The second week of the 2007 legislative session was a week of listening. Iowans are sending their ideas and we began hearings on health care, education and jobs. In the Health & Human Services Committee that I chair, we heard from three national experts last week. We are exploring ways to expand health coverage to the thousands of Iowans who currently do not have insurance. We are also looking for ways to help small businesses and non-profit agencies obtain quality health care for their employees. I will be writing more extensively about our progress on this huge and complex issue in future reports.

Legislators welcomed more than 300 veterans who visited the capitol last Wednesday. We heard appreciation for action taken on a number of veteran initiatives last year. We were encouraged to make additional progress in 2007. It was a great opportunity for us to listen to their concerns and ideas and to thank them for their service to our country.

During the campaign, nearly all Democrat candidates talked about raising the minimum wage as a way to reward those who are willing and able to work hard. Last week, the House Labor Committee passed House File 1, which will raise the minimum wage from $5.15 to $7.25 per hour. We expect to debate this bill in the Iowa House on Tuesday afternoon, and I look forward to voting in favor of the measure.

The minimum wage in Iowa has been stuck at $5.15 per hour for a decade. Back then, gas was a little over $1 per gallon; now it is nearly double that amount. In-state tuition at the University of Iowa has increased almost 150% in that same period of time. A person can work sixty hours per week for 52 weeks on the current minimum wage and earn about $16,000. If Iowans are willing to work for a living, they deserve a shot at the American Dream. Obviously, a worker making the current minimum wage does not have that opportunity.

It is estimated that raising the minimum hourly wage to $7.25 will benefit 257,000 Iowans, which equals about 18% of our workforce. Three-quarters of the beneficiaries are adults over age 20, and most are women. Forty-two percent are full-time workers, and twenty percent are parents to 94,000 children.

The raise will occur in two equal steps, going to $6.20 on April 1, and then to $7.25 on January 1, 2008. Iowa’s minimum wage law already exempts very small employers, those with less than $300,000 in gross annual income, and this bill will not change that.

While HF 1 is a stand-alone bill, I am aware and concerned about the impact on small businesses of raising the minimum wage. I anticipate that we will address the property tax issue, especially the need to reduce commercial property tax rates. And, as Chair of the Health & Human Services Committee, I am determined to find a way to provide comprehensive and affordable health care to families and small businesses. These actions will ease some of the burden on small businesses.

Raising the minimum wage is a central component of our Plan for Prosperity, a three-part plan to move the state forward through improving educational opportunities, building a strong economy that rewards hard work, and moving Iowa toward energy independence through research and development of renewable fuels.

Thanks to all the folks who have contacted me so far this year. I encourage anyone with ideas for legislation or comments on specific legislation to contact me at the Capitol. 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.

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