Fairness for Iowa Responds to Vote to Reopen Government: “Iowans Need Lower Costs, Not More Empty Promises”

DES MOINES, Iowa — Following today’s vote to reopen the federal government, Fairness for Iowa is calling on Iowa’s congressional delegation to do more than the bare minimum. After weeks of the devastating Republican shutdown that left Iowa families struggling to afford food, Republican lawmakers are now patting themselves on the back for voting to end the crisis they caused.

"Shutting down the government to protect billionaires, then reopening it without extending health tax credits is a betrayal to Iowans dealing with the out-of-control costs Republicans keep causing," Mazie Stilwell, executive director of Progress Iowa said. "Zach Nunn, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Ashley Hinson and Randy Feenstra voted for tariffs raising the cost of food and basic goods, then allowed President Trump to block SNAP payments to hungry Iowans. Tonight, once again, instead of lowering health care costs, they stood with billionaires and called Iowans facing skyrocketing costs "a 2026 issue."

During the record breaking 43-day shutdown, thousands of Iowans faced delayed SNAP benefits and interruptions in key services that families rely on to make ends meet. Meanwhile, Nunn, Miller-Meeks, Hinson and Feenstra voted for Trump’s tariffs and the Republican Tax Law, which cut Medicaid and SNAP, increased health care costs, and handed out new tax breaks for big corporations.

The bill passed today to reopen the government fails to address rising health care costs or permanently extend the ACA health care tax credits that have helped more than 90% of Iowans who buy insurance on the marketplace afford their coverage. Without those tax credits, tens of thousands of Iowans will face painful premium hikes next year.

Fairness for Iowa is urging the state’s congressional delegation to take the next step: make healthcare more affordable by permanently extending health care tax credits and reversing harmful cuts to Medicaid and SNAP.

Working families can’t build stability when Congress keeps playing politics with their livelihoods. Iowans deserve leaders who fight for them, not ones who manufacture crises just to claim credit for ending them.