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Sitting down with Iowa senate leaders from both sides of the aisle | 'This Week in Iowa'

Sabrina Ahmed talks with Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R-Ankeny) and Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D-Coralville) ahead of the 2022 legislative session.

DES MOINES, Iowa — On "This Week in Iowa" Sabrina Ahmed talks with Republicans setting the agenda and Democrats ready to fight for what they believe in.

Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver (R-Ankeny) said his party's priority is tax reform.

"We have a tremendous amount of money in surplus, we have over a billion dollars in our taxpayer trust fund, a billion dollars in our ending balance for this year, and a projected billion dollar ongoing surplus," Whitver said. "So it's really been an over collection of tax payments, and we want to make sure that we get that back to the taxpayer of Iowa."

On the other side of the aisle, Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls (D-Coralville) said he's focused on the workforce crisis. He said this will mean expanding opportunities in career and technical education, improving the child care system, and bringing down the cost of housing.

Whitver and Wahls also each explained how they plan to tackle the omicron variant, Iowa's teacher shortage and the state's voting laws.

Watch "This Week in Iowa" Sundays at 9 a.m. on Local 5 or listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Anchor:

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