Iowa's Chuck Grassley wants more cuts, but may still vote for debt ceiling deal

The U.S. House was expected to vote late Wednesday on raising the nation’s debt ceiling to avoid risk of a looming catastrophic default on the nation's debt.

Iowa’s senior U.S. senator, Republican Chuck Grassley, told reporters Wednesday he still is on the fence about the legislation.

“What I’ve studied so far, I’d say there’s a lot of good in it and then some that’s not so good,” Grassley told reporters on a weekly conference call.

He said he was hesitant to say how he would vote on the bill before passing the House and reaching the Senate with possible amendments.

“I’ve still got three or four days to make up my mind,” Grassley said, adding “defaulting is not an option, and I feel strongly about that.”

The bill would extend the debt ceiling for two years, through the next presidential election, in exchange for modest spending cuts.

It would cap some government spending for the next two years, speed up the permitting process for some energy projects, claw back unused COVID-19 relief funds, and expand work requirements for those receiving food and temporary assistance for needy families, with carve-outs for veterans and homeless people.

Hard-line Republicans have trashed the agreement and urged fellow members to vote no.

“There’s some good in it and some bad in it,” but “that’s the art of compromise,” Grassley said of negotiations between the Republican-majority U.S. House, Democratic-controlled Senate and the White House.

“Nobody gets 100 percent of what they want in a compromise. It’s just that simple,” Grassley said.

He told reporters he likes the energy infrastructure permitting reforms, expanded work requirements for food stamps and spending cuts included in the bill, but said cuts “probably don’t go far enough.”

‘Lunacy’: Grassley votes to repeal student loan forgiveness plan

Grassley also voted Wednesday to undo Democratic President Joe Biden's student loan debt forgiveness plan.

On a 51-46 vote, the Senate advanced legislation that would repeal Biden’s debt cancellation program and end the pandemic-era pause on monthly payments and interest.

Biden's plan would forgive up to $20,000 in student loans for Americans who made less than $125,000 in either 2020 or 2021 and married couples or heads of households who made less than $250,000.

The plan is already on hold over legal challenges being reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Iowa Republican Attorney General Brenna Bird joined five other GOP-led states suing the Biden administration over the president’s plan to forgive billions in student loan debt.

Under the Congressional Review Act, the Senate could pass the measure later this week on a simple majority vote.

“Despite what President Biden’s plan suggests, student debt isn’t something that can be waived away with somewhat of a magic wand,” Grassley told reporters Wednesday. “Common-sense Iowans know that once a loan is taken out, it has to be paid back. The Biden administration’s plans would transfer the burden of repayment from the original loan holder … to the American taxpayer.”

Grassley said the Senate “has an opportunity to put an end to this lunacy,” and said he hopes “a majority of my fellow senators will join me in voting to scrap the Biden administration’s student debt plan and get our financial house in order.”

Office ‘standing by to help’ in wake of Davenport building collapse

Asked about the partial collapse of a Davenport apartment building over the weekend, Grassley said his office in Davenport is monitoring updates and “we’re standing by to help in any way we can.”

Grassley said his office was helping a veteran replace medals lost in the collapse.

City officials on Tuesday said five residents of the six-story apartment building remained unaccounted for, and at least two of them might be stuck inside wreckage and debris that was too dangerous to search.

Grassley thanked emergency personnel who responded to the scene and helped rescue tenants.

“This is a scary situation,” he said. “ … You just don’t expect things like this to happen in a major economy, economic country like America. It’s more of a third-world situation.”

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