Republicans in the Iowa HOUSE have unveiled their preferred cuts in the current year’s state budget. It’s a plan that pares slightly more than Republican Governor Kim Reynolds recommended in early January — but far less than Republicans in the SENATE proposed two weeks ago. The most significant difference between the two plans would be the impact on Iowa’s 15 area community colleges. Senate Republicans proposed nearly five-and-a-half MILLION dollars in cuts to the current state fiscal year.

Representative Pat Grassley of New Hartfordsays under the HOUSE G-O-P proposal, community colleges would have to figure out how to cut just half a million dollars from this year’s budget. The House G-O-P plan calls for about eight MILLION dollars in cuts to the three state universities. That is nearly 60 percent less than SENATE Republicans proposed in cuts for the University of Iowa, Iowa State and the University of Northern Iowa.