Chuck Grassley

Driven by an internal compass to connect the dots of representative government, "of, by and for the people," Chuck Grassley makes it nearly impossible for Iowans to forget they are an essential part of the process.

Every year Grassley meets face-to-face with Iowans at least once in each of Iowa's 99 counties during his annual road trip across the state. And when he's on-the-job in Washington, D.C., Grassley keeps in touch with his constituents by hosting open topic Q & A sessions on his monthly cable TV program and teleconference calls. In addition, he encourages Iowans to share their views via e-mail, phone calls and letters. Iowa's senior U.S. Senator also makes himself accessible through regular interviews with members of the Iowa media and issues regular updates via FaceBook, My Space, and Twitter.

Iowans are accustomed to conscientious constituent service and government accountability thanks to the good governance championed by the family farmer-federal lawmaker from Butler County, Iowa. Tackling his legislative and oversight responsibilities on Capitol Hill with an earnest commitment to upholding the public trust, Chuck Grassley stays true to the values for which Iowans first elected him to higher office.

With nearly three decades of on-the-job experience in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Grassley leverages sweeping policy expertise, relentless congressional oversight and shrewd negotiating skills at the policymaking tables in Washington, D.C. to gain the best advantage for Iowans.

From his key committee assignments in the U.S. Senate, Chuck Grassley works to...

• protect workers' paychecks from big spenders on Capitol Hill (as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley got though Congress legislation cutting federal taxes by $2 trillion)
• beef up national and border security;
• challenge irresponsible borrow-and-spend policies that saddle the next generation with a massive national debt (which now exceeds $11 trillion, putting every man, woman and child in America on the hook for roughly $40,000);
• open overseas markets to benefit Iowa agriculture, financial services and manufacturing sectors that help create high-paying jobs here at home;
• ramp up homegrown green energy to diversify the rural economy and curb Mideast stranglehold on U.S. economic, military and foreign policy;
• strengthen the American family by encouraging work and personal responsibility, and fostering adoptions and permanent homes for kids;
• expand access to affordable health care and education;
• cut government red tape and reduce frivolous lawsuits;
• build a stronger foundation for retirement security that would prepare longer living Americans to maintain independence and quality-of-life for decades after retirement;
• and, fix the financially unsustainable public entitlement programs serving the nation's retirees and disabled.

Iowa's senior U.S. Senator considers public service an honorable privilege of citizenship and together with his wife Barbara, works to do right by Iowa voters who have placed their trust in his political leadership and personal integrity. Chuck and Barbara Grassley raised five children and today enjoy nine grandchildren and four great grandkids.

A WATCHDOG AGAINST GOVERNMENT WASTE. Remember the $500 hammers and $7,600 coffee pots? It's been 25 years since Chuck Grassley drove his orange Chevette to the Pentagon from Capitol Hill to track down answers about bloated defense budgets. Thanks to Grassley's relentless pursuit of the truth, a civil servant blew the whistle on fantasy financials at the Department of Defense at a Senate committee hearing. The testimony helped lead to a freeze on the defense budget build-up during the height of the farm crisis in the mid-1980s and spared the taxpayers billions of dollars. It also sparked a 25-year advocacy for whistleblowers and transparency in government that Grassley continues to champion from inside and outside the Capital Beltway. To date, Grassley's federal whistleblower laws have helped recover 21 billion tax dollars that otherwise would have been lost to waste, fraud or abuse.

A TASKMASTER FOR KEEPING GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE. A straight shooter known for his zero-tolerance of government corruption and corporate greed, Grassley regards moneyed interests and influential powers-that-be with a healthy dose of Midwestern skepticism. Grassley has worked to beef up enforcement tools and proper surveillance of financial markets; increase accountability at the Securities and Exchange Commission; protect whistleblowers and investors; strengthen fair market practices; and, restore healthy formation of capital markets. Grassley champions government-wide transparency in the legislative, executive and judicial branches of government. The Iowa senator works tirelessly to protect whistleblowers who know where the skeletons are hidden and inspectors general who are hired to root out waste, fraud and abuse within their respective federal departments and agencies.

A GUARDIAN FOR HARDWORKING TAXPAYERS. When Wall Street and Detroit accepted hundreds of billions of taxpayer-funded bailout dollars, Chuck Grassley worked to prevent good money from being thrown after bad corporate management. When news broke about extravagant bonuses paid out to executives at the investment powerhouse AIG and mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Chuck Grassley did not mince words when calling for full transparency of the federal pay-outs. Grassley says those who accept tax dollars after running their business into the ground need to be kept on a short leash to prevent saddling future generations with a legacy of debt. As a senior member of the Senate Budget Committee, Grassley advocates efforts to trim federal budgets. As a grandfather of nine, he worries the endless stream of deficit spending will bankrupt the next generation by taxing too much, spending too much and borrowing too much.

Respected for his Midwestern work ethic, Grassley's tight-fisted grip on the public purse aligns with Benjamin Franklin's philosophy that "a penny saved is a penny earned," Chuck Grassley relishes his role as the taxpayers' watchdog. He brings a no-nonsense approach to his dogged oversight of the federal bureaucracy, leading a decades-long crusade against waste, fraud and abuse that offers no immunity to anyone receiving tax breaks or tax dollars from the U.S. Treasury.

A TRUTH-SEEKER FOR OPENNESS AND TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT. Grassley crusades to shed light on the way government carries out the people's business. From law enforcement to health care, Grassley has demanded answers from the FBI to the FDA. When drug companies make payments to physicians conducting federal research, Grassley says the public has a right to know. When the federal judiciary acts, Grassley says the public has a right to watch the proceedings unfold. That's why Grassley is a leading co-sponsor of legislation that would allow cameras into the federal courts. When the head of the Smithsonian Institution bilks the U.S. Treasury for personal extravagance, Grassley works to clean up mismanagement in America's attic. When workers are left in the dark about their retirement savings exposed to hedge fund losses, Grassley takes the lead in Congress to protect pensions and require hedge funds to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A PROTECTOR OF THE U.S. MILITARY AND VETERANS. Since America's inception, this country's values and freedoms have been tested time and again, and America's men and women in uniform have answered the call. We now live in a world where radical terrorists seek to threaten this country. But, because of the bravery and selflessness of the U.S. military, America's freedom remains a beacon of hope for the world. So when America's finest began coming home only to take their own lives in alarming numbers, Senator Grassley worked with his colleagues to pass the Joshua Omvig Suicide Prevention Act that directed the VA to immediately begin implementing a comprehensive effort to prevent suicide among veterans. The bill is named in memory of Joshua Omvig, an Iowan who committed suicide after returning home from serving his country in Iraq.

And, when a member of the military's service ends, Grassley recognized that the nature of military service makes it more difficult for veterans to find employment. He put pressure on the federal government to ramp up its hiring of recent combat veterans and secured a commitment for a renewed effort from the federal agencies.

A CHAMPION FOR FAMILY FARMERS. As a life-long Iowa farmer, Grassley understands the challenges for farm families to pass their livelihoods and way of life down to the next generation. Today Grassley helps operate the family farm with his son Robin. He understands that surviving the whims of Mother Nature, foreign trade barriers and cyclical trends in the marketplace dump enough detours on the road to prosperity. But the federal government erects still more roadblocks with burdensome estate taxes and ridiculous regulations. Consider the hare-brained notion to confine so-called fugitive dust during harvest season. Grassley fired off a reality check to EPA officials and invited federal regulators to accompany him to an Iowa farm and biofuels facility to help gain a better understanding about how far-fetched some of the proposed regulations would be in the real world. Grassley also is leading the charge on Capitol Hill to curb abuses of the farm safety net that have become a boon for the biggest farmers and a bust to taxpayers. He says the farm program is intended to help family farms thrive, not help mega-producers grow in size. He is working to enforce strict limits on farm subsidies to those "actively engaged" in farming and enact more reasonable limits on farm payments. From his influential committee assignments on the Senate Judiciary and Agriculture Committees, Grassley is an outspoken advocate on Capitol Hill to curb anti-competition and vertical integration, especially in the livestock sector, that create an unlevel playing field for independent producers to get a fair shake at the slaughter house gate.

AN ALLY FOR RURAL AMERICA. For 30 years, Grassley has advanced public policy measures to build America's investment in renewable energy, including: ethanol, soydiesel, cellulosic biofuels, hydropower, wind, geothermal, and methane-powered electricity from livestock waste. Expanding green energy by using homegrown Midwestern commodities would diversify Rural America's economy, create jobs, reduce dependence on foreign oil and curb pollution. Grassley also champions the delivery of health care services in Rural America. A long-time advocate to fix the Medicare's flawed reimbursement rate, Grassley is working to create payment incentives that reward the quality of services, versus quantity. That would help states like Iowa to recruit physicians and expand access to quality care for Iowans.

A WATCHDOG FOR NONPROFITS. For nearly 10 years, Grassley has pursued an extensive investigation to ensure non-profits, including hospitals and universities, are fulfilling the charter of their tax-advantaged status. Grassley is committed to help strengthen America's philanthropic network, restore donor confidence, and protect taxpayers as a matter of tax fairness. Grassley closed abusive loopholes in the tax code that essentially allowed write-offs of African safaris, for example. Grassley's mission to restore integrity to the tax-advantaged nonprofit sector has led to management reforms at the Red Cross, United Way, the Smithsonian and Nature Conservancy. What's more, his analysis of university endowments triggered Ivy League schools to announce more generous tuition assistance for lower income students. Grassley says weeding out wrongdoing will help boost the good works of the do-gooders and restore faith in Americans' strong tradition of voluntary giving and serving the underserved in society.

A STRATEGIC LEADER FOR IOWA. Grassley goes to the mat for Iowa to ensure the Hawkeye State isn't shortchanged when it comes to federal disaster assistance and flawed Medicare reimbursement formulas. After the devastating tornadoes and floods of 2008, Grassley balked at the measly package approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and later secured federal tax relief for Iowans similar to the breaks Congress provided for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

From taxpayers, to family farmers, small business owners, the unborn, family caregivers, foster kids, members of the National Guard, entrepreneurs, crime victims, senior citizens, individuals with disabilities, gifted students, whistleblowers, veterans, community anti-drug leaders, veterans, pensioners and families, Grassley's advocacy on behalf of Iowans from all walks and stages of life leave a big footprint on Capitol Hill.

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. Since 1980, Iowans like what they see. Chuck Grassley would like to continue making a difference for Iowans from his senior position in the United States Senate. Vote for Chuck Grassley in 2010 to secure even more influence for Iowans in the nation's capital.