Charles Grassley

Charles Ernest "Chuck" Grassley, a Republican, is the senior Senator from Iowa. He was first elected to the Senate in 1980.

Iraq War
Grassley voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq in Oct. 2002.

Environmental record
For more information on environmental legislation, see the Energy and Environment Policy Portal

Support of ethanol
Grassley is a staunch supporter of developing E-85 ethanol as an alternative to gasoline.

On May 4, 2007, he sent letters to top oil executives asking them to explain why they allegedly implemented policies to discourage the sale of ethanol despite their March 14, 2006, testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee where they promised to expand the availability of alternative fuels. In a statement accompanying the letter, Grassley said that "it appears Big Oil is throwing up roadblocks every chance they get."

CLEAN Energy Act resistance
Grassley opposed the CLEAN Energy Act of 2007, which addressed royalties and tax breaks previously afforded to oil and gas companies. He called the bill "another pig in the poke" that targets incentives necessary to promote domestic drilling.

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005
On February 1, 2005, Grassley introduced a Senate version of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, which made sweeping changes to American bankruptcy laws, affecting both consumer and business bankruptcies. Many of the bill's provisions were explicitly designed to make it "more difficult for people to file for bankruptcy" in order to curb abuse. The House version of the bill was signed into law by President George W. Bush on April 20, 2005.

CAFTA
Grassley introduced the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), to the Senate on June 23, 2005. The bill, modeled after NAFTA, aimed to create a free trade zone between the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, as well as set up a separate trade agreement with the Dominican Republic. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 2, 2005.

Hypocrisy on Individual Mandate
While noting that "some people look at [individual mandates] as an infringement upon individual freedom", Grassley originally spoke out in support of requiring individuals to purchase health insurance as part of healthcare reform legislation, comparing it to requirements for automobile insurance. He also did not object to individual mandates when the subject was specifically raised by Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and later stated that the way to get universal coverage is "through an individual mandate." Nevertheless, after months of negotiations, he later joined other Republicans in attacking the individual mandate provision of healthcare reform plans.

Bio
Grassley was born September 17, 1933 in New Hartford, Iowa. He lived in Iowa during his early life and graduated from the University of Northern Iowa in 1955 and received a graduate degree from the same university in 1956.

Grassley, a former assembly line worker and farmer, has been involved in public service for much of his adult life. He served as a legislator in the Iowa House of Representatives from 1959 until 1974, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He served in the House from 1975-1981. He was elected to his Senate seat in 1980, defeating the Democratic incumbent, John Culver, who had only served one term. Grassley was reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004.

Money in politics
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Committees in the 110th Congress (2007-2008)

 * Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
 * Subcommittee on Energy, Science and Technology
 * Subcommittee on Production, Income Protection and Price Support
 * Senate Committee on Finance - Ranking Member
 * Senate Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
 * Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights
 * Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
 * Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Refugees
 * Senate Committee on the Budget

Committee assignments in the 109th Congress (2005-2006)

 * Joint Committee on Taxation
 * Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
 * Subcommittee on Marketing Inspection and Production Promotion
 * Subcommittee on Production and Price Competitiveness
 * Senate Committee on the Budget
 * Senate Committee on Finance - Chair
 * Subcommittee on Long-Term Growth Debt and Deficit Reduction
 * Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy
 * Senate Committee on the Judiciary
 * Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts
 * Subcommittee on Antitrust Competition Policy and Consumer Rights
 * Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs
 * Subcommittee on Immigration Border Security and Citizenship
 * Subcommittee on Technology Terrorism and Homeland Security

Affiliations

 * Member, The Family, a group that organizes the National Prayer Breakfast.

More Background data

 * See how you compare to Chuck Grassley

Twitter
 Charles Grassley posts on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ChuckGrassley/

Latest posts: &lt;rss&gt;http://twitter.com/statuses/user_timeline/10615232.rss|title=none| max=3| short&lt;/rss&gt; See all the Members of Congress who Twitter

External resources

 * Official website
 * Congressional Biography

External articles

 * Jonathan Schienberg, "Senator seeks tax on pimps, prostitutes. Grassley: 'It's a no-brainer to have the IRS go after sex traffickers'," CNN, June 28, 2006.
 * "Amerithrax Demand," Roll Call, October 24, 2006: "Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) formally demanded a briefing by the FBI before Thanksgiving on the status of its five-year investigation into the fall 2001 Anthrax attacks."
 * Andy Davis, "‘Don’t surrender’ in Iraq, vets urge Pryor in TV ad," Arkansas Democrat Gazette (NWA News (Northwest Arkansas)), August 17, 2007. re Vets for Freedom

Local blogs and discussion sites

 * Bleeding Heartland
 * Diary of a political madman
 * Political Forecast
 * Blog for Iowa
 * Century of the Common Iowan