Grassley Direct
On my weekly "Capitol Hill Report," I spoke with Brian Wilson of KGLA in Algona and Erin Sommers of the Pocahontas Record-Democrat about USMCA, prescription drug pricing and renewable fuels.
Q&A: Q&A: Creating Rx Savings
Q. How will the CREATES Act help drive down prescription drug prices?
Q. What else needs to be done to reduce drug prices in the United States?
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It was a productive week in Washington as Congress completed it's work for 2019. We passed an appropriations package which included funding for many of my bills as well as programs that will directly support Iowans. One of my bills included was the Creating and Restoring Equal Access To Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act which would deter pharmaceutical companies from blocking cheaper generic alternatives from entering the marketplace. The funding package also included some of my critical retirement reforms. Government should be doing everything it can to help Americans save more of their own hard-earned money so they can retire with peace of mind, dignity and independence. Additionally, a number of temporary tax policies were extended including for biodiesel and disaster aid. I've consistently been a strong proponent of biodiesel, and the additional disaster aid will help people in Iowa who saw historic, damaging floods in 2019. While there is more work to be done, these reforms will help people across the country.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach President Trump this week. This is a serious matter and marks the first partisan impeachment of the President of the United States in modern history. The Framers of the Constitution did not want impeachment to be a partisan process. The House will eventually present articles of impeachment to the Senate. I will examine the evidence of the charges presented before the Senate and uphold my oath and duty as a juror.
The House also finally passed the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). The overwhelming, bipartisan vote in the House is a historic victory for President Trump and the entire country. Ratification of USMCA in 2019 is no longer possible because it took more than a year for House Democrats to act. It’s unfortunate that farmers, manufacturers and all American workers had to wait so long. Impeaching the president and passing USMCA in the same week makes immediate action impossible. But I look forward to getting USMCA passed in the Senate and ratified early next year.
I completed my two social media series #CornWatch and #SoybeanWatch that gave followers an inside look at farming operations on my family farm in New Hartford, Iowa. The process of seeing a crop from beginning to end is one that many wouldn’t have an opportunity to see, including most of my colleagues in Washington. My hope is that everyone was able to learn more about farming through my series and how important farming is to the country’s success.
Post of the Week
Gr8 to catch up w ISU President Wendy Wintersteen
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