Iowa House Dems to focus on pandemic, economy during next session
On Sunday, State House Democrats held a press conference to announce the Iowa House leadership positions and address the next legislative session.
Rep. Todd Prichard was elected to serve another term as House Minority Leader. Rep. Jennifer Konfrst was elected as Minority Whip.
The Democratic leaders addressed concerns for the upcoming session when it comes to issues around the economy in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"We are really focused on recovery and getting a handle on the pandemic," Prichard said.
He specifically addressed Iowa's small businesses and their access to pandemic relief funds through the CARES Act.
"Until we are able to get control of the pandemic... life really won't go back to normal," Prichard said.
Meanwhile, Konfrst said they're hoping for more robust COVID-19 testing in the state to understand the magnitude of the pandemic's impact.
"The work of combatting this pandemic is going to take a lot of effort," Konfrst said. "Our caucus is ready to get to work right now."
After the election, Gov. Kim Reynolds said that election results favoring GOP candidates show Iowans approve of how Republicans are handling the pandemic. But, Democratic leaders said the election doesn't reflect Iowan's views on the pandemic.
"From the Democratic standpoint, the election didn't go the way we wanted it to," Prichard said. "I don't know that COVID was so much on the ballot."