Grassley
Direct
This
week
I
spoke
with
Nathan
Konz
of
Carroll
Broadcasting
and
Kim
Adams
of
the
Denver
Forum
newspaper
about
financial
oversight
of
the
Department
of
Defense,
sanctuary
status
of
public
schools,
minimum
wage
issues,
Governor
Branstad’s
nomination
to
be
Ambassador
to
China
and
the
Supreme
Court
nominee
and
confirmation
process.
Q&A:
Education
Q.
What
does
the
U.S.
Constitution
say
about
education?
Q.
Were
you
surprised
by
the
public
reaction
and
feedback
regarding
the
new
U.S.
Secretary
of
Education?
Quick
Links
I
have
called
on
every
president
since
Ronald
Reagan
to
hold
a
ceremony
honoring
whistleblowers
in
the
White
House
Rose
Garden.
I
sent
a
letter
to
President
Trump
calling
on
him
to
do
exactly
that. Whistleblowers
are
brave,
patriotic
people
who
tell
the
truth
to
help
identify
waste,
fraud
and
abuse
in
the
vast
federal
bureaucracy.
A
ceremony
like
the
one
I
am
calling
for
would
send
a
loud
and
clear
signal
from
the
very
top
that
this
administration
will
not
tolerate
waste,
fraud
or
abuse.
I
re-introduced
a
bill
to
help
older
Americans
receive
individualized
care
that
would
allow
them
to
continue
to
stay
in
their
own
homes
rather
than
a
nursing
home.
Our
current
system
doesn't
have
a
bridge
for
those
who
are
on
a
fixed
income
but
would
have
to
sell
their
house
to
become
eligible
for
Medicaid
and
get
nursing
home
care.
This
bill
will
establish
a
new
demonstration
program
so
more
Americans
can
stay
in
their
homes.
In
2010,
I
got
the
Physician
Payment
Sunshine
Act
passed,
which
requires
doctors
to
disclose
payments
from
drug
companies
and
medical
device
makers. This
week
I
re-introduced
a
bill
that
would
expand
those
disclosure
rules
to
nurse
practitioners
and
physician
assistants.
I
met
with
President
Trump's
nominee
to
be
the
next
Secretary
of
Agriculture,
former
Governor
Sonny
Perdue
of
Georgia. We
discussed
trade
and
exports
along
with
the
state
of
the
agriculture
industry.
Part
of
our
meeting
centered
on
the
benefits
of
the
family
farm—the
backbone
of
American
agriculture—to
the
industry
itself.
I
look
forward
to
continuing
our
discussion
at
his
hearing
and
working
together
for
the
good
of
agriculture.
The
Senate
Judiciary
Committee
approved
without
opposition my
legislation
that
would
step
up
penalties
against
perpetrators
of
crimes
against
vulnerable
senior
citizens.
Families
across
America,
including
in
Iowa,
have
been
victimized
by
such
crimes,
and
as
the
population
ages,
we
can
expect
more
and
more
victims
if
we
don't
act.
This
bill
takes
meaningful
steps
to
deter
these
crimes,
and
has
been
endorsed
by
the
3,000
member
Elder
Justice
Coalition
and
many
other
organizations.
Upcoming
Town
Meetings
I'll
be
hosting
open
town
meetings
in
Iowa
Falls,
Garner,
Charles
City
and
Parkersburg
between
February
21
and
February
24. Representative
government
is
a
two-way
street.
I'm
one
half
of
the
process
and
the
people
of
Iowa
are
the
other
half.
I
always
appreciate
the
opportunity
to
answer
questions
and
take
comments
from
Iowans.
Post
of
the
Week
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