When the Legislature took its final action on the FY 2011 Health and Human Services budget in March, a major assumption was built into that bill. It was expected that Congress would pass legislation extending the enhanced federal matching funds for Medicaid so that the additional money would run throughout the whole year. Things have changed since adjournment and the prospect of a Medicaid shortfall in the new year has increased dramatically.
The ability to balance the state’s FY 2011 budget hinged on the federal government providing more Medicaid funding. The Democrats’ Medicaid budget reduced the General Fund appropriation from $606 million in FY 10 to just $394 million in FY 11. Believing they would receive a full year of an additional 6.2 percent of federal Medicaid funds from Washington enabled legislative Democrats’ to divert money to other departments. Instead of putting $119 million towards Medicaid, it was spent on numerous other items throughout the budget. Kind of a “rob Peter to pay Paul” scheme.
Extension of the federal Medicaid enhanced match was considered for inclusion in the federal health care reform bill, but was not added due to the cost – $24 billion. After health care reform passed, it was assumed that this could be attached to the emergency appropriation bill to fund military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. But Republicans, who are needed to pass that bill, refused to vote for any domestic spending included in the bill.
Next, congressional leadership decided to add it to this year’s stimulus bill. Instead of being honest with the American public on what the money was to do, they claimed it was a “jobs” provision. The money would go to save public employee jobs. That didn’t work either, as Blue Dog Democrats in the House refused to vote for the bill until the money was stripped out.
Once the House voted before Memorial Day on the bill, the experts in Washington believed the Senate would add the funding to the bill and jam it down the House members’ throats. That has yet to happen since Senate Republicans refuse to go along with the plan. Early last week, Senate leadership offered up a sliding scale where states would instead get 5.3 percent bump for January through March and then 3.2 percent bump from April to June. That idea would have lowered Iowa’s allotment from $119 million to $80 million. That didn’t work either.
Then last Wednesday night, Senator Reid announced that the plan had been changed to 3.2 percent for January through March, and 2.1 percent for April, May, and June. Estimates on Iowa’s share under this plan are not available yet, but it is likely to be significantly less than the previous estimate of $80 million. He also said he didn’t know if he had the 60 votes needed to pass the bill and that he had no backup plan. And, he had no assurance that the House would accept the Senate’s new plan. So, Iowa’s Medicaid budget for FY 2011 looks like it might be short at the start of the new fiscal year, July 1.
(From Representative Dwayne Alons Capitol Comments June 30, 2010)
Take Action Now: In June, Congressman Steve King of Iowa filed a petition that would force the U.S. House of Representatives to vote on repealing Obamacare. We must repeal Obamacare, now! Tell your Member of Congress to sign the petition to repeal Obamacare.
The Heritage For Action is supporting Steve King”s bill to repeal health care. Pelosi has stopped the bill in the house so we need to get 218 votes to get the bill to the floor for a vote. Heritage For Action is featuring a phone number a day of congressman who have not yet signed the bill to flush out those who say that they want to repeal health care but will not sign the discharge petition. Todays congressman is Eric Cantor.
Everyone should call Cantors office today and ask him to sign the petition……202-225-2815.
There is also a prepared email to just fill in your name and send to congress. Here is the website http://heritageforamerica.org/
Heritage Action for America launched a national campaign to repeal Obamacare. Heritage Action will work aggressively to advance a discharge petition filed today in the House of Representatives by Rep. Steve King (R-IA). The discharge petition would force a vote on H.R.4972, a bill to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
“This is a great day for the American people,” said Heritage Action CEO Michael A. Needham. “The effects of Obamacare are being felt more and more every day. For Americans all across the country, the reality of a hostile government takeover of health care is setting in and poll after poll continues to show the public’s disapproval. We must act now to reverse this poor policy.”
Cameron Sutton, a longtime Heritage supporter and President and CEO of Iowa’s ARAG, praised Rep. King, saying he “took a bold step forward in leading the fight to repeal Obamacare with the filing of this discharge petition. As a businessman and employer of hundreds of people in Iowa, I know first hand how damaging this law will be not only to businesses but to every Iowan and every American.”
Fighting for the full repeal of Obamacare will be the first major initiative of Heritage Action.
“As a long time member of The Heritage Foundation I am excited to see their new sister organization Heritage Action for America take the lead to push Members of Congress across the country to sign this petition to begin the repeal process of this damaging law,” said Mr. Sutton.
“By filing a discharge petition to force a vote on repeal, Rep. King demonstrates an understanding that conservatives cannot wait for a new Congress to fight this hostile government takeover of our health care system. Heritage Action will stand with Rep. King and every other Member of Congress who signs onto the repeal effort,” Mr. Needham said.
“Heritage Action will commit substantial resources toward repealing Obamacare and make clear that those who fail to support this effort are responsible for Obamacare,” Mr. Needham said.
Heritage Action will engage in political grassroots advocacy to educate Members of Congress and their constituents about the problems with Obamacare. Heritage Action will target Members of Congress at home in their districts and in Washington, DC with paid political advertisements, local grassroots activity, online activist tools and earned media.
With more than 661,000 members across the country, The Heritage Foundation and its sister organization, Heritage Action for America, are committed to building an America where freedom, opportunity, prosperity and a civil society flourishes. Obamacare hinders those objectives. For more information on how we plan to repeal Obamacare, visit heritageforamerica.org.
President Nixon, in 1972, established Father’s Day as a permanent national observance. On Father’s Day, 1988, Ronald Reagan said: “Children, vulnerable and dependent, desperately need security, and it has ever been a duty and a joy of fatherhood to offer it. Being a father requires strength…and more than a little courage…to persevere, to fight discouragement, and to keep working for the family.” Reagan continued: “With God’s grace, fathers find the patience to teach, the fortitude to provide, the compassion to comfort, and the mercy to forgive. All of this is to say that they find the strength to love their wives and children selflessly.” President Reagan ended: “Let us…express our thanks and affection to our fathers, whether we can do so in person or in prayer.”
(American Minute)
“Above all, I know there is a Supreme Being who rules the affairs of men and whose goodness and mercy have always followed the American people, and I know he will not turn from us now if we humbly and reverently seek his powerful aid.” - From the Second Inaugural Address
Grover Cleveland (1837 – 1908), 22nd and 24th President of the United States
Gov. Culver wants Iowans to believe that $100 million for about 10 hours of instruction a week is a bargain for government run preschool.
Here is what’s being left out the preschool discussion:
- A glossy handout talks about $64 million cost in FY11. Little attention is being paid to the nearly $100 million final price tag as estimated by Iowa’s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.
- Culver’s preschool law allows school districts to use K-12 property tax levies to also fund preschool so the cost may be much higher than $100 million.
- Culver’s preschool law is written such that any across the board cut means taxpayers could be called on to fund the lost state dollars.
- Culver’s preschool law doesn’t let private preschools lead the way. The only way local private preschools can access the $100 million is to be government run. The private preschool must meet state accreditation standards and can only use school district-employed teachers.
- Culver’s preschool isn’t “free” for parents. The $100 million means Iowa school districts get $3,500 per 4 –year old. That pays for the accreditation and the state law minimum of 10 hours of instruction each week. Parents still pay for the rest of the day.
- Democrats reversed themselves on a $5 million plan to give Iowa businesses a matching grant if the business sponsored an on-site preschool or day care. The money went to fund more government run preschool.
Long before Culver took office, I and my Republican colleagues championed preschool in a bipartisan manner focused on parental choice, not government directives.
In 2005 and 2006 House Republicans and an evenly split Senate invested in a broad range of Iowa’s already successful early childhood programs with the goal of improving choice, quality and access. This effort was designed to leave more money in parents’ pocketbooks with less government intervention.
We increased preschool tuition funding and eligibility for child care tax credits so parents could decide whether their four-year old went to a public or private preschool.
Our focus was on local decision making by parents, not government dictates. And finally, we funded quality professional development for preschool providers and expanded quality improvement grants for local providers – all of that for about one-third the cost of the Culver preschool program.
Quality preschool is essential to Iowa’s educational and economic development success. But spending $100 million plus does not appear to be the best bargain out there.
(Rep. Dwayne Alons Newsletter)
New Requirements Coming for Pesticide Applicators
Last Thursday, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) published its weekly electronic newsletter EcoNewsWire that contained an article announcing that DNR is seeking input from people who apply pesticides to Iowa waters at an informal meeting June 29 in Des Moines. Due to a federal court decision, anyone who sprays or applies pesticides to road ditches, stream banks, lakes or other areas where the pesticide residues can end up in a water body will soon have to meet the requirements of a permit issued by the DNR.
The meeting is from 1 to 4 p.m. in the DNR’s fourth floor conference rooms, Wallace State Office Building, 502 E. Ninth St. The DNR will present the latest information about proposed new requirements and seek input from attendees on the permit.
The input will be used to further develop a draft general permit that would require all pesticide applicators, including cities and counties that spray to control aquatic weeds, algae or mosquitoes in water bodies, to use best management practices. Such practices include using the proper rate of pesticide, keeping equipment in good operating order, monitoring effects after application and reporting any spills or adverse effects to the DNR. Some applicators will need to meet additional requirements—based on the size of the water area they spray. For example, those who apply mosquito pesticides to more than 640 acres of water per year would have more stringent requirements. The new permit is required based on a ruling from the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals which vacated the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s final rule on Jan. 7, 2009. The decision gives all states until April 9, 2011, to develop and issue general pesticide permits. For more information, check the DNR website at www.iowadnr.gov/water/npdes/pesticides.html
AG Miller Fails to Make Child Labor Charges Stick
In the fall of 2008, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office filed a criminal complaint alleging more than 9,000 violations of Iowa Child Labor law by Agriprocessors, Inc. at the plant in Postville. Nearly 20 months later, a jury has concluded that the Attorney General’s Office has failed to prove a single one of these violations.
By the time the five week long trial began, the case centered on an alleged 67 charges of child labor against Sholom Rubashkin. The case would come down to one simple thing; the State needed to prove that Rubashkin knowingly employed minors and willfully permitted it to occur.
In hindsight, it appears the Attorney General’s case never had much of a chance to succeed. The testimony of the underage workers at the trial directly undermined the arguments made by State prosecutors.
It was clear from the testimony in court that there were indeed underage persons employed at Agriprocessors. That was not in dispute. What undermined the Attorney General’s case was the fact the each one of the underage employees, mostly illegal immigrants from Guatemala, testified that they lied in order to get the jobs. They testified that they lied about their age, presented false documents, and acknowledged they knew they had to be over 18 to be employed at the plant.
In interviews following Rubashkin’s acquittal, jury foreman Quentin Hart indicated the testimony from the underage employees at the trial was key in the Attorney General’s failed case. Ironically, the Attorney General’s office went to great expense to have some of that testimony heard.
In an unusual move, the Attorney General’s Office got approval from the Executive Council to spend up to $35,000 of State funds in order to fly as many as eight former employees from Guatemala to testify. That amount of money is certainly dwarfed by the unknown total expense of an investigation and trial that lasted nearly two years and consumed State resources in both the Attorney General’s Office and State courts. I believe AG Miller should shine the light on just exactly what was spent on the Rubashkin trial.
Given the conclusion of the case and the apparent unlikelihood the Attorney General’s Office had at getting a conviction, some might question if the taxpayer’s money was spent wisely by the Attorney General Tom Miller. He would disagree, however. While admitting his disappointment with the conclusion of the case, Miller told the Des Moines Register he was happy the case put a spotlight on the vulnerable and those who abuse them.
For those looking for justice to be served on Mr. Rubashkin, Federal prosecutors were successful in getting a conviction on 86 bank fraud charges last November and will seek a 25-year sentence at the June 22 hearing.
The IRTL June newsletter included news of pro-life bills that were brought up in the Iowa House and Senate this past session. These bills did not pass because of the dominating political party but it’s encouraging to see the possibilities of how much good can be accomplished if we have a pro-life governor and pro life House and Senate this fall.
To name a few bills and sponsors:
A ban on federal health care funds for abortions in Iowa SF2126 – Sen. Johnson; HF 2235 – Reps. Windschitl, Schultz, Hagenow, Sodoberg, De Boef, Sorenson, Huseman, Alons, Rayhons, Roberts and Chambers.
Planned Parenthood has been prescribing RU-486 medication abortions via internet webcam, without a doctor present in person. These prescriptions were done at 63 days into pregnancy, which is far beyond the FDA’s limit of 49 days. A bill was introduced to halt this practice and require abortionists to comply with the FDA protocol. SF 2025 – Sen. Johnson. HF 2134 – Reps. Windschitl, De Boef, Huseman, Chambers, Alons, Schultz, Soderberg and Hagenow.
A joint resolution which would have begun the process to amend Iowa’s Constitution to state that the right to life is the most important right and includes all persons from conception. HJR 2003 – Reps. Alons, Chambers, Tymeson, May, Koester, Windschitl, Schultz, De Boef, Sorenson, Huseman, Rayhons, Hagenow, Mertz and Soderberg.
A bill to protect pharmacists from having to dispense a specific medication if doing so is against the pharmacist’s religious or moral beliefs. HF 2260 – Rep. Jason Schultz
A bill to give a woman the right to see her ultrasound before an abortion. HF 323 Reps. Windschitl, ALons, Schultz, Hagenow, Roberts, De Boef, Sorenson, Huseman, Soderberg, Mertz, Tymeson and May.