Saturday, July 21, 2012
Senate Republican Leader Jerry Behn wants your two cents. Take this survey today.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Submitted by Senate Republican Leader Jerry Behn You’re the boss! Sometimes public officials forget their first and most important role is to LISTEN carefully to the people whom elected them to serve. It’s still “We the People” that matter most. In that spirit, I have put together a BRIEF survey of questions asking for your feedback and your opinion on some of the pressing issues of the day. While this brief survey will take less than 2 or 3 minutes of your time, the feedback I receive from you is INVALUABLE. TAKE THE STATUS OF IOWA SURVEY Since this message is sent to tens of thousands of Iowans, I hope to share with you some of the collective results in the near future. Thanks for your time and as always, I want to hear from you and I …
Saturday, June 16, 2012
State Republican Leader Jerry Behn says there's already much to love about Iowa but more jobs would make it an even better place to live.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Submitted by Jerry Behn When you turn on a television, open your Internet browser or read your newspaper, sometimes it is easy to get a little down about much of the news we see and hear - high unemployment, unrest in the Middle East, economic turmoil in Europe, massive government debt, high gas prices…just to name a few. Yet with all the challenges we face at home and abroad, we should pause a moment and appreciate what we DO have – right here in Iowa. There is a lot to love about Iowa. We are a state that has unquantifiable potential and so many wonderful assets. All of us should be proud of what we have to offer. We have Interstate highways that run coast to coast and border to border, barge traffic with locks and dams and a double …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Senator Jerry Behn says while time is running out in the session, there is still time to pass three key pieces of legislation.
- ELECTIONS
-
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Submitted by Senator Jerry Behn You might describe an Iowa legislative session as one giant foot race and as this year’s runner is rounding the corner on the final lap, he seems to be limping toward the finish. But there is some good news! That runner can still be a winner. Here’s why: There is still time to enact legislation that can bring about true reforms, measurable results and real progress for hardworking Iowa taxpayers. It starts with three big issues: the budget, property tax relief and education reform. The Budget Senate Republicans made it clear from the start of the session that Iowa’s budget should: As negotiations continue on these important budget bills, expected to total over $6.2 billion dollars, Senate Republicans remain…
Sunday, April 15, 2012
A piece of legislation in the Iowa Senate could create big problems for school districts across the state seeking earlier start dates for students.
Months of time, work and consideration on the Waukee schools' district calendar could go to waste if a piece of legislation in the Iowa Senate wins approval. The bill, approved this week in the Iowa House, restricts Iowa schools from starting their year before the fourth Monday in August. It also eliminates a waiver process that has, until now, allowed most of the state's school districts to circumvent the required state start date. The abrupt changes are unwelcome news in the Waukee school district, says Jerry Ripperger, president of the Waukee school board. Do you have questions for the Waukee Schools administrators regarding the calendar issue? Tell us in the comments. "It’s an emotional topic," said Ripperger. "There are strong …
Thursday, April 12, 2012
In this week's Legislative update, Senator Pat Ward talks a balanced budget and tax relief in Iowa.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Submitted by Senator Pat Ward We have reached the home stretch and it’s time for deal making. We need to fish or cut bait. We know what our priorities are – and what our must do list is to finish what we were elected to do. And, simply put, there are many bills that should never see the light of day. Many of the bills we defeated, like those that imposed additional rules and regulations on the people of our state, lead me to believe we are making a difference in our efforts to grow Iowa. The budget and property tax reform are two of the biggies that are yet to be resolved. Nearly all of the individual budget bills are headed to bi-partisan House and Senate conference committees where the differences in the House and Senate priorities…
Friday, March 2, 2012
Senate Leader Jerry Behn said only three months into the 2012 legislative session, Iowa Democrats continue to hold up progress with meaningless bills and alternative agendas.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Friday, March 2, 2012
As the 2012 legislative session enters its third month, Iowans are still wondering when they are going to see movement on issues in the Iowa Senate that are of importance to them. Senate Republicans made it very clear from the beginning of session that our focus would be on putting more Iowans back to work and letting Iowans keep more of their hard earned money. What does that mean? In fact, Senate Republicans have offered literally dozens of pieces of legislation aimed at growing our state’s economy and making government more efficient and effective. Yet, almost none of those bills have seen the light of day. Partisanship and politics continues to trump good policy. Instead, we end up only debating two types of bills: those that are non-…
Friday, February 10, 2012
Senate Republican Leader Jerry Behn delivers the latest news from the Iowa Statehouse.
- GOVERNMENT
-
Friday, February 10, 2012
Submitted by Senate Republican Leader Jerry Behn Late last week, Senate and House Republicans announced a joint plan to enact a pro-jobs budget for the hardworking taxpayers of Iowa. This plan, crafted with job creators in mind, is a conservative approach that will create an atmosphere of stability, predictability and certainty for all Iowans. The Republican budget plan returns to common sense budgeting principles of aligning ongoing expenses with revenues and ending the practices of using one-time money for ongoing expenses, intentionally underfunding entitlement programs and raising taxes in order to spend more. We can all agree that as economic uncertainty continues throughout the country, it is imperative that we take a conservative …
David Leonard
8:23 am on Saturday, June 16, 2012
Iowa is great in part because legislators in the past had the guts to raise and spend the revenue necessary to make it great. Iowa will only continue to be great if we get some legislators with the courage of those who came before them. more ›