Video: Iowa first state to go 10 for 10 on priority list for military families

Sen. Warnstadt is a member of the Senate Veterans Committee, a Colonel in the Iowa National Guard, and a strong supporter of legislation that benefits Iowa's soldiers and veterans.

House and Senate Democratic Leaders today announced that Iowa is positioned to be the first state to address all ten of the Department of Defense’s top quality of life issues for military families.  All ten issues have passed either the Iowa House or the Iowa Senate and leaders say they will pass both chambers before the end of the shortened 2010 session.

“Iowa stands alone when it comes to state support for active duty service members and deployed members of the Guard and Reserve,” said State Senator Steve Warnstadt of Sioux City, a member of the Senate Veterans Committee and a Colonel in the Iowa National Guard. “We are in this position of leadership because Democrats made the well-being of military families a top priority since taking control in 2006.  We’ve acted to help military families when it comes to education, health care, employment, custody issues, and voting.”

“With almost 4,000 of Iowans on the verge of deployment, I’m proud that Iowa will likely be the first state to complete the Department of Defense’s priority list,” said State Representative Ray Zirkelbach, who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee and is a veteran of the Iraq War.  “The priority the legislature has put on veterans issues is due to the broad support our soldiers have across the state.”

The Department of Defense’s official web site for families, USA4Military Families (http://www.usa4militaryfamilies.dod.mil/) lists “the ten priority issues identified by the Department of Defense as having a strong impact on military families at the state level priority.”  Here is that list along with the past and pending legislation that addresses it:

Here’s a video of the press conference, in case you missed it:

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