The 2008 Iowa legislature session may end, soon, but until that gavel falls to mark the conclusion of its work, there are long hours and short tempers under the statehouse dome. There are also a few guffaws.
Senator Matt McCoy, a Democrat from Des Moines, urged his colleagues just before midnight to quickly vote for a huge bill that divies up millions for infrastructure projects (including a quarter of a billion dollar prison expansion/modernization plan). It is "starting to feel like Katrina" around here, McCoy said to his senate colleagues, suggesting it’s time to vote and vacate the building.
About half an hour earlier as I sat in the Iowa House of Representatives, there was a long delay in debate. A Democratic legislator was trying to find the "official copy" of the bill he was supposed to be leading debate on, and one lawmaker was heard to exclaim: "Let’s get this pork on the road." A Republican lawmaker, for sure, suggesting the bills at session’s end are laden with pork. Cash cows, if you will.
About O.Kay Henderson
Kay is a founding member of the Radio Iowa network newsroom. In 1994, she became the network’s news director. She’s a featured reporter and commentator on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” and the 2002 recipient of the Shelley Award.
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