Iowa’s fiscal house is a mess and Governor Culver and his cohorts in the Democratically-controlled Iowa House and Senate have repeatedly ignored the problem and have, instead, pursued a path of spending and borrowing that are making the mess even worse.

Republicans have real solutions to help solve Iowa’s budget crisis and protect the very family budgets that will be at risk if bold action is not taken quickly. Here is what Republicans will do if Iowa voters give them the opportunity:

• Constitutional Limit on State Spending
• Supermajority Vote to Approve New State Debt
• Sunset Authorization of Every State Program

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With nearly 60% of Iowa’s state budget devoted to some form of education spending, Iowans have every right to expect an educational product that prepares our students for college and/or a career. Unfortunately, even though Iowa students averaged the second highest ACT scores in the nation, a whopping 71%1 of students who took the ACT in 2008/09 were not prepared for college and 50%2 of our graduates must take some form of remedial class work when they get to college.

Most Iowans are justifiably proud of their local public schools. However, we cannot let that pride blind us from the reality that the standards, expectations, and accountability measures that were good enough a decade ago, might no longer be good enough today.

In addition, we must never allow the level of spending on education to be the sole yard stick that measures our success. Our students, teachers, and parents deserve an educational system that aligns our educational products with the needs and demands of a changing world.

Republicans have real solutions to help ensure students and teachers achieve at higher levels while providing parents and taxpayers with greater transparency and accountability for their success. Here is what Republicans will do if Iowa voters give them the opportunity:

• Set Core Academic Standards and Empower Local Teaching Professionals
• Exit Exams for Graduating Students and Entrance Exams for New Teachers
• Parent and Taxpayer Right to Know Act

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Iowa Republicans are united in support of true health care reform! As the debate continues to rage in Washington, DC, Iowa Republicans are offering a set of bold, state-based initiatives to make health care more accessible, affordable, and portable.

Health care reform solutions need not come from Washington, DC. In fact, the best reforms are often those developed closest to the people. Iowans do not need to wait for national politicians to act. Instead, they can join with Iowa Republicans in pursuit of a set of common sense Iowa Health Care Initiatives and solve Iowa problems with Iowa solutions.

Here is what Republicans will do if Iowa voters give us the opportunity:

• Accessibility
  • Patients Right to Know Act
  • Low-Cost Catastrophic Health Plans for those Under 30
• Affordability
  • Medical Malpractice Reform
  • Expand Health Insurance Tax Deductibility to Individuals and Small Business
  • Prevention Credits: Putting a Premium on Wellness
• Portability
  • No Pre-Existing Exclusions when Changing Plans with the same Insurance Provider

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Iowa Republicans are united in support of reforming and opening state government. Government has a responsibility to make public how and where it spends taxpayer dollars. Additionally, Republicans believe government has a responsibility to make certain that information is accurate, easy to understand and delivered regularly.

Government reform cannot wait for another CIETC scandal or film office debacle to happen. It must be done now. Government has become too large too fast and it is time for a set of common sense Iowa Open Government Initiatives to solve Iowa problems with Iowa solutions.

Here is what Republicans will do if Iowa voters give us the opportunity:

• The Iowa Taxpayer Transparency Act
  • State Budget Database
  • Local Government Database
• Legislative Service Agency Department of Accountability and Analysis

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Iowa Republicans are united in support of returning to the notion that it is Iowans that run government, not the other way around. Since 2006, the final year in which Republicans controlled at least one chamber of the Legislature, Iowa’s government has become bloated and unresponsive. The focus has become on what is best for the bureaucracy and maintaining the status quo, rather than what is best for Iowa’s families.

As Iowans have seen numerous times over the past several years, government is erecting barricades in front of them instead removing roadblocks to their success. Government has become too large too fast and it is time to make sure government is accountable to Iowa’s families.

Here is what Republicans will do if Iowa voters give us the opportunity:

• Allow Iowans the Right to Vote on Marriage
• A Return to the Fundamentals of Government
• The Iowa Good Neighbor Act

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80,000 Iowans were out of work at the beginning of 2009. Currently, we’re approaching 115,000 Iowans out of work. In 2009, runaway state government passed budget-busting ideas and bonded its way into debt all in the name of “job creation”, only to end up with even more Iowans out of work.

Throwing taxpayer money at the problem didn’t work.

This year House Republicans have proposed a four-point plan for job growth:

• Create a favorable climate for job growth
• End the assault on employers
• Stop property tax increases headed for families and businesses
• Ensure tax credit reviews don’t result in tax increases

Click here to read the details