Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement after the US Postal Service (USPS) announced that it reversed its decision to close post offices across the country, including many in rural Iowa.

"Rural areas and particularly seniors in Iowa should be pleased with today's announcement," said Loebsack.  "I had strong concerns with the original proposal since it was first announced nearly a year ago, and I have not been shy about making them clear to the Postmaster General.  The closures would have led to job loss and made it harder for rural residents and businesses to obtain services provided at local Post Offices.  While I am pleased the US Postal Service heeded the public's warning about the negative effects it would have caused, I was disappointed that this new proposal will also mean cutbacks in Post Offices' services and hours. I will continue to monitor this situation closely."

Loebsack wrote to the United States Postal Service (USPS) in July when they announced that they would be studying 3,700 Post Offices for closure, including 178 in Iowa. He also submitted comments, along with 81 other lawmakers, to the Postal Regulatory Commission in September stating opposition to the closings.

SPRINGFIELD, IL (05/09/2012)(readMedia)-- The Illinois National Guard heritage is similar to the state tree, the White Oak. The trunk is stout and strong much like the core of the guard. Branches lead off of one another comparable to the organizational heritage. Units have come and gone throughout the years due to reorganization, similar to limbs that need trimming from time to time. Although visibly removed, units remain forever linked to the trunk or the history. Each leaf is unique, like the Soldiers, Airman and civilians that are a part of the Illinois Guard. Leaves bud, bloom, change color, and shed much like the ebb and flow of enlistments, career changes, and retirements. Acorns are unique to the white oak, just like the deployments that occupy some of the leaves or Soldiers. But what about the part that remains buried and forgotten, yet is the element that nourishes the rest of the tree?

The history of the roots of the Illinois National Guard began with the French. On January 1, 1718, Businessman John Law obtained a charter from the French King that granted him monopoly of French trade in the area known as the Illinois Country. Royal orders dictated that a provision for civil government be arranged for the new province of Illinois. During the summer of 1718, the green officials set out from Louisiana and journeyed to their new home. Among other governing associates, the party included Pierre Duque, Sieur de Boisebriant, Commandant; Captain Diron, Dartaguiette; two Second Lieutenants and a company of 100 Soldiers.

Among the tall grasses of the Illinois prairie, rose the first resemblance of an organized militia, under the French regime. This small unit of French Soldiers had the responsibility of: investigating the number of men capable of bearing arms in each village, determining the amount of powder and lead available, forming companies of militia and arranging a signal system from settlement to settlement. By 1721, Fort De Chartes became the first military structure dedicated to the protection of the community.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today said that late last night legislation to strengthen and update the Whistleblower Protection Act passed the Senate and is now headed to the House for consideration.

Grassley is one of the primary authors of the bill, known as the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act.  The bill was introduced on April 6, 2011.  The legislation is sponsored by Senator Daniel K. Akaka of Hawaii and is cosponsored by Grassley along with Senators Susan Collins of Maine, Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, Carl Levin of Michigan, Tom Carper of Delaware, Patrick Leahy of Vermont, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Jon Tester of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska, Ben Cardin of Maryland, and Chris Coons of Delaware.

"This update to the Whistleblower Protection Act makes big steps forward for all federal government employees.  It restores the congressional intent behind the law, but it is especially important in establishing whistleblower protection for employees in the intelligence community for the first time, without endangering national security," Grassley said.  "We'll continue to fight for additional improvements, like adding timelines for the Attorney General to address FBI whistleblower retaliation cases, that give whistleblowers the security they need to help us uncover the skeletons hidden deep in the closets of the federal bureaucracy."

The legislation would:

·         clarify that "any" disclosure of gross waste or mismanagement, fraud, abuse, or illegal activity may be protected, but not disagreements over legitimate policy decisions;

·         suspend the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals sole jurisdiction over federal employee whistleblower cases for five years;

·         extend Whistleblower Protection Act coverage and other non-discrimination and anti-retaliatory laws to all employees of the Transportation Security Administration;

·         clarify that whistleblowers may disclose evidence of censorship of scientific or technical information under the same standards that apply to disclosures of other kinds of waste, fraud, and abuse;

·         codify the anti-gag provision that has been part of every Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill since 1988;

·         allow jury trials under certain circumstances for a period of five years;

·         provide the Merit System Protection Board with authority to consider and grant summary judgment motions in Whistleblower Protection Act cases for a period of 5 years;

·         clarify that employees protected by the Whistleblower Protection Act may make protected classified disclosures to Congress using the same process as Intelligence Community employees;

·         establish protections for the Intelligence Community modeled on existing whistleblower protections for FBI employees;

·         establish a process within the executive branch for review if a security clearance is allegedly denied or revoked because of a protected whistleblower disclosure;

·         establish Whistleblower Protection Ombudsmen to educate agency personnel about whistleblower rights; and

·         provide the Office of Special Counsel with the independent right to file "friend of the court" briefs, or amicus briefs, with federal courts.

A long-time advocate for whistleblowers, in addition to co-authoring the 1989 whistleblower law, Grassley sponsored changes made in 1986 to the President Lincoln-era federal False Claims Act to empower private sector whistleblowers.  Since the 1986 amendments were signed into law, the False Claims Act has brought back more than $30 billion to the federal treasury, and has deterred even more fraudulent activity. In 2009, in coordination with Senator Patrick Leahy, Grassley worked to pass legislation to shore up whistleblower protections in the False Claims Act that had been eroded by the courts after years of litigation by defense and healthcare contractors.

Grassley is also the author of legislation that would give whistleblower protections to employees in the legislative branch similar to protections already provided to employees of the executive branch of the federal government.

College football fans are watching their teams practice and hoping the new recruits will be game-changers a few months from now. For them, it's the lull before the fall.

For the team coaches though, there is no lull. As usual, they're working seven days a week, heading out the door at 6 a.m. and coming home long after the wife and kids have gone to bed, says Kathy (Currey) Kronick, author of Mrs. Coach: Life in Major College Football (www.mrscoach14yrs.com).

"During spring ball games, they're not home, so their wives are doing everything but playing football," says Kronick, whose book recounts her years married to Coach Dave Currey. "And they'll do that, too, if necessary."

The life of a football coach's wife is notoriously demanding, so much so that in 1989, the American Football Coaches Wives Association was created to provide "camaraderie, support, information and service." They share a subculture unlike any other in the United States and, while it can be exciting and rewarding, it comes with many sacrifices.

"His career and the team are the No. 1 priority, no ifs, ands or buts about it. In that regard, it's a lot like military spouses, but with college coaches, the family lives in the public eye," Kronick says.

"The wives take care of everything at home, everything, because their husbands are at work day and night, seven days a week. Many wives also work - most coaches don't make a lot of money. The wives are also expected to attend games, fundraisers and recruiting dinners. Every couple of years, unless they're really, really lucky, they're single-handedly packing up the household to move the family across the country because their team lost and their husband got fired."

In 2008, three researchers interviewed nearly 300 college football coaches' wives to learn more about their lives. Their findings, Kronick says, paint a portrait of what fans never see when they are cheering - or jeering - the team.

• Wives pray for wins. Every loss can mean the coach gets fired. "So you not only have the stress of being suddenly jobless, but if he's fortunate to find another job, you'll likely be packing up the house and kids - without him, he's gone on ahead - to move to a new city and a new state," Kronick says. She moved 27 times during her marriage to Currey. Moving so frequently can be an adventure as families explore different parts of the country, but it's also hard to leave a place where you've made friends and grown comfortable.

• July is for weddings, funerals and making babies. College football coaches are off for the month of July, so that's when families plan important events. Some couples celebrate their wedding anniversaries in July - whether or not that's when the couple got married, Kronick says.

• Families must always be aware of the media. "You have to mind your p's and q's," Kronick says. "The media is always looking for something - they want to know the secrets. You also have to be very careful not to do anything that will make your school or team look bad." All the attention can be fun when the team is on a winning streak but, as Kronick points out, it's hard for kids at school when everyone's blaming their dad for the team's poor performance."

• Most coaches' families live on tight budgets. The majority of the families in the 2008 study had an income of $50,000 to $125,000 a year, with nearly 72 percent of the wives holding jobs outside the home.  Most assistant coaches have one-year contracts, Kronick says, so if they're fired - or the head coach is fired, which means the assistants lose their jobs, too - their income stops.

The life of a coach's wife isn't all hardship, Kronick notes. Out of necessity, wives become self-reliant and independent, if they weren't to begin with, and that boosts self-confidence.  It's fun cheering on your team, and lasting friendships are often formed among this group that shares so much.

"But in the end, most wives give up their lives for their husband's dream," Kronick says. "I couldn't do that any longer. I needed to pursue my own dreams, and to have a husband I could talk with about them."

About Kathy (Currey) Kronick

Kathy (Currey) Kronick was married to Dave Currey from 1974 to 1989. He was an assistant coach at Stanford University when they met and married, and later moved on to Long Beach State (Calif.), the University of Cincinnati and UCLA. They divorced in 1996. Kronick, who has a bachelor's in education of the deaf and a master's in counseling, is the mother of two children and is happily remarried.