[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 6, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4223-S4224]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                                  Iowa

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, ladies and gentlemen of the Senate, I 
come to report to you on some of the activities I did during the August 
break and what Iowans were telling me.
  On August 29, I completed my annual 99 county meetings for the 43rd 
year in a row. My decades-long practice is a part of my commitment to 
the people of Iowa to keep in touch with them because representative 
government is a two-way street. Those of us elected to the Senate and 
the House are one-half of the process, and my constituents are the 
other half of that process.
  Holding at least one Q&A in every county every year is one way that I 
foster dialogue. No matter the setting, the format is the same: My Iowa 
constituents set the agenda.
  I have spent the last 5 weeks, while the Senate was not in session, 
convening with Iowans in every corner of the State with nearly 40 Q&As 
that I had with those constituents in those counties. From factory 
floors and rural hospitals to town meetings, Iowans shared their point 
of view with me. Now, I am bringing their concerns to my colleagues 
here in the Congress. Even though you don't represent Iowans, you need 
to know what they are telling me.
  One consistent theme that I gathered from my meetings: Iowans are fed 
up with soaring inflation and high interest rates. The Biden economy is 
not working for Iowans. Contrary to the sales pitch parroted by this 
administration, Iowans aren't buying the Biden economy.
  From the feedback I got at my county meetings, the so-called 
Bidenomics ``rebuilding our economy from the bottom up and the middle 
out'' is not working as Iowans see it. Iowans are emptying their 
pocketbooks just to make ends meet.
  I heard from Iowa families about the high cost of groceries at their 
supermarkets and the pain that they are feeling each time they fill up 
their gas tank.
  The administration's assault on fossil fuels and lackluster support 
for homegrown biofuels isn't helping. Young Americans, as well as young 
Iowans, in particular, are concerned about the record high mortgage 
rates hindering homeownership. Iowans work hard, but the Biden economy 
is hardly working for them.
  Another issue that Iowans are especially attuned to, as you would 
expect because we are a great agricultural State, is the timing of the 
upcoming farm bill. I held a meeting with Lamoni Food Pantry to learn 
about their nutrition services there in Decatur County. And they were 
also concerned about the SNAP program within the farm bill.
  I also met with egg producers, pork producers, dairy producers, and 
cattlemen at the Iowa State Fair, and their message was very clear: 
Farmers need certainty and a farm bill should be passed as soon as 
possible.
  I look forward to working in a bipartisan way to deliver a farm bill 
to the American people. After my 99th county meeting, I celebrated, as 
usually I do, with a Snickers Blizzard at the Dairy Queen in Onawa, IA. 
All this doesn't mean that my work is over because I am going to 
continue, between now and the end of the year, to hold more Q&As 
throughout this period of time. And I hope to see my fellow Iowans soon 
at football games, businesses large and small, or a Dairy Queen near 
any one of them.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Democratic whip.
  Mr. DURBIN. Madam President, what is the Senator from Iowa going to 
do when they close the Dairy Queens?
  Mr. GRASSLEY. What am I doing?
  Mr. DURBIN. When they close the Dairy Queens.
  Mr. GRASSLEY. Well, so far I have been lucky enough to keep them 
open. As far as I know, there is only one that closed in the last 12 
months in Iowa.

[[Page S4224]]

  

  Mr. DURBIN. Thank you for filling me in on that. I appreciate it very 
much.