DeLaney attempt to protect taxpayer dollars, investigate IEDC struck down

Today, State Rep. Ed DeLaney offered an amendment to House Bill 1003 to investigate the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) for corruption and for failings around the LEAP Project. His motion would establish the House Select Committee on Accountability and Handling of Economic Development Appropriations. This House Select Committee would be formed to investigate the practices of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and its affiliated entities and to release findings and recommendations for improved transparency and stewardship of public funds. This comes after a report from the governor on the IEDC revealed that there was every opportunity for misuse of taxpayer funds to occur, but stopped short of saying if that misuse happened and how much money was involved.

Last week, DeLaney put forward House Resolution 12 to form this House Select Committee. HR 12 was adopted on Tuesday of this week before House Republicans suddenly reversed that action yesterday. In response, DeLaney forced a vote on the proposed investigation.

DeLaney released the following statement after his amendment was defeated on the House floor today: 

“While the governor started the process of determining if wrongdoing occurred at the IEDC, the result of the forensic audit was limited at best. I am not satisfied with knowing that powerful people were given every opportunity to steal. Hoosiers deserve to know if their tax dollars were indeed misused and, if so, how much money was lost. As the House of Representatives, we are responsible for safeguarding the integrity of public funds and therefore owe it to our taxpayers to uncover the truth.

“We need a thorough investigation to ensure transparency and accountability for the IEDC and to make sure that this type of potential for corruption never happens in the future. I am disappointed that this amendment was killed based on a campaign of misinformation amongst the majority.”

DeLaney amendment to reverse changes to IU Trustee selection process rejected

Today, State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) offered an amendment to House Bill 1408 that would reverse changes slipped into the 2025 budget bill at the last minute that allowed the governor to have sole appointing power of all nine Indiana University trustees. The amendment also aims to restore the IU faculty’s role in university policymaking to its former level. The amendment was defeated.

“One of the reasons that IU has seen so much success is that we have the nation’s largest living alumni network," DeLaney said. "This body stripped away their power to influence university policy with no debate in a midnight budget vote.

“Aside from taking power away from alumni, my Republican colleagues also robbed IU’s faculty of their ability to influence university operations and added on a system where professors must submit to 'productivity reviews.' This isn’t a factory—it’s a university. People should be able to turn on their TVs and hear Pam Whitten say, ‘Google us, we have great football and great academics!’ Only one of those things can be said right now.

“We should be rejoicing in IU’s athletic achievements while giving their academics the same type of support that we give the football team. This amendment is an opportunity to right last year's terrible legislative wrong. From Eugene, Oregon, to Pasadena, California, to Miami, Florida, IU alumni showed up for the Hoosiers. It's high time we showed up for them.”

DeLaney astonished by Republican refusal to take ratepayers’ side

Today, House Democrats offered an array of amendments to House Bill 1002 to give Hoosiers financial relief and expand protections for their utility services. One of those amendments would have prohibited utility companies from passing on the costs of lobbying and political activities to customers. House Republicans chose to block this amendment on procedural grounds instead of allowing it to be voted on.

State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) issued the following statement after speaking out on the House Floor against a ruling to not allow a vote on the amendment:

“It seems straightforward to me that consumers should not be footing the bill for utility companies to lobby directly against the interest of consumers. However, when my colleague State Rep. Matt Pierce (D-Bloomington) offered an amendment to prohibit utilities from passing along the cost of lobbying to ratepayers, the Republicans chose to block the measure in order to duck a yes or no vote. This could have been an opportunity to prove to consumers that the general assembly is looking out for their best interest. However, the supermajority is unwilling to go on the record about whether they are on the side of the utility company or the ratepayers.” 

DeLaney amendment to protect communities from unwanted military presence rejected

Today, State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) offered an amendment to House Bill 1343 that would require local authorities to agree before military police from the National Guard be deployed to their city to enforce civil laws. Currently, this bill gives the governor authority to send a paramilitary police force into any part of the state whenever he deems necessary without the consent of the community or its elected officials. 

“Our citizens do not expect military police to come into our communities against their will to enforce the law,” DeLaney said. “Minnesota is a prime example of what happens when different law enforcement agencies are thrown together without being on the same page. In a scenario where National Guard members are sent into a city without the consent of the local officials, they are likely going to have differing directives and even be put directly at odds with each other. These crossed wires do nothing but sow chaos. As we saw in Minneapolis over the weekend, that chaos can have deadly consequences. 

“Giving the governor sole authority to send soldiers trained in combat, not as civilian law enforcement, into communities against the will of local leaders goes against everything I thought Indiana stood for. The people best equipped to police and protect their communities are the local law enforcement agencies and local officials. Full stop.”

DeLaney offers amendments to protect retirees, taxpayers from risky state investments

Today, Jan. 20, State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) offered several amendments to House Bill 1042 in an effort to prohibit state pension funds from being invested in cryptocurrency. The amendments were defeated. 

“Interfering in the decision of our pension trustees and advisors is not the responsibility of the legislature and may well be beyond our competence,” DeLaney said. “I offered these amendments to protect the pension funds of state employees from high-risk investment decisions. 

“It is fiscally irresponsible to allow state pension funds to be opened up to such risk simply because we want to send a message that the Indiana House of Representatives is supportive of the crypto industry. If state funds are invested in cryptocurrency and that investment goes bad, the state still has an obligation to pay for those pensions. The taxpayers of Indiana could be on the hook because the legislature wants to jump headfirst into something new and risky. 

“Our retirees deserve to be helped by the state, not given hasty investment advice that resembles a technocratic pyramid scheme.” 

DeLaney reacts to Braun announcing partial SNAP benefits

Today, Gov. Braun announced that Indiana will issue partial SNAP benefits for the remainder of November. Since Nov. 1, the fate of SNAP benefits has been unclear due to the ongoing federal shutdown and legal battle over the release of federal funds in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Contingency Fund. Unlike some other states, Indiana's governor and the state legislature failed to take action to supplement SNAP with state dollars.

State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) issued the following statement: 

“The governor has announced that partial SNAP payments will be made. He failed to note that these are not state dollars that will be distributed. He failed to note that the state has contributed nothing to the solutions of this problem. He failed to note that there will likely be delays and confusion.

"Partial payments will not be enough to prevent families from going hungry. This mess will not be as easy to clean up as the governor is implying. 

“A few township trustees have been funding local foodbanks in their efforts to prevent the half a million Hoosiers relying on SNAP from going hungry. The governor would be much more helpful if he were doing the same. Instead, he blames one party from among his former senate colleagues.

"This would be a good time to act like a statesman.”

DeLaney calls on township trustees to help fund food assistance in light of failure from state and federal government

As the federal government shutdown enters its second month, the distribution of food assistance benefits for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) remains in jeopardy. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) sent a letter in October directing states to hold all SNAP benefit distribution for the month of November. On Friday, Oct. 31, a judge ruled that the USDA must use their contingency fund for SNAP. However, this contingency fund contains about $4.65 billion, which does not meet the full $8 billion that SNAP recipients receive each month.  

During the Oct. 29 meeting of the State Budget Committee, State Rep. Gregory W. Porter (D-Indianapolis) made a motion to help protect the health of Hoosiers. Rep. Porter recommended the allocation of $112 million to the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA) to cover SNAP for all recipients and to provide an additional $10 million to Indiana’s food banks for each month of the government shutdown. All Republican members voted no, and the motion was defeated.

State Rep Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) issued the following statement: 

“We all know that our federal government has failed us. But sadly, Republican state legislators and the governor’s representative on the State Budget Committee refused to even ask the governor to help these families. 

“Almost 600,000 Hoosiers depend on SNAP to be their reliable food source – one in eight of those people are children. The fact that 600,000 Hoosiers are unsure if they are going to be able to put food on the table is a cataclysmic failure of government. 

“Private citizens across the state have to take matters into their own hands by donating to food banks and volunteering their time. While this is commendable and I encourage more of it, it is still not enough to meet the need. 

“We are down to one last resort. Even if the USDA contingency fund is put to use, SNAP benefits will not be distributed in full or on time. I call on our one thousand township trustees to use their substantial reserve funds to provide food assistance for SNAP eligible households. According to a memo from the Indiana Township Association, there is a legal basis for township trustees to provide food assistance in emergency conditions, such as a disruption to federal benefits. 

“Some township trustees have millions of dollars in their rainy day funds. If hundreds of thousands of Hoosiers facing food insecurity doesn’t constitute a storm, I don’t know what does. It is up to the trustees to make up for the inaction of the national government and our governor and support our communities, both rural and urban.”

DeLaney responds to announcement of special session

Today, Oct. 27, State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) issued the following statement in response to Gov. Braun’s announcement of a special session focused on redistricting: 

“I would be happy to have a special session to help the people we were elected to serve – Hoosier taxpayers – not to play a political game. It seems the Governor and I have a different understanding of who we are beholden to.”

DeLaney joins students in push for gun reform

Today, Sept. 5, State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) joined hundreds of high school students as they gathered at the Statehouse to demand gun reform legislation. This rally was part of a national walkout organized by Students Demand Action after a school shooting in Minnesota last week resulted in the tragic death of two children and injured 18 others. Firearms are the leading cause of death for people under the age of 17. 

“Today, hundreds of students from around our city showed up to the Statehouse to hold the adults accountable. Our young people proved that they will not be ignored. The fight against gun violence is deeply personal, and they are demanding a change from their lawmakers. I am proud of their commitment to protecting their lives.

“Students should be in class learning today, not fighting for their lives. How are students supposed to focus on their algebra test while they are flinching at every loud noise that comes from the hallway and thinking that their school will be the next headline?

“Many of the students I spoke to today were asking a question that I would like the answer to as well: How many more children have to die for action to be taken? The fact of the matter is that guns are far too accessible. Indiana’s virtually nonexistent gun laws open the door for a tragedy along the lines of what happened in Minneapolis, or Parkland, or Uvalde, or Sandy Hook, or Columbine or the other communities that have been ravaged by school shootings. We shouldn’t have to wait for an atrocity to strike in our home state to listen to the pleas of our students and pass common-sense gun safety legislation.”

DeLaney offers food for thought for IN GOP lawmakers ‘flight’ to Washington

Tomorrow, Aug. 26, an unknown number of Indiana Republican lawmakers will travel to Washington to meet with the Trump Administration amidst growing pressure to call a special session to rig Indiana’s congressional maps in favor of the White House.

State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) issued the following statement: 

“Some, hopefully only a few, of my Republican colleagues in the legislature are preparing to discuss mid-decade redistricting during their meeting with the Trump Administration in Washington on Tuesday. To help them pass the time on their flight to D.C., here is a series of thought-provoking questions to reflect on. 

“While the current Indiana congressional maps are already gerrymandered, up until now there has been an attempt to convince the public they are fair. If we call a special session to deliberately hand Donald Trump another Republican congressional seat (or two), what will this do for public confidence in our elections?  What is wrong with the current maps? Were you lying in 2021 when you praised these maps? What does this do to the credibility of our Congress? Would you allow the 40% of Hoosiers who vote Democratic to have any representation in Washington? What does this say about the value of Hoosier voters? What does this say about the value of voting at all? How will this benefit Hoosiers? How does this further the interests of Indiana? What precedent does this set for elections going forward? What comes next? Is there a limit of what the Trump Administration can ask of you? Who is paying for you to travel to Washington to be pressured?

“The most important question I must pose is: what will your grandchildren think of your actions?

“Safe travels.” 

DeLaney comments on Indiana’s declining college-going rate

Recently, the Indiana Commission on Higher Education (CHE) quietly released the updated report of Indiana’s college-going rate to their website. The report shows that for the 2023 cohort of high school seniors, only 51.7% of them went to college, which is down from the poor but steady rate of 53% from 2020-2022. This comes just six-months after new high school degree requirements were approved by the CHE that shifts emphasis to work-based learning. 

State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis), a member of the House Committee on Education, released the following statement:

“The startling drop in our college-going rate yet again can be credited to the lack of two things: money and morale. 

“Ball State University professor of economics Michael Hicks reports that Indiana students can no longer receive the financial aid they need to be able to go to in-state institutions thanks to the decrease in state support. While our governor has been taking a victory lap for getting our state universities to freeze tuition, he has failed to guarantee that his move will not decrease financial aid and scholarship opportunities. Any lack of opportunity for tuition support will lead to more Hoosiers not being able to afford college and being forced to choose a different path. 

“At the same time, the supermajority has made attacking colleges and universities the centerpiece of their culture war agenda – from policing what can be taught in the classroom, to forcing institutions to eliminate hundreds of degree options, to creating an entirely new high school diploma that emphasizes the path directly into the workforce. Republican leaders have been devaluing the opportunities that our colleges and universities can offer students. 

“Trying to bury this report in a website and not send a press release is a telling sign that the Commission on Higher Education knows this does not look good, and does not act to fix it. It simply isn’t important enough to them. They are busy eliminating college courses and creating new tests. This is what the legislature has asked them to do.

“In the past, we had reached a college-going rate of 65% and we set a goal to get it back when it slumped. Now, it doesn’t seem like we care to address the issue. That is a shame for our students, a shame for our economy, and a shame for our state.

"The supermajority has been in power for 20 years and this is their achievement. At some point we have to ask ourselves: is a declining college-going rate not the result they want?"

DeLaney comments on detrimental education funding cuts

This week, the Trump administration announced that it has frozen $6 billion in education funding for K-12. Indiana stands to lose approximately $94 million for teacher development, student support, before-school care and after-school care and English language instruction.

State Rep. Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis), a member of the House Education Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee responsible for writing the state budget, released the following statement:

"While states across the nation are scrambling to deal with the fallout this funding freeze will have in classrooms, Gov. Braun remains cool as a cucumber.

"The governor's response to Hoosier schools potentially losing $94 million in funding was to brush it off because 'we know how to manage our funds.' I am not comforted to know that the future of Hoosier students lies in the hands of those responsible for multiple errors in estimating our income and expenses to the tune of billions of dollars.

"The governor laughs off our problem and quips that the problem is that the federal government is a bad 'long-term business partner.' Indiana ranks third in the nation for most reliant on federal funding behind Mississippi and Louisiana. I look forward to seeing the governor's plan to fix our stressed budget in light of these federal cuts which had been predicted. 

"The federal Office of Management and Budget confirmed that the reason for the freeze is to ensure that states are cooperating with Trump's agenda. After 20 years of Republican rule in Indiana, our schools are apparently promoting 'a radical leftwing agenda.' I hope our governor can get ahold of his good friend, President Trump, and ask him to treat Indiana fairly and pay timely. 

"The governor has to prefer helping Hoosiers over pandering to the White House. Sen. Lisa Murkoswsi of Alaska saved her rural hospitals and fishing fleet by pressuring the White House. Why can't Gov. Braun stand up for Hoosiers?

"Schools in Indiana are already stretched thin. Losing this funding will do nothing but harm schools, teachers, and the future of Hoosier students."