Budget stalemate brings up possibility of government shut-down

The specter of a shut-down of state government looms at the statehouse as lawmakers cannot agree on a state spending plan for the budgeting year that begins July 1st. Senate Co-Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat from Council Bluffs, says the impasse could last past July 1st. “That’s certainly a possibility at this point,” Gronstal says. The impasse has become a test of wills between Republicans and Democrats. And House Speaker Christopher Rants, a Republican from Sioux City, rejects the idea a prolonged deadlock will endanger state government operations. “There’s no reason government needs to shut down,” Rants says. A spokesman for Democrat Governor Tom Vilsack indicates the governor agrees with Rants. Vilsack press secretary Matt Paul says legislators “need to take a deep breath right now” and resolve their differences. Senator Gene Fraise, a Democrat from Fort Madison, describes the budget negotiating process as a “bumpy road.” “You kind of go up and we go down,” Fraiser says. “I think we’re going down right now.” Gronstal offers another view. “We’ve hit a deer,” Gronstal says of the legislative process. “The vehicle’s disabled but still driveable.” Most legislators have left the statehouse as both the House and Senate have adjourned. A few remain to try to find some answers to the budget dilemma. Senate Co-Leader Stewart Iverson, a Republican from Dows, isn’t optimistic that legislators will meet again anytime soon. “I quite frankly don’t see much use in bringing our folks back until the log jam is broken, and I don’t know when that’s going to be,” Iverson says. Iverson, though, believes matters will be resolved before July 1st. “As some point in time we’ll all reach a consensus and then we’ll go to work,” Iverson says. “When that point in time is, you know, I can’t say right now.”