Anne Discher
@adischer.bsky.social
Policy wonk trying to be less wonky. Also, dogs. Iowa captive.
Reposted by Anne Discher
State and local governments have taken steps in undoing harmful criminal fines and fees. However, going into 2026, states face a difficult fiscal landscape, and some may be tempted to turn back to fines and fees to raise revenue. This would be a mistake: www.cbpp.org/research/sta...
States Should Reduce or Eliminate Criminal Fines and Fees, Even Amid Challenging Fiscal Landscape
Over the past three years, states and local governments across the country, with both Republican- and Democratic-held legislatures, have taken important steps in undoing harmful criminal legal...
www.cbpp.org
January 7, 2026 at 9:11 PM
State and local governments have taken steps in undoing harmful criminal fines and fees. However, going into 2026, states face a difficult fiscal landscape, and some may be tempted to turn back to fines and fees to raise revenue. This would be a mistake: www.cbpp.org/research/sta...
cc: #IAlegis
President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will shift billions in costs for SNAP and Medicaid to states.
But with 26 having cut or eliminated state income taxes just since 2021, they may not have the money to continue the programs.
But with 26 having cut or eliminated state income taxes just since 2021, they may not have the money to continue the programs.
Wave of Tax Cuts Has Left Many States Vulnerable to Trump SNAP and Medicaid Crisis
President Donald Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill Act will shift billions in costs for SNAP and Medicaid to states. But with 26 having cut or eliminated state income taxes just since 2021, the...
www.propublica.org
December 15, 2025 at 12:01 AM
cc: #IAlegis
🚨🚨🚨
Senators Crapo & Cassidy have now released bill language for their health "plan". Besides nothing on expiring Marketplace credits and HSAs, it adds 3 harmful #Medicaid cuts from House version of H.R. 1 that were dropped in final law due to Senate rules (1/x): www.finance.senate.gov/download/hea...
[2025-12-08] Download: Health Care Freedom for Patients Act | The United States Senate Committee on Finance | The United States Senate Committee on Finance
[2025-12-08] Download: Health Care Freedom for Patients Act | The United States Senate Committee on Finance
www.finance.senate.gov
December 9, 2025 at 8:03 PM
🚨🚨🚨
Reposted by Anne Discher
Proposals to address expiring PTC enhancements should be evaluated based on the extent to which they:
1. avoid making more people uninsured;
2. ensure people keep access to affordable, comprehensive coverage; and
3. can take effect quickly.
More here: www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
1. avoid making more people uninsured;
2. ensure people keep access to affordable, comprehensive coverage; and
3. can take effect quickly.
More here: www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
How to Evaluate Proposals to Address Expiring Premium Tax Credit Enhancements
With just weeks to go until the premium tax credit (PTC) enhancements expire — which would increase Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace enrollees’ annual premiums by more than $1,000 on average...
www.cbpp.org
December 4, 2025 at 2:39 PM
Proposals to address expiring PTC enhancements should be evaluated based on the extent to which they:
1. avoid making more people uninsured;
2. ensure people keep access to affordable, comprehensive coverage; and
3. can take effect quickly.
More here: www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
1. avoid making more people uninsured;
2. ensure people keep access to affordable, comprehensive coverage; and
3. can take effect quickly.
More here: www.cbpp.org/blog/how-to-...
Iowa's DOGE commission wants to muck around with our public retirement system and do merit pay for teachers lol such innovators.
November 25, 2025 at 7:23 PM
Iowa's DOGE commission wants to muck around with our public retirement system and do merit pay for teachers lol such innovators.
Reposted by Anne Discher
Reports that the White House is working on a proposal to extend premium tax credit enhancements shows the Administration is acknowledging the urgent need to address premium spikes for millions of marketplace enrollees. But big questions remain.🧵
November 24, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Reports that the White House is working on a proposal to extend premium tax credit enhancements shows the Administration is acknowledging the urgent need to address premium spikes for millions of marketplace enrollees. But big questions remain.🧵
Hell yeah, do it! Find me at 537741615167
November 9, 2025 at 4:48 AM
Hell yeah, do it! Find me at 537741615167
Reposted by Anne Discher
It is illegal to not follow a court order and it is just wrong to delay food assistance to children, seniors, veterans, working parents, and people with disabilities.
The president says he will defy court orders and illegally withhold SNAP benefits despite there being money in the SNAP contingency fund that the Trump is required to use.
November 4, 2025 at 6:25 PM
It is illegal to not follow a court order and it is just wrong to delay food assistance to children, seniors, veterans, working parents, and people with disabilities.
Reposted by Anne Discher
Perhaps you've seen the news. State officials this month released new projections showing a continued — and worrying — drop in revenue. So many numbers, so much spin. How to make sense of it all? We're here to help. us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
November 4, 2025 at 4:22 PM
Perhaps you've seen the news. State officials this month released new projections showing a continued — and worrying — drop in revenue. So many numbers, so much spin. How to make sense of it all? We're here to help. us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...
Reposted by Anne Discher
Teaching a class this morning and pointed out that one reason work requirements for Medicaid is unnecessary is that people have incredibly strong incentives to work. Even to the point where we as a society might agree that they should not have to keep working.
It's expensive to be disabled. Those costs can keep people working past the point where it's in their best interest, including for aging adults. www.businessinsider.com/older-americ...
She's 93 and still job searching despite 14 broken arms and other injuries. She can't afford not to work.
America's oldest workers keep clocking in — many despite health issues and disabilities. And some can't afford to retire. We talked to nearly 200.
www.businessinsider.com
November 3, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Teaching a class this morning and pointed out that one reason work requirements for Medicaid is unnecessary is that people have incredibly strong incentives to work. Even to the point where we as a society might agree that they should not have to keep working.
Reposted by Anne Discher
The Trump Administration’s assertion that it can't use SNAP’s contingency reserves for SNAP benefits is contrary to:
▪️The plain language of the law
▪️Their own (now deleted) shutdown plan
▪️Guidance from prior Administrations
We have the receipts:
▪️The plain language of the law
▪️Their own (now deleted) shutdown plan
▪️Guidance from prior Administrations
We have the receipts:
SNAP’s Contingency Reserve Is Available for Regular SNAP Benefits, as USDA and OMB Have Ruled in Past
The Administration must use all available options to fund November benefits for the 1 in 8 people in the U.S. who need SNAP to afford their grocery bill.
www.cbpp.org
October 27, 2025 at 8:19 PM
The Trump Administration’s assertion that it can't use SNAP’s contingency reserves for SNAP benefits is contrary to:
▪️The plain language of the law
▪️Their own (now deleted) shutdown plan
▪️Guidance from prior Administrations
We have the receipts:
▪️The plain language of the law
▪️Their own (now deleted) shutdown plan
▪️Guidance from prior Administrations
We have the receipts:
Reposted by Anne Discher
The reason that people are poor is that they do not have money. That's it, that's the skeet.
October 27, 2025 at 7:20 PM
The reason that people are poor is that they do not have money. That's it, that's the skeet.
In Central Iowa, DMARC network of pantries will be a lifeline: dmarcunited.org/donate/
October 27, 2025 at 12:53 AM
In Central Iowa, DMARC network of pantries will be a lifeline: dmarcunited.org/donate/
This week, I presented at a church forum in Cedar Rapids on coming SNAP and Medicaid cuts. A women in the audience literally teared up thinking about families in her community and how they would cope without SNAP next month. But, hey, sure, use it as a political weapon.
Punchbowl reports “White House officials determined they do not have the authority” to use contingency reserves —billions of $ that Congress provided for use when SNAP funding is inadequate— to fund Nov. SNAP benefits. But, that’s not what USDA’s now-deleted shutdown plan says:
October 24, 2025 at 8:11 PM
This week, I presented at a church forum in Cedar Rapids on coming SNAP and Medicaid cuts. A women in the audience literally teared up thinking about families in her community and how they would cope without SNAP next month. But, hey, sure, use it as a political weapon.
Reposted by Anne Discher
The Administration is legally required to use contingency reserves to fund November benefits for the 1 in 8 Americans who need #SNAP to afford groceries, despite USDA Sec. Rollins’ claim that the Administration is unable to do so. My statement: www.cbpp.org/press/statem...
Trump Administration Is Legally Required to Provide SNAP in Shutdown, Contrary to Its Claims
Secretary Rollins’ claim that the Trump Administration is unable to deliver November SNAP benefits during a shutdown is unequivocally false. The Administration is legally required to use contingency r...
www.cbpp.org
October 23, 2025 at 6:53 PM
The Administration is legally required to use contingency reserves to fund November benefits for the 1 in 8 Americans who need #SNAP to afford groceries, despite USDA Sec. Rollins’ claim that the Administration is unable to do so. My statement: www.cbpp.org/press/statem...
We'll get it up in HTML shortly; sorry for the PDF.
October 17, 2025 at 1:41 PM
We'll get it up in HTML shortly; sorry for the PDF.
Anyway, @commongoodiowa.bsky.social put out a backgrounder on all of this yesterday: www.commongoodiowa.org/moduledocume...
www.commongoodiowa.org
October 17, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Anyway, @commongoodiowa.bsky.social put out a backgrounder on all of this yesterday: www.commongoodiowa.org/moduledocume...
Lawmakers should take a beat, walk away from plans for more tax cuts and start building consensus on how we will raise the revenue we will need to meet Iowans’ needs: great public schools, affordable health care and child care, and clean water to drink.
October 17, 2025 at 1:40 PM
Lawmakers should take a beat, walk away from plans for more tax cuts and start building consensus on how we will raise the revenue we will need to meet Iowans’ needs: great public schools, affordable health care and child care, and clean water to drink.
The good news is, fixing a structural budget deficit may take political will, but it isn’t a mystery.
October 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The good news is, fixing a structural budget deficit may take political will, but it isn’t a mystery.
And Iowa faces fiscal challenges not only from state tax cuts, but from other sources, too, including growing costs for private-school vouchers, a new slew of tax cuts and Medicaid and SNAP responsibilities courtesy of this summer’s federal reconciliation bill and a slowing economy.
October 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
And Iowa faces fiscal challenges not only from state tax cuts, but from other sources, too, including growing costs for private-school vouchers, a new slew of tax cuts and Medicaid and SNAP responsibilities courtesy of this summer’s federal reconciliation bill and a slowing economy.
The fact is, tax cuts simply never pay for themselves
October 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
The fact is, tax cuts simply never pay for themselves
If all were proceeding according to plan, one would think they would be meeting their projections, not falling short again and again. But at nine different points in REC forecasts across three fiscal years, officials have cut revenue projections from the preceding forecast.
October 17, 2025 at 1:39 PM
If all were proceeding according to plan, one would think they would be meeting their projections, not falling short again and again. But at nine different points in REC forecasts across three fiscal years, officials have cut revenue projections from the preceding forecast.
The REC projects a 9% drop in revenue for FY 2026 from FY 2025, which ended in June. They also issued their first full projection for FY 2027, a modest increase from this fiscal year. Although that would be a welcome turn, it’s a prediction that should be taken with great caution.
October 17, 2025 at 1:38 PM
The REC projects a 9% drop in revenue for FY 2026 from FY 2025, which ended in June. They also issued their first full projection for FY 2027, a modest increase from this fiscal year. Although that would be a welcome turn, it’s a prediction that should be taken with great caution.