STAFF: Senator Grassley, you're on the line with Matt Frisbee with KOKX in Keokuk and Andy Karr with the Newton Daily News in Newton.
GRASSLEY: Listen, I'm glad to be talking not only to Keokuk but Illinois and Missouri. If I was running for president, this would be an ideal situation.
OK. Go ahead you guys, and thank you for participating. He'll introduce you and then I'll answer your questions.
STAFF: The following is an unrehearsed interview with Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley speaking to you live from Washington. Participating in today's public affairs program are Matt Frisbee with KOKX Radio in Keokuk and Any Carr with the Newton Daily News in Newton.
The first question will be from Matt Frisbee.
QUESTION: OK. Thank you.
Senator, we just recently had are a major increase in tobacco taxes from the federal government. Do you foresee any future additional regulation from the government or sponsoring any legislation in that direction?
GRASSLEY: I don't intend to sponsor legislation in that direction, but there is a major bill that's moving along, not to increase taxes any more. I think the taxes on cigarettes won't be increased again for a long, long time.
I know the present tax increase which, obviously, I didn't support the bill it was in for other reasons, but it was to finance the expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program.
The follow-up would be giving authority to the Federal Drug Administration to regulate nicotine the same way that it regulates safety of food, as an example, or the safety of pharmaceuticals. And that bill is in or through the House of Representatives right about now. When it's going to come up in the Senate, I don't know, but I'm sure that later on this year, that bill will go to the president to be signed. And I think the president will sign it.
And I will be -- based upon the legislation being the same this year as it is next year -- and maybe when it comes up in the Senate, it might not be. But if it is the same, I will probably vote for it.
QUESTION: OK. Thank you, Senator.
STAFF: Andy, you can go ahead with your first question.
QUESTION: OK. Thanks.
Hi, Senator. It seems like lately we've been seeing your name come up with the national media a lot for some comments that you made.
GRASSLEY: Sure.
QUESTION: The AIG comments and the exchange with Senator Conrad. Getting that national attention for those kind of things, does that make you change your approach? Is that something that you pay attention to?
GRASSLEY: Well, let me tell you, you know, how the media treats you or treats something you say is kind of a mystery to me. And I'll give that AIG statement just as an example.
First of all, I want everybody to know I'm not an advocate for suicide, but I am an advocate for changing the corporate culture of America so that these people like are getting help out of the federal Treasury running the corporations and banks into the ground that they ought to at least apologize and assume a responsibility for it. And I've never heard that, but you hear it from the Japanese a lot.
And they do, in fact, take a deep bow. And, of course, in Japan, occasionally, you read about a suicide because of their embarrassment. But I'm not advocating suicide.
But I'll just give you an example of how does a statement I made to WMT Radio, maybe about three weeks ago now, get so much attention? Because I made the very same statement in a news conference October the 1st, 2008. And I even included it in a speech on the Senate floor in October or November. So you can get it out of the congressional record. And I've said it several times since.
So what is it that I said three weeks ago that's any different? Nothing. Why does it get the attention today than it never got on October the 1st, 2008? I don't know. And I'm in a quandary.
But I have to chalk it up to just, you know, hitting some journalists differently now than it did six months ago. So I don't have any explanation. And the exchange that I had with -- with -- with Conrad was kind of -- just a jocular sort of things that he and I both go through once in a while.
And it happens that three hours before I gave that speech that you heard on YouTube or maybe you even heard it on your own -- on television, you know -- we -- I was introducing an amendment three hours after his wife had given a very glowing introduction of me. And he was trying to make me look bad, and I said, well, your wife said nice things about me or something like. You know, I don't remember exactly what the quote is.
But that's the context for it. And how does it get blown out, and how does people conveniently leave some statements that were made that very much clarifies of the intent of both he and I and the reference. And there, obviously, are no innuendos in it when you hear the same thing. I don't know.
You know, you're a journalist. You are going to have to tell me why things are treated the way they're treated. But I do not have any intention of saying something that's going to get nationwide and international wide on CNN, but it does.
STAFF: Back to you, Matt.
QUESTION: OK. Thank you.
Senator, we have seen quite a bit of toxic debt being taken on by the federal government and even to the point of mentioning -- I should mention in passing that, yes, we understand that drastic measures are going to be required out here. But a lot of people out here in this part of the world are asking, well, how much debt is the American people going to have to assume here. I mean, how far in debt do we have to go? I mean, do you foresee any end of this continuing spiral of taking on more and more debt by the federal government?
GRASSLEY: Yes. I think public reaction against what's been done already kind of nullifies any chances -- if the president asks for it, and I'm not sure he's going to asks for it -- but of getting any more stimulus and bailout money.
Right now, I'm sure it wouldn't pass. And then because of the concerns that have been expressed to me, is one of the reasons why I'm going to go voting against this budget resolution that's going to pass late tonight or tomorrow.
And that is this budget spends too much, taxes too much, puts us too much in debt. And it's also one of the reasons why, after that first vote back in October, I didn't see the secretary of treasury doing with the money what he said he was going to do against it. I voted against the second tranche of the bailout. I voted against helping General Motors. I voted against the stimulus because one half of it wasn't really stimulus; it was just spending money because people wanted to spend money.
And it's the reason why I voted against the appropriation bill that passed here about two -- now, three weeks ago, I think, when it's giving 9 percent increases, whereas, the first five months of this year, we were working on 2 or 3 percent increases. And so why, just because you have an election and elect a bunch of more liberals to the Senate do you have a justification for increasing it from 2 percent to 9 percent for the last seven months out of the year?
And all those things adding up to the irresponsibility that I see extended in this budget.
QUESTION: OK. Thank you, Senator.
STAFF: And back to you, Andy.
QUESTION: Senator, turning a little closer to home, here in our neck of the woods in Newton, the Iowa Interstate Railroad announced that they're going to be closing our rail loading ramp here. And I know our state senator, Dennis Black, mentioned that he was going to discuss that with you. And I don't know if he has or not yet.
But regardless, is that something that you could maybe do something about? Could you help the situation in any way?
GRASSLEY: There is an appeal process, but the appeal process is an administrative, quasi-judicial process that, quite frankly, you can help your constituents get to it and into it, but it probably would be a violation of the ethics for us to kind of twist arms to get the right decision.
But we have a -- we have a special responsibility if they ask us and of course, I wouldn't even know about it if they didn't ask us. And -- to help them get through the administrative process and to get attention of the -- of the administrators in making a decision to make sure that a decision is made.
For instance, it would be wrong for me to say to the FCC there's a deal coming in from, I think, it's from Iowa -- well, I think it's Iowa Telecom, but don't quote me on that because I'm not sure that's the company. But they've been waiting for six years for a decision. And they don't -- right now, after six years, I'm not sure they care which way the decisions going. But they're saying to me, you know, FCC ought to make a decision.
And I always tell my constituents when they come to me for help, I can advocate for them. I may not get them what they want, but if they're getting the runaround, they're at least entitled to an answer. It may not be the answer you want, but they are entitled to an answer.
STAFF: Thank you, Matt and Andy, for participating in today's public affairs program. This has been Senator Chuck Grassley reporting to the people of Iowa.
GRASSLEY: Yes. Hey, listen, if -- does any one of you have one or two other questions just in case a gave too long of an answer, or are you satisfied?
QUESTION: No, I'm pretty happy on my end here.
GRASSLEY: OK. We always quit at ten minutes because we -- we've always had it as a ten-minute program if people want to use the whole program.
QUESTION: No, I understand.
GRASSLEY: OK. Thank you all very much.