Iowa lawmakers in the state House and Senate are miles apart when it comes to their budget goals.
Gov. Terry Branstad last month put out a $6.5 billion plan for the fiscal year that starts July 1st. On Wednesday, leaders in the Republican-majority House called for spending less money and the Democratic-controlled Senate sought to spend more.
Based on their target budget numbers, the House wants to spend about $6.4 billion and the Senate $6.9 billion. Both sides say their plans meet the state requirement not to spend more than 99 percent of revenue. Republicans say they want to focus on keeping expenses down while Democrats say they want to make investments to improve programs.
More details will be revealed as lawmakers work on precise proposals in committees.
