Grassley Takes His 99 County Tour To Proline

Sen. Chuck Grassley visits with members of Proline in New Sharon recently.

New Sharon, Iowa – Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley stopped by Proline in New Sharon Iowa earlier in July.

On the question of civil liberties during the initial days of COVID-19 and questions about the shuttering of main street in favor of large outlets and the closure of worship places, Grassley shared his views.

“Initially, I thought it was okay,” Grassley said, who said that as he looks back, the “President finally came to the conclusion that not only did he not have the authority to force states to do it, but maybe it wasn’t a good idea, and then started relying more on the states to do it.

“To answer your question, from the point of the federal government, that certain freedoms were violated, but I don’t think that would have been violated if they’d been done by the states,” explained Grassley, who then further explained when it comes to the freedom of religion, “is freedom of religion.”

When it comes to the police in the United States, Iowa, and locally, Grassley said, “There is great demoralization within the police. They need to have their own political leaders stand up for them.”

“Defunding the police is idiotic,” added Grassley. “You can’t get along without the police. Who would think you could? Who would maintain the peace?”

“What I just said doesn’t in any way okay, or agree with the ill-treatment of people that are being arrested because the murder of Floyd and a few other people is absolutely an abomination.”

To think you can defund the police and get away [from the] police, we’d have the Wild West,” said Grassley in closing.

When it comes to media outlets that have closed their doors due to COVID-19, Grassley doesn’t think there should be any extra program to help media outlets survive the economic downturn.

“I believe that we would help you as a business, but not just because you’re a newspaper or a radio station,” said Grassley pointing towards the PPP program that has helped prop up many businesses.

Local news outlets help provide accountability to local and state officials, and Grassley referenced a recent op-ed in the New York Times in April in which Grassley and 73 other senators sent a bipartisan letter that urged support for rural radio, television, and newspapers during the Coronavirus pandemic.

“Local newspapers and broadcasters have been particularly hit hard financially due to decreased revenue typically derived from advertising sales. This comes at a time when they have increased coverage of daily news, alerts, and educational programs. As Congress and the administration continue to work to keep small businesses operating and employees on the payroll through the Paycheck Protection Program, we believe there is an opportunity for the federal government to provide relief to our local newspapers and broadcasters,” said Grassley in his letter.

That relief was to be in the form of advertising revenue from the Federal Government to those media outlets.

This outlet was denied multiple times by the Census Bureau to run paid advertisements but was asked numerous times to run free ads as a goodwill for the public instead of paying for that space.

Grassley said of the local media, “They’re the policeman for our political system. Freedom of the press is just as important as every other first amendment freedom.”

Bill Maschmeier welcomed Grassley to Proline Building, taking the opportunity to take the senator on a tour of the facility and was able to talk about the things impacting the business.

Maschmeier said one of the biggest things they hoped to gain from the visit was getting “a good read on the economic situation” that COVID has on everyone across the board.

This was the fourth time that Maschmeier has been at an employer with Grassley since coming to Iowa back in 1981. “He’s very good. He answers all the questions. He’s very personable, and anyone who can spend the time to come and see him would find [him], I think, both interesting, and you learn something.”