Re-FUEL Act establishes grant program to promote domestic fuel sources, provide choices at the pump

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he introduced legislation that would establish a grant program through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to invest in renewable and alternative fuel infrastructure. The Renewable Fuel Utilization, Expansion and Leadership (Re-FUEL) Act (HR 4051) will help create new and retrofit existing infrastructure, including pumps for biofuels and hydrogen, tanks, piping and electric vehicle chargers. The legislation is paid for and does not add to the deficit.

"I believe in making things in America and there is no reason our fuel sources shouldn't be made here as well. It's also important that consumers are able to choose where their fuel source comes from when they go to fill up. Too often, infrastructure constraints are cited as the reason for not giving consumers the choices they deserve. This holds back the development of our renewable and alternative energy sources that create jobs in Iowa and across the country.

"The Re-FUEL Act will help bridge that divide by making important investments in the infrastructure needed to provide consumers with choices at the pump. We must do more to decrease our dependence on foreign oil, expand our use of renewable energy sources that boost economic development in our rural areas, and promote homegrown fuel sources such as biofuels and wind power."

For additional details about the Re-FUEL Act, click here for the one-pager.

For the text of the legislation, click here.

By now, it has become apparent to academics, administrators, parents and teachers that, in general, boys are underperforming in school, says Edmond J. Dixon, Ph.D, a veteran educator and international expert who offers enhanced teaching techniques for boys.

And it may get worse, he says.

It will take some creativity to teach some elements of Common Core, the educational initiative set to be implemented throughout most of the United States, in a way that's conducive to how most boys best learn, Dixon says.

Common Core has been criticized by educators and other experts as demanding standards that are static, arbitrary and generally antithetical to creativity and innovation. Yet initial results in Kentucky, the first state to use the program, have been positive. The state's graduation rate increased 6 percent from 2010 to 2013, and the percentage of college-ready students increased 20 percent.

"Any parent or teacher who wants a boy to be successful with Common Core must understand two crucial ideas: motivated engagement and discretionary effort," says Dixon, who has more than three decades experience as a teacher, is a parent of boys, and is the author of "Helping Boys Learn: Six Secrets for Your Son's Success in School," (HelpingBoysLearn.com), which features tailored editions for parents and teachers.

Because the new curriculum is designed to improve critical thinking, which requires a deep understanding of the material, boys must be both motivated and deeply engaged to learn, he says. That's what it will take for them to independently put in the necessary hard work involved in learning - discretionary effort - without nagging, he says.

"Only by doing this will they be able to meet the new learning requirements; we are already seeing the negative consequences of not doing this with boys, and I fear it will just get worse," says Dixon, adding that his approach inspires a boy's motivated engagement.

He offers two real-life examples that reveal volumes about how the male brain works:

•   Boys need a worthy challenge: Larry Bird and "Magic" Johnson, both NBA greats, who have also become great friends, are eager to talk about their former rivalry. Both say that they simply would not have had the same legendary career without that individual competition; it made them better. When Johnson left the NBA, Bird said he just wasn't as interested in the game.

The male brain responds to a challenge it deem worthy. A student, who daydreams during algebra class and appears lazy, may also pour attention and effort into mastering a skateboarding trick. Constructing a challenge for the male student will do wonders to engage his learning.

•   Boys crave legitimacy. Think about all the colleges in the United States; now imagine trying to craft an NFL playoff-style system that fairly selects the No.1 college football team. Does it seem impossible? Aren't there too many teams?

The NCAA has been trying to figure out a system for establishing a legitimate No. 1 team for decades, and it's finally going to implement one next season. Whether or not it'll work, the effort put into such an endeavor has been considerable. Why so much time and energy for a game?

Because the male brain craves legitimacy; boys will only agree that something is meaningful or valuable if there is a valid process for establishing that value. In the classroom, helping boys understand why and how learning a concept, skill or calculation has value for them will go a long way toward motivating them to learn.

About Dr. Edmond J. Dixon

A pioneer in the field of cognitive-kinesthetics for learning, Edmond J. Dixon, Ph.D., is a human development specialist with more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, administrator, writer, researcher - and parent of boys. He is the founder of the KEEN Differentiated Learning Group, an organization dedicated to helping struggling learners, and the creator of KEEN 5X, a series of strategies for classroom engagement and learning that were have been used with more than 50,000 students and teachers. His previous books, "KEEN For Learning" and "Literacy Through Drama," have been used by educators to improve classroom learning. A dynamic and popular presenter, he has spoken throughout North America on education and human development topics. 

Growing up, my family struggled to make ends meet.  My grandmother relied on Social Security survivors' benefits to care for my siblings and me.  I know first-hand the importance of maintaining this promise of retirement security and wanted to update you on the work I am doing to protect Social Security. As the President begins to craft his budget proposal for 2015, I am urging him to keep a move to what's known as "chained CPI" out of his plan. This move, used to calculate annual Cost of Living Adjustments (COLAs), would have a negative effect on Iowa's seniors.  This is particularly unacceptable after several years of historically low COLAs.

No Iowan should ever retire into poverty or have to make the choice between putting food on the table and paying their bills. That's why I have long worked to strengthen and improve Social Security to ensure that Iowans who played by the rules, paid into the system, and worked hard get their earned benefits.

I am leading the fight against a move to a "chained CPI" to calculate the yearly COLA for seniors.  This change, as you know, would cause a permanent, across the board cut to both current and future seniors and I will continue to fight against it.  Seniors did not get us into the financial situation we are in now and should not be punished for it. We must not balance the budget on the backs of the most vulnerable, and that's why I am fighting so hard to keep the "chained CPI" out of the budget for 2015.

Sincerely,

 
Dave Loebsack
Iowa's Second District

ROCK ISLAND, IL (02/11/2014)(readMedia)-- Online voting continues until Feb. 15 for the People's Choice Award in Augustana College's Good Fit T-shirt Photo Contest, where potential first-year students are eligible to win one of five $1,000 scholarships to Augustana. For their photos, students must wear an Augustana T-shirt.

Abigail Wieland, from Rock Island, Ill. Wieland is a senior at Rock Island High School and submitted a photo in the Famous Location category.

Alaina Hofmann, from Moline, Ill. Hofmann is a senior at Moline Senior High School and submitted a photo in the Action Shot category.

Brock McNinch, from Moline, Ill. McNinch is a senior at Moline Senior High School and submitted a photo in the Famous Location, Another College, and Action Shot category.

Darien Bardoner, from Sterling, Ill. Bardoner is a senior at Sterling High School and submitted a photo in the Action Shot category.

Elizabeth Wieland, from Rock Island, Ill. Wieland is a senior at Rock Island High School and submitted a photo in the Famous Location category.

Jacob Barr, from Moline, Ill. Barr is a senior at Moline Senior High School and submitted a photo in the With An Alum, Another College, Action Shot, and Famous Location category.

Nicholas Niles, from Rock Island, Ill. Niles is a senior at Rock Island High School and submitted a photo in the Action Shot category.

Rhiannon Parvin, from Sterling, Ill. Parvin is a senior at Sterling High School and submitted a photo in the With An Alum category.

Go to www.augustana.edu/Goodfit and check out the creative photos and clever captions and cast a vote for your favorite. In addition to the People's Choice Award, other categories in the photo contest include : action shot, in a famous location, at another college and with an alumnus.

The Good Fit T-Shirt competition is a fun way Augustana can get to know the potential members of its incoming class while spreading the word about Augustana College at the same time.

"It's a way to get Augustana's name out in cyber-world as students share their photos and ask others to vote," said Meghan Cooley, director of recruitment communications and a 1999 Augustana graduate. "In some ways, it's like a global billboard as we have photos of students wearing their Augustana T-shirts in their hometowns, on the campuses of our biggest rivals and literally across the globe."

Founded in 1860, Augustana College is a selective four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences. Augustana College is recognized for the innovative program Augie Choice, which provides each student up to $2,000 to pursue a high-impact learning experience such as study abroad, an internship or research with a professor. Current students and alumni include 146 Academic All-Americans, a Nobel laureate, 13 college presidents and other distinguished leaders. The college enrolls 2,500 students and is located along one of the world's most important waterways, the Mississippi River, in a community that reflects the diversity of the United States.