DES MOINES – This morning State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald and State Senator Jack Hatch (Des Moines) highlighted how the 23rd straight month of private sector job creation shows our economy is on the right track, and how critical it is for us to continue moving forward on this foundation.

The Labor Department today announced that the economy added 243,000 jobs in January. America’s businesses have now added jobs for 23 straight months. In that time, the private sector has added more than 3.7 million jobs.

This data, and job growth over the past months, shows an economy that is growing and much stronger than when President Obama took office and the nation was losing 700,000 jobs each month.

Watch a video of today’s press conference and download a high quality graphic showing job creation since 2007 by clicking here.

State Treasurer Mike Fitzgerald:

“From day one, the President took swift action to address the immediate jobs crisis.  He stopped the bleeding and invested in America.  He saved the American auto industry.  And he cut taxes for every working family and for small businesses, which create the vast majority of new jobs in this country.

“You can see what happened next.  Under his leadership, the private sector reversed its free-fall.  America’s businesses have now added jobs for 23 straight months.

“The President didn’t just address the immediate crisis and stop there.  He’s laying the foundation for long-term middle-class job growth.  To help the middle class reclaim the security its lost over the last few decades, he’s restoring the basic values that made our country great.

“He’s creating an economy that’s built to last – one where hard work once again pays off and responsibility, not recklessness, is rewarded.

“The President is restoring an economy where everyone, from Main Street to Wall Street, gets a fair shot, does their fair share and plays by the same rules.”

State Senator Jack Hatch (Des Moines):

“The President also knows we won’t recover by outsourcing to other countries, but by out-hustling them: by out-innovating, out-educating and out-building the world.

“This is a make-or-break moment for the middle class, and we’ve got a lot more to do if we’re going to continue the trend you see here.

“That’s why the President has outlined a vision for an America built to last.  It’s a blueprint based on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and a renewal of the American values that made the middle class the envy of the world – values like fairness and opportunity.

“Mitt Romney and the Republicans aren’t optimistic about this recovery continuing — for this chart to keep climbing.

“Romney criticized President Obama for talking up America.

“He’s made outrageous, false claims about jobs and our economy because he think it will help him in November.

“We were going down, now we’re going up.  We were bleeding jobs, now we’re creating them.  Our economy was collapsing, now it’s recovering.

“We have much more work to do, but as this chart undeniably shows, we’re moving in the right direction.”

Download a high quality PDF of this chart.

This graph shows that the Obama administrations swift action to avoid another depression is paying off. For 23 months we’ve been adding jobs to our economy and giving opportunities to workers right here in America. During these months our economy has added 3.7 million jobs, and for the first time since the 1990s American manufacturing is growing.

To highlight this success, State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald and State Senator Jack Hatch (Des Moines) held a press conference this morning in Des Moines:

“Today’s jobs report showing 243,000 jobs added in January is the latest confirmation that President Obama’s leadership and immediate action to address the economic crisis is working. The past 23 months of consecutive private sector job growth represent a sharp contract to what President Obama was facing when he took office: an economy that was losing 700,000 jobs a month and spiraling towards a depression that would eliminate the economic security for millions of Americans.

“23 straight months of job growth proves that American businesses are hiring again. We’ve watched 3.1 million jobs created over those months; we’ve witnessed the comeback of the American auto industry, which began with swift action to save 1.4 million jobs. Today, for the first time since the 1990s, American manufacturing is adding jobs to the economy.

“While these numbers are a positive sign, this remains a make-or-break moment for the middle class. President Obama has laid a solid foundation for a stronger economy, and has presented his vision for an America built to last. He believes that we can create an economy that will lead the world by strengthening American manufacturing and American energy, ensuring American workers have the skills to compete, and returning to the values that middle class Americans have followed for years – values like fairness and opportunity.

“Mitt Romney and Washington Republicans don’t share that vision for America. They don’t agree that we should support American industry or invest in American workers. They don’t believe we should reward companies who bring jobs back to America instead of sending them overseas. They are so set to stonewall this administration, that Romney and the Republican Party won’t even admit that a recovery is happening.

“However, these numbers cannot be denied. When President Obama took office we were bleeding jobs, today we’re creating them. We have more work ahead of us, but this jobs report undeniably shows that we’re heading in the right direction and have the leadership to continue growing the American economy.”

Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans will cover women’s preventive services, including contraception, without charging a co-pay or deductible beginning in August, 2012.  This new law will save money for millions of Americans. But more importantly, it will ensure Americans nationwide get the high-quality care they need to stay healthy. Under this policy, women who want contraception will have access to it through their insurance without paying a co-pay or deductible.  But no one will be forced to buy or use contraception.

Last week the administration made the decision to allow some religious groups, such as churches, to be exempt from the requirement that contraceptives be covered under health insurance plans. In balancing religious freedom and the freedom of women, the Department of Health and Human Services has also given religiously affiliated non-proifts, like hospitals and universities, the opportunity to receive a one-year waiver from this requirement.

Read the full White House blog post about what this decision means and how it affects these organizations.

“[SF 93] would make it an aggravated misdemeanor to strangle someone during an incident of domestic abuse. Current law treats strangulation in domestic abuse as a simple misdemeanor. The bill, Senate File 93, also provides for a Class D felony if there is bodily harm incurred by the victim. An aggravated misdemeanor is punishable by confinement for no more than two years and a fine of at least $625 but not more than $6,250.”

Not only did the bill pass the Iowa Senate with unanimous support from both Republicans and Democrats, it had the support of law enforcement and victim’s rights organizations. Only one member of the legislature felt tougher penalties for strangulation was unnecessary, Republican State Representative Glen Massie of Warren County.

As the lone vote against SF 93, Massie once again failed to do the right thing for his constituents. While his vote didn’t stop the bill from passing, it shows priorities that are dangerously out of line with the values of our state.

“The income tax check off program is a great opportunity that too many Iowans aren’t aware of,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky. “This program doesn’t increase your taxes and it doesn’t decrease your refund. It simply earmarks $1.50 that we can use to engage Iowans in the critical election ahead.”

The Iowa Democratic Party has made an informational video and other material available at IowaDemocrats.org/CheckOff to increase awareness and participation in this important program.

DES MOINES – College and Young Democrats of Iowa President Austin Frerick released the following statement today, as Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s irresponsible voter ID bill is expected to be officially introduced in the Legislature this week:

“Restrictive voter ID bills are bad for Iowa students. By attempting to fix a problem that doesn’t exist in Iowa, Republicans like Secretary of State Matt Schultz are willing to waste millions of taxpayer dollars while making it harder for college students to exercise their democratic right to vote.

“While Secretary Schultz attempts to pay lip service to college students, saying college and university IDs are acceptable, he’s ignoring the reality that hardly any institutions in the state have ID cards that meet his requirements. If this bill were allowed to pass, students across the state would undoubtedly have a harder time making their voices heard at the polls.

“If Secretary Schultz really wants to spend millions of taxpayer dollars, we suggest he look into ways to increase voter registration and awareness among college students, not ways to add barriers to voting.”

Background on Secretary Schultz’s Voter ID Bill:

- The Secretary of State’s bill requires valid IDs to have an expiration date, a practice not followed by some of Iowa’s largest institutions.

- Similar laws have cost neighboring states nearly $6 million dollars to implement. Unfortunately, Schultz has ignored those costs and claims only a “nominal” amount will be required to print flyers – the only education program he has planned. Other states, like Wisconsin, have seen millions spent to hire additional staff to process provisional ballots, print ID cards, and even more on outreach programs to notify voters of the change.

- While the law would make state issued IDs available for free, Iowans would still need to provide identification like a birth certificate or passport before receiving the free ID. For many Iowans who do not have those pieces of identification, the added hassle and cost for those documents may prevent them from voting.

- Even Secretary of State Schultz admits he has no idea how many Iowans do not have appropriate ID under his bill, showing how little thought has been given.

DES MOINES – Announcing his support for Secretary of State Matt Schultz’s voter ID bill today, Governor Branstad tried to build the case for such a law by alleging that voter fraud has happened in the state, while failing to back up his claim with any evidence.

Speaking to reporters this morning he said “we have had efforts in past elections where people falsely vote in an area where they’re not eligible.” Branstad failed to back up his claim with any evidence that voter fraud has actually occurred in the state. Even Secretary Schultz, in announcing his bill last week, admitted that Iowa doesn’t have a history of voter fraud.

“This effort on the part of Governor Branstad to misinform the public about voting in Iowa is irresponsible. Voter fraud is not a problem in this state. That fact makes it tough to sell a voter ID bill that will cost millions and make it harder for countless Iowans to vote,” said Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Sue Dvorsky.

“The real facts about voter ID are clear: For many Iowans it will make voting much more difficult and may even require them to pay for pieces of identification. While this bill allows student IDs to be used, there are hardly any colleges and universities that have IDs that meet the requirements. Finally, as in other states that have passed these restrictive laws, taxpayers will be stuck paying the millions it costs to implement.”

“The cost of this bill, both financial and to the Iowans who will not vote as a result, is too high. Especially when it’s designed to fix a problem that, despite Governor Branstad’s claim, does not exist in Iowa,” added Dvorsky.

The Ames Tribune published an article this morning showing that county auditors, the people who know how to run elections better than anyone, are not supporting this bill. Here’s what Story County Auditor Lucy Martin told the paper:

“All our voters are verified. It’s not as if anyone can just walk in and vote,” Martin said. “I don’t see voter fraud as an issue. What I see as an issue is voter turnout. It’s not that people are trying to vote twice, it’s that they’re not voting at all.”

She said 16 percent turnout in last September’s school board election was considered “good” and that while relative turnout for the 2008 presidential election was high (65 percent) there was still more than one-third of Story County voters that didn’t participate. Under Schultz’s plan, Martin fears that number could be reduced if voters forget their ID or don’t get one in advance.

“I don’t want to turn my poll workers into the ID police,” Martin said. “I would encourage anyone that thinks there’s voter fraud, or that there’s something wrong with the system, to come work an election. It’s a paid job and you can see how the system really works.”

The Mason City Globe Gazette also ran an editorial today questioning why Republicans are supporting such an unnecessary law:

In the argument for stricter Iowa voter identification laws the cliche couldn’t be more true: It’s a solution in search of a problem that doesn’t exist.

It’s no coincidence that it’s predominantly Republicans who favor stricter voter ID when you consider that studies show the majority of people who don’t have an “official” government-issued ID or who might have problems getting one – the elderly, minorities, low-income people – are the people who more often support non-Republican candidates.

. . . 

Requiring voter IDs is also expensive. States that have initiated such requirements have usually found the costs higher than they predicted. There’s the cost of providing free photo IDs to people who request them, as well as the cost to educate people about the new requirements.

Schultz’s proposals would allow student ID’s to be used as long as they have an expiration date. Do regents university student IDs have expiration dates now? No. They’d all have to be replaced to be used as voter ID.

This reaction is a bad start for Secretary Schultz, who made voter ID his signature goal during his campaign in 2010. Voter ID is a dangerous bill for democracy in Iowa and would have a dramatic impact on voting in the state.

“Governor Branstad has done the right thing by reaffirming his administration’s support for the Iowa Governor’s Conference on LGBTQ Youth. This is a long-standing bipartisan conference with the goal to make Iowa schools welcoming and safe for all Iowans and it is deserving of support from leaders across the state.

“We hope the governor will continue to work with Democrats and members of his own party to make Iowa schools accepting for all. Attempts by the Family Leader to discount this event and politicize Iowa students are wholly inappropriate and have no place in the conversation about how we create a quality learning environment for everyone.”