Q: What specific steps can Congress take to reduce federal regulations that undermine job creation?
A: I’ve co-sponsored several bills aimed at the growing regulatory burden and its negative impact on job creation. One would require Congress to give final approval to major, new federal regulations before those regulations could take effect. It’s called the...
Q: How is the U.S.S. Iowa battleship to become a museum?
A: The U.S. Navy announced this month that this historic battleship will be donated to the Pacific Battleship Center, a non-profit organization, for permanent berthing and public display at the Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, California. The Navy donates historic ships to promote public interest in...
Q: What is the farm bill?
A: About every five years, Congress passes a comprehensive farm and food policy bill, covering a range of programs and provisions. The last farm bill, in 2008, contained 15 titles for commodity price and income supports, farm credit, trade, agricultural conservation, research, rural development, energy, and foreign and domestic food...
by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
A decade after vicious terrorist attacks killed thousands of innocent people and caused immeasurable grief to victims and survivors, America has shown the world that 9/11 may have changed life as we knew it, but it has not changed America’s commitment to freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
The national tragedy tapped...
Q: What prompted your longstanding advocacy of whistleblowers?
A: Whistleblowers are unsung heroes who often risk losing their livelihoods, friends and career to expose wrongdoing. It takes courage and integrity to go against the grain, especially in deeply entrenched federal bureaucracies like the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF),...
Every four years, national reporters focus on Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. The state fair is often a back-drop for news coverage, showcasing Iowa classics such as the quality and variety of our livestock and agricultural commodities and the famous cow sculpted out of butter.
Also on view is the civic-mindedness that puts the White House...
Q: How is it that the Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for flood management?
A: This responsibility of the Army Corps – a federal agency and Army command -- comes from the Flood Control Act of 1936. Today, the Army Corps is responsible for the operation of the six dams and reservoirs on the 2,341-mile Missouri River. Levees on the river are operated...
Q: Why is it important for the United States to pursue international trade agreements?
A: International trade opens new markets for U.S. products and supports good-paying jobs in the United States. Likewise, international trade presents goods and services to U.S. employers and consumers that fuel commerce and choice.
Pursing new export markets should be a...
Q & A: Balanced Budget Amendment
Q: Why is a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution needed?
A: Congress can vote to abandon plans put in place for spending restraint and history proves that, too often, Congress either unravels budget controls or never adopts them in the first place. A constitutional requirement for a balanced budget would compel...
Q: What are tax expenditures, and why are they in the news?
A: Tax expenditures are defined in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974 as lost federal income due to provisions in the tax code that exempt or reduce taxes for certain groups, products or activities. Tax expenditures were intentionally passed by Congress for certain policy goals, such as...
Q: What role does the federal government have in making sure parents meet child support obligations?
A: The states enforce child support laws. Since 1975, the federal government has provided funds directly to states to supplement their enforcement efforts and, more recently, to help protect relationships with non-custodial parents. State family courts...
Getting the U.S. economy back on track can be achieved by unleashing America’s “vibrant entrepreneurialism.” That's the phrase the President used to describe the success of America's free market. I agree the United States’ free enterprise system has been “the greatest force for prosperity the world has ever known.”
Yet, for the last two years, joblessness...
Q. What is the debt ceiling and when will the federal government reach it?
A. The debt ceiling is the amount of debt the federal government can legally borrow from the public and government trust funds. The ceiling is set by law and is currently $14.294 trillion. On May 16, 2011, the Treasury Secretary said that the government will reach the current debt...
As Americans celebrated the 235th birthday of the United States with hometown fireworks and backyard barbeques, a divided government in Washington wrestled over taxes and spending needed to reach a long overdue budget agreement.
It’s been 800 days since the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate has passed a federal budget. Without an enforceable rudder to...
Q. Why do you support the production of biodiesel?
A. Too much of America’s energy comes from fossil fuels imported from countries that don’t like us. We can reduce dependence on foreign oil, and be better off economically, environmentally, and geopolitically, by encouraging domestic production of renewable, clean-burning biodiesel. In 2004, Congress passed...
Q. Do you offer Senate internships to young Iowans?
A. Every semester and during two summer sessions I offer Iowa college students and new graduates opportunities to work as interns in my Iowa and Washington, D.C., Senate offices. Interns assist permanent staff members with constituent services and administrative, legislative and communications work,...
Q. How can employers ensure their workers have legal work authorizations?
A. Employing immigrants who do not have proper documentation to work in the United States is illegal. And, with a sophisticated, counterfeit document only a computer click away, it’s often difficult for employers to detect if the proper documentation is provided. So, in 1996 Congress...
America’s prosperity hinges on our consumer-driven economy. The economic recovery is slowed in part by tepid consumer confidence that adds to the reluctance by businesses to increase payroll, upgrade equipment and expand operations. Decision-makers in the private sector are taking a wait-and-see approach due to uncertainty over the federal debt, tax,...
Q. What is the Rural America Preservation Act?
A. The Rural America Preservation Act is legislation I’ve sponsored to help restore the government farm program to its original intent by making sure program payments are targeted at small- and medium-sized farmers who need assistance getting through tough economic times that are due to circumstances beyond a...
Q. Do you still support tax incentives for ethanol?
A. I support ethanol. Among the renewable energy sources, ethanol is doing the most to displace foreign oil, and foreign oil comes with substantial hidden costs to taxpayers. Taxpayers are on the hook for an average of $84 billion a year in military expenditures just to keep open the transit routes that get...
