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."

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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Political gridlock to blame

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement today regarding delays in passing a transportation bill out of Congress:

"Ridiculous partisan gridlock in Washington continues to delay funding to fix Iowa's dilapidated and dangerous roads and bridges. This must stop and the solution is simple.

"The House should join Senators Grassley and Harkin and pass the bipartisan transportation bill to fix our roads and bridges and create hundreds of jobs in Iowa. Washington should stop kicking the can down our deteriorating roads, which are putting drivers and passengers at risk."

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Dear Friend,

If you're anything like me, you've been unhappy lately about the prices you're paying at the pump.  Last week I put $100 worth of gas in my car, and it didn't even fill up the tank!

Today, the average price in Illinois for a gallon of mid-grade gas is $4.29.  This is about 63 cents higher than Illinoisans paid at the pump just a month ago, and around 30 cents higher than the current national average.  Worse yet is that some analysts are predicting that we'll hit a national average of $4.25 by late April.  I don't want to see what that national average will mean for gas prices at home in Illinois.

Despite what some folks say, there is action we can take immediately to help lower energy costs, create jobs, and help grow the economy.  I have voted for and the House has passed several bipartisan bills that will help lower energy costs, create jobs, and help grow our economy.  Unfortunately, these bills are among the more than 25 House-passed jobs bills currently held up in the Senate.

Along with many of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, I also support construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would create jobs and help lower energy costs without adding to our debt.  The Keystone XL project has the support of both Democrats and Republicans, of both business and labor, and would help reduce our dependency on unstable foreign energy sources.  With so many families struggling to get by in this difficult economic climate, we cannot afford to sit by and watch as gas prices continue to soar.

I want to hear your thoughts on action we can take to lessen the pain at the pump.  Please take a few moments, visit my website, and share with me your views on the Keystone XL pipeline project.  Remember that you can always send me a more detailed message with your thoughts or questions on energy policy or any other topic by clicking here.

Getting our nation's financial house in order and further stabilizing our economy is also an important step toward getting Americans back to work.  This week, the House Budget Committee is unveiling its Fiscal Year 2013 budget proposal.

The debate about federal spending in FY 2013 isn't only about spending and taxes.  But because 21% percent of our annual federal budget is spent on health insurance programs, this debate is also about who will control our health care.

In passing the President's health care reform law in 2010, the last Congress raided more than $500 million from Medicare to pay for an "Independent Payment Advisory Board" - an unaccountable, unelected board of bureaucrats who will decide what care and how much care Medicare patients may receive.

I firmly disagree with this approach.  Medicare is a lifeline to American seniors.  Nothing is as important to our seniors as having guaranteed health care coverage.  Now, with 10,000 baby boomers reaching retirement age every day and doctors already limiting the number of Medicare patients they see, we need to improve health care for both today's and tomorrow's retirees.

There has been a lot of money spent by outside political groups to perpetuate the falsehood that I somehow support ending Medicare.  In fact, the Pulitzer prize-winning publication Politifact determined this to be the "Lie of the Year."

In reality, with our FY 2012 budget proposal last year, the House actually passed a plan that would make no changes to Medicare for those aged 55 and older, but would improve and strengthen Medicare so it lasts for future generations.  Medicare is currently estimated to run out of money in less than 10 years if we don't take action to save it for our kids and grandkids.

While rooting out billions of dollars in waste, fraud, and abuse, under our plan the wealthier and healthier would receive less support, and lower-income and sicker individuals would receive more.  Our plan lets individuals choose a personalized, guaranteed health care plan that best fits their needs.  Ultimately, our plan results in a stronger and more secure health care system for future generations, so stay tuned as we continue working to guarantee health care for today's and tomorrow's retirees.

My office sends out a regular e-newsletter to folks in your community allowing us to stay in touch about my work in our nation's capital and in your hometown.  I hope you will subscribe, and stay up to date on what's happening behind the headlines on gas prices, Medicare, and more.  Just visit my website and sign up! I also encourage you to visit my Facebook or Twitter pages for other ways to stay up to date with what I'm doing.

It is an honor to serve you.  Don't hesitate to reach out if I can ever be of assistance.  If you find yourself struggling to make sense of federal agencies or having an issue with Medicare, the Department of Veterans Affairs, your passport or any federal agency, please don't hesitate to reach out to me and my staff at (309) 757-7630.  Constituent casework is the most important part of my job, and we will continue to work tirelessly to help.

Sincerely,
Bobby Schilling
Member of Congress