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Senate
Democrats Legislative Report
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Health care for all—starting with Iowa’s
children
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Standing up for Iowa families by boosting our economy
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College initiative produces savings for Iowans
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Committee moves to boost voter turnout
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Tax checkoffs improve Iowa’s quality-of-life
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Question of the week: energy efficiency
It is hard to underestimate the importance of health care
reform to our economy and to the well-being of our families. Many Iowans are contacting their
legislators about health care concerns and problems getting affordable health
care.
This week, legislators introduced a proposal that could
make Iowa
the first state in the nation to guarantee all children have health
insurance.
Currently 44,000 Iowa
kids are without health insurance.
Under the new legislation, 25,000 of them would be covered through
hawk-i, Medicaid, and other state-funded
initiatives. The remaining 19,000
would be covered by private insurance plans.
A state subsidy based on a sliding scale would ensure all families
could afford to buy health insurance for their children.
We’re optimistic we can accomplish this goal in the next
two to three years. As we move through
the process, we’ll better understand how to reach the goal of extending
health care to all Iowans. My goal is
to see every Iowan have access to quality health care that provides choice,
affordability, consumer information, cost containment, and preventive health care.
The proposal released this week is taking us in the right
direction. It includes fundamental
reforms to Iowa’s
health care system, including telemedicine, the creation of “medical homes”
that provide consistent care focused on prevention,
and an insurance exchange to improve quality and lower costs for private
insurance plans.
In many ways, Iowa
is better positioned than any other state in the nation to lead on health
care reform. We have the highest
percentage of our population already insured, the fourth lowest health care
costs, and the sixth highest quality when compared to other states.
Being the first state where every child has health
insurance would make all Iowans proud.
Standing up for Iowa families by boosting our economy
One of the most important jobs of the Legislature is to
stand up for Iowa
families by investing in long-range economic development to ensure future
growth and economic prosperity across our state.
A new report on the Grow Iowa Values Fund indicates we are
doing just that. You can read it for yourself at www.iowalifechanging.com/compliance. By clicking on “Project Portfolio,” you can
conduct an interactive search of projects funded through the Values Fund and
other state business development programs.
The Values Fund, administered by the Iowa Department of
Economic Development, is a highly successful 10-year initiative to improve
our economy, create jobs, and generate wealth for Iowans. The Legislature is doing its part to support
this effort by appropriating $36 million annually for business development
assistance.
IDED has seen a lot of activity in recent years. In 2007 alone, more than $12 million was
awarded to 127 new projects that are expected to create 2,357 jobs and retain
2,383 jobs here in Iowa. That’s great news for our state.
Since 2003, IDED has been helping businesses get started
or expand in our rural communities and urban areas. They’ve funded 441 projects supporting
approximately 23,548 jobs; awarded more than $119 million in direct financial
assistance; and granted roughly $444 million in tax benefits.
Iowa students, parents
and taxpayers are saving millions of dollars because of an innovative
partnership between Iowa
high schools and community colleges.
A new study has found that high school students
participating in dual enrollment programs have saved the state $21.7 million
in state educational appropriations.
These partnerships between local community colleges and school
districts have also saved Iowa
families $30.7 million in future college-related expenses.
Under dual enrollment, the state of Iowa, community colleges and high schools
form a partnership to help high school students earn college credits for
free. It’s a great way for our area
high school students to work toward a college degree debt free. Based on the latest data, 27,331 students
have taken advantage of this opportunity.
The study by Strategic Economics Group determined that Iowa’s dual enrollment
programs generated more than a five-fold return on the taxpayers’
investment. The study also indicates
that students who take college credit in high school earn higher college GPAs
and have better graduation rates.
Iowa’s community colleges
are very cost effective, and money invested in our community colleges pays
big dividends by increasing Iowa’s
workforce skills and helping more students complete a degree program. To encourage more students to take
advantage of the great financial and educational opportunities offered at our
community colleges, Governor Culver has proposed a 2 percent increase in the
amount the state contributes to dual enrollment.
I am a strong supporter of our community colleges and
advocate additional funding. For more
on dual enrollment and the community colleges that offer it, go to the Iowa
Department of Education’s website at www.iowa.gov/educate/content/view/849/989/.
The Legislature has taken big steps in recent years to
help increase voter turnout and ensure that Iowa elections are clean, fair and
accountable.
Last session, we provided $2 million to help counties
purchase better voting machines. We
also passed landmark legislation allowing Iowans to register at their local
polling place on Election Day.
This week, the Senate Local Government Committee approved
legislation making it easier to request an absentee ballot. Currently, voters must complete the
official absentee ballot request form created by the Iowa Secretary of
State’s office and mail it to their local auditor’s office.
Senate File 2089 would allow registered voters to use any
piece of paper to request an absentee ballot from the county auditor, as long
as the voter’s request contains the required
information.
Tax checkoffs improve Iowa’s quality-of-life
When you file your income taxes this year, consider
contributing to one of Iowa’s
five checkoffs.
By giving $1 or more to these causes, we can all make Iowa a better place to
live, work and raise a family. The available checkoffs
are:
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The Chickadee
Checkoff to benefit Iowa’s Wildlife Diversity Program, which
monitors and manages our non-game wildlife.
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The Corn
Dog Checkoff to help the Iowa State Fair
Foundation pay for capital projects and improvements to property on the
Fairgrounds.
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Proceeds from the Keep Iowa Beautiful Checkoff are used
for anti-litter campaigns and other efforts to enhance the beauty of our
state.
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The
Firefighters Checkoff to provide resources to
the Iowa Fireman's Association for training our firefighters in all aspects
of emergency response.
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The Veterans
Trust Fund Checkoff to assist veterans with job
training, counseling, home health care expenses, and other services.
For complete information on Iowa’s checkoffs,
go to the Iowa Department of Revenue’s Web site at www.iowa.gov/tax/1040EI/Line/06Line59.html.
Doing more with less energy is obviously the right thing
to do. How effective are the energy efficiency
programs by electric & gas utilities?
Iowa’s
investor-owned power utilities provide 75 percent of the electricity sold in
the state. In recent years, the state
has required them to spend more on energy efficiency. Last year, a Legislative study found that
for every dollar investor-owned power utilities spend, they receive more than
$2 in benefits and that they have substantially increased energy savings over
the past six years.
Nationwide, Iowa
ranks among the top ten states for planned, per-capita spending on natural
gas and electric energy efficiency. I
think we can do even better. When we
do, we will help grow our economy and improve our environment. This session, I’m supporting a bipartisan
effort to set high goals for improved energy efficiency and then coordinate
public and private efforts to accomplish those goals.
For more information, visit www.state.ia.us/government/com/util/index.html.
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