News Releases

Q&A on the Sequester 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...

Physician Payments Sunshine Act Regulations Released M E M O R A N D U M To:    Reporters and editors Re:    Sunshine Act rule released Da:    Friday, February 01, 2013 Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is the co-author, with then-Sen. Herb Kohl, of the bipartisan Physician Payments Sunshine Act, enacted in March...

Grassley Introduces Legislation to Ensure Employers have Proven Tool to Verify Work Eligibility of Employees WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley today introduced legislation that would permanently authorize and require employers to use the E-Verify program, an Internet-based system that assists employers in determining the eligibility of employees to work...

Russian ban on U.S. beef and pork exports M E M O R A N D U M TO:    Reporters and Editors RE:    Russian ban on U.S. beef and pork exports DA:    Thursday, January 31, 2013 Senator Chuck Grassley made the comment below about a news report that U.S. exports of beef and pork to Russia will be stopped on February...

Grassley, Hatch, Alexander, Enzi, Pitts, Cassidy Seek Details of Long-overdue Attention to Federal Discount Prescription Drug Program WASHINGTON – Sens. Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch, Lamar Alexander and Michael Enzi and Reps. Joe Pitts and Bill Cassidy today sought details of the federal government’s long-overdue attention to the qualification of the...

Grassley plans meetings with Iowans in 16 counties WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley has planned meetings with Iowans in 16 counties during the Senate’s upcoming February recess week, including 10 town meetings and question-and-answer sessions with students at four high schools, employees at a manufacturing plant, and members of the Des Moines Rotary...

Grassley Opening Statement -- Committee Hearing on the Causes of Gun Violence Mr. Chairman, what happened at Newtown shocked the entire nation.   We will never forget where we were and how we reacted when we learned that 20 very young children and 6 adults were killed that day.   As a grandfather and great-grandfather, I cannot imagine how anyone...

  Transparency at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development     Statement of Senator Charles E. Grassley Before the United States Senate Transparency at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development January 29, 2013 I come to the floor of the Senate today to speak about one of my favorite topics—transparency. ...

Concern Over Approval of Foreign Purchase of Taxpayer-Funded A123 WASHINGTON, D.C.—U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) today expressed concern over the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States’ (CFIUS) decision to approve the China-based Wanxiang Group Corps.’ investment in failed stimulus-funded battery company, A123....

Grassley Outlines Shortcomings in Proposed IRS Whistleblower Regulations WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today outlined a series of shortcomings in the Internal Revenue Service’s long-awaited proposed regulations to implement the 2006 whistleblower improvements he authored.  Grassley outlined his concerns in a letter to top IRS and Treasury...

Justice Department Pressed on “Too Big to Jail” Senators Question Whether “Too Big to Fail” Status of Some Wall Street Megabanks Undermines Government’s Ability to Prosecute Large Financial Institutions, Impose Appropriate Penalties WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter today to U.S. Attorney General...

  Runaway spending drives deficits and debts     Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley Debt Limit and Need to Reduce Spending Monday, January 28, 2013 Mr. President, During the next few weeks and months, Congress and the President will again have an opportunity to demonstrate that we’re serious about dealing with deficits and debt by...

Grassley Seeks Improvements from CFTC Inspector General’s Office WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is seeking to learn whether the inspector general’s office for the nation’s commodities and futures regulator has corrected the flaws that led to a failed peer review. Grassley wrote to Commodity Futures Trading Commission Inspector General A. Roy...

Grassley Reaction to New Immigration Proposal Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, gave the following statement regarding the immigration proposal put forth by Senators John McCain, Marco Rubio, Lindsey Graham, Jeff Flake, Chuck Schumer, Robert Menendez, Dick Durbin and Michael Bennet. “We’ve seen efforts to pass...

Grassley Statement on the Retirement of Senator Tom Harkin Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley regarding Senator Tom Harkin's plans to retire from the U.S. Senate           "Senator Harkin and I have rarely agreed on the issues or voted the same, but he and I have gotten along for a long time with open lines of...

Checks and Balances at Work; Court Rules Obama Recess Appointments Unconstitutional Senator Chuck Grassley made the following statement after the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that recess appointments made by President Obama on January 4, 2012 were unconstitutional because the Senate was in session.  At the...

Senators Work to Make Agriculture a Priority on Agenda of EU Trade Working Group                 WASHINGTON – Senators Chuck Grassley, Pat Roberts, Mike Enzi and John Thune are working to make agriculture a priority in discussions between the United States and European Union trade...

Grassley on the SEC Chairman Nomination M E M O R A N D U M To:    Reporters and editors Re:    SEC chairman nomination Da:    Thursday, January 24, 2013 Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the President’s plan to nominate Mary Jo White as chairman of the Securities and Exchange...

Senate Judiciary Committee Leaders Introduce Legislation to Protect Whistleblowers in Criminal Antitrust Cases WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced legislation Tuesday to extend whistleblower protection for employees who provide information to...

Q&A on Agricultural Trade 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...