Chuck Grassley

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to address the Senate for 1 minute in morning business.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, as all Iowans know, I love history. That brings me to the floor to honor March as Iowa History Month. Here are some facts about Iowa. Since becoming a State in 1846, Iowa has raised one President--that is President Hoover--and four Nobel laureates, and is home to over 2,000 locations on the National Register of Historic Places. Our heritage is preserved by Iowans who do their good work through maintaining Iowa's museums and historic sites. I encourage all of my fellow Iowans to help pass on our history to the next generation by taking advantage of the many programs hosted this month by visiting www.iowaculture.gov. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business for 1 minute.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last Saturday marked an incredible milestone for Make-a-Wish Iowa. At that event in Dubuque, this organization granted its 4,000th wish to Michael, age 15, from Oelwein, IA. He received a livestock trailer for transporting his show cattle. Now, 4,000 wishes is an amazing achievement for Make-a-Wish, which is dedicated to bringing joy to critically ill young people in Iowa. The wishes they grant make such an impact on the lives of these children. I congratulate Make-a-Wish Iowa and their many volunteers for their accomplishments. I know they will continue to spread joy, kindness, and compassion for years to come. I yield the floor.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak in morning business for 1 minute.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, an independent judiciary is one of the cornerstones of our democracy. Judges serve lifetime appointments, free from political pressure so they can render impartial judgment without fear of retribution. Yesterday, unfortunately, our country took a step in the wrong direction with the Democratic leader's comments at a microphone in front of the Supreme Court. The Democratic leader harangued and warned Justices Gorsuch and Kavanaugh by name. He said they would ``pay the price'' and ``won't know what hit you if you go forward with these awful decisions.'' At best, it was an injection of partisan politics into a process that should be immune to these Justices. At worst, it was a threat, targeting two sitting members of the Supreme Court. Either way, I encourage my colleague, the Democratic leader, to apologize to those Supreme Court Justices and to do it here on the floor. I yield the floor.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, a new study showed that from the years 2007 to 2018, prices for, actually, hundreds of drugs rose many times-- many times faster than the rate of inflation. List prices on 602 medicines rose by 159 percent. That would average out to 9 percent annually. After discounts and rebates, net prices increased by 60 percent or 4.5 percent annually. That is 3.5 times the rate of inflation. These are drugs for multiple sclerosis, cholesterol, rheumatoid arthritis, chemotherapy, diabetes, and many other debilitating and life-threatening conditions. Put into real terms, these price increases mean that if one of these drugs cost $100 a month in 2007, that same drug would cost $259 in 2018. Meanwhile, you have to consider the working American. Wages for the average American over the same time period increased about 30 percent in the private sector. That means wage growth is about half the rate of the growth of prescription drug prices, even after the rebates and even after the discounts. For many, increased drug costs are wiping out progress that these workers are making in their wages. Some families are even going backward financially after paying for their prescriptions. This doesn't take into account at all the many other increases in the cost of living from college to housing, to insurance. Now, we Americans are surely fortunate, aren't we, to see the significant wage growth that we have had in this country for our workers under President Trump--great progress. The President and Republicans in Congress can rightly take credit for the country's booming economy, but all that wage growth doesn't mean much--or at least as much--if it is spent on the same prescription drug refills every month. That is something that ought to concern every Member of this Congress, and for most, I am sure it does because we hear about it constantly from our constituents. In fact, during this election season, polls show that it is one of the top three or four issues that are most on people's minds. Let me be clear. These price hikes aren't because the medicines got better or there was a significant increase in research and development. No, this is because the pharmaceutical companies could do it, and in doing it, they could get away with it because, in many cases, consumers don't have a choice; consumers don't have options or alternatives. That is because we don't have a healthy marketplace that drives costs down for pharmaceuticals. Right now, pharmaceutical companies can essentially charge Medicare whatever they want, and taxpayers don't have much recourse. Right now, every single working American who pays Federal taxes is subsidizing Big Pharma's record profits through the drugs that the Federal Government pays for through various programs like Medicare and Medicaid. Now, there has to be a solution for this situation, and Ranking Member Wyden and I are working to put some common sense back into this whole system of buying pills. In the Finance Committee, we have passed bipartisan legislation to put an end to unlimited corporate welfare for Big Pharma. The vote of that bill out of committee was 19 to 9--a bipartisan effort. We are closer than ever to lowering drug prices for tens of millions of Americans, and these Americans have been crying for this help from Congress for quite a few years. But here we are. Big Pharma and its paid allies are out in force trying to kill any reforms that might endanger their profit margins. They are using scare tactics, deploying terms like ``socialism'' and ``price controls,'' as if these subsidies to Big Pharma are not a form of socialism. I have been around long enough to recognize the political games that are being played now. You see it quite regularly on the television advertisements. So let's set the record straight. The last thing Big Pharma wants is a free market. After all, these were the same folks who loved ObamaCare so much because they knew it mandated another revenue stream for their products. Now, we all know how ObamaCare has turned out. Yet they made a deal with the White House to back that bill. Now, Big Pharma is also warning that any reforms would hurt research and development. In fact, my bipartisan legislation with Senator Wyden would result in less socialism, a more competitive marketplace, and wouldn't put a damper on innovation. That is according to something that I call ``God'' around here--the independent Congressional Budget Office. These are professional people making these judgments. They judge most all of our legislation, particularly if there is a monetary cost to it. For those who may not believe a politician, let me point to the work, then, that the professionals at CBO have done on Grassley-Wyden: First, the updated Grassley-Wyden bill will save more than $80 billion and result in no fewer cures. No. 2, CBO says it will reduce patient out-of-pocket spending in Part D of Medicare by around $50 billion. No. 3, CBO says it will reduce premiums by about $1 billion for tens of millions of seniors and Americans with disabilities on Medicare. No. 4, CBO says that is all on top of out-of-pocket expenses that we put a cap on and an end to the dreaded doughnut hole that has been part of Part D since 2003. No. 5, we have also, according to the Congressional Budget Office, created a new way to spread out payments for those out-of-pocket expenses so that paying the bills every month becomes a bit easier for those on fixed incomes. No. 6 and lastly, according to the Congressional Budget Office, the bipartisan Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act--that is the title of our bill--would protect taxpayers from being put on the hook for unlimited price hikes that have no basis in a functioning free market. So, without reforms, big pharmaceutical companies will continue to receive tens of billions of dollars in excess taxpayer subsidies, and they will also have no incentive to keep prices from rising many times faster than inflation. Currently, prescription drug manufacturers can charge Medicare more and more every year, and they do. When the government is paying and you have entitlement programs, taxpayers are forced to foot the bill. So Grassley-Wyden enacts accountability and ends corporate welfare without harming medical innovations. Now, Senator Wyden and I are looking forward to reintroducing our bipartisan bill very soon. So far, a dozen Senate Republicans have announced publicly that they support this bipartisan bill. Others will announce their support in the coming days, and a dozen more Republican Senators have indicated to me that Grassley-Wyden is going in the right direction, implying that they would vote for it on the Senate floor. So I am optimistic that we will continue to gain support as Senators learn more. I was really pleased with President Trump announcing his willingness to sign a bill in his State of the Union message. The next morning, Vice President Pence was on cable TV saying that he supported Grassley- Wyden. Secretary Azar has endorsed the bill. Not only that, but Secretary Azar and a gang of people in domestic policy at the White House have been working with us on this legislation, even prior to its coming out of committee. So, with all of this work and with all of this support--and with the interest on the part of the voters as being one of the three or four most prominent issues that will determine how people vote--it seems to me it deserves a vote on the Senate floor and very soon. So I am here today to urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, if they have any questions about this bill, to visit with me about it and learn how it will help all of our constituents. The six points I made about the bill based upon what the Congressional Budget Office said about it isn't all that that bill does. There is a lot more to it. Maybe I had better back up. I have read enough comments of my colleagues--colleagues I haven't even talked to--that said what an important issue this is. So, in one way or another, without even signing on to this bill, without even being on the Finance Committee, it seems like we have all pledged to lower prescription drug prices. So I think we should follow through on that pledge. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I would ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute as in morning business.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, this month is Iowa History Month. For Iowa History Month, I will probably give a few 1-minute speeches about the history of Iowa, but today I want to recognize the role Iowa's veterans have played in our history. For instance, in the Civil War, Iowa sent over 75,000 soldiers to fight for the Union--the most per capita of any State. I have been saying ``the most per capita of any State'' because I thought that was the history, but I have heard other States also say the same thing for their States, so I want to be intellectually honest. But I am still proud of those 75,000 Iowans who fought for the Union. Iowa has kept that tradition of service, and I often have the pleasure of meeting our veterans. Yesterday, I met an Iowa delegation for the Veterans of Foreign Wars. I participate in the Library of Congress project called the Veterans History Project. Accordingly, I have had the honor of helping preserve 31 interviews with Iowa veterans as part of the Veterans History Project. That has taken place over just the last 2 years, preserving the oral history of these Iowa veterans. So the Iowa Veterans History Project will have their stories for future generations to ensure that the service and the sacrifices of these Iowans are never forgotten. I yield the floor.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, last night we passed by unanimous consent legislation to revise and extend for 5 more years the key programs that Congress established under the Older Americans Act of 1965. I cosponsored the final version of this measure, which passed our Chamber as a Senate amendment to the Dignity in Aging Act, H.R. 4334. I want to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to Senator Collins for leading the bicameral negotiations that made this bipartisan compromise possible. I expect that the other Chamber will soon accept the changes we made to their version of this legislation, so that Congress can send the final version to the President's desk in fairly short order. For over five decades, the Older Americans Act has made resources available to the Aging Network and States for services to the elderly and disabled. An example is the nutrition services program authorized under title III, which makes resources available for home-delivered meals, enabling the homebound to remain independent. This statute also helps older Americans live independently by supporting community-based services, making information about care options available to family caregivers, and supporting the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. As I continue my 99 county meetings across the State of Iowa each year, I welcome the feedback and ideas I get from local residents to help make our communities safer and stronger for older Americans. I also want to take this opportunity to commend the members of the Elder Justice Coalition, as well as groups such as the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging, for their efforts in this area. These organizations and their members deserve recognition for their continued work on behalf of the Nation's older Americans and their contributions to this year's Older Americans Act extension. In a decade, all of our Nation's baby boomers will have reached the age of 65 or older, and this demographic shift creates new challenges for our communities. With this in mind, I am currently working with my colleagues on other bipartisan initiatives to improve the quality of life for older Iowans, including legislation that would extend the Elder Justice Act. As the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I wrote the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act to curb elder abuse and beef up tools and resources within local communities to help prevent financial fraud and exploitation of older citizens. For those Iowans who enjoy working and need to continue working to pay the bills, I have also championed legislation to strengthen age-related workplace discrimination laws. Mr. President, as noted by the former head of the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging, ``The Older Americans Act provides the foundation that allows Iowa to continue to be a great place to for Iowans to call home.'' I want to again thank my colleagues for working with me in a bipartisan way on this legislation to improve the lives of older Americans in Iowa and across the United States.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent for 1 minute in morning business.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, an op-ed I penned recently mentioned countries that still have blasphemy laws on the books, and it touched a nerve in Bangladesh. I certainly didn't mean to imply that it was the worst offender, and I commend Bangladesh for its support of almost 1 million Rohingya Muslim refugees who are fleeing Burma. Bangladesh's secular government has also taken steps to prosecute perpetrators of religious-based crimes. However, a 2016 report by the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom found that religious and civil society groups in Bangladesh fear increasing religious extremism. Moreover, some Bangladeshi leaders have warned that violators of the blasphemy laws would be prosecuted. Bangladesh and the 68 other countries that still have blasphemy laws on the books should repeal these laws. That is why I am cosponsoring a resolution, S. Res. 458, calling on the global repeal of blasphemy laws. I yield the floor.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, the bill before us supports clean energy and emerging technologies, so this is the perfect opportunity to update an outdated aspect related to a legacy energy source. Senator Udall of New Mexico and I have an amendment that will close a loophole in Federal energy policy. I want my colleagues to know--and I think they do--of my long support for renewable and alternative sources of energy, and so I agree with the aims of the Murkowski-Manchin Energy bill. The amendment Senator Udall and I have introduced is the same as the bipartisan bill we introduced last week. The title of that bill is the Fair Return for Public Lands Act. This bill was introduced 100 years to the date of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. This amendment would increase the royalty rates on Federal lands from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent. Everybody here knows that a royalty is what the oil company will pay to a mineral owner--in this case, the mineral owner is the American taxpayer--and that royalty is paid for the right to extract oil and natural gas from the lands of the United States. The legislation modernizes the public lands leasing system, and it does this for the first time since royalty rates were set in 1920. The legislation increases both the share of royalties taxpayers receive from public lands leasing as well as the rental rates. The new rental rate we are offering in this amendment reflects the current fair market value, while the bill also establishes minimum bidding standards to lease public lands that will stay in line with inflation. This bill is a simple fix by making Federal leasing rates the same whether you are on land or offshore. The royalty rate the bill offers is very comparable to what current leases are for oil-producing States on their State-owned land. We use the State of Texas as an example. Texas charges a 25-percent royalty on its State lands, while States in the Rocky Mountain West charge royalties that are somewhere between 16-\2/3\ percent and 18\3/4\ percent. The royalty rate on Federal public lands is more than one- third lower, at 12\1/2\ percent; hence our amendment--the same as our bill--updating this and bringing more parity between State rates and Federal rates and, of course, absolute parity with offshore drilling. The current regulatory system allows companies to get a sweetheart deal on Federal public lands. Senator Udall and I are asking our colleagues to fix this for the American people. According to studies done by the Congressional Budget Office and the Government Accountability Office, modernizing public lands royalty rates for oil and gas could increase Federal revenues by as much as $200 million over the next decade and do it with little to no impact on production. It is time--hence our amendment--for my colleagues in Congress to end this oil company loophole and bring oil leasing into the 21st century. I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute as in morning business.

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, our U.S. dairy farmers have had a tough decade. Margins are thinner than ever, and new milk substitutes can be found in every grocery store. While dairy farmers scored a major victory in the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement with increased market access to Canada, there is a scary new trend that is very disturbing. Hollywood jokers have taken a stand against raising cows with the so- called hashtag ``mootoo'' movement. This is udderly irresponsible. U.S. dairies produce the highest quality milk and cheese in the world under the highest standards of care. Drink and eat dairy products. It is good for you--especially ice cream. Help our dairy farmers. I yield the floor. Recognition of the Minority Leader

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I ask permission to speak in morning business for 1 minute.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I would like to recognize what my staff in Iowa does because I can't be in Iowa all the time. I am in Washington, DC, for long periods of time. This is my 40th year holding Q&A in each of Iowa's 99 counties. My regional staff is also committed to holding meetings across Iowa. My Iowa staff serves as my eyes and ears when I am working in Washington, DC. That is why they host mobile office hours in every county and attended roughly 1,400 meetings across the State last year. My regional directors tour hospitals, businesses, and childcare centers. They meet with disaster victims, government officials, and senior citizens. They attend ribbon cuttings, community forums, and legislative discussions. Serving Iowans is my top priority. I urge Iowans to contact any of my six offices across the State if I can be of assistance on Federal matters. I yield the floor.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, as Iowa farmers count down the days to get into the fields, baseball fans are counting down the days for that first pitch to cross the plate. As a farmer and also as a baseball fan, hope springs eternal. However, we have gotten wind that Major League Baseball is throwing local clubs a curve ball--a curve that would hurt baseball, hurt local economies, and the fields of dreams in my home State. That is three strikes right there. I have got news. Don't count us baseball fans out. These local communities and this U.S. Senator aren't going to sit on the sidelines. Now, here is the news: Major League Baseball said that it may cut ties with as many as 42 Minor League clubs, including three historic affiliates in Iowa: The Burlington Bees, the Clinton LumberKings, and the Quad Cities River Bandits. I have been in communication with the deputy commissioner of Major League Baseball, Dan Halem, both in letters and on the phone, about the importance of these teams to Iowa. I am sure a lot of my colleagues have made the same contacts. I have also joined, with a bipartisan group of my colleagues, in introducing a resolution today supporting all Minor League Baseball teams across the country. For generations of Iowans, these ball clubs are a vibrant source of civic pride, a vibrant source of entertainment, and--would you believe it--also a vibrant source of economic development. While I have been to just a handful of Major League Baseball games, I have fond, fond memories of going to Minor League Baseball games in Waterloo, IA. We call them the Waterloo White Hawks, a club team for the Chicago White Sox. I had an opportunity, as a young person, to see Luis Aparicio play there in Waterloo before he made it big in the majors as a shortstop for the Chicago White Sox. You can see that I want Iowans to continue to have that same experience. For the record, I am and will always go to bat for Iowa. As Iowa's senior Senator, I will do what I can to ``root, root, root for the home team.'' I yield the floor. I suggest the absence of a quorum.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I come to the floor for two reasons. I am first going to recognize the good work that the Secretary for the Majority, Laura Dove, has done for the entire U.S. Senate, particularly for the majority but mostly for the smooth running of the Senate. Before I speak on another issue, I want to associate myself with the great comments that Leader McConnell made this morning about the work of the Secretary for the Majority, Laura Dove. Laura's work in the U.S. Senate has been tremendous, with over 20 years of service. Few know Senate procedures as well as Laura Dove. She keeps the Senate firing on all cylinders, working for the American people. I am a Senator who hasn't missed a vote in almost 27 years. Laura Dove and the Republican cloakroom, partnering with her and with me in my commitment to not miss a vote--they ensure that I am here when I am needed for those votes. I thank Laura for helping me serve the people of Iowa effectively. I wish Laura all the best in her next chapter. There is no doubt that we will miss her sharp intellect and warm smile here in the Senate Chamber.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute in morning business.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I would like to bring my colleagues up to date on a bipartisan bill to lower drug prices and also, at the same time, give an update on the pharmaceutical industry's opposition to this legislation. Beware the next time Big Pharma claims what we are trying to do to lower drug prices, in their words, ``undermines the free market.'' Just remember this. The pharmaceutical industry supported ObamaCare. Big Pharma doesn't want a free market. Take note that this industry opposes every proposal that would cost it money and supports every proposal that ensures another government revenue stream. That is exactly what ObamaCare did and that is what Medicare and Medicaid do now. Big Pharma has become so big and entitled that they have the gall to claim that limiting taxpayer subsidies is somehow socialism. ObamaCare has a stream that does that, as does Medicare and Medicaid. In fact, this is what ending corporate welfare and demanding accountability to taxpayers is all about. It seems to me that ending those subsidies would be a very conservative principle. The Grassley-Wyden prescription drug bill saves tens of billions of dollars of taxpayer money and has no negative impact on pharmaceutical innovation. That is exactly what the CBO has said and that is why even the free-market, libertarian CATO Institute has endorsed this legislation. So I encourage my Republican colleagues to join me and Senator Wyden in that bipartisan effort. I yield the floor.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, today is Estonia's 102nd Independence Day. Lithuania celebrated 102 years of continuous statehood on the 16th, and Latvia will in November. This is significant not just because the Baltic States are close American allies with shared values; it is worth noting because Russia has been waging war on historical truth. Vladimir Putin recently made the absurd claim that Poland was to blame for World War II. In 1992, Boris Yeltsin made public the secret annex to the Molotov- Ribbentrop Pact, making it clear that the Nazis and Soviets colluded to carve up Poland and the Baltics. That also puts to lie the myth that the Baltics ``joined'' the Soviet Union. The United States recognized them as occupied sovereign states. We ought to continue to defend their sovereignty as well as historical truth.

Mr. GRASSLEY

Mr. GRASSLEY. Madam President, I ask unanimous consent to speak for 1 minute as in morning business.