RSSAll legislative meetings are accessible to working people; Almost all Branstad Administration meetings are not (Des Moines) This fall Democratic legislators in the Iowa Senate and House are holding town hall meetings across Iowa to gather ideas to improve local schools. This fall Democrats have scheduled or already held more than 26 meetings. “Iowans believe [...]
Read the full story >>
Senator Gronstal has appointed Senator Matt McCoy to serve as chair of Senate Commerce Committee.
Read the full story >>
A statement by Senator Bob Dvorsky of Coralville, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, is below the fold.
Read the full story >>State Senator Rob Hogg (D-Cedar Rapids) issued the following statement today in response to the news that the total number of employed Iowans fell by 7,800 since June, and is now down a total of 8,200 since Governor Branstad became Governor in January.
Read the full story >>Governor Branstad’s approval rating has finally gone up… in Canada! Check out this editorial from the Toronto Sun gushing over Governor Branstad, who inexplicably proclaimed his love for Canada on Meet the Press last weekend.
Read the full story >>Republicans in the Iowa Legislature have refused to help unemployed Iowans and struggling communities. Democrats asked Republicans earlier this month to help request a special session to override Governor Branstad’s line-item veto of legislation prohibiting the closure of local Iowa Workforce Offices. While all Democrats have signed the letter, not a single Republican in the House or Senate acted to keep the workforce offices open.
Read the full story >>You may have received Senate Republican Leader Paul McKinley’s latest newsletter, titled “POLITICAL IRONY AND A TAX FREE HOLIDAY.” In it, Senator McKinley repeats the claim that Wisconsin was responsible for half of the nation’s job growth in June. PolitiFact’s bottom line: “We rate the state GOP claim False.”
Read the full story >>
Today Senator Bill Dotzler, chair of the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee, said that Branstad’s plan to close workforce offices “makes as much sense as laying off firefighters and closing fire stations when your downtown and nearby neighborhoods are on fire.”
Read the full story >>
Legislators are considering further steps to keep Workforce Development field offices open, including the possibility of a special session with the sole purpose of overriding Governor Branstad’s line-item vetoes of legislation prohibiting the closure of the offices.
Read the full story >>
A statement by Senator Joe Bolkcom, chair of the Ways & Means Committee, on Governor Branstad’s veto of a tax cut for working families is below the fold.
Read the full story >>
