House Journal: Page 8: Monday, January 10, 2000
IMMEDIATE MESSAGES
Rants of Woodbury asked and received unanimous consent that
House Concurrent Resolutions 101 and 102 be immediately
messaged to the Senate.
REMARKS BY THE MAJORITY LEADER
Rants of Woodbury addressed the House as follows:
Good morning, and welcome back. I hope all of you had a good interim since last we
were together like this. I know that I did. I trust that all of you arrived in town ready
to roll up your sleeves and go to work because that is exactly what we will do this week.
Machiavelli said "One change leaves the way open for the introduction of others."
That is certainly true for this legislature. There has been a change in leadership
within our caucus - which will in turn cause more change. There has been a change in
the make up of this body - and that too will bring change. I’m eager to see what the
three newest members to our legislative family bring to our discussions.
And then there are the changes we seek to cause this year. And with each, comes a
challenge.
Traditionally the first week of the legislative session is regarded as mostly
ceremonial. That is going to change this year. This year we are going to hit the ground
running. We have a number of issues that need to be addressed right away - first and
foremost keeping our budget balanced. Representative Millage - that is your challenge.
This afternoon the appropriation committee and its subcommittees will begin work on
the deappropriation bill - a piece of legislation I’d like to have on Governor Vilsack’s
desk by the time we adjourn for the week.
Representative Grundberg - the challenge for you and the education committee will
be to form a compact between parents and their schools that ensures that children
leave elementary school reading at grade level. That will require not just teachers, but
also parents and students to accept real responsibility for the student’s progress or the
lack of it. Iowa may be the most literate state in the union, but that isn’t good enough.
Every child must be able to read.
Representative Van Fossen - the challenge for you and the Ways and Means
committee is to ease the tax burden on Iowans. Iowa’s seniors should be able to remain
in Iowa upon their retirement. For those whom the cold winters don’t drive south, we
must ensure that our tax code doesn’t push them out. The taxation of their social
security benefits must end. Young Iowa families need a break as well. Please give
them freedom from taxes for at least one day when they are doing their back to school
shopping.
Representative Teig - it is the challenge for you and the Economic Development
committee to return to work on two issues on which you have already done much work.
Workforce development and venture capital. If Iowa is going to realize the goal of
© 2000 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
Comments about this site or page?
hjourn@legis.iowa.gov.
Please remember that the person listed above does not vote on bills. Direct all comments concerning legislation to State Legislators.
Last update: Tue Jan 18 08:25:00 CST 2000
URL: /DOCS/GA/78GA/Session.2/HJournal/00000/00008.html
jhf