Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today announced that he is accepting applications from high school students for nominations to the United States armed services academies from Iowa's 1st District for the class entering in fall 2013.

"I am looking for highly motivated and qualified students to nominate to our country's service academies," said Braley. "The academies provide a world-class education that helps grow our nation's next generation of leaders. I encourage Iowa's best and brightest young people to apply."

Interested students should contact Braley's district office in Waterloo to request an application packet to be considered for a service academy nomination.  The application packet includes specific instructions on the accompanying forms and required documents, including an application form, an essay, high school transcript, ACT/SAT scores, and letters of recommendation.  These materials take time to compile, so interested students are strongly encouraged to start obtaining the materials needed for the packet as soon as possible.

The deadline for submitting a completed nomination packet to Braley's office is Monday, October 15^th.

Braley nominates up to 10 candidates from Iowa's First Congressional District for each available vacancy at the four service academies: the US Military Academy, the Naval Academy, the Air Force Academy, and the Merchant Marine Academy.  Applicants are judged on the basis of character, scholarship, physical aptitude, medical fitness, and motivation.

For further information as well as an application packet, contact the Waterloo office at (319) 287-3233.

More information can also be found at http://braley.house.gov.

Congress mandated that a system be developed to track and monitor foreign students when it learned that one of the people responsible for the 1993 World Trade Center bombing was in the United States on an expired student visa.  The system, the Student Exchange Visitor Information System, was finally implemented in 2002 and is currently being modernized.  The Student Visa Integrity Act builds on the Student Exchange Visitor Information System to shut down sham schools and make it even more difficult to commit fraud with a student visa.

"An independent investigation confirms that the Department of Homeland Security isn't adequately monitoring schools, especially flight schools.  Educational institutions should be held accountable for enrolling people who haven't met the requirements of our immigration law," Grassley said.  "This is a national security matter, and a lesson should have been learned in 1993 and on September 11."

Once a foreign student has been accepted to an approved U.S. educational institution, the school issues a form I-20 for the student to present to the U.S. consulate when applying for a visa.  The Student Exchange Visa Program requires educational institutions to input certain data into the Student Exchange Visitor Information System when the student arrives on campus. That information, such as courses of study and attendance of the foreign students, is then relayed to the Department of Homeland Security to help the agency monitor schools, programs and students.

Specifically, the Student Visa Integrity Act:

·         makes it a criminal offense, subject to a two year mandatory sentence, if a person makes a materially false statement or provides materially false information when petitioning to bring in foreign students;

·         allows for the immediate withdrawal of a participant in the SEVP program if there's reasonable suspicion of fraud, requires the Secretary to withdraw a school if a school official is indicted for fraud, and permanently bars those convicted of being Designated School Officials in other institutions;

·         requires background checks on Designated School Officials, and training for these officials every three years;

·         requires the Department of Homeland Security to prohibit any flight school that is not FAA accredited (with Part 141 or Part 142) from bringing in foreign students, and prohibits schools that have not been licensed by the state to participate;

·         limits the program to accredited schools, prohibiting unaccredited schools from participation unless they are a "candidate" by an accrediting agency;

·         Requires the Secretary to report to Congress in 6 months on progress made to improve the program, and implement SEVIS II within two years.

As of January 2012, more than 850,000 active foreign students were in the United States and 10,000 schools are approved to be enrolled in the Student Exchange Visa Program.

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Davenport, IA- You will find beer, music, German food, and more beer at the first annual Suds! Beer Tasting at the German American Heritage Center on Saturday October 13 th from 5-8pm! Local, regional, German, and even homebrewed beer will be sampled and enjoyed as we celebrate the final days of the exhibition Suds! on the brewing process, German drinking traditions, and Quad City brewing heritage.

Get your tickets now! $18 for members and $20 for non-members in advance and $25 at the door. Must be 21+. This event is sponsored by Vanguard Distributing Company. Call 563-322-8844 or visit GAHC at 712 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA to get
you tickets!