On the recordMay 4, 2010
last Tuesday, President Obama traveled to Iowa. He visited counties and towns that have been hit particularly hard by the economic downturn. While Iowa's average unemployment rate stands at 6.8 percent, Lee County's unemployment rate stands near 11 percent. Wapello County's unemployment rate is at 9.5 percent. These were the counties that President Obama visited. Over 1,000 jobs have been lost in each of the 3 counties he visited since the recession began. The visit to Iowa was billed as an effort to highlight the steps taken to achieve long-term growth and prosperity by creating a new, clean energy economy. During his trip, the President visited a Siemens wind blade manufacturing facility in Fort Madison. I had the opportunity to visit there about a year and a half ago. The President touted Iowa's leadership in the production of wind energy. This Siemens facility is a great facility. I recall just a few years ago speaking to Siemens manufacturing when they were looking for a site for their first wind production facility in the United States. I told the executives at Siemens they would not be disappointed if they chose Fort Madison for their facility because Iowans are some of the hardest working and honest people in the country. I am particularly proud of the second-in-the-Nation status of Iowa's wind production. I first authored and won enactment of the wind production tax credit in 1992.
