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Representative Ro Foege
Report from the Iowa Legislature
January 19, 2004
The 2004 Session Begins
The 2004 session of the Iowa Legislature is off and running. I am privileged
to be starting my eighth year as your representative from House District 29.
The first week of this session of the Iowa General Assembly included the
Condition of the State by Governor Vilsack. We also heard the State of the
Judiciary speech by Louis A. Lavorato, Chief Justice of the Iowa Supreme
Court.
On the opening day of the session, a day before his speech to the
Legislature, Governor Vilsack showed us how a no growth budget looks, and it
is not pretty. It means $113 million less for our public schools, forcing
the elimination of such successful programs as the class size reduction
reading program and the student achievement initiative. It means that up to
9,000 children will be without health insurance and therefore they will not
receive the medical care they need. It will mean higher tuition and fewer
classes at our universities and community colleges. And it means less help
for our Iowa students in our private independent colleges, such as Cornell,
Mt. Mercy, Coe and Wartburg.
On Tuesday, the Governor laid out his goals and priorities. We can applaud
his efforts to protect our schools, provide health care to children and
seniors and to improve our natural resources and recreational opportunities.
As laudable as the Governor’s goals are, they are predicated on increased
revenues from a variety of sources. The majority party has rejected any
discussion of revenue increases. Now, it’s there move and we await their
proposals in response to the Governor’s suggestions.
When we begin the budget discussions we must understand the process.
Republican leaders who control the agenda in the Legislature continue to say
they will not even consider discussion of revenue increases, so that is off
the table. In fact, the Republicans are pushing for more tax cuts, and they
will not tell us which services they intend to cut as a result.
I believe our budget talks should be guided by these parameters:
- No more cuts to public schools
or health care programs for children and seniors.
- No more cuts to programs that provide support and
services to vulnerable children in the child welfare and juvenile justice
system or special education programs.
- No more shifting the state’s budget problems onto the
backs of city and county property taxpayers.
Our first task is to balance this year’s budget
responsibly. Iowa’s problems extend beyond the short-term. While resolving
the current budget crisis, we must also create an economy that makes us
competitive. We must make sure our young people do not have to leave their
home towns and families to find a good job in some other state. We must
renew our commitment to growing Iowa’s economy, expanding it to every region
of the state. We must help small businesses provide health insurance to
their employees and provide the resources to help new businesses start up
and expand in rural Iowa.
If we protect the priorities of Iowans and create a healthy economy, then we
can adjourn this session confident that we have set Iowa on a better road to
the future.
You can write me at the State Capitol, Des
Moines, IA 50319; call 515/281-7328 or e-mail me at
ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us. |