Democrats argue AEA bill and new amendment should have been given more time
Iowa House Democrats accused Republicans of wanting to finish up debate on the AEA bill and give it the stamp of approval before 6:30 p.m. Thursday night so they could watch the Iowa State NCAA Tournament game.
"I really don't want our deliberations limited by the timing of a basketball game," said Rep. Ken Croken, a Democrat from Scott County, during debate on the House floor Thursday.
The amendment was filed less than an hour before debate began, and Republicans set a 6:30 p.m. cutoff for debate. It was voted on and passed minutes later, by a margin of 51-43.
Speaker Pat Grassley denied those claims, stating the policy in the new amendment had already been debated at length.
"I haven't watched one basketball game, I don't even know who is playing and when, and if I did, I wouldn't pick the games right anyways," Grassley said.
A statement sent by a spokesperson for the House Republicans reads in part: "As the Democrats know, nothing in the amendment is new policy... We have worked hard to take feedback from the AEA, superintendents and parents to find resolution on this topic."
On the house floor Thursday, Rep. Chad Ingels, a Republican from Fayette County, explained that the Republican caucus spent upwards of 15 hours hashing out the bill, but conceded that the Democrats didn't have a say in those meetings.
"I admit the minority party hasn't had a lot of input on a lot of things, related to this and that's how this works here," Ingels said.
Rep. Austin Baeth, a Democrat from Des Moines, says his colleagues should be more willing to work across the aisle.
"I feel like the majority party is not allowing input from the many experts we have in the Democratic caucus," Baeth said.
The AEA Bill will now go across the rotunda to be voted on by the Senate. It would have to pass through that chamber without any changes before going to Gov. Kim Reynolds' desk.