Hawkeye Reporter

During the Senate’s August recess, Senator Chuck Grassley has continued his annual 99 county meetings across Iowa, reaching 87 counties so far this year. Grassley reported that he spends this period meeting with Iowans to gather their feedback and will bring those insights back to Washington after Labor Day.

Grassley detailed his recent visits to both western and eastern parts of the state, including tours of local businesses, manufacturers, hospitals, a recreational facility for individuals with disabilities, and the headquarters of a genomics solutions company. He described the format of these meetings: "At each county meeting, the format is the same. I open the floor for a question and answer session. No question is off-limits. Iowans set the agenda."

Reflecting on his decades-long tradition of county meetings, Grassley said: "Although I’ve been holding my county meetings for 45 years in a row, I’m always impressed by the innovative products and services that are made right here in Iowa by our high-quality workforce." He mentioned specific examples from businesses involved in agricultural exports, plastics manufacturing for farmers, and global filtration solutions.

Iowa business leaders in energy and agriculture have expressed concerns about tariffs affecting operating costs as harvest season approaches. Farmers anticipate strong yields but depend on exports and domestic demand for biofuels to achieve profitability. In response to these concerns, Grassley stated: "I’ll continue pushing for the permanent, year-round sale of E15 nationwide and have also introduced the bipartisan Ethanol for America Act to expand access to homegrown biofuels."

Health care professionals raised issues regarding rural health care access, Medicare and Medicaid protection, physician shortages, and federal grants during stops in Ida Grove, Carroll, Independence and Coralville. At a community pharmacy visit in Dunlap, Grassley discussed efforts related to prescription drug pricing: "PBMs are the third-party middlemen between drug manufacturers, pharmacies and health insurance plans. They’ve adopted deceptive pricing schemes that pad their profits while inflating the price of prescription drugs for patients." He added: "The PBM business model also harms local, rural pharmacies with restrictive contracts and under-reimbursements... I’ll keep pushing to lower prescription drug prices...and strengthen access to local pharmacies in rural areas."

Grassley also commented on reactions from restaurant and hospitality industry workers concerning recent tax law changes under what he referred to as “One Big Beautiful Bill.” According to him: "They told me how much the One Big Beautiful Bill has boosted their employee morale and will make it easier for them to recruit and retain workers because of the new no tax on tips and no tax on overtime benefits." The new law allows eligible workers deductions up to $25,000 on tips retroactive from January 1st; those earning overtime can deduct up to $12,500 individually or $25,000 jointly from taxable income.

He further noted additional benefits: "In addition to individual tax cuts for tipped and overtime workers, eligible seniors also get a $6,000 tax deduction under the new tax law." A nonpartisan analysis cited by Grassley estimates average federal tax savings exceeding $3,000 next year for Iowans.

"Keeping more money in the pockets of Iowa families allows households to spend, save or invest their hard-earned money as they see fit," Grassley concluded.