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Democrats, Culver hit stalemate over budget |
| Posted: April 22, 2009 |
By Jennifer Jacobs and Tony Leys, the Des Moines Register, April 22, 2009
A top Democratic legislator accused Gov. Chet Culver Tuesday of refusing to negotiate with lawmakers from his own party over budget matters.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy blamed the governor as activity ground to a halt in the House, days before the Legislature was expected to adjourn.
"All of our work is pretty much done now, except for negotiations with the governor's office. And we're waiting for the governor to engage in negotiations," said McCarthy, a Des Moines Democrat.
The dispute includes disagreement over Culver's proposal to borrow up to $750 million to fix Iowa roads and bridges.
Culver said Tuesday that he was unwilling to compromise with Democratic lawmakers, who hold a majority in the House and Senate. They have said they prefer to spend money on flood-mitigation efforts and other projects.
Culver's spokesman denied that the governor is refusing to negotiate with lawmakers.
But the governor emphasized his "I-JOBS" bonding proposal during a visit to Iowa City on Tuesday. He said lawmakers need to "step up" and address the proposal before they adjourn.
"At this point, I'm not willing to compromise on any of it," Culver said of the transportation projects in the $750 million proposal.
Culver said Iowa can do what most states cannot right now - use bonding power - to help pay for needs and create thousands of job. He has proposed using gambling revenue to repay the bonds.
"If we pay as we go, we'll be waiting decades to rebuild our state," he said.
Culver's proposal includes $150 million for flood recovery work.
He also wants legislators to broaden the scope of mental-health coverage, cut middle-class taxes and approve increases for the wages of trade workers, such as carpenters and plumbers.
Spokesman Troy Price said Culver and Lt. Gov. Patty Judge have been talking with lawmakers regularly.
"Just last night, Lt. Gov. Judge had a lengthy conversation with Rep. McCarthy on the best way we could address the remaining issues Iowans care most about, balance a budget, and move toward adjournment," Price said.
McCarthy said that he called Judge and that the call dealt with his concerns over the lack of communication. "He's not negotiating with us on anything at this point," McCarthy said.
Two other leading Democrats, House Speaker Pat Murphy of Dubuque and Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal of Council Bluffs, indicated the differences with the governor could be resolved.
Murphy denied there was a serious problem between the Legislature and the governor. When asked about disagreements over the governor's bonding proposal, he said, "There's probably agreement on 75 percent of it."
Gronstal also downplayed the matter. He said it's common for differences of opinion to crop up at the end of a legislative session.
"There are people with strong opinions on lots of issues up here - and people of good faith are going to work together and find a resolution to those differences."
A Des Moines Register Iowa Poll published this month showed little support for the governor's plan to borrow hundreds of millions of dollars. The poll indicated that 71 percent of Iowans said it was better to pay for public works projects as the state had money over time rather than borrow to pay for projects.
Rep. Kraig Paulsen of Hiawatha, leader of the House Republicans, said members of his party were frustrated.
"Republicans would like to work," he said, adding that they have seen few details from the budget bills.
Paulsen said the apparent stalemate between the governor and Democratic leaders is unusual.
"I don't know of this happening to this magnitude before," he said.
Lawmakers should pass a budget and leave, he said.
Gronstal said that is an option. If Culver vetoed any of the budget bills the Legislature passed, he could force lawmakers to return to the Statehouse. "For all I know we're coming back for a special session," Gronstal told fellow senators.
McCarthy adjourned the House at mid-afternoon Tuesday because of the impasse.
He said the House would not debate any more bills before 2:30 p.m. today, because several lawmakers plan to attend President Barack Obama's visit to Newton.
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