Q. What is the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve?
A. It’s a government-owned stockpile of petroleum. The United States has the largest reserve of this kind in the world. As of November 30, 2010, the reserve contained more than 726 million barrels of oil. The maximum storage capacity of the reserve is 727 million barrels. It’s housed in underground salt...
The President’s recent State of the Union address reminded me of a visit I made last summer to a start-up company in Jasper County. This award-winning lighting company illuminates how the U.S. patent system needs to keep up with the 21st century economy.
Prism Projection, Inc., headquartered in Sully, has 19 employees collaborating their talents in...
Q. What are service academies?
A. U.S. service academies educate and train officers for the Army, Air Force, Navy, Merchant Marine and Coast Guard. Service academies give students the opportunity to serve while earning their college degree. Upon graduation, alumni serve in the active or reserve components of the military, the Merchant Marine or the U.S....
Q. Why is fighting fraud in Medicare and Medicaid important?
A. The federal debt has ballooned to a record $14 trillion, and the deficit this year alone will be $1.3 trillion. Congress is currently debating whether it will make budget cuts in a short-term funding bill needed to continue federal programs for the remainder of the fiscal year. Tough decisions...
As the President said during his annual State of the Union address, America is a nation built on big ideas.
There’s no doubt our culture embraces the concept that bigger is better. From portion sizes served at U.S. restaurants to the homes we live in and the cars we drive, Americans like to live large.
Considering America’s expanding waistline and bulging...
Q. What is the Sunshine in the Courtroom Act?
A. The Sunshine in the Courtroom Act is a bipartisan bill that I reintroduced in February with fellow senators including the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, where I serve as the Ranking Republican. The legislation would allow chief judges of the federal trial and appellate courts to permit cameras in...
Q. What can Congress do to help communities fight substance abuse?
A. Congress can support community-based anti-drug coalitions like those associated with the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America. It’s a national advocacy and coalition training group representing grassroots anti-drug coalitions. The National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute,...
Q. What is the difference between federal deficit and federal debt?
A. The federal deficit is the annual amount the federal government spends over what it takes in. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the federal government is projected to take in $2.2 trillion in fiscal year 2011 and spend $3.7 trillion. Because Congress now spends...
In one of the first orders of business of the 112th Congress, the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a good government measure I’ve pursued for more than a decade.
In a move that will pull back the cloak of secrecy that effectively hog-ties the people’s business in the U.S. Senate, anonymous “secret holds” will no longer be allowed.
A hold is a request by...
Q. As the new Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, what will be your first item of business?
A. With the start of the 112th Congress, I became the Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, or the leader of the committee Republicans. As the Ranking Member, my first piece of Judiciary Committee business was introducing legislation with Senators...
A new year gives us a symbolic fresh start for self-improvement. Many people like to make resolutions, such as losing weight, getting organized, and better managing their time and money.
The 112th Congress opened for business in January. Not unlike the self-improvement goals so often embraced around the first of the year, Congress would do well to trim the...
Q. What exactly is a filibuster?
A. A filibuster is an attempt to stop or delay action in the U.S. Senate on a piece of legislation or nomination by debating it at length, offering numerous procedural motions, or any other delaying action. It is often thought of as one senator speaking nonstop on the Senate floor, but filibusters can involve multiple...
Q. Do you offer Iowa students opportunities to intern in your office?
A. Yes. I strongly encourage college students and recent graduates to intern in my offices in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City, Waterloo and Washington, D.C. Four-month internships are available during the fall and spring semesters, and six-week internships...
Q. How would the U.S.-South Korea trade promotion agreement benefit Iowa?
A. The U.S.-South Korea trade promotion agreement is the most commercially significant U.S. trade agreement in over 15 years. With 49 million consumers, South Korea is the world’s 12th largest economy. According to the Obama administration’s Export Promotion Cabinet, this agreement...
The 112th Congress convened in January, with newly elected and reelected lawmakers taking the oath of office to “support and defend the Constitution.” It was an honor to reaffirm my allegiance to the U.S. Constitution and pledge to faithfully uphold my duties as a U.S. senator for Iowa for another term.
In a new congress, committee compositions change to...
Q. What can be done to drive down prescription drug costs for U.S. consumers?
A. There are two specific barriers to lower prescription drug costs that Congress should tear down immediately. One is agreements that delay market entry of generic drugs. The other is the prohibition on importing prescription drugs into the United States.
Generic drugs save...
Q. What is the Physician Payment Sunshine Act?
A. The Physician Payment Sunshine Act – which I authored with Senator Herb Kohl of Wisconsin – requires pharmaceutical and medical device companies to disclose payments to physicians.
Q. Why is disclosure necessary and how will the information be disclosed?
A. It’s not unusual or illegal for drug or medical...
Taxpayers all across America can ring in the New Year with a sigh of relief. Thanks to a bipartisan agreement brokered between the White House and Republican congressional leaders, paychecks won’t automatically see higher federal tax withholdings starting January 1.
For the last two years, the 111th Congress took a wait-and-see approach about taxes, causing...
Q. What was the Continental Navy and when was it formed?
A. The Continental Navy was the first American navy. It was formed during the American Revolutionary War. When 12 of the 13 American colonies sent delegates to Philadelphia for the First Continental Congress in 1774, their goal was not independence from Great Britain. Instead, the delegates wanted to...
Q. What is Bill of Rights Day?
A. Bill of Rights Day, which is December 15th, celebrates the day the Bill of Rights was ratified. Many states refused to ratify the U.S. Constitution until a Bill of Rights was added. On September 25, 1789, 12 amendments were proposed for ratification by the state legislatures. On December 15, 1791, amendments three through 12...
