FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 29, 2023

Contact: Adam Zabner adam@zabnerforiowa.com 

32 District One Elected Officials Call on Rep Miller-Meeks to Avoid a Shutdown

First District – As Iowans face the prospect of a government shutdown, 32 elected officials from Iowa’s First Congressional district are calling on Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks to make a deal and avoid a shutdown. A shutdown would be disastrous for the first district and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) could run out of funds as soon as Tuesday. The group of elected officials from across the district includes state legislators, the mayors of the first district’s two largest cities, county and city officials, and school board members. The group is calling on Rep Miller-Meeks to “pass a budget and keep the First District’s babies fed”.

Read the letter to The Honorable Representative Mariannette Miller-Meeks,1034 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, DC  20515

Representative Miller-Meeks,

We, the undersigned elected officials of Iowa’s First District, are calling on you to pass a budget and keep the First District’s babies fed. Extremist members of your party, like Marjorie Taylor-Greene, are holding the federal government hostage. They have refused to negotiate and are breaking the previous deal made between Speaker McCarthy and President Biden. We worry that Iowans will wake up Sunday morning to a shutdown.

A government shutdown would be disastrous for the people of the First District. Specifically, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) could run out of funds as soon as Tuesday, leaving tens of thousands of Iowans hungry. Farmers right here in Iowa’s First District feed the world, and our representative in congress should make sure that the babies of Eastern Iowa get fed, too.

President Biden understands the importance of avoiding a shutdown, so does Senator Grassley. We’re calling on you to say no to the extremists in your caucus and work to avoid a shutdown. Your allegiance to the hungry babies of Eastern Iowa should come before your allegiance to MAGA extremists.

Signed,

Adam Zabner, Representative, Iowa House District 90

Dave Jacoby, Representative, Iowa House District 86

Melissa Mahon, Keosauqua Mayor

Mike Matson, Davenport Mayor

Bruce Teague, Mayor of Iowa City

Ed Moreno, West Liberty Community School District

Meghann Foster, Mayor, City of Coralville

Eric Van Lancker, Clinton County Auditor

Millie Youngquist, Mayor Pro Tem, Washington

Zacharia Wahls, Senator, Iowa Senate District 43

Cindy Winckler, Senator, Iowa Senate District 49

Elinor A. Levin, Representative, Iowa House District 89

Rod Sullivan, Johnson County Supervisor

Ken Croken, Representative, Iowa House District 97

Ruthina Malone President, ICCSD School Board

Charles Eastham, ICCSD school board member 

Janice Weiner, Senator, Iowa Senate District 45

Jon Green, Supervisor, Johnson County

Travis Weipert, Johnson County Auditor

V Fixmer-Oraiz, Supervisor, Johnson County

Monica Kurth, Representative, Iowa House District 98

John Thomas, Iowa City City Council, District C Representative

Rachel Zimmermann Smith, Johnson County Attorney

Molly Abraham, Iowa City School Board

Lisa Williams, Vice President, Iowa City Community School District Board of Directors

Laura Bergus, Iowa City city councilor

Amy Nielsen, Representative, Iowa House District 85

Rebecca Vargas , Vice President, West Liberty Board of Education

Jayne Finch, ICCSD Board of Directors 

Shawn Harmsen, Iowa City Council, District B Representative

Megan Alter, Mayor Pro Tem, Iowa City

Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder