Grassley: federal certainty needed for businesses to invest

DES MOINES - Sen. Chuck Grassley told an economic group Thursday the next president has to focus on policies that will encourage business investment to promote job creation and income growth.

Grassley, 83, a New Hartford Republican seeking re-election to his seventh Senate term against Democrat Patty Judge, said he has been disappointed with American economic performance under President Barack Obama with none of his eight years in office exceeding a 2 percent increase.

Grassley told about 30 members of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, a regional economic development agency, the U.S. economy has been flat for the past eight years with 2015 marking the only year middle-income Americans experienced income growth since the country was hit by the second worst economic calamity in the nation's history.

'This is the only president that hasn't had at least one year out of eight that you've had 3 percent growth or more,” Grassley told the forum. 'We're told now that 2 percent or less growth is the new normal. We do not have to settle for the new normal.”

Grassley blamed the sluggish economic activity on an uncertain business climate thwarted by a 'D.C.” attitude of more taxes, more spending and more regulation that impedes forward-looking investment.

'I don't know what Washington is going to do to me so I don't know if I should invest,” Grassley said of business planners, 'and when you don't invest, you don't create jobs.”

The Iowa Republican said the next president, whether it's Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Hillary Clinton, will have to fill the leadership 'vacuum” in Washington by working with House and Senate members from both parties to implement changes that will help U.S. businesses compete internationally. He said cheap energy, on-time inventory and quality already has helped bolster U.S. manufacturing but other changes like a lower corporate tax rate and regulatory certainty also are needed.

One thing he did not support was using a federal government shutdown to try to force policy changes.

'I was an advocate for it in 1995 and I found out it doesn't work,” Grassley said, noting it costs money to close government and it costs money to reopen government after a shutdown. 'Consequently, it shouldn't have been done.”

He said another government shutdown took place in October 2013 because 80 percent of the members of Congress were new and had not gone through the process to understand it was not an effective strategy for change.