June 18, 2013

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House speaker clears way for Farm Bill vote

June 13, 2013 By

The Farm Bill now has a major backer, one who can clear the way for a vote in the U.S. House. House Speaker John Boehner  announced on Wednesday that he would support the legislation when it comes up for consideration in the House.

“I’ve got concerns about the Farm Bill, as I told our members,” Boehner said Wednesday during a news conference in Washington, D.C. “But doing nothing means we get no changes in the farm program, no changes in the nutrition program and as a result I’m going to vote for the Farm Bill to make sure that the good work of the Agriculture Committee…gets to a conference so that we can get the kind of changes that people want in our nutrition programs and our farm programs.”

Last year Boehner would not bring the Farm Bill up for a vote, and congress resorted to a one-year extension of the 2008 Farm Bill. Iowa Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, said Wednesday prior to Boehner’s announcement, that he would continue call for a vote on the House version of the Farm Bill.

“I have always been consistent in maintaining that the speaker has the responsibility to bring a bipartisan farm bill to the floor. A bill that passed in the last congress with an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the Senate. A bill that’s passed in this congress with an overwhelming bipartisan vote in the Senate, and a bill that is absolutely critical to Iowa’s economy,” Braley said.

Braley said he was in a wait and see mode on an actual vote. “It was supposed to be coming to the floor for a vote next week, but indications are that it could be pulled from the calendar due to lack of support on his (Boehner’s) side of the aisle,” Braley said. “We are all anxious to see it come to the floor and hopefully it will get a bipartisan vote so we can go to conference with the Senate.”

The Senate passed its version of the farm bill Monday with a 66-27 vote. Congressman Steve King, a Republican from Kiron, said one of the things that will have to be worked out between the Senate and House versions of the Farm Bill is the amount of cuts to food assistance or food stamp funding.

“With the House version we cut the nutritional side by 20-and-a-half-billion, so there’s 4-billion in the Senate versus 20-and-half in the House. They did only administrative cuts, we did program eligibility to try and keep the resources for the people that need it and deny it for the people that are gigging the system,” King said.

King said producers should be recognized for their willingness to give up direct payments in this version of the bill. “So they’re to be applauded for stepping up and taking that hit, I don’t know when that happens. That’s the big thing from this Farm Bill,” King says.

King says the balance in the new bill will save money and is the right direction for the future.

Woody Gottburg, KSCJ, Sioux City contributed to this story.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Activist filing complaints against NOM, Bob Vander Plaats & Rick Santorum (AUDIO)

June 12, 2013 By
Karger fills out complaint, with Megan Tooker of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board.

Karger fills out complaint, with Megan Tooker of the Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board.

A retired Republican political consultant from California was in Des Moines today to file an ethics complaint against a national group that helped bankroll campaigns against four Iowa Supreme Court justices who were up for retention.

The justices were targeted in the 2010 and 2012 elections because they joined the court’s unanimous 2009 ruling that paved the way for gay marriage in Iowa.

Fred Karger, a gay rights activist, alleges the National Organization for Marriage has violated Iowa law by failing to disclose its donors.

“They’re a crooked organization,” Karger told reporters today in Des Moines. “They defy the law willingly.”

Karger’s complaint charges that the National Organization for Marriage should have filed disclosure forms with the State of Iowa revealing the name of each donor who contributed more than $50.

“This has kind of been the cause I’ve taken up,” Karger said. “I probably should have taken up golf or something, but I decided to get active in this political arena for this side and I’ve always with candidates I’ve worked with believed in truth and transparency and I think it’s important that if people are going to participate in the process, they need to abide by state and federal laws and this National Organization for Marriage does not agree with that position.”

On Thursday Karger plans to be in Washington, D.C. to file a complaint with the Federal Election Commission. Karger charges the National Organization for Marriage “conspired” to put up a million dollars for the endorsement conservative activist Bob Vander Plaats gave Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum a few weeks before the 2012 Iowa Caucuses.

“The more I’ve been digging on that, the more evidence there is that there was money exchanged. I’m going to be releasing a statement tomorrow and some campaign reports that show the National Organization for Marriage paid $80,000 that they reported between their two organizations to Mr. Vander Plaats Family Leader and to his 501c3. I contend that was done in 2011, that that was the down payment of what was more money to come,” Karger said today. “…It’s highly unlikely that Bob Vander Plaats gave his endorsement for free to Rick Santorum.”

However, Karger alleges Santorum was a beneficiary of part of that million dollars, as many of the “major donors” to the National Organization for Marriage gave money to the political action committee Vander Plaats established to back Santorum’s candidacy. Karger told reporters in Des Moines that he will present documents to federal regulators that show the National Organization for Marriage and Rick Santorum “have been joined at the hip” for many years.

“There’s so many connections that I am confident the Federal Election (Commission) with its abilities will do a lot of digging and discourage this because this is one of the problems we have with these elections and nothing legal under the united case,” Karger said. “This is, again, done in the dark of night and in secret and I think I may have busted them.”

If the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board finds Karger’s complaint about the way the National Organization for Marriage participated in 2010 and 2012 Iowa judicial retention elections valid, the top penalty the board could levy is a $2000 civil penalty per violation. Karger acknowledged the other complaint he’ll file with federal officials on Thursday faces a tough road as the Federal Election Commission is made up of an equal number of Republicans and Democrats, so it’s likely one Republican would have to join with the Democrats to advance an investigation.

“I just think if Mr. Santorum is running again, which he clearly is, then he owes an explanation,” Karger said. “I think we need an explanation on this. If there were any illegal activities, we need to find out.”

Chuck Hurley, vice president of The Family Leader, issued a written statement.

“In considering the source (a  notorious attention-seeker) and motive of the false allegation, we won’t dignify it with any comment, except that the public record is clear, and we will respond if election officials request additional clarification,” Hurley said.

AUDIO of Karger meeting with Iowa Ethics & Campaign Disclosure Board executive director Megan Tooker, then speaking with reporters, runs 20:50

Link to section of Iowa Code Karger cites in Iowa complaint.

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Branstad to stage big bill signing ceremony in Hiawatha

June 12, 2013 By

Iowa’s Republican governor and legislators from both parties will gather later today to witness the signing of legislation that cuts taxes for property owners and income taxpayers.

The bill signing ceremony will be staged in Hiawatha, the home of Republican House Speaker Kraig Paulsen, and Governor Terry Branstad said it’s a way of giving Paulsen “credit” for his work on the tax package.

“He’s, I think, done a great job as speaker of the house. He’s been a really good ally for us to work with and without his leadership and his tenacity, I don’t think we would have gotten that accomplished,” Branstad said earlier this week. “Of course, we had to have the cooperation of Senator Gronstal and the other side, too, and we appreciate that.”

The governor has invited Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal to the event and Gronstal’s been invited to make a brief speech for the occasion, too.

“We are appreciative of Senator Gronstal and his leadership on the senate side,” Branstad said.

The bill includes a new tax credit for commercial property owners as well as a 10 percent roll-back of commercial property tax rates over the next two years. Property taxes on apartments and other “multi-residential” properties will eventually be cut in half. The legislation creates a new income tax credit that returns some of the state budget surplus to taxpayers. It’ll be worth about $60 next year. The already-existing earned income tax credit will be increased, a financial boost for low-income taxpayers.

Branstad has the authority to item veto portions of the bill, but he intends to approve “the entire bill.”

“This was a delicately worked out compromise that meets priorities of both the Republicans and the Democrats, both the House and the Senate,” Branstad said during his weekly news conference. “Most importantly, it’s going to reduce the tax burden for taxpayers in the state of Iowa — property tax and income tax. I think it’s a win-win for everybody. I’m honored and proud to sign it.”

Branstad told reporters on Monday that Paulsen asked for the bill-signing ceremony to be staged in Hiawatha. Paulsen is considering a run for congress in 2014. Branstad is likely to seek reelection next year, too, and taking this event on the road “is what it is,” according to the governor.

“You know, there’s a lot of people in eastern Iowa, so it doesn’t hurt to do some things in that part of the state as well,” Branstad said.

Gronstal — the top Democrat in the Iowa Senate — is considering a run for governor in 2014, so two candidates for governor may be sharing the limelight later today. The event will be staged early this afternoon at Hawkeye Ready-Mix, a company that provides concrete for homeowners, businesses and road construction crews.

Filed Under: News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , , ,

Grassley says Senate farm bill has some “positive changes”

June 11, 2013 By

The U.S. Senate passed a five-year, 500-billion dollar farm bill last night and forwarded the legislation on to the House. Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says the wide-ranging bill is “a step in the right direction” with what he says are “responsible” payment limits on the commodity program.

Grassley says, “I would summarize it this way: saving $23-billion, doing away with direct payments, keeping crop insurance pretty much like it is, setting too high a target price for peanuts and rice, still had target prices for corn, soybeans and wheat but so low that they’ll probably never be used.”

The farm and nutrition bill passed the Senate on a 66-27 vote. Grassley offers talked about other details of what’s included in the bill.

“Saving some money on food stamps but less than half of one-percent of the total money that’s spent on food stamps,” Grassley says. “It has my payment limits in it and a definition of who is a farmer and who isn’t a farmer so non-farmers don’t collect payments.”

Grassley, a Republican, says he hopes members of the House take note of the reforms in the Senate-passed bill and sees the “positive changes” senators made to the farm payment system. Grassley says, “Probably the biggest difference between the bill that came out of the House Agriculture Committee and what we passed last night would be more savings in food stamps in the House bill than what’s in the Senate bill.”

Provisions included in the bill are nearly identical to legislation Grassley introduced earlier this year to place a hard cap on farm payments an individual farmer can receive in a year. He says the measure also aims to close long-abused and well-documented loopholes in the farm payment program.

Filed Under: Agriculture, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Sioux City talk show host running for the U.S. Senate

June 10, 2013 By
Sam Clovis

Sam Clovis

A talk show host on a Sioux City radio station signed off the air for the last time late this morning, then he appeared before a crowd of supporters tonight to make this announcement: ”No reason to keep up the suspense. I’m Sam Clovis and I’m running for the United States Senate.”

Clovis joins two other Republicans who are running for the senate seat Democrat Tom Harkin has held since 1984. Harkin announced in January he would not seek reelection in 2014. 

During an interview tonight with Radio Iowa, Clovis said he made the decision to run after Republican “rock stars” like Congressmen Steve King and Tom Latham didn’t.

“I was concerned that we were going to get ‘more of the same,’” Clovis said, “and I’m not being critical of anybody, it’s just that in this part of the state and across most of the grassroots parts of the state people are tired of the establishment and establishment-like candidates and I think they were looking for somebody different.”

Clovis, who is 63 years old, lives in Hinton and is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel who flew fighter jets. Clovis described his new mission as trying to flip “politics as usual” on its head.

“I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t think I would win it because I’m too old and too cantankerous to sit here and waste my time doing something just to feel good,” Clovis told Radio Iowa. “I’m doing this because I think I can win and I think I can make a difference.”

Clovis described himself as a constitutional, “four-square” conservative.

“I’ll call out the leadership on either party,” Clovis told the crowd tonight in Sioux City. “…I just believe that we have come to the point where someone has to draw the line.”

Clovis supports the so-called “Fair Tax” which would get rid of the individual income tax and replace it with a federal sales tax.

“I believe in fiscal conservatism,” Clovis said during his speech in Sioux City. “We need to freeze spending. Not another nickel until the revenues that come into the government exceed the ones that we have.”

Clovis has been a professor in the business and economics department at Morningside College in Sioux City, but he was granted a sabbatical for the coming academic year before he even thought about running for the Senate. Clovis has hosted a radio talk show on KSCJ AM for the past three and a half years.

 Woody Gottburg of KSCJ in Sioux City also contributed to this story.  Photo provided by Clovis campaign.

Filed Under: Featured Story, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: , , ,

Governor turns down 7 commutation requests

June 10, 2013 By

Governor Terry Branstad has turned down applications from seven Iowa inmates to commute their prison sentences — including three who are serving life. The governor turned down the request to commute the sentences of 52-year-old Leonard Gregory and 67-year-old Robert Kern — both are serving life for first-degree murder convictions.

Gregory was sentenced for a crime committed in January of 1981 in Jackson County, while Kern committed his crime in April of 1979 in Cedar County. The third request to commute a life sentence came from 60-year-old Michael Lang, who is serving his sentence for first-degree kidnapping in a Woodbury County case in 1988.

The other requests involved 42-year-old Bryan Jasa, serving 55-years for attempted murder, first-degree robbery and assault in Woodbury County in 1996; 35-year-old Fotunato Lira Junior is serving 65 years for first-degree robbery, voluntary manslaughter and other charges in Scott County in 1997; 42-year-old Ricardo McGlothin, serving 50 years for second-degree murder in 2002 in Davis County; and 30-year-old Paul Quigley, serving a 25-year sentence for second-degree sexual abuse in 2000 in Muscatine County.

Filed Under: Crime & Courts, News, Politics & Government Tagged With: ,

Branstad likely to approve tax dollars for Food Bank of Iowa (AUDIO)

June 10, 2013 By

Governor Terry Branstad rejected the idea of sending state tax dollars to the Food Bank of Iowa last year, but Branstad says he is “much more likely” to approve a $1 million state appropriation this year.

“This year, unlike last year, it’s a one-time appropriation and it’s to be matched by at least as much in private sector contributions,” Branstad says.

Last year Branstad rejected the legislature’s plan to send the Food Bank of Iowa $500,000, saying “private donations are the best way to support the Food Bank.”

Branstad invited the executive director of the Food Bank of Iowa to his office this morning to tout a food drive that will culminate over the 4th of July holiday. Carey Miller of the Food Bank of Iowa said hunger is prevalent in Iowa.

“Today, more than 408,000 Iowans — one in eight — are food insecure, meaning they do not have the means to obtain adequate food to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle,” she said. “What’s even more alarming is that one in five children do not have enough to eat.”

The “Yankee Doodle Food Drive” is underway and Iowans can drop their food donations off at any of the 38 Bank of the West location in Iowa. Jodi Beller is a senior vice president and regional manager for Bank of the West.

“Particular needs that we have are high-protein items such as canned meats, tuna fish, peanut butter and 100 percent fruit juices,” she said during the news conference.

The Yankee Doodle Food Drive will end July 3 when the Des Moines Symphony performs its annual concert on the steps of the statehouse, with an audience of more than 100,000.  Margie Hawks works for Dahl’s Foods, which has 13 grocery stores in the Des Moines area that are also serving as drop-off sites for Food Bank donations.

“School is not in session and so the need actually increases because children are not getting breakfast and lunch at school,” Hawks said during the news conference.

Food Bank of Iowa staff says for every dollar donated, they can provide four-and-a-half meals. That means the state appropriation is likely to provide 4.5 million meals to needy Iowans.

AUDIO of governor’s weekly news conference, runs 26:50

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