Speaker of the House Pat Grassley (R-New Hartford) delivered closing remarks to the Iowa House of Representatives today.  The following are his remarks, as prepared for delivery:

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the Iowa House, we’ve made it to the end of the 2022 Legislative Session.

We may be a little late, but as we head back to our districts for the remainder of the year, we have a lot to show for our time spent in Des Moines.

With inflation at a record-high and costs increasing on just about everything, it became even more important that we continue to ease the tax burden on Iowans.

So, we cut taxes for all Iowans to a fair and flat rate of 3.9%. And we eliminated the tax on retirement income. That piece is often overlooked when we talk about this tax cut package. But Iowa House Republicans feel strongly that no Iowan should leave our state in their retirement just because of our tax climate.

Gas prices are also at a record high. But, we delivered a bipartisan bill to expand Iowans’ access to a cheaper and cleaner fuel option at the pump. Because we recognize that biofuels are key to bringing energy independence to this country.

Also this session, we continued to build on the progress we’ve made on addressing the child care and mental health care shortages across the state.

And if you can believe it, we actually passed a bottle bill.  I’m not sure what the press will even ask me about anymore in my press conferences.  Oh wait, yes I do – NO I’m not running for my grandpa’s seat.

All in all, we had a successful session to move our state forward and continue to make Iowa the greatest state to live, work and raise a family.

I have to take a moment to say thank you.

To the retiring members of both the Majority and Minority party. Thank you for your years of service to your district and to this state. Whether you’ve been here 25 years like Cecil, or 25 minutes like Mike Bousselot, I am grateful for your hard work and dedication.

To the House Republicans staff: Jeff, Brad, Jason, Amanda, Natalie, Kristin, Ben, Kristi, Lew, Mackenzie, Matt, Melissa, Anna, and Cord: Thank you for your work all session long.

To everyone in this chamber: the legislators, Chief Clerk’s office, pages, clerks and doormen. Thank you for all of your service and sacrifice to keep this place running smoothly.

It comes with long hours, late nights, time away from family, and many strenuous projects. But we do it all because of the thing we all have in common.

We love the great state of Iowa.

I’m proud of all we’ve accomplished together as the 89th general assembly. I always say Republicans continue to be successful because we follow through on the promises we make to the voters.

Iowans put their faith in us to act on their priorities, and to keep our promises.  And I’m proud of how we’ve delivered.

Now, it’s time we head back to our districts to listen to our constituents and receive additional instructions.

I look forward to returning to this chamber and continuing our work for the state of Iowa.

Thank you."