Grassley did support end-of-life counseling

While there is no evidence that Sen. Chuck Grassley spoke directly of the death panel nonsense that a lobbyist created, Grassley wasted no time perpetuating the lobbyist myth.

During a 2009 Winterset town hall meeting, Grassley said: “There is some fear because in the House bill, there is counseling for end-of-life, and from that standpoint you have every right to fear. You shouldn't have counseling at the end of life. You ought to have counseling 20 years before you're going to die. You ought to plan these things out. And I don't have any problem with things like living wills. But they ought to be done within the family. We should not have a government program that determines if you're going to pull the plug on grandma.”

The facts don't lie. In 2003, Grassley voted to support end-of-life counseling (H.R. 1, Section 511) when it was part of the Medicare prescription drug bill that he helped to write. But in 2009, Grassley opposed end-of-life counseling in which expanded funding (that wasn't included in the 2003 legislation) would have allowed voluntary counseling (planning) before anyone ever became sick.

And Grassley says he fought the insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions. These are the same insurers and lobbyists that Grassley cozied up to while they financed his campaigns for re-election. The Website www.opensecrets.org has all the dirt.

Fortunately, at least a few of us don't suffer from amnesia.

Carol Bradley

West Liberty