Issue Position: International Diplomacy

Issue Position

Issue Position: International Diplomacy

Using my leadership position on the Senate Finance Committee as a platform to reach out to the world community of nations, I launched an opportunity two decades ago to welcome ambassadors and trade representatives to come visit Iowa with me for one week in August. Since 1986, my wife Barbara and I have hosted international delegations to our state 11 times. Triggered by an effort to address the economic downturn in Iowa after the farm crisis in the 1980s, my foreign exchange road trip across Iowa has helped create lasting goodwill and relationships among Iowans who open their businesses and family farms to tours and homes to overnight guests. Call it grassroots diplomacy. Nothing can break down a cultural barrier more meaningfully than a friendly smile and warm handshake - especially if exchanged over a pork-chop-on-a-stick at the Iowa State Fair.

My leadership position in Congress also gives me the opportunity to forge alliances overseas, such as with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly. In May 2006 I met with European lawmakers to discuss international security issues, including terrorism, nuclear arsenals and global health threats.

I often say keeping in touch with my constituents makes the process of representative government work. Likewise, keeping in touch with our international friends makes the world a safer, better place.

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