Sen. Chuck Grassley on the Continuation of the Senate Finance Committee Consultative Consideration of the U.S.-Australia Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act
By a vote of 7 to 14, the Finance Committee voted against favorably approving the Committee's recommendation, as amended with an unconstitutional amendment, to implement the U.S.-Australia Free...
Preliminary Report on Brazil’s Challenge to U.S. Cotton Subsidies
Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following statement concerning the preliminary report of the World Trade Organization regarding Brazil's challenge to U.S. cotton subsidies.
"The report released today by the WTO is confidential. However, press reports indicate that Brazil's challenge to...
Preliminary Report on Brazil’s Challenge to U.S. Cotton Subsidies
Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following statement concerning the preliminary report of the World Trade Organization regarding Brazil's challenge to U.S. cotton subsidies.
"The report released today by the WTO is confidential. However, press reports indicate that Brazil's challenge to...
Grassley Urges Rewrite of Rule Costing Employees Health Savings
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today urged the Treasury Department to change a decades-old policy penalizing employees who use tax-favored flexible spending accounts for health care.
"These flexible spending accounts are a good way to help employees meet...
Grassley Hearing in Sioux City to Examine Tax Incentives for Rural Communities
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, will convene a hearing in Sioux City to examine his latest comprehensive legislation increasing tax incentives and fairness for rural communities.
"In some areas the tax code is out of date, and it needs to...
Grassley Urges Mexico to Stop Unfair Treatment of U.S. Hogs, Hams
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today urged Mexico to stop its unfair, inappropriate trade treatment of U.S. hogs and hams. Grassley wrote letters to key Mexican officials describing two instances in which Mexico could be violating its international...
Grassley: Clean Diamond Trade Act Appears to be Working
Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, worked to help pass the Clean Diamond Trade Act in 2003. The bill, now law, is designed to help stop the trade of diamonds that fund violent civil conflicts in many African countries. The law implemented U.S. participation in the Kimberley...
Word On: Farm Stewardship
Q: What’s in store for the Conservation Reserve Program?
A: As a lifelong family farmer, I understand what it takes to tend and till farmland year in and year out to keep it rich and productive. Responsible stewardship is key for farmers to earn a living off the land year after year. The federal government also understands...
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...
