Gov Terry Branstad talked to and with voters at a town hall meeting Oct. 20 at Pizza Ranch in Jefferson. It was his third official visit to the county this year – he toured Power Lift in Jefferson last February and was a special guest at the opening of Wild Rose Casino in August.
He spent the first 20 minutes or so talking about what he sees as accomplishments during his second tenure as governor: a more fiscally responsible financial plan for the future of Iowa; education reform in the Teacher Leadership and Compensation program with a standing appropriation and renewed effort in teaching science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); a property tax cut for commercial property and a standing appropriation to fund tax credits; the Healthiest State initiative; a decrease in unemployment; the Home Base Iowa initiative; the Partnership for Economic Progress to study infrastructure needs; the Future Ready Iowa program to align the efforts of schools toward job readiness; and a decrease in college tuition costs and student debt.
He then opened the floor for questions.
The first question came from the Rev Julie Poulsen of First United Methodist Church in Jefferson. She questioned the state’s mental health re-design, particularly as it deals with a dual diagnosis of substance abuse and mental illness with the closing of the state facility in Mount Pleasant.
Branstad did not answer specific to dual diagnosis cases, but said that with the shift from county-by-county funding to more regional providers “is working pretty well. We’re getting better services provided and closer to home.” He said the facilities that were closed did not have enough psychiatrists on staff and they weren’t accredited. Facilities in Independence and Cherokee are still open, and the state has expanded other services. “We believe this is going to provide better and more uniform services,” he said.
Guy Richardson asked the governor about his thoughts on the Clean Power Plan, which sets limits for carbon dioxide emissions in steam electric and natural gas fired power plants. Branstad said he would like to see standards for emission reduction to consider improvement since 1983. Iowa was the first state to have an incentive for renewable electric energy, and now up to 28.5 percent of Iowa’s electricity is generated by wind. MidAmerica Energy plans to do more if the federal tax credit for wind energy is extended, he said. “I think Iowa, if we’re treated fairly by the EPA in this process, is well positioned to lead the whole country,” he said. “I think we’re doing the right thing, things that aren’t going to drive up the cost. Wind energy can be produced for less than natural gas or coal.”
To a question by Rick Morain about a proposal to provide funds to parents who home school their children or send them to non-public school, Branstad answered that while he supports parents’ right to non-public education, the state shouldn’t subsidize that. “The lion’s share of our money goes to K-12 public education,” he said. About $3 billion of the state’s $7 billion budget goes to K-12 public education. He noted that the Student Tuition Organization accepts donations and then disburses the money to families below 300 percent of the poverty rate who want to send their children to non-public schools. The state has made $12 million in tax credits available for donations to the STO – Branstad personally donates to it, and he added that his own children attended Catholic schools.
Chuck Offenburger asked about the future Iowa Next, a proposal to the 2015 legislature that would have created a $26 million fund to invest in local and regional quality of life projects that support cultural, natural and recreational community enhancement. Those efforts are in place in other programs, but Iowa Next would have combined them so funding priorities could be set. The statewide grant program would be administered by the Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs in coordination with the Iowa Economic Development Authority, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and Iowa Department of Transportation. Iowa Next was not acted upon in 2015. Branstad said he still thinks it’s a good idea, but that it would be a challenge. “With the limited resources we have available to help with those kinds of projects, having all the agencies have some input would be good. The concept isn’t dead, but I’ve found that innovative concepts take multiple years,” he said.
To a question about the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement, and whether the lack of support for it from Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders indicates a lack of understanding about Iowa agriculture, Branstad said he thinks it’s an important issue for Iowa. The Trans Pacific Trade Agreement could benefit Iowa farmers a lot. He said Republicans joined with President Obama to get the trade promotion authority approved by the Congress. “It’s one of the president’s priorities, but it’s one of the few areas were Republicans said ‘this makes sense because it will help grow our economy and create more jobs here in the United States.’ I believe it makes sense. I think Hillary Clinton should know better and I think she does, but I think she’s made the decision [not to support the agreement] for purely political reasons.”
George Naylor followed up with a question about the TPP and why a conservative politician like Branstad would brag about his friendship with the president of China (see post under the News tab), and support the TPP that would ultimately encourage farmers to plant fence row to fence row to compete with farmers in Brazil who are destroying the environment. Branstand defended he relationship with Xi Jinping. “We treat all visitors well. I didn’t have any idea on April 29, 1985, when a young man leading an agriculture delegation from our Sister State in China came to my office, that he’d one day be the president of China. We treated him the same we do any visitor who comes to the state of Iowa,” Branstad said. “Xi Jinping was very impressed with the friendliness and hospitality of Iowa.”
“Our system is different from his. I don’t agree with his policies on a lot of things, but they are 1.3 billion people. They purchase more soybeans than any other country in the world and they’re purchasing a lot of pork from us. They’re a trading partner,” Branstad continued. “My responsibility as governor is not foreign policy. That’s the federal government’s responsibility. My responsibility is to try to build friendships around the world in a way that’s going to help create jobs and grow the Iowa economy.”
The final question came from MeLinda Madison-Millard and asked for a plan of action to keep law enforcement officers safe. Branstad said every citizen needs to do his or her part and be vigilant in recognizing dangerous situations and reporting them so police officers aren’t ambushed.
