VANDER PLAATS TO CULVER: DON’T WAIT, BRING ECONOMIC IMPROVEMENT GROUP TOGETHER NOW

SIOUX CITY – Republican gubernatorial front-runner Bob Vander Plaats said today that Governor Chet Culver should bring together the state’s best business minds to develop a plan to fix Iowa’s economic climate and stop mounting job losses, including Tuesday’s announcement that 400 Lake Mills workers will be laid off as their jobs are moved to Mexico.

“This isn’t something that can wait until the next governor takes office. This is something that needs to be done right now, immediately, today,” Vander Plaats said in remarks prepared for a campaign appearance in Howard County.

Despite the state’s history of emerging from recessions later than other states, Culver has said since June that he hopes Iowa’s economy will lead a national recovery. Culver bases his prediction the state can wipe out a $900-million budget shortfall on that hope of a fast recovery.

“We know Chet Culver and legislative Democrats have spent far too much money and followed the foolhardy approach of adding 2,500 new state employees. On top of that, he’s borrowed money that’ll have to be paid back over many years to pay for his short-term I-Jobs program,” Vander Plaats said. “The answer is not to keep hiring public employees at the expense of the private sector and individual taxpayers. The answer is an immediate, laser focus on private sector jobs creation.”

He also said Culver’s support of broadening organized labor’s power and gutting Iowa’s right-to-work laws have sent a negative message to the state’s employers and prospective new businesses.

Noting that Culver just hired a Pennsylvania firm at a cost of $300,000 for an efficiency review of state government, Vander Plaats added, “He doesn’t need to hire out-of-staters and pay them big money to learn how to improve the economy. He needs to bring together a group of Iowa business leaders and entrepreneurs – people from companies large and small, successful and struggling. He needs to listen to their best advice about how to make our economy and tax structure more competitive and then he needs to follow that advice.”

Speaking specifically about firms that move to Mexico or off shore, the Sioux City businessman said that employers base their decisions about plant locations on more than simply wages. “If it was simply about paying the lowest possible wage, we wouldn’t have the iconic corporate names that we have in our state like Pella, John Deere and Principal, to name just a few. Iowa workers’ productivity makes them competitive across the world but we can no longer afford a business climate that puts them at a disadvantage.”

Iowa’s unemployment rate hit 6.5 percent, its highest level in more than two decades, under Culver’s watch.

“If there’s a glimmer of good economic news in Iowa, Chet Culver immediately tries to take credit for it. If it’s bad news, he continues to say it’s ‘one more sign of the impact the national economic recession is having on our state.’ At a time when he insists things are getting better, people are being laid off all around our state,” Vander Plaats said. “If there was ever a time for him to show leadership on an issue that matters to Iowans the issue is improving our economic competitiveness and the time is now.”

VANDER PLAATS: CULVER’S EFFICIENCY FIRM PLAN SHOWS HE’S IN OVER HIS HEAD BY ANOTHER $300,000

SIOUX CITY – Governor Chet Culver’s decision to spend another $300,000 in taxpayer money to hire a Pennsylvania efficiency firm in hopes of closing his $1 billion budget gap is further proof that he is “in over his head, sinking fast and frantically clawing to save his political life,” leading GOP challenger Bob Vander Plaats said today.

“The Democrats are always fond of saying you can’t run government like a business and then Chet Culver runs out and hires an out-of-state business to tell him how to run Iowa’s state government. The truth is Chet Culver wants someone else to make the tough decisions for him and this latest move proves it once again,” Vander Plaats said. “Chet Culver is in over his head with almost $1 billion in excessive spending and he’s just added another $300,000 to it. Iowans elect a governor, not a company, to make those decisions. It’s time to man up, Governor.”

The Sioux City businessman added, “I’m willing to make tough decisions to balance our budget using the core principles of less government, lower taxes and higher quality. And that’s why Iowans will reject Chet Culver next year and put a real leader in the governor’s office again so we can straighten out his budget mess.”

Vander Plaats, whose experience as a chief executive officer includes the turnaround of a struggling non-profit health-care provider, said Culver’s decision to pay the outside firm shows “he doesn’t know what he’s doing and he doesn’t trust state agency directors to get us out of the problems caused by his overspending.”

“At a time when Iowans are losing their jobs and being asked to take pay cuts or freezes, Chet Culver has increased state spending by roughly 20 percent and the size of state government by 2,500 employees. He doesn’t need to pay a Pennsylvania company $300,000 to figure out the problem. I’ll give him the advice for free, ‘When you’re in a hole, quit digging. And when you’re as deep in debt as you’ve driven the state of Iowa, quit spending so much money,’” Vander Plaats said.

Strawn: Last Week to Help HD 90!

Culver Hires Consultant to Explain Budget

(DES MOINES)—As Gov. Culver’s staff put the final touches on a plan to spend $300,000 on an out-of-state consultants to find budget savings, House Republican Leader Kraig Paulsen (R-Hiawatha) encouraged the governor to instead enact savings offered by House Republicans earlier this year.

“Gov. Culver is spending money to find solutions that we offered in April,” said Paulsen. “House Republicans’ list of savings would have increased transparency, brought more accountability to budgeting and reduced unnecessary spending.”

In March, Republicans launched a website to gather Iowans’ input on cost-saving measures. Soon after, House Republicans offered these suggestions, among others, such as selling part of the state vehicle fleet and reducing office supplies, which were nearly all rejected by Legislative Democrats.

“It’s clear the governor continues to not understand his own budget,” said Paulsen. “House Republicans will continue to offer savings and stand ready to meet with him to discuss solutions that will save the taxpayers money and make government more efficient.”

LATHAM STATEMENT ON OMB DEFICIT PROJECTIONS

$9 TRILLION DEFICIT OVER NEXT DECADE

Washington, Aug 25 – Iowa Congressman Tom Latham issued the following statement on Tuesday in response to recent federal budget figures from the White House Office of Management and Budget projecting a $9 trillion deficit over the next decade:

“These latest budget numbers illustrate the depth of our country’s fiscal predicament. The national deficit is spiraling out of control, weakening America’s economic foundation and pinning future generations with massive debt. Irresponsible and ineffective measures such as the $787 billion stimulus package, the $410 billion omnibus appropriations bill and risky bailouts for Wall Street financial firms have contributed to America’s fiscal disarray, all while American families continue to deal with high unemployment and economic uncertainty. The cost of a government takeover of health care would add even more fuel to the skyrocketing deficit.

“This path is unsustainable. The current economic climate requires us to return to fiscal discipline. We must abandon the erroneous notion that we can tax, spend and borrow our way back to prosperity. It’s time for Congress to put the American taxpayers first and stop treating them as if they are a resource to be harnessed in difficult times.”

VANDER PLAATS TO MAKE GUBERNATORIAL BID OFFICIAL WITH SEPT. 7 ANNOUNCEMENT IN SHELDON

SIOUX CITY – Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats, the 2006 Republican nominee for lieutenant governor who is leading the field for the party’s 2010 gubernatorial nomination, will officially launch his campaign on Monday, Sept. 7 in his hometown of Sheldon in northwest Iowa.

“Labor Day is the traditional start of the election season and Sheldon is the natural place for me to officially kick off the campaign. Sheldon is where I learned the value of freedom and leadership. It’s where my parents, teachers and neighbors instilled a traditional Iowa work ethic in me. And, it’s where I learned that the family is the foundation of society and it is government’s responsibility to foster a strong family instead of trying to replace it,” Vander Plaats said.

He continued, “The response we’ve seen since forming a campaign committee in January has been extraordinary. Support is growing every day around the state, pushing us far out in front of the five other candidates in the Republican field. Iowans of all political stripes recognize that Chet Culver is spending too much and demanding too little for taxpayers’ hard-earned money. They know he has to go and that we need a governor whose core principles will be less government, lower taxes and higher quality. They’re rallying behind this campaign because they know I’ll be that governor.”

Vander Plaats’ announcement will be at noon on Labor Day at the City Park in Sheldon. Vander Plaats will make a second appearance on Labor Day, visiting the Marlin Bontrager farm near Kalona. Bontrager and his wife, Becky, own and manage a livestock and grain farm. The couple and their 10 children have also formed the Bontrager Family Singers, a ministry that performs gospel/bluegrass music.

After growing up in Sheldon, Iowa, Vander Plaats pursued a career as an educator. After attending Northwestern College in Orange City on a basketball scholarship, Vander Plaats taught at Boone and Jefferson-Scranton High schools. Earning his master’s and specialist’s degrees in the area of educational leadership from Drake University, Vander Plaats also served as principal at Marcus-Meriden-Cleghorn and Sheldon High schools.

In 1996, Bob became president and chief executive officer of Opportunities Unlimited, a Sioux City health and human services organization that provides rehabilitative services for young adults with brain or spinal cord injuries or other life-altering disabilities. In 2002, Bob led a positive and energetic campaign for governor. Though he narrowly lost in a three-way GOP primary, that campaign laid the foundation for a statewide organization that has continued to grow. Vander Plaats also served as Iowa chairman for former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s 2008 presidential campaign.

Vander Plaats is currently president of MVP Leadership, Inc., which specializes in strategic vision and executive leadership for business and industry, economic development, education, health care, human services, and private foundations.

McKinley Statement on Iowa’s New Unemployment Rate

2009 session was missed opportunity to grow Iowa’s private sector economy

DES MOINES, IA – Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley (R-Chariton) issued the following statement today in response to the new 23-year high unemployment rate figures released today by Iowa Workforce Development today showing over 109,000 unemployed Iowans:

“Today’s unemployment numbers are another unfortunate reminder why Governor Culver and legislative Democrats’ agenda of higher taxes on disaster victims, unbalanced budgets, record deficits and unpopular billion dollar debt schemes is the wrong direction for Iowa.

While Democrats failed to talk about jobs and instead obstructed Republican legislation that will grow Iowa’s economy during the legislative session, Republicans will continue to offer smart solutions for growing Iowa’s economy and cutting Iowa’s government because our state cannot afford to continue down Governor Culver and legislative Democrats’ path of fiscal mismanagement and inexcusable inaction on creating sustainable job opportunities in the private sector.”

Iowa Republicans: Real Solutions for Iowa’s Families

Iowa Republicans: Real Solutions for Iowa’s Families

Republicans announce “Iowa Family Budget Initiatives”

Des Moines, IA – Republican Party of Iowa State Chairman Matt Strawn today joined State Senator Steve Kettering (R- Lake View) and State Representative Scott Raecker (R- Urbandale) at the Iowa State Fair to announce the beginning of a four-month effort to outline a new program called “Iowa Republicans: Real Solutions for Iowa’s Families.”

“Iowans need leadership, and Republicans are stepping up to provide it,” said Strawn. “We are prepared to lead with innovative and bold solutions to the challenges facing Iowa’s families and small businesses. Today is the first step in sharing our agenda with Iowans.”

Strawn noted that the first series of Republican solutions, focused on Iowa’s budgetary problems, provides a stark contrast with a Democrat majority led by Governor Culver that has placed Iowa on the precipice of a one billion dollar budget shortfall.

“Today we are pleased to offer our Iowa Family Budget Initiatives, a set of three common sense solutions to restore the fiscal balance in state government and protect the pocketbooks of Iowa families who will undoubtedly shoulder the burden created by Governor Culver’s mismanagement of our state’s finances,” said Strawn.

The Iowa Family Budget Initiatives are: 1) Constitutional amendment to limit state spending to no more than 99% of state revenue—no more legislative loopholes to avoid responsible budgeting and overspending; 2) Require a 2/3 supermajority vote of the Legislature to approve new state borrowing—Iowans need greater protection against runaway state debt and bipartisan agreement should be required before the state saddles taxpayers with debts like the $1.7 billion Governor Culver gave us this year; and, 3) Sunset authorization of every state budget program to ensure no state program continues indefinitely without a specific review and reauthorization by the Governor and Legislature.

Representative Raecker said, “As Ranking member and former Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, I have seen firsthand the need for the restraints and protections contained in our Iowa Family Budget Initiatives. This is a common sense approach to budget reform and House Republicans stand in unison with the State Party in our support.”

Senator Kettering said, “Iowa Republicans are speaking with one voice and are committed to protecting the men, women, families, and small businesses that pay taxes to support the state’s vital programs. They have every right to expect their representatives in Des Moines to take extraordinary steps to ensure these dollars are used wisely and Senate Republicans will push hard to make the Iowa Family Budget Initiatives a reality.”

In the coming months the Republican Party of Iowa, in conjunction with Iowa House and Senate Republicans, will travel the state and offer additional policy solutions on such issues as education, family, energy, environment, healthcare, and governmental transparency.

Stephen Burgmeier for HD 90 Campaign Ad

Grassley: End-of-life care concerns, other concerns in House health care legislation

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today made the following comment on end-of-life concerns and other concerns prompted by the House committee-passed health care legislation.

“The bill passed by the House committees is so poorly cobbled together that it will have all kinds of unintended consequences, including making taxpayers fund health care subsidies for illegal immigrants. On the end-of-life issue, there’s a big difference between a simple educational campaign, as some advocates want, and the way the House committee-passed bill pays physicians to advise patients about end of life care and rates physician quality of care based on the creation of and adherence to orders for end-of-life care, while at the same time creating a government-run program that is likely to lead to the rationing of care for everyone. On the Finance Committee, we are working very hard to avoid unintended consequences by methodically working through the complexities of all of these issues and policy options. That methodical approach continues. We dropped end-of-life provisions from consideration entirely because of the way they could be misinterpreted and implemented incorrectly. Maybe others can defend a bill like the Pelosi bill that leaves major issues open to interpretation, but I can’t.”