Greetings! With the 2010 legislative session quickly approaching, it is time to begin my regular newsletters once again. Over the next several weeks, I want to provide a preview of the upcoming session, so we can work together to address the concerns which are ahead for Iowa.
These are difficult financial times across the country, with unemployment continuing to rise and uncertainty about the direction of our economy. I have talked with many families facing job losses and others who have seen cutbacks in pay. Just like many family budgets, the state budget is also in rough shape. After three years of rapid growth in state spending, we are now faced with sharp declines in revenue. This has created a deep budget hole from which we have only begun to recover.
Do not be misled by claims that these budget problems are solely because of the downturn in the national economy. In April, Governor Culver signed into law the largest budget in the history of the State of Iowa at $6.3 billion. I voted NO on this budget and I would do so again today. While every family was working to prioritize spending and make sure all bills would be paid, our government over-spent.
By law, Iowa must have a balanced budget. After finally being forced remedy the huge gap in the state state spending, Governor Culver made a decision to balance the budget with a simple 10% across-the-board (ATB) cut. In our family budgets, we work to find places where we can afford to cut back spending: cable television, eating out, travel, etc. We don’t cut back on our mortgage and insurance payments. We make choices about what is most important.
Although I appreciate that the Governor has finally seen the need to reduce government spending, his across-the-board cut was not the right way to tackle the problem. The Governor should have called the Legislature back into special session, so that our elected representatives could do the work of prioritizing programs which are the most critical functions of government and which programs are optional.
It is also important to note even with the 10% ATB cut the past three annual Iowa government budgets are still the largest in state history. This chart shows how state spending has grown in recent years:
Beyond our current budget year, the upcoming FY 2010 budget looks to be even more challenging. The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency (LSA) just released their preview of the 2010 budget. LSA took a look at built-in spending increases and ongoing obligations and determined that the 2010 budget gap is $1.07 billion dollars.
This year at the Capitol, I will once again be working to protect the taxpayer and find ways to limit government spending. With your help, we must work to determine which spending programs are most critical to the people of Iowa and which programs can be reduced or eliminated.
As always, I would very much appreciate your ideas and input. Let’s get our ideas ready to take to the Capitol, and get our state back on track.
