Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
The latest health care reform proposal, which includes a public insurance plan that state’s could “opt out” of, has raised the possibility that the debate currently raging in Washington could be headed to state capitols around the country.
As the news site Politico points out, the details of how, exactly, a state can opt out are still not known. It could be a vote in the legislature, or, it could be put to the public in the form of a referendum. But with at least one prominent Iowa Republicans already calling any public health care option reason to invoke the 10th Amendment, if U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, gets his way health care could join the myriad issues facing Iowa legislators in the coming years.
When contacted by the Iowa Independent, a spokesperson for House Minority Leader Kraig Paulsen, R-Hiawatha, declined to comment. Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley, R-Chariton, did not respond to several attempts to get his views on the issue.
But Republican gubernatorial hopeful Bob Vander Plaats has already made an issue out of the push for health care reform, saying Iowa should not only opt out of federal health care reform but possibly opt out of Medicaid and Medicare as well.
In Kansas, conservative lawmakers are already suggesting changing the state Constitution to exempt the state from federal health insurance mandates.
It is important to remember, though, that in Iowa Democrats still control majorities in both legislative chambers, meaning any debate surrounding opting out of health-care legislation will likely be saved for the campaign trail.
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