Senator Grassley makes Waukon visit during 99-county tour

Senator Charles Grassley made a stop in Waukon Tuesday, April 19 as part of his annual 99-county tour of Iowa. Grassley addressed a crowd of approximately 50 individuals at the Allamakee County Farm Bureau building in Waukon, fielding questions on a wide variety of topics. Energy policy was one of the most frequently discussed topics, with increasing gas prices and dependency on foreign oil weighing heavy on the minds of those in attendance and all Americans these days. Grassley suggested that the best thing about $4 per gallon gas is that it serves as an impetus for decisions to be made and action to be taken. Environmental Protection Agency regulations in the production of electricity, oil pipelines from Canada, and ethanol source requirements were all further energy topics brought in front of Grassley.
The National Debt was another primary topic of discussion within the overall scope of economic discussion, with questions about the amount of foreign aid offered by the United States and raising the allowable debt limit. Senator Grassley said that he would like to see a Constitutional Amendment to require a balanced budget and a hard debt limit cap that cannot be exceeded, but also explained that more than 40% of this country’s spending is from borrowed funds and that in order to eliminate that gap, either taxes have to be increased or spending has to be decreased. Further economic discussion centered around simplifying the tax code, unemployment remedies such as the Workforce Investment Act, stimulus spending being directed more toward government than the intended private and small business sector, the government bailing out states, businesses or other organizations that have underfunded or cannot meet pension or other financial commitments, and other tax-related issues.
Senator Grassley was also asked about his position on funding such programs as public radio, Planned Parenthood and high-speed rail travel, all of which he said he was not in favor of, stating that he would like to see public radio funding repealed back to year 2008 levels, he voted not to fund Planned Parenthood, and he would not support rail funding unless it showed an increase in usage from its current level of just 1.5% of all travelers. Additional measures of discussion centered around health care reform and Medicare, trade agreements, potential presidential candidates and campaign reform, and the influence of radical Muslim groups and other outside influences on the sovereignty of the United States.
Senator Grassley also mentioned that he receives in excess of 200,000 pieces of mail each year from constituents and tries his best to reply to each one, whether it be e-mail or standard mail. He encourages everyone to correspond with him with their questions or concerns.