Senator Grassley discusses second CARES package in Cerro Gordo County

Sen. Charles Grassley visited Cerro Gordo County on Friday, July 31 to meet with constituents while on a brief break from his work in the United States Senate.

Between the impeachment of President Donald Trump followed shortly by the outbreak of COVID-19, it has been difficult for Grassley to get away from Washington D.C. for his typical 99-county tour of Iowa. Rather than using a regular public venue for his meeting and having to abide by social distancing regulations, Grassley instead opted to hold his traditional Q&A session in the lobby of the Farmer’s State Bank in Mason City, where roughly a dozen constituents circled around the senator to ask questions and present their concerns.

“Can you imagine? If I had an open town meeting you’d have it limited to 50 people and the 51st one that comes to the meeting, you can’t come to the meeting,” said Grassley. “So this is what we’ve been doing all year and we’re gonna have to do it for the rest of the year I’ll bet. We gotta go where people want us.”

The most pressing issue in Congress right now is negotiations on a second COVID-19 stimulus bill. The CARES Act, passed in the early days of the pandemic, was a $2.2 trillion appropriations bill that provided economic relief and stimulus to mitigate the effects that the pandemic had on the economy. Among these measures included the $1,200 stimulus check to individual Americans, the Paycheck Protection Program, direct aid to large corporations and governments, and a $600 boost to unemployment payments.

Since then, Congress has debated whether or not a second stimulus package would be necessary and what it should entail.

Grassley addressed the Senate’s lack of movement in contrast to the House of Representatives, which passed their version of a bill six weeks ago. The delay in action has been particularly controversial as the unemployment benefits from the first bill expired on July 31.

“We were hoping that the economy would be turned around in 90 days and we won’t have to do any more,” said Grassley. “We wanted to wait until July the 20th to make an analysis and then we came to the conclusion that we had to do more.”

Grassley hopes that the Senate will have a comprehensive bill ready by Friday but acknowledges that there are still deep philosophical differences among the Senate about what it should entail.

“We made a mistake there by making it $600 and now we’re paying people more not to work than to work, and that’s what the big battle is now,” said Grassley.

In lieu of a comprehensive bill, Grassley hopes that a smaller package can be agreed on that addresses immediate concerns. Grassley identified three major priorities, which includes a temporary extension of unemployment boosts at under $600, a $100 billion package for K-12 schools and universities, and a moratorium on rent and housing payments for federally subsidized properties.

“If we can put that together by next Thursday, that takes care of most of the emergency stuff and we can put the rest of it off until September,” said Grassley.

On the divisiveness, or perceived divisiveness, in Congress, Grassley addressed concerns that Washington has become critically divided.

“It’s bad, but probably not as bad as you think it is for this reason, controversy makes news,” said Grassley. Grassley explained that the rise of cable news and the popularity of partisan opinion shows have amplified the cultural divide in the country, resulting in electorates electing candidates further apart on the political spectrum.

“Thirty years ago ABC, NBC, CBS controlled all the news,” said Grassley. “Most of these big companies have been overrun by Fox and MSNBC, and CNN and you know how they are extreme right or extreme left. And then you’ve got Rush Limbaugh and you’ve got some other radio talk show on the left over here. And then look at the social media.”

Grassley noted that he’s recently worked on a bi-partisan criminal justice reform and a prescription drug bill. The Grassley/Wyden Prescription Drug Price Reducing Act of 2020 would, among other things, limit the yearly increase in price of prescription drugs and guarantee no more than $300 out-of-pocket costs for pharmaceuticals.

Grassley hopes to attach the bill to the second CARES package, but is concerned that congressional Democrats, who have supported the bill more than Grassley’s fellow Republicans, may hold out in the hopes that a change in leadership in the administration may grant them the opportunity for a better outcome next year.

“If that happens then their strategy is good, but suppose their strategy is wrong and I’m not chairman of the committee next year and somebody else takes over that voted against it. Then they may end up getting nothing,” said Grassley.

On the subject of the upcoming election, Grassley also commented on President Trump’s recent statements about postponing the election.

“The Constitution takes care of all this,” said Grassley. “The federal law, since 1845, has said that the election is going to be the first Tuesday after the first Monday. … The President can’t change it. Either he’s going to be out of office on January 20th or he’s going to be sworn in for another one. The Constitution is very clear that this term ends on January 20th. So he can say those things, but he can’t carry them out.”