Chuck Grassley: “But I want to take time to respond to the sadness he expressed that organizations like the National Taxpayers Union…”

“But I want to take time to respond to the sadness he expressed that organizations like the National Taxpayers Union would be concerned about the waste in this bill, as they see it and as I see it, the fact that we should not have corporate welfare subsidies, and that they are reflecting their membership at the grassroots level, that he is sad for that, or at least for what he considers to be a negative impact that that process has on the legislative process. He should not be saddened in any way because basically what we are talking about here is a constitutional right that is in the first amendment. It is in the first amendment and about which you do not hear much. You always hear about freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of press, but you do not read much about the right to petition your Government for redress of grievances. All these organizations are doing, in opposing this legislation, is speaking for their grassroots membership who feel that Washington is wasting money on a corporate welfare subsidy. We ought to encourage that process. We should not be saddened by that process. It is what has made America great for the 209-year history of our constitutional Government.”