Wednesday, August 6, 2008
LeMars, Sioux Center, Little Rock, Ashton
I began my day today talking with folks in LeMars at one of a Café Stops at Lally’s East Side Restaurant. I met up with my good friend Mike Mullally, who has owned Lally’s for years. I also had a chance to meet a number of Plymouth County residents. I spoke with Denice Kolker, a special education teacher at North Middle School in Sioux City. Denice expressed her hope for adequate funding for IDEA, which helps students with disabilities get the public education they have a right to. I have led the fight in Congress to ensure the federal government meets its commitment to fund 40 percent of the IDEA.
We also had the opportunity to discuss the ADA Amendments Act, which I recently introduced in the Senate. For years, the Supreme Court has been eroding the protections laid out in the original Americans with Disabilities Act. This bill is meant to strengthen and improve the original protections of the ADA, and has bi-partisan support in the Senate. In fact, 63 senators have co-sponsored this bill, and it has garnered the support of organizations such as the US Chamber of Commerce.
After that I made my way to Sioux Center, where I visited the newly-opened Greater Sioux Community Health Center. Nancy Dykstra, the Executive Director, along with members of the Board, gave me a tour of the new facility and spoke to me about the importance of continued funding for this facility. During my time in the Senate, one of my top priorities has been adequately funding Iowa’s Community Health Centers (CHC). In 2008 I was able to secure $100,000 for renovations and equipment in the dental office. In the upcoming Fiscal Year 2009 Budget, I included an additional $100,000 for the Center. I have no higher priority in Congress than continuing this funding, and I have committed to supporting the Greater Sioux Community Health Center’s efforts to be designated as a federal CHC, which would guarantee annual federal funding.
My next stop was at the George-Little Rock Middle School in Little Rock. In 2005, GLR received a $500,000 Harkin School Construction Grant. The School Construction Grants are intended to show that a modest infusion of federal resources can significantly contribute to the repair needs of schools across the state. Since the beginning of this program, I have secured more than $120 million to repair and modernize schools in 295 districts. With this money, GLR was able to build a new multi-purpose room, a special education classroom, and a new kitchen.
My last stop of the day was at Poet Biorefining in Ashton. In June of this year, this plant received the Energy Star Award from the EPA for emission reductions. The Energy Star award recognizes projects that reduce emissions and use at least five percent less fuel. The EPA estimates that the CO2 savings from this system is equivalent to removing the annual emissions from 3,100 cars or planting 3,900 acres of forest. I was very excited to learn about all the great things this locally owned company was doing and how they were helping to clean up the environment and lessen their impact.
As the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, I worked tirelessly this year to pass a new Farm Bill – The Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 – which invests over $1 billion to promote renewable and alternative energy around the country, including supports for advanced bio-refineries such as those being developed by POET.
