PRESS CALL: Iowa Officials Call For Federal Support For Public Services During COVID-19 Crisis by progressiowa published on 2020-05-01T17:06:30Z As the U.S. and Iowa grapples with the spread of COVID-19, two elected officials called on Iowa Senators Ernst and Grassley to support federal aid for local governments. The COVID-19 pandemic will have a critical impact on public services at the local level, and the suggestion made by Senator Mitch McConnell that states be allowed to go 'bankrupt' by not sending additional aid would be crippling to Iowa communities. Iowans are encouraging Senators Ernst and Grassley to lead the fight to protect our firefighters, police officers, educators, sanitation workers, and those providing clean drinking water, health care, inspections, and many more critical services. The public services provided by local governments provide the foundation of our response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and no comeback from this crisis will be possible without them. On today's press call, Polk County Supervisor Angela Connolly and Cedar Rapids City Council member Tyler Olson discussed what it would mean for a local or state government to go bankrupt, and encouraged Iowa's Senators to support federal aid to ensure that does not happen.
