The federal safety net designed to help disabled Americans and their families make ends meet while they are unable to work enough to support themselves has flunked a fundamental accountability test.
An audit conducted at my request by the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office raises serious concerns about payments being made to folks who return to...
Hardworking taxpayers in Iowa may rest a little easier. Congress passed in October the most sweeping crackdown on corporate tax schemes in a generation. The hard-fought effort to close tax loopholes ought to generate tens of billions of dollars more in federal revenue during the next decade.
The business tax bill also addresses the so-called Euro tax that...
Q: Has the federal incentive for wind energy production been re-approved?
A: Yes. During a visit to Iowa in early October, the president signed into law a tax bill that extends the federal tax break for harnessing wind power to produce electricity. The renewal of the federal tax credit ought to breathe new life into a pipeline of proposed wind energy...
Q: How can workers set aside money tax-free for health care and dependent care expenses?
A: The federal tax code allows workers to take advantage of flexible savings accounts set up through their employer using tax-free earnings. On Jan. 1 each year, eligible workers may divert a designated amount from each paycheck, tax-free, to a savings account that may...
Working families can breathe a sigh of relief. The president visited Iowa in early October to sign into law key tax relief items aimed squarely at lower- and middle-income wage earners. For the fourth time in as many years, Congress continued its efforts to let workers pocket more of their hard-earned paychecks.
The Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004...
Iowa farmers may haul in a bumper crop this year. The USDA has predicted record-level harvests for the nation’s soybean and corn producers. The plentiful bounty reaped each year from the U.S. Grain Belt blankets America with food security, strengthens economic security and stands ready to provide homegrown energy security.
That’s right. America’s breadbasket...
Q: What is the monthly Medicare premium for 2005?
A: For the 463,000 older and disabled Iowans who choose to receive health care coverage through Medicare Part B, the monthly premium for their medical insurance will rise to $78.20. Part B provides coverage for physician services, outpatient hospital care, certain home health services and durable medical...
Having served Iowans in the U.S. Senate since 1981, folks in Washington are well aware that I have a soft spot for America’s Heartland. As an outspoken advocate for all those who choose to live, work, raise a family and enjoy life in the hinterlands, I work hard to make sure that Rural America gets full consideration by decision makers in the nation’s...
Q: What is a codetalker?
A: Many folks may not realize the critical service provided to the U.S. military by brave Native American soldiers during wartime in the last century. Many of these unsung heroes served America honorably by drawing upon their native languages to create an unbreakable wartime code that stumped the enemy and gave the Americans a...
Just as the new school year began, Iowa released its own report card required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act. The document measures how our local schools are doing to help children achieve academic standards set by Iowa's education leaders.
Not surprisingly, the annual review fueled negative reaction about our schools and the landmark federal...
Q: What’s in store for the Conservation Reserve Program?
A: As a lifelong family farmer, I understand what it takes to tend and till farmland year in and year out to keep it rich and productive. Responsible stewardship is key for farmers to earn a living off the land year after year. The federal government also understands that good stewardship of the soil,...
Last year Congress passed the most sweeping improvements to Medicare in history. In a long-debated bipartisan agreement, Republicans and Democrats worked together to bring the popular health insurance program for the elderly and disabled into the 21st century.
This summer Medicare celebrates its 39th anniversary. Throughout the last four decades, tens of...
Q: What’s new for Iowa coin collectors?
A: Whether you’re an avid coin collector or consider coins more or less as loose change, many Iowans are familiar with the U.S. Mint’s 50-state quarter series. Launched in 1999, the ten-year program releases a newly designed 25-cent coin every ten weeks to honor each state in the order it was admitted to the union. In...
Folks in Iowa don’t like the idea of the federal government overspending. New deficit forecasts issued in late July project a $445 billion funding gap for the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30.
The good news is the figure is $76 billion less than predicted in February. Thanks to the recovering economy, the budget gap is narrowing. But it’s still far too big....
A former Iowa high school football player recalls the abuse of steroids by fellow teammates a decade ago. According to him, coaches would give the pep talk before a game and leave the locker room knowing players would 'shoot up' before kick-off.
That’s a disgraceful situation. A high school coach serves as a mentor and authority figure to impressionable...
Q: What are class action lawsuits?
A: A valuable tool for consumers, class action lawsuits allow many individuals to group similar legal complaints into a single action against a defendant who allegedly caused harm to those filing suit. However over the past 10 years, numerous abuses have infiltrated the system and led to negative consequences for class...
Iowans looking for a 19th century era adventure this summer won’t have to travel far to celebrate one of America’s pivotal moments in our 228-year history.
The national bicentennial honoring the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806) began last year in Virginia and will retrace the famous explorers’ route to the Pacific Northwest and its return...
Q: Has the Department of Defense improved its handling of tax dollars?
A: For 20 years I’ve kept the pressure on the Pentagon to take a more conscientious approach to spending taxpayers’ money. As many Iowans will remember, I exposed the spending scandal in the ‘80s when federal bureaucrats saw no problem in spending $600 for a toilet seat or $400 on a...
A 1987 federal law intended to prevent non-farmers from cashing in on federal farm payments is not getting enforced adequately by the USDA.
According to an investigation by the nonpartisan auditing arm of Congress, the USDA’s eligibility criteria do not clearly define who qualifies to receive farm payments distributed by the federal bureaucracy.
The General...
The blessings of extended longevity give each successive generation of Americans a better opportunity to enjoy life’s pleasures great and small well past the traditional retirement age. Healthier lifestyles and advances in medicine and technology are helping to propel physical fitness and mental acuity far beyond previous expectations afforded to aging...
