by Julie Berg-Raymond
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley spoke to about 80 people Monday, April 11 at Robey Memorial Library in Waukon, as part of his 42nd annual “99-County Tour.” Grassley, 88, is in his seventh senate term, having first been elected in 1980.
Monday afternoon, Grassley addressed topics ranging from infrastructure (“Iowa’s bridges are the worst in the 50 states in the nation,” he noted) to Social Security and the cost of insulin.
“There are still two and a half trillion dollars in the Social Security trust fund that will keep your check at 100 percent until about 2034,” Grassley said, in response to a question about the program’s long-term viability. “When this is gone, your check will be around 77 percent.” Addressing “looming deficits,” he said, “will take bipartisan leadership. I won’t be in Congress in 2034,” he noted, drawing laughter from attendees; “but it will have to be bi-partisan.”