(Radio Iowa) – With the approach of the one-year anniversary of the January 6th attack on the U-S Capitol, Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley says he’s satisfied with his safety in the building and he has no fears there will be any sort of repeat attempt to storm the capitol on Thursday. “I feel very secure,” Grassley says, “and I don’t expect anything to happen because of the increased security and particularly bills that have been passed where very quickly, National Guard can be called out.”

A U-S Attorney’s Office report says that over the past year, more than 725 people were charged with participating in the riot, several of them from Iowa. The incident left four rioters dead and more than 150 law enforcement officers hurt. One officer died of a stroke shortly after the riot while several more took their own lives in the following weeks.

Senator Grassley is applauding Biden Administration efforts to combat anti-competitive practices in the meatpacking industry. Up to 800-million dollars in loans and grants will aid small-scale beef, pork and poultry plants while setting up a new hotline for whistleblowers. Grassley, a Republican, says his response to the move is “Hallelujah.” “The big four packers control 85% of the daily slaughter,” Grassley says. “They can and, in fact, do abuse the market power while the retail price of meat has gone up, independent producers are getting less and less.”

Grassley says he fully supports administration efforts to bring fair prices to both producers and consumers, though he recognizes it will also take legislation. Grassley says he has a bi-partisan bill in the works. “It’s called the Cattle Price Discovery and Transparency Act,” Grassley says. “It’ll create fair market conditions for independent producers and reign in some of the bad behavior of the big packers.”

If the administration wants a solution for small producers and for consumers, Grassley says the president should endorse the bill and lobby for its swift passage.