Des Moines, Iowa — Proposals Governor Kim Reynolds unveiled earlier this year have stalled in the legislature, including her call to reduce the number of weeks Iowans may receive unemployment benefits.
Reynolds says she’s working with lawmakers to come up with a compromise to get that across the finish line.
A controversial part of her plan delayed payment of the first week of jobless benefits, but Reynolds says she’s willing to make accommodations for seasonal workers, especially in construction, who rely on unemployment benefits when the Iowa weather makes it impossible to work. Her original workforce bill also included new liability protections for the trucking industry. The bill that dramatically stalled in the House Wednesday night when Republicans couldn’t muster 51 votes to start debate included those provisions. While Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley says he was surprised by some of that opposition, there’s still time to come up with a compromise.
Democratic leaders say the proposed cut in unemployment benefits for laid-off workers has stalled because a recent Des Moines Register Iowa Poll found 53 percent of likely voters oppose the idea.
