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.
A stand-alone bill that would have extended unemployment insurance benefits that expired in May failed to garner enough votes to pass in the U.S. House Tuesday afternoon.
The bill, which would have extended the benefits until November 30, needed a two-thirds majority to pass under a special procedure in which no amendments were allowed and debate was limited. It fell 16 votes short.
Republicans have blasted Democrats for not offsetting the cost of the bill, which totals around $33.9 billion. Annie Lowery of our sister site, The Washington Independent, reports that a Senate Democratic leadership aide says Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is working with members of the Republican caucus and hopes to move the stand-alone bill this week — before the July 4 recess. Republican U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine has indicated she would support such a stand-alone bill.
According to Open Congress, the only option now for Democrats is to go along with Republican demands and find a revenue offset to pay for the costs. But Democrats could also send the legislation back to committee and try to push it through under normal rules, requiring only a simply majority.
The extension was originally part of the larger jobs bill, which also included Medicaid funding and several other important provisions. Last week that bill failed to garner the 60 votes necessary in the U.S. Senate to overcome a filibuster. Around 1,500 to 2,000 Iowans a week will lose their unemployment benefits if an extension isn’t passed.
Iowa’s delegation broke down party lines on the vote: Democrats Bruce Braley, Leonard Boswell and Dave Loebsack voted for it, Republicans Steve King and Tom Latham opposed.
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