,000 in total assets or $13,000 if married;
- "Iowa keeps our disabled in poverty and unemployed.";
- Defunding the AEA will keep services from children with disabilities and special education needs;
- "Last year Republicans passed a bill to make it more difficult to receive SNAP food benefits. 46.7% of those on SNAP in Iowa have a disabled member in the household";
- The denial rate for wheelchairs and medical services has increased by 850% since the privatization of health care in Iowa.
He ends with, "Clearly the condition of the state for the disabled in Iowa is terrible. And until the focus in Iowa becomes on helping people instead of politics or profits, it will not improve!"
Chew on that with your toast and eggs this morning....
Meanwhile, President Biden has been working in support of the American People with policies and programs that actually make the lives of our people...better. Consider:
He stopped a 30-year streak of federal inaction on gun violence by signing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that created enhanced background checks, closed the “boyfriend” loophole, and provided funds for youth mental health.
Joe made a $369 billion investment in climate change, the largest in American history, through the inflation Reduction Act of 2022.
And, yes, President Biden ended the longest war in American history by pulling the troops out of Afghanistan.
So, the next time somebody says, "Gosh, I'm not sure what this president has done for America.." Remind them that he truly is the best president in our recent memory when it comes to getting stuff...done!
Enjoy your Sunday and keep the pressure on...
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