Congressman: Putting veterans' specialized skills to use is common sense

Washington, D.C. - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today continued his fight to create a Veterans' Job Corps, reintroducing legislation that would put unemployed veterans back to work using skills they developed in the military?in such roles as improving our national parks, serving as police officers and firefighters and working in local communities.

"Unemployment levels for veterans remains higher than the national average, and the Veterans' Jobs Corps is an opportunity to level the playing field for those that have sacrificed so much for our country," Braley said. "Many of our veterans have highly valued skills that could be put to good use with minimal training?it's commonsense that we should pursue every opportunity to do that."

 

The Veterans' Jobs Corps Act would allow the executive branch to create the program as a cooperative project between federal agencies. Members of the jobs corps could be employed to improve public lands and national parks, prevent forest fires, work in public safety jobs and control floods. Participation in the corps would be open to veterans and widows of veterans.

Braley previously co-hosted a series of bipartisan field hearings on veterans' unemployment.  Braley also successfully fought for a pair of tax credits that give businesses incentives to hire unemployed veterans.

A link to the bill can be found HERE.

 

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Why will you see so many volunteers driving around the Quad-Cities delivering sandwiches on Thursday?

It's all part of the ninth annual "Safer Sacks" initiative by The Safer Foundation. Participating businesses and organizations have ordered sandwich lunches that volunteers will deliver to workplaces or diners will pick up for carry-out.

Sandwiches will be put together, and volunteers will be dispatched, beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday at The Center, 1411 Brady St., Davenport.

All money earned through this event goes to The Safer Foundation's Employment Services, Youth Empowerment and IMPACT Programs in Moline, Rock Island and Davenport. Last year, The Safer Foundation earned more than $10,000 through this annual fundraiser, with all the money staying in the Quad-Cities.

For more than 40 years, The Safer Foundation's mission has focused on reducing recidivism by supporting, through a full spectrum of services, the efforts of people with criminal records to become employed, law-abiding members of the community.

"Secret bank" of Koch brothers & their oil billionaire allies pouring money into TV attack ads

DES MOINES, IA - The name may be different, but the lies are still the same.

News broke late yesterday that Freedom Partners, the "secret bank" of the Koch brothers and their oil billionaire allies, were pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into another round of misleading TV attack ads targeting Bruce Braley's record of support for policies that strengthen the middle class.

The Koch brothers' money machine last reared its head in Iowa's US Senate race with TV ads launched in January under the pseudonym Americans for Prosperity. Independent fact-checkers at the Cedar Rapids Gazette called those ads "mostly false."

By any reasonable standard, the claims contained in the Koch brothers' latest ad don't stand up to scrutiny, particularly claims about Iowans facing "cancelled [health insurance] policies." The fact is, Iowans were allowed to keep grandfathered health insurance plans and Rep. Braley supported improvements to the healthcare law that would have protected Iowans.

Braley for Iowa spokesman Jeff Giertz responded to the ad, saying, "The Koch brothers and their oil billionaire allies are once again attacking Bruce Braley with misleading ads because just like Bruce's GOP opponents they support policies that would hurt Iowa's economy, like blocking an increase in the minimum wage, undermining Medicare and Social Security, and sending us back to the days when insurance companies could kick people off their insurance when they got sick. Bruce Braley fights for Iowa's working families because that's where he comes from, and he'll keep fighting for Iowa in the US Senate."

Remember: whether it's under the banner of Americans for Prosperity or Freedom Partners, the Koch brothers support an agenda - and candidates - that oppose raising the minimum wage, call for the elimination of the Wind Production Tax Credit, oppose the Farm Bill, and even push for the elimination of the Renewable Fuels Standard. These are all policies that create jobs for and strengthen Iowa's middle class - and the Koch brothers and their allies are actively working against them.

Iowa FFA Holds 86th Annual Conference

ANKENY, Iowa--FFA members across Iowa will be celebrating success when they gather for the 86th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference on April 27-29 at Iowa State University's Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa. The Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference is the 4th largest of its kind in the National FFA Organization.

"Ignite," the theme for this year's convention, is geared toward individual leadership, growth, and success. It also seeks to challenge FFA members to think about how they can "ignite today and the future."

The annual conference will provide agricultural education students the opportunity to participate in Career Development Event competitions, be recognized for accomplishments in events during the past year, become inspired by motivational speakers, interact with college and business professionals, and develop leadership skills. Chapter delegates and Iowa FFA Officers will also conduct the annual business session to make decisions for the student run Iowa FFA Association. Students will also be engaged in a service project with Meals from the Heartland with a goal of packaging 250,000 meals.

Several exciting guests will be present at the 2014 Iowa FFA Leadership Conference. These include keynote speakers Ian Tyson, co-founder of Youth Leadership Camps Canada; and Bill Fennelly, Iowa State University Women's Basketball Coach. National FFA Central Region Vice President and Iowa native, Steven Brockshus; and National FFA Advisor, Dr. Steve Brown will also address the conference.

The Iowa FFA State Leadership Conference is possible with support from the following partners of the Iowa FFA Foundation: Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Farm Credit Services of America, Des Moines Area Community College, and Iowa Farm Bureau Federation.

The Iowa FFA Association has 219 local chapters with over 14,200 FFA members. FFA is a national organization of nearly 580,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in science, business and technology of agriculture. Local, state and national programs provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. FFA's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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Iowa FFA Association to Pack 250,000 Meals at State Leadership Conference

AMES, IA - The Iowa FFA Association and Meals from the Heartland are proud to announce that they will partner together to package 250,000 meals at the 86th Iowa FFA Leadership Conference at Hilton Coliseum in Ames, Iowa on Sunday, April 27th and Monday, April 28th. 2014 marks the third year these two organizations have engaged in this partnership.

More than 1,500 FFA members from throughout Iowa, in addition to Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Bill Northey and Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig, are expected to volunteer in this effort to package 250,000 rice-soy meals.

Meals from the Heartland is a non-profit organization composed of volunteers who package meals for delivery to starving people in Iowa, the United States and around the world. Since 2008, Meals from the Heartland has provided more than 39 million meals to the food insecure.

This packaging event is made possible with support from the Iowa FFA Foundation and its partners: the Iowa Food and Family Project, a part of the Iowa Soybean Association and GROWMARK.

The Iowa FFA Association has 219 local chapters with over 14,200 FFA members. FFA is a national organization of nearly 580,000 members preparing for leadership and careers in science, business and technology of agriculture. Local, state and national programs provide opportunities for students to apply knowledge and skills learned in the classroom. FFA's mission is to make a positive difference in the lives of students by developing their potential for premier leadership, personal growth and career success through agricultural education.

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