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 Washington.
Participating in today's public affairs program is Art Cullen with the
Storm Lake Times in Storm Lake. Art, go ahead with your first question.
QUESTION: Yes, Senator, thank you.
You've had some correspondence and conversation with the EPA over
emissions rules for corn-based ethanol, and it then the president
wrote a letter to Governor Culver making it pretty clear, in my eyes
at least, that the Obama administration believes that corn-based
ethanol is not long for this world and that we're going to be
switching pretty soon to some sort of a cellulosic ethanol base.
What do you make of all this. Is that corn-based model
sustainable in light of Obama's comments and the EPA rulings and the
like?
GRASSLEY: Well, for sure, it's sustainable in the near term; and
near term, quite a few years because we don't have the technology
entirely in place yet for cellulosic ethanol. On the other hand, we
have a public policy that, after the mandate of 15 billion gallons of
ethanol is reached I think in the year 2016, that after that, that's
the peak for corn-based ethanol.
But that doesn't necessarily speak negatively about agriculture
benefiting from ethanol because, you know, whether it's timber, that's
agriculture.
QUESTION: Sure.
GRASSLEY: Or whether it's switch grass.
QUESTION: Sure.
GRASSLEY: Or whether it's corn stover, farmers are still
going to benefit from the agricultural production of...
QUESTION: Still bidding for acres.
GRASSLEY: Yes. Now, what does bother me is this indirect land
use thing.
QUESTION: Right.
GRASSLEY: But it seems to me, regardless of the president's
letter to Governor Culver, we do have Governor Vilsack speak very
firmly about indirect land use shouldn't be playing a very good factor
in determining the positiveness or negativeness of ethanol.
And so I was really glad to hear that this week from the
secretary of agriculture.
QUESTION: Do you think that reflects the administration's
viewpoints on this? Or do you think agriculture and EPA might be at
odds?
GRASSLEY: Oh, agriculture and EPA could be at odds, but it's --
it's pretty forceful to have a person like Vilsack speak up in favor
of that issue. In other words, speaking favorably about indirect land
use not being a legitimate factor in determining how good ethanol is
for the environment.
QUESTION: OK. Possibly changing subjects here for a second, you
and Max Baucus have been working closely together on the health care
reform package, and you've made no secret of your skepticism of a
public plan. And, you know, Baucus has made, you know, slightly
kinder remarks for a public plan.
Where are you -- you know, you guys have a pretty close
relationship. Where do you think your heads together are on that
specific issue?
GRASSLEY: Well, in the purest form, nothing for me.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: And in the purest form for him -- or I should say for
the majority of his party...
QUESTION: Sure.
GRASSLEY: ... a government-run plan. But he is very willing to
look at compromises.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: And to keep the government out of it, of another
option, and that's what we're doing. And I told him I would be
willing to consider compromises.
But it's something that's almost a litmus test in my party. And
I'm not speaking just for myself or I'm not -- and I don't think that
there's -- would be more than two or three would even be able to look
at a compromise.
But you can't say no to compromise until you see what the
compromise is.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: But it's one that -- that's going to be very
difficult.
QUESTION: Yes. And in that event, if a compromise can't be
found even on the Finance Committee, then does it go to the
reconciliation or something like that?
GRASSLEY: No, I don't think so. It depends upon how the
Democrats come down. Do we have a compromise or don't we? And then
if we don't have one, how many Democrats does he lose?
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: But here's the other thing. You know, this is a big
800-pound gorilla, yes.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: But you've got to realize that health care reform is
restructuring 16, 17 percent of the gross national product. And when
you do something like that, you will think that the people involved
would want it by a big bipartisan effort.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: And we're headed in that direction. Now, will we end
up there? You know, week to week, you're going to have to ask me.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: But in the next -- in the next three or four weeks,
it's kind of crunch time.
QUESTION: Oh, OK. Have any compromises on that -- I mean, have
you and Baucus...
GRASSLEY: Not on public option.
QUESTION: ... had any pillow talk on that?
GRASSLEY: Not on public option. But there is, at the staff
level, trying to talk about compromises. And this isn't something
that he and I will deal with directly. We'll see what staff with come
up with for possible compromises. And we'll have to negotiate that if
there's a possibility of a compromise.
But if there's a subset of 20 issues on health care reform, 15 of
them are easily compromisable. There's four or five like mandating
health insurance for everybody, capping the exclusion for corporate
health insurance plans, and the method of financing besides public
option that are very controversial.
But, you know, there's so many things where there's a consensus
we need to do something.
QUESTION: Yes. And did the president -- did you discuss this
with the president in your meeting with him?
GRASSLEY: Yes, I did.
QUESTION: And I mean, he was campaigning on the fact that, you
know, he doesn't want to force everybody to buy insurance and that he
-- did he leave any room on the public plan with you when you talked
to him? Or did you even get into that?
GRASSLEY: Well, we got into it to discuss it, but we didn't get
into any detail of possible compromises.
QUESTION: OK. But you agreed that you wanted to -- you know,
that you could each give some a little bit, huh?
GRASSLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: Well, good.
And, finally, if I may, you know, the president also said that he
wanted to get immigration reform on the table this year. And, of
course, President Bush wanted to do the same thing. And there's some
polls indicating that the public does support the -- I guess it was
the Kennedy-Lugar bill, was it? The immigration reform bill?
GRASSLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: That passed the Senate?
GRASSLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: What's your...
GRASSLEY: Well, you mean -- it was just -- there was one thing
that held it up from passing the Senate.
QUESTION: Oh, OK.
GRASSLEY: And that was a year ago now -- now, two years ago
right now.
QUESTION: Two years ago? That's right.
GRASSLEY: And so what it was was this issue of amnesty.
QUESTION: Right.
GRASSLEY: Some people called it a path to citizenship. But the
extent to which you say people come here illegally and stay here or
came here illegally can stay here legally. You know?
QUESTION: OK.
GRASSLEY: As opposed to going back...
QUESTION: And that did not pass the Senate, huh?
GRASSLEY: No.
QUESTION: I thought it did. I thought it failed in the House.
GRASSLEY: No.
QUESTION: I'm sorry.
GRASSLEY: Yes. That's OK.
QUESTION: Well, anyway, do you think that that basic framework
could come up again this year? Or do you just think...
GRASSLEY: No, next year.
QUESTION: Next year?
GRASSLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: OK.
GRASSLEY: Because of the high unemployment. I think it's
difficult to get people to vote on legalizing people that are coming
in here illegally that are seen as unfair competition for American
labor when you have a nine and a half percent unemployment.
QUESTION: Yes. OK. But do you think it's a realistic
possibility for the following year?
GRASSLEY: Yes, it is. It sure is.
QUESTION: Really?
GRASSLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: OK. And do you think it could pass?
GRASSLEY: Well, with the number of Democrats that we have and
the inability of Republicans to filibuster on the issue of amnesty...
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: You know, it's -- it's one of these things just like
health care reform.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: Twenty subsets, you can agree on 15 of them. And
there's four or five 800-pound gorillas.
QUESTION: Yes. OK. All right. Is there anything else you'd
like to touch on today?
GRASSLEY: Well, I would only end the program like I often end
the program and that is invite people to write to me. I can say this,
that we've had a tremendous outpouring of mail. I hate to tell you
that I'm in the enabled of 9,000 to 10,000 letters behind.
QUESTION: Oh.
GRASSLEY: And we're often behind, you know, 2,000 or 3,000, but
we -- we've had such an outpouring.
QUESTION: What are these letters about?
GRASSLEY: Well, I -- there's a wide array of them.
QUESTION: I guess if you haven't been able to read them all...
(LAUGHTER)
GRASSLEY: No. We've got them all opened and all read.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: But not answered.
QUESTION: Yes.
GRASSLEY: I would say health care reform, immigration, budget
deficit, card check, things of that nature.
QUESTION: Yes. And economic issues probably being at the top of
the list?
GRASSLEY: Yes. But I invite people to write to me and,
eventually, they're going to get an answer.
QUESTION: Yes. Just don't hold your breath right now.
GRASSLEY: Because I do answer every letter you know.
QUESTION: Yes. But be patient.
GRASSLEY: Yes. Well, I recently assigned a letter because
somebody said he had written, you know, several weeks ago, didn't get
an answer.
QUESTION: Yes?
GRASSLEY: And so he sent another copy of the letter.
QUESTION: Yes?
GRASSLEY: And maybe he thought it didn't get through. And,
sometimes, they don't. But I just simply had to put a P.S. down to
the bottom that, you know, just how far behind we are and apologize
for it.
QUESTION: Yes. Hey, where do you want these EPA officials to go
in Iowa if you can get them out here?
GRASSLEY: Well, I'd like to have them come to the Grassley farm,
but we're a hundred miles from Des Moines. So we'll probably try to
work something around Central Iowa.
QUESTION: Got a lot of dust on the Grassley farm that would
be...
GRASSLEY: Well...
QUESTION: ... would violate some of the standards?
(LAUGHTER)
GRASSLEY: Well, every year.
QUESTION: Yes?
GRASSLEY: Or I can take them down my rock road in front of my
farm and show them that Butler County can't keep it's dust inside
their property lines.
(LAUGHTER)
QUESTION: Right.
GRASSLEY: But, you know, the last time I tried to show them, it
rained.
QUESTION: Right.
GRASSLEY: Yes.
QUESTION: Right. Well, bring them out here. There's always a
good wind blowing here.
GRASSLEY: You bet.
QUESTION: All right. Well, thank you for your time.
GRASSLEY: OK. Goodbye.
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