Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Finance Committee, is re-introducing a pension protection bill for what he dubs our “post-Enron” world. Grassley says the legislation is called the National Employee Savings and Trust Equity Guarantee Act — or “Nest Egg” for short. Grassley says the bill would “expand protection for retirement plan participants, require companies to allow employees to diversify out of company stock, and thirdly, expand the portability of retirement plan assets, and lastly, simplify long-existing pension laws and regulations.” Grassley says this bill has nothing to do with Social Security but is all about retirement security. He says the bill got unanimous approval from the Finance Committee last year but never won final approval in the full Senate. Grassley says it’s a very important proposal to better protect workers’ pensions from “executive greed.” Grassley says several pieces of legislation have been signed into law in response to scandals at Enron and other corporations, adding, “The headlines have died down, but workers’ pensions are still too vulnerable.”President Bush will deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term Wednesday night. Senator Grassley says there are several things he’d like to hear the president talk about. Grassley says “I would expect him to be very precise about his goals on Social Security, tax reform, international trade policy and health issues, and then emphasize the necessity of putting the country on a track to get the budget deficit in half.” Grassley says he does -not- expect the president to set any sort of date in the address as to when U.S. troops will be leaving Iraq, however, Grassley does expect Bush to talk about the eventual pull-out. Grassley says “I would hope that he could give us some quantifiable definition of withdrawal.” For example, once Iraq’s army has 100-thousand members who are well-trained and there are 50-thousand policemen, then the U.S. could pull out 50-thousand troops. Grassley says setting a date for U-S withdrawal would only be helping the enemy to plan for a date on which they could launch an offensive.
Governor makes changes in his top staff
There’s been a realignment of top staff in Governor Vilsack’s office. Stephen Gleason, Vilsack’s chief of staff, left the job in December due to health reasons. On Monday, Gleason made his exit permanent. In a prepared statement, Gleason, who is a doctor, said keeping a “calmer schedule” is a priority. Cynthia Eisenhauer, a long-time state bureaucrat who began her career with the state during republican Governor Terry Branstad’s administration, has been serving as chief of staff since Gleason’s departure. Vilsack says Eisenhauer’s now in the job permanently. In addition, Mike Tramontina — a long-time democratic party activist who has been heading the Iowa Finance Authority for the past few years — will become director of the Iowa Department of Management. That’s the agency that oversees the details of state spending. Tramontina must win confirmation from the Iowa Senate to get that job permanently. Tramontina ran Michael Dukakis’ successful Iowa presidential campaign and helped the State Treasurer launch the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt.
Republicans reluctant to support cigarette tax increase
Republican legislators are reluctant to endorse democrat Governor Tom Vilsack’s proposed 80-cent-per-pack cigarette tax increase. Senate Co-Leader Stewart Iverson, a republican from Dows, is a definite “no” vote. “I do not think it’s appropriate to raise taxes on Iowans — period,” Iverson says. “I don’t care. Pick any tax you want.” Representative Bill Dix, a republican from Shell Rock who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, says the governor offered a lot of “razzle dazzle” but that hasn’t convinced Dix to vote to raise the cigarette tax. “I don’t believe we have to raise a tax,” Dix says. “There are a number of methods that I believe we can fund our priorities for the poor and vulnerable without raising that tax.” House Speaker Christopher Rants, a republican from Sioux City, says the overall spending plan Vilsack outlined for the next 18 months is way too costly. “The first impression I have is that it’s a 10 percent increase in spending this year,” Rants says. “I’m not sure if Iowans are really anxious to have their government grow by 10 percent in one year.” “A 10 percent bump in one year is a lot of cash,” according to Rants.
Lions Eye Bank asks people to consider organ donation
It’s not a pleasant topic, but one expert says eyes are one of the easiest organs to salvage from a person who’s died and transplant into someone else to save their sight. Cindy Reed, director of the Iowa Lions Eye Bank at the University of Iowa says plenty of Iowans say they’d like to be organ donors if something happens to them, but just saying so isn’t enough. Reed says most people are familiar with checking off on their drivers license whether they want to be an organ donor, but in Iowa, “unfortunately, we didn’t connect all the dots” as just giving consent on that D-O-T form doesn’t clear the way for your organs, eyes and tissues to be donated. Reed says they’re working to correct the loophole but she says Iowans should talk to their loved ones about their wishes so they’ll know. She also says to go to the website, “www.iowadonornetwork.org” and sign up there to be a donor. Reed says the number of donors has fallen in recent years. Last year, there were 534 eye donors statewide, down from more than 600 donors in 2003. Reed says part of the reason for the drop is that they’re only notified when people die at a hospital. People aren’t going to hospitals to die as much as they used to, but are dying instead in assisted living facilities, nursing homes and in hospices — none of which are required to notify the organ donor network of the deaths. Reed says when family members don’t know about your wishes, if the worst should happen, your organs may be buried with you instead of helping several other people. She says it’s a tough thing to bring up with a family for the first time when they’re in a crisis. She says it’s a personel decision, and they want people to consider what they’d like to do. At last count, 364 Iowans were on a waiting list for organs, more than 87-thousand are waiting nationwide. Reed say there’s a false myth that organ donation is painful for the donor’s family. In fact, she says studies show that donation most often provides immediate and long-term consolation for grieving family members.
Iowa Guard members welcomed home with parade of fire trucks
Even for a welcome-home ceremony, this one was a special event. Monday evening Des Moines rush-hour traffic tangled with a cavalcade of firetrucks as they headed to Camp Dodge to welcome home members of a firefighting brigade from the Persian Gulf region. One was driven by firefighter and Des Moines fire-department spokesman Brian O’Keefe. He counted two fire chiefs in their cars, four firetrucks, four ambulances, the 132nd Air Guard and a “tech rescue rig.” They lit up Merle Hay Road, he said, waiting to merge onto the interstate and join buses arriving with troops from the 10-88th Personnel Personnel Services Detachment which provided administrative services, and the 767th which performed firefighting and emergency-response services during their active duty. O’Keefe says he went into a convenience store where people looked at him funny, so the firefighter said “You’re in no immediate danger,” laughed and left. He says firefighters also came with their ladder trucks and other gear from Ames, Ankeny, Altoona, Grimes, Johnston, Dallas Center and Radcliff for the welcoming ceremony, because most of the members of the 767th are also civilian firefighters. O’Keefe says he was in one of the two rigs that came out from a fulltime paid department — most of the returning soldiers work in civilian life with volunteer firefighting agencies. O’Keefe’s in the Iowa National Guard and did a rotation in Iraq himself that ended in 2003. O’Keefe says there’s some pride in escorting the soldiers home in a firetruck, admitting “you don’t get that kind of response driving a pest-control truck.”
Hawkeye leading scorer could face more legal trouble
Reports indicate Hawkeye basketball player Pierre Pierce (shown in above picture) may be in trouble with the law again. A woman in a West Des Moines condo called police Thursday evening to report a burglary, and sources indicate Pierce may be at the center of the investigation. Police say several items in the home were damaged, including bedroom furniture. Sources indicate police are also considering charges ranging from criminal mischief to false imprisonment and assault. Hawkeye coach Steve Alford appeared on his Learfield call-in program last night, and a fan asked about the situation.
The caller said he hoped Pierce was innocent after he’d been given a second chance. Alford said he went through the “personal rumor mill” this past fall. “I don’t take too much to rumors,” Alford said. “I think we gotta wait and see how things all fall out before we make any comments or the administration makes any comments, just find out exactly what’s going on and then we’ll figure out and go from there.” Pierce, a junior in eligibility, sat out of competition for a year after pleading guilty to assaulting a woman in Iowa City. Pierce had been accused of sexual assault, but pleaded guilty to assault causing injury. He is the team’s leading scorer this season.
