Chuck Grassley

Chuck Grassley
United States Senator
from Iowa
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1981
Serving with Tom Harkin
Preceded by John Culver
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by Max Baucus
Succeeded by Max Baucus
Chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging
In office
January 7, 1997 – January 3, 2001
Preceded by William Cohen
Succeeded by John B. Breaux
In office
January 20, 2001 – June 6, 2001
Preceded by John B. Breaux
Succeeded by John B. Breaux
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 3rd district
In office
January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981
Preceded by H.R. Gross
Succeeded by T. Cooper Evans
Member of the
Iowa House of Representatives
In office
1959–1974
Personal details
Born Charles Ernest Grassley
September 17, 1933 (1933-09-17) (age 78)
New Hartford, Iowa
Nationality American
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Barbara Grassley
Children Lee Grassley
Wendy Grassley
Robin Grassley
Michele Grassley
Jay Grassley
Residence New Hartford, Iowa
Alma mater University of Northern Iowa (B.A., M.A.)
Occupation Politician
Religion Baptist - BGC
Website Senator Chuck Grassley

Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley (born September 17, 1933) is the senior United States Senator from Iowa, serving since 1981. A member of Republican Party, he previously served in the served in the United States House of Representatives (1975–1981) and the Iowa state legislature (1959–1974). He was chairman of the Senate Finance Committee from January to June 2001 and from January 2003 to December 2006. He is currently the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee.

Contents

Early life, education and career

Grassley was born in New Hartford, Iowa, the son of Ruth (née Corwin) and Louis Arthur Grassley,[1] and graduated from the town high school. At Iowa State Teachers College (now the University of Northern Iowa), he earned a B.A. in 1955 and an M.A. in 1956. He also completed some doctoral studies in political science at the University of Iowa. Also during the 1950s, Grassley farmed and worked in factories, first as a sheet metal shearer and then as an assembly line worker.

Iowa House of Representatives

Grassley represented parts of Butler County in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1959 until 1974, when he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served three terms.

U.S. Senate

Committee assigments

As a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee Grassley has spearheaded many probes into the misuse and accountability of federal money.

In July 2007, a Grassley-commissioned report was released claiming that more than US$1 billion in farm subsidies were sent to deceased individuals. Grassley said: "It's unconscionable that the Department of Agriculture would think that a dead person was actively engaged in the business of farming."[2]

Since 1976, Grassley has repeatedly introduced measures that increase the level of double taxation on American citizens living abroad, including retroactive tax hikes. Grassley was eventually able to attach an amendment to a piece of legislation that went into effect in 2006, which increased taxes on Americans abroad by targeting housing and living incentives paid by foreign employers and held them accountable for federal taxes, even though they did not currently reside in the United States. Critics of the amendment felt that the move hurt Americans competing for jobs abroad by putting an unnecessary tax burden on foreign employers. Others felt that the move was only to offset the revenue deficit caused by domestic tax cuts of the Bush Administration.[3][4][5]

In March 2009, amid the scandal involving various AIG executives receiving large salary bonuses from the taxpayer-funded bailout of the corporate giant, Grassley sparked controversy by suggesting that those AIG employees receiving large bonuses should follow the so-called 'Japanese example', resign immediately or commit suicide. After much criticism he has not backed off of those comments, dismissing them as rhetoric.[6][7][8]

At an August 12, 2009, meeting in Iowa, Senator Grassley supported the claims by health care reform opponents that end-of-life counseling provisions in the House health care bill, H.R. 3200, amounted to government sponsored euthanasia. In response to an audience question about the provision, Grassley said people were right to fear that the government would "pull the plug on grandma."[9][10][11][12] Grassley had previously supported covering end-of-life counseling, having voted for the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which stated: "The covered services are: evaluating the beneficiary's need for pain and symptom management, including the individual's need for hospice care; counseling the beneficiary with respect to end-of-life issues and care options, and advising the beneficiary regarding advanced care planning."

Political positions

In 2005, Charles Grassley received a 7 percent rating on the Republicans for Environmental Protection's (REP) environmental scorecard. He voted in a manner inconsistent with what the REP considers pro-environment on 14 of 15 issues considered environmentally critical by the REP. He voted with REP on an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 proposed by Senator Jeff Bingaman to require at least 10% of electricity sold by utilities to originate from renewable resources. Issues in which Senator Grassley voted anti-environment are all other amendments to the Energy Policy Act proposed in 2005, the issue of authorizing drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and fuel economy standards for vehicles. In 2006, Grassley received a 0 percent rating from the REP[13] and a 14 percent rating from the LCV.[14] According to these organizations, he voted pro-environment on the issue of energy and weatherization assistance, and voted anti-environment on drilling, environmental funding, peer review, renewable resources, and the Gulf of Mexico Security Act of 2006.

In 2009, Senator Grassley received a 10 percent rating on the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) scorecard for his pro-environment votes on the issues of renewable energy and farm conservation programs.[14] These pro-environment votes, however, were balanced by his anti-environment votes on the energy conference report, global warming, natural gas facilities, undermining fuel economy, increasing fuel economy, and various other issues.

Grassley has been described in newswires as a "bulldog supporter" of biofuels such as ethanol.[15] Grassley has opposed conservative Senators like Tom Coburn (R-OK) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) for wanting to bring an end to ethanol subsidies.[16]

According to the Disabled American Veterans, Senator Grassley has the third-worst voting record in the entire US Congress (both House and Senate combined) on veterans issues, earning a 40 rating.[17] However, Senator Grassley was given the right-leaning American Legion's distinguished public service award for his support of a "strong national defense, service members, veterans and the American flag", primarily due to his support for a flag protection amendment.[18]

In May 2009, Grassley cosponsored a resolution to amend the US Constitution to prohibit flag-burning, stating the flag is "... the symbol our men and women in uniform have fought for over 200 years. [sic]"[19]

Grassley was among 20 co-sponsors of a 1993 Senate bill that would have mandated health insurance for Americans. In 2009 and 2010, however, when President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party proposed a health reform bill featuring mandated health insurance, Grassley vocally opposed the health insurance mandate, saying that it was a deal breaker.[20][21]

Grassley voted in favor of end-of-life counseling as part of the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill. Six years later, in 2009 and 2010, he changed positions and began referring to end-of-life-counseling as “death panels,” and strongly opposed the Democratic proposals for health care reform in the United States that would include this counseling. In 2009, he told an Iowa town hall meeting, “In the House bill, there is counseling for end of life. You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life…”[22][23]

Senator Grassley has a 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee,[24] 84 percent rating from the American Conservative Union,[25] and 100 percent rating from Eagle Forum.[26] Family Research Council,[27] an organization labeled as a "Hate Group"[28] by the civil rights organization Southern Poverty Law Center, gave Grassley a 100 percent rating. Grassley scored a 20 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization for the 110th Congress.[29]

Grassley has campaigned to increase protection and provide support for "Whistleblowers". He has supported a number of FBI whistle blowers, including Coleen Rowley, Michael German, and Jane Turner. Grassley received a lifetime achievement award on May 17, 2007 from the National Whistleblower Center. A September 2009 poll shows Grassley with a popularity rating in Iowa of 50% approving of his job, and 40% disapproving.[30]

Controversies

Religious organizations

On November 5, 2007, Grassley announced an investigation into the tax-exempt status of six ministries under the leadership of Benny Hinn, Paula White, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland by the United States Senate Committee on Finance.[31] In letters to each ministry, Grassley asked for the ministries to divulge specific financial information to the committee to determine whether or not funds collected by each organization were inappropriately utilized by ministry heads.[32] By the December 6, 2007 deadline, only three of the ministries had shown compliance with the Finance Committee's request. On March 11, 2008, Grassley and Finance Chairman Max Baucus sent follow-up letters to Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long, explaining that the Senate reserved the right to investigate the finances of their organizations under federal tax laws.[33]

Responses from these Ministers included Constitutional arguments about Congressional power to oversee such matters. They claim that only the IRS has the authority to request such information, and should the IRS request it or pursue an investigation, the ministries involved would gladly comply.

Medical research

Grassley also began an investigation about unreported payments to physicians by pharmaceutical companies. The New York Times reported that Dr. Joseph Biederman of Harvard University had failed to report over a million dollars of income that he had received from pharmaceutical companies.[34] Weeks later, Business Week reported that Grassley alleged that Alan Schatzberg, chair of psychiatry at Stanford University, had underreported his investments in Corcept Therapeutics, a company he founded.[35] Dr. Schatzberg had reported only $100,000 investments in Corcept, but Grassley stated that his investments actually totalled over $6 million. Dr. Schaztberg later stepped down from his grant which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).[36] Similarly, Dr. Charles Nemeroff resigned as chair of the psychiatry department at Emory University after failing to report a third of the $2.8 million in consulting fees he received from GlaxoSmithKline. At the time he received these fees, Dr. Nemeroff had been principal investigator of a $3.9 million NIH grant evaluating five medications for depression manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.[37]

Political campaigns

Grassley was elected to his Senate seat in 1980, defeating the Democratic incumbent, John Culver. He was reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, and 2010.

2010

Grassley was being challenged by Democrat Roxanne Conlin, a former U.S. Attorney, and Libertarian John Heiderscheit, an attorney.

During the Democratic primary campaign, Bob Krause, a former state legislator, Army veteran and transportation official, said that Grassley's more than half-century in public office is too long. "As a good farmer, Sen. Grassley must recognize that 51 years, or 58 years at the end of his term, is a long time to go without rotating crops," Krause told about 50 supporters in Des Moines.[38] Krause cited Grassley's support in 1999 for legislation that allowed banks and insurance companies to begin offering other investment products. "Please remember that Farmer Grassley was one that opened the barn door and let the cow out at AIG," Krause said.[38]

Grassley was unopposed in the Republican primary, although some conservatives said he has drifted "too far to the left".[39] Among those is conservative activist Bill Salier, who said "Grassley was the dominant force and had an enormous amount of loyalty. That has so eroded out from underneath him" during an interview on WHO-AM radio.[40]

He won with 64.5% of the vote, Roxanne Conlin getting 33.2% of the vote.

Fundraising

According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, the industries that have been the largest contributors to Grassley during his political career are health professionals ($1 million in contributions), insurance industry ($997,674), lawyers/law firms ($625,543) and pharmaceuticals/health products ($538,680). His largest corporate donors have been Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance, Amgen biotech company and Wells Fargo bank.[41]

Electoral history

United States Senate election in Iowa, 2010

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 63.4%
Roxanne Conlin (D) 32.8%
John Heiderscheit (Lib.) 2.2%

United States Senate election in Iowa, 2004

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 70.1%
Arthur Small (D) 27.9%
Christy Welty (Lib.) 1%
Daryl Northrop (Green) 0.8%
Edwin Fruit (Socialist Workers) 0.1%

United States Senate election in Iowa, 1998

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 68.4%
David Osterberg (D) 30.5%
Susan Marcus (Natural Law) 0.8%
Margaret Trowe (Socialist Workers) 0.3%

United States Senate election in Iowa, 1992

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 69.6%
Jean Lloyd-Jones (D) 27.2%
Stuart Zimmerman (Natural Law) 1.3%
Sue Atkinson (I) 0.5%
Mel Boring (I) 0.4%
Rosanne Freeburg (I) 0.4%
Carl Eric Olsen (Grassroots) 0.3%
Richard O'Dell Hughes (I) 0.2%
Cleve Andrew Pulley (Socialist Workers) 0.1%

United States Senate election in Iowa, 1986

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 66%
John P. Roehrick (D) 34%

United States Senate election in Iowa, 1980

Chuck Grassley (R) 53.5%
John Culver (D) (inc.) 45.5%

1978 Iowa 3rd District United States Congressional Election

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 74.8%
John Knudson (D) 25.2%

1976 Iowa 3rd District United States Congressional Election

Chuck Grassley (R) (inc.) 56%
Stephen Rapp 44%

1974 Iowa 3rd District United States Congressional Election

Chuck Grassley (R) 50.8%
Stephen Rapp (D) 49.2%

Personal life

Grassley married Barbara Ann Speicher in September 1954; the couple have five children: Lee, Wendy, Robin, Michele, and Jay. Grassley is a member of The Family, the Christian political organization that organizes the National Prayer Breakfast.[42]

Awards

In 2009, Grassley received the "Health Policy Hero" award from the National Research Center for Women & Families[43] for his 2004 oversight of legislative reforms and accountability of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).[44] Grassley was also named the hardest working member of Congress by The Hill newspaper in June 2010, tied with Max Baucus.[45]

References

  1. ^ Ancestors of Charles Ernest Grassley. rootsweb.com.
  2. ^ "Dead farmers got subsidies". The Seattle Times. July 24, 2007. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003803149_watch24.html. Retrieved July 24, 2007. 
  3. ^ Bradsher, Keith (May 30, 2006). "Americans Living Abroad Get a Nasty Tax Surprise". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/business/30tax.html. Retrieved April 30, 2010. 
  4. ^ Bilefsky, Dan (May 12, 2006). "Americans abroad face higher U.S. tax bills". International Herald Tribune. Archived from the original on June 19, 2006. http://web.archive.org/web/20060619204314/http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/12/news/expats.php. 
  5. ^ Senator Charles Grassley’s Letter of October 3rd 2007 in the Wall Street Journal Provokes Vivid Response.
  6. ^ "Pressure grows on AIG to return bonuses". Associated Press. MSNBC. March 18, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29733519/. 
  7. ^ Montanaro, Domenico (March 17, 2009). "Grassley dismisses suicide talk as rhetoric". MSNBC. http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2009/03/17/1839673.aspx. 
  8. ^ Phillips, Kate (March 17, 2009). "Grassley: A.I.G. Must Take Its Medicine (Not Hemlock)". The New York Times. http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/17/grassley-aig-should-take-its-medicine-not-hemlock/. ]
  9. ^ Stein, Sam (September 12, 2009). "Grassley Endorses "Death Panel" Rumor: "You Have Every Right To Fear"". HuffingtonPost.com. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/12/grassley-endorses-death-p_n_257677.html. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  10. ^ Hancock, Jason (August 12, 2009). "Grassley: Government shouldn’t ‘decide when to pull the plug on grandma’". IowaIndependent.com. http://iowaindependent.com/18456/grassley-government-shouldnt-decide-when-to-pull-the-plug-on-grandma. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  11. ^ Hancock, Jason (August 12, 2009). "Grassley repeats euthanasia claim". IowaIndependent.com. http://iowaindependent.com/18485/grassley-repeats-euthanasia-claim. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  12. ^ "Sen. Deather". The Rachel Maddow Show. MSNBC. August 13, 2009. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/32396026#32396026. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  13. ^ Republicans for Environmental Protection 2006 Scorecard
  14. ^ a b "National Environmental". League of Conservation Voters. 2009. http://www.lcv.org/scorecard/past-scorecards/pdf/scorecard-2009.pdf. 
  15. ^ "Senate tax bill extends ethanol credit, tariff". Reuters. December 10, 2010. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE6B74PU20101211. 
  16. ^ "Grassley's ethanol challenge". The Washington Post. November 24, 2010. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/23/AR2010112306921.html. 
  17. ^ "Project Vote Smart - Disabled American Veterans Rating". Votesmart.org. http://www.votesmart.org/issue_rating_detail.php?r_id=3483. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  18. ^ "Grassley dedicated to protecting the flag". The American Legion. March 26, 2009. http://www.legion.org/flag/822/grassley-dedicated-protecting-flag. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  19. ^ Hancock, Jason (May 8, 2009). "Grassley cosponsors flag-burning amendment". IowaIndependent.com. http://iowaindependent.com/14889/grassley-cosponsors-flag-burning-amendment. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  20. ^ "Harkin Grassley stand pat on health reform". Des Moines Register. February 26, 2010. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20100226/NEWS09/2260353/1056/Harkin-Grassley-stand-pat-on-health-reform. 
  21. ^ "Grassleys opposition to individual insurance mandate comes under fire". Iowa Independent. October 8, 2009. http://iowaindependent.com/20702/grassleys-opposition-to-insurance-mandates-comes-under-fire. 
  22. ^ "Grassley warns of government pulling plug on grandma". CBS News. August 12, 2009. http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/08/12/politics/politicalhotsheet/entry5237320.shtml. 
  23. ^ "Grassley warns of government pulling plug on grandma". Time Magazine. August 12, 2009. http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/08/13/oh-those-death-panels/. 
  24. ^ "Federal NRLC Scorecard - 110th Congress". National Right to Life Committee. Capwiz.com. 2008. http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/scorecard.xc?chamber=S&state=US&session=110&x=12&y=11. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  25. ^ "2007 Votes by State Delegation". Archived from the original on May 10, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080510125244/http://www.acuratings.org/2007all.htm. 
  26. ^ "Federal Eagle Forum Scoreboard - 110th Congress". Capwiz.com. 2008. http://capwiz.com/eagleforum/scorecard.xc?chamber=S&state=US&session=1102&x=8&y=5. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  27. ^ "Vote Scorecard: 110th Congress". FRC Action. 2008. Archived from the original on August 9, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080809030427/http://www.frcaction.org/downloads/EF06J02.pdf. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  28. ^ "Family Research Council labeled a 'hate group'". WashingtonTimes.com. November 24, 2010. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/nov/24/frc-labeled-a-hate-group/. Retrieved January 3, 2011. 
  29. ^ "Sen Grassley HRC Score Card". Human Rights Campaign. http://www.hrc.org/laws_and_elections/your_elected_officials.asp?state=IA&x=7&y=6&view=myofficials&zip=. 
  30. ^ "SurveyUSA News Poll #15840". SurveyUSA.com. September 30, 2009. http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=31d66a90-6f6c-41ea-94a8-7f57b01990df. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  31. ^ Lohr, Kathy (December 4, 2007). "Senator Probes Megachurches' Finances". NPR.org. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16860611. Retrieved December 10, 2007. 
  32. ^ "Televangelists Living Like Kings?". CBS News. November 6, 2007. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/11/06/cbsnews_investigates/main3462147.shtml. Retrieved September 17, 2007. 
  33. ^ "Grassley, Baucus Urge Four Ministries to Cooperate". Planned Giving Design Center. March 12, 2008. http://www.pgdc.com/pgdc/grassley-baucus-urge-four-ministries-cooperate. Retrieved February 4, 2009. 
  34. ^ Harris, Gardiner; Carey, Benedict (June 8, 2008). "Researchers Fail to Reveal Full Drug Pay". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/08/us/08conflict.html. 
  35. ^ Weintraub, Arlene (June 26, 2008). "Drug Makers and College Labs: Too Cozy?". Business Week. http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/jun2008/tc20080626_630542.htm. 
  36. ^ "Stanford Researcher, Accused of Conflicts, Steps Down as NIH Principal Investigator". The Chronicle of Higher Education. August 1, 2008. http://chronicle.com/news/article/4922/stanford-researcher-accused-of-conflicts-steps-down-as-nih-principal-investigator. 
  37. ^ "Doctor Accused in Congress' Probe". The Los Angeles Times. October 4, 2008. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/oct/04/science/sci-doctors4. 
  38. ^ a b Beaumont, Thomas (March 29, 2009). "Democrat says Grassley has been in Senate too long". KCCI. http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090329/NEWS09/903290336/1056. 
  39. ^ Hancock, Jason (April 10, 2009). "Salier: Grassley could be primaried". IowaIndependent.com. http://iowaindependent.com/13888/salier-grassley-could-be-primaried. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  40. ^ Hancock, Jason (August 7, 2009). "Salier renews threat of Grassley primary". IowaIndependent.com. http://iowaindependent.com/18348/salier-renews-threat-of-grassley-primary. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  41. ^ "Chuck Grassley: Campaign Finance/Money - Industries". Center for Responsive Politics. http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/industries.php?cycle=Career&cid=N00001758&type=I. Retrieved February 26, 2010. 
  42. ^ Sharlet, Jeff (July 21, 2009). "Sex and power inside 'the C Street House'". Salon.com. http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2009/07/21/c_street/print.html. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  43. ^ "Previous Foremothers and Heath Policy Heros". National Research Center for Women & Families. 2010. http://www.center4research.org/news-events/previous-foremother-awards/. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 
  44. ^ "Grassley recognized for work to increase accountability in health care system". Press Release. grassley.senate.gov. May 8, 2009. http://grassley.senate.gov/news/Article.cfm?customel_dataPageID_1502=20654. 
  45. ^ Victoria, Lauren (June 9, 2010). "The 25 hardest working lawmakers". TheHill.com. http://thehill.com/capital-living/102101-the-25-hardest-working-members-of-congress. Retrieved August 23, 2010. 

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
H.R. Gross
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Iowa's 3rd congressional district

1975–1981
Succeeded by
T. Cooper Evans
United States Senate
Preceded by
John Culver
United States Senator (Class 3) from Iowa
1981–present
Served alongside: Roger Jepsen, Tom Harkin
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
William Cohen
R-Maine
Chairman of the Senate Aging Committee
1997–2001
Succeeded by
John Breaux
D-Louisiana
Preceded by
Max Baucus
D-Montana
Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
2003–2007
Succeeded by
Max Baucus
D-Montana
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Carl Levin
D-Michigan
United States Senators by seniority
8th
Succeeded by
Jeff Bingaman
D-New Mexico
Party political offices
Preceded by
David M. Stanley
Republican Party nominee for United States Senator from Iowa
(Class 3)

1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010
Succeeded by
Current