State:
With the 2026 session over, and the Governor either signing or vetoing all outstanding bills on June 2 (check out our bill tracker to see where the bills we were following ended), focus throughout the state has since shifted to the June primary results, November elections, and fundraising.
The biggest headline from the June primary was Zach Lahn narrowly winning the Republican nomination for the Iowa gubernatorial race with an unofficial 37.8% of votes over Rep. Randy Feenstra’s unofficial 37% of votes. Meaning Iowa’s November Gubernatorial race is between State Auditor Rob Sand (D) and Zach Lahn (R). Some other notable June primary results were three Iowa House incumbents losing their primary. On the Republican side this was Rep. Brian Lohse and Rep. Jane Bloomingdale, while on the Democrat side it was Rep. Ken Croken. The full list of candidates for the November elections can be found on the Iowa Secretary of State’s webpage and will get updated as candidate filings are reviewed and approved.
Now that the June primary elections have ended, candidates will start increasing their fundraising efforts so that they can hold more public events to learn what is important to Iowans and identify and increase support from their area. Community Colleges for Iowa is involved in this process through our Iowans For A Skilled Workforce political action committee. The ISW PAC is a bipartisan PAC created by supporters of Iowa’s community colleges to help support legislators dedicated to Iowa’s community colleges and to educating legislators about the issues impacting those training the next generation of Iowa’s skilled workers. For those who are interested in donating to Iowans For A Skilled Workforce, or to learn more, please check out our ISW PAC webpage. The funds donated will help ensure that the voice of community colleges is heard.
Make sure you are signed up for Quorum to stay up to date on all things government relations and legislative session. Thank you for your strong support and engagement throughout this past legislative session. Your advocacy ensured that the voice of community colleges was heard.
Federal:
The full U.S. House Appropriations Committee met this past Tuesday, June 9, and voted on their FY27 Labor, Health and Humans Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bill was passed on a vote of 34 to 28. While there are provisions in the bill that community colleges are supportive of, including:
- Pell Grants: An increase of $50 to the maximum grant, for a total of $7,445
- Strengthening Community College Training Grant (SCCTG): A $10 million increase for a total of $75 million in funding
- TRIO: a $6 million increase for a total of $1.2 billion
- Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP): a $6 million increase for a total of $394 million
- Career and Technical Education (CTE): an increase of $8 million for a total of $1.5 billion.
- Child Care Access Means Parents in School (CCAMPIS): $75 million (level funding).
There remain other approved proposals that are quite concerning:
- Elimination of Adult Basic Education (ABE) funding
- Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG): $364 million decrease
- Federal Work Study (FWS): $322 million decrease
- Eliminate Subsidized Student Loans for 440,000 Community College Students (4 million total students). Without subsidized loans, students will need to use more costly unsubsidized or private loans, costing thousands of dollars more over the loan term. Approximately 11% of subsidized loans go to community college students.
Interested advocates can use these ACCT resources to reach out to their U.S. House Representative to thank them for the increases and explain the impact the proposed cuts will have on student success, access, and affordability.