WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate tonight rejected an amendment offered by Senator Chuck Grassley to apply the new health care law to the President, Vice President, cabinet members, top White House staff, and the congressional staff who drafted the proposal.

"As a result, President Obama will not have to live under the Obama health care reforms, and neither will the congressional staff who helped to write the overhaul," Grassley said.  "The message to the people at the grassroots is that it's good enough for you, but not for us."

Grassley said congressional leaders have had other opportunities to fix the double standard but have repeatedly opted not to do so.

The health care reform that was enacted on Tuesday includes an amendment Grassley sponsored and got adopted by the Finance Committee, last September, to have members of Congress and their staffs get their health insurance through the same health insurance exchanges where health plans for the general public would be available.  During subsequent closed-door work on a Senate health care bill, Senate committee and leadership staffs were removed from this requirement.

In December, Grassley and Senator Tom Coburn attempted to offer a floor amendment to restore the requirement, but the Senate Majority Leader would not let their amendment come up for a vote.  In addition to Senate committee and leadership staff, the amendment Grassley and Coburn filed during the Senate debate would have made the President, the Vice President, top White House staff and cabinet members all get their health insurance through the newly created exchanges.  It would not have applied to federal employees in the civil service.

Even after the issue was raised through the month of December, Senator Harry Reid's final manager's amendment to the health care reform bill passed by the Senate on Christ Eve still did not restore Grassley's original language, which the Finance Committee approved unanimously.

Grassley said, "It's only fair and logical that administration leaders and congressional staff, who fought so hard to overhaul of America's health care system, experience it themselves.  If the reforms are as good as promised, then they'll know it first-hand.  If there are problems, public officials will be in a position to really understand the problems, as they should."

Grassley said the motivation for his amendments is simple:  public officials who make the laws or lead efforts to have laws changed should live under those laws.  He offered the amendment that was rejected tonight to the reconciliation bill designed to make changes to the health care reforms that President Obama signed into law today.

"It's the same principle that motivated me to pursue legislation over 20 years ago to apply civil rights, labor and employment laws to Congress," Grassley said.  Before President Clinton signed into law Grassley's long-sought Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, Congress had routinely exempted itself.

The Congressional Accountability Act made Congress subject to 12 laws, including the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Employee Polygraph Protection Act of 1988, the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the Federal Service Labor-Management Relations Statute, the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Veteran's Employment and Reemployment Rights at Chapter 43 of Title 38 of the U.S. Code, and the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1989.

Grassley also is working to make sure Congress lives up to the same standards it imposes on others with legislation such as his Congressional Whistleblower Protection Act.

As it stands, thanks to Grassley's Finance Committee passed amendment, members of Congress and their personal staffs will be required to obtain their health insurance coverage through the newly created health care exchange.  Members and personal staffs will only be able to use their employer contribution to buy health care coverage in the exchange.  Individuals will receive an age-adjusted contribution from the Office of Personnel Management with which to purchase a plan.

However, because the Senate rejected the amendment offered by Grassley last December and tonight, committee and leadership staff in Congress, as well as the President, Vice President, the President's cabinet and White House staff, will continue to be exempt from many of the reforms facing the rest of the country.

Earlier today, the White House announced that the President planned to participate in the health insurance exchanges that the reform law will begin in 2014.

"This is effectively an endorsement of my amendment to make sure political leaders live under the laws they pass for everyone else, and I appreciate it," Grassley said.  "The principle shouldn't be voluntary for political leaders, though."

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Comprehensive reform increases access to affordable care, makes health insurance companies more accountable and includes historic investment in prevention, wellness

Education reconciliation provisions increase college affordability

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) issued the following statement after the U.S. House passed the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010.  With this vote, comprehensive health reform has passed and will go to President Obama for his signature.  The reconciliation package now heads to the U.S. Senate for consideration next week.  Harkin is Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

"With this vote today, the House took a major step forward in the fight to put American families and small business owners?not the insurance companies?in control of their own health care.

"This legislation makes the Senate-passed comprehensive bill even stronger by providing coverage to some 95 percent of Americans.  This will be affordable coverage, which will save thousands of lives and give peace of mind to those who have coverage now, but have a 50/50 chance of losing coverage in the next decade.  It will provide relief from skyrocketing and unstable premiums and holds insurance companies accountable to keep premiums down and prevent denials of care and coverage, including for pre-existing conditions.

"I am particularly encouraged that in passing comprehensive reform, we will, for the first time make an historic investment in prevention and public health to change our current sick care system into a true health care system.  These reforms will truly bend the cost curve and rein in rising health care costs.

"And we provide all of these reforms while also reducing the deficit by $138 billion over next ten years, and by $1.2 trillion more over the following decade; reducing waste, fraud and abuse, paying for quality over quantity of care.

"With the reconciliation package, the Senate is also on track to enact one of President Obama's key education priorities - a move that will make college more affordable and accessible.  The measure eliminates billions of dollars in wasteful subsidies to banks and redirects that money to students and families in the form of increased Pell Grants to low-income college students, putting the priorities of students and families ahead of subsidies to lenders.

"We are on the cusp of history in this country.  I congratulate Speaker Pelosi and House leaders on this historic achievement and look forward to working in the Senate to get a final bill to the President's desk as soon as possible."

For a list of the immediate health benefits of the bill, please click here.

For a list of the key improvements to the bill, please click here.

For a list of the Harkin-led prevention benefits, please click here.

For more details about the education reconciliation proposal unveiled earlier this week, please click here.

In the closing two weeks of session, Iowa's budget problems will take center stage.  The Revenue Estimating Conference's March prediction included $33 million more in revenue coming to the state than their previous December estimate.  Though this can be seen as a sign Iowa's economy has seen its worst days, the additional revenue will not be enough to make up the nearly half a billion dollar hole.

Funding education will be the one overriding budget item which will foster aggressive discourse in the Legislature.  Politicians should engage in aggressive debate over poor decision making practices which resulted in unfunded mandates, unfunded per-pupil promises, unfunded allowable growth and the play of politicians which resulted in this mess.  Politicians created the problem, and politicians should have a healthy debate on how to fix the problem.

If the 10% across-the-board cut is not backfilled and allowable growth is not funded the cost will fall back on local property tax payers.  Money was promised to school districts which was never provided.  Many of you are noticing your local school boards begin to make the difficult decisions of how to fund schools without promised state dollars.  State law requires school districts to ratify their budgets by April 15th and to publish them thirty days prior for public review.  School districts can't wait any longer for funds which the state spoiled away.  They are now facing the difficult task of turning to local property tax payers to keep schools functioning.

Rather than waiting for the state legislature, school districts in Iowa City, Cedar Rapids, Ankeny and Clinton have already approved substantial tax levy increases.

Last Thursday a new problem in education popped up:  One time stimulus dollars were used to offer additional pay to teachers for training.  Since the Governor's 10% across-the-board cut also cut this teacher quality pay, school boards found they are now on the hook for this pay as well.  Many school districts were notified of this issue after they certified their budgets.  The full breadth these two problems results in nearly $330 million in unfunded mandates falling to the local level by raising property taxes.

Understanding how Physical Plant and Equipment Levy or PPEL, allowable growth, property tax levies, the state sales tax and the 10% across-the-board cut all factor into this problem can be a task in itself.  And I applaud local youth for writing to me on the issue.  I have received many letters from youth frustrated with the fact that programs like art and music may be cut, as well as teacher positions.  I always encourage young Iowans to get involved in government at a local level and I want to thank them for these letters and I strongly encourage their questions and comments.

Another discussion on the Senate floor sparked intense debate this past week.  One section in the Government Reorganization Bill allowed for the sale and lease-back of state owned buildings.  An amendment to ban the authorization of this practice in the future by the Governor and Legislature failed.  It was passed as a way to offer "management flexibility."  This practice has nearly bankrupt New Mexico.

In closing, I received a message on Thursday in a fortune cookie which read, "If a lobbyist asks you to sponsor an amendment which has already failed twice - Run!"

Shawn Hamerlinck
State Senate 42^nd District

March 8, 2010, Davenport, Iowa - Scott County Treasurer Bill Fennelly announced that he is seeking re-election as Treasurer.  This is Fennelly's fifth run as county Treasurer.

Prior to his first election as Treasurer in 1994, Fennelly served on the Scott County Board of Supervisors for 13 years and was an alderman in the City of Davenport.  All told, he has a record of trustworthy, stable leadership in Scott County.  He is committed to serving all citizens of Scott County fairly, promptly and respectfully.  As a former business owner, he also works to ensure that the area economy is supported through investment of county funds locally, prudently and securely.

In an effort to be responsive to the citizens he and his staff serve, Fennelly has made many positive changes to when and how citizens are served.  He and his staff continually strive to improve the efficiencies of the Treasurer's office with timely, complete answers to questions and concerns.  They have also made contact with the office more user-friendly with expanded service hours and on-line payment options.

Bill Fennelly is committed to serving the citizens of Scott County with the utmost integrity.  Not one to sit still, he will make sure the Treasurer's office continues to take advantage of ever-changing technology improvements and efficiencies so that his department provides accurate and complete information to the citizens of Scott County.

For more information, contact Bill Fennelly at 563.391.2029.

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