Orrick Public Policy Podcast #19 – A Conversation with Iowa Speaker Pat Grassley

Recorded January 6, 2021
January.14.2021

For our nineteenth episode, Public Policy Podcast hosts Scott Ward and Jon Mandel were joined by Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives, Pat Grassley. Join us as we discuss how the Iowa House GOP surpassed expectations leading up to the 2020 election and expanded its majority, the Speaker’s priorities for the 2021 legislative session, and hot policy topics for the upcoming year, including tax reform, broadband and the budget.

Episode 19 Guest: Iowa Speaker of the House Pat Grassley

Iowa Speaker of the House Pat Grassley Pat was first elected to the Iowa House in 2006 and is serving his seventh term. He currently represents House District 50 which is comprised of Butler, Grundy, and Hardin counties. He resides in New Hartford.

Pat was born on May 26, 1983, in New Hartford. His father, Robin, is a farmer and his mother, Diane, is a Teacher’s Assistant in the Dike‐New Hartford School District. He has two younger sisters. He is the grandson of United States Senator Chuck Grassley, of Iowa.

Pat grew up on the family farm and attended Dike-New Hartford Schools, graduating in 2002. He went on to Hawkeye Community College where he graduated in 2004. Today, he continues to work on the family farm, growing corn and soybeans and raising cattle with his father and grandfather. He is the proud father of two daughters, Indee and Reagan, and one son, Chancellor.

Prior to becoming Speaker, Pat held several leadership positions in the Iowa House. He served as Chairman of the budget-writing House Appropriations Committee from 2015-2019, passing a balanced budget all four years. He chaired the House Agriculture Committee from 2013-2015 and the House Economic Growth Committee from 2011-2013.

Pat has been active with the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and Oak Hill Cemetery Foundation Board in New Hartford. He also supports the Dike-New Hartford community by helping coach area youth sports teams.

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Scott Ward Partner

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Scott has spent years working in the political arena on both the federal and state level, promoting political and policy agendas via a national network of elected officials, policy makers and outside influence groups.

He has comprehensive experience in federal and state campaign finance, ethics, lobbying and compliance law, and assists clients in all aspects of compliance with rules related to engaging in the political process.

Prior to joining Orrick, he was the President and General Counsel of the Republican State Leadership Committee, a $30 million national political organization focused on electing Republicans to the state offices of Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and State Legislator. Under his leadership, the Republican State Leadership Committee made historic gains in the 2010 elections, netting a record 700 plus state legislative seats, flipping 20 state chambers to Republican control as well as netting six Attorneys General, seven Secretaries of State and three independently elected Lt. Governors.

Scott was previously in private practice with Holtzman Vogel Josefiak PLLC and Arent Fox LLP in the areas of Political law and Litigation. He advised numerous IRS § 527 political organizations, federal and state political action committees, federal and state candidates, state parties, associations, corporations and non-profits in all aspects of fundraising, organization, compliance, disclosure and reporting under federal and state campaign finance laws.

He was General Counsel and served on the Executive Committee of the District of Columbia Republican Party from 2004 to 2012. Prior to his legal career, Scott served as Field Director for Americans for a Republican Majority Political Action Committee (ARMPAC) and worked on the majority staff of the U.S. House Budget Committee for Chairman John Kasich.