Today is a dark day for anyone who owns property in Iowa. Indeed, it’s a dark day for our Constitution and potentially for the Iowa way of life. We could not be more disappointed that the Iowa Utilities Board, despite overwhelming compelling evidence to the contrary, found that the Summit carbon dioxide pipeline scheme is somehow in the “public interest and necessity.” We disagree strongly with the IUB’s conclusion, and we will continue to oppose this proposal at every step.
Iowa and the United States between them have the most remarkable and enduring Constitutional protections in the world. However, even the strongest Constitution can be eroded and eventually debased if everyone, particularly including every public official, does not constantly measure every public action against what the Constitution requires. In today’s action, the IUB departs from important Constitutional norms in a way that threatens every farm, every house, and every person in our state. A line has been crossed.
Many of Iowa’s leaders are failing her on this issue, and our proud tradition of clean government is being sullied. The overwhelming majority of Iowans recognize this for the political boondoggle that it is, but it is more than some garden-variety bureaucratic error. This is plainly a form of “lawfare” being waged against ordinary Iowans.
We are carefully reviewing today’s decision in light of the docket, Iowa statutes, and the state and Federal Constitutions to develop the next steps in the courts and in the General Assembly in response to today’s developments. Iowans can be assured this is not the final word on this issue.
Letter sent on behalf of:
Senator Kevin Alons, Senator Jeff Taylor, Senator Dennis Guth, Senator David Rowley, Senator Sandy Salmon, Senator Cherielynn Westrich, Senator Lynn Evans, Representative Steven Bradley, Representative Ken Carlson, Representative Mark Cisneros, Representative Zach Dieken, Representative Dean Fisher, Representative Thomas Gerhold, Representative Cindy Golding, Representative Helena Hayes, Representative Steven Holt, Representative Thomas Jeneary, Representative Bradley Sherman, Representative Jeff Shipley, Representative Luana Stoltenberg, Representative Mark Thompson, Representative Anne Osmundson, Representative Brooke Boden, Representative Henry Stone, Representative Heather Hora, Representative Skyler Wheeler, Representative Eddie Andrews, Representative Dan Gehlbach, Representative Bob Henderson, Representative Bobby Kaufman, and Representative Charles Thomson.
