Dear Friends,
Budget negotiations at the Iowa Capitol have stalled over support for education and job creation.
Our schools and colleges, as well as Iowa’s recovery from the national recession, will be damaged if we don’t reach a common-sense compromise.
To make that happen, Iowans need to get involved. That’s why I’m asking for your help. Please join your friends, neighbors and family members in voicing your concerns about unnecessary cuts to education at every level and the job creation initiatives that are helping our economy recover. The proposed cuts are unnecessary because we can afford these investments at a time when our state’s reserve funds are full at $600 million, and another $300 million will be added by the end of the fiscal year.
Here are 10 areas where Republicans insist on deep, unnecessary cuts that are causing gridlock at the Capitol:
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from the Gronstal Report 2/10/2011
I recently visited Lewis and Clark preschool in Council Bluffs to highlight efforts to prepare Iowa kids for a bright future. In 2007, the Legislature created the statewide preschool program, which now provides free preschool to 60 percent of Iowa four-year olds. On January 19th, House Republicans voted to completely eliminate the preschool program.
I wish the people who want to close these preschools would visit them and realize that our kids and grandkids are not just some line-item in a budget. The kids are learning skills that will prepare them for educational success throughout their lives. We can’t afford to NOT invest in their future.
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from the Gronstal Report 2/10/2011
Funding for education and kids should not be a partisan issue, especially when you consider that strong schools are key to Iowa’s economic opportunities—now and down the road.
Our path to a high-wage Iowa future depends on the quality of our local schools. Our children need the skills to take on available jobs, and we must assure new and expanding businesses that Iowa’s commitment to education is second to none.
Governor Branstad and Legislative Republicans have proposed zero new funding for our schools, and the Iowa House has already passed legislation that gives schools no new money.
Investing in education is key to our future
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Mike continues to work closely at the Capitol with legislators who believe jobs should be the Legislature’s number one priority. This week we focused on making sure Iowa employers can hire the skilled workers they need and helping Iowans get training so that they can fill available jobs.
This legislative session, we are staying focused on creating good jobs and improving the economy.
We won’t accomplish those goals by shutting down credit to small businesses, closing preschools or letting tobacco companies target our young people.
Unfortunately, that’s all included in the first bill taken up by the Iowa House this session.
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The great majority of Iowa employers respects and looks out for their employees. But by engaging in employee misclassifications, the bad actors threaten our state’s economy and harm businesses and hard-working Iowans that play by the rules.
There are more than 72,000 law-abiding employers here in Iowa. They correctly classify their employees, report quarterly wages and pay unemployment taxes. Yet they’re put at a competitive disadvantage by the employers who skirt the law.
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The 2011 session started this week with optimism about the future of our state and a renewed commitment to helping Iowans recover from the lingering national recession.
I know that every legislator feels a strong sense of responsibility and challenge. Iowans are looking to us to help improve the economy and create much-needed jobs. Until Iowa has fully recovered from the national recession, that will be my number one priority.
What we do this session will affect – positively or negatively – Iowa’s business climate. I’m confident we’ll make progress.
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A recently launched Web site is helping Iowa small businesses get the resources they need to grow.
The new Iowa Small Business Assistance Gateway -- www.iowa.gov/business -- provides information on how to start and manage a small business, licensing, permits and other regulatory assistance, and technical and financial assistance.
Last year, the Legislature initiated the effort to develop this one-stop-shop to enhance the success of small businesses across Iowa.
My number one priority during the 2011 session is growing the economy and creating more good-paying jobs here in Iowa. To do my job effectively, I need your help and ideas.
Please take my short jobs survey, which can be found here: http://interspire.iowasdc.info/surveys.php?id=12.
Thanks in advance!
The Rebuild Iowa Office and the Iowa Department of Economic Development have awarded a $50,000 Local Comprehensive Planning Grant to Council Bluffs.
The money will be used to develop and adopt comprehensive plans for long-term recovery and to reduce the risk of future flooding. This grant program is funded through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in response to the 2008 floods.
The Comprehensive Planning Grant program is based on the Iowa Smart Planning Principles that I helped pass during the 2010 session. The goal is to improve community resiliency in ways that increase economic opportunity, protect environmental resources and improve quality of life.
The most important thing the Legislature can do in the upcoming 2011 session is to invest in Iowans and strengthen Iowa’s economy. We will continue efforts that are working, such as building Iowa’s renewable energy economy. And we’ll fix what needs fixing, like shifting incentives to help Iowa’s Main Street businesses, rather than Wall Street businesses.
I’m honored to continue serving as Senate Majority Leader and eager to work with members of both parties and with incoming Governor Terry Branstad. By working together, we can make real progress on the challenges facing Iowa’s working families. In the Iowa Senate, we’ve put a great team in place to continue our work on job creation, helping Iowans recover from the national economic recession and laying the foundation for a lasting recovery.
If you have ideas you’d like to share with me as I prepare to return to the Capitol in January, please call me at 712-328-2808 or e-mail me at mike.gronstal@legis.state.ia.us.
I want to thank Iowans who participated in the 2010 elections. We had a large turnout at the polls, which makes for a strong democracy.
Voters clearly voiced their discontent with the lingering national recession. That’s the message I’ll be taking to the Iowa Statehouse when I return for the 2011 legislative session.
Too many Iowans are still out of work, which means we must stay focused on creating good jobs. I’m ready to work with Governor-elect Branstad and legislators from across the state to ensure that happens.
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During the 2010 session, the Legislature approved $30 million for a new Disaster Prevention Smart Planning Local Grant Program.
Grants will be awarded to construction projects that prevent future disasters and use smart planning techniques, such as sustainable designs for low-impact development. This includes replacement or reconstruction of local public buildings to mitigate damages from future flooding and other disasters.
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