Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Governor: Historic Opportunity to Improve Quality of Life; Be Fiscally Responsible
Governor Culver Presents First Budget to Iowa’s Legislature
(Des Moines) Today, in a joint session to the Iowa Legislature, Governor Chet Culver called on legislators to improve Iowans’ quality of life through increasing access to health care; lifting the ban on life-saving embryonic stem cell research; bringing jobs to Iowa by creating the Iowa Power Fund and improving our schools by bringing teacher pay to 25th in the country.
To achieve this, the Governor stressed the need to be fiscally responsible and resist the urge to use “gimmicks” to balance the budget.
“Iowa common sense is our best guide to budgeting,” said Governor Culver. “Simply put, we can’t spend more than we take in. We are expected to balance our checkbook and put money into savings the same way Iowans do. … We need to be guided by the actual numbers. They don’t lie. Smoke and mirrors, games and gimmicks, just don’t work.”
Governor Culver also explained that a key component to increasing Iowans’ quality of life and maintaining fiscal responsibility is to pass a $1 increase in the tobacco tax. He stressed that increasing the tobacco tax by $1 will cause fewer people to smoke. This will save lives and save taxpayer dollars by decreasing the amount of Medicaid funds spent on smoking-related illness.
“In an attempt to deliver on our promises and significantly increase access to quality health care for all Iowans, I am proposing an additional $140 million to meet our most immediate health care needs,” said Governor Culver. “And, I’ve identified, I believe, the only responsible way to pay for it. That’s why I am asking you to increase Iowa’s cigarette tax by one dollar per pack. This step will generate approximately 140 million dollars in new revenue the first year and save more than 17,000 lives.”
The key priorities the Governor focused on in his speech were:
- Teacher Pay: Bringing Iowa teacher pay to 25th in the country. Governor Culver proposed a $70 million appropriation for teacher salary increases in FY 2008, which is the largest single increase in teacher pay ever made in our state history.
- Power Fund: Creating a four-year, $100 million Iowa Power Fund. To jump start development of the Fund, Governor Culver asked for an immediate FY 2007 supplemental appropriation of $25 million.
- Health Care: Increase the tobacco tax by $1 and use the revenue to provide health insurance for more than 250,000 needy children, as well as for another 6,500 presently uninsured parents. In addition, the Governor called on the Legislature to lift the ban on embryonic stem cell research and provide $12.5 million in funding for a Center for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Iowa.