Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement after voting against Speaker John Boehner’s default bill:

“Washington is broken and it’s long past time that we fix it. The American people are tired of excuses. That’s why I couldn’t support Speaker Boehner’s bill tonight. It doesn’t fix the problem, it delays it, and it’s time we address this problem like adults. Over 5 months ago I asked the President and Speaker Boehner for a plan to reduce our nation's spending and get our debt under control. But the simple truth is that problems rarely get solved in Washington until the clock has nearly run out. Now we’ve come to the brink of a default and a serious blow to our fragile economy. That’s unacceptable. As soon as I see a viable plan to bring us back from the brink of default and address our national debt and deficit, I’ll be the first to cast my ‘yea’ vote.”

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CHICAGO – July 29, 2011. Governor Pat Quinn today took action on the following bills:

Bill No.: SB 178
Transfers functions associated with state healthcare purchasing and grants the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability authority to disapprove proposed state health care contracts.
An Act Concerning: Government
Action: Vetoed

Bill No.: SB 1744
Requires the first and last days of the school year to be no less than five hours long.
An Act Concerning: Education
Action: Amendatorily Vetoed                        

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During his weekly video address, Senator Chuck Grassley discusses his bill targeting synthetic drugs.  The bill passed the Senate Judiciary Committee, on July 28, and would ban chemicals used to make drugs like K2, also known as Spice.  Grassley’s legislation is named after David Rogza of Indianola, Iowa, whose death may have been the first in the nation related to K2.

Click here for audio.

The text of the address is available below.    

Weekly Video Address:  Synthetic Drug Bill  

On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed my bipartisan legislation to ban chemicals used to make synthetic drugs like K2, or Spice.

A year ago in June, K2 led an 18-year old from Indianola to take his own life.  David Rozga’s death may have been the first in the country stemming from a new type of synthetic drug.  I met with David’s family last August, and David’s dad traveled to Washington to testify in April at a drug caucus hearing which I co-chaired.

David’s death hasn’t been the last.  In January, a high-school student in Omaha killed his assistant principal and himself.  He had K2 in his system.

Poison-control centers and emergency rooms are reporting skyrocketing cases resulting from K2 use.  Violent injuries are seen, related to K2 increasing agitation, heart rates and blood pressure, hallucinations, and seizures.  K2 abuse has even led all branches of the military to ban the use of the synthetic drug after high profile cases arose at the Naval Academy and on the U.S.S. Bataan which was deploying to Libya. 

The drug is available at local shopping malls and online.  It’s marketed to appear natural and harmless, like a package of incense.  Victims like David Rozga get sucked into trying the drug, unaware of the risks.

Federal legislation is needed because the Drug Enforcement Agency’s process of banning drugs is slow, with no guarantee of a permanent ban.  The proposed bill – which I named the David Mitchell Rozga Act -- would treat K2 like banned narcotics such as methamphetamine and cocaine.

The Senate should act to ban this drug as soon as possible.

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Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement after Governor Terry Branstad vetoed a state bill that would have given taxbreaks to Iowans making $45,000 or less:

“I’m disappointed by Governor Branstad’s veto, and I have to ask, “what are his priorities?” This bill was passed with bipartisan support and would have provided tax relief to thousands of hard-working Iowa families. This doesn’t make sense to me, and I don’t think it makes sense to middle class Iowans who are struggling.”

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