Chuck Grassley

==== 1980–1989 ====
[[File:Reagan Contact Sheet C4794 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Grassley with [[President of the United States|President]] [[Ronald Reagan]] in 1981]]

In November 1981, Grassley was one of 32 senators to sign a letter to President Reagan supporting Director of the Office of Management and Budget [[David Stockman]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/14/us/32-gop-senators-praise-stockman-others-skeptical.html|title=32 G.O.P. SENATORS PRAISE STOCKMAN; OTHERS SKEPTICAL|author=Tolchin, Martin|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=November 14, 1981|access-date=July 26, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726203309/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/11/14/us/32-gop-senators-praise-stockman-others-skeptical.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In August 1982, while the Reagan administration tried persuading senators to approve legislation authorizing the creation of a radio station for broadcasting to Cuba, Grassley joined fellow Iowa senator [[Roger Jepsen]] and [[Edward Zorinsky]] in seeking an amendment to the bill barring the Reagan administration from operating Radio Marti on that frequency or other commercial AM frequencies.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/20/world/quarrel-in-senate-over-radio-marti.html|title=QUARREL IN SENATE OVER RADIO MARTI|first=Judith|last=Miller|date=August 20, 1982|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 13, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813124339/https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/20/world/quarrel-in-senate-over-radio-marti.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 1983, Grassley voted against establishing a legal holiday to commemorate [[Martin Luther King Jr.]]'s birthday.<ref>{{cite news |title=SENATE'S ROLL-CALL VOTE ON KING HOLIDAY |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/20/us/senate-s-roll-call-vote-on-king-holiday.html |access-date=January 24, 2019 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 20, 1983 |archive-date=January 14, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190114084211/https://www.nytimes.com/1983/10/20/us/senate-s-roll-call-vote-on-king-holiday.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2015, an aide to Grassley said that he voted against the holiday due to an "economic decision both in the cost to the broader economy in lost productivity, and the cost to the taxpayers with the federal government closed".<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Kamisar|first1=Ben|title=Lawmakers reflect on MLK Day 'no' votes|url=https://thehill.com/homenews/229844-lawmakers-reflect-on-no-votes-on-mlk-day/|newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|quote=Grassley aide: "Senator Grassley’s vote against an MLK Day holiday was purely an economic decision both in the cost to the broader economy in lost productivity, and the cost to the taxpayers with the federal government closed"|date=January 18, 2015|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=December 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222203623/https://thehill.com/homenews/229844-lawmakers-reflect-on-no-votes-on-mlk-day|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2004, Grassley co-sponsored legislation giving King a posthumous award, which became law on October 25 that year.<ref>{{Cite web|title=S.1368 - A bill to authorize the President to award a gold medal on behalf of the Congress to Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr. (posthumously) and his widow Coretta Scott King in recognition of their contributions to the Nation on behalf of the civil rights movement.|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1368/cosponsors%20?searchResultViewType=expanded|website=congress.gov|year=2003–2004|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=July 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728143202/https://www.congress.gov/bill/108th-congress/senate-bill/1368/cosponsors%20?searchResultViewType=expanded|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Some evolved on MLK honor|url=https://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/mlk-jr-day-history-1.26111828|newspaper=[[Newsday]]|date=January 20, 2019|access-date=December 22, 2019|archive-date=December 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222203625/https://www.newsday.com/opinion/editorial/mlk-jr-day-history-1.26111828|url-status=live}}</ref>

On November 1, 1984, Grassley signed a one-page citation of contempt of Congress against Attorney General [[William French Smith]] due to Smith's not turning over files on an investigation into Navy shipbuilding. Assistant Attorney General [[Stephen S. Trott]] called the citation "out of place" since Grassley was not acting at a session of the Judiciary panel he led.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/01/business/contempt-citation-in-dynamics-case.html|title=Contempt Citation in Dynamics Case|author=Biddle, Wayne|date=November 1, 1984|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=July 26, 2018|archive-date=July 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180726201935/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/11/01/business/contempt-citation-in-dynamics-case.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

In May 1987, the Senate Appropriations Committee defeated an attempt by Grassley to hasten payments of corn and other feed grain subsidies ahead of the scheduled payment taking place after October 1. Grassley's measure was also designed to unravel an accounting device lawmakers had used to make it appear that they were reducing spending for the incoming fiscal year.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/01/Government-suspends-farm-price-support-payments/4468546840000/?tt=6|title=Government suspends farm price support payments|date=May 1, 1987|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813004256/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/01/Government-suspends-farm-price-support-payments/4468546840000/?tt=6|url-status=live}}</ref>

In October 1987, during a press briefing, Grassley accused Reagan of being "asleep at the switch" and botching the handling of [[Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination|Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination]], adding that Bork's nomination had convinced him that the Reagan administration "has been terribly lucky for the last seven years" in other matters, including the economy and foreign policy.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/08/Sen-Charles-Grassley-R-Iowa-a-leading-conservative-supporter-of/2021560664000/|title=Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, a leading conservative supporter of...|date=October 8, 1987|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813005031/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/08/Sen-Charles-Grassley-R-Iowa-a-leading-conservative-supporter-of/2021560664000/|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that month, Grassley likened the groups lobbying against Bork's nomination to the [[McCarthyism]] of the 1950s: "The big lie is standard operating procedure for some of these groups. All you have to do is repeat the same outrageous charges, and repeat them so often that people believe they are true."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/22/Supporters-of-Robert-Borks-Supreme-Court-nomination-renewed-their/3131561873600/|title=Supporters of Robert Bork's Supreme Court nomination renewed their...|date=October 22, 1987|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813005324/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/22/Supporters-of-Robert-Borks-Supreme-Court-nomination-renewed-their/3131561873600/|url-status=live}}</ref> In November, as party leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee met on the Supreme Court nomination of [[Douglas H. Ginsburg]], Grassley released the text of a letter he intended to send to the [[American Bar Association]] suggesting the association was dragging its feet in reviewing Ginsburg's record.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-05/news/mn-18882_1_senate-panel|title=Senate Panel Refuses to Rush Hearings on Ginsburg|first=David|last=Lauter|date=November 5, 1987|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=December 12, 2019|archive-date=October 17, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017040440/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-05/news/mn-18882_1_senate-panel|url-status=live}}</ref> After Ginsburg admitted having smoked marijuana, Grassley said, "You like to think people who are appointed to the Supreme Court respect the law."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-06/news/mn-12868_1_judge-ginsburg|title=Ginsburg Admits Smoking Marijuana in '60s and '70s|first1=David|last1=Lauter|first2=Melissa|last2=Healy|date=November 6, 1987|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=December 12, 2019|archive-date=October 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151026180008/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-11-06/news/mn-12868_1_judge-ginsburg|url-status=live}}</ref> Grassley joined [[Jesse Helms]] in resisting the nomination of [[Anthony Kennedy]], Reagan's next choice for the Supreme Court; he indicated that he would have preferred that Reagan instead nominate Judge [[Pasco Bowman II]] or Judge [[John Clifford Wallace]].{{efn|Immediately following Bork's rejection Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee emphatically declared both Bowman and Wallace unacceptable.<ref name="High">Epstein, Aaron; "3 High Court Hopefuls Deemed OK"; ''[[The Miami Herald]]'', October 28, 1987, p. 16.</ref> [[list of United States senators from Vermont|Vermont's]] [[Patrick Leahy]] added that if any candidate unacceptable to the Democratic Senate majority were nominated, Senate Democrats would refuse to hold hearings on that nominee and keep the seat open until after [[1988 United States presidential election|the 1988 presidential election]].<ref>Yalof, David Alistair; ''Pursuit of Justices: Presidential Politics and the Selection of Supreme Court Nominees'', p. 164. {{ISBN|9780226945460}}.</ref>}} Grassley expressed distaste for "the people who are committed to changing the judiciary" and taking "the path of least resistance".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/11/10/President-Reagan-nominates-Judge-Anthony-Kennedy-to-Supreme-Court/1605563518800/|title=President Reagan nominates Judge Anthony Kennedy to Supreme Court|first=Helen|last=Thomas|date=November 10, 1987|publisher=UPI|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813043303/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/11/10/President-Reagan-nominates-Judge-Anthony-Kennedy-to-Supreme-Court/1605563518800/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In January 1989, as the Senate voted to schedule a vote within a month on a pay increase, Grassley asked how senators would decline federal program increases "come March and April if the first thing out of the box is a pay raise".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/05/us/senate-leaders-reacting-to-criticism-agree-to-vote-on-rejecting-a-raise.html|title=Senate Leaders, Reacting to Criticism, Agree to Vote on Rejecting a Raise|author=Rasky, Susan F.|date=January 5, 1989|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813103349/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/01/05/us/senate-leaders-reacting-to-criticism-agree-to-vote-on-rejecting-a-raise.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In February, he was one of six senators to testify against the 50% pay increase scheduled to take effect the next week.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/02/us/tempers-and-patience-short-in-pay-conscious-congress.html|title=Tempers and Patience Short In Pay-Conscious Congress|author=Oreskes, Michael|date=February 2, 1989|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813043315/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/02/us/tempers-and-patience-short-in-pay-conscious-congress.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In October, he was one of nine senators to vote against legislation intended to outlaw flag burning and other forms of flag defacement and joined [[Bob Dole]] and [[Orrin Hatch]], the other two Republicans to vote against the bill, in voicing a preference for a constitutional amendment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/us/flag-burning-ban-is-voted-by-senate.html|title=Flag-burning Ban is Voted by Senate|date=October 6, 1989|author=Toner, Robin|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=August 12, 2018|archive-date=August 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180813005034/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/us/flag-burning-ban-is-voted-by-senate.html|url-status=live}}</ref>