House Journal: Page 207: Thursday, January 28, 1999

retirement programs and spending reforms. We're listening to the people, and we're 

acting on what we hear. 
We face a strong set of challenges and unbridled opportunities.  We will not be 
daunted.
Let me read from one of my very first Executive Orders which will be issued in the 
near future:  "Now, therefore, I, Thomas J. Vilsack, Governor of Iowa, do hereby order 
and proclaim that there shall be an organized commitment to develop a strategic plan 
outlining our goal to maximize the development of human and natural resources within 
the state, and this commitment shall be called THE GOVERNOR'S STRATEGIC 
PLANNING COUNCIL."
Together, in a bi-partisan effort that includes full participation of private citizens, 
all levels of governmental employees, all communities, with specific emphasis on people 
with disabilities - we will identify the way Iowans want their state to be in the year 
2020.  And from that we will develop policies, programs, and procedures to carry out 
their vision.
We are excited by the challenge of tomorrow, and we are ready to meet it face-to-
face.
Our goal is an efficient government and a powerful plan for the new millennium. 
Let it be said that here in Iowa, we put our money where our future is.
There is no question that it is reasonable for us to aspire to be first. And so again I 
ask the question posed by an Iowa child.  What are we going to do together to ensure 
that Iowa will be first in education; first in the environment; first in health care; first 
in the fight against methamphetamine; first in workforce development and economic 
growth; and first in the future?
The answer resounds across this beautiful public room, owned by the people of our 
great state, and we all hear it.  We must work together. We must put Iowa first, before 
any personal or partisan agenda, before anything that might divide us.  We must make 
every effort to make Iowa first, working as if it were our last chance to do so. 
And so, I propose yet another first for us today - the one which can make all of the 
others possible.  Let us strive to be first in the nation in the true spirit of bi-
partisanship!
At a time when America is burdened by the ugliness of the Washington political 
scene - a scene divided by intense and sometimes angry partisanship which diverts our 
time, our resources, our good will, and especially the valuable work of our nation, let us 
learn a hard lesson: - the people must come first. How do we guarantee that when we 
leave here today we will walk away with a real commitment to work together? 
I don't have the whole answer, but I can propose a healthy way for us to start - if 
you will, a healthy first step.
Soon after the end of this address today, Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson and I 
will be embarking on separate visits across the state to meet with the people of this 
state face-to-face to talk to them about these important budget decisions.  It would be 
easy for us to use this opportunity and the power and means of the Governor's office to 

© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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