The seventh week of the 81st General Assembly was very busy. Early on Monday (Feb. 21), several legislators met with Lt. Governor Sally Pedersen to discuss the status of the redesign plan for people with disabilities in Iowa. We continue to work in a bipartisan manner to structure more efficient and effective ways to meet the needs of people with disabilities and learn of ways to be more supportive of their families.

At noon that same day, I met with a group of Methodist youth and their leaders. I was asked to discuss my anti-tobacco legislation. I am the sponsor of two pieces of legislation: one would raise the tobacco excise tax the equivalent of $1 per pack of cigarettes, and the other bill would allow cities and counties to establish more restrictive ordinances for public smoking than state law currently allows. Meeting with the youth of our state is one of the most gratifying parts of my duties as a State Representative.

Later on Monday afternoon, Major General Ron Dardis, Adjutant General of the Iowa Nation Guard, addressed a joint session of the Iowa General Assembly. Dardis briefed Legislators on the Guard’s involvement in the global war on terror. He indicated that Iowa Guard currently has 1,600 personnel deployed around the world. This summer another 400 personnel with the 132nd Fighter Wing will be deployed to Qatar. Since 9/11/01, Dardis said that 7,500 members of the Iowa Guard have been on duty. He noted that these numbers exceed the number of Guard members mobilized during World War II. The general reminded Legislators that 30 Iowans have paid the ultimate price with their lives during this war.

Later that day, after meeting with the House Education Committee, I met with the staff person from the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) who is the program director for the Annie E. Casey Foundation Family and Children Service. As a member of the Casey National Advisory committee, I was pleased to welcome this staff person who is responsible for bringing several million dollars worth of services to the state of Iowa.

The highlight of Tuesday was the passage of a Mental Health Parity bill in the House Human Resources Committee. This is the third year in a row that the House committee approved this legislation, but in previous years it has not been scheduled for debate on the House floor. A bill similar to this, which I sponsored in 2000, passed the House on a 55-44 vote, but was never taken up for consideration of the Senate floor. It is referred to as “parity,” which means that mental illness must be treated equally, or on a “par” with physical illness.

On Wednesday, I participated on a crucial sub-committee discussion regarding reimbursement for nursing homes. In addition to attending several of the committees of which I am a member, I spoke to a group of 150 Social Work majors from colleges across the state. These students and their faculty in attendance are interested in learning more about developing better public policies through legislation.

On Thursday I attended the Health & Human Services Committee where Dr. Andrew Barden, a neonatologist from Cedar Rapids, discussed the testing to identify drug exposed newborns. Dr. Barden and I then met with some members of the Linn County Community Empowerment board who were visiting the Capital. Community Empowerment is a state-wide early childhood initiative I helped develop in the Iowa Legislature in 1998.

Friday morning, as I do each week, I participated on the WMT-AM radio call-in show along with Representative Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha). Following the program, I went to Iowa City to meet with prison officials, Department of Human Service administrators, several legislators and University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics (UIHC) staff. The purpose of the meeting was to determine if the state could make arrangements for bulk purchasing of prescription drugs for all state agencies. Currently, UIHC is part of a national purchasing group of 1,600 or more hospitals (primarily university connected hospitals) who obtain prescription drugs at a better rate than our state prisons, state mental health institutions, the Resource Centers at Woodward and Glenwood, and the children and youth facilities at Toledo and Eldora. Perhaps we can get a better deal by all state facilities joining together. We will continue working on that possibility for the taxpayers of Iowa.

I look forward to hearing from constituents about the work of the Iowa Legislature. You can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call me at 515/281-7328 or e-mail me at ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.

Ro

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