Grassley’s IRS comments are preposterous

Sen. Chuck Grassley continues to do little to truly represent Iowa’s citizens. Rather, his focus is on party loyalty. The latest example is the Inflation Reduction Act that included IRS funding to hire additional staff to speed up processing time and refunds, as well as enforcement. On national TV, he pondered if the IRS is “ … going to have a strike force that goes in with AK-15s already loaded, ready to shoot some small business person in Iowa..?“

This was a preposterous and disingenuous scenario, as well as a classic example of using fear mongering tactics designed to inflame conspiracy theorists. Fact checkers note that IRS auditors are typically unarmed and most audits occur by mail.

Sadly, Sen. Grassley seems more concerned about his vivid imagination of IRS agents “armed with AK-15s” than the real assault weapons used in recent mass shootings across the U.S., where his responses reflected that these are sad occurrences but offered little response in really addressing this epidemic. (Note: Grassley did not support the recent bipartisan passed gun safety bill while Sen. Joni Ernst did after urging by many Iowans).

This is yet another reason that has led me to support the candidacy of former Vice Admiral Mike Franken for the U.S. Senate. It is time for a change. Iowans can benefit from his true leadership. He will serve Iowa well.

John Burke

Cedar Rapids