DES MOINES: Today Senate Democrats today announced they will host a weeklong series of “Open Budget Hearings” next week at the Iowa Statehouse. |DES MOINES: Today Senate Democrats today announced they will host a weeklong series of “Open Budget Hearings” next week at the Iowa Statehouse. Informed Iowans will detail the impact on Iowans of the significant points of disagreement between Senate Democratic proposals and those of Governor Branstad and House Republicans.
“We hope sunshine, openness, and transparency will build momentum for a budget compromise that protects the top priorities of Iowa families,” said Senator Bob Dvorsky, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Since Republicans have rejected our offer to make the negotiations themselves public, these Open Budget Hearings are the next best thing.”
The Open Budget Hearings will begin with education issues on Monday, June 6, at 10 AM in Room 116 of the Iowa Statehouse (see Monday’s agenda below). It will be chaired by Senator Brian Schoenjahn of Arlington, the chair of the Senate Education Budget Subcommittee. The Health and Human Services budget will be discussed on Tuesday, Economic Growth on Wednesday, Administration and Regulation on Thursday, and Agriculture and Natural Resources on Friday.
All hearings will be open to the public and will be live streamed on the Internet at http://www.senate.iowa.gov/democrats. At this web site, Iowans will be able to find detailed schedules, watch and read testimony, post their own comments and send messages to legislators and Governor Branstad.
“With one billion dollars in the state’s savings accounts, Republicans are needlessly insisting on an austerity budget that will hurt Iowa families, local schools, and local economic development,” said Dvorsky. “The facts are on our side. That’s why we’ve organized these Open Budget Hearings. By bringing more openness and transparency to the negotiations, we hope to help Iowans better understand what’s at stake and increase the pressure on Republicans to compromise by stepping away from their extreme demands.”
Since the middle of May, Senate Democrats have held more than 37 listening posts and community meetings to learn more about the impact of proposed Republican cuts.
