Budget: Grassley is the most senior Republican member of the finance committee and serves as the committee’s ranking member.

Grassley leaves no stone unturned to protect tax dollars, from cross-examining the tax-advantaged practices of non-profits, to shutting down offshore tax shelters exploited by corporate elites, according to his website.

He has also created whistle-blower laws that have become the federal government’s number one anti-fraud tool and returned $22 billion to the Treasury that would otherwise have been lost to fraud.

Health care: Grassley introduced legislation called the Strengthening Program Integrity and Accountability in Health Care Act. He said the bill will fight the losses in federal health programs, including Medicare.

We have conservative estimates saying that at least $60 billion in Medicare dollars are lost every year to fraud, waste and abuse, according to Grassley’s website.

He also believes that health care reform needs to slow the rate of growth in health care costs and make health insurance more affordable and accessible.

Jobs and economic development: Grassley has worked to create jobs through the use of renewable energies.

Grassley helped create the first-ever federal tax incentive that helped launch a new era of domestic wind energy production in 1992. Today, wind energy manufacturers employ 2,300 Iowans, according to Grassley’s website.

Civil Rights: Grassley has said he is against same-sex marriage and has voted for legislation such as the Defense of Marriage Act and supported efforts to amend the Constitution banning same-sex marriage.

Immigration: Grassley is oposed to amnesty for illegal immigrants and would only support legalization efforts for those here illegally if they included “assimilation efforts,” such as learning English and paying back taxes.

He supports increased enforcement, both on the border and deeper inside the country, such as increasing immigration agents in Iowa. He also wants to improve the visa program to enter the country as well as the “current electronic employment verification system” for employers to check the legal status of their workers.

Background: Grassley maintains the longest consecutive voting streak among those serving today in the Senate. He has had five terms in the Senate.