Iowans should be pleased with the accomplishments of the 81st General Assembly. I am personally gratified by what the Iowa Legislature accomplished in the session which ended late Friday night, May 20, 2005. Although the session was the longest in the past quarter century, it was worth it because we accomplished a great deal. Overall, it was a pretty good session!

Most legislators campaigned last summer and fall on promoting economic growth and job creation. We did that. Legislators pledged support for education, both K-12 and higher education. We provided that support. Legislators promised to make Iowa safer for children and communities. We did that. Legislators told older Iowans we would expand health care, and we did that. I had the privilege of being heavily involved in the legislation related to early childhood, education, Medicaid, health and mental health care.

Legislators worked hard to increase funding for education and early childhood programs and we succeeded. K-12 schools received a 4% increase in state aid, continuation of the successful class size reduction/reading improvement program, and more support for the teacher quality/student achievement initiative. We also are requiring that high schools provide a tougher core curriculum so students are better prepared for college. And state universities and community colleges will receive more funding, so tuitions will not jump by double digits again. It is a win for Iowa’s children and families.

Legislators wanted to improve health care for Iowans. We did that by insuring that, in most cases, if you have insurance, you will be covered for mental illness as well as physical illness.

Iowa’s Medicaid program, in jeopardy of losing $65 million in funding, is now on solid footing. Services are expanded to another 30,000 Iowans, and our program will become the model for other states to follow. Elderly Iowans, children and the disabled are winners.

Legislators sought to reestablish the Iowa Values Fund with a stable funding source. Through a bipartisan effort, the Iowa Values Fund will continue to create new, high paying jobs like the 17,200 jobs it has already created. The $500 million economic growth program will receive $50 million a year for ten years, long enough to attract new companies and new jobs to Iowa.

We pledged to make our communities safer. We did that by passing the toughest anti-meth lab bill in the nation. By making it impossible for drug dealers and users to buy enough pseudoephedrine, we will close down hundreds of dangerous meth labs that exist across the state.

The death of a young eastern Iowa girl, Jetseta Gage, tragically showed that our sex offender laws had many loopholes. Acting quickly, legislators of both parties worked to close those loopholes by increasing prison sentences in some cases and mandating life in prison for second offenders, requiring better supervision, and improving our sex offender web site so families will find them more useful and reliable.

A new renewal energy bill was passed providing incentives so that small producers can produce wind and other alternative energy sources.

It took three additional weeks, but because of bipartisan cooperation Iowa will be a better place to live. Several years ago, Cornell President Les Garner, commenting on the modesty of Iowans, said that had Lake Superior been located in Iowa, we would have named it Lake Pretty Good. I guess you get the idea when I say that the session that just ended was pretty good for the people of Iowa.

Now that we are out of session, you can write me at P. O. Box 128, Mount Vernon, IA 52314, call me at my home, 319/895-6043 or e-mail me at ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.

Ro

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