Q: Is the new Medicare drug benefit now available?
A: As of May 3, 2004, Medicare beneficiaries have the opportunity to sign-up for a Medicare-approved drug discount card. Beginning June 1, 2004, the card will give beneficiaries a break on their prescription medicines until the comprehensive Medicare prescription drug benefit begins in January 2006. The new...
Helping the less fortunate through the giving of one’s time, talents and treasure builds stronger communities all across America. Iowans share in this heritage by opening up their hearts, hands and pocketbooks to help those in need. Recognizing the significant social and economic benefits, the federal government promotes charitable good works through...
Stocking up the medicine cabinet is compelling more and more law-abiding citizens to break federal law and import their prescription drugs from Canada and elsewhere. The trend is illegal, and without the proper safeguards, it could compromise the integrity of the U.S. drug supply and put their personal well-being at risk.
As many of us know all too well,...
Q: What is OMB?
A: The Office of Management and Budget serves as the chief money manager and internal oversight arm of the executive branch of the federal government. It evaluates, formulates and coordinates management procedures within and among federal departments and agencies. From my post on Capitol Hill, I take seriously my watchdog responsibility of...
This is no April Fool’s joke. As of April 1, 2004, Medicare payments that significantly impact Iowa’s health care delivery system will grow significantly. In fact, over the next 10 years Iowa stands to gain an additional $25 billion.
As chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, which bears legislative and oversight authority over Medicare, I worked long and...
During my county visits throughout the last year with Iowans, one issue comes up consistently at every meeting: Jobs. Many Iowans are concerned about what’s known as outsourcing, whereby American companies send jobs overseas as a cost-savings measure to become more competitive.
Just as the president says he wants to build an economy that has enough...
Q: What public advisory did the FDA issue regarding antidepressants?
A: The Food and Drug Administration made headlines in late March when it warned medical professionals to use caution and carefully monitor patients for whom they prescribe antidepressants. In the meantime, the federal agency is continuing to analyze data regarding a possible link between...
Q: How is Mexico’s tax on high fructose corn syrup hurting Iowa corn growers?
A: Mexico launched a protectionist 20 percent sales tax and 20 percent distribution tax on beverages that do not use cane sugar in January 2002. It’s no coincidence that the stiff import tariff virtually shut out high fructose corn syrup sales from the U.S. By design, the tax makes...
For three decades, thousands of Iowa workers toiled in a federal ammunition facility just west of Burlington to help protect America during the Cold War. About 4,000 workers assembled and test-fired nuclear weapons at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant in Middleton from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. Another 35,000 worked on conventional weapons lines at the...
The President delivered to Congress in February his $2.4 trillion budget for the fiscal year that will start in October. With constitutional authority over the federal purse strings, lawmakers decide each year how to fund the federal government and spend your hard-earned tax dollars.
What may surprise some Iowans is the federal spending pie left up for...
Q: Where on Earth can consumers earn enough to pay for a year’s worth of food in just 36 days?
A: According to an annual analysis compiled by the American Farm Bureau Federation, the average American family in 2004 earns enough to pay for a year’s worth of food in just 36 days. That’s a bargain unmatched around the world. Consider in 1970, families worked...
Q: What is BSE?
A: A fatal neurological disease that destroys the brains of infected cattle, bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), has shaken the U.S. beef industry with the first confirmed case of an infected Holstein cow confirmed in Washington state. A decade ago, an outbreak in Great Britain of what’s widely referred to as mad cow disease devastated...
Many Iowans practice a traditional ritual at the start of a New Year. Setting financial, professional, lifestyle, and healthy diet and exercise benchmarks are common personal enrichment goals at the beginning of the calendar year.
With the first half of the 108th Congress wrapped up at the end of 2003, the New Year also provides a good time to take stock of...
The discovery and capture of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein holed up in a six-by-eight foot ‘spider hole’ may prove to become the pivotal turning point towards establishing self-rule and reconstructing Iraq.
Similar to the psychological victory achieved with the end of Hitler's regime in 1945, the capture of Saddam brings a tide of relief to the millions of...
Partisan maneuvering in Washington derailed a bipartisan effort in November to enact a comprehensive energy strategy for America. It’s a shame when politics trumps good public policy. The energy bill crafts a well-balanced plan that promotes renewable energy and recognizes the importance of traditional fuels to the U.S. economy.
As chairman of the Senate...
Q: Why is legislation needed to target Social Security fraud?
A: Unfortunately, the coffers of the federal government apparently are too irresistible to wrongdoers. Con artists don’t seem to run out of ways to try and loot Uncle Sam. But when the defrauders pilfer Social Security, they also drain valuable resources from the popular federal program that in...
After years of promises echoed by candidates on the campaign trail, the Republican-led Congress has defeated partisan gridlock in Washington and delivered the first-ever Medicare prescription drug benefit.
The 38-year-old public health insurance program for seniors and the disabled provides health care security to 40 million Americans. Medicare has sustained...
Q: What is the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003?
A: Signed into law in December, the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 builds upon the progress made in the six years since Congress created new incentives for the states to promote foster care adoptions. In 1997, I steered through Congress legislation aimed at improving the permanent placement of children assigned...
Iowans pay the same Medicare payroll tax rate as everyone else in America. But for years Iowans haven’t gotten the same rate of return. A flawed federal payment formula shortchanges Iowa and 29 other states.
Iowa communities must compete for the best and brightest health care professionals with cities across the United States. Yet Iowa isn’t able to offer...
In America size matters. And American consumers seem to agree: the bigger the better. Consider sport utility vehicles, three-car garages, big-screen televisions. The mega-malls, discount retail giants and wholesale clubs. Even 'standard-sized' food servings are oversized. The mentality that bigger is better has become an accepted norm of American life.
The...
