On your property, insects and microorganisms abound. This is a natural and beneficial state, since insects and microorganisms are key components in nutrient recycling, decomposition, plant succession, natural pest control and wildlife habitat.

"A landscape without insects and microorganisms would be a very unhealthy environment," notes Tchukki Andersen, staff arborist for the Tree Care Industry Association. "The trick is to balance the threshold of healthy with having too much of a good thing, when the naturally occurring insects and diseases become a problem. This is where an integrated pest management (IPM) program may benefit your landscape plants." Periodic outbreaks of destructive tree insect pests, as well as diseases, occur as part of natural fluctuations in ecosystems. The actions of homeowners make these outbreaks either more severe or they lessen their impact locally. IPM provides the steps needed to promote a healthy landscape and to prevent destructive pest outbreaks, and to ensure diversity and vigor on your property.

Begin by keeping your healthy trees healthy. Monitor for pests and use preventative and cultural controls (such as proper irrigation and mulch).

Increase diversity
Many property owners have lots with just a single or a few trees. Others have small backyard woods, which have become an important component of the urban environment. Small woodlands with a mix of tree species are often less susceptible to pest outbreaks than woods with a single species. A diversity of tree ages also reduces the risk of pest outbreaks. As with species diversity, age diversity increases the complexity and stability of the ecosystem. A natural balance of organisms is more likely to develop as age diversity increases. For example, potential pests of young trees could be regulated by parasites and predators already well established on older trees.

"A healthy landscape is less susceptible to pest outbreaks and is more resilient if an outbreak does occur," stresses Andersen. "When trees are overcrowded in your landscape, competition for light, water and nutrients results in increased stress. Trees under stress are more likely to be attacked by pests." The first clues of a tree health problem may be symptoms such as yellowing needles or leaves, thinning foliage or dieback on upper limbs. These problems may be caused by insect pests or disease pathogens; or they may arise from "abiotic" factors such as soil problems, construction damage, drought, pollution or herbicide injury.

What to do
A professional arborist can examine your trees to find the source of the problem. A professional arborist can also recommend treatments, including thinning densely wooded areas, planting new trees, correcting soil deficiencies, increasing water and nutrients, monitoring for pests or pest management. Homeowners can contact the Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA), a public and professional resource on trees and arboriculture that was establish in 1938. It has more than 2,000 member companies who recognize stringent safety and performance standards, and are required to carry liability insurance. TCIA also has an Accreditation program that requires companies to meet industry standards and qualifications, including ANSI A300 pruning standards. An easy way to find a professional tree care service provider in your area is to use TCIA's "Locate a member company program." You can use this service by calling 1-800-733-2622 or by doing a ZIP code search at: www.treecaretips.org.

WASHINGTON - (June 16, 2010) - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, with exclusive Senate jurisdiction over taxes, today released new numbers from the Internal Revenue Service, showing the agency has hired more than 1,000 military veterans each of the last three years.

"The IRS deserves credit for recognizing the value of military veterans," Grassley said.  "By seeking out these men and women, the agency is getting capable employees to serve the taxpayers and the country in a new capacity from their military service."

Beginning in 2008, Grassley succeeded in persuading the IRS to increase its hiring of veterans. At Grassley's urging, the agency hired more than 1,000 veterans in 2008 and 2009, per a verbal commitment Grassley secured from the IRS commissioner during his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing. Today, the IRS gave Grassley a full accounting for Fiscal Year 2009 and the first eight months of Fiscal Year 2010 (the fiscal year ends Sept. 30):

• FY 2008: 1,203 or 7 percent of new hires (364 were disabled veterans)

• FY 2009: 1,669 or 9 percent of new hires (528 were disabled veterans)

• FY 2010 to date: 1,109 or 10 percent of new hires (398 were disabled veterans)

The text of the IRS' update is available here.  Grassley initiated the veterans hiring' effort after realizing that the Treasury Department, including the IRS, lagged behind other federal agencies in hiring newly returned veterans, even though the department had significant vacancies.

Beyond IRS hiring, Grassley in May joined the Finance Committee chairman to introduce tax legislation that would create job opportunities for veterans returning home from military service and help businesses create jobs.  The bipartisan Veterans Employment Transition Act will reward employers who hire qualified veterans who have recently completed their service in the military with up to a $4,800 tax credit for disabled veterans and up to a $2,400 tax credit for other qualifying veterans.  The bill eliminates the administrative burdens that make the current Work Opportunity Tax Credit provision directed toward unemployed veterans difficult for small businesses to use.  As a result, servicemen and women who have been recently discharged will be able to provide documentation from the Department of Defense without having to go through the tax credit's current certification process, which can be lengthy.

In 2008, Congress made permanent several provisions to provide tax relief for American troops and their families that Grassley helped to advance.  The Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax Act of 2008, the HEART Act, was a bipartisan effort that incorporated most of the provisions in the Defenders of Freedom Tax Relief Act of 2007, which Grassley co-sponsored and promoted.  The HEART Act also made permanent and expanded upon some of the tax relief measures that Grassley coauthored in 2003, while chairman of the Finance Committee.

"Military service makes taxes complicated and sometimes unfair," Grassley said.  "People shouldn't suffer a tax hit to serve our country.  Military men and women should have fair treatment under the tax code. It's a no-brainer."

Last year, Grassley welcomed the enactment of legislation he cosponsored to help members of the military benefit from the first-time homebuyer tax credit.  Before this correction, members of the military were penalized by the credit's structure.  The correction gave military personnel serving outside of the United States more time to qualify for the credit.   It also eliminated the repayment requirement for military personnel forced to sell as a result of official service.  The legislation also excluded from tax any payment to military personnel to compensate them for loss in home value resulting from base closure.

Apart from tax work, Grassley recently has worked to address the ongoing and growing backlog of veterans' claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).  He also cosponsored successful legislation that will ensure timely, sufficient and reliable funding for the VA health care system.  This legislation was supported by all major veterans' organizations as well as the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  Grassley also has worked to include several beneficial provisions in the Caregiver and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act.  This new law corrects a number of deficiencies in how the U.S. cares for veterans with traumatic brain injuries, enhances VA support for family caregivers, and expands mental health services.  In 2009, Grassley received the American Legion's Distinguished Public Service Award for his work on issues important to veterans.

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Amana - Direct from Branson, Missouri, Doug Gabriel seven-time winner of Male Vocalist of the Year, is returning to The Old Creamery Theatre Company for performances July 7 through 11.

Come hear music from Elvis, Jim Reeves, plus many others and see Doug play his famous Muftar, a guitar made out of a 1969 Thunderbird muffler! All this, plus hilarious comedy and Doug's talented family adds up to an afternoon of truly great entertainment.

Doug is from Cedar Rapids and graduated from Linn Mar. His wife graduated from Cedar Rapids Washington and she performs with him and the kids.

Shows are at 3 p.m. each day, July 7 through 11. Tickets are $31.50 for adults and $22.50 for students. Call The Old Creamery Theatre box office, or visit the website 800-35-AMANA or www.oldcreamery.com. This special event is not part of The Old Creamery Theatre's season ticket or discount ticket offerings.

One area is the death tax.  Another area is the 2001-2003 tax rate cuts and family tax relief package. The third area is the one I'm going to discuss today. It's the Alternative Minimum Tax ("AMT") patch.

Over the past few years, I'm sure many have noticed that the AMT is frequently a subject of my speeches.  Some of you may be wondering how long I intend to keep talking about it.  The simple answer is that I intend to keep talking about the AMT until this Congress actually takes action on reforming the AMT.

Instead of taking action, Congress this session has done absolutely nothing and the problem continues to get worse for at least 26 million American families who will be caught by the AMT, and are now being caught.

When I speak of those now being caught, I am referring to those families who make estimated tax payments and who will be making their second payment today.

Last year, in 2009, a bit over 4 million families were hit by the AMT.  I think this was 4 million too many, but it is considerably better than the more than 26 million who will be hit this year, in 2010.

The reason we are experiencing this large increase this year is that, over the last 9 years, Congress has passed legislation that temporarily increased the amount of income exempt from the AMT.

These temporary exemption increases have prevented millions of middle class American families from falling prey to the AMT, until now.  While I have always fought for these temporary exemptions, I believe that the AMT ought to be permanently repealed.  One reason I have previously given for permanent repeal is that it may be difficult for Congress to revisit the AMT on a temporary basis every year, and the current situation is proving me right.

Congress has yet to undertake any meaningful action on the AMT.  The budget resolution, passed over a year ago, provided revenue room for a short-term extension of the AMT patch.  That was a lot less than President Obama's budget, which made the patch permanent.

About 18 months ago, much to the criticisms of some on the other side, I made the 2009 AMT patch an issue in the economic stimulus legislation.  The reason I did it is that 24 million middle class families would've, on average, paid $2,400 more in income tax for 2009, if the patch had been abandoned.  My 2009 AMT patch amendment was adopted in the stimulus legislation by the Finance Committee.  That was 18 months ago.

Despite assurances that AMT relief is an important issue, nothing has actually been put forward as a serious legislative solution for this year.  No House committee markup or floor action.  No Senate committee markup or floor action.  This year is about half done.  A theoretical discussion is not a substitute for real action, as anyone making a quarterly payment today will attest to.

I'm hopeful that I can get folks on Capitol Hill thinking about the AMT and realize that it is a problem right now.  Everyone seems to agree that something needs to be done quickly, but the discussion doesn't go any further from there.  The second quarterly payment is due. Today, taxpayers across the country are under a legal requirement to pay their estimated tax.  They will use the form depicted in this chart.   I bet I will be here when the third payment comes due, saying largely the same thing.

Congress doesn't seem to be under any pressure to actually take action.  Many on the other side insist that, unlike new spending proposals or extensions of existing spending programs, AMT reform should happen only if it is revenue neutral.  That means any revenues not collected through reform or repeal of the AMT must be offset by new taxes from somewhere else.  Notice I said "not collected" and not "lost."

This distinction is important for the simple reason that the revenues that we do not collect as a result of AMT relief are not lost.  The AMT collects revenues it was never supposed to collect in the first place.  Originally conceived as a mechanism to ensure that high income taxpayers were not able to completely eliminate their tax liability, the AMT has failed.  In 2004 IRS Commissioner Everson told the Finance Committee that the same percentage of taxpayers continues to pay no federal income tax.

The AMT was originally created with just 155 taxpayers in mind.  Today, at least 26 million middle class families are in the AMT's cross hairs.  That's quite a change from 155 rich people.

Finally, if we offset revenues not collected as the result of AMT repeal or reform, total federal revenues, over the long-term, are projected to push through the 30-year historical average and then keep going.  The AMT is a completely failed policy that is projected to bring in future revenues that it was never designed to collect.

President Obama met those of us who favor repeal part way by staking out a position on AMT reform during the 2008 campaign.  His position provided for a permanent AMT patch.  His budgets have maintained that position.

While permanent repeal without offsetting is the best option, we absolutely must do something to protect taxpayers immediately, even if it involves a temporary solution such as an increase in the exemption amount.  Of course, if we do that we are going to be in the same fix next year and I will be making the same points again.

Today, Tuesday, June 15, 2010, taxpayers making quarterly payments are going to once again discover that the AMT is neither the subject of an academic seminar nor a future problem we can put off dealing with.  The AMT is a real problem right now, and if this Congress is really serious about tax fairness it needs to stand up and take action.