Sen. Grassley Holds His 99th County Town Hall Meeting Today in Bedford

BEDFORD, IA (Radio Iowa) U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley is scheduled to hold a town hall meeting today (Tuesday) in the Taylor County town of Bedford, which will complete his 99-county tour for the year and what he boasts is his 42nd straight year of holding Q-and-As in every Iowa county.

Grassley says, “As I crisscross the state this year, the topics I hear most about is the high cost of living, gas prices, and the open Southern border.” The Republican, who’s a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, met with a group of farmers in Lake City on Monday to discuss elements they’d like to see included in the new federal Farm Bill, which is set to expire next year.

“I think crop insurance is the thing that I hear from farmers the most that needs to be retained as the best safety net for farmers,” he says. Grassley says the farmers brought up multiple topics, including the foreign ownership of American land, which was targeted at China but he says it could include all countries.

“Our vaccine bank, that dealt with the African swine flu issue,” Grassley says, “and CRP was a big, big subject by three or four people, and then the cost of energy that’s hit the farmers through the cost of diesel and increased fertilizer costs.” Grassley says he’s one of only two grain farmers in the Senate and that he speaks up for his fellow Iowa farmers. He faces a challenge from Democrat Mike Franken, a retired Navy admiral, in November.