Q: What steps should be taken if an individual suspects identity fraud?
A: In this situation, haste does not make waste. Take the following four steps as soon as possible. First, contact the three major credit bureaus to report the suspected fraud and request that a fraud alert be put in your file. Close fraudulent or tampered credit, banking and utility...
American consumers and health care providers increasingly rely on blockbuster miracle drugs that essentially have changed the practice of medicine and delivery of health care in the last 20 years. Pharmaceutical companies invest millions of dollars in scientific research and development costs each year to keep pace with market demands for the next miracle...
Q: What is LIHEAP?
A: The federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LI-HEAP) helps poor households pay for heating and cooling their homes. I have long supported federal funding for this program. It provides critical assistance for families, seniors and disabled individuals who struggle to pay their home energy bills. As winter approaches with cold...
Q: What prompted your longstanding advocacy of whistleblowers?
A: Whistleblowers are unsung heroes who often risk losing their livelihoods, friends and career to expose wrongdoing. It takes courage and integrity to go against the grain, especially in tightly controlled organizations like the Pentagon and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In both the...
American consumers are known for their shopping savvy. Whether searching for the best deal on a car, computer or this season’s 'must-have' toy, Americans spend valuable time comparison-shopping either on-line or on Main Street.
Usually, the extra time spent is well worth the effort. Most folks feel good when they get in on a bargain. At the same time, few...
Q: What steps have you taken to crack down on the smuggling of illegal immigrants into the U.S.?
A: While such criminal activity unfortunately has been a problem for years, the recent finding of 11 deceased victims aboard a rail car in Denison exposed the tragic risks wrought by human smuggling. For nearly four months, the locked, unventilated grain car sat...
American voters made history in the 2002 mid-term congressional elections. First, more Americans went to the polls than in 1998, reversing a discouraging trend during mid-term cycles. And when they cast their ballots, voters bucked another well-established trend of American politics, i.e., the president’s party historically loses seats during a mid-term...
Q: Why did the biotechnology industry recently advise against raising pharmaceutical-producing plants in Iowa and other states where production agriculture predominates?
A: The recently announced decision by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) has stirred up a storm in Iowa and other states in the Corn Belt. The national trade group adopted an...
Almost universally, Iowans bemoan the political advertising blanketing the airwaves prior to an election. Beyond the blitzkrieg of campaign television and radio ads, targeted direct mail marketing drives, door-to-door campaign calls and town square political rallies make many voters anxious for Election Day to come and go.
Unfortunately, in the rush to hit...
The public’s disdain for partisanship and gridlock in Washington is exposed regularly in opinion polls. It’s also readily apparent in my county meetings in Iowa. Whether I speak at a civic group’s event, visit hospitals, schools, and main street businesses or meet with workers on the factory room floor, Iowans are fed up with excuses.
It would be naive to...
Q: What is the Medal of Honor Flag?
A: Thanks to the inspiration of a central Iowa army veteran from Jefferson in Greene county, Congress adopted the idea to pay tribute to those who are awarded the U.S. military’s highest honor with an official Medal of Honor flag. In late October, President Bush signed the annual defense spending bill into law. It includes...
Q: Under proposed election reforms, what changes are in store for voters at the polls?
A: Voters will recall the unbelievable disarray and voting irregularities in Florida following the 2000 presidential election. The mass confusion, hanging chads and court battles definitely will go down in the history books. Most Americans got a refresher course on the...
For several years I have led the charge in Congress to take international drug traffickers and their sophisticated money laundering schemes to the cleaners. For too long they’ve rinsed their tainted money through the U.S. banking system. But drug dealers and mafia leaders aren’t the only ones gaming the financial system for their criminal advantage....
Since Sept. 11, 2001, about 3,000 of Iowa's 9,600 members of the National Guard have been called to active duty at some point during the last year. In the last decade, members of Iowa's National Guard have been deployed to Bosnia, trained in Germany and patrolled the no-fly zone in Iraq. The Iowa Air Guard has completed five 90-day missions in the last six...
Q: Why did so many families fail to take advantage of the newly expanded federal child tax credit that was part of President Bush’s historic tax cut enacted last year?
A: The problem is lack of awareness. And sadly, the Internal Revenue Service has failed to ensure eligible taxpayers claim the new tax breaks according to an internal Treasury report. As...
Q: How can Iowa high school students and their parents find out more about a U.S. Military Academy?
A: Military academies offer a wonderful option for outstanding students who are making a decision about their future and higher education needs. Each year my Senate office sponsors an informational event to help families and high school guidance counselors get...
Few issues hit so many voters so close to home. Access to quality, affordable health care is one of them. And for the swelling population of Medicare beneficiaries, the taxpayer-financed health insurance program plays a central role in how, when, where and from whom they receive basic medical attention and emergency health care services.
But if you’re a...
Q: What’s included in your tax bill to help those serving in the U.S. military?
A: As our men and women in uniform are being called upon to fight the war on terrorism, there’s no time like the present to make sure these brave Americans get a fair shake under the federal tax code. The Armed Services Tax Fairness Act of 2002 would fix problems in the tax code...
For the last year, most of America has fixated on homeland and national security. The terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001 dispelled notions of America’s invincibility and placed greater demands on the federal government to protect and defend American citizens.
The terrorists sought to unravel our American way of life. They sought to pit fear against freedom...
Q: What is the Office of Minority and Socially Disadvantaged Farmers Assistance?
A: By opening this new office geared toward minority farmers, the USDA is reinforcing its efforts to respond to the needs of an under-served population within the ranks of the U.S. farming community. As a lifelong farmer and federal policymaker who has served on the Senate...
