News Releases

Grassley, Report Shows EPA Science on Sludge is Old Today the federal National Research Council issued a report on the Environmental Protection Agency's human health standards for sludge use. (The report is available at http://www.national-academies.org). Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote to the EPA in February expressing concern about the integrity of the...

Grassley Seeks Accountability for WorldCom Executive Bonuses ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today urged the Securities and Exchange Commission and WorldCom, Inc. to provide details of millions of dollars of bonuses that news reports say top company executives received before the company's collapse. "It's critical that...

Grassley, Weldon Seek Tighter Visa Restrictions ? Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D., today asked Secretary of State Colin Powell to terminate a State Department program that allows visa applicants to receive approval to come to the United States without proper in-person interviews. The Visa Express program was implemented three months prior to...

irradiated mail Note: This is embargoed until 12 a.m. Tuesday, per the Office of Compliance. M E M O R A N D U M To:Reporters and Editors Re:irradiated mail Da:Monday, July 1, 2002The legislative branch's Office of Compliance is releasing a report concluding that handling irradiated mail for substantial periods of time may cause or contribute to adverse...

Word On: Pledge of Allegiance   Q: Is it true a federal appeals court ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional? A: In an outrageous decision handed down by the Ninth Circuit Court based in San Francisco, a three-judge panel in June indeed ruled the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. If the ruling were allowed to stand, public school...

Tip the Scales in Your Favor by Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   In American society, consumers want it bigger, better and faster. Super-sized portions at restaurants are the norm not the exception. By and large when it comes to diet and exercise, too many folks cave in to impatience and an underlying need for comfort, convenience and instant...

Grassley Urges China to Open Markets to U.S. Ag Products Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, and other senators today urged China to stop threatening U.S. exports of soybeans, soybean products, processed food and other agricultural products. The senators wrote to the Chinese ambassador to the United States and also wrote to...

Pentagon credit cards Today the Pentagon announced the results of the task force it created in March in response to reports of government credit card abuse by defense workers and military personnel. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has worked to expose credit card abuse by some Department of Defense workers and urged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to take...

Grassley Pushes for Agriculture Expert on Trade Commission I'm sorry I was unable to be here today. As a conferee on the energy bill conference committee, I had to attend a joint House-Senate conference meeting of the conference this morning. However, I would like to submit the following statement for the record. Ms. Lane is the President's nominee to...

Grassley Seeks Whistleblower Protections for New Federal Employees Senator Says Public Safety and Security at Stake ? Sen. Chuck Grassley is calling on lawmakers to make up shortcomings in the airline safety legislation enacted last fall and the homeland security bill now under consideration by Congress. Grassley said that whistleblowers are not adequately...

Grassley: Finance Committee Best Way to Achieve Bipartisan Prescription Drug Bill This Year ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today urged Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle to let the Finance Committee develop a bipartisan Medicare and prescription drug bill this summer. A copy of Grassley's letter to Daschle follows here. June 26, 2002 Senator Tom Daschle Democratic...

Grassley Seeks to Build on Welfare Reform's Success In preparing for today's mark-up, Senator Baucus and I met regularly and worked hard to come up with a joint piece of legislation for the committee to consider. I think it's fair to say that our discussions went relatively well but did not lead us to a joint bill. There are many aspects to the chairman's...

Grassley Expresses Concern Over Possible Retaliation at INS ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today sent a letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service expressing concern over possible retaliation against two supervisors who provided information to investigators about an earlier whistleblower retaliation case. In March, Grassley sent a strongly worded complaint...

Grassley Expresses Concern Over Possible Retaliation at INS ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today sent a letter to the Immigration and Naturalization Service expressing concern over possible retaliation against two supervisors who provided information to investigators about an earlier whistleblower retaliation case. In March, Grassley sent a strongly worded complaint...

False Claims Act case Today attorneys announced that the General American Life Insurance Company has agreed to pay the government $76 million to resolve Medicare fraud charges brought by whistle blowers and the Department of Justice under the civil False Claims Act. This case marks the tenth settlement of Medicare fraud and abuse charges brought under the...

Grassley Takes Iowa-Inspired Medal of Honor Flag Resolution to the Senate Latham Initiated Official Designation in Memory of World War II Hero from Jefferson ? Sen. Chuck Grassley has introduced a Senate resolution to follow action by the House of Representatives designating a flag designed in Iowa as the official Medal of Honor flag for the nation. Rep....

Grassley Applauds $800,000 for Silos and Smokestacks ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today said the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on the Interior, Sen. Conrad Burns of Montana, confirmed that $800,000 in funding for the Silos and Smokestacks National Heritage Area will be included as part of the fiscal 2003 appropriations bill for the...

Grassley Expresses Concern Over Health Care Fraud Enforcement ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today expressed concern to the Department of Justice and the Department of Health and Human Services over whether the government is softening its approach to prosecuting health care kickback and bribery cases under the False...

Grassley Works to Increase Funding for Children's Literacy Senator Seeks Appropriations for Reach Out and Read Program ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today joined with Sen. Ted Kennedy of Massachusetts to build Senate support for a program aimed at increasing childhood literacy. The senators are seeking $5 million in fiscal 2003 funding for Reach Out and Read. The...

Grassley Keeps in Touch With Iowans During Congressional Recess Senator Holds Town Meetings Northwest Iowa ? Sen. Chuck Grassley will visit 14 Iowa communities during the congressional recess next week. The visits are part of his long-time commitment to visit each of Iowa's 99 counties at least once every year. "I look forward to talking with as many...