News Releases

Happy Birthday Medicare by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   Last year Congress passed the most sweeping improvements to Medicare in history. In a long-debated bipartisan agreement, Republicans and Democrats worked together to bring the popular health insurance program for the elderly and disabled into the 21st century.   This summer Medicare...

Grassley Announces the Release of Two GAO Reports on U.S. Assistance to Colombia Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today announced the release of two Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports regarding U.S. assistance to Colombia. The United States has provided more than $500 million to the...

Grassley Announces the Release of Two GAO Reports on U.S. Assistance to Colombia Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today announced the release of two Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports regarding U.S. assistance to Colombia. The United States has provided more than $500 million to the...

Word On: Keelboat Nickel   Q: What’s new for Iowa coin collectors? A: Whether you’re an avid coin collector or consider coins more or less as loose change, many Iowans are familiar with the U.S. Mint’s 50-state quarter series. Launched in 1999, the ten-year program releases a newly designed 25-cent coin every ten weeks to honor each state in the order...

Bridge the Tax Gap by U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   Folks in Iowa don’t like the idea of the federal government overspending. New deficit forecasts issued in late July project a $445 billion funding gap for the fiscal year ending on Sept. 30. The good news is the figure is $76 billion less than predicted in February. Thanks to the recovering...

Grassley on the World Trade Organization Framework  Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, made the following comment on the World Trade Organization framework reached over the weekend. "The framework reached at the WTO this weekend presents a historic opportunity for U.S. farmers, including farmers in Iowa. The United States was...

Grassley Welcomes Improvements on Medicare's 39th Birthday Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance and a chief architect of historic improvements to the Medicare program, made the following comment on Medicare's 39th birthday. "Medicare is such a part of our society that it's hard to remember a time without it. That's exactly as it should...

Grassley Urges Drug Companies to Inform Employees About False Claims Act  Sparked by today's Schering-Plough settlement and others, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, urged drug companies to launch systematic campaigns preventing fraud in federal health care programs, including informing all employees about the False Claim...

Grassley Analyses Show Medicare Drug Discount Cards Work Today the Kaiser Family Foundation released a study confirming that the Medicare-approved drug discount cards offer real savings on prescription drugs compared with the retail prices paid by cash customers. The study authors found that all seven of the Medicare card programs offering the most...

Proposed Medicare regulations on doctors, preventive benefits Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed regulations to implement key elements of last year's historic Medicare Modernization Act. The proposed regulations will implement payment rate changes to physicians for 2005, assistance to rural physicians, Medicare...

Proposed regulations implementing Medicare drug benefit, Medicare Advantage Today, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued proposed regulations to implement the new voluntary Part D prescription drug benefit and the Medicare Advantage program established by last year's historic Medicare Modernization Act. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of...

Grassley Seeks Agency Action on Drug Company Overcharges  Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, has asked Secretary Tommy Thompson, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Administrator Elizabeth Duke, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), to describe what action HRSA has taken to recover overcharges from...

Grassley Pledges Renewed Push to Make Education Tax Incentives Permanent  Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today said he will continue working to refine and make permanent education tax incentives enacted under his chairmanship, citing the popularity and usefulness of those tax breaks. "Our economy demands well-educated...

Anti-fuel fraud provisions This week, prosecutors in Miami charged 19 workers at Miami International Airport with falsely classifying jet fuel as contaminated and then selling it on the sly, stealing 2.7 million gallons of fuel. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today said the arrests make a fresh case for enacting his bipartisan...

Grassley, Baucus Release Details of Plans to Ensure Continued "Son of Boss"Enforcement  Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, and Sen. Max Baucus, ranking member, today released details of their plans to revise their anti-tax shelter legislation to make sure several hundred taxpayers who used the "Son of Boss" tax shelter don't...

Grassley Introduces Bill to Freeze Duty-free Imports of Brazilian Ethanol Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, today introduced legislation to help ensure that the Caribbean Basin Initiative trade preference program is used as a tool of economic development for the region, and not as a vehicle to transship large quantities of...

9-11 Commission Final Report Sen. Chuck Grassley made the following statement regarding the 9-11 Commission's final report. "The 9-11 Commission report ratifies what President Bush said to Congress following the attacks of September 11. The Commission gave us a report that we will use as we take more steps forward in building our homeland defense. The...

Senator Chuck Grassley Statement on the U.S.-Central America Free Trade Agreement Mr. President, Just yesterday the U.S. Senate passed the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act by a vote of 85 to 13. This followed on the heels of Senate approval of the U.S.-Australia Agreement by a vote of 80 to 16. The Australia bill itself was preceded by...

Senate passage of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act Today the Senate passed the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on an overwhelmingly bipartisan 85 to 13 vote. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week, clearing the way for the President's signature. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the...

Senate passage of the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act Today the Senate passed the United States-Morocco Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act on an overwhelmingly bipartisan 85 to 13 vote. The House is expected to vote on the bill this week, clearing the way for the President's signature. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the...