Grassley Discusses Crime During Sinclair Tractor Visit

SIGOURNEY – Longtime Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley stopped by Sinclair Tractor for a Q&A on Apr. 13, as part of his yearly 99-county tour. “Why am I at a business as opposed to being at your courthouse or other places I have an open town meeting?” asked Grassley. “Because I never get people to come to my town meetings. I try to get a cross-section of the population...I gotta go to where people are. People don’t come to me. That’s why I’m here, I do it in the spirit of representative government. I gotta know what’s on my constituents' minds, if I’m going to represent them.”

Grassley was asked what he saw as the biggest challenge for Iowans in the next five-ten years. Grassley stated that, for the last several years, it had been the cost of fertilizer and other input costs. Regarding coming years, Grassley stated the government was not doing enough to open up trade opportunities. “We have a farm safety net. But the farm bill does not guarantee anybody profit;” said Grassley. “And, probably, trade has more to do with profitability and farming, because we export about a third of our production…That’s why trade is so important. I think that’s the biggest issue.” Grassley stated that Donald Trump placed impediments in the way of trade and that the current administration was not doing enough to acquire trade agreements. Grassley advocated more trade agreements.

One attendee brought up the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, which, among other things, raised the 40% estate tax limit from $5.6 million to $11.2 million. The attendee stated that $13 million worth of land is not a lot to be left to family. Grassley stated that the Republicans would like to extend this bill an extra ten years, rather than sunsetting it in 2025.

Another attendee asked about January 6 rioters, which he claimed were not receiving fair trials. Grassley stated that people who broke the law by going into the capitol should be prosecuted. However, he stated it was disturbing for the rioters to be held while awaiting trial, because people in big cities are not held in jail awaiting trials. Grassley then claimed that prosecutors in big cities run on the platform that they will not prosecute certain crimes.

When asked to be specific on what prosecutors and what crimes, he stated that he did not want to be more specific. When pressed again, he gave Chesa Boudin, the former District Attorney of San Francisco, as an example. According to Grassley, Boudin said that the city of San Francisco would not prosecute people for retail theft under $975. Bob Sinclair chimed in, stating that his daughter’s car had been robbed while she was visiting San Francisco, and that the police did not do anything.

Grassley blamed crime rates on the Defund the Police movement, a social movement gaining popularity in recent years that seeks to reallocate some police funds towards non-policing forms of public safety, including social services, housing, education, and healthcare. Grassley stated his opinion that criticism of police violence lowers police morale and reduces the number of police applicants. Grassley then claimed that there are organized crime syndicates in Iowa who rob big box stores, sell stolen goods online, then launder money through Mexican cartels and China, and that the money laundered through cartels is used to make fentanyl and import it into the U.S.

Regarding the farm bill, Grassley stated a desire to have the farm bill complete by the end of summer. He stated that, even if a five-year plan is not made this year, congress will be able to extend the current farm bill for one year. “One or the other, we’re going to have a farm safety net,” said Grassley. The senator transitioned to talking about increased funding for food stamps, which he described as unsustainable with the current deficit.

Grassley noted that 84% of the farm bill is spent on nutrition. “What’s irritating to me about that is that there is so much money spent on nutrition, but when people read about a trillion dollar farm bill...everybody thinks that’s a trillion dollars going to farmers. It’s just not true,” said Grassley. “And it creates a public relations problem for the 2% of us that are producing food for the other 98%.”

Grassley stated that he believed there should be a work requirement for people aged 18-55 to receive food stamps, with exceptions for people with disabilities or children. “We want people to work as much as much as you can...because if you spend your life on government programs, you’re always going to be in the world of poverty,” said the senator. “We ought to have a public policy of encouraging people to get out of poverty. You gotta be in the world of work to do that.”

One guest asked about Grassley’s energy policy, specifically relating to electric vehicles. Grassley stated that the government should not subsidize electric vehicles and should instead let the market decide. Grassley said that the rare earth metals needed for electric vehicles make the U.S. dependent on China and that these metals are often mined in concentration camps for Uyghur Muslims, or by child labor in the Congo. Grassley stated his distaste for the shutdown of the Keystone XL pipeline, a lack of new drilling permits on public land, and a lack of investment into natural gas by the Biden administration. The topic of climate change was not mentioned.

Darian Graff, the owner of Walk’er Drive Through stated she was having trouble finding adult employees to work at her shop. Grassley responded stating that Pell Grants should be expanded to apply to training for trades workers. Grassley brought up the “welfare cliff,” where making too much money can cut into a family's government assistance, leaving them with less money and thus discouraging work. State Senator Dawn Driscoll, who was in attendance, stated praise for Sinclair Tractor’s apprenticeship program, which sponsors college-aged kids and incentivizes them to stay in small towns.

Senator Grassley stated that he would not endorse a candidate in the 2024 election at this time, because it may discourage candidates from coming to Iowa.

Grassley was questioned about the Respect for Marriage Act, a recent bill that would have guaranteed gay and interracial marriage nationwide. This bill was voted on after, following the overturning of Roe v Wade, Supreme Court Justice Clarance Thomas discussed reconsidering Obergefell v. Hodges, the decision that legalized gay marriage nationwide. Senator Grassley voted no on the Respect for Marriage Act.

Grassley defended his decision, stating that gay marriage was already legal, because of Obergefell. “I voted no because we don’t need it and that’s my reason,” said Grassley. Justice Thomas’s comments were mentioned to the Senator. Grassley brushed this off, stating that the other conservative members of the court had stated they would not overturn Obergefell. It was pointed out to Grassley that many of those same justices had stated the same about Roe. Grassley was asked why, even if the bill was pointless, he didn’t vote yes. He stated he had already answered the question and did not discuss the matter further. The Respect for Mariage Act ultimately passed, in spite of Grassley’s vote.