D.C. Dispatch: Iowa politicians respond to the Uvalde shooting – Iowa Capital Dispatch

Iowa’s congressional delegation responded to the elementary faculty capturing in Uvalde, Texas with sorrow and proposed legislative responses. 

Additionally this week, members of Iowa’s congressional delegation raised issues about Trinity Well being’s upcoming acquisition of the MercyOne well being care system and requested when veterans will have the ability to entry lifetime park passes. 

College capturing responses

Sen. Chuck Grassley referred to as the capturing “sickening and heartbreaking” and stated he would proceed pushing for the passage of the EAGLES Act. Grassley reintroduced the act in February 2021. He stated it could broaden analysis on faculty violence and permit “the Secret Service to straight equip communities and colleges with coaching and finest practices on recognizing and stopping faculty violence.”

“My EAGLES Act is a essential step that we will take now to handle faculty shootings,” Grassley stated throughout a convention name with Iowa reporters. “We’ve received to maintain our colleges protected, we will’t waste one other day and there simply appears to be a handful of senators, or possibly even lower than a handful of senators, which have held up this invoice when I’ve requested to get it handed on unanimous consent.”

The EAGLES Act was named after the mascot of Marjory Stoneman Douglas Excessive College of Parkland, Florida, the place 17 individuals had been killed and 17 had been injured by a 19-year-old gunman in February 2018.

Launched in 2021 by a Florida consultant, the EAGLE act offers expanded authority to the U.S. Secret Service’s Nationwide Risk Evaluation Middle. The EAGLE Act additionally has approval from 40 state lawyer generals. 

The middle makes use of conducts analysis and provides steerage to the Secret Companies on faculty violence and nationwide threats. Underneath the proposal, Grassley stated the middle might successfully establish and handle the threats earlier than they happen. 

Sen. Joni Ernst:

Rep. Cindy Axne acknowledged her help for payments handed by the Home of Representatives that will broaden background checks for licensed gun gross sales. 

“We’ve gone one other day the place kids on this nation are being murdered as a result of we’re permitting assault-style rifles to legally be put into the fallacious palms with out applicable background checks,” Axne stated partially in a assertion.

Rep. Ashley Hinson:

“We have to give attention to laws that can truly hold weapons out of the fallacious palms with out infringing on the rights of our law-abiding residents, with out violating due course of, or with out violating our 2nd modification proper to self-defense,” Hinson stated, in keeping with KCCI. 

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks:

Rep. Randy Feenstra:

Axne raises issues about Trinity Well being merger

In a letter despatched Thursday, Axne posed inquiries to the CEOs of Trinity Well being and MercyOne about an upcoming merger. Trinity Well being has stated that it’s set to amass the amenities and belongings of the MercyOne well being care system, which is headquartered in central Iowa. The corporate expects to finish the transaction in summer season 2022.

Axne famous that Trinity CEO Mike Slubowski instructed the Des Moines Register that “the integration is predicted to create long-term monetary ‘efficiencies’ for each well being methods, although sufferers shouldn’t count on decrease prices on account of the merger.” 

“I encourage Trinity Well being to make use of any value financial savings it ought to understand as the only mother or father of MercyOne to enhance affected person care, decrease affected person prices, and make well being care extra accessible for underserved Iowans,” Axne wrote.

Axne additionally questioned how Trinity Well being intends to guard non-public medical data, stop billing errors, and guarantee compliance with client protections because it shifts to utilizing a single digital well being report. She requested how Trinity will stop hurt brought on by potential facility closures.

Humanitarian organizations help Ernst’s food-export decision

Humanitarian organizations say {that a} decision sponsored by Ernst and Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., would assist these affected by excessive starvation around the globe.

The decision would quickly waive present legislation that requires 50% of U.S. meals help exports to be shipped on U.S. flagged vessels. The same decision has been launched within the Home, which might declare a state of emergency due the Russian invasion of Ukraine and permit Congress to bypass the rule till February 2025. 

Ernst stated Thursday the decision has obtained help in a joint assertion from over a dozen humanitarian organizations, similar to Motion In opposition to Starvation.

“In these unprecedented circumstances, we request that Congress urgently contemplate and go S.Con.Res.38 to assist ease the rising burden of rising delivery prices on lifesaving, hunger-reducing packages by quickly waiving the U.S. cargo choice mandate on meals help,” the organizations stated partially. 

Miller-Meeks asks for veteran lifetime park passes 

As Memorial Day approaches, Miller-Meeks and 5 different members of Congress are asking the Biden administration to implement the Veterans in Parks Act. The act, which turned legislation on Dec. 27, permits veterans and qualifying members of Gold Star households to obtain lifetime passes for nationwide parks and federal recreation areas. 

“It’s crucial that the U.S. Division of the Inside and U.S. Division of Agriculture work collectively to right away be certain that the brand new America the Lovely lifetime passes are made out there by Memorial Day so our nation’s heroes can entry the lands that they fought and sacrificed to guard,” the letter reads. 

The Nationwide Park Service web site says that lately, veterans and Gold Star households might obtain free annual passes, and nonetheless can. The brand new free lifetime passses will turn into out there “later in 2022.” 

Grassley-sponsored invoice to lower secret international lobbying passes committee

Grassley launched a invoice final week that “closes a loophole that the Chinese language Communist Occasion ceaselessly exploits to hide its function in lobbying efforts,” the senator stated in statements. Grassley stated the invoice unanimously handed by way of the Senate Homeland Safety and Governmental Affairs Committee.

“We’ve realized that the Chinese language Communist Occasion has used different organizations as proxies to secretly push their agenda in the US,” Grassley stated. “This invoice builds on current lobbying and international agent legal guidelines to shine a lightweight on that habits so we all know precisely the place affect campaigns are coming from to make sure coverage choices are in the most effective curiosity of the American individuals.”

— Kate Kealey contributed to this report.