‘2012 Session Information’ Archives
Author: deanfiihr Published: February 10th, 2012
House Democrats said new budget documents released today show House Republicans aren’t interested in growing Iowa’s skilled workforce or education reform efforts.
“The Republican education budget is a failure for Iowa students and the future of our economy,” said House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy of Des Moines. “Now more than ever, the strength of Iowa’s economy is dependent on a highly-skilled workforce that can compete with workers from around the globe. The Republican budget guarantees that fewer Iowans will get the skills they need to land a good-paying job.”
The budget documents produced by the non-partisan Legislative Services Bureau show Republicans cutting over $80 million from Governor Branstad’s proposal. In addition to zeroing out $17 million for education improvements requested by the Governor, Republicans also slashed $62 million in support for students at community colleges, state universities, and private colleges.
“After working together for months, I’m deeply disappointed that House Republicans won’t provide a single dollar for education reform efforts,” said State Representative Sharon Steckman of Mason City, Ranking Member of the House Education Committee. “While I’m committed to working together to improve education, this is a devastating blow to our efforts this year.”
“With Iowa students already carrying the 4th highest debt load in the country, the Republican budget puts one more burden on the middle class while putting college out of reach for too many Iowans,” said Rep. Cindy Winckler of Davenport, the lead Democrat on the education budget committee.
Tags: Cindy Winckler, education reform, House Republicans, Iowa Education, Kevin McCarthy, Sharon Steckman, Terry Branstad
Category 2012 Session Information, Education, Featured, Recent News |
Author: deanfiihr Published: February 2nd, 2012
House Republicans released their budget for the 2013 year and it hits the state’s job creation efforts and education especially hard. Here’s the response from House Democratic Leader Kevin McCarthy:
The Republican budget will pull the plug on our job creation efforts next year. House Democrats are committed to strengthening our economy and growing the middle class. We won’t turn our back on economic development efforts to help Iowa Main Street businesses grow while rewarding big Wall Street corporations with over-sized tax breaks that won’t benefit Iowans.
With the future of our economy dependent on a highly-skilled workforce, we also can’t afford to short-change opportunities for Iowans to get the skills they need to land a good-paying job. We’re going to work with the Senate and Governor Branstad to craft a responsible budget.
Tags: budget targets, Iowa Budget, Iowa House Republicans, Kevin McCarthy, Nick Wagner, Scott Raecker
Category 2012 Session Information, Budget, Featured, Recent News |
Author: deanfiihr Published: January 26th, 2012
The Iowa House approved a bipartisan bill today to prevent a tuition hike on National Guard members who are back in college this year. Last week, House Democrats pushed Republicans to approve the bill quickly and end the uncertainty for National Guard students. The bill was approved by the Senate last week and now goes to the Governor.
Here’s the latest from Radio Iowa’s Kay Henderson:
$1.3 million set aside for Guard tuition grants (audio)
January 26, 2012 By O. Kay Henderson
The Iowa House has given final legislative approval to an emergency allotment of $1.3 million that will cover tuition costs for Iowa National Guard soldiers who’ve enrolled in college courses.
Representative Chris Hall, a Democrat from Sioux City, has heard from a number of soldiers in his district who saw their individual benefits cut by $1300 for this semester.
“During the first week of the legislature, I know that I received emails from several of our Guardsmen from the 185th Air Refueling Wing,” Hall says.
Representative Jerry Kearns, a Democrat from Keokuk, says this fulfills a promise made to those soldiers.
“I would have been happy to act on this last week and (get) it out of the way, but I’m very pleased we’re here today acting on it,” Kearns says.
The Iowa Senate approved the bill last week, but Republicans delayed action in the Iowa House to ensure that the Guard indeed needed that much money to fulfill its tuition grant promises. Representative Royd Chambers, a Republican from Sheldon who is a member of the Iowa Air National Guard, says Republicans were just doing their “due dilligence” in checking the numbers.
“We are, of course, all in support of supporting our National Guard members,” Chambers says. “But we also must remember that we are responsible for spending our tax dollars wisely and efficiently.”
Representative John Wittneben, a Democrat from Estherville, says legislators set aside money for the program last year, but that was before about 3000 Iowa National Guard soldiers came back to Iowa after active duty in Afghanistan.
“It’s awful hard to appropriate these dollars when you don’t know how many are going to be returning and taking advantage of this education (grant),” Wittneben says.
The Guard announced in December that Education Assistance grants to its soldiers would be cut because there wasn’t enough money set aside to cover the tuition grants for the 1400 Iowa National Guard soldiers who’re enrolled in college. Governor Branstad has indicated he’ll sign the legislation.
In other action this morning, the Iowa House approved spending $3 million in state money to help restore the USS Iowa, a World War II era battleship that will be docked in Los Angeles as a floating museum. The Iowa Senate approved that level of spending on the project last week.
Tags: chris hall, iowa national guard, john wittneben, Tuition Assistance
Category 2012 Session Information, Featured, Recent News, Veterans |
Author: deanfiihr Published: January 17th, 2012
House Democrats today encouraged Republicans to take quick action on two bills to prevent tuition hikes on national guard members and improve safety at Iowa’s correctional institutions.
“House Democrats are ready to take swift action this week and stop the tuition hike on national guard members. We are ready to work with Republicans and get the bill to the Governor’s desk before we return home for the weekend,” said Rep. Tyler Olson, D-Cedar Rapids, who leads Democrats on the House Appropriations Committee. “With most Iowa students already back at college for the spring semester, we need to take quick action to restore their tuition assistance before it’s too late.”
In December, the Iowa National Guard announced it would reduce awards for the Education Assistance Program from 90% to 50% because of high enrollment.
“Over the interim, we’ve heard from many Iowans with concerns about safety at our correctional institutions,” added Olson. “As legislators, we have an obligation to ensure the safety of workers in dangerous situations as well as protecting the general public from criminals.”
Olson said both bills will be filed tomorrow.
Tags: Iowa Correctional Institutions, Iowa House of Representatives, iowa national guard, National Guard Tuition, Prison Safety, Public Safety, Rep. Tyler Olson
Category 2012 Session Information, Budget, Featured, Public Safety, Recent News, Veterans |
Author: deanfiihr Published: January 12th, 2012
The annual Veterans Day at the Capitol is coming up on Wednesday, January 18th. All service members, veterans, and their families are welcomed and encouraged to attend. The day will give Iowans concerned about veteran’s issues a chance to meet with their legislators and other veterans.
The Iowa Veterans Coalition sponsors the Day at the Capitol, which includes events where you can learn about the latest legislative activity in Des Moines, hear from key policy makers, visit with event vendors about veteran-related services, and meet with your elected officials to make your voice heard on the key issues affecting veterans.
In addition, that day, Major General Timothy Orr, the Adjutant General of the Iowa National Guard, will address the Iowa Legislature on the Condition of the Iowa National Guard. Since September 11, 2001, more than 16,000 soldiers and airmen of the Iowa National Guard have served in the ongoing campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, peacekeeping duties in the Balkans and the Sinai Peninsula, and emergency response missions in Iowa and across the country. Iowa is in the midst of what is the largest, single unit call-up in Iowa since World War II. During 2011, there are over 3,000 Iowa National Guard Soldiers deployed overseas.
For more information, go to http://iowahouse.org/veteransday2012.pdf
Tags: iowa national guard, Iowa Veterans Day, military, military families, military spouses, Timothy Orr, Veterans
Category 2012 Session Information, Featured, Recent News, Veterans |
