Iowa Democrats say Republicans 'playing political games' while government shutdown looms

Iowa Democrats are warning that a potential government shutdown would harm farmers, law enforcement efforts and a host of Iowans who rely on federal programs like housing assistance and food safety inspections.

If Congress doesn't come to a funding agreement by Sept. 30, the government will shut down, which would furlough thousands of federal employees and halt or delay government services. So-called essential services would continue, but federal employees would be required to work without pay.

In an online news conference Tuesday, Iowa Democratic Party Chair Rita Hart said Iowa's all-Republican congressional delegation has the power to work across the aisle to pass a funding bill.

"If they would decide to put politics aside and work across the aisle to find compromise, a resolution could make it out of the House that would be palatable to the Senate," Hart said. "But instead, Republicans are busy playing political games and trying to ram through massive cuts that have no shot at making it through the Senate."

More: Live updates: Status of an impending government shutdown and how it could affect your family

The Republican-controlled House has yet to pass any bills to fund the government, with conservatives pressuring Speaker Kevin McCarthy to bring up spending bills containing proposed cuts that the Democratic-controlled Senate is poised to reject.

"If House Republicans have their way there would be devastating cuts to food safety, to education, law enforcement, housing and Meals on Wheels to just name a few," Hart said.

John Whitaker, a Democratic former Iowa state representative and U.S. Department of Agriculture official, said a shutdown would delay federal payments to farmers and construction of conservation projects.

Whitaker said the conservatives' spending cuts would violate the debt ceiling deal that McCarthy struck with President Joe Biden this summer to keep spending levels flat for the coming year.

More: Moody's says a government shutdown would be 'negative' for US credit rating

"Governing means that when you made a compromise like you made last summer on the budget, you stick to it and you get the job done," he said. "That’s what we’re asking folks to do right now. Just please get the job done."

Nick Klinefeldt, a former U.S. attorney in Iowa who was appointed by President Barack Obama, said even taking time to prepare for a government shutdown means federal employees aren't focused on their duties.

"I can tell you from firsthand experience that government shutdowns impede our justice system," he said. "They slow down criminal cases and criminal investigations, they delay the government’s ability to seek recoveries in civil cases and they hinder our court system."

Ruark Hotopp, national vice president of the American Federation of Government Employees District 8, a union that represents federal workers, said a shutdown would force Transportation Security Administration workers, Border Patrol agents and federal prison guards to go to work without getting a paycheck.

"For retirees, the impact would be Social Security checks not going out on time," he said. "For many of these folks that are already living from one check to the next, that’s a massive impact."

What are Iowa's Republicans saying?

Iowa's Republican U.S. representatives say they're working to prevent a shutdown.

U.S. Rep. Zach Nunn said he's sponsoring bills to ensure members of the military are still paid even if there is a shutdown and to stop members of Congress from fundraising during a shutdown and dock their pay for every day the shutdown continues.

"We can fund the critical programs that Iowans rely on and also cut the fat in the government's budget, but this won’t happen if we retreat into our respective corners and refuse to talk to each other," Nunn wrote in an op-ed Saturday in the Des Moines Register. "Our nation’s leaders owe it to the American people to work together to solve this crisis."

U.S. Rep. Ashley Hinson said in a statement Friday that she's "worked to slash wasteful spending and advance conservative priorities" from her spot on the House Appropriations Committee.

"I do not want to see the government shut down, and I do not want to see the Biden-Pelosi agenda in law any longer," she said in the statement. "I'm going to continue fighting for exactly what my constituents have asked me to fight for: the most conservative spending bills we can possibly get passed."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa Dems say GOP's 'devastating cuts' will lead to government shutdown