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.
While he may be assigned to the conference committee expected to iron out differences between health care reform bills passed by the House and Senate, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley said all real power is in the hands of Democrats.
U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley (Photo: Lauren Victoria Burke/WDCPIX.com)
“I think this will be one of those instances, following along with the stimulus bill passed in February, where I’ll be a conferee but Democrats will huddle secretly and come to the conclusion of what they want to do, and then announce it and it’s a ‘take it or leave it.’” the Iowa Republican said on a conference call with reporters.
Health care reform has been a purely partisan process for months, Grassley said, and he doesn’t see that changing now that the bills as so close to being completed.
“In the case of the stimulus, Republicans left it because we didn’t have any input,” he said, adding: “As far as health care, it will be pretty much partisan in conference.”
If he could offer changes, Grassley said he would add limits to medical malpractice awards, kill the individual mandate and repeal cuts to Medicare Advantage.
As for the parts of the Senate bill he would leave alone, Grassley said he supports ending discrimination based on pre-existing conditions and forbidding caps on the amount of coverage a person can receive in a given year or in a lifetime.
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