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Senator grassley Transcript

Speech at the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy Congressional Forum

Senator Charles Grassley

Introduction by Sen. Nancy Boettger:

It’s my honor to introduce to you our Senator, Senator Charles Grassley. Back in the ‘80s, during the farm crisis, he started a tradition that has gone on now, I think this is the 11th year. He invites ambassadors, everyone that has an office here in D.C., to come to Iowa for a week-long meeting with people, citizens, businesses and giving Iowans a chance to be citizen diplomats.

I just want to thank you for that because it’s meant so much to Iowa. Help me welcome Senator Grassley.

Senator Grassley:

Thanks, Nancy. I wonder what percentage of the Iowa Senate is out here because I just had breakfast with Sen. Putney… you gotta make sure people are at home, takin’ care of business.  

Before I give some remarks, the thing she’s talking about is what was called the Ambassador’s Tour. And every other year we do that. You know the first year we started that, 20 years ago we had to explain to people…(notices acquaintances in the crowd) well, my gosh, there people here I know!

It (the Ambassador’s Tour) was to promote international trade because we were in an agricultural depression in the 80s. There’s not much that a senator can do for economic development because the governors and local chambers of commerce do that.

But I thought, in terms of all the ambassadors from these countries that were coming with me… well I thought, let’s acquaint them with Iowa and see how they can help Iowa. But, of course, trade’s a two way street so how can we help each other in a sense?

And, when we first started out you had to tell people where Iowa was to get people to come there, had to make a lot of phone calls to get people to come there. We were lucky to get 20 to 25 countries represented the first couple of times.

Then we stayed in homes of Iowans and the hospitality of Iowans became so famous here in Washington, D.C., that since 1990 I don’t think I’ve made a single telephone call for people to come and four years ago we had 70 countries represented and this last year we had 61 countries represented.

So it’s not anything Chuck Grassley did, it’s the hospitality of Iowans and kind of a …I think another reason is that the Ambassadors here never get acquainted with each other. So they go out and spend five days in Iowa in a bus and they actually get acquainted with their colleagues from out here as well.

Well, listen, you folks are here for a different purpose and I was asked to put a special emphasis on this for Iowa and that’s what I want to do for about five minutes so please let me do that.

First of all, thanks all of you who are who are interested in promoting international understanding. That’s a very important thing to do and in the globalized world we’re in, even before the globalized world, we still…something needed to be done. But now, since everybody lives so close to everybody else, where we live on this globe, it’s very, very important that we continue that.

And I think I ought to thank my colleagues, Congressman Moran and LaHood for helping plan this for you so you can get around well here and get everything you need to make this seminar what it’s intended to be. It’s very important to have (recognizes an audience member) I see another lady here from India that I know…how are you? A very good public servant in Iowa as well.

It’s very important to have a Center for Citizen Diplomacy and fitting that the center be located in Iowa. We have a long history of involvement in citizen relations, maybe a better way to say it, of making an impact on international things.

Iowans know well the virtue of sharing our homes, our values and our achievements with people of all over the world.

One such citizen diplomat was Governor of Iowa, Governor Ray. Gov. Ray, he was governor for 14 years, I believe starting in 1968, lead the effort in 1975 to resettle then just 1,200 Thai Dom people fleeing from Laos.

It was wasn’t long later that we soon became a home for what was known as the “Boat People” from Viet Nam, refugees and it seems that the effort that Gov. Ray started has welcomed nearly 25,000 refugees from around the world.

I want to emphasis refugees because that’s not the only kind of people from around the world. We have all kinds of very diverse society developing in Iowa. Over a long course of history, maybe one or two percent of our population might be considered a minority and not very diversified.

Now very, very diversified and still a small percentage of that that might be minority but really quite a contribution to our state when you stop to think about where you run into these people different ways.

So, we have a lot to learn. But remember, we are a welcoming society in Iowa and I think the numbers prove it and the leadership has proved with leadership of Gov. Ray and people since then prove it as well and we still are open as we think about what can we do for Iraqi people or what can be done very recently, just within the last 10 years, just for Bosnian people. Well it kind of started with a guy by the name of Bob Ray and many in Iowa still call him “governor.”

Dr. Norman Borlaug, is another Iowan, who has done a lot to spread the reputation of Iowa around the world. But his expertise has benefited hungry people around the world, his effort to increase food production and alleviate global hunger earned him the Nobel Peace Prize, I think that was in 1971.

As the father of the green revolution, just recently Congress gave him, as they’ve only done four other people who had receive the Nobel Peace Prize, also get the Congressional Gold Medal. We had a ceremony for him here within the last few months for that.

Dr. Borlaug’s efforts include production that was successful in sparing millions from famine and starvation. He also, in the process though, spread peace and understanding along with life-saving nutrition.

I always try to remind people that think that food grows in supermarkets and doesn’t grow on farms that farmers are very important.

Number one, we’re only nine meals away from a revolution anywhere in the world so farmers producing an abundance of food bring social cohesion to the countries that would otherwise suffer from hunger and do suffer from hunger.

The second thing is for national security, may be less important but, as Napoleon said, “an army marches on its belly.” So if anybody ever wonders whether farmers are important, it’s not just for you to eat, it’s for social cohesion and national security.

Dr. Borlaug obviously helped feed more people as a contribution of bringing a better environment for everybody.

So Iowans continue to have a real understanding of the benefit of international exchange whether it’s educational, cultural or through commerce. Iowa is a leader in bringing international students to our educational system.

We have, between community colleges, private colleges and three state universities, we have about 48 different places of understanding, I mean of education in our state. We rank first in the Midwest and sixth out of 50 states nationally in the enrollment of international students on a per capita basis. And I see another guy I know from Iowa…are you all from Iowa?

So understand, we get people from all over the world to come to our institutions. How many do you have at your university (to Dr. Roe…Roe answers: about 20 as well as our international exchange programs) and so we rank first in the Midwest on a per capita basis, sixth nationally of the number of our international per capita basis.

With regard to international commerce, Iowa’s agriculture economy is part and parcel of the global marketplace. This is something I always say at every stop of the 18 or 20 we have every year on the Ambassador’s Tour. International trade is a two-way street. We don’t anticipate that you come here just to buy from us, we expect to (buy from) you because that’s the way it is, that’s the way it ought to be.

But number one, millions of people in business or otherwise, around the world, having business contact on a daily basis, making a business deal or maybe not making a business deal but still leaving an impression, have a tremendous impact on international understanding and the result of peace that comes when you have better international understanding, with the business deals that they do, the commerce, the relationships they establish, etcetera, etcetera.

And has much more of an impact upon those things that are so important – international understanding and peace – than those of us in politics or those in diplomacy. And I don’t denigrate diplomacy. Politics and diplomacy sets an environment but what we do is a spit in the ocean for international peace and understanding compared to what individuals, whether it’s in commerce or just people that want to do good understanding, international understanding around the world.

So that’s why it’s important that you folks gather to promote this, that’s why it’s very important that you consider the things that you’re considering here today.

The interaction of government officials is important. But not as important as what individuals can do, mostly because of numbers, just because it can be done. And there is, in most instances, ‘pry not any subversive intenten(t) of what individuals are doing, compared to what sometimes those of us in politics or in diplomacy might do convicted of doing.

So, I’m pleased that the U.S. Center for Citizen Diplomacy is leading the promotion of citizen involvement in international relations and citizen diplomacy.

I’m doubly pleased that it’s located in the center of real America where it’s grounded in the values and work ethic of the Midwest. And during this challenging time of geo-politics, I’m glad to know that the effort to promote international understanding and build trust around the globe is run by these trustworthy people in Iowa and specifically in Des Moines.