News Releases

BIA rules on Meskwaki Tribal Election Results Sen. Chuck Grassley today issued the following comment after learning that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had ruled on the administrative appeal of the recognition of the Meskwaki Tribal election results. Yesterday, Grassley called the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs to ask for an...

BIA rules on Meskwaki Tribal Election Results Sen. Chuck Grassley today issued the following comment after learning that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had ruled on the administrative appeal of the recognition of the Meskwaki Tribal election results. Yesterday, Grassley called the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs to ask for an...

BIA rules on Meskwaki Tribal Election Results Sen. Chuck Grassley today issued the following comment after learning that the Bureau of Indian Affairs had ruled on the administrative appeal of the recognition of the Meskwaki Tribal election results. Yesterday, Grassley called the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs to ask for an...

Grassley Calls on Bureau of Indian Affairs to Rule on Appeal ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today called on the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to rule on the administrative appeal of the recognition of the Meskwaki Tribal election results by the BIA. Grassley called the Acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs and asked for an expedited ruling...

New CSP rule released Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, today issued the following comment on the new rule for the Conservation Security Program that was released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. "Limiting the Conservation Security Program to specific watershed areas isn't the intent of the legislation. I'm interested to hear why the Agriculture...

Conclusion of Central American Free Trade Agreement Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today made the following comment on the conclusion of negotiations on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. "I'm pleased that the CAFTA negotiations were concluded successfully. This historic agreement will provide unprecedented access for...

Conclusion of Central American Free Trade Agreement Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today made the following comment on the conclusion of negotiations on the Central American Free Trade Agreement. "I'm pleased that the CAFTA negotiations were concluded successfully. This historic agreement will provide unprecedented access for...

Word On: Social Security Fraud   Q: Why is legislation needed to target Social Security fraud? A: Unfortunately, the coffers of the federal government apparently are too irresistible to wrongdoers. Con artists don’t seem to run out of ways to try and loot Uncle Sam. But when the defrauders pilfer Social Security, they also drain valuable resources from...

Filibuster Stalls Energy Bill by Senator Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   Partisan maneuvering in Washington derailed a bipartisan effort in November to enact a comprehensive energy strategy for America. It’s a shame when politics trumps good public policy. The energy bill crafts a well-balanced plan that promotes renewable energy and recognizes the...

Terrorists Earning Funds through Profitable Crimes in U.S. ? Sens. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa, and Dick Durbin, of Illinois, today released a Government Accounting Office report that provides significant information on the financing mechanisms terrorists use to fund illegal activities. The report, "Terrorist Financing: U.S. Agencies Should Systematically...

Senators Release GAO Report on Car Donations to Charities ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, and Sen. Max Baucus, ranking member, today released a General Accounting Office report showing taxpayers might take much more generous tax breaks for donating cars to charities than deserved, and the Internal Revenue Service is giving the...

Tenet Healthcare Corporation's decision to sell Redding Medical Center Today the Tenet Healthcare Corporation announced it plans to sell its Redding Medical Center in lieu of having the hospital excluded from federal health care programs. This is the first case in which the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, initiated the...

Grassley Wins Senate Approval of Social Security Anti-Fraud Bill Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, today won Senate approval of bipartisan legislation to rein in several sources of fraud, waste, and abuse of Social Security programs. The bill now goes back to the House for final congressional approval. "Like any government program,...

Congress Creates Historic Medicare Rx Plan by Senator Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   After years of promises echoed by candidates on the campaign trail, the Republican-led Congress has defeated partisan gridlock in Washington and delivered the first-ever Medicare prescription drug benefit.   The 38-year-old public health insurance program for seniors...

Word On: Adoption   Q: What is the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003? A: Signed into law in December, the Adoption Promotion Act of 2003 builds upon the progress made in the six years since Congress created new incentives for the states to promote foster care adoptions. In 1997, I steered through Congress legislation aimed at improving the permanent...

Grassley Commends President's Decision to Lift Steel Safeguard Tariffs ? Today President Bush announced he will lift the steel safeguard tariffs that have been in place since March 2002. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, made the following comments on the President's action: "This is good news. The tariffs on imported steel may have...

New report on AIDS treatment spending in Puerto Rico The Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of Health and Human Services has released an audit report following its review of Ryan White Title I payments made to Ryder Memorial Hospital in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The report disclosed that Ryder was reimbursed a total of $352,094 for services...

State payments to nursing homes Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Committee on Finance, made the following comment on a new report from the General Accounting Office, "Medicaid Nursing Home Payments: States' Payment Rates Largely Unaffected by Fiscal Pressure, GAO-03-10665. The report is posted at www.gao.gov. "Two out of three nursing home residents...

Grassley: Extension of Chapter 12 Bankruptcy for Farmers Passes Senate ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today said that a temporary extension of a section of the federal bankruptcy code passed the Senate late last night. The section is tailored to help farmers reorganize debt and stay in the business of farming. The House of Representative still must consider the...

Grassley: Senate Passes Historic Medicare Legislation ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today praised Senate approval of historic legislation that would add a prescription drug benefit to Medicare for the first time in the program's 38-year history and dramatically increase Medicare payments to Iowa and other rural states. Grassley was the lead Senate architect of the...