This week I held town meetings in 14 Iowa communities. I went to Carroll , Denison , Harlan, Oakland, Red Oak, Atlantic, Onawa, Missouri Valley, Glenwood, Sidney, Shenandoah, Bedford, Corning and Audubon to hear directly from Iowans and to have the kind of dialogue that's needed for the process of representative government to work.
During this week's meetings, Iowans weighed in on the federal debt, taxes, the mortgage crisis, Missouri River flooding and the Army Corps of Engineers, the farm program and CRP, home health care, the government's Fast & Furious program and ethanol.
I like to say representative government is a two-way street. I need to go to people to answer questions and listen to comments, and they need to come out and participate in the discussion.
I've held a constituent meeting in every one of Iowa's 99 counties every year since 1980, when I was first elected to represent Iowans in the U.S. Senate. In addition to regular meetings in Iowa, and I participate in a lot of meetings beyond one in every county, every year, I respond to every constituent letter, email and phone call. I also communicate with Iowans on Facebook, Twitter and at
http://grassley.senate.gov
.
Friday, September 2, 2011