Wednesday was a difficult day for The American Independent News Network, which is the larger entity that operates The Iowa Independent. Our chief executive and founder announced two of our sister sites would close and their content would be moved to The American Independent.
A recently introduced bill could have far-reaching impact on the U.S. sugar industry, including American Crystal Sugar, a farmer-owned cooperative that locked out 1,300 Midwest workers on Aug. 1.
The chairman for Herman Cain’s Iowa effort says the campaign “relied more on the word of farmers than Washington regulators” in deciding to run an ad containing claims the Environmental Protection Agency says are false.
The Iowa Senate will remain under the control of a slim 26-25 Democratic majority when it reconvenes in January 2012.
In an interview with the Washington Post, U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, said he planned to introduce legislation in 2010 designed to reform the filibuster process in the Senate.
While speaking to reporters about health care reform legislation earlier this month, Harkin said it wasn’t right that a small group of senators could take “a ‘my way or the highway’ position” and kill legislation. Because of this, he said he was considering re-introducing a bill he and U.S. Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., first put forth in 1995 that would still allow for slowing a bill but would prevent complete blockage of a bill through a filibuster.
“It really is an abuse of a person’s position as Senator to demand … everything. It is really unfair to the rest of the Senate and the rest of the caucus too,” he said at the time.
On Saturday, Harkin renewed his pledge, calling the current situation “impossible.”
You’re supposed to filibuster something that is a deep seated issue. But in September, we had an extension on unemployment insurance. We had a filibuster that lasted over three weeks. They held up everything. And in the end, the vote was 97 to one. Filibusters are no longer used to debate something, but to stop everything.
While he doubts the bill will ultimately pass, interest in reforming the filibuster process has peaked of late due to Republican obstruction tactics regarding numerous pieces of legislation, including health care reform.
We’ve entered a new era here of outright stoppage at all costs. So that’s what I’m trying to address with this amendment. I doubt anything will happen. But at least we’ll start the process.
Follow Jason Hancock on Twitter
Do you know where to vote on Election Day? Do you know what to bring with you? Get comprehensive voter information for your state here.
Sign up for our email newsletter