Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack reiterated his call for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to scrap its current proposal for the 2014, 2015 and 2016 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations. Today is the deadline for stakeholders to submit their comments to the EPA regarding RFS obligations that were lower than the amount that has been mandated by Congress. Loebsack has been leading the fight to highlight the importance of the RFS to Iowa. The comments Loebsack submitted to the EPA can be viewed here.

"I was very disappointed to hear that the proposed (RFS) volumes were lower than the amount that has been mandated by Congress," Loebsack wrote to the EPA. "As you know the EPA's low blending volumes do not help to advance an industry that was created to become a fuel source of the future. I urge your office re-evaluate the proposed RVOs, recognizing the current proposal does not strengthen our energy supply or give consumers choice at the pump."

With U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley

Q: How has the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) shaped American society?

A: The landmark civil rights law this summer observes 25 years since President George H.W. Bush signed the bill on July 26, 1990.  Iowans will recall that one of the key architects of the legislation was my long-time Iowa colleague in the United States Senate. Throughout his years of public service, Sen. Tom Harkin built upon his advocacy to champion change for those living with a disability so that they may participate more fully in American society. In the last 25 years, the ADA has helped remove barriers to education, employment, transportation and access to public places and services. Perhaps the most influential change in the quarter century since passage of the ADA is a shift in expectations for the millions of Americans who live with a disability. For those who previously identified with the limits of their disability rather than embracing the potential of their skills and talents, the ADA has raised society's bar of expectations to foster integration and inclusion in our schools, communities and places of work. For individuals who live with a physical or mental impairment, the ADA affords equality under the law to enjoy the rights and responsibilities of citizenship like Americans who do not have a disability. An entire generation has grown up with the ADA as the law of the land. To the extent that the ADA has worked to erase a divide between those living with or without a disability, this 25^th anniversary of the ADA gives us reason to celebrate. It's good for America when public policy encourages Americans to dream big in their pursuit of happiness and prosperity.

Q: What is the Transition to Independence Act?

A: Just as the ADA has helped pave the way for millions of Americans to more fully participate in American society, policymakers can do more to help people with disabilities achieve integrated employment in the U.S. workforce. In communities across the country, a network of service providers helps to make it possible for people with disabilities to live and work alongside non-disabled peers. By far, Medicaid is the largest program that provides the financial framework that pays for services for people with disabilities, such as primary health care, community-based care, transportation, workforce training and residential support services. Just as the ADA served as a catalyst to help individuals with disabilities integrate more fully in their communities and achieve their God-given potential, the Transition to Independence Act seeks to build on that progress and give even more individuals with disabilities real opportunities to land a job in their local communities. The bipartisan bill I introduced this summer is a consensus proposal with broad support and includes valuable input from key advocacy groups that are committed to help individuals with disabilities achieve maximum success in their communities. The bill would create a five-year, 10-state pilot program within Medicaid. The participating states would qualify for bonus payments if reforms they adopt help drive better outcomes for people striving to become productive contributors and wage-earners in their local communities. The demonstration program would change the financial formula to give states incentives rather than disincentives to reform business-as-usual among the multi-disciplinary patchwork of service providers serving this community. States would be rewarded for improving outcomes and helping individuals with disabilities seeking to secure maximum participation in the local job market. For example, states could receive more funding for growing the workforce that provides support services for the disabled community. States could increase their revenue stream by implementing reforms that encourage collaboration among a mishmash of agencies and service providers. In a nutshell, participating states would be rewarded for achieving targets of integrated employment.

People living with disabilities have every right to pursue the American Dream. So many families and individuals with disabilities I have talked with tell me they want to earn money in a fulfilling job. I'm all for championing ambition and rewarding a strong work ethic. That's why I'm working to craft public policy that will help even more individuals with disabilities to join the workforce, earn a paycheck, pay taxes and contribute to their local economies. For those who are able to participate in an integrated work setting and maximize their potential in the local community, my bill would improve the policy tools to help drive inclusion and better outcomes for people with disabilities.

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee and the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, was among several senators who urged the Drug Enforcement Administration to re-instate a popular take-back program for unused opioids and other prescription drugs.   The Drug Enforcement Administration confirmed in a letter to Grassley that it has re-instated the program.  Grassley was an original cosponsor of the Secure and Responsible Drug Disposal Act of 2010, which became law, and encourages drug take-back efforts.  Grassley made the following comment on the re-instatement.

"Iowans turned in literally tons of unused prescription drugs under the program.  Getting medicines out of the house, where they can be taken by teen-agers or used beyond the need for the prescription, is important for reducing opioid abuse and addiction.  I appreciate the Drug Enforcement Administration's turn-around on this program.  The more options we have to reduce the scourge of opioid addiction, the better."

The letter Grassley signed urging a re-instatement of the drug take-back program is available here.  The Drug Enforcement Administration's letter to Grassley on the re-instatement is available here.  More information on the results of drug take-back days in Iowa is available here and here.

- Legislators have until Friday to stop pay hike -

- Pantagraph Newspaper: "Legislator Pay Hike Another Insult to Taxpayers" -

As Illinois legislators head back to Springfield, tomorrow will mark House members' last chance to stop a pay raise worth more than $1350 before they get paid Friday, July 31.

House Bill 4225 would stop the pay raises, but Speaker Madigan and the legislators he controls refuse to vote on it.

Background from the Associated Press

"House Speaker Michael Madigan won't answer questions about it. After years of well-intended, politically popular votes to reject raises, Chicago Senate President John Cullerton now says it would violate the Illinois Constitution not to take the pay.

When asked later to reconcile repeated votes to reject increases -- including in 2014, after the court ruling -- Cullerton spokeswoman Rikeesha Phelon released a statement reiterating the constitutional proscription.

That hasn't stopped Republicans from trying to nix the money. Democrats refuse to call a vote on the GOP legislation."

Additional Background

The General Assembly has previously voted to reject legislator COLAs in FY10, FY11, FY12, FY13, FY14 and FY15. (Compensation Review Act - 25 ILCS 120/5.6-6.2)

Pantagraph Editorial: Legislator Pay Hike Another Insult to Taxpayers

"..[I]t is another example of how the House Speaker Michael Madigan-controlled General Assembly puts its own priorities ahead of taxpayers...

...Legislators had a chance to rescind the pay raise, but a bill to do that was buried by, you guessed it, Madigan.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has been using the pay raise to tweak legislators, especially Madigan. Last week, he said accepting the pay raise without solving the state's budget issues was 'unfair to taxpayers and the people they represent. It is time to stop protecting the political class at the expense of the middle class.'

Madigan's response to Rauner's taunt was, 'I'm not going to spend a lot of time on that question.' Madigan has said the pay issue is a 'diversion,' but in the Madigan dictionary, any issue that threatens the comfort of legislators or trial lawyers is a diversion.

... Democrats who voted for the budget should be especially embarrassed, since they shirked their duty by sending an unbalanced budget to Rauner.

To add insult to taxpayer injury, the General Assembly is covered by a continuing resolution. That means legislators' pay is guaranteed and the General Assembly will keep operating even if other functions of government shut down. It's vital that prisoners are guarded, roads are patrolled and the work of declaring corn the official state vegetable continues.

The 'diversion' in the budget battle is Madigan. We're not sure of his priorities, but it's clear taxpayers are far below maintaining the status quo and protecting legislators and trial lawyers."

The Dispatch and The Rock Island Argus

"Jeers to the entrenched interests in Springfield who do not believe they must answer to the public regarding inconvenient truths of how Illinois government does business.

The latest example came courtesy of our state's once camera-shy House Speaker Michael Madigan during another of his dueling press conferences with Gov. Bruce Rauner over the rookie governor's Turnaround Agenda and Illinois' failure to pass a budget. The tone of that fight was set long ago: Both sides reportedly meet in private, civil sessions that bring no progress, then spew invective in public.

The latest came when the GOP governor criticized the House leader for taking a $1,300 pay hike. The 2 percent hike for he and other lawmakers is automatic, unless the General Assembly votes to reject it. Though Republican lawmakers tried to stop it, it was never called for a vote.

When the speaker was asked about it at last week's press conference, he had this to say.

'Well, they promote a lot of things. But I've spoken to the question, I don't plan to speak to it any further.'

We must have missed that. That reporter must have, too. But when she tried to find out more, a clearly irritated Mr. Madigan said, 'I said, I don't plan to speak to it any further. Thank you very much.'

That's one way for the most powerful man in Illinois to deal with what he dismisses as another  'diversion.' Of course, often saying nothing also speaks volumes."

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