News Releases

Patients' Rights vote Sen. Chuck Grassley issued the following comment regarding his vote tonight for the Frist/Breaux/Jeffords patients rights legislation. The proposal was offered as a substitute to the Kennedy/McCain/Edwards "Patients' Bill of Rights." The substitute was defeated by a vote of 36 to 59. "Today I voted for a bill to ensure that doctors,...

Grassley Works to Shut Down Medicare, Medicaid Consulting Fraud Health care consultants who teach doctors how to squeeze Medicare and Medicaid for unearned payments are hurting patient care and should be shut down, Sen. Chuck Grassley, a leader of the Committee on Finance, said today. "There's an industry based on milking federal health care programs,"...

Patients' Rights Legislation and Liability Mr. President, I rise today to support the Bond amendment. It takes the right approach to fixing the Kennedy-McCain bill's liability provisions, which amount to nothing less than a trial lawyer's pot of gold. I have always believed medical malpractice liability laws should provide adequate compensation for those...

Grassley Seeks New Markets for Iowa Exports Iowa Senator Builds Support for Tools to Help President Negotiate Trade Agreements Sen. Chuck Grassley continued building support for trade promotion authority by hosting an event on Capitol Hill today with the Secretary of Agriculture, a bipartisan group of congressional leaders, and representatives from...

Introduction of Trade Legislation Today Sens. Frank Murkowski and Bob Graham announced the introduction of legislation to grant Trade Promotion Authority to the President. Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, made the following comment on this development. "This is a great development. The legislation put forth today is the first...

Hearing of the Committee on Finance on the United States-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement First, I would like to commend Chairman Baucus for his leadership in holding this hearing. Approval of the Vietnam bilateral trade agreement and extension of normal trading relations for Vietnam are important issues which should be addressed as early as possible. Our...

Word On: Trade Promotion Authority   Q: What is trade promotion authority? A: The term refers to an act of Congress that would give the green light to the executive branch of the federal government to negotiate market-opening trade deals with other countries. The U.S. Constitution gives Congress the power to broker matters of international trade. But...

Making the Grade By Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   While textbooks and exams may be far from the minds of many parents, teachers and school students in Iowa who are enjoying the summer break, Congress has been hard at work hammering out education reforms aimed at improving school accountability and erasing the achievement gap to ensure no child is...

Grassley Will Host Two Trade Events Event No. 1:Event with Secretary of Agriculture Ann Veneman Date/time:Tuesday, June 26, 2001, at 10 a.m. Location:the Upper Senate Park, just west of the Russell Building Description:Sen. Chuck Grassley, a leader of the Committee on Finance, believes Congress should grant the President Trade Promotion Authority as soon as...

Grassley Applauds New State-Of-The-Art Weather Classroom at UNI - Sen. Chuck Grassley today hailed the opening of the Decision Support Classroom at the Science center for Teaching, Outreach, and Research on Meteorology (STORM) at the University of Northern Iowa. "This state-of-the-art resource will put UNI on the map for weather forecasting," said Grassley....

Hearing of the Senate Committee on Finance on Trade Promotion Authority Today is the Finance Committee's second day of hearings on trade promotion authority. The very fact that we are having two days of hearings on trade promotion authority makes an important point. It is that there is a bipartisan continuity of interest regarding United States trade...

Grassley Works to Fight Illegal Drug Use in Iowa Senator Introduces Legislation to Continue Funding for Community Anti-Drug Efforts ? Hailing the success of the Drug Free Communities Program in Iowa and throughout the nation, Sen. Chuck Grassley last evening introduced legislation that would extend funding for the program over the next five years. The...

Grassley Takes Action for Family Farmers as Tyson-IBP Merger Talks Renew Iowa Senator Leads Response in Congress to Concentration in Agriculture ? With Tyson Foods resuming its plans to acquire IBP Inc. based on a judge's order and the Department of Justice having given a green light to the mega-merger, Sen. Chuck Grassley today re-introduced his proposal...

Senate Committee Reviews Nomination of Eastern Iowa Native ? A Senate Committee today reviewed President Bush's nomination of an Eastern Iowa native to serve as the top agricultural negotiator for the U.S. Trade Representative. Allen F. Johnson, originally from Long Grove in Scott County, was tapped for this post in April by President Bush. Following...

Grassley Urges Trade Promotion Authority for the President ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, a leader of the Senate Committee on Finance, today called for Congress to grant the President Trade Promotion Authority this year, saying the United States is falling behind in world trade. "For 50 years, the United States led the world trading system," Grassley said. "Now...

Leahy, Grassley Seek to Expand Oversight of FBI ? Key senators said today that they will draft legislation that would empower the Inspector General for the Department of Justice to oversee the FBI. The DoJ Inspector General's office is now prevented from looking into FBI activities unless the FBI specifically authorizes the scrutiny. Following an oversight...

Hearing of the Committee on Finance on Trade Promotion Authority I am very pleased that the Finance Committee is holding hearings today and tomorrow on trade promotion authority. This is an important and timely topic. I commend Chairman Baucus for holding these hearings now. I see these hearings as part of the hard, bipartisan effort that is required for...

Medicare Governance: Perspectives on the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Today's hearing gives us an opportunity for a progress report on the efforts of Secretary Thompson and his team to strengthen the administration of Medicare and Medicaid. These programs are critically important to our constituents, and we must make them work better. In my...

Tax Rebate Checks The Treasury Department has responded to Sen. Chuck Grassley's inquiry regarding agency preparations to ensure that the mailing of 95 million tax rebate checks will go smoothly. Congress approved the rebate checks via the comprehensive tax cut legislation enacted with Grassley's leadership as Finance Committee chairman. Grassley made the...

Tax Rebate Checks The Treasury Department has responded to Sen. Chuck Grassley's inquiry regarding agency preparations to ensure that the mailing of 95 million tax rebate checks will go smoothly. Congress approved the rebate checks via the comprehensive tax cut legislation enacted with Grassley's leadership as Finance Committee chairman. Grassley made the...