Des Moines, Iowa — A bill to ban guaranteed income programs in Iowa is eligible for debate in the Iowa House.
The bill would affect the UpLift pilot program in Polk, Warren and Dallas Counties which is giving 110 low income households five-hundred dollars a month. The bill would let those payments continue until next January — four months before the program is scheduled to end. Republican Representative Steven Holt of Denison says government programs should connect people to jobs.
Holt says the concept is socialism on steroids.
Luke Elzinga of the Des Moines Area Religious Council testified against the bill during a subcommittee hearing last month. Elzinga says basic income programs like UpLift show what low income people need extra money for.
The bill passed the House Judiciary Committee yesterday (Thursday). Democrats say the bill is a roadblock to an effort to reduce poverty in working families and will interrupt research on how recipients use the five-hundred dollar monthly stipend.
