27 Mar 2012

NCAA Women's Basketball Economic Impact

By Tiffany Tauscheck

Greater Des Moines Wins Big with

NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional Championship

DES MOINES, IA - The NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional Championship has wrapped up in Des Moines, leaving behind an economic impact of $2 million on Greater Des Moines.

"The community-wide support made this event a big win for our region," said Greg Edwards, President and CEO of the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We put out the call to residents, corporations and visitors to support this sport in our community and the response has been overwhelming."

Hotel staff wore "Welcome to Des Moines" t-shirts and "Welcome NCAA" buttons. Businesses around the metro hung signs in their storefronts and lobbies welcoming NCAA student-athletes, coaches and fans.

"We've heard great feedback from visitors and locals. Hosting NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Regional Championship in Greater Des Moines was a slam dunk," said Edwards.

The Des Moines Regional Championship led the other regions in ticket sales on Saturday, with a total of 7,941 tickets sold. Last night, 9,068 tickets were sold. Final ticket numbers from other regions will be available later this week.

The Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote Greater Des Moines as a fun, vibrant and affordable destination statewide, nationally and internationally. Our focus increases visitors to our community through meetings, conventions, sports events, leisure travel, and group tours, thereby contributing to the local economy.

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27 Mar 2012

Braley Votes to Send Bipartisan "JOBS Act" to President's Desk

By Randy Stalsberg

Bill will help small businesses grow and expand

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement today after voting to send a bill that will help small businesses expand and create jobs to the President's desk:

"Iowans can't afford any more gridlock or inaction from Congress on job creation.  Americans want to see politicians in Washington working together to get results.  They don't care about partisan labels.

"That's why I've voted twice to pass the JOBS Act.  It will reduce small business restrictions so they can get the capital they need to grow and expand.  I urge the President to sign this bill into law immediately."

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act would make it easier for small businesses to raise capital to grow and expand their businesses by making changes to federal business regulations.  For more information on the bill, visit: http://go.usa.gov/PB5

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27 Mar 2012

Lt. Gov Simon: Illinois Main Street open for business

By Kara Beach
SPRINGFIELD - March 27, 2012. Ambassador to the Illinois Main Street Program, Lt. Governor Sheila Simon announced today that the program will begin accepting applications next month from communities interested in joining.

Illinois Main Street is administered by the Regional Outreach Division at the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) and offers its 45 designated communities technical assistance and training in how to revitalize traditional downtowns, neighborhood business districts, and urban corridors. The program, which has not accepted applications since 2009, is part of the national Main Street Program run by the National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street Center. 

"I am happy to announce that Illinois Main Street is once again open for business," Simon said while speaking to community members at the Illinois Main Street rally outside of the State Capitol. "I urge all communities searching for ways to revitalize their downtown areas to apply to Illinois Main Street, which is a proven way to spur reinvestment in a community."  

Nationally, Main Street programs attract $27 of local investment for every $1 spent, according to data from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In Illinois, the Main Street Program attracted an average of 10,000 volunteer hours to each member community in 2010, which represents an investment of over $220,000, according to DCEO.

 

"Moving forward, we will continue to utilize the strong partnerships that have been developed between the Illinois Main Street communities, the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Office of Regional Outreach, the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency and the Lt. Governor's office to offer many mentoring and training opportunities related to business incentives, design services, and a vast array of other topics so crucial to the economic success of the Illinois Main Street Communities," Illinois Main Street Coordinator Mitzi Brandenburg said.

 

Communities interested in applying to become a member of Illinois Main Street can visit www.illinoismainstreet.org. The Illinois Main Street selection committee considers several factors when scoring an application, including level of financial support from local government, creation of a Main Street committee, a full-time executive director and existence of historic preservation ordinances. Illinois Main Street may select up to two new communities per year.

Renewal of the application process follows Governor Quinn's signing last year of the Illinois Main Street Act, which formally placed Illinois Main Street under the purview of DCEO allowing the program to move forward after a transition period.

 

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27 Mar 2012

Three Illinois National Guardsmen launch product for Soldiers, babies

By Staff Sgt Kassidy Snyder

SPRINGFIELD, IL (03/27/2012)(readMedia)-- After multiple overseas deployments, three Illinois Army National Guardsmen came together to build a product that benefits both Soldiers and babies. Having no prior business experience, the Soldiers used educational resources to create the EasyGo dispenser.

"Being a Soldier and small business owner shows you the complexity and depth the Guard has to offer," said business co-founder Staff Sgt. Michael Pett of Chicago, with Recruiting and Retention Command. "Not only am I able to continue my service to the country, but can fulfill my dream of being a business owner."

The Soldiers signed up for a program through the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign called Illinois' Launch. Through the program, they attended small business workshops and seminars and made several connections to help them along the way, said Pett.

"We are not engineers, graphic designers, nor can we draw a family of stick figures between the three of us," said Staff Sgt. Blake Schroedter of Newton, with Troop A, 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment in Pontiac. "We are a group of common guys, but visionaries who saw an issue and decided to fix it."

While deployed, Schroedter said he and other Soldiers had many frustrations with making an instant protein shake, a common source of nutrition for combat Soldiers. They tried cutting the tops off water bottles to make a funnel and used Ziploc bags and Tupperware for storage. What they needed was something portable and convenient to store, carry and dispense a pre-measured amount of protein powder.

After returning home from deployment, Schroedter along with Pett and Staff Sgt. Tony Genovese of Naperville, with Troop C, 2nd Squadron, 106th Cavalry Regiment in Aurora developed a prototype that evolved into the EasyGo Dispenser product lines.

"The evolution of the prototype lasted over a year with countless hours of phone conferences with our director of manufacturing, ensuring we accomplished our goals," said Schroedter. "I am excited for the day when I am at an airport or gym and I see a complete stranger utilizing our product."

After the initial prototype for the protein powder was created, the Soldiers developed a second dispenser to accommodate baby formula powder.

"Currently there are no military programs that promote entrepreneurship for Guardsmen that we are aware of," said Genovese. "One of our major long-term business goals is to create a program designed to aid military personnel in ventures similar to ours."

The Department of Defense launched a few programs that help disabled veterans and families of the wounded and fallen start businesses, but nothing specific for Guardsmen.

The Soldiers boast a young start-up company that offers a product durable enough for Soldiers to use on missions during war and gentle enough for parents to use for their babies at home.. The product was launched March 11 in Chicago. The first shipment of EasyGo PRO and Baby dispensers is due to arrive in August. For more information please visit http://easygodispenser.com/.

27 Mar 2012

Demand a Change to the Tax Code

By Cain Connection
This is an incredibly urgent time in American history. We're facing record budget deficits, soaring energy costs, high unemployment and a decline in America's standing abroad.

Friends, Washington is broken and business as usual just won't cut it anymore. We need lasting reforms that change the very nature of our nation's capital. We need a Solutions Revolution!

A report released by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service showed that there are over $1 trillion a year in tax loopholes for special interests in this country! Our tax code is so contorted and complicated, and it's impossible for the average American to understand. It discourages growth, investment and job creation. It's a mess. It's the enemy of American prosperity.
The solution is simple: America needs 9-9-9!

That's why, on April 16, the American people are going to show up on Capitol Hill to demand an end to a repressive tax code by demanding the simplicity and fairness of 9-9-9; no more handouts to special interests, no more confusing and frustrating tax preparation, and no more choking off job creation and economic growth

Herman Cain is also releasing in the coming weeks titled 9-9-9: An Army of Davids, which will lay out why we must rip up and replace the existing tax code - and the role that American patriots like you will need to play in making it happen.
But you don't have to wait for April 16, or for the book, to hear from us on the issue of the tax code. Today we've release illustrates the problem in a way that, shall we say, will definitely get your attention. It all comes down to this: America needs to scrap the tax code that has been written by - and for - special interests, and replace it with 9-9-9!

When you support our Solutions Revolution, you support an organization that is relentlessly attacking this issue and won't let up until Washington hears the voice of all of us. Please help us secure a brighter future for America and join our Solutions Revolution by making a donation today.
27 Mar 2012

Grassley Receives Jobs Champion Award from the American Wind Energy Association

By Grassley Press
WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today received a USA Wind Jobs Champion Award from the American Wind Energy Association for "his determined support and diligent work in helping to create and sustain U.S. jobs in the wind energy industry and its manufacturing supply chain."

John Ragan of TPI Composites and Denise Bode of the American Wind Energy Association presented a commemorative plaque and wind turbine bolt as part of the award this afternoon.  TPI Composites operates a 316,000 square foot wind turbine blade facility in Newton.

Senator Grassley authored the legislation that established the tax credit for wind energy in 1992 as a way to provide a level playing field for this renewable resource against coal-fired and nuclear energy and to help grow an innovative energy industry.

Today, Grassley is the author of bipartisan legislation to extend the tax credit for two years after it expires at the end of the year.  If the tax credit lapses, an estimated 37,000 jobs could be lost across the country.

"Tax relief has proven successful in developing wind energy, and it ought to be continued with the degree of certainty needed for continued investment and development of this clean energy alternative," Grassley said.  "Wind is free, inexhaustible, and environmentally friendly.  Conventional energy sources, including oil, gas and nuclear, enjoy countless tax incentives and many of them are permanent law."

Nationwide, the wind energy industry supports 75,000 jobs and drives as much as $20 billion in private investment.  During the last five years, 35 percent of all new electric generation in the United States was wind.  There are nearly 400 wind-related manufacturing facilities today, compared with just 30 in 2004.

In Iowa, the wind energy industry employs 5,000 full-time workers, and there are major wind manufacturing facilities in Newton, West Branch, Cedar Rapids and Fort Madison.

Iowa generates 20 percent of its electricity needs from wind.  Wind energy powers the equivalent of a million homes.  There are nearly 3,000 utility-scale turbines in Iowa, and they generate lease payments to landowners worth $12.5 million every year.
27 Mar 2012

Iowa Needs Big Ideas, not Small Steps, to Economic Recovery

By Mark Lucas

Americans for Prosperity - Iowa Urges Senate to Pass Property Tax Relief

DES MOINES, IA - Today Americans for Prosperity - Iowa, representing nearly 20,000 Iowan free-market activists, announced its support for Governor Brandstad's property tax relief and urged the Senate to quickly pass the legislation recently passed by the House. The primary obstacle to the bill lies with Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, who has refused to consider the legislation.

"Senator Gronstal is not interested in the bold solutions offered in the House bill," said Mark Lucas, State Director of Americans for Prosperity - Iowa. "He would much rather "take small steps" as he said on Iowa Press. Our struggling businesses and unemployed residents deserve big ideas for big problems."

The property tax plan that passed the House and has Governor Brandstad's support provides relief to businesses, farmers, and home owners. The bill will prevent a $1.2 billion tax increase over the next 8 years on all classes of property. Home owners will avoid a tax hike of over a half of a billion dollars.

"Senator Gronstal has inaccurately described the plan as "the biggest tax shift in the history of the state,'" continued Lucas. "His calculations are simply false when he said the bill would punish home owners."

"This bill is the type of bold solution our economy needs to get back on track. Governor Branstad's tax package will give businesses the confidence boost to expand and employ more Iowans," Lucas concluded.

27 Mar 2012

Harkin Congratulates Dr. Kim on World Bank Nomination

By Sen. Tom Harkin

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement after President Obama nominated Jim Yong Kim, an American physician and the current president of Dartmouth College, to lead the World Bank.  Dr. Kim spent much of his childhood in Muscatine, Iowa.

"This son of Iowa recognizes the significance of quality health care, the importance of increasing access to care, and its impact on the global economy.  His nomination comes on an important day - the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act.  Dr. Kim has distinguished himself as one of the great thinkers of our time and I congratulate him on his nomination today."


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23 Mar 2012

Bringing Political Intelligence Agents Out of the Shadows

By Grassley Press

Senator Chuck Grassley will continue to work to enact legislation requiring the agents of the $400 million political intelligence industry to disclose their interests, as lobbyists do. These operatives collect information from Congress and federal agencies and sell the information to Wall Street firms. This week, the majority leader of the United States Senate dealt a blow for good government and transparency by using his power to shut out Senator Grassley's effort.  It was a victory for Wall Street and those who prefer the secrecy of the status quo.  It was a defeat for the American people and the overwhelming majority in Congress that supports the legislation.

Click here for the audio clip.

Here is the text of the address:

This week, the majority leader of the United States Senate used his power to shut out my effort to require political intelligence agents to register, as lobbyists do.

At a growing rate, political intelligence professionals collect information from Congress and federal agencies and sell the information to Wall Street firms.  The firms use the information to buy and sell stocks and presumably profit.  My proposal is focused on the people who make their living gathering information and selling it to Wall Street.  It specifically exempts reporters from any disclosure requirements.

A Washington Post news story this week said the political intelligence amendment, combined an enhanced prosecution amendment by Senator Leahy, which also was dropped, "transformed the (insider trading) bill into the most sweeping ethics legislation Congress had considered since 2007."

The decision to scrap a requirement for registration by political intelligence professionals is a blow for good government and transparency.  It's a victory for Wall Street and a defeat for the American people.  It's a victory for those who prefer the secrecy of the status quo.

 

The reform had the support of 60 senators in a vote earlier this year, and the original House bill has 286 co-sponsors.  So, even though political intelligence registration got left out of this bill, I'll keep looking for ways to bring it back.

 

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23 Mar 2012

Schilling Initiatives to help Job Creators Advance

By Andie Pivarunas

Washington, DC - This week the House Armed Services Committee's bipartisan Defense Business Panel, on which Congressman Bobby Schilling (IL-17) serves, released the report of its findings, Challenges to Doing Business with the Department of Defense: Findings of the Panel on Business Challenges in the Defense Industry. The Defense Business Panel was chaired by Congressman Bill Shuster (PA-09), with Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02) as its ranking member.

The report is the culmination of six months of work examining the current defense business climate to identify and streamline contracting and regulatory issues facing the defense industry.  In completing its work, the Defense Business Panel met with or received testimony from more than 150 people representing government, industry, think tanks, and academia from around the country.  The Panel traveled to Moline in early October 2011 and met near the Rock Island Arsenal, the largest government-owned weapons and manufacturing arsenal in the United States.

"I appreciate the opportunity to serve on this panel, and my thanks goes to Chairman McKeon, Congressman Schuster, and Congressman Larsen for recognizing the vital role the Rock Island Arsenal plays in our country's defense strategy," Schilling said.  "Having a strong defense industrial base is an important part of our economy and our national security.  I am hopeful that this Panel's conversation will go on, and that we continue to work closely with folks in the defense contracting community to stay in tune with what works, what doesn't, and what we can change to make the defense acquisition process easier for smaller contractors to navigate."

The report includes several key recommendations, including:

  • Requiring the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Service Secretaries, to develop a long-term strategy for maintaining a robust and effective defense industrial base.
  • Requiring the Secretary of Defense to develop policies and mechanisms to improve communication with industry to better enable industry to allocate independent R&D resources and make investments to meet the future needs of the Department.
  • Ensuring that work being reserved for small business performance is actually performed by small businesses.
  • Continuing to rebuild the breadth and depth of the defense acquisition workforce which will, in all likelihood, save money and improve acquisition outcomes.
  • Simplifying and streamlining the acquisition process by conducting a comprehensive review of the laws and regulations that govern the acquisition process in order to repeal or amend regulations that are outdated or have had unintended consequences that outweigh the original intent of the regulation.

In addition, the House Small Business Committee today approved the Building Better Business Partnerships Act, H.R. 3985, introduced by Schilling and Congresswoman Judy Chu (CA-32).  Schilling's legislation, which was introduced in early February as part of the Committee's contracting reform initiative, would streamline the process for small businesses to participate in mentor-protégé programs, which pair new businesses looking to increase their government contracts with more experienced businesses.  The bill will help all small businesses to more easily and more effectively contract with the federal government, enabling them to grow, create jobs, and get Americans back to work.

Schilling said "I've owned my own small pizzeria for more than 15 years, and understand how difficult and limiting some federal programs can be for small business owners to navigate and access.  Contracting with the federal government is no different.

"I've heard from numerous job creators in my district about how valuable winning and retaining federal contracts are to growing their business and how the end result affects the men and women they employ.  With unemployment over nine percent in Illinois, every initiative we can take to help businesses of all sizes grow, create jobs, and get folks back to work matters.

"I'm pleased this bill was approved by the Small Business Committee with unanimous bipartisan support, and am hopeful it gets through Congress and to the President for signature along with the rest of the Committee's contracting reform initiative to help level the playing field for small businesses in contracting."

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