Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Governor Culver’s Remarks From The Press Conference
(Des Moines) Governor Chet Culver’s remarks from this morning’s press conference are below:
GOVERNOR CULVER’S REMARKS:
Good morning, thank you for being here.
Today, I’d like to briefly touch on three things important to our Administration as we enter the home stretch of the legislative session.
First, it is important to remember we are going to have to balance a budget before the legislature returns home. I’d like to reiterate my call for fiscal responsibility. We must protect our priorities while at the same time maintaining our cash reserves.
Second, I want to once again call on the legislature to pass several initiatives important to the people of Iowa. These initiatives include:
- Passing legislation to expand Iowa’s Model Core Curriculum, expanding access to college through Senior Year Plus, and creating a new Science, Technology, Engineering and Math center at the University of Northern Iowa.
- Passing legislation to expand health care for Iowa’s children and passing health initiatives such as covering pre-existing conditions and increasing the age to 25 for coverage of dependent children.
- Passing legislation to increase the use of renewable energy by setting a new renewable energy goal of 25% by 2025.
- And finally, passing legislation to expand and modernize Iowa’s Bottle Bill to include more than 330 million water bottles and sports drinks currently not covered.
The third issue I want to discuss today is the Chapter 20 reform debate currently taking place in the legislature.
As Governor, I have made improving the lives of working Iowans a top priority.
Whether it was increasing the minimum wage, paying Iowa teachers what they deserve, expanding access to health care, or working to attract more than 8,000 quality jobs to Iowa, I am committed to ensuring Iowa’s workers are treated fairly and their quality of life is improved.
I want to also say we could not have done any of this without strong, bipartisan support in the legislature – and for that I am grateful.
In my Condition of the State, I said we should not be afraid to debate difficult labor-management issues. This includes the debate currently taking place in the legislature.
While I believe it is healthy to discuss important issues such as collective bargaining, I have serious concerns about the speed at which this bill was moved through the legislature.
It is simply common sense to allow the public time to weigh in as the legislature considers changing Iowa’s collective bargaining law for the first time in more than 30 years.
In 1974, Republicans and Democrats were able to work together on collective bargaining legislation that ultimately improved the lives of Iowa workers.
Lt. Governor Judge and I have expressed our concerns to legislative leadership over the past week, and again yesterday. Clearly, our concerns were not new.
I am disappointed our concerns were not addressed and the bill was pushed through anyway.
I appreciate the fact a Motion to Reconsider was filed, which offers some time to take a look at the bill and see if a consensus can be reached.
The Motion to Reconsider was a step in the right direction.
However, I want to be clear that there is a strong possibility I will veto this bill if a real effort to listen to the concerns of Iowans, local elected officials, and government stakeholders at all levels does not take place.
As I’ve said before, a real effort to reach a consensus must be made. I stand ready to do my part.