WHITVER: Debate Picks Up on Bills in Iowa Senate

As we finish up week 10 of the 2013 session, the pace is starting to pick up quite a bit. The first 6-8 weeks consist mostly of subcommittee work and committee work. When a bill is filed, it goes first to a subcommittee, which is made up of 3 Senators (2 Democrats and 1 Republican because Democrats control the chamber 26-24). The bill must receive at least two votes in subcommittee to advance on to the full committee. When in the full committee, the bill must receive a majority of the votes of the members (11-21 Senators depending on the committee). 

As bills pass out of committee, they are ready for floor debate. Although the past few weeks were slow, we have debated about 70 bills with the full Senate in the past few days. 

By reading the newspaper or watching the news, you would think that Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on anything. A common belief is that every bill ends up in a 26-24 party line vote. 

To the contrary, most of the bills that we have passed in the past few weeks were non-controversial and passed with bipartisan support. I would guess at least 90-95% of the bills that we have voted on passed with support from both parties. 

While it is more sensational to report on the 5-10% of bills that Republicans and Democrats cannot agree on, there is a lot more bipartisan work than most people recognize. After all, we are all Iowans and we all want the best for the state.

Over the next few weeks, we continue work on some big issues that have major implications for the future of Iowa. These issues include: Medicaid expansion, Property Tax Reform, Education Reform, and the overall budget.

As we head into the final few weeks of session, I look forward to hearing from you regarding these issues and any others that are important to you. Feel free to contact me at jack@jackwhitver.com.

As always, feel free to contact me at jack@jackwhitver.com.