[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 139 (Monday, September 9, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5866-S5867]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Iowa County Meetings

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, as Iowans have come to expect of this 
Senator, in August, I finished my annual 99 county meetings, holding at 
least one Q&A meeting in every county across my home State. I have kept 
up this tradition for 44 years in a row. The hallmark of my meetings is 
hour-long question and answer sessions. No question is off limits.
  This year, a third of my meetings were open town meetings, and the 
rest were hosted by high schools, small businesses, service clubs, 
farmers, and hospitals throughout the State.
  Ever since I started my meetings in 1981, the variety of meetings has 
been the same. I want to hear from a cross-section of the population, 
and the best way to do that is to go to them where they work, study, 
and raise their families. No matter the setting, the format is the 
same. Iowans set the agenda.
  During the course of my travels, I have learned about businesses that 
I never knew existed. I have come to the conclusion that that is the 
case because Iowans don't brag enough about what goes on in our State, 
particularly in some of the businesses that I have learned about.
  I have observed the hard work and ingenuity of Iowa workers on the 
factory floors, where they put together, for instance, trailer beds. I 
learned about infant formula being made in the town of Allerton, 
population: 430.
  The heart and might of rural America are inspiring, although they 
don't come without hardships, especially as Iowans face low commodity 
prices and the absence of a new 5-year farm bill.
  One purpose of my meetings is to keep my finger on the pulse of 
Iowans and the issues that impact them the most. This year, I was 
struck by the number of people who told me about the high cost of 
living, how it is making it hard to put food on the table and how it 
makes it hard to pay their utility bills. Iowans are hurting from the 
high cost of food at the grocery store--up 21 percent since President 
Biden and Vice President Harris took office.
  Iowans ask about illegal immigrants flooding across our border. For 
the last 3\1/2\ years, they see migrants crossing the Rio Grande. They 
see it on television almost every night. That has added up to the tune 
of about 10 million people on the Biden-Harris watch.
  Long before I came to Congress, a law was passed to make entering our 
country without our country's permission illegal. Iowans can't make 
sense of the open border policies of the Biden-Harris administration. 
They implore me to secure our border and to protect American citizens. 
Protecting the American people is the No. 1 responsibility of the 
Federal Government. Unfortunately, we have a President who is not 
upholding his oath to faithfully execute the laws.
  At a town meeting, someone from the back of the room will often 
shout: How come you guys in Washington, DC,

[[Page S5867]]

can't do something about the problem at the border?
  My answer: There is too much partisanship, but Republicans and 
Democrats work together a lot more than you would think.
  I am fighting for the family farmer and the 57,000 jobs in the 
biofuel industry in my State by pushing to make E15 permanent year-
round, alongside colleagues across the aisle from Illinois and 
Minnesota.
  Or take my work with Senator Cantwell to rein in pharmacy benefit 
managers--PBMs, we call them in this town. An attendee at my Osceola 
town meeting told me their medicine went up from $300 to $1,000. When 
you tack this on top of the inflation of the last 3 years, you can 
understand the pain in their eyes when they plead with me to lower the 
cost of prescription drugs. It is one of my top priorities, and I am 
not going to give up until the job is done.
  Too often, Americans feel Congress doesn't understand the challenges 
facing their families. The best way to reduce this cynicism is to look 
your constituents in the eye and listen to them. For more than four 
decades, that is what I have done.
  Once I have hit all 99 counties, you may think that is the end of my 
touring the State and listening to Iowans, but I look forward to many 
more Q&As between now and the end of this year.
  Representative government is a two-way street. Those of us elected 
are one-half of that process and our constituents, the other half of 
that process. Dialogue is the essence of representative government. I 
believe my 44-year track record shows my commitment to holding up my 
end of the bargain.
  I want to thank every Iowan who comes to my county meetings. For 
those who can't get to the meetings, I remind Iowans my door is always 
open. That most often happens by people sending me emails, calling my 
office, or writing a letter. I want to tell them, as I do at every 
meeting, you will get a response. And if you don't get a response, let 
me know because you are entitled to an answer. And if I promise you an 
answer, I want to make sure you get one.
  I look forward to starting my 45th year of holding my 99 county 
meetings when 2025 comes around.
  I yield the floor.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Senator from Texas.