Ernst supports federal funding to help schools reopen – Quad City Times

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, on Wednesday said she would support legislation that provides federal funding for public school buildings to reopen safely next month.

The National Education Association (NEA) has launched ads in election battleground states, including Iowa, putting pressure on senators to approve COVID-19 financial aid that will help school districts purchase face masks and hand sanitizer, and pay for other costly measures needed to protect students and staff. 

Ernst stopped in Davenport at Community Health Care, 500 W. River Dr., to assist with a free drive-thru diaper bank sponsored by Hiney Heroes of the Quad Cities and the Davenport Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC).

It was the fourth stop of the day as part of her annual 99-county tour of the state, following visits in Henry, Cedar and Muscatine counties. 

She said the Senate was working on a fourth coronavirus CARES Act package that will include funding for schools suffering budget shortfalls because of the pandemic.

“Most certainly, that’s one thing we’ll be working on,” Ernst said. “That is a concern of ours — to make sure we can sensibly and safely get our children back to school. We want to make sure we are protecting those students and those educators.”

Ernst said Senators likely would debate the amount needed to meet schools’ needs but hoped a final bill would be ready by the first week of August.

She declined to weigh in on whether or not students and teachers should wear masks during the school day, saying it should be a local decision. 

“I think that should be left up to those local schools and those parents,” she said. “School boards and administrators should be making those decisions on what’s appropriate for their children and their population. They’ll know the situation best on the ground, so if they need to wear masks, they can make those decisions.”

Ernst, wearing a leopard-print face mask and clear plastic poncho, stood in the pouring rain for more than an hour as she handed boxes of diapers through car windows to needy families. A line of cars snaked through the Community Health Care parking lot as dozens of people patiently waited their turn. 

“This is really important because we have folks who are on reduced hours or they lost their jobs — just folks that are in need,” she said. “Diapers are very expensive. Even to send a child to day care, you have to have those diapers. It is important.”

Ernst co-sponsored a letter with Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut in May asking Senate leaders to help families with diaper assistance during the pandemic. 

“This is an issue we felt was really important during COVID-19,” she said. “The stress on families right now during the pandemic is overwhelming. We have asked our leadership to support $200 million worth of funding for diapers for families in need. It is a basic necessity.”

Huggies and the National Diaper Bank Network donated 25,000 diapers for the diaper drive Wednesday as a result of the effort by Ernst and Murphy. 

Tom Bowman, chief executive officer of Community Health Care, said it was nice to see a line of cars in the parking lot for something other than COVID-19 testing. It was the second diaper drive held on-site this year. 

“We are always happy to partner, that’s what we do,” Bowman said. “And many of our patients will take advantage of this. It serves our patients, and it gives (Hiney Heroes) a convenient location to hold the event.”