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Senate
Democrats Legislative Report
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Big step toward insuring all Iowa kids
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Final
action to protect the health of Iowa workers
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Iowa’s
economy is growing
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Avoiding
family conflict over funerals and burials
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Iowa is best
in Midwest for children
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Senate
targets mortgage scammers
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Is there
help for Iowans struggling with home mortgages?
If you follow the money this year at the Legislature, you’ll
find our single biggest new commitment is to expand health insurance to all
children in Iowa.
This week, the Senate voted 42-6 to make affordable health
care coverage available to all Iowa
kids.
I’m proud that we’re delivering on our promise to improve
access to health care. And we are
doing it in a careful, considered and bipartisan manner.
We all know that the federal government must be part of
the health care solution, but we’re still waiting for President Bush and
Congress to act.
Instead of waiting any longer, this week legislators from both parties
listened to Iowans and worked together to craft bold reforms to contain costs
and improve the quality of health care.
This landmark legislation will make Iowa a national leader in improving a
troubled health care system. It will
ensure that more Iowa
children will be healthier and happier for years to come.
The air that more than 90,000 Iowa workers breathe while on the job will
become a lot healthier thanks to legislation approved this week.
On a bipartisan 28-22 vote, the Senate approved a
statewide ban on smoking in public places.
If signed into law, this initiative will reduce exposure
to second-hand tobacco smoke, which kills more than 400 Iowans annually and
makes thousands ill. The measure
should also reduce the billion dollars Iowans spend each year to treat
smoking-related illnesses. That
includes $300 million of your tax dollars in this year’s state budget.
The smoking ban will apply to most workplaces, public
places and certain outdoor areas.
For years, the big tobacco companies have had their way in
this state. They’ve made amazing
profits selling an addictive, dangerous product. The medical and social costs have been
passed on to the public at large.
Legislators have listened to their constituents and are
standing up to big tobacco companies by protecting the health and safety of
workers across Iowa.
The bill will now go to Governor Culver’s desk for his
signature.
Iowa’s economy is growing
On the first Friday in April, experts reviewed the health
of our state’s economy, and the news is good.
While the national economy struggles, Iowa's economy grows. The increased revenue estimates are more
proof that efforts to better educate our workforce and create good-paying
jobs are paying off.
In other states, personal incomes and employment are
falling. In Iowa, however, both measures are predicted
to grow in 2008 and 2009. All this is
great news, but I’m taking a cautious approach on the state budget.
I agree that some of those new dollars can help us keep
the commitments we made to Iowans on education, health care and jobs. But I
remain committed to a fiscally responsible budget, and to repaying money
borrowed by previous Legislatures.
That means some belt tightening.
I also support putting more money into our rainy day
funds. It is my hope that this year
we’ll set a new record for the amount of money Iowa has in the state’s savings accounts.
I want the 2008 session to be remembered as one in which
we stood up for middle-class Iowa
families, kept the promises we made to Iowans, and approved a fiscally
responsible budget.
Current state law has no provision allowing Iowans to
designate who they’d like to make funeral arrangements for them after they
die. A bill approved this week by the
Senate would change that.
Most families want to honor their loved ones’ wishes, but
survivors sometimes clash when it comes to the details of funeral
arrangements or burial sites.
Protracted legal battles can occur, and the deceased’s wishes may be
disregarded.
Senate File 473 would allow you to legally designate
someone to make funeral and burial arrangements upon your death. The bill now goes to the Governor for his
signature.
Iowa
is best in Midwest for children
The state in which a child is born can make a big
difference in their health and likelihood of surviving to adulthood, according
to a new report by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Every Child Matters Education
Fund.
The report found that Iowa
ranks first in the Midwest in child
well-being, and seventh nationwide. The study examined 10 factors,
including infant and child mortality, prenatal care, child poverty, child
abuse and neglect, health insurance, teen pregnancy, and death and
incarceration.
The report, “Geography Matters: Child Well-Being in
the States,” used key government indicators and reports to determine
rankings.
All states provide a basic network of social programs to
assist children and families, but some states do better than others in
supporting children. Nationwide,
nearly 13 million American children live in poverty; more than 8 million have
no health insurance; and nearly 3 million cases of child abuse and neglect
are reported each year.
I’m proud that this year the Senate supported key
initiatives to expand health care for Iowa kids. It’s an important investment in our
families that will help ensure a healthy Iowa future.
A full copy of the report from the Every Child Matters
Education Fund can be found at www.everychildmatters.org.
Senate targets mortgage scammers
Scam artists who target Iowa
families facing home foreclosure will run into new roadblocks thanks to
legislation that unanimously
passed the Iowa Senate.
House File 2653 regulates foreclosure consultants and bans
them from accepting fees or payments until all services are performed. It also stops them from trying to prevent
borrowers from seeking help from a lending institution, financial service or
government agency.
Foreclosure consultants sell services promising to stop or
delay foreclosures for a fee. The nationwide mortgage foreclosure crisis has
increased the number of unscrupulous operators who prey on vulnerable
consumers. These scoundrels charge
unreasonably high fees and often leave families with unfulfilled promises,
more debt and a greater risk of losing their homes.
The new legislation limits how much foreclosure
consultants can charge, prohibits them secretly accepting third-party payment
for services, and forbids them from persuading an owner to enter into a
contract that doesn’t comply with the new requirements.
The bill now goes to Governor Culver.
Helping prevent mortgage foreclosures makes sense for
everyone. While foreclosure is a
tragedy for the family involved, it also drives down the property values of
other homes in the neighborhood.
If you are facing foreclosure or cannot make your mortgage
payments, call the toll-free Foreclosure Hotline (877-622-4866) between 8:30
a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. You’ll be
connected to an independent organization, Iowa Mediation Services, that helps
bring borrowers and lenders together to solve problems.
The sooner you make the call, the better things will be in
the end. The hotline has already received more than 8,000 calls. A call to the hotline may be especially
helpful to "subprime" borrowers with
adjustable rate mortgages.
If you think you may be a victim of predatory lending,
contact the Iowa Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division at
515-281-5926 or toll-free 888-777-4590 or go to the AG’s website at www.IowaAttorneyGeneral.org.
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