Doctor Shopping Bill Passes Out of Committee, But What’s Next?

Wednesday, March 11, 2009, 4:47
News Center
460 views
1 comment

Many have deemed this week “labor week” in the Iowa House of Representatives. Last night some 40 Iowans spoke out at a public forum. Following the forum, the bill quickly passed out of the House Labor
Committee. The bill is expected to be debated on the floor of the House on Friday if Democrats can find the 51 votes needed to pass it.

Democrat leaders in the House might have a hard time finding the necessary votes to move forward with the bill. It is rumored that as many as ten Democrats oppose the legislation. If that is indeed the case, it will be another embarrassing loss for the labor unions who have yet to see one of their legislative priorities be signed into law.

-Open scope bargaining was vetoed by Governor Culver last year.

-Prevailing wage legislation failed in the Iowa House by one vote late last month.

-Choice of doctor legislation seems to be going nowhere.

And if they can’t pass one of those three bills, there is no way they could expect to see Fair Share legislation pass in the Iowa House.

If the choice of doctor bill is dead on arrival, one has to wonder why Democrats would introduce the bill and hold a public hearing? Is it an attempt by the labor unions to gage where they really stand with House Democrats?

Ken Sagar, the Iowa ALF-CIO president, and treasurer of the Iowa Democratic Party, has already put a handful of House Democrats on notice. Maybe, he wanted to see if they got the message or if there are additional House Democrats who need to be purged.

About the Author

Craig Robinson has written 700 stories on this site.

Craig Robinson serves as the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheIowaRepublican.com. Prior to founding Iowa's largest conservative news site, Robinson served as the Political Director of the Republican Party of Iowa during the 2008 Iowa Caucuses. In that capacity, Robinson planned and organized the largest political event in 2007, the Iowa Straw Poll, in Ames, Iowa. Robinson also organized the 2008 Republican caucuses in Iowa, and was later dispatched to Nevada to help with the caucuses there. Robinson cut his teeth in Iowa politics during the 2000 caucus campaign of businessman Steve Forbes and has been involved with most major campaigns in the state since then. His extensive political background and rolodex give him a unique perspective from which to monitor the political pulse of Iowa.

One Comment on “Doctor Shopping Bill Passes Out of Committee, But What’s Next?”

Mike C wrote on 11 March, 2009, 8:42
The labor unions are to the Democrats what the religious right is to the Republicans. Both are solid sources of money and support for their respective parties, and neither will ever defect to the other party. Both are potentially dangerous to their own candidates, so “red meat” must be tossed their way. But both have ideas that are completely insane, so no responsible legislator really wants to see their agendas enacted. So they get whipped into a frenzy, get within sight of their goal, then get left at the altar.

The Democrats can be in power for a decade and no significant pro-union legislation will get anywhere.