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.
Republican U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley‘s prediction that the GOP won’t get much of a say in ironing out the differences between the House and Senate versions of health care reform is apparently coming true, and the months of delay tactics his party engaged in appears to be the deciding factor.
The New Republic reported late Sunday night that Democrats are “almost certain” to negotiate informally rather than convene a formal conference committee. That would keep Republicans from continuing to stall the legislation, something party leadership has vowed to do at every step.
One reason Democrats expect Republicans to keep trying procedural delays is that the Republicans have signaled their intent to do so. On Christmas Eve, when the Senate passed its bill, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell memorably vowed in a floor speech that “This fight isn’t over. My colleagues and I will work to stop this bill from becoming law.”
Staffers in both the House and Senate said Democrats will likely send legislation back and forth to each chamber until a final version of the bill can be agreed upon. While it will be far from easy to merge the two bills, the process will certainly move much faster than it would if Republicans were included.
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