Information means everything.
Students cramming for their final exams likely wouldn’t be so stressed out if they had access to the test answers beforehand. Farmers wouldn’t lose so much sleep second-guessing their marketing decisions if they knew exactly when to lock in the top dollar for their grain. And retirees wouldn’t feel like they were playing the...
Q: What is prompting heightened concern about drones?
A: Drones, or unmanned aircraft, are most commonly known as part of overseas operations tracking down and killing members of terrorist organizations. Going back to a letter sent in October 2011, I’ve sought access to information from the Obama administration about its policy regarding targeted killing of...
What we saw unfold in the Senate budget vote-a-rama just before the Easter recess is important in evaluating competing claims about the reason for dysfunction in the Senate.
Democratic leaders push an aggressive narrative that all the blame goes to Republican obstructionism and abuse of the filibuster, but those who adhere to this partisan account cannot use...
Q: What is IRS Free File?
A: IRS Free File provides free access to private-sector tax preparation software and e-file options to taxpayers who made $57,000, or less, in 2012. The idea is to help federal taxpayers prepare more accurate tax returns and get the credits and deductions due. In addition, by using e-file and selecting direct deposit, you can get...
Every wage-earning American started the new year with less take-home pay. The payroll tax holiday ended on January 1, which meant breadwinners across the country were forced to figure out how to make ends meet with two percent less.
Now Washington is getting a taste of its own medicine: making do with less. Automatic spending cuts took effect on March 1,...
Q. What does “too big to jail” mean?A. “Too big to jail” refers to the federal government’s recent philosophy to decline to pursue criminal prosecution of Wall Street megabanks for financial fraud and other wrongdoing. The Obama administration has not sought aggressively to prosecute large financial institutions for their role in the financial crisis and...
Q: How do you see the immigration reform effort moving forward?
A: I appreciate that a bipartisan group of U.S. senators is working together to try to identify shared principles and build consensus on the issues involved in reforming America’s immigration system. As Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I expect to play a role in trying to broker...
Q: What exactly is sequestration?
A: Sequestration is a process of automatic, largely across-the-board permanent spending reductions. The process was created in 1985 in the Gramm-Rudman-Hollings Act. More recently, Congress included sequestration as an enforcement tool in the Budget Control Act of 2011. The automatic spending cuts established in the 2011 law...
Q: Why is international trade so important to agriculture?
A: The productivity of American farmers continues to rise faster than domestic demand. American farmers need foreign markets to sell commodities and value-added agricultural products. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, one out of every three crop acres is planted for export, and...
Q: How much of the revenue going to the U.S. Treasury is federal income tax?
A: Individual income taxes account for about 42 percent of all the money collected by the federal Treasury. The rest comes from Social Security taxes, corporate income taxes, excise taxes, estate and gift taxes, customs, and miscellaneous taxes. The federal income tax as we know it...
Q: Why is there a production tax credit for wind energy?
A: In 1992, the Energy Policy Act passed by Congress included an amendment I offered to establish a production tax credit for wind energy. The idea was to try to level the playing field with coal-fired and nuclear electricity generation. Both of those energy sources benefit from federal support. What’s...
With all eyes and ears directed towards Washington’s so-called fiscal cliff, there’s talk of striking a “grand bargain” between the White House and Capitol Hill to finesse a solution for the impending spending cuts and tax hikes slated to take effect January 1, 2013.
While high-stakes negotiations will likely continue through the end of the year and feed the...
Q: What exactly is a filibuster?
A: The classic understanding is the way Jimmy Stewart, in the 1939 movie 'Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,' stands and talks without stopping to delay proceedings and make a point. Under Senate rules, unless the rules have been waived temporarily, a senator who has been recognized to speak can keep the floor as long as he...
Q: What political transitions are under way in China?A: China’s new leader Xi Jinping – who visited Iowa earlier this year – is the most powerful Chinese leader in recent years as he newly holds the post of General Secretary of the Party, Chief of the Military, and he will take over as President of China in March, when President Hu Jintao formally...
Q: Why do we elect the President through the electoral college?
A: The U.S. Constitution sets forth the requirements for election of the President and Vice President in Article II, Section 1, as amended in 1804 by the 12th amendment. It authorizes each state to appoint, by whatever means the legislature chooses, a number of electors equal to the combined...
Q: What’s the most up-to-date data on Medicare’s fiscal health?
A: Thousands of Iowans have contacted me regarding protecting the future of the Medicare program. Medicare is a pact between the federal government, seniors and future seniors. This pact should be kept, and steps need to be taken to make sure it happens. Since Medicare was created in 1965,...
Civics 101 teaches students about the three branches of the federal government. Representing Iowans in the United States Senate, I enjoy meeting with students during my annual meetings in Iowa’s 99 counties or when youth groups make a trip to Washington, D.C.
Students ask informed questions. They understand that Congress writes legislation and holds the...
Q: What exactly is the fiscal cliff?
A: The fiscal cliff is a term being used to describe a set of federal tax increases and spending cuts that will occur if Congress and the President don’t act. Most immediately, the failure to extend tax relief that is scheduled to expire at the end of this year would result in a $310 billion tax increase in January. This...
Q: What’s the rationale for federally subsidized crop insurance?
A: A stable and affordable food supply is fundamental to national security, and U.S. agriculture helps to feed the world with advanced farming technology and markets to export farm commodities and value-added agriculture products. At the same time, farming is financially risky, with production...
It’s something we use every day yet rarely take the time to celebrate. It’s as solid as the ground beneath our feet and still extremely flexible. It provides the foundation for what it means to be an American because it enshrines much of what we value as Americans. Of course, I’m referring to the United States Constitution.
This remarkable document is as...
