DES MOINES - AFSCME Iowa Council 61 President Danny Homan issued the following statement regarding the looming government shutdown:

"A federal government shutdown will hurt Iowa families. A shutdown will lead to delays in military pay, unpaid furloughs of up to 9,000 federal employees in Iowa, and a delay in small business loans in Iowa. With many federal agencies still working though the details of a shutdown, a shutdown could also prevent new seniors from receiving Social Security checks, delay veterans benefits, and close Head Start centers that educate 8,133 children in Iowa.

"Federal funding plays a key role in many aspects of state and local government operations, especially the Iowa National Guard. While the exact impacts of a shutdown on state and local governments in Iowa are not yet completely clear, a shutdown will undoubtedly harm public employees and their families and harm all Iowa communities which rely on the public services those employees provide.

"A government shutdown will seriously harm our state and national economies. Congressman Latham and Congressman King need to take their jobs seriously and stop supporting their political party's plan that holds the operations of the federal government hostage to unreasonable demands that the American people opposed at the ballot box last November."

A fact sheet on how a federal government shutdown would hurt Iowa follows this press release.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack today called on House and Senate leaders to immediately come back into session to find a way forward to avoid a government shutdown. The House and Senate are currently scheduled to come back into session only hours before the shutdown deadline.

"At a time when Washington should be working on a bipartisan basis to create jobs and boost the economy, Congress is dark as the clock ticks down to an unnecessary and reckless shutdown," Loebsack wrote to Congressional leaders. "I call on you to bring the House and Senate into session immediately and get to work on a simple, bipartisan Continuing Resolution that can be signed into law. I continue to stand ready to work on a bipartisan basis to avert this manufactured crisis and get to work on the priorities of the American people."

The full text of the letter follows.

September 29, 2013

The Honorable Harry Reid                           The Honorable John Boehner

Majority Leader                         Speaker of the House

US Senate                         US House of Representatives

S-221, The Capitol                        H-232, The Capitol

Washington, DC 20510                          Washington, DC 20515

Dear Majority Leader Reid and Speaker Boehner:

With less than 48 hours until the government shuts down without bipartisan action by the House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Administration, both Chambers should be in session and working today and through the Monday night deadline.  The brinksmanship, political posturing, and partisan ideology that have gotten us to this point cannot continue.  There is no excuse for ongoing political games or inaction - Congress and the Administration must come together and take the simple steps necessary to keep the government running.  Ongoing partisan posturing by those hoping to score political points on the back of our economy is not just inexcusable, it's reckless and it must end.

As our country faces down yet another manufactured crisis, both sides of the aisle must put politics aside and come together to take action.  Our economy and Iowa families cannot afford more brinksmanship and the effects of a government shutdown would have ripple effects across the economy and the brunt of the impact would be felt by middle-class families such as those at Rock Island Arsenal who could go without pay, our troops who would report for duty to protect our country but see their pay delayed, and small businesses that would be unable to expand without the loans they need to create jobs.

At a time when Washington should be working on a bipartisan basis to create jobs and boost the economy, Congress is dark as the clock ticks down to an unnecessary and reckless shutdown and federal agencies are spending taxpayer dollars preparing for a government shutdown instead of carrying out the work of the American people.  This situation is inexcusable.

I call on you to bring the House and Senate into session immediately and get to work on a simple, bipartisan Continuing Resolution that can be signed into law.  We have reached the eleventh hour and there is no time for more political posturing or for both Chambers of Congress to be waiting at home for the other side to blink.

I continue to stand ready to work on a bipartisan basis to avert this manufactured crisis and get to work on the priorities of the American people.

Sincerely,

Dave Loebsack

Iowa's Second District

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is asking the IRS commissioner nominee for his views on two key subjects prior to confirmation proceedings:  the use of private contractors to collect tax debts the IRS doesn't target and problems encouraging whistleblowers to come forward on tax fraud.

"Instead of raising taxes, as the President and his supporters want, we need to do a better job of collecting taxes that are already due and owed," Grassley said.  "Private contractors and whistleblowers would bring in a lot of tax revenue without raising a single dime of taxes on anyone.   I'm looking forward to hearing from the IRS commissioner on these programs before voting on his nomination."

Grassley is a senior member and former chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee, which will consider the nomination of John Koskinen as IRS commissioner.  Grassley authored the 2006 improvements to the IRS whistleblower office and has been dismayed by slow progress and setbacks at the agency in encouraging whistleblowers to come forward.

In 2009, the IRS abandoned efforts to use private contractors to collect low-level tax debts that the agency doesn't collect on its own.  Meanwhile, the IRS' workload has increased in some ways, tax debts remain significant, and the IRS has squandered resources on conference spending and bonuses, Grassley said.

Grassley's letter to Koskinen is available here.

-30-