Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Governor Culver To Veto Pay Raises For Statewide Elected Officials; Collective Bargaining Legislation
DES MOINES – Today, Governor Chet Culver announced he intends to veto the pay increases for statewide elected officials and House File 2645, the legislation concerning public employee collective bargaining. The pay increase veto will be a line-item veto in House File 2700, commonly known as the Salaries & Standing Appropriations bill.
Below is a statement delivered by Governor Culver at today’s 4:00 press conference:
STATEMENT FROM GOVERNOR CHET CULVER:
I was elected to be Governor for all of the people of Iowa. As Governor, I have a responsibility to weigh the pros and cons of each and every piece of legislation sent to me by the legislature for my signature.
When I decide whether or not to sign a bill, I have to ask a question – is it in the best interests of the people of Iowa? And I have listened very carefully to the thousands of Iowans who have written, emailed, and called me during this constitutionally mandated review period.
While I have always been a strong supporter of workers rights and collective bargaining, a close examination of House File 2645 shows that it is not in the best interests of the taxpayers of Iowa to let this legislation become law. It is vaguely written with the potential for far reaching, unintended consequences that could obligate the citizens of Iowa to substantial new public expenditures. Therefore, I will veto the bill.
In addition, I am vetoing the legislation that would give me and my fellow statewide elected officeholders a pay raise. In this time of economic uncertainty, I believe it is wrong to raise elected officials salaries. I believe it is wrong to say to the people of Iowa that you have to tighten your belts, but elected officials don’t.
There will be those who will criticize my actions. That is to be expected. That is part of my job. As Harry Truman said, “the buck stops here.”
Iowans are right to demand responsibility and results from their state government, and Iowans expect that the people they hire to run the state continue to live in the same world and deal with the same economic reality they deal with every day. We’re in this together, and working together we are building a stronger Iowa.