"Beat the Funnel" Rally and Lobby Day A Big Success

One day, seven issues, nearly two dozen CCI citizen lobbyists in full effect

 The snow kept dozens of our statewide members away, but more than 18 CCI citizen lobbyists from Ames, Des Moines, Grinnell, Huxley,  and Independence still made our February 26 "Beat the Funnel" rally and lobby day a huge success.Together we helped move our anti-wage theft bill through a key Senate Labor subcommittee, weighed in on several bad tax cut proposals, and had our own meetings with two key Senate agriculture and state government committee chairs as well as the chair of the House labor committee. We made news, talking with reporters on our different issues. And most importantly, we had a big impact on issues impacting everyday folks across the state.

Here’s a quick rundown of the impact you had:

• We met with House Labor committee chair Greg Forristall and told him to stop stalling on workers' rights legislation that will crack down on wage theft affecting thousands of Iowa workers.

• We met with Senate Agriculture committee chair Joe Seng and pushed him to pass an increased separation distances bill that will help protect communities from factory farm pollution.  We also told him to stop trying to de-regulate public oversight over manure management plans.

•  We testified at a House Ways and Means subcommittee meeting on Governor Branstad's corporate property tax bill and told the committee that Branstad's plan to throw $400 million a year at big, out of state corporations won't benefit everyday Iowans.  Some members called on new tax policy to close corporate tax loopholes instead and raise vital revenue for crucial public programs and social services.

• We testified at a Senate Labor subcommittee meeting and saw a good bill cracking down on wage theft pass out of the study phase and move forward to the full labor committee.

• We met with Senate State Government committee chair Jeff Danielson and reiterated our support for his Regents Accountability and Transparency Act.

• We attended a Senate Ways and Means committee meeting to listen to Senator Joe Bolkcom grill Iowa Economic Development Authority director Debbie Durham on a controversial "OraScam" deal in SE Iowa that put the Iowa taxpayer on the hook for tens of millions of dollars, all going to a foreign corporation.

• We testified at a Senate Agriculture subcommittee meeting on a new bad factory farm bill that tries to carve out loopholes in Iowa's manure management regulations so factory farms can avoid public oversight even more than they do already.

Take ActionOne day, seven issues, nearly two dozen CCI members… it is a recipe we plan on continuing every week this legislative session.  Join our citizen lobby team every week at the statehouse as we fight for a more just and democratic Iowa.And, if you can’t make it, make sure you follow us on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for email for the most timely updates and action alerts.