Capitol Comments
The Final Days
The 2013 Legislative session is in overtime, and although we have agreed on how much we can spend, we still haven’t hammered out all the final details. It is our responsibility, especially in these crucial and final agreements, to balance the state budget, distribute our scarce resources wisely, protect our cherished values and quality of life, and make smart investments in Iowa’s future.
I want to thank all the constituents who have contacted me about their concerns and interests during the session. I hope that I have responded to you in a timely manner and have lived up to your expectations here at the statehouse. I look forward to visiting with you soon, at home, between this session and the next.
House and Senate conference committee negotiators are still finalizing budget and tax bills, so next week I will report to you how your priorities and those important to Cedar Rapids, and all Iowans, are finally addressed by the Legislature. Notably, several of the most significant pieces: the Health & Human Services budget, property tax reform, Medicaid expansion, education reform, and Allowable Growth for k-12 schools are yet to be decided.
Issues Worth Fighting For
1. Sufficient funding for K-12 schools. The Senate voted to set funding for the 2013-14 school year. The House didn’t. Because education is so important to Iowans, state law has long required this advance planning. Unfortunately, other lawmakers have broken with 40 years of sound legislative practice and refused to approve local school funding. As a result, Iowa teachers are now getting pink slips and student classroom sizes are growing. It’s time to end the political games tying up the money that our schools rely on. Allowable Growth, at 4%, should be voted on, today!
2. Training & educating more skilled workers. State and local business leaders say they need more employees with the training and education to fill key positions. We know that our excellent community colleges and our specialized trade organizations can help solve this problem. That’s where Iowans go to learn a professional trade or craft, get a GED, learn basic skills and earn industry-recognized certificates in welding, health care, technology and other areas. There is bipartisan agreement that we must help low-skilled Iowans become the high-skilled workers Iowa businesses need.
3. Expanding access to health care. Iowans with health insurance pay about a billion dollars a year in increased health care costs to help those who can’t afford insurance. These are working Iowans whose employers don’t provide insurance and whose paychecks aren’t large enough to cover it themselves. More than 88 statewide groups impacted by healthcare, including the AARP, the Iowa Catholic Conference, the Iowa hospitals’ associations, and American Cancer Society, all say that expanding Medicaid is the answer. Others want Iowa taxpayers to pay more for a different approach that covers fewer people and has fewer services. Expand Medicare in Iowa, now!
4. Cutting taxes for our Iowa local businesses. Small and Main Street businesses are Iowa’s job creators. We can boost our economy by lowering their commercial property taxes. The plan I support will do just that without increasing residential taxes or hurting essential public services. Pass the Senate’s property tax proposal in the Iowa House!
5. Cutting taxes for hard working Iowans. We can help low-income families work their way out of poverty by increasing the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit. It’s an effective anti-poverty program that also boosts the economy when working families spend those dollars locally on food, gas, car repairs, medical bills and other necessities. Pass the Earned Income Tax Credit!
6. Providing food for hungry Iowans. There are 408,000 food insecure people in the state. This includes 1 out of every 5 children in Iowa. This session we received thousands of their stories, written on empty paper plates. And there are at least 407,995 more of these stories spread all across all 99 counties. These are our Iowa children, seniors, the unemployed, and individuals with disabilities. Some are families that have experienced a devastating family disaster. They are counting on us to help. This session provides an amazing opportunity for both sides of the aisle to work together to make a BIG difference! Pass legislation to help our statewide food banks provide emergency food and meals to those in dire need!
These six efforts are among the priorities that constituents have told me are most important. Thank you to all who shared your concerns and suggestions. I really appreciate hearing from you! And rest assured that I’ll keep fighting for you, here at the Capitol, until the gavel falls.
Honoring Veterans
Monday, May 27, is Memorial Day. It is a time to remember the fallen soldiers who bravely served our country and the veterans among us who’ve sacrificed for our freedom.
Military service is a life-changing event. That’s why supporting our veterans, service members and their families is a fundamental responsibility we all share. While the war in Iraq is over and the Afghan war is winding down, our obligation to our returning veterans continues. Education, health care and job training are among the essentials needed to help welcome them back to our communities.
I am honored to be a member of the House Veteran’s Committee, where we took another step this session to help veterans get the medical attention they need by providing assistance from the Veterans Trust Fund for service-related brain injury screening. Under House File 545, funding is available to those who cannot receive payment or reimbursement through any other federal or state program, private health insurance or managed care organization.
To ensure timely treatment, there are no income eligibility requirements for veterans seeking help from the Trust Fund for possible service-related brain injury. The Veterans Trust Fund also helps low-income veterans with expenses related to vision, hearing and dental care, durable medical equipment, and emergency home or vehicle repairs.
Here are a few other ways we’ve continued Iowa’s strong track record of supporting and honoring our service members, veterans and their families this session:
• Ensuring that those serving on active duty remain eligible to receive tuition assistance benefits and attend school once they return. (SF 332)
• Emphasizing the admission of homeless, honorably discharged veterans to the Iowa Veterans Home. (HF 544)
• Including a mental health treatment staff member on the care committee for patients at the Iowa Veterans Home. (HF 544)
• Providing care at the Iowa Veterans Home for Gold Star parents—that is any parent of a service member who died on active duty. (HF 544)
• Allowing veterans to immediately get their veteran status marked on their driver’s license or state ID. (SF 224)
Cedar Rapids Students Win History Contest
Students of Shannon Haas at Kennedy High School have taken top honors in a statewide history contest and will represent Iowa at the National History Day competition at the University of Maryland. These students competed in the senior division (grades 9-12) of the National History Day in Iowa contest at the State Historical Museum in Des Moines and are headed for nationals:
Sweta Sudhir, Nina Yu – Senior Group Performance, “DNA Fingerprinting: An Idea that Revolutionized Criminal Investigations”
Abhinaya Gunasekar – Senior Individual Exhibit, “Brown v. Board of Education: Turning Point in Pursuit of Equality”
National History Day helps students learn about historical issues, ideas, people and events. It fosters their enthusiasm for learning and encourages them to use a variety of sources on a project related to the annual theme, “Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events.” Learn more at www.iowahistory.org.
Top Iowa Schools
I wanted to let you know that six high schools with students from my district (HD 66) have been recognized by the University of Iowa’s Belin-Blank Center as top Iowa high schools for AP participation.
Every year, the University of Iowa College of Education’s Connie Belin & Jacqueline N. Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development, assesses Advanced Placement (AP) participation among accredited public and nonpublic schools in Iowa. The index is part of the Belin-Blank Center’s efforts to recognize Iowa schools that provide challenging academic opportunities for high school students.
The College Board’s Advanced Placement Program allows students to pursue college-level studies and take college-level exams while in high school. In May 2012, more than 2 million students took 3.7 million AP Exams in 34 subjects.
The following schools have been recognized by Belin-Blank Center as a top Iowa high school for AP participation. Congratulations to the faculty, parents and students at these schools!!
George Washington High School – Rank #1
John F Kennedy High School – Rank #2
Xavier High School – Rank #12
Linn-Mar High School – Rank #16
Thomas Jefferson High School – Rank #25
Prairie High School – Rank #31
The top 25 schools will be honored during the annual Belin-Blank Recognition Ceremony on Oct. 13, at the University of Iowa.
For Your Summer
Iowa byways website and tour guide
Create an Iowa adventure with the Iowa byways interactive website. The site has information on Iowa’s nationally recognized byways, including route descriptions and history, contact information, and listings of local events, attractions and travel services. You can plan, map and share your trip, save notes or even send an e-postcard. See what the Iowa Byways website has to offer at www.iowabyways.org.
Iowa interactive bicycle map
One of Iowa DOT’s most popular publications, the Iowa Transportation Map for Bicyclists, is now online. The map will help you:
• Plan your bike trip ahead of time. Enter your starting and ending points and a suggested route will be generated.
• Discover Iowa’s bike lanes, trails and bicycle-friendly roads.
• Locate bicycle amenities, such as trailheads, restrooms and water fountains.
• Find bicycle shops where you can pick up equipment and get repairs.
Check it out at www.iowadot.gov/interactiveiowabikemap.htm and send the link to your out-of-state bicycling friends.
(above two photos) We toured the HACAP Food Bank Reservoir in Hiawatha. They provide emergency food for a 7-county area, and the supplies go out as quickly as they’re received. In fact, according to the Director, Amanda Pieper, 1 out of 4 kids in HACAP’s serving area goes hungry once a week, not knowing where the next meal will come from. HACAP food banks and soup kitchens served over 1,700,000 meals in 2012 and sometimes could not meet the growing demand. Amanda explained that private contributions have increased but the demand has been even greater. If you’d like to volunteer at HACAP, you can call 2-1-1 or click here: http://www.hacap.org/
Pictured with Representative Daniel Lundby; HACAP CEO, Jane Drapeaux; HACAP Food Reservoir Dir, Amanda Pieper; Deputy Dir of Community Planning for Linn County Community Services, Ann Hearn; Shelter Insurance agent, Ed Faber; Table to Table Executive Director, Bob Andrlik; and Executive Director of Hawkeye Labor Council and organizer for the NACL food drive last Saturday, Rick Moyle.
At the end of the Lace Up For Learning 5K in CR, I said hello to Sue Pence, VP of the CR School Foundation. This race was a fundraiser for the foundation because as Sue says and I agree, “It’s all about the kids.”
After teaching an energetic group of 4th Graders, I stopped by the Kenwood Park Neighborhood Assoc. meeting, just in time to hear a neighborhood activity summary presented by the CR police dept. Kenwood remains one of the safest, crime-free neighborhoods in Cedar Rapids. Also discussed…the Association is working with city officials to make a Kenwood Park Pavilion a realty. Maybe in time for their 2014 ice cream social!
One of the long-standing traditions, here in the Iowa House, is the decorating of the Representatives file boxes. These will be used to pack and move-home the belongings and paperwork accumulated during Session. Shown here, decorating boxes, are several of our wonderfully dedicated pages who have assisted us throughout – running errands and delivering materials to our desks. They are still with us, volunteering, two weeks after the scheduled end of session! Great to have these smart, dedicated young people here at the Capitol volunteering, observing, and learning how our legislative branch operates.
Historic Preservation and Cultural and Entertainment District Tax Credit Program being signed by Governor Branstad this week. The program is administered by the Department of Cultural Affairs and is intended to offset rehabilitation costs of restoring historic buildings.
