Iowa’s unsettled decision on opioid settlement funds more than a ‘little’ disappointing

A "little" disappointing? The whole thing confounds me, and I don't have an addiction that needs professional support. Why do legislators "get" to sit on millions of dollars from "settlements with drugmakers over their role in fueling the opioid crisis?“ "'The money's just sitting there'" shouldn't be an option in the settlement agreement. Why didn't legislators consult with addiction treatment professionals early in the session for direction so that the settlement dollars could be available?

House Speaker Pat Grassley's passive (it's-not-my-fault) defense for why the settlement money is unavailable for addiction programs — "'And we just couldn't find resolution with the Senate on this issue.'" I'm so fed up with rhetorical backpedaling by Speaker Grassley. He could find a resolution if he and other Republicans consulted health care professionals and addiction specialists.

Why would Attorney General Brenna Bird's office receive 25% of the opioid settlement funds? I missed the explanation or reasoning for that.

So Iowans are banned from support of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion professionals, and more acutely, people who need professional support for addiction are literally left out in the cold by cold-hearted inept Iowa legislators.

Gretchen Reeh-Robinson

Mount Vernon