(DES MOINES) - Gov. Terry E. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds today congratulated Xi Jinping on becoming China's new president.

Branstad noted Iowa's long-standing history with President Xi, from his first visit to Iowa in 1985.

"Iowa is fortunate to have a strong, friendly relationship with China's new president," said Branstad. "When he was in Iowa last year, Xi Jinping told me he still remembers the families he stayed with in Iowa, and how much he appreciated the friendliness and hospitality that was shown to his entire delegation during their trip to Iowa. He has made a very good impression with the people he has met here in this state, both in 1985 during his initial visit, as well as his visit to our state for the reunion last year. We enjoyed hosting him at a state dinner here, and I was very impressed how he went off his script to describe his first visit to Iowa and the people he had met here. We are very impressed with his leadership. We think he will be someone who is very good to work with and it is an opportunity for us to build better relationships between the United States of America and China. I was honored to be hosted by Xi Jinping at a reunion with his Iowa friends in Beijing last spring. I look forward to visiting President Xi very soon, and continuing our great relationship."

Reynolds says she looks forward to the unlimited growth potential with the world's largest country.

"Whether it is our agricultural exports, or China's growing need for financial services, Iowa is poised for significant growth over the next decade thanks to our strong relationship with President Xi," said Reynolds. "The governor and I have both had the opportunity to meet with President Xi and other high ranking officials as we led trade missions throughout China. When you compare China with where it was just two decades ago, the change is substantial. The standard of living for people has improved exponentially. I think all of this is very positive and it is evident that as China improves economic opportunities for its people, Iowa will have even more customers on the world stage."

Branstad to continue serving on national council tasked with finding effective homeland security, emergency response and National Guard measures and incorporating the state perspective into national policy discussions 

(DES MOINES) - President Barack Obama today reappointed Gov. Terry E. Branstad co-chair of the ten-governor Council of Governors. Branstad was first named to the Council as co-chair by President Obama in March 2011.

"It has been an honor to serve as co-chairman of the Council of Governors for the past two years," said Branstad. "I want to thank President Obama for having the confidence in me to continue serving on the Council to find effective and efficient solutions to enhance the preparedness and security of our great country. In addition, I want to thank General Orr, and his fellow Adjutants General, who have been integral in their support to help drive collaboration between the Federal government and the states"

The Council of Governors was established by the National Defense Authorization Act in 2008 to strengthen further partnership between the Federal and State governments as it pertains to national security. The council is balanced by political party and serves the nation as a whole. The governors serve two-year terms and are appointed by the President. The President designates two members of different political affiliations to serve as co-chairs of the Council.

The Council is considered a premier opportunity for governors to serve at a national level.

CHICAGO - February 15, 2013. Governor Pat Quinn today joined President Obama at Hyde Park Academy to discuss the need to strengthen the middle class and prevent gun violence. The president laid out a bold agenda during his State of the Union address to drive job creation and economic growth, close the skills gap, raise the federal minimum wage and protect public safety. Governor Quinn laid out many proposals last week during his State of the State address consistent with the President's agenda.

"I strongly support the president's mission to strengthen the middle class and protect the people of our state and country," Governor Quinn said. "We must all be committed to driving economic growth in Illinois and making sure that gun violence does not threaten our children's bright futures. I look forward to working together across party lines in the coming months to find common-sense, common ground to make Illinois more prosperous."

Last week in his State of the State address, Governor Quinn laid out an ambitious agenda to put people back to work and strengthen the Illinois economy. He announced a partnership between the state, the University of Illinois and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications to create the Illinois Manufacturing Lab, which will help better equip Illinois' workforce and make manufacturers in our state more competitive. The governor also proposed raising the minimum wage in Illinois to, at least, $10 an hour over the next four years to reduce poverty and increase local consumer spending. He also called for continued investment in transportation and public works, to create jobs and pave the way for more economic growth.

In addition, the governor addressed the need to end gun violence in Illinois by calling for a ban on the sale of assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as mental health reporting and common-sense public safety legislation that includes stronger background checks and new requirements to report lost and stolen guns. Governor Quinn also called for marriage equality to make Illinois a more welcoming place for all people. Yesterday, marriage equality legislation passed the Illinois Senate.

Loebsack Statement on the State of the Union Address

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement after President Obama delivered the State of the Union Address.  In the spirit of civility and bipartisan cooperation, for the second year in a row, Loebsack sat with Congressman Justin Amash (R-MI-03) for tonight's address.  Loebsack and Amash recently joined together to introduce a bipartisan balanced budget amendment.  As a member of the No Labels "problem solvers" group, Loebsack wore an orange lapel pin that read "Stop Fighting, Start Fixing".  The bipartisan organization works to bring Democrats and Republicans together to achieve across the aisle cooperation.

"In what remains a deeply divided nation, where there are few things on which many people agree, growing our economy and creating jobs remains a goal that we can all work towards.  I was glad to hear the President focus so much of his attention on these important issues.  I strongly believe that we must confront the fiscal problems that are facing our nation, but as the President said, we must do this from the middle out, not the top down.  I was happy to hear the President talk about the importance of investing in education for kids of all ages.  It is one of the best ways to ensure the middle class will prosper.

"When we have a strong middle class, we have a strong nation. We must get the budget in order, but it must be done in a balanced way. It cannot be done on the backs of seniors, the middle-class, and hard working families.

"I was also pleased to hear the President focus on investing in clean energy, including wind energy.  I have long been a supporter of the Production Tax Credit, which supports the growth of wind energy jobs in Iowa and across the nation, while lessening our dependence on fossil fuels.  7,000 Iowans are employed in the wind energy industry in Iowa alone and it is important we continue to support and grow this home grown industry."

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Statement from Governor Quinn on President Obama's State of the Union Address

CHICAGO - February 12, 2013. Governor Pat Quinn issued the following statement regarding President Barack Obama's State of the Union address:

"President Obama laid out an inspiring agenda that will make America a magnet for jobs and drive economic growth for the next generation.

"As the President made clear tonight, cuts alone will not bring us to prosperity. We must reduce our deficit by taking a balanced approach that includes both reforms and closing loopholes. And making crucial investments in areas like education, infrastructure and manufacturing will pay dividends in the future, creating more jobs and growing the middle class.

"Illinois stands ready to do our part. As the President called for manufacturing hubs across the nation, we are already on our way to making the Illinois Manufacturing Lab a reality.

"Last week in my State of the State address, I announced a partnership with the University of Illinois and the National Center for Supercomputing Applications to create an advanced manufacturing hub where companies come to learn and access the world's most sophisticated tools and software.

"We can all agree that hard work should lead to a decent living. A strong middle class will lift up our entire country. I urge the members of the United States Congress to put politics aside and join the President in doing the hard work that's necessary to strengthen our economy."

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Gamaliel's Response to the State of the Union Address Given Tonight by President Obama

CHICAGO

"While we hoped the President would address and support a moratorium on deportations and outline a clear path to legal
citizenship, we admire the new tone he has taken. He has said, "Now is the time for immigration reform." We feel the time
is way overdue -by decades.

We had also hoped that the president would prioritize healthy families and communities over border security in his
statements about immigration reform, and we oppose the narrative of penalties and "the back-of-the-line." However we see
hope in the President's statement that 300 million people [U.S. citizens] are also depending on true immigration reform and
so is the revitalization or our economy.

As Executive Director of Gamaliel, I stand with our clergy caucus in supporting the raising of the federal minimum wage.
We believe it is a social justice issue because too often, families have to choose between paying the bills, feeding the family
and paying the rent, even though they work full-time and hold down two jobs.

We do not believe in austerity measures that would compromise our children's education, lay-off teachers, police and
firefighters or cut Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, something our seniors have worked for their entire lives.

President of our clergy caucus Rabbi Ron Symons added that the President charged us to remember that each of our
individual rights is wrapped up in the rights of others. Whether speaking about good jobs or affordable housing, education
or immigration reform, women's rights, the federal minimum wage or the right to vote. He reminded each of us --of the God
given hope and promise every person has. It is now our responsibility as a society to treat each other according to those
God given hopes and promises.

Again we are more optimistic now than ever that this President will make sure that human rights and dignity are restored
to those who need it the most, whether it is newcomers to our country or working families and individuals -Bravo Mr.
President. Now let's get it done.

SI SE PUEDE!

Ana Garcia-Ashley
Executive Director

Gamaliel is a grassroots network of non-partisan, faith-based organizations in 17 U.S. states, South Africa and the United
Kingdom that organizes to empower ordinary people to effectively participate in the political, environmental, social and
economic decisions affecting their lives. Gamaliel's diverse members apply their faith and values to the pursuit of equal
opportunity for all, shared abundance, and stronger, more prosperous communities. Gamaliel is headquartered in Chicago,
Illinois.