Nationwide bus tour makes second stop in Ottumwa to hold Congress accountable for reconciliation bill vote & grow the national tax justice movement

“We’re really going down a dangerous path as a country and for some reason this administration thinks cuts for the rich are the solution.” - Jonathan Lawrence, Iowa Farmers Union

“Repeal the whole damn thing.” - Crowd chanting

Ottumwa, Iowa (August 7, 2025) – This evening, Fair Share America, Unrig our Economy, and Iowa Citizen Action Network brought the “Stop the Billionaire Giveaways” national bus tour to Ottumwa for a town hall discussion about how Donald Trump’s new budget and tax law, passed via reconciliation last month, will impact working people and families.

The 45-foot tour bus, wrapped in a giant trillion-dollar bill, brought together local leaders and community members at the Bridge View Center to get educated about the harms of the devastating cuts, and hold lawmakers accountable for their votes for the damaging law.

“The [rich and corporations] just got a big gift of our tax dollars, and we're going to go get it back,” said Fair Share America Executive Director Kristen Crowell of Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”

To request video or photos from the event or to set up an interview, please contact ashley@fairshareusa.org

Here are some more takeaways:

“We're all getting squeezed while a better future for our children slips away because politicians like Joni Ernst are bought and paid for and they make promises that they never keep,” said Iowa State Senator Zach Wahls (SD-43)

Rick Johnson, Mayor of Ottumwa, shared with the gathered crowd important local resources that the new budget law threatens, commenting, “the federal cuts that the Trump administration is trying to make…it really plays out very significantly for us down here.”

• “We have a lot of people that rely on Medicaid…there's going to be a lot of people that aren't going to be able to get good health care.”

• “Our local hospital…they're very concerned about the cost of operating ambulance services.”

• “The Jobs Corps program in Ottumwa could easily be closed permanently in the next few months.”

• “We're also seeing a huge increase in our homeless population in Ottumwa, and unfortunately, we don't have a whole lot of programs available for the homeless. We don't have any homeless shelter here in Ottumwa.”

“We know that there is a decrease coming,” Bryan Hunger, CEO of the Jefferson County Health Center said of reductions in Medicaid revenue due to the Trump cuts. “Everytime we start seeing Medicaid decreases [that] really starts getting into the health care that can't be provided…services are going to get left behind.”

“We're really going down a dangerous path as a country, and for some reason, this administration thinks that billionaire [tax] cuts is the answer to what's going on, said Jonathan Lawrence with the Iowa Farmers Union, “instead of getting to the root issues of food insecurity and showing that our farmers deserve more respect and care.”

“Donald Trump, with the help of every single Iowa member of Congress, including Rep. Zach Nunn, signed into law the worst job-killing bill in American history, legislation that forces working families to pay higher bills, destroys jobs across health care, construction, energy, and more, all to give tax cuts to the wealthy,” said Sue Dinsdale, Executive Director of Iowa Citizen Action Network and author of Bleeding Heartland.

Learn more about the “Stop the Billionaire Giveaways” bus tour online and on social media: @FairShare_USAon X and @FairShareAmerica (FB, IG, BS, Threads, TikTok).

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