Republicans in the Iowa Senate have voted for a plan that cuts nearly 32 million from the current year’s state budget. It is about 20 million dollars less than their earlier proposal. Senator Charles Schneider is a Republican from West Des Moines.
The bill still calls for carving millions out of the budgets for the state’s prisons, courts and community colleges. It cuts funding for the three state universities by about 14-and-a-half million.
Democrats in the Senate called the G-O-P’s bill reckless and misguided. Senator Joe Bolkcom, a Democrat from Iowa City, says Iowans are suffering through “G-O-P budget whiplash.”
This debate about cutting the current year’s state budget will continue next week. The House must debate its own plan to reduce state spending to ensure the budget stays in the black.
