Senator Chuck Grassley tells KNIA/KRLS News he’s hopeful that a fiscal cliff compromise will come. He says that he and other legislators have to wait out the negotiations between President Barack Obama and Speaker John Boehner, but he thinks those talks are making positive progress. Grassley adds that a last-minute deal is not out of the ordinary for Congress.

Grassley thinks it’s a foregone conclusion that taxes will be raised for those making more than $250,000 a year and says that’s difficult to swallow. But he’s hopeful that spending cuts and entitlement reforms are also part of the package. Senator Grassley specifically suggests changing the eligibility age of entitlement programs. He notes the average American lives much longer than they did when the programs were created, but those programs have not been adjusted to reflect that.