President Barack Obama visits Newton today to talk about clean energy initiatives. Later, he is headlining a large campaign rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines. News clips and comments from members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation are after the jump. I’ll update later with news from the rally.

Any comments about energy policy or the presidential race are welcome in this thread. Obama’s campaign rolled out two more television commercials in Iowa this week, which Bleeding Heartland will discuss tomorrow.

This White House press release lists the “to do list” of energy policies the president will ask Congress to pass during his speech in Newton.

O.Kay Henderson reported for Radio Iowa,

The mayor of the city President Obama is visiting this afternoon says Newton will be dealt a huge set-back if congress doesn’t extend tax credits for the wind energy industry.

“We could lose half the jobs we created over the last three years,” says Newton Mayor Chaz Allen says.

Obama Administration officials chose Newton as the site for the president’s speech about “clean energy” initiatives because the city is home to a plant that makes the towers for wind turbines and another plant that makes the blades for the turbines. Obama will speak at TPI Composites in Newton, the plant where wind turbine blades are made. The company’s CEO says they’re already seeing a decline in orders due to uncertainty about federal tax policy. Allen says that’s because the tax credit for utilities that own wind turbines is set to expire on December 31.

“Until this is passed the people that actually put the towers up aren’t going to order as many because they don’t know what’s going to happen in 2013,” Allen says.

The Newton Independent reports,

Wind energy representatives have said that failure to extend the tax credit will take a toll on employment levels in the industry, estimating that as many as half of the 75,000 jobs nationally could be lost if Congress fails to extend the PTC.

TPI Composites employs approximately 700 people at its Newton operation. Wind tower manufacturer Trinity Structural Towers employs another 100 people locally at its manufacturing operation in a portion of the former Maytag Plant 2 production facility.

Statement released by Senator Chuck Grassley’s office, May 23:

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa authored and won enactment of the first-ever wind energy production tax credit in 1992.  The incentive was designed to give wind energy the ability to compete against coal-fired and nuclear energy and helped to launch the wind energy industry.  He has worked to extend the credit ever since.  He made the following comment on President Obama’s visit to Iowa on wind energy this week.

“I’m glad the President likes Iowa but his visit won’t have much to do with getting the wind energy tax credit extended.  He could travel down the street from the White House to the Capitol and talk to the congressional leadership instead, especially in the Senate, controlled by his party.  It was surprising to read in the paper this week that he hasn’t talked to key committee chairmen in his own party in months.  Maybe the lack of communication is why the President and the Senate Democrats let the biodiesel tax credit expire at the end of 2011 and made that industry suffer from uncertain tax policy.

“There’s strong bipartisan support in both the House and the Senate for extending the wind energy tax credit.   I introduced a bill with bipartisan co-sponsors in March, for example.  The provision is hung up in the lack of a way forward on dozens of expiring tax provisions.  The President could exert his leadership by working with Congress on a way forward instead of calling for a provision that’s a no-brainer for many of us.  He’s focusing on the easy part of a bigger task.  The stakes for the wind industry and the country in general will only get worse with delay.    It’s time to act, not politick.”

Information on Grassley’s bipartisan bill to extend the wind energy tax credit is available here.

Statement released by Representative Dave Loebsack’s office, May 23:

Loebsack: Iowa Air Guard’s 132nd to Welcome President; Again Prove Why They Are Second to None

Air Force One will land at the Iowa Air Guard Base

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement on the eve of President Obama’s visit to Iowa.  The President will arrive aboard Air Force One at the Iowa Air Guard’s 132nd Fighter Wing base in Des Moines.  Earlier this year, the Air Force announced a proposal to retire the 132nd’s F-16’s and eliminate 378 positions.  Since that announcement, Loebsack has been working as the only member of Congress from Iowa serving on the House Armed Services Committee, to stop the Air Force’s proposal.  Loebsack’s bipartisan initiative to prevent the elimination of Air National Guard positions and the retirement or transfer of Air National Guard aircraft, including the F-16’s based in Des Moines, was approved by the House of Representatives last week as part of the annual defense policy bill known as the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act.

“Iowans are proud of the 132nd’s work and now the President will be able to see why.  When it comes to hard work and performance, Iowa’s 132nd Fighter Wing is truly second to none.  The plan to eliminate Iowa Airmen’s positions and retire their aircraft was short sighted for both taxpayers and national security.  I am proud to have worked to stop this proposal and to fight for the men and women of the Iowa National Guard who have served our country and our state with great dedication and honor.”

UPDATE: The Obama diary posted lots of photos and some YouTube clips from the president’s appearances in Newton and Des Moines. The crowd at the campaign rally was estimated at approximately 2,500; I know some people who ended up in the overflow area. West Des Moines residents Amy Ward and Ross Daniels were among supporters who met with the president before the rally. The White House featured Ward as a health care reform success story earlier this year. Representative Leonard Boswell, Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, Attorney General Mike Fitzgerald, and Attorney General Tom Miller were among the elected officials attending the rally.

Radio Iowa’s O.Kay Henderson reported the highlights from Obama’s speech at the fairgrounds.

“I know Governor Romney came to Des Moines last week, warned about a ‘prairie fire of debt’ – that’s what he said, ‘prairie fire!’ – you know, he left out some facts. You know, his speech was more like a cowpie of distortion,” Obama said and the crowd laughed. […]

“What happens is the Republicans run up the tab and then we’re sitting there and they’ve left the restaurant and then they point (and say), ‘Why’d you order all those steaks and martinis?'” Obama said. “What he did not also tell you was that after inherited a trillion dollar deficit, I signed $2 trillion of spending cuts into law, so now I want to finish the job.”

Obama said he would streamline government and seek to reform the tax code, making it simpler and easier. Obama ridiculed Romney’s tax plans.

“Five trillion in new tax cuts – that is like trying to put out a prairie fire with some gasoline,” Obama said, to laughter and applause.

Obama repeatedly rapped Romney throughout the evening speech, suggesting Romney’s role at a venture capital business was not kind of experience one needs for the presidency.

“Bigger profits haven’t led to better jobs, and you can’t solve that problem if you can’t even see that it’s a problem,” Obama said, to loud cheers.

Near the bottom of this page there’s a link to the full audio from Obama’s speech.

Senator Tom Harkin’s office released this statement on May 24:

Harkin Commends Obama Visit to Iowa: Job Creation by Investing in Renewables

No More Urgent Priority than Rebuilding the Middle Class

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) today issued the following statement on the President’s visit to Iowa.  Harkin, who chairs the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, is leading the effort in Congress to rebuild the middle class in America.   Last August, he held a listening session in Newton with local officials, which informed his Rebuild America Act legislation.  Senator Harkin is also a senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.  

“One thing is clear: there can be no sustained economic recovery without a recovery of the middle class in America, the backbone of our economy.  And one way to spur job creation and aid in that rebuilding effort is by supporting the diverse and growing renewables sector in Iowa, including both wind and biofuels.  

“I am glad the President is visiting Newton today – an area that has clearly demonstrated it is possible to create jobs and rebuild through the renewables sector.  It is now imperative that Congress extend alternative energy tax credits, including credits for wind and biofuels, so that small towns like Newton will have the boost they need over the long-term.  

“So I commend President Obama, I welcome him to Iowa, and I applaud his call to support the renewable industry, spur job creation, and rebuild the middle class in America.”

Loebsack’s office released this statement about the president’s appearance in Newton.

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the President spoke at TPI Composites in Newton about the need to extend the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind energy and a greater investment in clean energy, including renewable fuels.  Loebsack attended the President’s speech in Newton this afternoon.

“I am pleased the President visited TPI in Newton today to highlight the importance of extending the Production Tax Credit for wind energy, which has played such a vital role in bringing back manufacturing jobs to the area.  I have been pushing for some time to get Congress to act on extending the PTC and am pleased the President has committed to working on this issue.  We cannot afford to let the PTC expire at the end of the year.”

During the President’s visit, Loebsack presented him with a letter that discusses his commitment to extending the PTC and also highlights Iowa’s renewable fuel industry and the need to extend the biodiesel tax credit that expired at the end of 2011.

“Iowa is currently the largest renewable fuel producing state in the country.  This industry has created thousands of good-paying jobs in Iowa communities and here in Newton,” wrote Loebsack.  “Unfortunately, Congress allowed the biodiesel tax credit to expire for the second time at the end of 2011. Iowa has more than a dozen biodiesel production plants so a reauthorization of the biodiesel production tax credit would provide Iowa’s economy with a much needed boost, support good jobs for Iowans, and help reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

Jasper County used to be part of Iowa’s third Congressional district but is now in the second district, where Loebsack is seeking a fourth term.