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Friends, 

As sectors of Iowa’s economy begin to reopen within the bounds of social distancing and public health guidelines, we must continue to be vigilant in protecting Iowans from hidden and future outbreaks of coronavirus.

I’ve been working to ensure that Iowa has the testing it needs to continue safely on a path to defeating this virus – and calling out deficiencies that you and other constituents are seeing in your areas.

Here are a few things I’ve worked on this week: 

Urging Expansion of the Test Iowa Program

As our economy has begun to reopen, I know that Iowans will feel safer if they can access a test quickly and within their communities. We need to ensure that essential workers, nursing homes, and those who believe they have been exposed can get tests right away.

This week, I joined my House colleagues Rep. Abby Finkenauer and Rep. Dave Loebsack to ask Governor Kim Reynolds to provide information on the current capacity of the Test Iowa program and when expansions of testing sites will take place.

Iowans in places like Pottawattamie County, which has experienced more than a 418% increase in coronavirus cases over the past month, still don’t have a testing site near them – and they should not be forced to drive hours or cross state lines just to get the testing that’s been promised to them.

Cutting Red Tape for Iowa’s Firefighters

This week, we secured a big victory for Iowa’s firefighters. 

While applying for a Staffing for Adequate Fire Emergency and Response (SAFER) Grant, volunteers at the Shenandoah Fire Department had to complete their application three separate times, each with 10-business-day waiting periods, which resulted in more than a month of delays to submit their application. With these delays, the application period closed with Shenandoah still in the processing stage for the grant.

The Shenandoah Fire Department contacted my office with their story, and I sent a letter to FEMA to ask them to do something about the delays. 

I’m proud to say that FEMA heard the stories I shared, and they’re reopening the grant application window and cutting some of the application requirements to ensure our volunteer fire departments can acquire the grants they need to continue protecting our communities. 

Seeking Investigation and Answers on Perry Plant Complaint

This week, I heard a profoundly distressing report that the Iowa Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) failed to thoroughly investigate an employee complaint from the Tyson Foods processing plant in Perry.

That the end result of their investigation yielded no warnings of the massive outbreak that was reported at the Perry plant in early May, where more than 700 of its staff had contracted coronavirus (COVID-19), is concerning – and I’ve asked Iowa Division of Labor to open an investigation into this matter.

Iowans are relying on our public health and safety experts to root out and contain any outbreaks of COVID-19 in our state – and if complaints of improper COVID-19 protections are not taken seriously, investigated swiftly, and inspected thoroughly, then any attempt to reopen our economy poses an intolerable risk to the health and wellbeing of Iowa’s workers and their families.

Ensuring Public Companies Disclose How They’re Keeping Their Employees Safe

Read the letter that Senator Warner and I sent to the SEC here.

During these deeply uncertain times, companies and workers face a rapidly evolving set of economic, health, and workforce challenges unimaginable only a few months ago. 

Now, more than ever, investors and the public should have access to comprehensive, timely, and comparable information related to companies’ human capital management practices.

This week, I joined Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia in urging the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require that human capital management information is made publicly available in a timely and accurate manner to help provide the guidance necessary to ensure delivery of critical human capital management information to investors. 

Earlier this year, our bill to require public companies to disclose basic human capital metrics, including workforce health and safety, advanced out of the House Financial Services Committee.

If you or someone you know still needs help during this outbreak, please write to me!

Thank you, 

Cindy