Meet Staci Appel- Jul 9, 2013

APPEL: I love Iowa. It's a great place to live, to work. I've been married 16 years, and we've been blessed to raise our family here. I'm Staci Appel, and I'm running for Congress because the way I see it, there needs to be a lot more Iowa common sense in Washington. And for me, that means getting things done ahead of the politics and partisanship. I served in the state senate from 2007 to 2011 and led the effort to pass voluntary, quality preschool and to pass equal pay for equal work. I've worked across party lines to reorganize state government, cutting waste and duplication. I've worked to pass mandatory seat belts for children in the back seat, and I took out even my own party leadership to pass a ban on texting while driving, And even now, we need to do more to protect people from the dangers of distracted driving. For me, Iowa common sense is about getting things done. It's about making life better for people, where they live and where they work. That means working across party lines to balance the budget and lower our debt, while protecting Social Security and Medicare, putting main street jobs ahead of oil company profits, passing a farm bill instead of bickering about it, and it means a commitment to better schools and more affordable health care. Unfortunately in Washington, partisanship and special-interest prevent anything from getting done. Longtime incumbents become part of the system that doesn't work. In Iowa, I'm proud to have helped make things work as a state senator and a financial consultant helping families plan for the future and save for college. My approach in Congress will be simple: Put Iowa values to work in order to get things done. That's plain old Iowa common sense, and we need more of that in Washington.