Jack Hatch

Jack Hatch was elected in 2010 to his third term in the Iowa Senate. He represents central and south Des Moines, which includes some of the highest and lowest income families in the state.  Jack served in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1985 to 1993. In 1993, he accepted the position of State Director with U.S. Senator Tom Harkin. He returned to the Iowa House after winning election in November of 2000.  Senator Hatch is chair of the Human Services Budget Subcommittee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Commerce, Economic Growth, Human Resources and Labor & Business Relations committees.

Jack is committed to affordable, quality health care for all Iowans. Since 2007, he has led the Legislature’s comprehensive health care reform effort, including a commitment to health care coverage for all Iowa children by 2011. As a result, Iowa should have the highest percentage of children covered of any state in the county. He has also helped create the Community Health Center Incubator Program and the Iowa Collaborative Safety Net Provider Network.

In June of 2009, Jack was appointed chair of the White House Working Group of State Legislators for Health Reform. In that capacity, he has led state legislators who are health reform experts from around the country in advising the President on national proposals for health reform.  Jack has received several awards for his work in championing children’s issues. In 2005, Orchard Place, a statewide child and family counseling agency, and the Coalition for Family & Children’s Services in Iowa both awarded Jack the Outstanding Legislator Award for his work on child welfare initiatives.

Jack graduated from Drake University in 1972 with a BA degree and in 1973 with a Masters in Public Administration. In 1997, Jack founded the Hatch Development Group, a real estate development firm. In 2008, HDG expanded to Cedar Rapids.