Ann M. Rhodes is a Waterloo native who worked at the University of Iowa for 47 years.

Education at all levels, but particularly higher education, is under assault. As a society, we appear to have abandoned the notion articulated by our Founding Fathers that an educated citizenry is critical to democracy.

As the Chair of the Executive Committee of the University of Iowa chapter of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP), I would like to speak to the values of higher education and its critical importance. Here are our core values, upon which our advocacy work is based.

An Iowan with in-depth knowledge of the health care sector looks at lesser-known benefits that could be lost if Congress replaces the Affordable Care Act. -promoted by desmoinesdem

The debate on Republican efforts to repeal and replace the 2010 health care reform law has focused on the provision of health care and the repeal of some taxes. In particular, attention has been directed at the effort to reduce Medicaid coverage.

What isn’t being discussed: the Affordable Care Act (ACA) included many provisions aimed at addressing serious issues in the health care system, such as quality, safety, and workforce shortages. None of those can be found in the House-approved American Health Care Act (AHCA) or the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA), proposed by Senate Republican leaders.

So, in addition to reducing (or eliminating) coverage for poor people and individuals with illnesses, the Republican bill would be a step backward in terms of efforts to improve the health care system, which accounts for 17 percent of our gross domestic product.