Chapter staff and volunteers have been working very hard on the Kuhn/Frevert
CAFO bill -- HF873. There have been many hurdles with this bill.
I'm forwarding Ed Fallon's message today because he discusses HF873. There
is also information included about the VOICE (voter owned Iowa clean
elections) bill that has faced hurdles of its own.
Legislator information is included at the end of the message. Please take a
few minutes to contact these folks and let them know you support HF873.
Neila Seaman, MPA
Director
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter
3839 Merle Hay Road, Suite 280
Des Moines, IA 50310
[log in to unmask]
515-277-8868
From: Ed Fallon <[log in to unmask]>
To: Neila Seaman <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: IT'S TIME TO TAKE ACTION!
Date: Fri, 23 Mar 2007 09:34:25 -0500
Dear Friends,
Despite overwhelming support from citizens and community leaders, two of the
most important pieces of legislation of the 2007 session are on life support
at the Statehouse. HF 805 (SF 553), the Voter-Owned Iowa Clean Elections
law (VOICE), and HF 873, a bill regulating CAFOs, have seen steady progress
but now face strong opposition.
The VOICE bill is in an Appropriations sub-committee comprised of Rep. Dave
Jacoby (D-chair), Rep. Jo Oldson (D) and Rep. Dwayne Alons (R). It will
come up for a vote in that committee either next Tuesday (3/27) or Wednesday
(3/28). If passed, it then goes to the full committee and becomes
“funnel-proof.” That means the likelihood for debate on the floor of the
House increases. However, we learned yesterday that the Appropriations
sub-committee plans to “kill” the bill, at the request of leadership.
The same kind of situation exists for the CAFO bill (HF 873). It seems the
bill has been sent to a sub-committee with instructions from leadership to
“kill” it. Members of that committee are Mike Reasoner (D-chair), Delores
Mertz (D), Helen Miller (D), Jack Drake (R) and Steve Olson (R).
Adam Mason of CCI and I (Lynn Heuss) have lobbied at the Capitol on several
occasions. It is, at times, satisfying work and at other times
exasperating. Yesterday’s lobbying expedition fits into the exasperating
category. BUT – we’re not giving up, and neither should you!
Some of the good things that have happened this week:
•On Wednesday, Ed Fallon met with former Governor Tom Vilsack, who offered
to help encourage support for HF 805 (VOICE). Ed also met with Governor
Culver last week, who agreed to call a few lawmakers to encourage their
support of the bill.
•Senator John Edwards was in Des Moines this Tuesday and met with House
Democrats. He addressed several important issues, including campaign
finance reform.
•Many community leaders who donate significantly to Democratic campaigns are
signing on to support passage of HF 805.
•Former congressmen Berkley Bedell (D) and Jim Leach (R) are collaborating
on a joint letter in support of HF 805.
•In our lobbying efforts, Adam and I met with several House Republicans, and
some said they will consider supporting the bill.
•The coalition of citizens groups working to better regulate CAFOs is
running full-page ads in targeted newspapers across Iowa to bring attention
to HF 873.
•This coalition has also hired four lobbyists, who continue to pressure
lawmakers to support HF 873.
Three Democratic House members – Pam Jochum, Mark Kuhn and Marcie Frevert –
have been working tirelessly to advocate for these bills. But they can’t do
it alone. We must join the fight.
We need to inundate with calls and e-mails the legislative leaders who
control the fate of these two bills. Please call or write. If your
representative isn’t on one of the sub-committees, you can still call or
write Rep. Pat Murphy (House Speaker), Rep. Kevin McCarthy (House Majority
Leader) or Senator Mike Gronstal (Senate Majority Leader). Everyone needs
to contact those three leaders, and if you are in a district represented by
any of the lawmakers listed below, please let them know you support these
bills. Then ask everyone else you know to do the same!
It’s time to clean up our air, our water and our elections. Thanks in
advance for your help.
Lynn Heuss
VOICE – HF 805 CAFO Regulation – HF 873
Appropriations Sub-Committee Agriculture Sub-Committee
Rep. Dave Jacoby (D) Rep. Mike Reasoner (D)
House District 30 -- Johnson County House District 95 – Union County
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Home Telephone: 319-358-8538 Home Telephone: 641-782-2693
Rep. Jo Oldson (D) Dolores Mertz (D)
House District 61 -- Polk County House District 8 – Kossuth County
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Home Telephone: 515-255-2805 Home Telephone: 515-887-2952
Rep. Dwayne Alons (R) Rep. Helen Miller (D)
House District 4 -- Sioux County House District 49 - Webster County
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Home Telephone: 712-439-2479
Rep. Jack Drake (R)
House District 57 -- Pottawattamie
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Home Telephone: 712-784-3538
Rep. Steve Olson (R)
House District 83 – Clinton County
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Home Telephone: 563-659-9096
Speaker of the House
Rep. Pat Murphy (D)
House District 28 – Dubuque County
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Home Telephone: (563) 582-5922
House Telephone: (515) 281-5566
House Majority Leader
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D)
House District 67 – Polk County
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Home Telephone: (515) 953-5221
House Telephone: (515) 281-7497
Senate Majority Leader
Senator Mike Gronstal (D)
Senate District 50 -- Pottawattamie
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Home Telephone: (712) 328-2808
Business Telephone: (515) 281-3901
House Switchboard to reach all State Representatives: (515) 281-3221
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