News : Grassley visits Vinton, signs card for former teacher

Senator Charles Grassley signs a card for his former teacher, Henry Van Eschen of Vinton.

Senator Chuck Grassley visited Vinton on Thursday, where he spent and hour discussing a variety of issues, answering questions and signed a get-well card for his former middle school teacher and coach.

Grassley was a student at New Hartford more than a half-century ago, when Henry Van Eschen was a middle school teacher and coach. Rick Zimpfer brought the card to Vinton City Hall, where he told Grassley that Van Eschen, now 90, has been dealing with health issues.

Grassley signed the card before leaving the meeting.

During the meeting Grassley discussed the agreements the U.S. is considering for Cuba and Iran. He also said that some Republicans were about to introduce legislation making changes to the Affordable Care Act, but the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court means that there will be no major changes to the ACA law during this session of Congress.

Grassley visits all 99 counties every year. He told the audience that citizens have more impact on legislation than lobbyists because citizens vote and share their opinions.

Someone asked about the EPA's proposed new water regulations. Grassley said that the agency's new rules would require virtually every farmer to obtain an expensive permit.

"It's one of the biggest power grabs by a bureaucracy in our history," said Grassley. Congress, he said, has stipulated that it will not provide funding for the enforcement of these proposed rules.

One of the questions focused on the budget; Grassley said that in recent years, the budget deficit has been 35 percent of the Gross National Product (GNP), a level the senator says is not sustainable without leading to the threat of default. He also said that the likelihood of increasing interest rates in the near future will cause the cost of the debt to rise.