The Iowa House of Representatives passed a bill this week that would make adjustments for those who receive assistance for child care. As it currently stands, someone receiving that support from the government would be immediately removed from the program if their income goes above a certain threshold. Congressman Jon Thorup of Knoxville calls this bill an “off-ramp,” and says it would ease the person off assistance.

“If their income gets to a certain level, it’s an instant shut-off of the child care assistance. Several of us thought that’s holding people back from improving themselves. What this would do, we’re calling it an “off-ramp,” meaning it’s essentially a slow tapering off. If you receive some of that assistance, and all of a sudden, you’re going into an income bracket where you would lose that. This, at least, will try to balance that out. People will still receive the help they need while trying to improve themselves.”