Key senator renews call for special session

Branstad plan ‘makes as much sense as laying off firefighters and closing fire stations when your downtown and nearby neighborhoods are on fire’

Senator Bill Dotzler of Waterloo

As Iowans attempt to recover from the worst national recession since World War II, the closure of dozens of local workforce offices could not come at a worse time, a key state senator said today.

“With Iowa’s jobless rate at the unacceptable level of 6 percent, it makes no sense for Governor Branstad to close offices that help unemployed Iowans find work,” said State Senator Bill Dotzler, chair of the Economic Development Budget Subcommittee.

“It makes as much sense as laying off firefighters and closing fire stations when your downtown and nearby neighborhoods are on fire,” Dotzler said.

Starting today, Branstad will formally begin closing local workforce offices that help unemployed Iowans find work, despite overwhelming, bipartisan support during the 2011 regular session for Senate File 517, which was designed to keep the offices open.  The state workforce offices help Iowans search for jobs, prepare for interviews, improve their skills and help businesses find qualified employees.

“I am hopeful that my Republican and Democratic colleagues in the Senate and House will join me in a special session to override the Governor’s misguided veto,” Dotzler said. “We should continue to provide real help to unemployed Iowans and help them get back on their feet. The Branstad plan to provide Iowans with only a website to find a new job is unacceptable.”