House Journal: Page 4: Monday, January 12, 1998

enable our state to continue to grow and prosper.  Number one -
We will cut taxes this year for the fourth consecutive year.  As
long as it is fiscally responsible, the Republican majority in
the Iowa House will in some way reduce the tax burden on Iowans
every year.  The question this year is not if we are going to
reduce taxes, it is a question of how much and what taxes. 
Those decisions will be made by this body during this session. 
However, it is clear that we will cut taxes again this year.
The second area of importance this year will be agriculture and
especially value added agricultural issues.  Even a city boy
like me understands that agriculture is the engine that runs
Iowa's economy.  As we strive to compete in a world-wide
agricultural economy, we must continue to add value to
agricultural products.  It is the intent of the majority party
to establish a Value Added Agricultural Revolving Loan Fund this
session to enable people involved in the agricultural sector to
be innovative and forward looking in adding value to our
agricultural products.  
Thirdly, we intend to put a focus on quality-of-life issues,
with special emphasis on recreational activities in Iowa.  In
November of this year, a Recreation Summit was held in these
chambers and testimony was taken from people from across the
state with suggestions on how to improve recreational
opportunities in Iowa.  Within the next week, the Steering
Committee of that Summit will issue a five-year plan for
improving recreation and quality of life in Iowa.  We will act
upon some of those recommendations this session and begin
putting together a blueprint for the future.
While those recommendations haven't been issued yet, they will
include a program that will ask that money from the
infrastructure fund be made available through a granting process
for local communities to apply for state grants to enhance their
offerings of recreational opportunities in their areas. 
Recreational activities ranging from municipal swimming pools to
ice skating rinks help build strong communities and strong
families.
Fourthly, the Number One focus of this legislative session will
be the educational system in Iowa.  As a teacher by profession,
education has always been my main focus and it is the main focus
of the citizens of Iowa.  When I assumed the position of
Majority Leader in 1993, total state spending on education was
57.5% of the budget.  Total state spending on education in the
current fiscal year is 58.5%.  Commitment to education in Iowa
has been and continues to remain strong, and this year's
legislative session will make it even stronger. 
As we all know, there are many proposals that are on the table
heading into this session as a result of the Pomerantz
Commission.  We will spend a great deal of time discussing those
and enacting many worthwhile initiatives; but at this time, many
details need to be worked out.  I personally look forward to
working with all 100 members to craft legislation which will
have a meaningful impact on our educational system.
Almost 60 cents of each dollar that the state spends goes
towards education.  When you add in federal dollars and local
property taxes, we spend $2.85 billion dollars a year on K-12
education for our 500,000 students.  Anyone who says that
education is not our number one priority is simply wrong.
We have the best schools and the best teachers in the nation. 
But we have seen some slippage in our results.  That is
unacceptable.  As we face the new millenium, it is imperative
that we provide our children with the skills that they will need
to compete in the ever-changing world.  For some people, the
only answer is 

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 2)

© 1998 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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