Senator Chuck Grassley (file photo)
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley’s critics have been leveling a “do your job” mantra against him for months and Grassley used his turn delivering the weekly Republican radio address to respond.
“As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I work to make sure that the committee works for all Americans,” Grassley said in today’s recorded message, “so I adopted an approach to get things done for you, straight, from the common sense nature of Iowans.”
Grassley has said he wants the next president to choose the next U.S. Supreme Court Justice and he has refused to schedule hearings for the man President Obama nominated to fill the opening on the court.
“I decided early on that the Judiciary Committee would spend your taxpayers’ dollars and our time focusing on areas where we could reach an agreement rather than on political fights destined for failure,” Grassley said. “It’s the right thing to do and it works.”
Grassley said 27 bills have cleared the committee since January of last year when he took over as chairman and all 27 had bipartisan support. A dozen have been signed into law by President Obama.
“With four months left in this congress, the Judiciary Committee has already outpaced the previous congress in bills processed in committee, passed in the seante and signed into law,” Grassley said. “And we’re not done yet.”
Legislation that would increase penalties for elder abuse and a sentencing reform effort are among the bills on Grassley’s to-do list.
Grassley did not directly mention the fight over Merrick Garland’s nomination to the Supreme Court during the GOP address, which lasted for more than four minutes, but Grassley concluded by saying the Republican-led senate “hasn’t wasted time or resources” on partisan fights.
Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to deliver regular radio addresses. Ronald Reagan revived the practice with a radio broadcast every Saturday and Democrats started delivering a rebuttal message. The “response” is now traditionally used by the party opposing the president to showcase a candidate or issue.
Grassley is seeking reelection to the Senate. Democratic challenger Patty Judge has made the controversy over the opening on the U.S. Supreme Court a centerpiece of her campaign against Grassley.