SPRINGFIELD - May 29, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today released a statement regarding the passage of SB 3241, which provides up to a $5,000 tax credit to employers of post-9/11 Veterans.

"I salute the members of the General Assembly for passing the Hiring Veterans Tax Credit, an important initiative I proposed during my State of the State address to increase jobs for Veterans in Illinois.

"The men and women who have defended our democracy overseas should not have to fight for jobs when they return home. The Hiring Veterans Tax Credit will empower businesses to hire our Veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Veterans are loyal, hard-working and know how to accomplish a mission, and this legislation will help alleviate unemployment among our returning servicemembers. This credit is also a boost for small businesses in Illinois.

"Sponsors Sen. John Sullivan, Rep. Jerry Costello and all the co-sponsors, thank you for your leadership in passing the Hiring Veterans Tax Credit.

"It is fitting that the day after Memorial Day, a day designated to honor our Veterans and those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, Illinois took this solid step to help them find employment when they come home."

America must seem pretty dumb to the rest of the world when it comes to how we take care of ourselves.  Here's why:

• America spends more per person on health-care costs than any other country in the world, by a huge margin, yet ranks 29th in longevity and has among the worst health outcomes.
• Americans and their children are still getting fatter and sicker each year.
• American physicians receive less than 24 hours of nutrition training throughout all of medical school.
• 90 percent of what U.S.-educated physicians learn in their careers is either directly or indirectly funded by pharmaceutical companies.
• President Obama's health-care plan and Mitt Romney's counter-proposal don't discuss prevention.

Everyone's complaining about America's increasing health and obesity issues and wondering how to solve these problems while also reducing health-care costs. They make it sound like a big, complicated mystery - how could this be happening?  Giving everyone health insurance is the best solution anyone can come up with?  It's a noble proposition but it won't solve the problem or do a thing to cure or prevent any disease.

Twenty years ago, I would have thrown up my hands in frustration along with everyone else. Back then, I was in the same place that most of America is today - uninformed, a little bit frantic, and wondering what to do.

But through two decades of common sense study, I've learned good health is easily attained and maintained - and it doesn't require either deprivation or a big change in lifestyle.

I know, now, that Americans aren't dumb about health. They're just incredibly misinformed about how to get and remain healthy and lean, and how to extend their longevity.  In many other countries, such knowledge is simply part of the culture, handed down through the generations.

Here's what I've learned after 20 years of intensive research:

• The human cell is essentially immortal and humans should live to, at minimum, 120 years of age while being lean and healthy.
• To achieve this you must give your body what it needs biologically - oxygen, proper nutrition, adequate water and good drainage, freedom from toxins and adequate sunlight:  The same things a plant needs to thrive.
• Genetics has little to do with your weight, health or longevity.
• Humans gain weight or get sick only when their body becomes out of balance because it is not receiving the raw materials to meet its biological needs.
• America can save $600 billion a year with common sense preventative practices that ensure individuals receive the proper nutrients.
• It is impossible to reform America's health-care "system." The only way to change the system is to change the health of the people within the system through proper education about health and wellness.  As people become healthier and demand for services is reduced, the system will gradually adapt to reduced health-care needs, much like how the music industry adapted to the introduction of iTunes.

The key is proper education that emphasizes common-sense, time-tested practices focusing on how the human body works. High-tech gadgetry and man-made petrochemicals cannot replace what the human body needs biologically.

Rapid, mass health-care reform in America will result directly from individual self-care reform from proper health education.

Try it America.  You'll like it.

About Gordon Filepas

Gordon Filepas spent 20 years researching for his book 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 requirements for optimal health following the deaths of his father and brother from cancer right around the time his first child was born. He hopes to ensure the good health of his family, including his wife of 25 years and three sons.

Senator calls on the National Institutes of Health to set tone for disclosure, accountability

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley is asking the National Institutes of Health to explain why it has awarded a $400,000 medical research grant to a physician who it banned from NIH funding in recent years for failing to disclose a $1.2 million financial relationship with a major pharmaceutical company while leading a $9 million federal study involving that drug company's blockbuster depression drug Paxil.

"It's troubling that NIH continues to provide limited federal dollars to individuals who have previously had grant funding suspended for failure to disclose conflicts of interest and even more troubling that the Administration chose not to require full, open and, public disclosure of financial interests on a public website," Grassley wrote to NIH Director Francis Collins.

Last year, the Obama administration scrapped a proposed conflict of interest rule that would have required universities to disclose financial relationships between medical researchers and the pharmaceutical industry to be posted on publicly available websites.  "The Office of Management and Budget in the White House, which had final say over the matter, should have supported the policy that every institution post financial conflicts of interest on a public website," Grassley said.

Grassley has pursued an extensive campaign for disclosure of payments made by drug and medical device makers to physicians since 2007, when he began to expose dramatic disparities between what was reported and what was, in fact, received.  Grassley's oversight of industry payments also has extended to medical schools, medical journals, continuing medical education, and non-profit patient advocacy organizations.

One of those cases involved the doctor receiving the grant in question today, Dr. Charles B. Nemeroff.  In 2008, documents revealed that Nemeroff, who was then chair of Emory University's psychiatry department, failed to disclose that he received $1.2 million in consulting fees from GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Paxil, while leading federal research on the treatment of depression.  Nemeroff left Emory University and was then hired by Miami University.  The Director of the National Institute of Mental Health within NIH weighed in on Nemeroff taking this new position.  While the NIH said that Nemeroff could not receive federal medical research dollars for two years, the ban has expired and, regardless, it did not apply to him in a position at a new university.

In addition, Nemeroff remains under investigation by the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, which is working with the Department of Justice on the case.  In his letter today, Grassley asked the NIH if this was considered.  "There has been no final resolution by DOJ or public finding by HHS OIG related to the investigation of Dr. Nemeroff. Yet, NIH awarded him another grant," he said.

Grassley said the decision by NIH "risks sending the wrong message to physicians seeking or performing federally funded research."

Click here to read Grassley's letter to the NIH, which he also sent to the President of the University of Miami, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala.

Quad City area youth entering 3rd-5th grade this fall are invited to attend the fourth annual Enviro-Kids on Saturday, June 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Middle Park in Bettendorf. The goal of Enviro-Kids is to teach youth different ways to have fun outdoors while incorporating environmental education. The event is free of charge, but pre-registration is required.

Children will participate in the following activities: fishing, learning about water quality, hiking, a litter cleanup, canoeing, disc golfing and packing a waste-free lunch. Parents or guardians are encouraged to stay at the event and participate in activities with their child. Younger children can attend Enviro-Kids if accompanied by an adult.

Registration is limited and accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information call 563-468-4218 or visit www.ilivehereqc.org to download the flier and registration form.

Quad City Enviro-Kids is sponsored by: City of Bettendorf, Davenport Parks and Recreation, Davenport Public Works, iLivehere®, Nahant Marsh, Partners of Scott County Watersheds, Scott County Conservation Board and Scott County Soil & Water Conservation District.