DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird says she's wasted no time getting to work during her first days in office.
"On our first day in office, we announced that we are hiring two more prosecutors to build our team. [We] are focused on building a relationship with law enforcement, helping crime victims, enforcing our laws to criminal prosecution and protecting public safety," Bird said.
Other priorities include holding President Joe Biden's administration accountable on different issues, including the "unconstitutional" COVID-19 mandate and his student loan cancelation plan "that violates the law".
Furthermore, Bird has proposed legislation aimed at cracking down at specific drug offenses.
"As a prosecutor, I understand the toll that illegal drugs take on on Iowa and the deaths that have occurred because of opioid overdoses and other over overdoses are devastating," said Bird. "I'm so glad that Governor Reynolds has been working on this issue, and I want to partner with her and work with her."
So far, Bird has proposed increasing penalties on drug dealers who provide illegal drugs to people who die of overdoses. Bird believes the crime should be labeled a Class B felony, which requires a 25 year sentence.
Another big focus of Bird's time in office will be taking a hard look at how the state cares for victims of crimes.
"Getting to serve victims was one of my favorite and most rewarding parts of my job as a prosecutor," said Bird. "And I understand that no one chooses to be a victim of a crime, it can happen to anyone. And when that happens, we need to be there with the services that that victim needs, whether it's financial help, helping them recover from the crime, counseling, all of the services that someone might need."
Bird says she's traveling across the state to hear from Iowans on the barriers different communities face to getting these resources, in hopes of closing those gaps.
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