Agriculture executives defend merger ‘tsunami’

"Concerns have been raised about the loss of head-to-head competition of these transactions, and whether they will reduce incentives to invest in research and development," said Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican and chair of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. "Concerns have been raised whether these transactions will result in foreclosure of market access by competing seed companies to traits and germplasm, and whether they will enhance these companies to engage in exclusionary conduct." Read More

Why Republicans support wind energy

Did you know that American wind turbines can now produce as much electricity as 17 typical nuclear power plants or 65 coal plants? That’s how much wind power has grown across the U.S. Iowans may already know, but many Americans don’t realize how much wind power reliably contributes to U.S. energy independence. And any Republican or Democrat running for election this fall should pay attention to wind’s rapid growth. Especially since recent polling data show that as wind power grows, so does U.S. voter support for it. Read More

New data show Iowa’s growing take of personal property

Iowa law enforcement agencies confiscate cash, vehicles and real estate from at least 1,000 people each year as part of a state program in which no proof of crime is required before the government lays claim to personal belongings. That represents a massive increase since the 1980s, when state and local governments reported fewer than two dozen such cases annually, according to data obtained by The Des Moines Register through a public records request. Read More

Grassley seeks reconsideration of transfer of internet authority

There’s more at stake than his Twitter account, Sen. Chuck Grassley said about asking the Obama administration to reconsider ceding authority over the internet to a multi-national panel. “If China wanted to censor my Twitter account, they could do it right now,” Grassley said with a laugh. The Iowa Republican is an active tweeter with 102,000 followers on the social media network. Read More

Senator Grassley wants reform of foreign investor program

Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley is introducing legislation he says is designed to reform an economic development program which he describes as “out of control” with fraud and national security threats. The program, called EB-5, was created in 1990 to prompt foreign investors into putting between 500-thousand and a million dollars into capital investment projects in rural America and in other job-starved areas. Read More

Grassley leads Judge by double digits, new poll says

DES MOINES — A new Iowa-based poll on the state’s U.S. Senate race shows Republican incumbent Chuck Grassley with a bigger lead over Democratic challenger Patty Judge than most other recent polls have found. In a poll published Monday by Simpson College and RABA Research, Grassley leads Judge by 13 percentage points. Fifty percent of likely Iowa voters said they plan to vote for Grassley, and 37 percent said they plan to vote for Judge. Most other polls on the race have showed Grassley leading Judge by roughly 7 to 10 percentage points. Real Clear Politics’ average of polls on Iowa’s U.S. Senate race shows Grassley with an average lead of 8.6 percentage points. Read More

Do better, Grassley tells EpiPen maker

Mylan Pharmaceuticals’ attempt to explain the $600 price tag for life-saving allergy drug EpiPen hasn’t satisfied a leading Republican senator. Sen. Chuck Grassley blasted Mylan for insufficient answers to a series of questions he gave the drug maker about the EpiPen price hike. Grassley is part of a slew of lawmakers starting probes into the hike. It is the first detailed response from Mylan made public by a lawmaker. Read More

FACT CHECK: Grassley has best attendance in Senate

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG-TV9) — Claim: “Best attendance record in the Senate” Source: “Chuck”, campaign ad by the Charles Grassley campaign. Analysis: In this profile ad, the Grassley campaign paints a portrait of Iowa’s longtime Senator as an experienced, tireless worker for Iowans. The ad notes the claim that Sen. Grassley has the “best attendance record in the Senate”. The claim is based on a January 2016 article from the political site “Roll Call” about Sen. Grassley setting the record for most time without missing a vote in the history of Congress. A check of voting records on GovTrack also confirms Iowa’s senior senator has not missed a vote since July 14, 1993 when he was touring flood damage along the Mississippi River. That streak is still going, now at 23 years and a month. Read More

The Elbert Files: Judge is no threat to Grassley

Democrat Patty Judge’s campaign to defeat Iowa’s long-time incumbent U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is built around the slogan that she is “the Judge Grassley can’t ignore.” It’s a memorable phrase, particularly in light of Grassley’s decision not to hold Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on any of President Obama’s appointments to the Supreme Court this year. But it’s a toothless threat. Read More

Grassley presses EpiPen maker on 400 percent price increase

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is asking the maker of EpiPens to explain sharp increases in the device's price. Grassley wrote a letter to Mylan, the company that makes EpiPens, asking for an explanation of a 400 percent increase in the price since 2007. Read More