Klobuchar Campaign Press Release - Amy Klobuchar Directly Addresses Critical Issues Facing Iowans in Last Night's Debate

Trade, Health Care, Pharmaceutical Prices, Long-Term Care, Workforce Training

DES MOINES, IA — Last night in Des Moines, Senator Amy Klobuchar distinguished herself from the other five candidates on stage by speaking directly to the issues impacting Iowans: trade, health care, unaffordable pharmaceutical prices, the challenges of securing long term care, and the lack of workforce training.

Klobuchar has made it a focus of her campaign to listen and address the concerns of Iowans across the state -- a commitment exemplified by her tour of Iowa's 99 counties.

Last night on the debate stage, Klobuchar made the case for her candidacy by succinctly detailing the policy plans she's created to address the largest problems facing Iowans today.

Klobuchar on TRADE:

"I want to hit reality here. I serve on the Agriculture Committee, and I will never forget going to Crawfordsville here in Iowa...And I went to this plant and there was one worker left in that plant. That plant had been shut down because of Donald Trump's trade policies and because of what he had done to those workers with giving secret waivers to oil companies and ruining the Renewable Fuel Standard. That worker brought out a coat rack of uniforms and he said, "These are my friends, they don't work here anymore." And their names were embroidered on those uniforms -- Derek, Mark, Salvador. And that guy started to cry. These are real people hurt by Donald Trump's trade war. So what we should do -- and I support the USMCA. I am glad that these improvements were made that are supported by people like Richard Trumka and Sherrod Brown on labor and environment and on pharma, the sweetheart deal. Because I think we need a big trading bloc with North America to take on China, and the way you are stronger with China is with your allies."

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Klobuchar on the AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:

"Again, I think it is much better to build on the Affordable Care Act, and if you want to be practical and progressive at the same time and have a plan and not a pipe dream, you have to show how are you going to pay for it. And I would also note practically that the Affordable Care Act right now is ten points more popular than the president of the United States. So I think the answer is to build on it ... And I have shown how I am going to pay for every single plan."

Des Moines Register: Ames doctor says Medicare-for-all would be disruptive to Iowans

Klobuchar on LONG-TERM CARE:

"And then, finally, what should we do about long-term care, the elephant that doesn't even fit in this room. We need to make it easier for people to get long-term care insurance. We need to make it easier for them to pay for their premiums. My own dad, I know when his long-term care insurance ends, and then we have some savings for him, he's in assisted living...but then we go to Medicaid, and I have already talked to Catholic Elder Care, they're willing to take him in. Our story is better than so many other families. We have to make it easier for long-term care. It's not just for seniors, it's also for the sandwich generation, the people trying to help their parents."

The Cedar Rapids Gazette: Iowans' Ideas: Health and long-term care workforce shortages affect all - particularly rural Iowa

Des Moines Register: Iowa population, by age, by county

Klobuchar on WORKFORCE TRAINING:

"I think what we have to look at is how we connect our education system with our economy. Where are our job openings and what do we need? We are going to have over a million openings for home healthcare workers that we don't know how to fill in the next ten years. We are going to have open 100,000 jobs for nursing assistants. We, as my union friends know, we're going to have over 70,000 openings for electricians. We're not going to have a shortage of MBAs; we're going to have a shortage of plumbers. So when we look at that, then we step back. Where should our money go? It should go into K through 12. It should go into free one and two year degrees, like my dad got, like my sister got. And then we should double the Pell Grants because we're going to need four year degrees so the money goes where it should go instead of to rich kids going to college."

The Gazette: Gov. Reynolds: Shortage of trained workers is Iowa's biggest economic barrier