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.
U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley (D-Waterloo), who has pushed for several years for all government documents to be written in easy-to-read language, is optimistic that his proposal will finally be adopted in conjunction with health care reform.
“I was very pleased that when the draft of the [health care] bill by the three committee chairs was released it included several references to my plain language requirement,” Braley said. “We also recently received word that there is going to be plain language in health insurance requirements in the bill that is released after being marked-up in committees next week.”
Braley’s original bill, which was voted out of committee last year but did not make it to floor debate, required the federal government to write documents like tax returns, college-aid applications and Veterans Administration forms in language that is easy to understand. Several before-and-after examples are available on the Plain Language website. Since health care reform would likely require more Americans to rely on government-produced documents for understanding of benefits and claims, Braley said inclusion of non-confusing language in documentation is incredibly important.
“For far too long people have been prevented from obtaining benefits that they deserve because they are confused and can’t figure out what they are entitled to under various forms, letters, brochures and other documents that the federal government publishes,” he said during a conference call with reporters Thursday morning.
“We all know that people who face important health care decisions need to have access to information that clearly defines what their benefits are and how those benefits will be paid, so that they and the providers who are providing those services know what to expect when a claim is submitted after health care is delivered.”
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