Grassley can avoid next shutdown

The latest continuing resolution to fund the federal government runs out on January 15, 2014. We’ll know whether or not we’re facing another shutdown by the end of this week, December 13.  That’s when a tentative budget deal is put forward by a budget conference committee to members of Congress.Iowa’s senior statesman Charles Grassley is one of the budget conferees working on the potential deal.  This is Grassley’s chance to show Iowans and the American people whose side he is on – everyday people or Wall Street and big corporations.Sen. Grassley was not on the side of everyday people this past October when he enabled the government shutdown and subsequently voted to keep the government from reopening.  This political showboating that lasted just over two weeks cost the US economy untold billions of dollars in damage.Everyday people have time and again shouldered more than their fair share in regards to the nation’s budget while the wealthiest Americans continue to enjoy lavish tax breaks and corporate tax loopholes.

It’s time for a budget that reflects the values of we the people, recognizing that we’re all in this together.A budget where everyone pays their fair share will close corporate tax loopholes, expand and strengthen Social Security, and rein in reckless Wall Street speculation through a modest tax on their high volume trades.Sen. Grassley can do right by everyday Iowans and the American people or he can continue to stand on the side of an extreme faction in the Republican Party that bends over backwards for the wealthiest 1%.  Come December 13 we’ll have a good idea of where his allegiances lie.