Senate Journal: Page 43: Tuesday, January 14, 2003
But people with mental illness, mental retardation, or other disabilities need more
than access to quality medical care, they need access to basic community resources that
most of us take for granted—like housing, transportation and job opportunities—so
they, too, can participate in the American dream.
This goal has been a personal passion for Lt. Governor Sally Pederson. That is why
I have asked her to lead the effort to transform our system of services to respond more
effectively to the needs of those with disabilities.
Changes in the system will be directed by a commission of stakeholders created
through bipartisan legislation passed last year. The Lt. Governor will continue to work
with the commission and Republican and Democratic legislators to create a system
that supports self-determination, self-sufficiency, and independence.
It is our goal over the next four years to substantially increase residential housing
and workplace opportunities through public/private partnerships and leveraging funds
in new and innovative ways. I promise you this—we will make the largest investment
in housing for people with disabilities in Iowa history.
And we will ask you to give the Department of Inspections and Appeals the
authority to regulate adult day care facilities for dependent adults and seniors, so that
families can feel secure about the quality of care their loved one is receiving.
In a special land where stewardship is a value and virtue, knowing that we have
over 150 rivers and streams, a number likely to grow, impaired by pollution should be a
call to action to all of us. A new Iowa economy should support resources necessary to
clean up our rivers and streams. By 2010, there should be no—I repeat no impaired
waters list in Iowa. By that year, Iowans should be free to swim, fish, or use this great
natural resource as God intended.
Now to those who doubt such a goal is obtainable, I ask you to stand aside. Iowans
working together to achieve a common goal will succeed, but to succeed there must be
consensus. One hundred years ago, Theodore Roosevelt brought interested parties
together in a summit dedicated to conservation. The time is right for a statewide
summit on water quality to eliminate the impaired waters list. So today I ask the
Department of Natural Resources, the Iowa Farm Bureau, the Association of Business
and Industry, the Iowa Environmental Council, and other groups each to designate a
representative to work with me and representatives of the General Assembly, cities,
and counties to plan and hold such a summit to develop a conservation plan to restore
our waters.
Earlier I mentioned the role of the nonprofit sector to effect change. The vital role
of nonprofit organizations in our state must be clearly understood and actively
supported. Nonprofit organizations are often small and may need technical assistance
and help. All of us need to help them. I asked Willard “Sandy” Boyd, President
Emeritus of the University of Iowa, Director of the Iowa Nonprofit Resource Center,
and a great Iowan, to chair a task force to be appointed for this purpose, to lay out
strategies how we can strengthen nonprofits in our state.
My time with you is limited, so I cannot share thoughts about other important
aspects of Iowa life, from public safety to support for arts and culture. Please know
these are important in our effort to help build a better Iowa.
© 2003 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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