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House Journal: Page 1764: Tuesday, April 29, 1997

To the members of the Republican caucus, I'd like to say thanks
to you also. We've had our share of fights this session, but
we've had our share of agreements. Either way, I think we work
together in a way that the people of Iowa expect us to, and I
think the people of Iowa are proud of us because of it. It's a
far cry from the way things go on in Washington, D.C., and when
I traveled to other states and talked with other leaders, I
found that it's a far cry from the way things work in other
legislatures. Much of the reason for that is because of the
leaders that you folks on the Republican side of the aisle have
chosen.
Representative Siegrist has done a great job of running this
place. I don't believe I've ever stood and asked a question at
the end of the day or the end of the week that didn't get an
answer. And that answer was accurate. I appreciate that,
Representative Siegrist. I think you've done a great job.
Speaker Corbett, I commend you on the hard work that you've
done, leading your party through this session and the leadership
that you've provided for your caucus and for the House. I think
that the people of Iowa again are proud of the work that we've
accomplished, and that's because of your leadership. I thank you
for that. It's going to be a great summer, and like all of you
I've got another life, and I'm looking forward to finding a dirt
track somewhere, taking this suit off, and donning some blue
jeans.
Thanks very much.
REMARKS BY MAJORITY LEADER SIEGRIST
Siegrist of Pottawattamie offered the following remarks:
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the House, this may be a brief speech
because coming in this morning, I was not confident we would be
going home tonight. However, I am thrilled that I stand before
you, just a few minutes away from adjourning the 1997
legislative session. It has been an extremely hectic week.
However, I did find time to take a look at my opening day speech
that I gave 107 days ago. At that time, I outlined a narrow but
focused agenda for the majority party. I said that we would do
something that needed to be done, and that was to fully fund our
commitments to the educational system in the State of Iowa. The
second item was to pass Learnfare. Thirdly, we wanted to pass
the "Restore the Outdoors" plan to repair our state park system.
Fourthly, was to urge the U.S. Congress to pass a balanced
budget amendment. Fifthly, was to make an impact on the juvenile
crime problem in the State of Iowa, and finally, to cut the tax
burden in the State of Iowa by eliminating the inheritance tax,
cut income taxes across the board, and provide property tax
relief. I am happy to say that we accomplished all six goals
this legislative session.
Beyond that, many other issues were addressed, ranging from
providing more state money for needed housing programs in the
state, to fully funding the tax credits to the cities and
counties and schools in the State of Iowa. We have ensured that
our roads will be safer by enacting some of the toughest drunk
driver laws in the nation. We have provided a tremendous
increase in our child care funding for welfare recipients as we
work to make sure our welfare recipients can find jobs and
become tax paying citizens of our state. We provided additional
funding for case management so that our senior citizens can stay
longer in their own homes and maintain their dignity as they
grow old in our state. The area of juvenile crime saw 

Iowa General Assembly

Index: House Journal (77th General Assembly: Session 1)

© 1997 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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Last update: Tue May 6 09:40:03 CDT 1997
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