Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement after his amendment to ensure farmers and rural businesses have continued access to an important energy and economic development tool was added to the farm bill that is being debated by the House.  Currently, the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) supports farmers and rural small businesses in pursuing energy project investments including windpower, biofuels, solar, and anaerobic digestion. Loebsack's amendment would allow farmers and rural small businesses to be able to continue to create jobs and grow our rural economy in a value-added and sustainable way.

"Investment in energy projects put people to work, create entrepreneurial opportunities, and generate new value-added opportunities for our farmers, rural small businesses, and communities," said Loebsack.  "In Iowa alone, over 1,600 rural energy projects were initiated between 2003 and 2012, many stemming from farm bill energy programs.  My amendment stresses the importance of farm bill energy programs to job creation and our rural economies, and allows one of our best resources - our farmers - to play a critical role in our domestic energy production."

Specifically, Loebsack's amendment reinstates feasibility studies under REAP in the Energy Title of the bill. Full text of the amendment can be found here.

Video of Loebsack speaking on the floor in support of his amendment can be seen here.

Two-thirds of baby boomers will inherit a total $7.6 trillion in their lifetimes, according to the Boston College Center for Retirement Research -- that's $1.7 trillion more than China's 2012 GDP.

But they'll lose 70 percent of that legacy, and not because of taxes. By the end of their children's lives -- the third generation -- nine of 10 family fortunes will be gone.

"The third-generation rule is so true, it's enshrined in Chinese proverb: 'Wealth never survives three generations,' " says John Hartog of Hartog & Baer Trust and Estate Law, (www.hartogbaer.com). "The American version of that is 'shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations."

There are a number of reasons that happens, and most of them are preventable say Hartog; CPA Jim Kohles, chairman of RINA accountancy corporation, (www.rina.com); and wealth management expert Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo, CEO of Pillar Wealth Management, (www.pillarwm.com).

How can the current generation of matriarchs, patriarchs and their beneficiaries beat the odds? All three financial experts say the solutions involve honest conversations - the ones families often avoid because they can be painful - along with passing along family values and teaching children from a young age how to manage money.

• "Give them some money now and see how they handle it." Many of the "wealth builders," the first generation who worked so hard to build the family fortune, teach their children social responsibility; to take care of their health; to drive safely. "But they don't teach them financial responsibility; they think they'll get it by osmosis," says estate lawyer Hartog.

If those children are now middle-aged, it's probably too late for that. But the first generation can see what their offspring will do with a sudden windfall of millions by giving them a substantial sum now - without telling them why.

"I had a client who gave both children $500,000. After 18 months, one child had blown through the money and the other had turned it into $750, 000," Hartog says.

Child A will get his inheritance in a restricted-access trust.

• "Be willing to relinquish some control." Whether it's preparing one or more of their children to take over the family business, or diverting some pre-inheritance wealth to them, the first generation often errs by retaining too much control, says CPA Kohles.

"We don't give our successor the freedom to fail," Kohles says. "If they don't fail, they don't learn, so they're not prepared to step up when the time comes."

In the family business, future successors need to be able to make some decisions that don't require the approval of the first generation, Kohles says. With money, especially for 1st-generation couples with more than $10 million (the first $5 million of inheritance from each parent is not subject to the estate tax), parents need to plan for giving away some of their wealth before they die. That not only allows the beneficiaries to avoid a 40 percent estate tax, it helps them learn to manage the money.

• "Give your beneficiaries the opportunity to build wealth, and hold family wealth meetings." The first generation works and sacrifices to make the family fortune, so often the second generation doesn't have to and the third generation is even further removed from that experience, says wealth manager Ashoo.

"The best way they're going to be able to help preserve the wealth is if they understand what goes into creating it and managing it - not only the work, but the values and the risks," Ashoo says.

The first generation should allocate seed money to the second generation for business, real estate or some other potentially profitable venture, he says.

Holding ongoing family wealth meetings with your advisors is critical to educating beneficiaries, as well as passing along family and wealth values, Ashoo says. It also builds trust between the family and the primary advisors.

Ashoo tells of a recent experience chatting with two deca-millionaires aboard a yacht in the Bahamas.

"They both built major businesses and sold them," Ashoo says. "At this point, it's no longer about what their money will do for them -- it's about what the next generations will do with their money."

About John Hartog, Jim Kohles & Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo

John Hartog is a partner at Hartog & Baer Trust and Estate Law. He is a certified specialist in estate planning, trust and probate law, and taxation law. Jim Kohles is chairman of the board of RINA accountancy corporation. He is a certified public accountant specializing in business consulting, succession and retirement planning, and insurance. Haitham "Hutch" Ashoo is the CEO of Pillar Wealth Management, LLC, specializing in client-centered wealth management. All three are based in Walnut Creek, Calif., and advise ultra affluent families.

BOXER, GRASSLEY, MANCHIN, TONKO INTRODUCE BILL TO CURB EXCESSIVE TAXPAYER-FUNDED SALARIES FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS

A Government Report Released Today Found That Thousands of Government Contractors Currently Make More Than the Vice President

New Legislation Would Limit Taxpayer-Funded Reimbursement to $230,700 per Year, Extend Cap to All Contractor Employees

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Congressman Paul Tonko (D-NY) today introduced the Commonsense Contractor Compensation Act of 2013, bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would cap the maximum amount taxpayers reimburse all government contractors for their salaries at the same amount as the Vice President's salary, currently $230,700.

In a report released on Wednesday, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that reducing this cap to $230,700 would have saved at least $440 million annually for the years 2010-2012 just among the 27 contractors that provided data to the GAO - companies that together accounted for just 7 percent of Defense Department contract obligations for 2012.

"This stunning GAO report shows that thousands of government contractors are raking in taxpayer-funded salaries that are significantly more than what the Vice President of the United States and members of the President's Cabinet make," Senator Boxer said. "Taxpayers should not be on the hook for exorbitant government contractor salaries, and this bill will crack down on this waste of taxpayer dollars."

"The direct taxpayer-funded salaries of contractors government-wide clearly need to be contained, and this legislation is designed to do so in a comprehensive way," Senator Grassley said. "There's no justification for taxpayer-funded payments to be higher than the salary of the President's cabinet members."  

"To the people of West Virginia, it doesn't make any sense that taxpayers are paying executive contractors almost four times as much as we pay the Vice President or the Secretary of Defense," Senator Manchin said. "This commonsense proposal does not prevent contractors from earning higher salaries than this limitation; but now, taxpayers won't foot the bill. I am encouraged that this bill shares bipartisan support and will continue to work with both Democrats and Republicans to finally cap the compensation of executive contractors."

"When taxpayer-funded federal contractors take home up to four times the amount our military leadership earns, it is a problem that needs to be addressed," Congressman Tonko said. "This legislation is well overdue and the recently released report from the GAO that our bill will save taxpayers billions of dollars every year only reinforces the need to act now. I thank Senators Boxer, Grassley and Manchin for their leadership on this issue and look forward to continuing our work to put a stop to this wasteful and inefficient spending in Washington."

The Obama Administration recently came out in support of efforts to limit excessive pay for federal contractors, and predicted that it would save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.

Right now, government contractors can bill taxpayers as much as $763,000 to pay for the salaries of their top five executives - an increase in real terms of 63 percent since the cap was set in 1998. Unless Congress acts soon to rein in these limits, the salary cap for top executives is expected to rise again - to $950,000 later this year.

The Commonsense Contractor Compensation Act would not only lower the salary cap to $230,700 - it would also extend the cap to cover all defense and civilian contractor employees. Currently, the $763,000 cap applies only to the salaries of defense contractors and the five leading executives of non-defense government contractors. Other employees of non-defense contractors can and do earn taxpayer-funded amounts in excess of the current benchmark.

The legislation includes a narrow exemption to the cap for scientists, engineers and other specialists if an agency determines it is necessary to ensure access to individuals with specialized skills. Additionally, the measure would only limit what an executive or other employee is paid by the federal government - the employee could still receive additional compensation from the contractor's other revenue streams.

Boxer and her colleagues have been working for several years to curb excessive taxpayer-funded salaries for government contractors. The new bill builds on their previous measures to limit taxpayer-funded salaries for defense contractor employees, which were included as part of the Senate-passed defense authorization bills in 2012 and 2011.

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SPRINGFIELD - Governor Pat Quinn today took action on the following bill:

Bill No.: SB 1329

An Act Concerning: State government

Creates the Fiscal Year 2014 Budget Implementation Act.

Action: Signed

Effective Date: Immediate