Chuck Grassley

“This year, at my annual 99 county meetings, I was asked about the operations in Iran and was asked the question of why the administration's actions were necessary. For starters, there are historic reasons the United States must address the threat of Iran. ``Death to America,'' we hear from over there, and that is death to individual Americans. Just recently--last week, for instance--there was an Iraqi indicted. He was captured overseas and brought to the United States because his sole purpose was to kill people, including even here in America.”

“Today, I am here in the Senate about the Democrat Judiciary Committee minority in the House of Representatives. They wrote a letter on May 12 of this year that I found to be more than troubling. That letter made disgraceful and wrongful accusations regarding this Senator's helping many FBI whistleblowers. For the entirety of this Congress, I have been open and very public about my efforts to help whistleblowers. Accordingly, the timing of this letter, so late after settlements occurred in August of 2025, is suspect.”

“At the end of March, the Nation's publicly held debt surpassed the value of all goods and services produced in our economy. Our national debt as a percentage of gross national product was more than 100 percent. Interest on the debt alone is costing American taxpayers $1 trillion annually, and within 10 years, interest costs will top $2 trillion a year. This fiscal path is unsustainable.”

“This is National Police Week--something we have been celebrating for decades. And you could sure tell it was National Police Week with the finely dressed in the best of uniforms of the police that were meeting people off the plane, lined up maybe three or four dozen at a time, greeting people as they came off the plane. So I want to recognize just some of the police that we honor all week, and that is to recognize the hard-working men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police Force.”

“On June 6, 1944, the United States and Allied nations led that historic invasion on the beaches of Normandy, France. Two days ago, there was a remembrance of that occasion at a place called Omaha Beach. Nearly 160,000 Allied troops, 5,000 ships, and 13,000 aircraft supported the assault against Hitler-dominated Europe. That allowed the Allied Powers to gain a foothold in Europe, and 11 months later Europe was free of Adolf Hitler. While victory eventually followed, D-Day came with very heavy casualties.”

“Now another short statement on something that is going on that is very important to the American people: the price of prescription drugs--something I hear quite frequently in my 99-county meetings that I hold around the State every year. Prescription drug prices come up, and they want Congress to do something about it.”

“The United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement has been in force for 6 years. It is scheduled for review-- and renewal, I hope--now, and that process is going on. I have been here two or three times this year to discuss the importance of continuing the Mexico-Canada agreement with the United States.”

“In a bipartisan approach, about 5 years ago, we passed legislation to correct the wrongs in our organ transplant program. So, in my two decades spent fighting for U.S. organ donation reforms, I have heard far too many stories of patients who have lost their lives due to the negligence and abuse of that transplant system.”

“I come to the floor today as a member of the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over Social Security, and to remind everybody--because everybody knows or better know--that the Social Security primary trust fund will be depleted in just 6 years. As a result, come late 2032, the program will only have enough income from the payroll taxes to pay 78 percent of benefits due.”

“Today at the U.S. Capitol and the National Cathedral, at those places, we honored the life of Senator Lindsey Graham. Over the past few weeks, we have mourned Senator Graham's untimely passing. Here on the Senate floor and in committees, I and my colleagues have spent time honoring his life and recalling fond memories. Senator Graham loved this country. His forceful and quick-witted presence continues to be missed. Barbara and I continue praying for Senator Graham's family and newly appointed Senator Darline Graham. I yield the floor.”

“All Americans--but I can't speak for all Americans. But I want to thank President Trump for his efforts to release Pastor Ezra Jin after 266 days in Chinese captivity. Pastor Jin started Zion Church in 2007 to share his love of God, to serve others, and to worship peacefully. Following the 2008 Sichuan earthquake, his church and its community were among the first responders. They even hosted blood drives in Beijing to help those who were impacted by the earthquake.”

“Iowans are fed up with their taxpayers' dollars being lost every year to waste, fraud, and abuse. As a watchdog for those taxpayers, I have helped lead the charge to stop brazen criminals from stealing Americans' hard-earned dollars. So that is why I am proud to be a cosponsor of my colleague from Iowa Senator Ernst's bill.”

“With recent political victories in Democrat primaries in Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania, and elsewhere by socialists, I wanted to spend some time with my colleagues sharing the failed results that we have witnessed throughout history under socialism regimes. And if any of my colleagues consider themselves democratic socialists, I would like their attention. The expansion of candidates and people who want to institute socialism in the United States is very concerning. What they desire is going to destroy everything America has stood for.”

“It is a sad day for all of us in the Senate and particularly those that are very, very close to Lindsey Graham, and that would be most Senators and, obviously, his staff. So I would like to take a moment to honor the life of our fellow Senator Lindsey Graham. We were shocked by the sad news yesterday of his untimely death. Senator Graham was a devoted public servant, through his military service as a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and Air National Guard, as well as being elected to office continually since 1992.”

“Later today, I hope the Senate will vote to confirm the nomination of Todd Blanche to be Attorney General. Mr. Blanche is nominated to one of the most important offices in our country, and he has shown that he is up to that task. His impressive background and the presentation at our hearing in the Judiciary Committee are proof that he has led the Justice Department with distinction and is well suited to continue doing that. During his hearing, Mr. Blanche answered questions for more than 5 hours.”

“I am here to show my support for the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act. Before I do that, I want to express my support for the proposed continuing resolution and thank Senator Collins for her leadership to make sure government doesn't shut down if that continuing resolution gets to the President. Now, I do prefer passing 12 appropriations bills. And while I do that, I can say at the same time, it is my opportunity to tell my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to work with us and get the job done to avoid a government shutdown.”

“1 week in June, 4 in July, 3 in September--that is the number of weeks the Senate is in session between now and the election. A lot of people think a lot of things need to be done between now and the election, and I agree with that. But those weeks I just named add up to about 21 days that the Senate is going to be in session; a lot of work to be done in 21 days. I can think of one I am interested in--E15, for the agricultural economy of Iowa.”

“before I remind people that this day is Abraham Lincoln's birthday and talk about Lincoln, I want to start this morning by saying that my wife Barbara and this Senator are praying for those involved in the bus crash from Iowa Lakes Community College. Just yesterday, in Calhoun County on Highway 4, a bus rolled several times leaving 1 dead and 32 injured. These young people were traveling to a baseball tournament when tragedy struck. We are praying for the family who lost a loved one.”

“the One Big Beautiful Bill provides a much needed boost to Main Street America and to the rural communities all throughout America. It makes key business provisions from the 2017 tax law permanent to provide job creators the certainty that they need to plan and invest in their operations. A top priority of mine, the 20 percent small business deduction, is made permanent to benefit Main Street business owners and family farmers alike.”

“I understand that representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church are on Capitol Hill this week falsely claiming persecution by the Ukrainian Government. This is because of a law requiring churches in Ukraine to stop taking directions from the patriarch in Moscow, who was a KGB agent and reports directly to Vladimir Putin. Two years ago, I met with Ukrainian faith leaders in my office--about 30 of them--from many backgrounds, including Orthodox, Catholic, Evangelical, Jewish, and Muslim.”

“I will speak for a couple minutes in morning business. I am an advocate, through the farm program, of having an absolute limit on the amount of money that one farmer can get from the farm program so that we target toward medium- and small-sized farmers so we don't subsidize very big farmers to get bigger.”