Sit down, stay put, get productive

The now infamous method of walking out of a legislative session is adopted in the Iowa General Assembly following the lead of Wisconsin Democrats. Our legislators were elected by us to perform their duties in the House and Senate. Part of those duties would be to make themselves aware of the bills on the calendar and to study them before debate. How can debate be intelligent if you do not study in advance?

We should be holding representatives and senators accountable for job performance. There are a multitude of bills that will not be heard again this year. I wonder how many of those could have received an up-or-down vote during the seven hours that were wasted by the House Democrats? I would have especially appreciated if the Senate would have taken a few minutes to vote on the Wally Horn sponsored bill 2141. This legislation is said to be unimportant? What the heck? This has been introduced for decades, it is way overdue to be considered by the Senate in one of those up-or-down votes!

We have our General Assembly in session a very short time each year. Gentlemen, you need to find a way to improve your productivity.

Joseph Carpenter

Cedar Rapids