D.C. Dispatch: Iowa’s senators introduce bipartisan bills on foster care, meat packing – Iowa Capital Dispatch

 Iowa’s U.S. senators launched bipartisan payments this week earlier than the August recess addressing foster care and meat packing. In the meantime, Iowa’s representatives addressed tenant protections for manufacturing housing, cybersecurity and extra funding for business trucker licensing applications. 

Grassley proposed updates to the foster care system

Sen. Chuck Grassley launched bipartisan laws to handle the scarcity of foster placement in America. 

The Knowledge-Pushed Foster Father or mother Recruitment and Retention Act creates new state necessities when recruiting, screening and aiding foster households. All foster dad and mom and kinship dad and mom can have consultations with state officers. States should develop data-driven plans to gauge progress and decide wanted help for foster and adoptive households. 

States would gather and report info akin to demographics, traits and capacities of foster households. It will permit households to offer suggestions on the coaching and licensing applications from the state, in addition to reasoning as to why placement is now not obtainable in a selected foster care setting.

The Division of Well being and Human Providers should produce a yearly report on the information collected by the state. 

“The kid welfare system depends on educated, certified foster dad and mom stepping as much as care for youngsters in want,” Grassley mentioned in a press launch. “However too typically, the system fails to help these households. Our bipartisan laws works to make sure foster dad and mom are supported and listened to. Moreover, it requires states to make use of information to make recruitment efforts extra focused and efficient. By making these mandatory enhancements, we may also help extra foster youth expertise steady, loving placements and ultimately have permanency.”

Ernst proposes amendments to meat packing rules

Sen. Joni Ernst launched laws alongside New Mexico Democrat Sen. Ben Ray Luján to cut back regulation and encourage funding in small meat packing operations. Livestock public sale markets can’t function or finance packing vegetation or meat advertising companies underneath present legislation. The Increasing Native Meat Processing Act would remove these rules, which Ernst mentioned are pointless boundaries for the livestock trade.

The bipartisan act garnered help from the Iowa and U.S. Cattlemen’s Affiliation, Livestock Advertising and marketing Affiliation and the Nationwide Cattlemen’s Beef Affiliation.

“Permitting livestock public sale house owners to spend money on native and regional meat packers will expedite the protected processing of meat, enhance competitors inside the trade, and, finally, decrease meat prices for customers,” Ernst mentioned in a press launch.

Iowa sees funding for truck-driving applications

Hawkeye Neighborhood Faculty will obtain $132,400 to increase applications for business driver’s licenses, Rep. Ashley Hinson introduced Wednesday. 

The Business Motor Car Operator Security Coaching Grant was included within the 2022 appropriations bundle. Hinson is part of the subcommittee to find out funds for the Division of Transportation.

“As our nation faces a damaged provide chain and a truck driver scarcity, it’s important we prioritize licensing and encourage extra truck drivers to get on the street,” Hinson mentioned, in accordance with a press launch. “This program will assist construct our trucking workforce to get merchandise on the shop cabinets quicker and cut back prices for households. I’ll proceed combating to convey federal sources again to Iowa.”

Axne asks for better protections for manufacturing housing residents

Rep. Cindy Axne joined in on a letter to the Federal Housing Finance Company requesting heightened tenant protections for folks dwelling in manufactured housing.

Within the letter, 17 members of Congress requested long-term leases for manufactured housing communities (MHC) to forestall frequent hire will increase. It additionally demanded residents have the choice to buy the property whereas offering public disclosure of tenant websites coated by leasing protections.

Overseen by Federal Housing Finance Company, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had been chartered by the federal authorities to ascertain reasonably priced mortgage funds to create manufacturing housing communities. 

Outdoors buyers throughout the county are shopping for manufacturing housing communities utilizing this government-sponsored enterprise financing and “continuing to considerably enhance rents, add charges, or push residents out to interchange present items with new higher-cost properties,” members of Congress wrote within the letter. “We ask that you just higher help MHC residents and make sure the Enterprises will not be merely financing funding corporations’ efforts to purchase properties and extract most revenue from those that have much less.”

Miller-Meeks talks cybersecurity practices

Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks hosted a roundtable with members of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Safety Company to debate safety measures towards overseas malware.

Administrators from the company really helpful backing up information, updating software program often and utilizing multifactor authentication. Miller-Meeks mentioned she encourages everybody to do their analysis on the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Safety Company’s ideas associated to information safety.

“Hackers and overseas adversaries, akin to China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, steadily look in the direction of the US for weaknesses that may be exploited and more and more discover them by means of web connectivity,” Miller-Meeks mentioned in a press launch. “When cyber assaults happen, private information and confidential info are targets that put Individuals and the US in danger.”