The Iowa Legislative Session is scheduled to convene this Monday and COVID-19 concerns are expected to dominate the early agenda.

District 39 State Senator Kevin Kinney of Oxford says his constituents in Washington, Keokuk and Johnson counties have expressed concerns as the pandemic relates to the economy, taxes, and education.  He says COVID-19 has also meant loss of jobs which in turn has put a strain on Iowa food banks, “I myself would like to see a program through the rainy day fund or cash balances that we look at food insecurity. I’m hearing from our food banks the demand is so high, and that’s from people they have normally never seen before because they’ve lost their jobs, they’re unemployed.”

Kinney says he’d like to see food banks assisted with some “one-time” dollars to help get them through the pandemic. He says what legislators can accomplish this session is unknown at this point because of COVID-19.