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Retiring House Republican Rep. Ross Paustian said the Iowa House isn’t “even close” to having enough votes to pass Education Savings Accounts for Iowa families, according to an article from a legislative forum.

Paustian said he is ready for his session to be over, but he will not return home and say he supported providing Iowa families with educational freedom.

“We aren’t even close to enough votes in the House,” Paustian said, according to the article. “Now, you know, you’re not home free until we adjourn. So, you know, they attach that to some bill that 15 or 20 current ‘no’ votes say, ‘I’ve got to have that bill’ so they’ll vote for it. I don’t really see that happening. But, I’m ready for the session to be over. This is my last session. That’s one thing (on private school tuition assistance) … I’ll come home and say ‘I did not support that.’”

Paustian said there are about 15-20 Republicans in the House who oppose providing Iowa families with Education Savings Accounts.

The bill including ESAs includes just 5,000 ESAs for families with students who have an IEP and 5,000 for families of current public school students or incoming kindergartners.

Author: Jacob Hall

1 COMMENT

  1. Something to consider about our Founding Documents and the fact that the Constitution is Supreme Law of Iowa and that no statute or “law” can override or otherwise trump itself over our contract with government.

    Attaching one bill to another is illegal and a breach of the oath to faithfully uphold the Constitution. Every bill ought to pass or fail of its own merit. The reason for this is to make our legislators accountable for the bills they pass or reject. We the People deserve to know who is standing with us and who is not.

    From Iowa’s Constitution, Article 3, Section 29 — Acts–One Subject–Expressed in Title:

    Every act shall embrace but one subject, and matters properly connected therewith; which subject shall be expressed in the title. But if any subject shall be embraced in an act which shall not be expressed in the title, such act shall be void only as to so much thereof as shall not be expressed in the title.

    I see nothing about sandwiching several bills in order to make it palpable to certain legislators owing allegiance to lobbyists.
    Ergo, such an act that is embedded in another and not reflected in the title is void. Hmmm.

    And legislators ignore their first duty is to NOT interfere with the people’s rights and liberties. For it is we the people that created the State of Iowa and not a government that somehow spontaneously created itself. Lobbyists are not “We the People”, they are but a subset, comprised of special interests.

    But when a special interest group is promoting a restriction of others’ rights and liberties, the only acceptable path forward is to decisively protect our sovereign rights and liberties.

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