It went almost totally unnoticed at the Statehouse, but Senate President John Cullerton pulled a neat little trick at the end of the spring legislative session, and he may end up getting what he wants this fall.

We're going to get into some "insider" terminology and a few numbers, but it's really not all that difficult.

Cullerton refused to advance a measure known as a "budget implementation bill." The "BIMP" transferred millions of dollars into special state funds. Those transfers are known as "trouts."

For instance, the legislation transfers $4 million from the state's General Revenue Fund (which is like the state's checking account) into the Underground Resources Conservation Fund.

All told, Cullerton wants to fish out about $200 million from the "trouts" and use the cash to satisfy his members' demand that schools be given more money.

By: Gordon Filepas

As a father, you understand the incredible importance of keeping your family healthy, happy, lean and long-lived as easily and inexpensively as possible.   As the president of our country, you understand the importance of educating U.S. citizens about how to do the same.

My concern then is, as the most prominent role model in the land, why do you smoke cigarettes?  Why do you eat so many fatty foods, as physicians have publicly noted?  Why are there so many campaign tour photos of you eating unhealthy foods?  At the same time, your wife is campaigning to end childhood obesity.  Doesn't this send a mixed message to most everyone in America?  This at a time when America's disease, obesity and health insurance rates are skyrocketing, with no end in sight?

Why does America spend only 4% percent of its health-care budget on prevention and education yet over 75 percent on disease treatment? Is the goal to make Americans authentically healthy, or to make a few industries wealthier? These are questions my own children have asked me around the dinner table, so now I'm asking you Mr. President.

From all the research I just completed, I now know that Americans aren't getting fatter and sicker because they're lazy; they're getting fatter and sicker because of the steady stream of misinformation that is fed to them and that defies common sense. They're confused about the true biological causes of poor health and disease.  You can understand then why, to the American public, it almost appears that governmental health policies are designed to cultivate disease and illness, purely for profit, rather than to authentically protect the health of American citizens.

The signs are everywhere. A recent example is the fact that food manufacturers don't have to label GMO (genetically modified organisms) foods in America, when other countries do.  Why?  People certainly deserve to know what's in their food!  A country as a whole is only as strong as the health of its individuals.

As a concerned father, I wanted to ask you these questions. Because, when I give my children a kiss or a hug or tell them I love them each day, I want only the best for them.  As a father, I know you want the same for your own children.   And, every other parent in our country wants the same for their own children.  What does the future hold for our children if America doesn't change its ways right now and do what it needs to do to end its disease and obesity epidemics?

As a concerned American citizen, I know that you have the power to make America healthier, leaner, fitter and stronger.  You can also choose to do nothing and give into the various lobbying interests purely for their profit and political purposes, while the citizens of our country continue to get sicker, fatter and weaker, thereby making America even less competitive in the world.

The long and short of it is, Mr. President, the choice really is yours. You are the ultimate role model for America.  The buck starts and stops with you.

Whoever becomes the next President in the upcoming election, I wonder what the parents on their staff and throughout all the other influential government offices would wish for their own children's future: profit or health? Frankly, it really is easy to have both if America's health-care system were to be redesigned properly and if all Americans were taught to give their bodies what they need biologically in the first place to prevent disease and illness.  Providing everyone with health insurance is a noble proposition but it does nothing to prevent or end even a single disease state.

Wouldn't it be great to be remembered as the president who solved America's health and obesity problems, and made America the longest-lived country in the world with among the lowest healthcare costs?

The choice is yours.

About Gordon Filepas

Gordon Filepas spent 20 years researching Lean And Healthy To 100, (www.adviceformychildren.com), interviewing physicians, attending seminars, and reading medical journals and other health-related literature. He is the founder of TGM Partners, a consulting and investment firm. Filepas says he was motivated to learn more about the specific requirements for optimal health following the deaths of his father and brother from cancer within three years of each other. He hopes to ensure the good health of his family, including his wife of 25 years and three sons.

Dear Fellow Americans,

Today we have the great honor to inform our generous and devoted constituents, the media, independent journalists and the proper Elections Departments in each State of the Union, that after long deliberations with my campaign advisors, family and friends, I have nominated my running mate for the position of Vice President for the coming 2012 Presidential Election, Mr. Steve McAllister.

Mr. McAllister kindly accepted the nomination after consulting with his family and friends. We are so proud to have Steve on board, a patriot, a person that will work hand in hand to preserve our founding fathers' values, defend our rights for a free and democratic nation, he will work with all sectors of our country without discrimination. An entrepreneur that has dedicated a great part of his life to help others and disseminate the profound values of our Christian faith and a proud direct descendant of the Abraham Lincoln family. We are honored to have his unconditional support. Welcome to our team, Steve!

God bless America!

Sincerely,

Paul Chehade
Candidate for President of  the United States of America 2012.

P.S.: Spread the word, forward this message to your friends and colleagues, it is a great way to help to this campaign.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the President spoke at TPI Composites in Newton about the need to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy and a greater investment in clean energy, including renewable fuels.  Loebsack attended the President's speech in Newton this afternoon.

 

"I am pleased the President visited TPI in Newton today to highlight the importance of extending the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, which has played such a vital role in bringing back manufacturing jobs to the area.  I have been pushing for some time to get Congress to act on extending the PTC and am pleased the President has committed to working on this issue.  We cannot afford to let the PTC expire at the end of the year."

 

During the President's visit, Loebsack presented him with a letter that discusses his commitment to extending the PTC and also highlights Iowa's renewable fuel industry and the need to extend the biodiesel tax credit that expired at the end of 2011.

 

"Iowa is currently the largest renewable fuel producing state in the country.  This industry has created thousands of good-paying jobs in Iowa communities and here in Newton," wrote Loebsack.  "Unfortunately, Congress allowed the biodiesel tax credit to expire for the second time at the end of 2011. Iowa has more than a dozen biodiesel production plants so a reauthorization of the biodiesel production tax credit would provide Iowa's economy with a much needed boost, support good jobs for Iowans, and help reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

 

#

WASHINGTON, May 24, 2012 - TOMORROW, Agriculture Secretary Vilsack will meet with Iowa veterans to discuss a key component of President Obama's Congressional "To Do List": The need to honor our commitment to veterans by passing legislation creating a Veterans Jobs Corps, to help hire returning service members to serve their communities.

 

Secretary Vilsack will highlight military service by men and women from rural America, and discuss some of the work USDA is doing right now to provide economic opportunity for veterans, particularly the more than 6 million who live in rural areas.

 

Friday, May 25, 2012

10:45 a.m. CDT

 

WHAT: Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack will host a media availability immediately following a roundtable discussion with Iowa veterans on President Obama's Congressional "To Do List": employment for returning service members.

 

WHERE: Boline-Manfredi VFW Post 9662

1309 NE 66th Ave

Des Moines, Iowa

 

Simon welcomes new JALC president, calls for budget reform to protect education funding

 

CARTERVILLE - May 24, 2012. Lt. Governor Sheila Simon welcomed incoming John A. Logan College President Mike Dreith on Thursday and urged lawmakers to make pension and Medicaid reforms that will protect higher education funding.

 

Without major changes, health care for the poor and retirement benefits for public employees will continue to eat up more of the state's general revenue dollars, squeezing out funding for education, law enforcement and other expenses, Simon said prior to a public reception for Dreith alongside retiring JALC President Bob Mees.

 

"Runaway Medicaid and pension costs could squeeze out education funding if major reforms are not enacted this spring," said Simon, who serves as Governor Quinn's point person on education reform. "When President Dreith takes over on July 1, we want John A. Logan College to know its state dollars will be paid on time and in full so its students receive the best education possible."

 

Fast-growing public pension and Medicaid costs could eat up 50 percent of state general revenue spending in FY2014 without major reforms. That could limit the state's ability to fund education and public safety, threaten the state's credit rating and hurt the long-term sustainability of the health care and retirement systems, Simon said. On Monday, legislation supported by Governor Quinn was filed to restructure Illinois' Medicaid system.

 

"The state's budget crisis must be resolved, with input from educators across the state, to maintain and improve the quality of higher education in Illinois," said Mees, who will retire from the JALC presidency on June 30.

 

Students who qualify for state tuition assistance, whether they pay to study microbiology or welding, could also feel the squeeze, Simon said. In the past decade, the buying power of the state's Monetary Award Program (MAP) has fallen from covering the full tuition and fees at public community colleges and universities, to covering about half. For every student who received partial assistance from MAP this year, another qualified applicant was denied due to lack of funds.

 

"We need to invest in students and schools if we expect to reach our state's big goal: 60 percent of our working-age adults holding a degree or certificate by 2025," Simon said.  "It's time to put politics aside and work together on budget reforms that will put Illinois on solid financial footing for years to come."


Air Force One will land at the Iowa Air Guard Base

 

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement on the eve of President Obama's visit to Iowa.  The President will arrive aboard Air Force One at the Iowa Air Guard's 132nd Fighter Wing base in Des Moines.  Earlier this year, the Air Force announced a proposal to retire the 132nd's F-16's and eliminate 378 positions.  Since that announcement, Loebsack has been working as the only member of Congress from Iowa serving on the House Armed Services Committee, to stop the Air Force's proposal.  Loebsack's bipartisan initiative to prevent the elimination of Air National Guard positions and the retirement or transfer of Air National Guard aircraft, including the F-16's based in Des Moines, was approved by the House of Representatives last week as part of the annual defense policy bill known as the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.

 

"Iowans are proud of the 132nd's work and now the President will be able to see why.  When it comes to hard work and performance, Iowa's 132nd Fighter Wing is truly second to none.  The plan to eliminate Iowa Airmen's positions and retire their aircraft was short sighted for both taxpayers and national security.  I am proud to have worked to stop this proposal and to fight for the men and women of the Iowa National Guard who have served our country and our state with great dedication and honor."

 

###

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa authored and won enactment of the first-ever wind energy production tax credit in 1992.  The incentive was designed to give wind energy the ability to compete against coal-fired and nuclear energy and helped to launch the wind energy industry.  He has worked to extend the credit ever since.  He made the following comment on President Obama's visit to Iowa on wind energy this week.

 

"I'm glad the President likes Iowa but his visit won't have much to do with getting the wind energy tax credit extended.  He could travel down the street from the White House to the Capitol and talk to the congressional leadership instead, especially in the Senate, controlled by his party.  It was surprising to read in the paper this week that he hasn't talked to key committee chairmen in his own party in months.  Maybe the lack of communication is why the President and the Senate Democrats let the biodiesel tax credit expire at the end of 2011 and made that industry suffer from uncertain tax policy.

 

"There's strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate for extending the wind energy tax credit.   I introduced a bill with bipartisan co-sponsors in March, for example.  The provision is hung up in the lack of a way forward on dozens of expiring tax provisions.  The President could exert his leadership by working with Congress on a way forward instead of calling for a provision that's a no-brainer for many of us.  He's focusing on the easy part of a bigger task.  The stakes for the wind industry and the country in general will only get worse with delay.    It's time to act, not politick."

 

Information on Grassley's bipartisan bill to extend the wind energy tax credit is available here.


CHICAGO, IL - On Thursday, May 24, President Obama will hold a grassroots event at the Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa.

 

In Des Moines, President Obama will continue to outline how far we've come and the clear choice that voters face in this election: whether we continue to move our country forward by creating an economy that's built to last based on a strong, secure middle class, or go back to the same failed policies that led to the financial crisis and left middle-class Americans struggling to make ends meet.

 


WHAT: President Obama to Hold Campaign Grassroots Event

 

WHEN: Thursday, May 24, 2012

Estimated Remarks Start Time: 7:00PM CDT

WHERE: Paul R. Knapp Animal Learning Center

Iowa State Fairgrounds

3000 East Grand Avenue

Des Moines, IA 50317

 

PRESS ACCESS: This event is open to pre-credentialed members of the media.

 

RSVP: Members of the media interested in covering this event must request credentials online, by clicking here. Those receiving credentials will be notified via email.

 

 

**The deadline to request credentials is 6:00 PM EDT // 5:00 PM CDT on Wednesday, May 23.**

 

Logistical Information

 

Media entrance: All media should enter the Iowa State Fairgrounds at Gate 11, located at 30 East 30th Street. Media check-in will be at the intersection of East Grand Avenue and East 33rd Street.

Media pre-set: 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.

No access to equipment: 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Media access: 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Final media access: 5:30 p.m.

Live truck parking: South side of the Animal Learning Center next to the electrical building. Parking will be directed on-site. All live trucks should arrive at the Iowa State Fairgrounds by 12:00 p.m. in order to park and run cable before 1:00 p.m.

General media parking: All media should enter the Iowa State Fairgrounds at Gate 11, located at 30 East 30th Street. Parking will be available in the Midway parking lot on the north side of Grand Avenue.

Cable run: 300 feet

Throw: 35 feet

Limited power and workspace will be available.

Media contact for logistical and planning purposes only:  Stephanie Temaat, 202.503.5360

 

###

Pages