Here is information about Senator Grassley's schedule this week in Washington. The Senate is in session.
· Senator Grassley will meet during the week with Iowans from Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty, the Iowa Association of School Boards, the National Child Support Enforcement Association, the National Federation of the Blind of Iowa, Job Corps, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture, the American Wind Energy Association, the National Association of FSA County Office Employees, the University of Iowa and the Iowa State University Colleges of Engineering, Habitat for Humanity, and the Iowa State Education Association.
· Senator Grassley will meet with an Iowa family visiting Washington from New Hampton.
· Senator Grassley will be a guest on public affairs programs hosted by Cindy Kohlmann on KDTH Radio in Dubuque, Scott Voorhees on KFAB Radio in Omaha, and Mike Savage on KBUR Radio in Burlington. He also will be a guest on AgriTalk, an agriculture-focused public affairs program that airs live on 13 radio stations in Iowa.
· On Monday, February 6, at 3:30 p.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will meet with community leaders and city officials traveling to Washington with the Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty Chamber of Commerce to discuss economic development initiatives and other public policy matters.
· On Tuesday, February 7, at 10 a.m. (ET), there is a Budget Committee hearing on the outlook for U.S. monetary and fiscal policy. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will testify. Senator Grassley is a senior member of the committee.
· On Tuesday, February 7, at 3 p.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in a business meeting of the Senate Finance Committee on the Highway Investment, Job Creation and Economic Growth Act of 2012.
· On Tuesday, February 7, at 4:30 p.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will meet with Major General Timothy Orr of the Iowa National Guard regarding the Iowa impact of the Air Force budget reduction recommendations announced Friday, which would retire the 21 F-16 fighter aircraft assigned to the 124th Fighter Squadron, Iowa Air National Guard in Des Moines. Senator Grassley has expressed concerns about the Air Force strategy of targeting the Guard for cuts, as the Guard is more cost effective for missions such as a fighter squadron than Active Duty, and Guard pilots tend to be more experienced since they stay in the service over a long period of time. On Thursday, February 9, at 1:30 p.m., Senator Grassley will host a meeting for the Iowa congressional delegation with Secretary of the Air Force Michael Donley to discuss the recommendations.
· On Wednesday, February 8, at 12:30 p.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will speak at a Capitol Hill event of the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. CADCA is the leading national drug abuse prevention organization representing more than 5,000 community anti-drug coalitions in the country and focusing on local, targeted solutions to prevent drug abuse. Senator Grassley founded the FIT Coalition in Iowa more than 15 years ago. FIT stands for Face It Together. The organization, today part of the Iowa Drug-Free Partnership, networks employers, schools, parents and community-based organizations to help address local substance abuse problems.
· On Thursday, February 9, at 10 a.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in the weekly business meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee is scheduled to take action on legislation sponsored by Senators Grassley, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, John Cornyn of Texas, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, and Chuck Schumer of New York. Senator Grassley's bill, S.1945, would permit the broadcast and televising of Supreme Court proceedings. It builds on sunshine legislation Senator Grassley has sponsored for more than 10 years to grant federal judges the authority to allow cameras in other federal courtrooms. Over the years, Senator Grassley has successfully pressed the Supreme Court to release audio recordings of its proceedings. The court did so in 2000 in the Bush v. Gore case, and last year the court began releasing audio at the end of each week. In 1947, the Supreme Court said that what transpires in the courtroom is public property. In Iowa, there has been broadcast coverage of state-level courts for more than 30 years, including online archived streams in recent years. The federal-level Southern District Court in Iowa is part of a three-year pilot program to evaluate the impact of cameras in courtrooms.
