Republican State Rep. Jon Jacobsen took to the floor of the Iowa House of Representatives on Tuesday to remind his colleagues they have “unfinished business” ahead of them when it comes to addressing COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
The legislature did nothing to address the crisis in the state with many employers forcing employees to be vaccinated, leading to resignations, firings, threats and coercion of Iowa workers.
“We know the maps are unfinished, but we also know that there’s another elephant in the room — at least there’s a few elephants left here — we have some critical issues evolving in an ongoing emergency situation,” Jacobsen said. “We have bipartisan COVID-related concerns — issues of time-sensitive nature. And so far today, not so much as an acknowledgment of that, although we had many of our constituents here to convey upon us today.”
Jacobsen talked about two proposals he offered last April to secure some liberties and freedoms as Iowans that he said were voted down because legislators did not think the situation would occur and if it did, it would be dealt with during the special session.
“Today, I’m thinking of John F. Kennedy saying we choose to do these things not because they’re easy, but because they are hard,” Jacobsen said. “And today we chose not to do the hard thing. And I understand that, but we can’t push it off. We need to address this as an agenda item in the 20 days ahead when we meet, or in the alternate. I would ask our good governor to call us to an adjacent special session to discuss these ongoing evolving time-sensitive issues. People’s lives and livelihoods are on the line. A deliberative body should not be afraid of robust discussion and debate in the marketplace of ideas. For a legislative body, it’s even more important than plotting out re-election maps.”
