News Releases

Grassley Works to Stiffen Penalties for Identity Theft Crimes ? Sen. Chuck Grassley has joined his colleagues Sens. Dianne Feinstein of California, Jon Kyl of Arizona and Jeff Sessions of Alabama in introducing bipartisan legislation to increase penalties for individuals who commit crimes while using a stolen identity. "Identity theft is one of the fastest...

Grassley Works to Protect Iowans Against Bioterrorism, Agroterrorism ? Sen. Chuck Grassley said the bioterrorism bill passed today by the Senate on a vote of 98 to 0 will help the United States better prevent, prepare for and respond to public health emergencies related to bioterrorism. The legislation, which has already passed the House of Representatives,...

INS Approval of Visas Sen. Chuck Grassley issued the following statement today on the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General report on the Immigration and Naturalization Service's approval of visas for two of the September 11 hijackers. "This report confirms that the INS is an inefficient bureaucracy that has put security and...

Parsonage housing tax exemption Today President Bush signed into law a bill protecting the housing tax break that ministers, priests and rabbis receive. The bill clarifies that parsonage allowances are limited to the fair market rental value of the residence. Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, was the lead co-sponsor of this...

Grassley Works to Protect Consumers from Identity Theft ? Sen. Chuck Grassley said the U.S. Senate is one step closer to passing legislation that helps victims recover from identity theft crimes and assists law enforcement personnel in catching the criminals. "Unfortunately, knowing someone whose identity has been stolen is all too common," Grassley said....

Grassley Seeks Investigation of CIA Handling of 1999 Report on Al Qaeda ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today asked the Central Intelligence Agency Office of Inspector General to probe how the agency handled a government report in 1999 that warned al Qaeda terrorists could crash planes into government buildings in the Washington area, including the Pentagon, CIA...

Agency Agrees with Grassley to Make Nursing Home Study Public ? The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has decided to make a key nursing home staffing study widely available to the public. The decision came after Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, and Rep. Henry Waxman urged the move. "This is a good decision," Grassley...

Grassley on Building Stronger Families via Welfare Program Today's hearing on family formation policies highlights issues that are just as important to welfare reform as the proposed new work requirements. The President deserves high praise for his proposal to promote child well-being and healthy marriages in the welfare re-authorization. I am pleased that...

Grassley Seeks Full Disclosure, Accounting of FBI Memo on Flight Schools 20530Dear Inspector General Fine: I am requesting that the U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General investigate the FBI's handling of a warning it received last summer regarding suspicions that Middle Eastern men affiliated with Osama bin Laden were obtaining flight...

Grassley: President Intends to Nominate Charles Beach for U.S. Marshal ? President Bush today will announce his intention to nominate Charles Beach of Des Moines for U.S. Marshal in Iowa's southern district, said Sen. Chuck Grassley Tuesday. "With more than 25 years of law enforcement experience through his career with the Secret Service, Charles Beach is...

Word On: Memorial Day   Q: What is the Moment of Remembrance? A: By an act of Congress, the National Moment of Remembrance was enacted in December 2000 to help increase public awareness about the intent and meaning behind the federal holiday known as Memorial Day. The long holiday weekend at the end of May often signals the unofficial beginning of the...

America: A Community for All Ages by Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   What is the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing the phrase "senior citizen?" The stereotypical link to this label less frequently matches the 21st century older American. Today’s over-65 crowd differs from their predecessors at the turn of the last century. Yet we often hear...

Grassley Works to Stop Abusive Tax Shelters, Corporate Flight Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, is the lead co-sponsor of new legislation to rein in abusive tax shelters and the sponsor of a pending bill to prevent companies from moving overseas to avoid U.S. taxes. "Average working Americans can't pull up stakes and move to...

Grassley Requests State Department Audit of Colombian Assistance ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today requested that the inspector general at the U.S. State Department conduct an audit of all U.S. assistance provided to the Colombian National Police. Grassley sent his letter in light of reports...

Grassley on Open Markets for Farmers We're here to talk about the Dayton-Craig amendment. As you know, this amendment would allow a point of order against any change to our trade remedy laws in a trade implementing bill. In my view, this amendment, if it becomes law, would have an immediate and very damaging affect on the ability of United States...

Stanley Works vote Today shareholders of tool maker Stanley Works approved relocating the company's legal residence to Bermuda, a move that will allow it to avoid some of its U.S. tax obligation. Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, is the co-sponsor with committee chairman Sen. Max Baucus of legislation to rein in so-called...

Grassley: Chapter 12 Bankruptcy for Farmers Extended for Now ? President Bush has signed into law a temporary extension of the section of the federal bankruptcy code tailored to help farmers reorganize debt and stay in the business of farming, said Sen. Chuck Grassley. "The President's action is good news for family farmers faced with financial...

Grassley Seeks to Fix Serious Law Enforcement Lapses at Interior Department ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, today urged Interior Secretary Gale Norton to implement recommendations that would improve serious law enforcement problems at the agency. The text of Grassley's letter to Norton follows. May 7,...

Word On: IRS Volunteers   Q: Why is the IRS recruiting citizen volunteers? A: A 1998 law overhauling the Internal Revenue Service requires the solicitation and input of citizens from across the United States to provide advice regarding the operations of the federal tax collecting agency. The landmark law restructured the IRS for the first time since...

Farm Safety Net Unraveling for Family Farmers by Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   Despite what many are calling a "victory" for family farmers, the new six-year farm bill that’s headed for the president’s desk may well sound the death knell for small and mid-sized family farms and independent livestock producers. And it even may very well be the last...