February 2007 Archives

Yesterday, members of the House Education Committee continued the life of HSB 87 which provides some definition changes for sex education in Iowa classrooms, both private and public. By a vote of 17 to six, the committee agreed all sex education in Iowa should be both 'age-appropriate' and 'science-based.'

Democrats serving in the statehouse have long targeted this change in sex ed, but had previously not had the political muscle to make the change. Their majority in both houses and the Governor's Office makes this bill viable.

While the bill makes no distinction between Iowa's public schools and the myriad of non-public schools (secular or religion based), Committee Vice Chair Rep. Mary Mascher (D-HD 77) told Radio Iowa this morning that the measure does not dismantle abstinence-only programs.

"Just because they're offering abstinence-only, they cannot offer inaccurate information in that program either," she said.

The bill does target unscientific material which has been used in some Iowa schools during sex education. Information such as the ability of an individual to contract HIV from body sweat and/or tears would no longer be allowed if this bill passes.

In addition, the new section (280.28) would require nonpublic schools who elect not to provide comprehensive sexual health education (as outlined in the bill) to send send a notice to parent(s)/guardian(s) at the beginning of the year that explains such education is required by the state, the criteria outline for such education, and that such education is not being provided to the student.

Quite frankly, we do not believe this bill goes far enough in requiring all Iowa schools to teach students about themselves, their bodies, and the possibility of disease. That being said, then, it is difficult to understand why this bill has already met with opposition from the Iowa Family Policy Center, Iowa Right to Life Committee, and the Iowa Christian Alliance. Those favoring the bill include the Iowa Department of Education, Iowa State Education Association, GLBT Youth in Iowa Schools Task Force, Iowa Medical Society, Iowa Commission on the Status of Women and the League of Women Voters of Iowa (among many others).

Originally, the Iowa Association of Christian Schools were against this bill. As of Feb. 22, however, their opinion (as portrayed by their lobbyist Eric Goranson) has changed to undecided. We've attempted contact with that group to see why their opinion changed and will report back if and when we're granted an interview.

In our opinion, requiring schools to provide "just the facts" when it comes to sexual education is a long overdue mandate. No one, regardless of their particular religious ilk, should be allowed to spread disinformation on such a critical topic. To purposefully do so in other potentially life-threatening situations would be criminal and there should be no distinction made with this circumstance.

There's an important story breaking today at the Washington Post, which explains how agencies who disagree with the Bush administration's plans are treated come budget time.

When is $4 million really $2.8 million?

One answer is "When you're a woman," as the Labor Department has repeatedly found that women earn about 75 cents for every dollar that men earn for the same work.

But this week's answer is "When you are the Office of Women's Health" within the Food and Drug Administration. That office, which was at the center of the politically damaging storm over the emergency contraceptive "Plan B," just had more than one-quarter of this year's $4 million operating budget quietly removed, insiders say.

While some reading - especially those who are against abortion and/or Plan B - may be tempted to applaud this news, we ask that you also consider the full role of the Office of Women's Health. The office funds research on male-female differences to ensure women receive appropriate treatment. It is also the office which funded the educational surge on folic acid and how pregnant women need it in order to reduce the risk of neural tube defects. In addition, much of the education and health information about menopause, pregnancy, birth control, osteoporosis and osteopenia (among others).

What seems to make this funding cut even more under-handed is that it isn't directly from the budget. The Bush administration did request - and Congress did approve - $4 million for the office is fiscal 2007 (same budget that the office has had for several years now). The FDA, however, intends to withhold $1.2 million of that budgeted amount and use it elsewhere in the agency.

By all accounts, the FDA most likely would have withheld more of the budget from the Office of Women's Health; however, the remaining $2.8 million has already been spent or allocated. The $1.2 million removed from the budget effectively forces the Office to stop operations for the rest of the year, according to the WaPo article.

In 2005 former Director Susan Wood resigned in protest over the administration's position against Plan B. The Office and its staff had stood up for scientific research that had backed the safety and appropriateness of nonprescription sales of the drug. The row ended in August 2006 when the compromise was to allow over-the-counter sales of Plan B to people at least 18 years old.

There is something each of you can do. FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach is slated to appear today before the Senate appropriations subcommittee to discuss the agency's 2008 budget. Tomorrow, he is scheduled to appear before the similar House committee.

Members of the Senate subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies are:

• Sen. Herb Kohl (chair, D-WI)
• Sen. Robert Bennett (ranking member, R-UT)
• Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA)
• Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS)
• Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND)
• Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA)
• Sen. Chris Bond (R-MO)
• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL)
• Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY)
• Sen. Tim Johnson (D-SD)
• Sen. Larry Craig (R-ID)
• Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE)
• Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS)
• Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI)

Members of the House subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies are:

• Rep. Rosa DeLauro (chair, D-CT)
• Rep. Jack Kingston (ranking member, R-GA)
• Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-NY)
• Rep. Tom Latham (R-IA)
• Rep. Sam Farr (D-CA)
• Rep. Jo Ann Emerson (R-MO)
• Rep. Allen Boyd (D-FL)
• Rep. Ray LaHood (R-IL)
• Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-GA)
• Rep. Rodney Alexander (R-LA)
• Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH)
• Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL)
• Rep. Steven R. Rothman (D-NJ)
• Rep. Dave Obey (ex-officio, D-WI)
• Rep. Jerry Lewis (ex-officio, R-CA)

Love her or hate her, few will argue with Lt. Gov. Patty Judge's tenacity. Someone, however, should have warned Iowa's new Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey that Judge doesn't limit herself by title.

On Saturday, Iowa was hit by a major winter event which caused widespread power outages throughout many counties. Governor Chet Culver, on the Hill at the time, contacted state officials immediately and began lobbying for states of emergency in various counties to protect the people of Iowa. It seems Patty, knowing Iowans themselves were in good hands, reached back to her own agricultural roots to contact livestock groups including the Iowa Pork Producers Association.

According to officials at the IPPA, Judge contacted their offices early Sunday and offered the state's help to their livestock producers and wanted their help in identifying losses and damage. At that point, the group estimated nearly 110,000 rural electric cooperative customers remained without power and anticipated the agricultural losses to be high.

Such 'taking the bull by the horns' initiative appears to have rubbed Northey the wrong way. Upon learning of Judge's early contacts to the livestock producers, a person in the freshman official's office said Northey contacted key reporters to ensure he would be associated with the assistance coming to the rural families and farmers.

Northey spent most of Monday at the state's emergency operations center, where he could keep a close eye on the power outages and be available to reporters. As a side note, producers in need of generators can call (515) 281-5798; those who are suffering massive livestock casualties should phone their local Emergency Management Agency, county sheriff's department or the ag desk at the State Emergency Operations Center, (515) 323-4267.

As of this morning, Iowa's Rural Electric Co-ops estimated 40,000 customers remain without power. In total the storm left more than 4,000 electrical poles and unknown numbers of power lines in its wake. While the group is working to restore power as quickly as possible, some rural customers will not see relief for 10-12 days. Unfortunately for everyone another winter storm is expected to sweep through the state on Wednesday evening.

It seems Sen. Mary Lundby (R-Marion) has forgotten the Golden Rule, Kharma or whatever you wish to call it when your own actions boomerang round to hit you in the buttocks.

In a recent newsletter, Lundby laments the introduction of an amendment to the teacher pay bill:

"...important elements in the legislative process revolving around issues of fairness, cooperation and bi-partisanship have been lost... During the full Education Committee meeting, the Senate Democrats introduced a 16 page amendment into an 18 page bill (Senate Study Bill 1118); the amendment essentially rewrote the bill... Not only did the amendment and bill provide all of this new language but it was dropped like a bomb on the committee room table with no opportunity for input from the Republican members of the committee.

This should almost be added to the "cry me a river" category based on the absurdity of it. How many times in the previous 40 years had the Republican majority 'dropped a bomb' in committee? Gee, Mary, I'd like to feel for you on this one, but it's also rather nice seeing you get a taste of your own medicine.

In other news... Did you hear that Vilsack dropped? Quite frankly we don't have too much to say about it other than, "Who among us did not expect this to happen?" and "I wonder who won the date on the office pool?"

We here at EE have always considered Christie to be the shining star in the Vilsack show. We hope to see her run for something in the future... and we hope to see Tom stay at home.

There are one or two good things to come out of this:

1. We no longer have to listen to Vilsack supporters say, "I'm supporting Vilsack... until he drops."
2. We will hopefully see a more unified Democratic Party in Iowa now. Maybe we'll actually get one with enough teeth to hang onto our First in the Nation status for another Presidential year.

Anyway... here's hoping.

Mark Langgin at Bleeding Heartland was, we believe, the first in the Iowa blogosphere to report on the absence of some GOP Iowa House members from a public hearing they called. Mark's report was then followed by Geraldine at Iowa Progress. So, while it isn't 'our' story, it still deserves a few lines here since three of the four negligent representatives were women.

Without recapping the story, we do hope there was a circumstance which required Rep. Carmine Boal (R-Ankeny), Rep. Linda Miller (R-Bettendorf) and Rep. Tami Wiencek (R-Waterloo) to miss a meeting they scheduled. To do so without a legitimate excuse is unacceptable.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Davenport has filed a motion in U.S. Bankruptcy Court announcing its intentions to sell a bishop's house, a single-family home and a 25-acre farm. The motion is part of the group's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing as protection against claims of sexual abuse by its priests.

According to reports this morning, the diocese has owned the properties for several years and no longer have any use for them. The two homes are assessed at a total of roughly $278,000. The farm is valued at over $300,000.

While not included in the filed motion, there are rumors that the chancery, worth more than $2 million, will also be sold.

Yet no bankruptcy proceedings, selling of properties or monetary exchange can fix what, by all accounts, the Catholic church allowed to happen in many of its own parishes.

A public hearing on the bill easing state restrictions on stem cell research has been scheduled for 7 to 10 p.m. on Wednesday in the Iowa House chamber.

The bill, which is being erroneously painted as lifting Iowa's ban on human cloning, allows medical researchers to create embryonic stem cells through cloning. Rep. Lisa Heddens (D-Ames) put the claims against the bill into very simple terms:

"The opponents of this legislation claim that this bill is about state-funded human cloning. This is a totally false claim. The bill continues to prohibit human reproductive cloning. While embryonic stem cell research is already being done in Iowa, none of that research can be applied to patients in the form of treatment and therapies. The proposed legislation would allow that to happen."

The bill was approved 12-9 (party-line) by the House Human Resources Committee and is soon expected to be debated on the floor.

Iowa Gov. Chet Culver will be appointing Lt. Gov. Patty Judge to be his top advisor on homeland security.

As a part of that appointment, she will lead a team of top advisers including Iowa National Guard Gen. Ron Dardis, Dept. of Public Safety Commissioner Gene Meyer and Division of Homeland Security Administrator David Miller. Judge will take the lead role from Dardis, who has led the effort since July 2005.

In a news conference this morning, Culver said Iowa needs to be "prepared to manage the unimaginable." He went on to add that Judge has been on the front lines of doing just that. While serving two terms as Iowa's Secretary of Agriculture, she led efforts to create the Center for Agriculture Security and served on national groups exploring strategies for safeguarding the nation's food supply. She also was among a key group of Iowa agency administrators who took part in preparedness drills and briefings.

She will now be in charge of communicating with federal and state agencies, coordinating response plans and overseeing budget issues. Dardis was in attendance at the morning news conference and added that lieutenant governors in three other states fill similar roles.

Perhaps the most unexpected response to the news came from Senate Minority Leader Mary Lundby who not only welcomed Judge's appointment but stated she believed the Lieutenant Governor would "do a wonderful job."

Kudos to Culver and Lundby for seeing Judge's expertise in this issue and big kudos to Judge for being the first woman in Iowa to fulfill such an important role.

Rep. Carmine Boal (R-Ankeny) recently wrote an op-ed piece for the Des Moines Register in which she attempted to spank the Iowa Democratic majority over HF 149, the antiharrassment and antibullying legislation. She fell quite short of her mark, however, when statements made in her piece are placed against the documents to which she refers.

Boal writes:

Upon researching the question, I found that in order to be accredited by the state of Iowa all public and non-public schools must have a student discipline policy addressing harassment per Iowa Administrative Code 281-12.

The truth is that Code 281-12 reads differently than what HF 149 proposed. Here is a section 12.5(8) -- which must be what Boal refers to since it appears to be the only language within the document which discusses harassment:

12.5(8) Multicultural and gender fair approaches to the educational program. The board shall establish a policy to ensure that students are free from discriminatory practices in the educational program as required by Iowa Code section 256.11. In developing or revising the policy, parents, students, instructional and noninstructional staff, and community members shall be involved. Each school or school district shall incorporate multicultural and gender fair goals for the educational program into its comprehensive school improvement plan. Incorporation shall include the following:

a. Multicultural approaches to the educational program. These shall be defined as approaches which foster knowledge of, and respect and appreciation for, the historical and contemporary contributions of diverse cultural groups, including race, color, national origin, gender, disability, religion, creed, and socioeconomic background. The contributions and perspectives of Asian Americans, African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, European Americans, and persons with disabilities shall be included in the program.

b. Gender fair approaches to the educational program. These shall be defined as approaches which foster knowledge of, and respect and appreciation for, the historical and contemporary contributions of women and men to society. The program shall reflect the wide variety of roles open to both women and men and shall provide equal opportunity to both sexes.

The overall thrust of Boal's argument against this piece of legislation isn't made evident in her writing until eight paragraphs into her piece. At that point, she encourages the reader to question why "the majority party" would want to list the "traits or characteristics upon which harassment or bullying can be based." Even here, however, Boal leads her readers to believe that the legislation has limited the traits and characteristics to only those listed. In truth, HF 149 reads:

b. "Trait or characteristic of the student" includes but is not limited to age, color, creed, national origin, race, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical attributes, physical or mental ability or disability, ancestry, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic status, or familial status.

True to her GOP talking points, Boal seems poised to strike fear into the hearts of all Iowans based on a few key words within the legislation: "sex," "sexual orientation," "gender identity," and, perhaps, "political party preference" as well. I'm not sure why the GOP feels only certain Iowa students need protection from bullying. Shouldn't we be the state which paints with a broad brush when it comes to student safety? Obviously, for some in the Iowa legislature, student safety isn't a primary concern when it clashes with party ideology. Shame on them!

Finally, the one part of the bill which seemed to give Boal -- and we imagine most of her GOP counterparts pleasure -- was an amendment which allowed non-public to be immune to the new legislation.

Despite Boal's misgivings, the bill passed the House and has been sent to the Senate where it is now SF 61. Gov. Chet Culver has stated he will sign this legislation if it is passed by both houses.

Here's our shout out to the Iowa Senate: Iowa Administrative Code 281-12 already includes an exemption request process. Let all the non-public schools who wish to be accredited by the state explain in detail why they find some Iowa students not worth protecting.

Iowa State Rep. Sandy Greiner (R-Keota) told the Washington County Pork Producers that she will not seek re-election when her term expires in 2008. Why? According to Greiner, "the chips are down" and "our voices are not going to be heard."

In other words, Greiner only likes to play when she can be the leader. Sorry, hun, life doesn't always work that way and, if that's the only way you can do business, we're glad to see you take your toys and leave the sandbox.

Rep. Pam Jochum (D-Dubuque), chair of the State Government Committee, appeared on WOI-TV last night to tout her intentions of strengthening existing open records law.

Typically, when someone begins to discuss making more information public record, I automatically assume a position of standing ovation. After further reading of House Study Bill 38, however, I'm wary.

This bill calls for the full disclosure of information pertaining to individuals who are being considered for appointment, hiring, performance evaluations or discharge is being discussed by a government body.

Currently, the law allows government bodies who are considering personnel matters to move into a closed session. Closed sessions are, as the name implies, closed to the general public and press. Although the current law states this should be done "when necessary to prevent needless and irreparable injury to the individual's reputation" and if "the individual requests a closed session," those who attend open meetings will tell you that very few government bodies behave in this manner. Whenever an agenda item launches into the discussion of personnel matters of any sort 9 out of 10 government bodies will move into closed session.

The new bill requires the individual being discussed (regardless of reason) to request a closed session in writing and provide reason for the request. The body must then determine if such a close session is necessary to prevent "needless and irreparable injury to the individual's reputation."

It is interesting to note which lobbyist groups have stated opposition or approval to this bill. Most are currently undecided as to their feelings toward the proposed change in legislation. For those who have taken a stance, it seems this legislation pits two predominantly left-leaning groups against one another. The first group to voice its displeasure with the legislation was AFSCME Iowa Council 61. One of the first to state its approval was the American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa. The only other group to come out against the proposed legislation is the Iowa Hospital Association. Those on the approving side are the Iowa Broadcasters Association, Iowa Newspaper Association and Citizens Aide/Ombudsman.

In total, this bill takes the matter of closed session out of a government body's hands. For better or for worse, the state will be dictating the body hold such discussions in public unless the individual being discussed acts to prevent it. Even then, the individual must show just cause for the closed session. Even if the request is deemed worthy, the body is still required to release the individual's name, city of residence, employment history and educational history. (Within the bill the language is unclear if this requirement is for any applicant, appointee, person being reviewed or person being reprimanded or if it is limited to only final applicants.)

It is such ambiguity which makes this bill questionable. Should all information of applicants for positions be made public record, how will that affect the applicant's current employment? While already facing a shortage of school administrators, would school districts have an even more difficult time in persuading applicants to come to Iowa with such new laws in place? What if I'm an employee and had to take extended periods of time away from work because I suffered from AIDS? Would I really want the particulars of my situation discussed in open session? Would my reasoning for wanting to keep it private be seen as "necessary"?

In all, it's good to note this is a study bill. Obviously, our state legislators, Jochum included, need to consider all the ramifications of this initiative.

Elsewhere on this site we have a list of upcoming political events. If you had quickly scanned the list before today, you'd have noticed something missing: IOWA

It seems to those of us buried in the grassroots on both sides of the sidewalk that we are living in an age without leadership -- at least without leadership that plans to actually take action to preserve Iowa's First in the Nation status.

Yeah, we all know the Ames straw poll on the Republican side of things is nothing more than a glorified fundraiser. We know this. They know this. The candidates know this. Soon we'll see buses chartered by candidates traveling down the road to Ames, filled to the brim with Republicans who will walk into a room in which the outcome results are already known. Whomever spends the most, gets the most out of the straw poll. Outside of the revenue, however, the GOP leadership in Iowa seems genuinely disinterested in the process. Case in point: To date, the only event the Iowa GOP is planning is an annual fundraising dinner in April.

On the Democratic Party side of things, it's difficult to tell if the slights against our own state are intentional or accidental. Nevada -- you know, the spoiler state the DNC set between Iowa and New Hampshire -- already has a events calendar for the candidates. (Of course, this could be because Nevada hired one of the most adept political folks in Iowa to run their first ever caucuses -- but that's fodder for a whole other post.) Both New Hampshire and South Carolina have also gotten in on the goods by setting debates and candidate forums.

Oh, Iowa, where for art thou?

To date, the Iowa Democratic Party has set two fundraiser dinners, both of them annual affairs, and one... yep, count it, ONE... Presidential forum. The forum will be co-sponsored by the IDP, ABC News and ABC5/WOI-TV and held on Aug. 19 in Des Moines, televised live on "This Week" with George Stephanopoulos. From the IDP press release yesterday:

"The Iowa Democratic Party is proud to co-sponsor this debate with ABC News and ABC5/WOI-TV," said Iowa Democratic Party Chair Scott Brennan. "We welcome all of the candidates to Iowa, and encourage them to participate in the debate and share their vision for our country with Iowans and Americans."

ABC News chief Washington correspondent and anchor of This Week George Stephanopoulos said, "I think it's terrific that we are able to continue our On the Trail series in Iowa with a live show from a state crucial to the election process. This is an historic election and I look forward to bringing our viewers a discussion that will further inform them about where the candidates stand on critical issues."

Why is Stephanopoulos the one to highlight Iowa's importance in the political process? Of course, we all agree and applaud Chair Brennan for his "welcome" message to all the candidates, but where is his "Rah-Rah" for Iowa? Further, why is Iowa... the FIRST IN THE NATION... the last of the four beginning states to actually start developing events to bring the candidates into our state?

This was supposed to be posted yesterday, but we've spent the last 24 hours searching for a list of the individuals in your community who serve on the State Central Committees of each party. Near as we can tell, such information within the Democratic Party is a classified government secret that we'd have to kill you for knowing. In stark contrast, members of the GOP's SCC are laid out for display on the Iowa GOP site. In lieu of offering the same for the Democrats then, we do have a few of the electeds from the SCC for your viewing pleasure.

Democratic SCC Officers:

• Chair Scott Brennan
• First Vice Chair Sarah Swisher
• Second Vice Chair Phyllis Thede
• Treasurer Ken Sagar
• Secretary Dori Rammelsberg-Dvorak

We encourage all of our readers to contact their leadership and demand both groups begin promoting Iowa's First in the Nation before it is lost.

As for us here at EE, we have our own message to send to the SCC members and paid officials of both parties, "Get out there and promote Iowa... or just get out."

Senate File (SF) 115 is destined to become, at least in part, a household word. The fear is, however, that in some households it will be delegated to the equivalent of dirty words, whispered in the basement after the kids have gone to sleep.

The bill, sponsored by Democratic senators Joe Bolkcom, District 39, and Bob Dvorsky, District 15, (shame they couldn't/didn't get a woman to co-sponsor), is currently before the Human Resources Committee for discussion. At the heart of the discussion is the definition of cloning and to what lengths society will go to in order to prevent disease and cure illness. While critics of the bill (and the medical advances) will argue this bill effectively bans the Human Cloning Ban signed by former Gov. Tom Vilsack in 2002, the argument does not stand up to scrutiny. SF 115 provides further definition of that piece of the code to allow for scientific advances while still maintaining a ban on human cloning. In addition, the new bill provides penalties for those who do not abide by the ban.

No doubt those among us who believe sexual intercourse is only for procreation will have difficulty seeing the difference between merging cells for to produce embryonic stem cells and merging cells to produce a human. That, in essence, is the distinction this bill creates.

The ban on the cloning of humans remains in tact. The ban on creating embryonic stem cells is lifted so that our medical researchers can continue to work toward cures for cancer, Alzheimers, Parkinsons, diabetes and many other illnesses.

Please consider contacting the following members of the Human Resources Committee and urge them to send SF 115 to the floor:

• Amanda Ragan, Chair, D-District 7
• Becky Schmitz, Vice Chair, D-District 45
• James Seymour, Ranking Member, R-District 28
• Jerry Behn, R-District 24
• Nancy Boettger, R-District 29
• Joe Bolkcom, D-District 39
• William Dotzler, Jr., D-District 11
• Jack Hatch, D-District 33
• David Johnson, R-District 3
• Keith Kreiman, D-District 47
• Dave Mulder, R-District 2
• Herman Quirmbach, D-District 23
• Frank Wood, D-District 42

Sen. Staci Appel is a Democratic woman elected to serve Senate District 37.

Contact Information:
Sen. Staci Appel
Iowa Legislature
Second Floor, State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
515.281.3371

Sen. Staci Appel
10901 180th Avenue
Ackworth, IA 50001
515.961.6982

staci.appel@legis.state.ia.us

Appel is serving her first term in the Iowa Senate. She is an Iowa native from rural Ackworth and was previously a stay-at-home-mom and community volunteer. Prior to taking time off to concentrate on family and charitable organizations, she was a financial consultant.

She is married to Brent (Iowa Supreme Court Justice) and they have five children.

Committee Assignments: Agriculture, State Government, Ways and Means and Education (vice chair). She also serves as the vice chair of the Administration and Regulation Appropriations Subcommittee.

• Bills Sponsored
• Amendments Sponsored
• Subcommittee Assignements

Rep. Swati Dandekar is a Democratic woman elected to serve House District 36.

Contact Information:
Rep. Swati Dandekar
Iowa Legislature
Second Floor, State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319

Rep. Swati Dandekar
2731 28th Avenue
Marion, IA 52302
319.377.2087

swati.dandekar@legis.state.ia.us

Dandekar is the first Indian born American citizen to win a state legislature seat in the United States. She is now in her fourth term in office. She has been a member of the Vision Iowa Board since its inception in 2000. She was the chair of the Hall of Pride Criteria Committee and also a member of the Vision Iowa's Negotiating Team. Previous to running for the Iowa House, she served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Directors.

She and her husband, Arvind (business owner), migrated to the U.S. in 1973. They have two adult sons.

Committee Assignements: Appropriations, Economic Growth, and Transportation. Dandekar also chairs the Economic Development Appropriations Subcommittee.

• Bills Sponsored
• Amendments Sponsored
• Subcommittee assignments

In today's Fort Dodge Messenger Iowa Rep. Helen Miler (D-Fort Dodge) provided some details about a bill she's working on which should benefit Iowa's working families.

One of the growing problems for working families is that the school day ends at roughly 3 p.m., but the work day doesn't. Almost one in three Iowa children of working families are unsupervised in the afternoons, according to the Afterschool Alliance. The data gathered by that group in 2005 showed just 11 percent of the children in working families are in afterschool programs, while 32 percent of them are "latchkey kids" with no adult supervision in the afternoon.

''I do support (additional state funding) because I believe we have got to do something with these children,'' said Rep. Miller.

She pointed out that Iowa leads the nation in the percentage of families in which both parents work -- or, in single-parent households, in which the only parent works. Miller termed the hours after school a ''huge chunk of time that children can get into trouble.''

Miller went on to add a few details about a bill she plans to introduce. The bill would fund after-school art activities that tapped the skills students were learning in other classes. The thinking is that the legislature might be more prone to fund programs associated with school.

Although conventional wisdom has dictated that middle school children are involved in activities following the school day and, therefore, do not have the same needs of younger children, crime statistics have shown this not to be the case. Juvenile crime rates, according to Iowa Afterschool Alliance coordinator Rachel Scott, triple between 3 and 6 p.m.

On a national level

• Two in five middle school children (grades six to eight) in working families (40%) are unsupervised in the afternoons.
• 9.7 million children in working families who do not participate in afterschool programs would be likely to participate if a program were available.
• 14% of children, kindergarten through 12th grade, in working families attend afterschool programs, compared to 11% of all K-12 children. 19% of the children of single working mothers participate in afterschool programs.
• Just 7% of children in rural working families attend afterschool programs.
• 31% of Caucasian, 25% of African American and Hispanic, and 21% of Asian Pacific Islander children in working families are in self-care in the afternoons.

During the past year, the Iowa legislature has alloted $150,000 for afterschool programs. Advocates argue $4 million is needed.

Sen. Mary Lundby is a Republican woman elected to serve Senate District 18.

Contact Information:
Sen. Mary Lundby
Iowa Legislature
Second Floor, State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319

Sen. Mary Lundby
P.O. Box 648
Marion, IA 52302-6673
319.377.6673

mary.lundby@legis.state.ia.us

Lundby has served in the Iowa Senate since 1994. In addition, she is a former member of the Iowa House, having served there from 1986 to 1994. She was elected Speaker of the House and served in that capacity in 1992 to 1994.

Prior to her election to the House, Lundby served as the co-chair of the Linn County Republican Party and as a staff assistant to former Sen. Roger Jepsen. She is a Catholic, is married to Michael and has one child.

Committee Assignments: Government Oversight, Natural Resources and Environment, Ways and Means, and Rules and Administration (Ranking Member).

• Bills Sponsored
• Amendments Sponsored
• Subcommittee Assignments

Rep. Joe Oldson is a Democratic woman elected to serve House District 61.

Contact Information:
Rep. Jo Oldson
Iowa Legislature
Second Floor, State Capitol
Des Moines, IA 50319
515.281.3221
515.281.5868 - fax

Rep. Jo Oldson
418 38th Place
Des Moines, IA 50312
515.255.2805

jo.oldson@legis.state.ia.us

Oldson is serving her third term in the Iowa House. She has worked in various positions in state government over the last 16 years -- the Office of the Insurance Commissioner for 1990 to 1998; policy adviser to former Gov. Tom Vilsack in 1999 and 2000. In addition, she has served on he Young Women's Resource board of directors from 1991 to 2005, serving as president from 1998 to 1999.

She holds a bachelor's degree in political science and a law degree, both from Drake. She is a protestant and is married to Brice Oakley (former Republican state representative and current lobbyist).

Committee Assignments: Commerce, Judiciary and Appropriations (Chair -- the first female chair in Iowa's history)

• Bills Sponsored
• Amendments Sponsored
• Subcommittee Assignments

Iowa is one of several states currently considering expanding health care coverage. The groundwork is currently being done by an Iowa legislative panel which is looking seriously at a formula of universal health care, similar to what Massachusetts now has in place.

Rep. Linda Miller (R-Bettendorf) is not only a legislator on the panel, but a nurse. She told Sioux City Journal today that "Iowans expect an effort to improve the health system:

"I've seen how the actual system currently works for people, and it's not very good," Miller said.

She said she doesn't believe the idea of universal health care coverage comes down to being a Republican or Democratic idea.

Miller emphasizes that universal health care and government control of health care sometimes are confused but are two separate issues.

"Having the government tell us how to practice medicine is not anybody's idea of universal health care," Miller said.

Kudos to Miller for seeing a problem and looking outside of her party's box for ways to fix it!

The vast majority of Iowans without health care coverage are young and employed (wages too low to buy into employee run health care services or work for employers who do not offer such a plan). While Iowa's rate of uninsured is smaller than than the national one, it remains a growing problem.

It's been brought to our attention that the feeds from the site are messed up date-wise. Some renovations have been going on over the past two days -- keyword addition, category fixing, etc. -- and each time a post was re-edited to reflect the new items, it was saved on the feed with the latest date.

Apologies for the mix up, but that's what you get when you are dealing with blog newbies. We've made a note and will refrain from such activity in the future.

While this isn't necessarily political, it's important! While reading through today's Des Moines Register I came across this article on Project AWARE. Contained within was the following information:

On the Turkey and Wapsipinicon, the Raccoon and South Skunk, on the Iowa and Boone and Missouri rivers, Iowans took their nearby streams into their own hands, putting on gloves and leaping into the muck. "It's hard to describe the magic that goes on. There is a special breed of person that really cares about the environment," said KJ Rebarcak of rural Long Grove, who participated in last year's AWARE. Rebarcak was so inspired that along with friend Melisa Petersen she organized their own cleanup on the Wapsipinicon in Clinton County. She floated the same stretch of the river on her first paddling trip with Petersen five years ago and found it offered her peace, something you can't measure with hard figures. She could measure this: Last summer, 25 volunteers pulled an astounding 11,592 pounds of trash out of 22 Wapsi river miles.

We applaud Rebarcak, Petersen and all the wonderful volunteers who are caring for Iowa's environment!

During a recent survey hired out by the Legislature's Sustainable Natural Resource Funding Advisory Committee, 800 Iowans ranked pollution of rivers, lakes and streams as their number two priority. (The top slot went to lack of affordable health care.) While some are just beginning to understand the importance of Iowa's lands and rivers being clean, other Iowan's began doing something about it more than five years ago. That's when Project AWARE began with 35 hearty volunteers. This incentive will continue this year on the Raccoon River. More information is available by clicking the logo to the right or the link above.

According to the Democratic National Committee (DNC), states Nevada and South Carolina were moved into the front of the Presidential selection process because it was felt Iowa and New Hampshire were not representative of minorities. Because of this it is interesting to note that South Carolina has the lowest political participation by women in the nation.

In South Carolina, only 8.8% of the legislature is comprised of women. Further, this is a percentage which has fallen significantly since 1998 (when the state saw it's high of 12.9%).

Is it better to place a state with a more diverse percentages of population at the top of the presidential nominating calendar in which the minorities don't participate in the process - or - is it better to have a less diverse state which has higher percentages of participation?

Since we refuse to believe there are no women in South Carolina with political aspirations, we must believe that South Carolina as a whole is not woman-friendly in its politics. In an age when women are making great strides and the Democratic party is looking at its (arguably) first viable woman for the post of president, it is unbelievable that such a state would be selected to lead the process.

This nugget of knowledge comes to us from Iowa Sen. Mary Lundby, courtesy of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. You see, it seems Iowa Sen. Dick Dearden still feels a bit testy about the 2001 smack-down former Gov. Tom Vilsack gave his bill which proposed a dove hunting season in Iowa. He plans -- in a year where majorities in both houses and the governor's office could lead to real progress in Iowa -- to re-introduce the bill with hopes new Gov. Culver will place pen to paper.

"My constituents overwhelmingly do not want to blow little mourning doves out of the air with a gun," [Lundby] said. "Hunters in Iowa are about six percent or less of the population, the rest of us spend millions of dollars a year buying bird seed." Of Dearden's plan, she added, "I think the Sen. Dearden has promised his gun friends and his dove-killing friends that he'd try again and he's trying again. I think he'll get shot down."

Here's hoping the pun was intended.

As much as I'd like to give cheers to Lundby for her stance, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the whole "dove-killing friends" line. Since I can't give cheers to either Lundby or Dearden on this one, I'm glad there was one more person quoted in the article:

"I hope not. We don't have to do that," [Senate Pres. Jack] Kibbie said when asked about the legislation's prospects. "I think we've got a lot more important things to do than the dove season."

Preach it, brother, preach it!