Category: Law and Policy

Biden Announces First-Ever White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention

Posted September 22nd, 2023 at 2:11pm by Isabel Soisson

Shannon Watts, founder emerita of Moms Demand Action, a group working to stop gun violence, told The Washington Post that the creation of an Office of Gun Violence Prevention is “a significant turning point” for the gun safety movement. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Here’s What Rural Leaders Say Their Communities Need

Posted September 13th, 2023 at 4:51pm by Isabel Soisson

A new report outlines rural policy recommendations focused on four major tenets: protecting people’s freedom to live and work safely; investing in infrastructure; reining in corporate greed and protecting workers, small businesses, and family farmers; and creating opportunities for a better future. (Photo via Shutterstock)

Feds Give Warning About Iowa’s Child Labor Law Rollback

Posted September 1st, 2023 at 4:24pm by Amie Rivers

Union groups rally against a bill to rollback Iowa’s child labor laws. Starting Line Staff Photo

Here Are Your Options As Student Loan Payments Resume

Posted September 1st, 2023 at 2:05pm by Isabel Soisson

Nearly half of all borrowers say they aren’t financially prepared to begin repaying their debt. Despite this, interest began accruing again on Sept. 1, and payments will be due again in October. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

Millions More Workers Would Get Overtime Pay Under New Biden Plan

Posted August 31st, 2023 at 1:20pm by Isabel Soisson

The proposed regulation would require employers to pay overtime to their salaried workers who are in executive, administrative, and professional roles, and make less than $1,059 a week, or $55,068 a year for full-time employees. (AP Photo/Michael Wyke, File)

These 10 High-Priced Drugs Are Set To Become Cheaper for Seniors

Posted August 29th, 2023 at 1:21pm by Isabel Soisson

Starting in 2026, the prices for these drugs will decrease for up to nine million seniors, thanks to a provision in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act that allows Medicare to negotiate the prices for these drugs directly with the manufacturers. (Photo via Shutterstock)

Guest Post: I’m a Teacher Wasting Valuable Time on Iowa’s Nonsense New Laws

Posted August 28th, 2023 at 10:35am by Guest Post

A banned book display at the Reading in Public book store in West Des Moines. Some of the books in the display were recently pulled from shelves in the Urbandale School District. Photo by Ty Rushing/Starting Line

Judge Rules Against Railroad After Iowa Worker Hit In Head

Posted July 18th, 2023 at 2:30pm by Amie Rivers

An unidentified worker rides on the side ladder of a train as the train enters a Burlington Northern Santa Fe railyard near Fort Worth, Texas, Tuesday, July 26, 2005. (AP Photo/Donna McWilliam)

800,000 Borrowers to Get Student Debt Canceled, Biden Administration Announces

Posted July 14th, 2023 at 2:03pm by Isabel Soisson

FILE – President Joe Biden pauses as he speaks in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Friday, June 30, 2023, in Washington. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona listens at left. After a series of major blows to his agenda from the Supreme Court, Biden is intent on making sure it is voters — not the justices of the high court — who have the final say. “Republicans snatched away the hope that they were given,” Biden said hours after the high court overturned his plan to forgive a majority of the country’s federal student loans. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

First Over-the-Counter Birth Control Pill Gets FDA Approval

Posted July 13th, 2023 at 2:14pm by Isabel Soisson

Opill is the first ever birth control pill to be approved for over-the-counter sales. The medication will likely become available at stores and online retailers in the U.S. in early 2024. (Perrigo, via Associated Press)