Grassley
Direct
I
spoke with
Mike
Earl
of
KDSN
Radio
in
Denison
and
Dale
Wegner
of
the
Sac
Sun
about the
Senate
health
care
plan,
North
Korea’s
intercontinental
ballistic
missile
launch,
the
Environmental
Protection
Agency’s
2018
renewable
fuel
standards,
tax
reform,
the
passage
of
Kate’s
Law
in
the
House,
President
Trump's
attending
the
G20
Summit
and the
Waters
of
the
U.S.
rule.
Q&A:
Good
News
for
Iowa
Beef
Q.
What’s
the
update
regarding
China’s
ban
on
American
beef?
Q. What’s
the
scoop
on
Iowa’s
dairy
industry?
Quick
Links
As
I
often
say,
representative
government
is
a
two-way
street.
That’s
why,
when
the
Senate
isn’t
in
session,
I’m
in
Iowa
holding
meetings
and
working
to
keep
in
touch
with
Iowans.
As
part
of
this
commitment,
this
week
I
held
nine of
my
annual
#99CountyMeetings
in
Davis,
Appanoose,
Louisa,
Henry,
Des
Moines,
Lee,
Van
Buren,
Jefferson
and
Wapello
counties.
I
hold
my
county
meetings
in
a
variety
of
locations
and
formats
so
I’m
able
to
listen
to
and
take
questions
from
a
diverse
cross-section
of
Iowans.
They
are
open
topic
Q&A
on
any
subject
that
people
want
to
talk
about.
As
always,
Iowans
set
the
agenda.
The
EPA’s
proposed
2018
renewable
volume
obligations
under
the
Renewable
Fuel
Standard
program
are
a
mixed
bag.
While
I’m
glad
the
EPA’s
proposal
holds
steady
the
conventional
ethanol
requirement,
the
lack
of
any
increase
for
biodiesel
is
a
missed
opportunity.
The
biofuel
industry
is
good
for
the
economy,
good
for
the
environment
and
good
for
national
security.
It
supports
hundreds
of
thousands
of
jobs,
is
cleaner-burning
and
reduces
U.S.
dependence
on
foreign
oil.
I’m disappointed in
the
direction
of
these
proposed
volumes,
and
I
hope
the
EPA
will
consider
increasing
these
levels
once
farmers
and
biofuels
producers
weigh
in.
I
sought
clarification from
Iowa
Attorney
General
Tom
Miller
about
his
office’s
ability
to
determine
the
value
of
reimbursement
to
the
state
necessary
to
make
Iowa
whole
from
EpiPen’s
apparent
misclassification
under
Medicaid’s
Drug
Rebate
Program.
It must
be
assumed
that
some
harm
has
been
inflicted
on
Iowa,
and
Miller's
office
has
a
responsibility
to
help
ensure
the
state
and
its
people
receive
the
correct
rebates.
U.S.
Marshals
Service
officers
are
responsible
for
hunting
down
and
arresting
dangerous
fugitives. However,
my
oversight
work
found
that
more
than
1,400
of
them
are
operating
with
expired
body
armor.
We
also
discovered
that
a
comprehensive
safety
training
plan
for
those
officers
has
not
been
consistently
implemented,
leading
to
even
more
risks.
What’s
worse,
leadership
at
the
agency
was
repeatedly
warned
about
it.
I’m
asking
those
leaders
to
explain
how
these
lapses
were
allowed
to
happen,
jeopardizing
officers’
safety.
Post
of
the
Week
|