OTTUMWA – Citing an independent polling organization that reported the public approval opinion of Congress has fallen into the single digits for the first time ever, Republican congressional candidate Mariannette Miller-Meeks said the solution rests with voters who elect "doers instead of talkers."

The poll by the Rasmussen Reports shows only 9 percent of Americans believe Congress is doing a good job.  Only 3 percent of independent voters believe Congress deserves a good to excellent rating. Among Democratic voters, only 13 percent believe the Democrat-controlled Congress is performing satisfactorily. According to the Rasmussen Reports polling, Congress has not received an approval rating higher than 15 percent since the year began.

"The Democrats took control of Congress by promising to solve America's energy problems, fix the federal budget and even implement a misguided cut-and-run policy in Iraq.  The fact that they've failed to produce anything over the past two years except more partisan sniping is the reason Americans have never been more disillusioned with Congress," Miller-Meeks said.

Miller-Meeks noted that Rep. Dave Loebsack has been in office going on two years now and the 10 bills he has sponsored include one congratulating golfer Zach Johnson on his 2007 Master's Open victory, another congratulating the Iowa Hawkeyes on their 2008 NCAA wrestling championship and a third to name the federal building in Davenport in honor of Jim Leach.

"Dave Loebsack has cosponsored measures ‘supporting the goals and ideals of a National Suffragists Day to promote awareness of the importance of the women suffragists who worked for the right of women to vote' and another supporting the goals and ideals of National Women's Friendship Day but he's not providing real leadership to improve the lives of the people in Iowa's Second Congressional District. He went to Congress with a promise to reform the system and he's refused to publish the spending earmarks he's requested," she said. 

"We need leaders who have their finger on the pulse of our problems and advance workable solutions. We need people who will work every day to get this country on the path to energy independence, control the federal budget and rising health care costs, create a stronger economy and fix Medicare, Medicaid and what I call the Social Insecurity system. We need people of action to do that.  I am a person of action and I will make things happen in Congress."