Des Moines - The Iowa Finance Authority today announced that a new Workforce Housing Loan Program is now available to communities with a need for additional rental housing as a result of local employment growth. The program has a total of $5 million available to provide financial assistance in the form of low-cost repayable loans to cities and counties.

"Jobs are moving into communities all throughout our state. These jobs are both attracting current Iowans to move within the state as well giving us the opportunity to welcome new Iowans," said Governor Terry Branstad. "This employment growth is in-turn creating the need for additional workforce housing and this program will allow communities to increase available housing stock to meet that demand."

"Iowa has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and ranks among the top places to raise a family," said Lt. Governor Kim Reynolds. "Affordable housing is at the core of thriving families and communities all across Iowa and the new Workforce Housing Loan Program will help to ensure our workforce has housing options in close proximity to their jobs."

The Workforce Housing Loan Program is available to all cities in Iowa on a competitive basis. Cities with populations of less than 50,000 that have shown an annual job growth during the last three years will be awarded additional points. Local contributing financial effort, employer investment in the proposed workforce housing project and designated Home Base Iowa or Iowa Great Places communities are also considerations in the competitive scoring process, among others.

"This program is a win-win for Iowa communities and their workforce," said Iowa Finance Authority Executive Director Dave Jamison. "The Iowa Finance Authority is proud to offer this program and work in partnership with Iowa communities to fulfill the need for additional workforce housing."

The maximum loan amount per project is the lesser of $1 million or $50,000 per assisted workforce housing rental unit. The loans will have a one percent interest rate with a maximum term of twenty years. Workforce housing units shall not be age restricted and will be limited to households earning 140 percent or less of the statewide median income as published by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Applications in the initial Workforce Housing Loan Program funding round are due to the Iowa Finance Authority by November 2, 2015. More information on the program is available at IowaFinanceAuthority.gov/WHLP.

The Iowa Legislature created the Iowa Finance Authority, the state's housing finance agency, in 1975 to undertake programs to assist in the attainment of housing for low-and moderate-income Iowans.

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Bernie Sanders has fought tirelessly for women's rights, women's pay equity, reproductive freedom, and paid maternity leave. That's why over 400 Iowan women have already signed on to join Women for Bernie - the first presidential campaign with at least 2 women endorsing from each of Iowa's 99 counties.

Bev Hannon, former State Senator, summed it up: "Moms, teachers, business owners, activists, students, union members ? women from across Iowa and all walks of life are standing side-by-side with Bernie Sanders."

A national campaign is a serious undertaking, and it will take nothing less than a political revolution to reclaim our democracy, starting right here in Iowa. We must stand together and say "Enough is enough. Women deserve equal pay for equal work."

Will you add your name to the list of Iowa Women for Bernie supporters?

Senator Grassley is an original cosponsor of this bipartisan legislation to improve telehealth services for veterans through the Department of Veterans Affairs.  "Travel to a VA facility can be a real hardship for some veterans for whom it isn't easy to get to the nearest clinic or hospital that offers the care they need," Grassley said.  "Telehealth can make it less necessary to go to a facility as often and still help veterans get medical treatment."

Ernst, Hirono Introduce VETS Act

Bipartisan legislation to improve health care access and affordability for disabled or rural veterans by expanding VA telehealth services

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI), led eight co-sponsors, in introducing the bipartisan Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act of 2015 (VETS Act), legislation to improve health care access for disabled or rural veterans by expanding telehealth services provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

As defined by the Department of Health and Human Services telehealth is, "the use of electronic information and telecommunications technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, public health and health administration. Technologies include videoconferencing, the internet, store-and-forward imaging, streaming media, and terrestrial and wireless communications."

Under current law, the VA may only waive the state license requirement for telehealth services if both the patient and physician are located in a federally owned facility. In addition, the VA may only perform at-home telehealth care when the patient and physician are located in the same state. These barriers are a deterrent for disabled or rural veterans who are seeking treatment from a physician in another state, in some cases forcing veterans to travel great lengths to a federal facility before receiving telehealth services by camera or phone.

The VETS Act would address these deficiencies by allowing qualified VA health professionals to operate across state lines and conduct telehealth services, including mental health care treatment, for veterans from the comfort and privacy of their own homes.

Telehealth is one of the VA's major transformational initiatives, and the number of veterans utilizing telehealth services continues to climb. In fact, VA telehealth care grew by 18 percent among veterans in Fiscal Year 2014 and in turn more than 12 percent of veterans received elements of their care through telehealth services. According to the VA, 88 percent of veterans who utilized the VA's telehealth services were satisfied with the care they received. Telehealth services are effective and affordable as veterans save on average $2,000 per year in health care related costs, including travel to a VA medical facility.

"The bipartisan Veterans E-Health & Telemedicine Support Act moves us one step closer to achieving more affordable, patient-centered health care that our veterans deserve by embracing telehealth services to offer physician care and health treatment beyond the walls of a VA facility," said Senator Ernst. "Telehealth care is an innovative and important means to meet the wide-ranging needs of veterans in Iowa and nationwide, including the invisible struggles of mental health care."

"Our nation has a moral obligation to provide the best care for all veterans," said Senator Hirono. "This legislation would eliminate the added burden of traveling long distances, or even to different states, in order to see a doctor. The VETS Act will build on a VA telemedicine program that is proven to work and removes barriers to accessing care particularly for veterans in rural areas like Hawaii's Neighbor Islands."

Additional cosponsors to the bipartisan VETS Act include : Senators Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), John Boozman (R-AR), John Cornyn (R-TX), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Thom Tillis (R-NC), and Tom Udall (D-NM).

The VETS Act is widely endorsed by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Paralyzed Veterans of America, the American Legion, Concerned Veterans for America, and the American Telemedicine Association.

The companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives was introduced by Congressmen Charles Rangel (D-NY) and Glen Thompson (R-PA).

Click here to read the full text of the VETS Act.

VETS Act:

·         Allows VA health professionals to practice telemedicine across state lines if they are qualified and practice within the scope of their authorized federal duties.

·         Ensures the VA and Congress provide oversight of the VA's telehealth program by requiring the VA to measure program effectiveness.

Benefits of VA Telehealth Services in Fiscal Year 2014:

·         Provided veterans telehealth care from more than 150 VA Medical Centers and over 750 Community Based Outpatient Clinics.

·         More than 12 percent of veterans received elements of their care through telehealth services.

·         More than 717,000 veterans participated in over 2.1 million telehealth care interactions.

·         45 percent of veterans who used telehealth services lived in rural areas.

·         Reduced hospital bed days of care by 54 percent.

·         Reduced hospital admissions by 32 percent.

·         VA telehealth care grew by 18 percent among veterans in Fiscal Year 2014.

·         Patient satisfaction for clinical video telehealth averaged 94 percent.

·         Patient satisfaction for overall home telehealth services averaged 88 percent.

·         Home telehealth services save veterans on average $2,000 per year.