Republicans Upmeyer, Hagenow return to Iowa House leadership

DES MOINES - Majority House Republicans on Wednesday elected their leaders for next legislative session and pledged to bring an agenda to the Statehouse that includes a government living within its means and easing Iowans' tax burdens.

'We've got a lot of new people, and we're going to take a fresh look at everything,” said Rep. Chris Hagenow, a Windsor Heights lawyer who was selected by his 59-member GOP caucus to continue as majority floor leader when the 87th session convenes Jan. 9.

Republicans who ae to hold sway over the Iowa House, the Iowa Senate and the governorship for the next two years, also opted to retain Linda Upmeyer of Clear Lake as Speaker of the House. She is the first woman in Iowa history to hold that post after winning re-election Nov. 8 to her seventh term in House District 54.

Upmeyer contends that voter angst and frustration evident in this month's election was aimed at Washington, D.C., and a dysfunctional federal government rather than the state level.

The next two years, a 29-member majority of Senate Republicans is to set the agenda with a larger House GOP majority and Gov. Terry Branstad, a six-term Republican.

Upmeyer said her caucus plans to begin policy discussions in December and work with new Senate majority leaders to build a 2017 agenda. 'Some of those things will be very successful, other things will take more time or fall by the wayside” in the legislative process, she said.

Upmeyer did not commit to specifics, but said discussions in coming months probably are going to include setting education funding and giving schools more flexibility, enacting a balanced state budget, improving water quality and topics such as tax relief, health care and, possibly, collective bargaining.

House Republicans in the past have pushed for income tax cuts, and Upmeyer told reporters Wednesday, 'We're certainly going to study that topic. I don't know where we'll land yet. It's too early to know. I have no doubt we're going to study that.”

On water quality, Upmeyer said she has heard growing support for putting more money in a voter-approved trust fund, She did not, however, advocate raising the state sales tax to accomplish that. 'I haven't heard anybody asking for a tax increase,” she said.

While House GOP leaders begin to fill committee assignments and weigh policy options, constituency groups that helped get Republicans elected have begun pushing their platforms.

Bob Vander Plaats of Sioux City and the Family Leader emailed a statement reiterating a constitutionally protected right to life from conception to natural death, encouraging 'the repeal of any laws allowing any marriage that is not between one natural man and one natural woman,” and supporting legislation that would allow discrimination by businesses based on religious beliefs.

Other members of the Iowa House leadership team chosen by the 59-member Republican majority were Reps. Matt Windschitl of Missouri Valley as speaker pro tempore, Zach Nunn of Bondurant as majority whip, and Megan Jones of Sioux Rapids, Jarad Klein of Keota, Mike Sexton of Rockwell City and John Wills of Spirit Lake as assistant majority leaders.

Republicans picked up two seats in the Nov. 8 legislative elections and have 11 new members.

House Democrats selected their leadership team last week with Marshalltown Rep. Mark Smith chosen to continue as minority leader.

l

Comments: (515) 243-7220; rod.boshart@thegazette.com