Transcription of Senator Grassley's Capitol Hill Report

Interview

STAFF: The following is an unrehearsed interview with Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley speaking to you live from Iowa. Participating in today's public affairs program are Theresa Rose with KILJ Radio in Mt. Pleasant and Doug Melvold with the Maquoketa Sentinel Press in Maquoketa.

The first question will be from Theresa Rose.

QUESTION: Good afternoon, Senator.

GRASSLEY: Good afternoon.

QUESTION: Hey, I know tomorrow you're supposed to be talking with a group of scientists and researchers, Iowa Chinese and Agriculture; is that correct?

GRASSLEY: Yes. I'm invited to speak to a group. So I think it was put out as a town meeting, so people should understand that this isn't my meeting. This is a meeting I've been invited to. And they want to talk about international trade, intellectual property rights, and scientific-based decisions in the restriction of food exports.

QUESTION: And I was going ask you if you knew what the -- kind of some of the highlights of what you wanted to share with them.

GRASSLEY: Yes. I'm going to share with them the importance of maintaining intellectual property rights in the case of GMO-modified grains, that we have to expand international trade, and it's going to be a plea with -- from me through them as people of Chinese background. They may be citizens of the United States by now, but they've still got a lot of contact with people back in China to implore China to follow all the regulations since they're members of the World Trade Organization now so that we don't -- so that we're able to have obstacles to our imports going in to China to be able to trade freely.

QUESTION: OK. Thank you.

GRASSLEY: OK. Next question?

QUESTION: Good afternoon, Senator.

Maybe before my first question, may I inquire how your leg is doing and whether you've had to make any changes in your schedule because of that.

GRASSLEY: Well, no. Now, listen, it probably sounded worse than what I -- what it really is because of Twitter. Although yesterday, you know, Twitter, you can only put on 140 characters, and I suppose I could you have talked about it more than that.

The main reason for Tweeting was the fact that I thought I ought to honor Andy, my neighbor, that helped me put the fire out.

But, anyway, yesterday, I did have a short access to a doctor while I was traveling around in southwest Iowa. And he said it was pretty bad which I, obviously, didn't have any professional person tell me that I've been doctoring it myself.

He did write a prescription. I did get a prescription. So now, after three days of bad doctoring, maybe I'm going to get some decent doctoring now. But I've been able to walk without pain, sleep without pain.

He said that it's a little bit deeper. I may have to have a skin graft. But I won't know that until I get back to the doctor's Monday.

QUESTION: Oh, I sure hope for the best outcome.

GRASSLEY: Sure. Thank you.

QUESTION: You're welcome.

Do you feel that President Obama's decision that would make it easier for Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba and send money to relatives may help pave the way to opening the door to policy changes that might allow greater trade with Cuba, including ag products from Iowa?

GRASSLEY: Well...

QUESTION: Down the road?

GRASSLEY: Yes. I think it's a mistake. Until we get Cuba to move, I think we'll be played for a sucker. We'll give enhanced trade rights to Cuba and get nothing out of it.

I'm in favor of restoring diplomatic relations to Cuba but only when they have political freedoms because only political freedoms will bring economic enhancement. And they're one of the poorest nations in the world. Their people are, you know, the most mistreated from the standpoint of low standard of living and, particularly compared to what the same people had in Cuba before Castro took over.

And I am for humanitarian help, but I wouldn't do anything beyond that. But I'd be glad to lift and reestablish systematic relations just as soon as we get elections. And I'm kind of in a quandary to understand how our president could be so concerned about relationships with Cuba when -- when just, on the same island, in Guantanamo, he's concerned about whether or not terrorists are being treated right, but he can't show any concern about the low standard of living of people in Cuba because they're under a dictator and a political elite that wants all the resources for themselves and not be concerned about that.

And it just seems to be a total inconsistency.

STAFF: Theresa?

QUESTION: OK. There was supposed to be a new report released today by Ray Marshal regarding immigration reform. And I don't know if that's something that you've seen or heard anything on.

I was just wondering, you know, talking about immigration reform being a broken system and trying to fix it, where are you at right now with thoughts on immigration reform?

GRASSLEY: Yes, I can answer your last question easily. I can't answer the question about the report today.

QUESTION: OK.

GRASSLEY: But I'm for finishing the fence. I'm for hiring more border patrol. And I guess we've already made that decision; it's just an occasion of it takes so long to get them flowed that the thousands of people we've approved are not actually on the job yet. But I have that may be done.

I think we're going to have to start being more concerned about what's leaving our country going into Mexico with guns from our country going into Mexico to, you know, to -- you know, for the Mafia to use, the kingpins to use because they're better equipped than the military of Mexico.

I think we ought to give some financial help to the Mexican military so that they can be beefed up with equipment as well as what the drug czars are -- I mean, the kingpins are. And then we need to have what we call e-verify made permanent and apply to everybody. Even if I'm applying for a job, I'd have to have my Social Security number checked by my prospective employer with Social Security. I would increase penalties against hiring of illegal aliens, and I would be against amnesty.

QUESTION: OK. Thank you.

STAFF: Doug?

QUESTION: Senator, yesterday, we found quite a number of what were called TEA parties around the country on income tax deadline day. The public is -- appears to be in no mood for further bailouts and stimulus packages. Do you feel that what's been done so far is sufficient to start a recovery?

GRASSLEY: I doubt if just a stimulus package is going to be enough, but I don't know whether enough can come from government. You've got to remember recessions are kind of normal in a free-market economy. We've been through 11 since World War II.

I feel we're going to come out of this one stronger than we are because we've come out of other recessions stronger than we were before. And I think it's a natural course of action.

I don't find fault with everything that was in the stimulus. What's being spent in 2009 is probably doing some good, but it's not going to be the total solution. But so much of the stimulus is spent in the years 2011 into the future, and it's not stimulus. And that's why I voted against the bill.

QUESTION: Just wondering, Congressman Loebsack is in our district -- his district, the Second District right now talking about something he's calling the SECTORS Act. I didn't know if you were familiar with that and what that might...

GRASSLEY: What's the term that you used?

QUESTION: Strengthening employment clusters to organize regional success.

GRASSLEY: Oh, yes.

QUESTION: Are you familiar with that?

GRASSLEY: Yes. I think that that might be a good idea. I haven't studied it truly and thoroughly, but I think -- I think the theory behind it is -- and if I'm wrong on this, correct me -- but that we need greater cooperation among local work force and retraining people to a greater extent. We probably need some more resources, but greater cooperation will probably meet the needs of our -- economic needs -- to a greater extent.

I think it probably has, in it, some support mechanisms besides just retraining as well which, for people that are unemployed, particularly people that are in their 50's, you know, probably need because it's going to be a while before they get to a job that gets back to the salary that they were probably recently laid off from.

QUESTION: Yes. That's what it sounded like to me. And I was just interested if you thought it sounded like it might be something that would work.

GRASSLEY: Yes.

QUESTION: OK.

STAFF: Thank you, Theresa and Doug, for participating in today's public affairs program. This has been Senator Chuck Grassley reporting to the people of Iowa.

GRASSLEY: Yes. Thank you all very much.

QUESTION: Thank you, sir.

QUESTION: Thank you, Senator.

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