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Iowa National Guard: "Mission focused, warrior ready"-Johnson
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by David Johnson State Senator
After a very challenging year both at home and abroad in 2008, the Iowa National Guard can expect continuing call-ups in the future, Major General Ron Dardis told a joint session of the General Assembly last Wednesday in Des Moines.
Through our state's historic floods and tornadoes and the ongoing war against global terror, the Iowa Guard has met the challenges with flying colors, Dardis said in his sixth and last "Condition of the Guard" speech.
Dardis, who has led the 9,400-member state unit for the past 10 years, noted that the Iowa Guard has been at 100 percent strength for an unprecedented eight straight years. The adjutant general was repeatedly applauded by legislators as he gave special recognition to the accomplishments of many Guard men and women who filled one seating gallery overlooking the House of Representatives. More than half of current Guard members are combat veterans, he noted.
Iowa Guard members helped lead missions in Iraq, Afghanistan, the Balkans and Egypt; provided critical support services in the wake of last year's floods and the aftermath of deadly twisters; and were assigned to security duty at the presidential inauguration.
U.S. military forces are being reduced in Iraq, yet a troop build-up has begun in the Afghanistan theater and the war effort there is projected to last several more years. Dardis said the state and nation could see "significant numbers" of troops called up in the future, but he added he has no doubt the Guard will remain "mission-focused and warrior-ready."
Several members of the Iowa Legislature have served or are continuing to serve with the Guard. One of those is State Rep. Royd Chambers of Sheldon, who is currently stationed with the Iowa Air Guard at Manas Air Force Base in Kyrgyzstan, which borders Afghanistan. It is his third overseas deployment since being elected, but his first during session. He has shown great leadership in the Iowa House and great dedication to his family, school, church, community and political party.
Please join me in saluting all men and women who serve in the National Guard and all our armed forces and their families for their sacrifice and dedication to serve and protect us, both at home and abroad.
* Citizens deserve sunshine
As I write this before leaving the statehouse for the week and returning to northwest Iowa, history is repeating itself. Last year in the dead of night and out of view of the public, legislation that would upset the balance between public employees and their employers was shoved onto the House floor for debate.
They are at it again this week. The so-called "prevailing wage" bill was voted out of committee Monday night and now, three days later, awaiting debate in the Iowa House. If a vote is taken, it will not be in the sunshine of open government, your government. This legislation has serious implications for taxpayers who ultimately pay for public infrastructure projects-namely, high taxes because of inflated costs.
Here is what one business leader wrote regarding House Study Bill 149: if passed this bill "would make Iowa the first state to pass such legislation since Minnesota did it in 1973. Since then, nine states have repealed their respective prevailing wage laws . . . HSB 149 would increase the costs of construction projects, which would translate into increased property taxes. Moving forth with a prevailing wage will increase the burden for Iowa property taxpayers, putting additional burdens on people at the worst possible time."
And this from another constituent: "Our region and our state have many millions of dollars worth of infrastructure improvements that are desperately needed to be done, sooner than later. This bill does nothing but further delay the likelihood of the needed infrastructure improvements to ever be completed, improvements that would create jobs and help improve our economic competitiveness for years to come. Let's focus on getting the construction work completed first."
I will not be supporting this or other job-killing bills being pushed by the majority party.
* Legislative forums:
I will be attending the following public forums: Saturday, February 28, Eggs and Issues at 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. at the city council chamber, Spencer; Town Hall Meeting, 11:30 a.m.-1:00 p.m., Maritime Museum, Arnolds Park.
You can reach me in the Iowa Senate by calling and leaving a message at 515/281-3371 or by e-mail at david.johnson
@legis.state.ia.us.
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