The Vice President will be welcomed by an official welcome dinner in Des Moines, a tour of an Iowa farm, and an agricultural-related event at the World Food Prize headquarters. Xi will be accompanied by a Chinese delegation.

Xi has plans while in the United States to also meet with President Obama at the White House, as well as a stop in California.

HR 107 Agricultural Child Labor

HF 2101 Land Survey Corner Certificates

HF 2144 Transmission Facilities

HF 2166 Streamlined Sales Tax

HF 2168 Deposit Public Funds

HF 2169 National Guard Tax Exemption

Santorum had a 3 for 3 finish yesterday winning the Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado cacuses.

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Those who attend will hear from their local legislators and can ask questions. Senate Minority Leader Jerry Behn, R-Boone, and Rep. Ralph Watts, R-Adel, have been invited to speak.

Coffee and doughnuts will be provided. Those interested in attending should R.S.V.P. to the Waukee Area Chamber of Commerce or call 515-978-7115.

Termed the “Reagan Revolution”, his presidency reinvigorated American morale and reduced the people’s reliance upon government. Reagan is the oldest man elected to the office of the presidency at 69 years of age.

In his first inaugural address on January 20, 1981, which he wrote himself, he addressed the country’s economic malaise arguing: “In this present crisis, government is not the solution to our problems; government is the problem.”

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Appropriations to the Regents have been a roller-coaster ride over the past 10 years. For FY12 they saw a decrease of $20 million from $542 million to $522 million. The Governor has recommended increasing that by $20 million, back to $542. The Regents have requested a $40 million increase. Here is a complete picture of the last 5 years with a snapshot of 10 years and 20 years ago.

FY93
508,918,122

FY03
588,881,227

FY08
662,938,101

FY09
677,339,929

FY10
562,988,400

FY11
542,035,205

FY12
522,035,206

Tuition and fees at the University of Iowa for 2011/12 is $7,765.
Tuition and fees at Iowa State University for 2011/12 is $7,486.
Tuition and fees at the University of Northern Iowa for 2011/12 is $7,350.

Click on the the link for a look into a week with Rep. Rogers.

Our Budget Continues Our Commonsense Budget Approach
As I stated last week, there are three key budgeting principles that House Republicans will adhere to.

We will align ongoing spending with ongoing revenue. Iowans cannot afford a government that spends more money than it takes in. Anything less jeopardizes Iowa’s long-term economic health.

We will end the practice of using one-time money for ongoing expenses. This is not how
Iowans balance their own checkbooks at home and it’s not how House Republicans will balance the government checkbook.

We will not intentionally underfund entitlement programs. Promises made should be promises kept and House Republicans can best protect education and Medicaid by getting the budget under control.

As economic uncertainty continues throughout the country, it is imperative that we take a conservative approach to the budget in order to give stability to Iowa’s job creators. Controlling government spending by spending less than the government takes in demonstrates a commitment to commonsense budgeting and economic health that employers deserve. The best way to help Iowa’s employers is to keep control of government spending.

Our Plan Reflects Iowans’ Priorities
Our budget shows our commitment to listening to Iowans and digging deep into the budgets, with a line by line review of state spending. We will craft another government efficiency bill in order to cut out waste and find efficiencies.

With a modest and conservative one percent growth, House Republicans propose spending just 97 cents of each ongoing dollar of revenue. By comparison, the Republican budget spends $313 million less than Fiscal Year 2011, the Gov. Culver’s last budget. This is an efficient budget that funds Iowans’ priorities.

House Republicans’ budget will fund Iowans’ priorities including: education, public safety, health care, fully-funding property tax credits and preserving any ending balance by transferring it to the Taxpayers Trust Fund.

Taxpayers can no longer afford to carry the full burden for every state employee’s health insurance. Asking all employees, including state legislators, to contribute a reasonable $200 monthly payment towards their own health care is the right thing to do. More than 80 percent of state employees contribute nothing towards their health care. As we operate under the threat of the federal government eliminating money sent to Iowa, we should be prepared for the worst.

Setting our budget targets is the first step in the budgeting process. We will continue to work through the details, take our plan to Iowans and continue going line by line to save taxpayers money. The budget subcommittees will continue their work in each area, crafting a budget that funds Iowans’ priorities and creating an efficient and effective budget.

You can view the budget targets and the proposed balance sheet on my website at www.kraigpauslen.com

As we continue through this process, if you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at kraig.paulsen@legis.state.ia.us or (515) 281-3521.