For Immediate Release:
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2006
Contact: Kimberly Steenhoek,
515-281-6571
Statement by Sens. Ward and Wieck on CIETC Indictments
DES MOINES -- State Sens. Pat Ward (R-West Des Moines) and Ron Wieck (R-Sioux City) today released the following
statement in response to the federal indictments handed down in the CIETC
investigation:
“CIETC officials
swindled money from Iowa’s taxpayers and
cheated working Iowans from receiving needed job-training services,” said Ward,
who is from Polk County and played a key role in the
Oversight Committee’s investigation into the CIETC scandal over the past
several months. “I’m glad to see the
system of justice is working, and that those involved in the CIETC scandal will
be held accountable. As legislators, we
have a responsibility to move forward with additional accountability measures
so that this type of activity never happens again.”
“Today’s actions send a
message that defrauding Iowa’s
taxpayers will not be tolerated,” said Wieck, who is the former co-chair and
current ranking member of the Government Oversight Committee. “The federal indictments handed down today
confirmed what we have been finding as part our Oversight Committee
investigation. Now the committee needs
to finish its work and submit recommendations to the Legislature for stronger
accountability legislation. We need to
take lessons that we’ve learned from CIETC and implement policies that better
protect Iowa’s
taxpayers. I’m encouraging my colleagues
on the committee to join me in this effort.”
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