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Washington Evening Journal
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Washington, IA 52353
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Iowans feel it as shutdown continues
Southeast Iowa Union offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
We are four weeks into Schumer's Shutdown, and Iowans are feeling it. Thousands of flights have been delayed. Seniors can’t access telehealth services. Nutrition assistance for millions of vulnerable families is in jeopardy.
Military families are increasingly relying on food pantries to make ends meet. Shutdowns have real consequences on real people — and it’s hardworking Americans who pay the price for Democrats’ dysfunction.
For our small businesses — the backbone of Iowa’s economy — this shutdown means
•No federal inspections or approvals.
•No payouts on federal contracts.
•No access to loans.
Thanks to President Trump and the passage of the Working Families Tax Cuts, our Main Street economy has come roaring back post Biden. But the Democrats’ political games threaten that comeback by cutting off vital capital and certainty for small businesses and manufacturers.
It’s extremely disappointing that the Democrats care more about receiving validation from their radical base than working with Republicans to make progress on issues and do the job they were elected to do.
Ironically, Chuck Schumer expressed similar sentiments during the 2013 shutdown:
“As we said a thousand times, we are happy to discuss how to fund the government [but] not with a gun to our head. Open up all of the government, and then we can have a fruitful discussion …”
And again in 2019, Chuck said, “We cannot — cannot — ever hold American workers hostage again.” Yet here we are.
It’s time for Sen. Schumer to take his own advice, stop the political theater, and reopen the government for the American people.
I recently stopped by Luther College in Decorah to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first organized Norwegian emigration to the U.S. I appreciate His Royal Highness Prince Haakon of Norway for making the trip to commemorate the occasion.
Norwegian heritage runs deep in Decorah, and those who first made the journey to settle here carried courage, faith, and a deep sense of community with them. Those values are still alive today at Luther, in Decorah, and across the country.
