Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
With the two-fold goal of pumping cash into the ailing automotive industry and getting more fuel-efficient cars on the road, U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley, D-Waterloo, is pushing legislation that would give vouchers to people willing to trade in their old car for a new one.
“Germany had a similar incentive to do this, and it actually increased sales in February by more than 20 percent,” Braley said.
The Consumer Assistance to Recycle and Save Cars (CARS) Act was introduced by Braley and Reps. Candice Miller, R-Michigan, and Betty Sutton, D-Ohio. Braley said the bill calls for the government to buy cars and trucks that are at least eight years old and send them to the scrap heap or to be recycled for parts and materials. The owners would receive vouchers worth $3,000 to $7,500 to buy more fuel-efficient vehicles or use mass transit.
The new cars would have to be built in the U.S., regardless of where the company is based, a key difference from previous versions of the legislation that has won the support of United Auto Workers, who were afraid the incentive would be used to buy American cars built in other countries.
New cars must meet a minimum of 27 miles per gallon on the highway and trucks must meet 24 mpg, and the more fuel efficient they are the more money consumers receive.
Critics of the plan say it violates international trade agreements. They also say it could effectively drive up the price of cars by limiting the number of used cars on the market.
But the bill promises to get a lot of attention, though, with U.S. auto sales falling 41.4 percent in February compared with the same month a year ago.
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