House Journal: Page 1988: Tuesday, May 8, 2001
REMARKS BY MAJORITY LEADER RANTS
Majority Leader Rants offered the following remarks:
Thank you Mr. Speaker. Mr. Speaker, Ladies and Gentlemen of the House,
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. In the nine years that I have served in this
House, this has truly been the most trying for me. Republicans came into this session
with high expectations, and many were fulfilled. Others have been waylaid due to
fiscal constraints as they should be.
Mr. Speaker, the fiscal predicament this General Assembly has faced is
unprecedented. The state of Iowa has not seen a revenue shortfall of this magnitude in
the last thirty years. Many saw the signs back in January, but it wasn’t until March
that Governor Vilsack recognized the scope of the problem and was forced to act. That
has certainly made for a longer year and more tiring year.
In response to this revenue shortfall, Governor Vilsack and the Democrats
demanded that we use our reserve funds to increase the size of the budget.
Republicans resisted that idea. But ladies and gentlemen, because Republicans did not
appropriate money from those reserve funds for new spending programs does not mean
that they were not used. In fact they were. When state tax collection dipped into
negative territory and a poor child needed medical care - those reserve funds paid the
bills. During the four months the state’s receipts were three hundred million dollars
below expected levels - those reserve funds made monthly payments to our local school
districts. Those reserve funds helped keep the heat on for Iowa families when we
backfilled a federal shortfall in LIHEAP. Those funds served their purpose, and they
did it well.
Mr. Speaker, we successfully avoided going to that "bank of bad habits" you warned
us about, 121 days ago.
Despite the revenue shortfalls, Republicans followed through on our commitment to
education. Despite all the rhetoric, and back and forth political barbs, we did make
K-12 education in Iowa our number one funding priority. Allowable growth, the basic
education funding stream was protected from the budget shortfall. Not only was it
spared, but we made sure the payments to school districts will be issued on time. Some
areas of education may not have received all that they wanted, but when the dust
settles, our local schools will receive a net increase of $106 million dollars over last
year.
To help get our economy moving again we passed the five part Iowa Growth
Initiative. To many, they were long over due tax code changes that had been standing
in the way of economic development for years. Others, such as the stock options
legislation should make Iowa a more attractive state for entrepreneurs. For others it
was a way to incent consumers and retailers to purchase ethanol. For all, it was a way
to get our economy moving again.
Mr. Speaker, while much of the press has focused on the budget and the teacher
compensation packages in these closing weeks, I’d like to highlight for a moment those
initiatives where this legislature took action to protect children. Whether it be the 24
© 2001 Cornell College and
League of Women Voters of Iowa
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