Republican leader asks Governor to reconsider potential "Special Session"

One of the legislature’s top republican leaders is urging democrat Governor Tom Vilsack to shelve the “political rhetoric” and accept the G-O-P’s state budget plan. Vilsack’s threatening to veto the budget and call lawmakers back in special session to spend more money, primarily on education. House Republican Leader Christopher Rants of Sioux City says a special session would be a waste of taxpayers’ money because the republican budget is “as good as it gets.”Rants says with companies like Alcoa, Rockwell and Principal laying off workers, it doesn’t make sense for Vilsack to press for higher pay for state workers and university professors.Rants says if Vilsack calls lawmakers back to Des Moines, they’ll pass the same budget they sent him last week. Rants charges that Vilsack is threatening to shut down state government because he has political constituency groups he needs to pay homage to. Rants is holding news conferences today in Davenport, Cedar Rapids and Waterloo, and he spoke with Radio Iowa via cell phone from the road.