Raise Your Voice to Break Iowa Budget Deadlock

Call Governor Branstad TODAY at 515-281-5211 to urge compromise on cuts to education and job creation!

“Top Ten” items at stake:

1.   Our K-12 schools: Schools need 2 percent allowable growth.  Without it we are facing layoffs, larger class sizes, and reduced educational opportunities.

2.   Early education for four-year-olds: We need to fulfill our commitments to quality and access for all Iowa children, we should not cut funding and replace the current program with an inadequate voucher system that ignores quality and undermines access.

3.   Our public universities (UI, ISU, and UNI): We must maintain current funding, not make cuts that would force double-digit tuition increases on our students.

4.   Aid to private college students: It is important to maintain current funding; cutting $3.6 million from the Iowa Tuition Grant Program would take away support for Iowa students who qualify on a need basis for aid to attend private colleges.

5.   Community colleges: Making cuts would force huge tuition increases on Iowa students.

6.   Helping Iowans fill skilled job openings: Investing $10 million would take a successful job training pilot program statewide.  With this investment, Iowa’s community colleges could help unemployed and underemployed Iowans earn industry-recognized certificates to fill skilled worker shortages hampering Iowa businesses.

7.   Local workforce offices for the unemployed: In these economic times, we need to keep the current offices open to help the unemployed improve their skills and look for work, not cut many of the offices and “replace” them with a Web site.

8.   Iowa Values Fund for high-wage jobs: This successful program was created with strong bi-partisan support to help businesses create high-wage jobs in advanced manufacturing, informational technology, and biotechnology. In addition, this program provides essential job training at our Community Colleges and economic development at our Regent universities. We can not afford to shut the program down.

9.   Small business employee health insurance tax credits: A state tax credit to leverage federal tax incentives to help small businesses (with ten or fewer employees) provide health benefits for their employees has been proposed.  We need to truly support small business, not just pay them lip service.

10. Jumpstart local renewable energy jobs: We need to provide $10 million in consumer rebates to leverage existing federal tax credits which help homeowners and businesses install small wind and solar projects.  This means jobs for Iowa plumbers, contractors, electricians, and other small businesses.\

Call Governor Branstad at 515-281-5211 and tell him he needs to compromise to support education and job creation!

After you call, you can let us know how it went by sending us an email at SDinsdale@IowaCAN or calling 515-277-5077.