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Senate
Democrats
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Growing middle class
strengthens Iowa’s economy
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Ending wage discrimination,
growing Iowa’s middle class
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New agenda to help meet
needs of our veterans
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Making Iowa more attractive
to young people
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Taking pride in Iowa’s quality
of life
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Getting to the bottom of
unsafe living conditions, labor violations
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Transparency for government
dollars, help for Iowa loan holders
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Increasing student
achievement through teacher academies
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Quality school
administrators are one key to student achievement
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Tax code target of
legislative scrutiny
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Iowa Senate starts
conversation on “National Popular Vote”
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Guard steps up suicide
prevention
In the face of the ongoing national recession, we must put
a higher priority on strengthening and growing Iowa’s middle-class families.
Even before the onset of this recession, middle-class
families across our state were being squeezed. At the same time, incomes
increased sharply for the wealthiest Iowans.
Did you know that Iowa
has the nation’s second highest percentage of two parent families where both
parents work?
And even when both parents work, many Iowa families must go without or go into
debt to get by. A recent report found
that to make ends meet in our state, both parents must earn at least $8.88 an
hour. Yet almost 1 in 5 Iowa
jobs pay less than that.
If you and your spouse have two kids, you both need to
earn an average of at least $10.92 an hour.
By that standard, one in three Iowa
jobs falls short.
For single parents, the outlook is even tougher. Half of
jobs currently held by Iowa
workers don’t pay enough to support a parent and a child.
How do we grow Iowa’s
middle class? We do a better job of rewarding working Iowans.
First, we expand access to affordable health care. Health
care is a major cost in everyone’s budget. Uninsured health care costs
bankrupt more Iowans than any other single reason.
Second, we ensure that an honest day’s work earns Iowans
an honest day’s pay. A prevailing wage law would, for example, increase wages
for Iowa
workers and discourage unscrupulous contractors from importing unskilled or
low-skilled workers.
Third, we keep the door to educational opportunity
open. We must continue to hold down
tuition increases, especially at community colleges, keep the best teachers
in Iowa classrooms, and, ensure that quality
pre-school is available to all Iowa
four-year-olds.
Finally, we must confront the reality of the deepening
national recession by balancing the state budget without raising taxes.
On February 16, the Iowa Senate voted overwhelmingly to
outlaw wage discrimination based on age, race, religion, gender and the other
protected classes under the Iowa Civil Rights Act.
The changes we passed are especially good news for Iowa women and their
families. Iowa
currently ranks 37th among states when it comes to equal pay for men and
women.
This new legislation would punish employers who
discriminate. The Iowa Civil Rights
Commission could award double the shortfall for the time discriminatory wages
were paid and up to three times that wage shortfall in cases of willful violation.
The legislation applies only to employers who have four or
more employees. It does not apply to wage differences resulting from
seniority and job performance.
The legislation now goes to the Iowa House for its
consideration.
The Iowa Veterans Council reports that the 2008
Legislative session was “the most successful year for veterans in the
Legislature since the 1950s.” The
council includes several organizations, including the Marine Corps League, Vietnam
Veterans of America, the VFW, and Disabled American Veterans.
I am proud to have been part of that bipartisan effort,
and I’m looking forward to our 2009 accomplishments.
Several legislators recently unveiled a set of initiatives
that will provide greater assistance to our veterans. We have an obligation
to make sure veterans and their families get the support they deserve.
Our proposed veterans’ package will:
▸ Ensure
that soldiers returning from active duty with conditions like post-traumatic
stress disorder get the mental health services they need.
▸ Allow
an employee to use Family Military Leave if a family member is called to, or
returns from, active duty.
▸ Prohibit
home foreclosures on military reserve members and their families while on active
duty.
▸ Help
children of military families to get a quality education without falling
between the cracks due to frequent moves.
▸ Pay
the unemployment claims when temporary workers lose their jobs due to
employees on active duty returning from service, thus relieving employers of
that burden.
Making Iowa more attractive to young people
The Generation Iowa Commission is charged with finding
ways to attract and keep young adults here in Iowa. The Commission is made up of Iowans
between the ages of 18 and 35 from all areas of the state, backgrounds and
sectors of employment.
In recent years, Iowa
suffered from “brain drain” because too many of our educated young adults
leave the state. In 2008, research by the Generation Iowa Commission showed
that the number one reason young adults leave Iowa is for higher paying jobs.
Young adults also said they are interested in living
nearer amenities and attractions that meet their needs and interests, in
options for career advancement and mentoring, and in cost-of-living plus
student debt repayment.
The Generation Iowa Commission asked the Legislature to:
▸ Be
more ambitious in creating high-skill jobs.
▸ Ensure
more young people are on the state’s economic development, education and
quality-of-life boards.
▸ Double
financial support of small business internships.
▸ Increase
education grants for AmeriCorps disaster
volunteers.
Over the past few years, we have taken many steps to keep
the best and brightest in our state. We continue to grow our economy by
attracting businesses that offer high-paying and high-quality jobs. Yet the
Commission’s report shows there is still room for improvement.
For information on the Generation Iowa Commission, go to www.iowalifechanging.com/generation.
This week, the chair of the Vision Iowa Board reported on the
Vision Iowa and Community Attraction and Tourism programs before the Senate
Economic Growth Committee.
Vision Iowa and CAT help
communities create recreation, cultural, education or entertainment venues
that enhance the quality of life in Iowa.
In 2008, the Legislature extended this popular program for
tourism by three years at $12 million a year until 2013. In its first 8
years, $345.9 million has been invested throughout Iowa, and that investment has leveraged
$1.79 billion. I am happy to say that 322 projects have been funded in 92 of Iowa’s 99 counties.
We recognize the positive impact of these efforts on
economic growth and making Iowa
a more attractive place to live. We’ll
continue to make Iowa a home and destination we can all be proud of.
For more on Vision Iowa
and CAT, go to www.visioniowa.org.
Iowans are shocked and angry that dozens of mentally
disabled men from Texas lived for years in a
decrepit, unsafe bunkhouse in Atalissa, a small town in eastern Iowa. Since the 1970s,
Henry's Turkey Service had recruited these men to work at a local meat
processing plant.
In an effort to determine how things got so bad, the
Government Oversight Committee heard recently from representatives of several
state departments, including Human Services and Inspections and Appeals. We
also talked with local government officials from Atalissa.
Last year, we saw at the AgriProcessors
plant in Postville how able-bodied workers can be exploited. That case
involved the failure to pay workers, unsafe working conditions, substandard
housing, and child labor violations.
In Atalissa, the workers were men with mental and physical handicaps
whose need for basic protections was even greater. The system failed them.
Payroll records obtained by the Des Moines Register
indicate that the 21 men living in the Atalissa bunkhouse collected about 44
cents per hour in wages. Henry's Turkey Service apparently took most of their
other income. This included, in some cases, Social Security and government
disability payments.
This story is, and continues to be, a black eye for Iowa. I appreciate the Governor’s rapid response
to this case. I look forward to working with the task force he has appointed
and will consider any legislative solutions they feel are appropriate.
To report suspected child abuse or dependent adult abuse,
call the Department of Human Services’ Child & Dependent Adult Abuse
Hotline at 1-800-362-2178 or visit the website:
www.dhs.state.ia.us/Consumers/Safety_and_Protection/Abuse_Reporting/ChildAbuse.html.
The Government Oversight Committee recently heard from the
state banking superintendent and representatives of Iowa banks on the impact of federal
bailout money they’ve received.
The banking officials reported that in December, West Bancorporation received
$36 million in federal bailout money, Heartland Financial received $81.7
million and MidWestOne received $34.9 million.
It’s important that banks receiving taxpayer money be
transparent about how they are using those dollars to help the economy and
their communities in these tough economic times. I expect Iowa banks to be accountable, regardless
of whether it is local money, state money or federal money they’re dealing
with.
While Iowa
is better positioned than many other states to deal with our worsening
economy, it may be a while before things turn up again. If you’re
experiencing financial troubles, I encourage you to work with your local bank
or credit union to find solutions. If you need specific assistance on your
mortgage, call the Iowa Mortgage Help Line at 877-622-4866 or go to www.IowaMortgageHelp.com.
Some new ideas are helping educators improve student
achievement by using proven instructional tools that make a difference in the
classroom.
The new ideas include Teacher Development Academies. Iowa
classroom teachers and State Board of Education officials came to the Capitol
recently to describe how teacher academies are making local students and
schools more successful.
The academies involve intensive, expert-level training for
teachers and administrators in areas where local students are not achieving
at the level they could. After the training, academy representatives follow
up with teachers to measure student progress.
If students don’t respond to new teaching strategies, academy
instructors continue working with local educators until they find the right
strategies that help students succeed.
The Legislature has invested $1.8 million for the last
four years in this effective statewide effort, and more than 200 local school
teams have participated in Teacher Development Academies.
Learn more at the Iowa Department of Education website at http://tinyurl.com/au7fk2.
The number one factor in a student’s success is having a
top-notch teacher in the classroom. We now have research that shows that
high-quality leadership among administrators is also a key ingredient for
student success.
Here in Iowa,
we’re ahead of the game. For the last eight years, Iowa has partnered with the Wallace
Foundation, a non-profit in educational programs, which has supported $1.5
million each year to increase the effectiveness and instructional leadership
of administrators in our schools. These programs have allowed Iowa to provide
mentoring for beginning administrators and professional development for
principals and superintendents.
To learn more about Iowa’s
efforts to improve school leadership, go to www.sai-iowa.org/leadership.
We continue to review Iowa’s tax system to ensure fairness,
competitiveness, simplicity and accountability. The Senate Ways & Means
Committee recently heard about a new report from the Iowa Department of
Revenue.
The 2005 Iowa Tax Expenditure Study provides information
on the impact of tax credits, deductions, exemptions and income exclusions on
the revenue raising capacity of the State’s four major General Fund taxes.
These include the individual income tax, the corporate income tax, the sales
tax and the use tax.
Most years these four taxes account for at least 90
percent of net General Fund tax receipts. The report details more than $7
billion in tax expenditures, which can also be thought of as tax cuts that
the Legislature has approved over the past 160 years or so.
For the complete Iowa Tax Expenditures Study 2005, go to www.state.ia.us/tax/educate/TaxExp2005.pdf.
Iowa Senate starts conversation on “National
Popular Vote”
The Senate State Government Committee heard from advocates
this week who want to change the national election process so that the
president is elected by popular vote, instead of by the Electoral College.
Proponents of a National Popular Vote are hoping to build
support at the state level. The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee
the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50
states and the District of Columbia.
The move would not affect Iowa’s
caucus system.
So far, the National Popular Vote bill has been enacted by
four states-- Hawaii, Illinois,
Maryland and New Jersey-- which have a combined 50
electoral votes. That is 19 percent of
the 270 needed to bring the National Popular Vote into effect.
The current system is a winner-take-all approach that
awards all of a state’s electoral votes to the candidate who receives the
most popular votes in that state. Therefore a candidate can win the
presidency without winning the most popular votes nationwide. This has
occurred in 4 of the nation’s 55 presidential elections.
To learn more, go to www.NationalPopularVote.com.
Ron Dardis, Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, presented
his annual Condition of the Guard address to the Iowa Legislature this
week.
Iowa National Guard members have been deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan,
the Balkans and other areas of the world, in addition to assisting with the
disasters right here in Iowa during 2008 and
serving on inaugural duty in Washington,
D.C., in January.
General Dardis noted that he has seen an increase in the
number of suicides and suicide attempts among Guard members recently.
“They (National Guard members) are at a stage of life that
is full of changes and oftentimes uncertainty,” Dardis said during his
speech. “Relationships begin and end. Careers start and often take
unexpected turns. Financial responsibility proves challenging.
Like their civilian counter-parts, men and women in uniform must navigate
these difficult life events.”
As a result, the National Guard has developed a broad
suicide prevention program that teaches life skills, how to deal with stress
and the importance of seeking help.
“This program focuses on developing positive life coping
skills; encouraging a behavior to seek help when needed; raising awareness
and vigilance toward suicide prevention; integrating suicide prevention
programs throughout our units; and conducting suicide surveillance, analysis
and reporting,” Dardis said.
General Dardis indicated that the Guard will continue to
do all it can do to stem the rise in suicides.
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