06 Jan 2011

Lafarge Wins Grand Prize Award from MSHA for its Eye Glass Safety Awareness Video

By Joëlle Lipski-Rockwood
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Davenport, Iowa - January 5, 2011- Lafarge North America recently was recognized by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at its annual "Training Resources Applied to Mining" (TRAM) Conference held at the MSHA training academy in Beckley, WV.  Lafarge, not only received the first place prize in the Best CD's & DVD's Training for Industry award for their "Safety Glasses Save Lives - The Adam Oliver Story" video, but that same video captured the highest level of recognition by winning the Grand Prize for the best overall resource.  The video described the story and the lessons learned from a real-life incident that happened to Adam Oliver, a Lafarge employee, at its Davenport, Iowa Cement Plant.

"The video did well for the simple reason that it hits close to home.  All incidents are preventable. And, as this video portrays, wearing your Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) can save your life," said Dan Thompson, Regional Safety Director for Lafarge's River Business Unit.  "People can relate to this because it's not a hypothetical situation.  It is a real life story told by one of our own," continued Thompson.

"My experience was life changing. I decided to do this video to let my experience become life changing for others, without having them get hurt," said Adam Oliver, Raw Mix Coordinator at the Davenport Cement plant.  "I am excited the video won these awards, but I am more proud of the fact the video is reaching out and potentially preventing the next incident. Safety is such a big part of the culture at Lafarge. I know it is the top priority and we must continue to instill this culture into everyone in the industry, in order to prevent future incidents from happening," added Oliver.

MSHA's 15th annual conference gathers representatives from the mining community, including participants from academia, states programs, and coal, metal and non-metal mining industries, to share ideas and training around health and safety.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Lafarge Group is the world leader in building materials, with top-ranking positions in all of its businesses: Cement, Aggregates & Concrete and Gypsum. With 78,000 employees in 78 countries, the Group posted sales of 15.9 billion Euros in 2009. Lafarge North America Inc. ("Lafarge North America" or "Lafarge"), a Lafarge Group company, is the largest diversified supplier of construction materials in the United States and Canada.

In 2010 and for the sixth year in a row, the Lafarge Group was listed in the "Global 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World". With the world's leading building materials research facility, the Lafarge Group places innovation at the heart of its priorities, working for sustainable construction and architectural creativity.

For more information about Lafarge North America, go to www.lafarge-na.com

03 Jan 2011

Governor Quinn Signs Legislation to Continue Pension System Reforms

By Andrew Mason
New Laws will Help Preserve Benefits, Save Taxpayer Dollars
CHICAGO - December 30, 2010. Governor Pat Quinn today signed legislation that will help further stabilize pension systems for law enforcement officers and firefighters throughout Illinois, while protecting their retirement benefits.
"Firefighters and police officers put their lives on the line each and every day to keep us safe," said Governor Quinn. "These men and women who serve so selflessly must continue to have access to quality pension benefits that are also affordable for municipalities throughout the state. I would like to thank the Illinois General Assembly for their broad bi-partisan support in passing this critical legislation."
Senate Bill 3538, sponsored by Sen. Terry Link (D-Waukegan) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (D-Orland Park), is an important step toward stabilizing pension systems for police officers, sheriffs' employees and firefighters. The new law makes changes to pension requirements for individuals hired on or after Jan. 1, 2011.
Some reforms under the law include : a normal retirement age of 55 with 10 or more years of service; and an early retirement age of 50 with 10 or more years of service and with a 0.5 percent reduction for each month the pensioner's age is under 55. Other changes include : the maximum pension of 75 percent of an individual's average salary; the pensionable salary maximum will be capped at $106,800, with annual increases as outlined in the law; and monthly cost-of-living adjustments will begin at age 60 for retirees and survivors, and will be either 3 percent or one-half of the urban consumer price index, whichever is less.
As cities and towns throughout the state struggle to recover from the effects of the nation's economic recession, municipalities face the increased challenge of funding pensions. The changes made under Senate Bill 3538 will help ease that burden. The legislation will stabilize municipal pension systems, protect current municipal employees and provide attractive pension benefits to future police, sheriff's employees and firefighters.
Today Governor Quinn also signed Senate Bill 550, sponsored by Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) and Rep. McCarthy. The technical law will enable public employee retirement systems to administer the two-tier pension system Governor Quinn signed into law during the spring.
This past spring, Governor Quinn signed Senate Bill 1946 into law. The law was a historic pension reform which will help save Illinois taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars while preserving public employee pension benefits.
Senate Bill 3538 and Senate Bill 550 both go into effect Jan. 1, 2011.
23 Dec 2010

Grassley Disappointed by Lack of Progress on Trade Agenda

By Sen Chuck Grassley
Wednesday, December 22, 2010 

Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, with jurisdiction over international trade, made the following comment about today's passage of legislation to extend by six weeks the Andean Trade Preference Act and the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.

"This is a modest but welcome step that will preserve important benefits for U.S. workers and our allies in Colombia.  I regret that this Congress didn't do more.  We're ending the session with much unfinished business on the trade agenda.  I hope the 112th Congress will do a better job addressing these many items, beginning with the implementation of our three pending trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea."

23 Dec 2010

Medicare fraud data doesn't support rhetoric or spending to crack down on criminal health care fraud

By Grassley Press

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley has asked the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to account for the way their departments allocate and utilize taxpayer monies aimed at health care fraud.  In his request, Grassley expressed concern about the stagnating number of criminal prosecutions for health care fraud, despite increased federal spending to fight fraud.

"The data raises all kinds of questions," Grassley said.  "Congress has been increasing appropriations for the anti-fraud program that's jointly run by Justice and HHS.  Administration leaders promote the value of a special fraud prevention and enforcement task force known as HEAT.  The health care law enacted this year dedicates even more federal dollars to these efforts.  Yet, despite the record number of defendants, actual criminal convictions for health care fraud violations are flat resulting in a falling conviction rate."

Grassley said that if the administration is focusing on civil prosecutions of health care fraud at the expense of criminal prosecutions, the risk may be that penalties simply become part of the cost of doing business for those engaged in fraud.

Grassley also said that HEAT criminal investigations grew from 30 in fiscal 2008 to 82 in fiscal 2009, yet the total nationwide number of criminal health care fraud convictions is down.  "This raises a question of whether the focus of the HEAT initiative is redirecting resources away from overall criminal enforcement of health care laws," Grassley said.

Grassley said of even greater concern is the plummeting conviction rate for criminal health care fraud cases.  Of the 803 criminal defendants charged in fiscal 2009, only 583 were convicted or plea bargained.  That represents a 72 percent conviction rate compared to past rates that topped 90 percent.

"Statistically speaking, the data shows that despite increased cases and defendants, fewer bad guys are going to jail for ripping off Medicare and Medicaid.  I want to know why the Justice Department is having a tougher time putting people behind bars when we're giving them millions more to do the job," Grassley said.

Grassley has long worked in Congress to strengthen efforts against health care fraud.  Legislation he co-authored in 1986 empowered citizen whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the taxpayers against those who fraudulently claim federal funds, including Medicare, Medicaid, contract payments, disaster assistance, and other benefits, subsidies, grants and loans.  The amount recovered through the False Claims Act since the 1986 update was enacted is over $27 billion, which otherwise would be lost to fraud.  The whistleblower updates are a major force against health care fraud.

In the new year, Grassley will begin serving as Ranking Member of the Committee on Judiciary.  For the last ten years, Grassley has been either Ranking Member of Chairman of the Committee on Finance, which has jurisdiction over Medicare or Medicaid.  He will continue to serve as a senior member of the Finance Committee.

Click here to read Grassley's letter, including the data and analysis.

23 Dec 2010

Washington Needs to Get on Board and Tackle Deficit Spending

By Grassley Press

Washington Needs to Get on Board and Tackle Deficit Spending by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

Taxpayers all across America can ring in the New Year with a sigh of relief. Thanks to a bipartisan agreement brokered between the White House and Republican congressional leaders, paychecks won't automatically see higher federal tax withholdings starting January 1.

For the last two years, the 111th Congress took a wait-and-see approach about taxes, causing considerable uncertainty for businesses that make investment and hiring decisions in part based on their tax burden. Many employers stockpiled cash instead of spending money on equipment upgrades or expanding their workforces. This uncertainty did not do the economic recovery any good.

Thankfully, the results of the mid-term elections delivered a crystal clear message in November. Washington went overboard. The federal spending spree and bailout binge added an even greater burden to taxpayers already on the hook for a $13.8 trillion national debt. Interest payments alone are eating up a growing percentage of the annual federal budget, including 414 billion tax dollars in fiscal year 2010.

A myth long used by big spenders inside the Beltway to justify raising taxes may at long last be on the chopping block. Raising taxes will not slay the deficit dragon. It does not cure the deficit problem; it serves as an invitation for big spenders to spend even more. Keeping the lid on tax hikes will force lawmakers to trim spending or keep borrowing. From my senior position in the U.S. Senate, I champion ways to keep the lid on spending. In 2010, I voted to reduce federal spending by $278 billion. America simply can't afford to keep borrowing more money.

Hopefully the bipartisan tax agreement signals a fresh start for the 112th Congress and the White House to tackle the national debt. As the report by the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform concluded:  There's no easy way out. Shared sacrifice and tough choices must be made to get America's fiscal house in order.

Right now, the first order of business is to get the American economy back on the right track. A healthy economy will create new jobs and get more people back to work. More people bringing home a paycheck means fewer families will rely on social services paid for by the government.

The tax relief signed into law is a good step in the right direction.  Here's what it does:

  • extends the lower marginal tax rates on wages and income;
  • renews 51 tax incentives tailored to trigger economic growth and employment (including tax incentives for ethanol and biodiesel);
  • exempts family estates up to $5 million from a 35 percent federal death tax;
  • indexes alternative minimum tax for inflation;
  • extends refundable tax credits, including child tax credit and college tuition deduction created in the 2001 legislation I authored as Chairman of the Finance Committee;
  • spurs business investment by allowing a 100 percent tax deduction for equipment purchases in 2011; and,
  • boosts take-home pay by approving a two-percentage payroll tax holiday for workers in 2011, on wages up to 106,800. (Multiply your annual income by .02 to see how much more you can save, spend or invest in 2011 thanks to this tax break.)

Now Washington needs to get on the same page and tackle the looming fiscal crisis. Punting the ball down the field for another two years is a reckless, unacceptable choice. The voting public gets it. Washington needs to get on board.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

20 Dec 2010

Heart of America Group expands business into East Peoria, IL and Olathe, KS.

By Stacy Christoffersen
Heart of America Group expands business into East Peoria, IL and Olathe, KS.

Heart of America Group CEO Mike Whalen announced expansion plans for the company into East Peoria, IL and Olathe, KS. Both projects will be built and operated by Heart of America Group. East Peoria will be a six-story, 137 room Holiday Inn and Suites with a Thunder Bay restaurant and a meeting space large enough to accommodate 300 people. "After our success with the Holiday Inn and Suites in West Des Moines, we wanted to team up with them again" said Whalen.

In Olathe, KS they will build a six-story, 107 room Hilton Garden Inn with a Johnny's Italian Steakhouse and large meeting space.

Starting with a 100-seat restaurant back in 1978, The Iowa Machine Shed, Heart of America Group has evolved into one of the Midwest's premier design, construction, and management company with a 32 year history of developing award-winning properties. Currently Heart of America Group is located in ten metropolitan areas across six Midwestern states.

The projects will be a catalyst for the City of East Peoria's EP 2010 project, which will revitalize a vast brownfield former manufacturing area into a mixed use "new" downtown.

Olathe, KS was looking for a business class hotel to accommodate the growth of their area as well. The Olathe project will be the second project in Olathe for the HOA Group; the first hotel is a Comfort Suites and Inns built in 1997 and continues to be operated by HOA Group.

Both hotels will be LEED certified and create 125 jobs in each market. "The hotels will have a unique look. We do all of our own design work so we can create hotels that aren't like anyone else's" continues Whalen, "Next year will be the biggest expansion year in the history of the company".

Construction on both of the $20 million projects will begin this spring with a target completion date in the spring of 2012.

# # #

16 Dec 2010

Harkin Statement on Senate Passage of the Tax Cut Agreement

By Sen. Tom Harkin

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today released the following statement after the U.S. Senate passed an agreement that provides a one-year extension of unemployment benefits for out-of-work Americans and a two-year extension of tax breaks for the country's wealthiest.

"At a time when our annual deficit is close to $1 trillion - much of it borrowed from China; at a time when the wealthy are already enjoying a huge surge in income, even as middle-class incomes are stagnant; it is simply obscene to give another lavish tax cut to the top two percent.  Let me say what should be painfully obvious about this new bonanza for the rich: they don't need it and we can't afford it.  And it will not help the economy - in fact, in the longer term, it will hurt the economy.

"The fact is that these new tax breaks will make income inequality in the United States even worse.  In recent years, in the grip of the Great Recession, many millions of ordinary working Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, and/or their savings.  But the wealthy have made out very, very well.

"But I also have concerns that the nearly $900 billion in tax cuts in this agreement would crowd out necessary investments in priorities such as education, infrastructure, homeland security, health care and scientific research.  

"We needed to extend unemployment benefits for those that need it the most in this country, but that should have come without tax breaks for the wealthiest."


###
16 Dec 2010

Senate Vote on the Tax Agreement

By Sen Chuck Grassley

Statement by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Ranking Member of the Committee on Finance

Senate Vote on the Tax Agreement

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

"Preventing a tax increase is the best thing we can do for the economy right now.  It's common sense that you don't raise taxes in a recession, including on employers in small business where 70 percent of new jobs are created.

"The only thing better than passing this legislation would be to make tax relief permanent.  Uncertainty about tax rates works against America's economic recovery.  We've seen nearly 23,000 jobs in biodiesel disappear because its tax incentive was allowed to lapse at the end of last year.  Every small business owner who pays taxes on the individual level faces higher taxes if a tax increase isn't prevented across the board with this legislation.  There's a rule that if you want more of something, don't tax it.  We want more employment, so Congress should not allow higher taxes on employment.

"This legislation extends 51 tax incentives for different sectors of America's economy, including ethanol.  These tax policies have been extended previously because they've been proven to help create economic activity.  This legislative agreement also makes sure the government can't take more than half the estates of farmers and small business owners who have scrimped, sacrificed and saved their entire lives to build up a family business by imposing a 55-percent estate tax even after those business owners spent a lifetime paying income, investment and property taxes.

"Since World War II, the tax burden has averaged 18.2 percent of the gross domestic product.  Even if Congress were to extend all of the current-law tax levels permanently, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office indicates that taxes as a percentage of gross domestic product will still be much higher than they have been over the last 70 years.  So, even if we were to permanently keep the tax rates at current levels, Americans will be overtaxed when compared with what they've paid in recent history.

"We don't have a deficit problem because people are taxed too little.  We have a deficit problem because Washington spends too much. The deficit needs to be taken on through economic growth and reduced spending.  Revenue to the federal Treasury will continue to increase with the level of taxes as they are today, which this bill will secure for two more years.

"Congress needs to listen to the people and support less spending.  In 2010, I voted for $278 billion in spending reductions.  All of those reductions were rejected by the majority party's leaders."

16 Dec 2010

Fwd: Mississippi River Distilling Company to Open Dec. 17

By Ryan Burchett

Le Claire, Iowa, December 13, 2010 - Mississippi River Distilling Company is proud to open the doors of their new business for visitors and connoisseurs alike.  The first micro-distillery in the Quad Cities area since Prohibition will roll out their first handcrafted product, River Baron Vodka, on Friday, December 17.  Mississippi River Distilling Company will release River Rose Gin in February followed by a bourbon whiskey in late 2011.

As artisan distillers, everything "from grain to glass" will be done at the Le Claire site.   100% of the grain comes from within 25 miles of the distillery, purchased directly from the farmer who grew it. The grain is first sorted and cleaned and then milled into a flour-like consistency.  The grain is cooked to make a mash and yeast is then added to let it ferment.  The fermented mash is distilled and then filtered and blended to proof.  From there, it either goes into a barrel or a bottle.  River Baron Vodka is made from a blend of corn from Le Claire and wheat from just across the river in Reynolds, Illinois.  This small batch process ensures that only the sweetest, smoothest portion of each distillation is used.

Each bottle that leaves the Mississippi River Distilling Company bears the unique stamp of handcrafted approval and is individually numbered to show the batch and bottle number.  According to the American Distilling Institute, Mississippi River Distilling Company is one of only about a dozen micro-distillers in the country and the only in Iowa or Illinois  to use only local grains in their spirits.

The largest eye-catcher in the building is a copper and stainless steel still that was handmade by Kothe Distilling Technologies in Eislingen, Germany.  The still, which has been affectionately named "Rose" by the distillers, consists of a 1,000 liter boiling pot and two tall copper purification columns.  Those columns house rectification plates that allow the purest vodka to be distilled, up to 95% alcohol.  Some or all of those plates can be turned off to make whiskey in a traditional pot still fashion or anything in between.

The building also hosts a retail area featuring River Baron Vodka, along with bar glassware, clothing and other souvenirs.  The retail shop is open from 10 AM to 5 PM Monday through Saturday and from 12 to 5 PM Sundays.  Free tours are offered to the public daily on the hour from 12 to 4 PM or by appointment.  The tour takes visitors through the entire distilling process.  Tours end in the Grand Tasting Room with free samples of products for those patrons over 21 years of age. The Grand Tasting Room will also feature artwork by a new local artist every two months.  The inaugural exhibit will be from renowned marine artist Michael Blaser's "NIGHT AND DAY-ON THE RIVER."  Blaser lives and works in Bettendorf, just a few miles from the distillery.

Distillers, and brothers, Ryan and Garrett Burchett are anxious for the community to get their first taste of River Baron Vodka. "This is really a dream come true," comments Ryan Burchett.  "We decided to take a chance and now what started as a crazy idea, has grown into an opportunity to create something that these parts haven't seen since Prohibition.  It's a chance for people in Iowa and Illinois to enjoy truly home grown, handmade spirits."
16 Dec 2010

Ethanol, Biodiesel Tax Credits in Tax Agreement

By Grassley Press

Common sense prevailed in the agreement reached last night on a tax proposal, including the fact that ethanol and biodiesel offer the most effective alternative to foreign oil and support hundreds of thousands of jobs in the United States.

The federal legislation contains an extension of the ethanol and biodiesel tax credits and an extension of the ethanol tariff at current rates.  The U.S. Senate is scheduled to vote on the bill on Monday afternoon.  The ethanol provision in this tax bill is an extension of current  law.  To leave it out of the tax bill would be a tax increase, which I don't support.

Americans spend $730 million a day on imported petroleum, and ethanol is the only renewable fuel substantially working to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil.  Domestic ethanol displaces oil from Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Nigeria.  It now accounts for almost 10 percent of the U.S. fuel supply.

The billions of dollars we spend on imported petroleum prop up unfriendly governments and dictators.  An average of $84 billion is spent each year by the U.S. military to protect oil transit routes.  Until there's another alternative fuel doing as much to reduce oil dependence, it would be foolish to undermine the only green, domestic alternative to imported oil.

I fought tooth and nail to secure the inclusion of both the ethanol and biodiesel provisions in the new legislative proposal.  There were efforts by some congressional majority Democrats and the White House to weaken the tax policy for these alternative fuels.  In fact, the current congressional majority allowed the blenders' tax credit for biodiesel to expire at the end of 2009.  Since then, 23,000 jobs in biodiesel have been lost nationwide.  The new tax agreement would extend the biodiesel credit retroactively to cover all of 2010 and through the end of 2011.

We can't risk a repeat performance with ethanol, where 112,000 jobs are at stake.  Getting both of these tax provisions extended through the end of next year will boost jobs and investment in the alternative energy sector, exactly when the economy needs a real shot in the arm.

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