House Journal: Page 1987: Tuesday, May 8, 2001
pen. But I was encouraged that in these final days you began to move closer toward the
Governor on budget issues.
On January 8, I said the key issue of this session for Democrats was teacher
compensation. With so many teachers approaching retirement, we must be sure that
the next generation of teachers is as good or better than this last one. It was a struggle
to find the money - first there was a lockbox, then there was not. But the Governor
would not let us throw in the towel, and eventually the money was found. The plan did
not meet everyone’s expectations, but it was a start. A start. Next year we must take
the next steps.
One hundred and twenty-one days ago I said we must lower prescription drug costs.
We must provide insurance coverage for mental illness. And we must pay our workers
better by raising the minimum wage. We failed to do any of those things.
And we spent far too much time debating bills that everyone knew would be vetoed
by Governor Vilsack.
But on the positive side, I asked this body to allow judges more judgment in
sentencing, and we took a small first step. I asked us to promote ethanol use and
production, and we provided an incentive. I said we needed more child abuse
caseworkers, and we authorized more. We took steps to prevent the spread of foot and
mouth disease to Iowa. And while no one expected it when we convened in January, I
am very pleased that we achieved our long-held goal of phasing out the sales tax on
utility bills.
Today we really do not say goodbye. It is more like see you later. Redistricting
remains to be done, and we will all reconvene next month to do it. We should have
passed the first plan. It met the law’s requirements and it was impartial.
By rejecting that plan and by asking the Service Bureau to draw a new map that
takes into account matters outside the scope of the statute, I am afraid the Senate may
have injected partisanship into the next plan. We shall see.
On a personal level, I have enjoyed working with members of the majority party - in
particular Representative Rants and Speaker Siegrist - even though at times we
strongly disagreed with each other. I want to thank the staff of the House and of both
caucuses for their long and hard work on our behalf.
I want to thank my assistant leaders for their patience and their advice, and finally
the members of the Democratic caucus for giving me the honor of serving as their
leader. I hope that I have proven worthy of their trust.
IMMEDIATE MESSAGE
Rants of Woodbury asked and received unanimous consent that
Senate Joint Resolutions 7 and 8 be immediately messaged to the
Senate.
© 2001 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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