A key Democrat in the Iowa Senate says the one billion dollars in the state’s Taxpayer Relief Fund should be used to reduce taxes for working Iowans and invest in schools, hospitals and child care. Senator Joe Bolkcom  of Iowa City is the top Democrat on the Iowa Senate’s tax policy committee.

Bolkcom says he and other Democrats favor increasing the Earned Income Tax Credit for low and moderate-income Iowans who work and have little to no income from savings or investments.