Community Bankers of Iowa Monthly Banker Update September 2013 | Page 6

Steve King: Rural Iowa Must Work to Stay Relevant in Politics
Written By: William Petroski, Des Moines Register
U.S. Rep. Steve King said Tuesday in Altoona he thinks rural Iowa will remain politically relevant in Washington, D.C., despite a shrinking rural influence in the U.S. House of Representatives. “We have to work harder, and find more ways to be effective,” King, a northwest Iowa Republican, told a meeting of the Community Bankers of Iowa at Prairie Meadows Conference Center. King was asked by Gus Barker, president of Ackley State Bank, about the political influence of rural Iowa in the future. Fifty years ago, it appeared rural Iowa had a lot of clout in Washington, but that seems to have diminished with metropolitan areas taking over, Barker said. Now rural Iowa can’t even get a farm bill passed, the banker lamented. “Are we going to have a voice or are we going to be the forgotten few?” Barker asked. King, in his response, conceded, “I think it gets harder. The population keeps migrating to the cities.” But he also contended there are reasons to believe rural Iowans will still be heard by the nation’s political leaders. Iowa now has four seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, one less than in the past as a result of political redistricting that followed the 2010 Census that has led to larger congressional delegations in states with more population growth. The shift towards more urban members of Congress means some inner-city representatives now serve on the House Agriculture Committee who have different priorities than rural lawmakers, King said. But Iowa still has two members of the U.S. Senate, the same as every other state, which tends to balance the political power in Washington, D.C., for rural states, King said. Having a good economic foundation can also help maintain Iowa’s political influence, King said, and he particularly sees the state’s first-in-nation Iowa caucuses as having a big impact on the national stage. The caucuses will give Iowans a big say in the nation’s future political platforms, and in determining who will be the next president. “On balance, we are stronger than a lot of states the same size. I think we will stay relevant,” King said. On banking issues, King said he supports the full repeal of the Dodd-Frank Act, which was enacted in 2010 to make major changes in government financial regulation. Critics contend the federal law unfairly restricts financial institutions and that it won’t prevent another financial crisis or federal bail outs. King also said the argument that some financial institutions are simply too big to fail is “just wrong.”

Branstad: Giving Rural Counties Bigger Chunk of Iowa Road Funding is a “Non-Starter”
Written By: William Petroski, Des Moines Register
Gov. Terry Branstad said Tuesday he has directed state transportation officials to explore ways to find more money for road construction projects, and he suggested the initiative could result in recommendations to the 2014 session of the Iowa Legislature. But any effort to revise the state’s road funding formula to distribute a bigger share of tax money to rural counties is a “nonstarter” with no chance for success, he added. “If you try to change the formula you are going to have one big rural-urban fight and it is probably going to destroy your chances of getting anything done,” Branstad said. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds both spoke at a meeting of the Community Bankers of Iowa at Prairie Meadows Conference Center in Altoona. During a question-and-answer session after their prepared remarks, Branstad was asked the potential for generating more revenue for Iowa road projects, which face an shortfall of about $215 million annually for critical needs on city, county and state road systems, according to state officials. Branstad said he has asked Iowa Department of Transportation Director Paul Trombino to search for ways of finding more road construction revenue. But the governor repeated his previous stance that an increase in the state’s gas tax is unlikely in the 2014 legislative session because of a lack of bipartisan support among lawmakers, and he all but ruled out changing the state’s road funding formula. C