Senate Journal: Page 175: Thursday, January 28, 1999

  Our goal is an efficient government and a powerful plan for the new
  millennium.
  Let it be said that here in Iowa, we put our money where our future is.

  There is no question that it is reasonable for us to aspire to be first. And
  so again I
  ask the question posed by an Iowa child.  What are we going to do together
  to ensure
  that Iowa will be first in education; first in the environment; first in
  health care; first
  in the fight against methamphetamine; first in workforce development and
  economic
  growth; and first in the future?

  The answer resounds across this beautiful public room, owned by the people
  of our
  great state, and we all hear it.  We must work together. We must put Iowa
  first, before
  any personal or partisan agenda, before anything that might divide us.  We
  must make
  every effort to make Iowa first, working as if it were our last chance to do
  so.

  And so, I propose yet another first for us today - the one which can make
  all of the
  others possible.  Let us strive to be first in the nation in the true spirit
  of bi-
  partisanship!

  At a time when America is burdened by the ugliness of the Washington
  political
  scene - a scene divided by intense and sometimes angry partisanship which
  diverts our
  time, our resources, our good will, and especially the valuable work of our
  nation, let us
  learn a hard lesson: - the people must come first. How do we guarantee that
  when we
  leave here today we will walk away with a real commitment to work together?

  I don't have the whole answer, but I can propose a healthy way for us to
  start - if
  you will, a healthy first step.

  Soon after the end of this address today, Lieutenant Governor Sally Pederson
  and I
  will be embarking on separate visits across the state to meet with the
  people of this
  state face-to-face to talk to them about these important budget decisions.
  It would be
  easy for us to use this opportunity and the power and means of the
  Governor's office to
  proclaim a partisan agenda from east to west and north to south.  But that
  would be
  politics as usual.  And it's time for a change.

  Instead, I spoke yesterday with the leadership of both the House and the
  Senate -
  from both sides of the aisle - and I invited leaders from both parties and
  from both
  chambers to accompany me around Iowa.  We are all Iowans.  We all have the
  best
  interests of the people at heart. We can begin this process by working
  together in the
  bright light of a new day.

  This is not our first day of school, but it may be our first step to
  tomorrow.  It's not
  our first job, and although I hold you folks in high esteem, I can assure
  you that you
  are not my first love.  But this is the first day of the remainder of our
  time together
  working for the people of Iowa.  It is a memorable day, and the tasks are
  daunting.
  But the doorways can be opened to new worlds that none of us have ever
  dreamed of.

  We all share that sense of anticipation, that sense of concern about the
  responsibilities we face together.  But we are well-prepared.  We are well
  committed.
  We love this great land and the people we represent.

  So what are we going to do?

© 1999 Cornell College and League of Women Voters of Iowa

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