WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley is pressing the Justice Department and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to describe any action they are taking to prevent fraud in federal payments to Medicare Advantage plans. Grassley’s action comes amid findings that the federal government has overpaid the plans and whistleblower lawsuits alleging the...
Floor Statement of Sen. Chuck GrassleyChain Restaurants, Chicken Producers Smear Homegrown BiofuelsDelivered Wednesday, May 20, 2015While reading through the pages of the Wall Street Journal late last week, I was overcome by a sense of déjà vu. Once again, chain restaurants and chicken producers are teaming up to smear homegrown biofuels producers at...
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley is asking the IRS commissioner to explain how and why the agency uses discretion to avoid terminating employees for willful violations of tax law.
“Willful violation of tax law is a serious offense and the presumption is an employee guilty of the offense shall be terminated,” Grassley wrote to IRS Commissioner John...
Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following comment on an audit released today that shows a number of Pentagon employees used their government charge cards at casinos and strip clubs. The audit came about because of Grassley’s bill enacted in 2012 requiring federal agencies to beef up the oversight of purchases on government-issued credit cards....
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley made the following comment after the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act passed the House of Representatives. The Senate cleared the bill on April 22, by a vote of 99 to 0. As Chairman, Grassley shepherded the bill through the committee, which passed on March 2, by a 19 to 0 vote.The bill...
Statement by Senator Chuck GrassleyFinance Committee Hearing“No Place to Grow Up: How to Safely Reduce Reliance on Foster Care Group Homes”Tuesday, May 19, 2015Today, the Senate Finance Committee will hear testimony on the need to reduce the reliance on foster care group homes. The basic premise of this hearing is simple: children...
Approximately 23,000 youth age out of the foster care system each year. For youth who age out of the foster care system, finding reliable and secure housing is one of their biggest challenges. Of these youth, approximately 11 percent to 36 percent become homeless, while another 25 percent to 50 percent...
Senators reintroduced bill to make it easier to prosecute the sale and distribution of “analogue” drugs, which are synthetic substances that are substantially similar to illegal drugs Current law makes it difficult to prosecute new synthetic drugs as analogues, because they are often not marketed as intended for human consumption despite...
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley is pressing the Department of Health and Human Services to implement recommendations that would save taxpayer money and stop problems including Medicare payments to prisoners and safety risks to children in Head Start programs.
“Agency watchdogs spend a lot of time and effort coming up with recommendations to save taxpayer...
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa today released the following statement regarding a proposal being marked up Thursday by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science that would eliminate funding for juvenile justice intervention programs.“Juvenile justice intervention programs are...
WASHINGTON—Sen. Chuck Grassley this week joined a bipartisan letter calling on the Federal Communications Commission to address outdated broadband rules that negatively impact rural consumers.
The current rules prevent rural consumers from having access to choices that are available in urban areas. In most cases, rural customers are required to...
Prepared Floor Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of IowaChairman, Senate Judiciary CommitteeCommemorating National Police WeekMay 13, 2015Mr. President, this week, I introduced a bipartisan resolution to commemorate National Police Week, which this year began on Monday, May 10th, and ends on Saturday, May 16th. Senator Leahy and 32 others have joined...
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement after the Senate voted to confirm Sally Yates to be the Deputy Attorney General at the Department of Justice. Grassley's full statement during the Judiciary Committee's consideration of the nomination can be found here.
“Today, the Senate confirmed...
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley today introduced bipartisan legislation that amends various provisions of the federal criminal code to implement several important multilateral treaties that modernize and strengthen the international and domestic counterterrorism and counter-proliferation legal frameworks. The bill...
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Debbie Stabenow, leaders of the Caucus on Foster Youth, today announced a panel discussion on homelessness among foster youth. Homelessness and unstable housing are serious problems for the approximately 23,000 youth who age out of the foster care system each year. The panel discussion will take...
WASHINGTON— Iowa Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst today sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack encouraging the department to ensure that resources have been properly deployed to Iowa to fight the ongoing outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). The disease has been detected at more than 30 poultry farms across Iowa....
Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the Senate’s vote against turning to debate on legislation to restore Trade Promotion Authority. Grassley is a senior member and former chairman of the Finance Committee, which oversees trade.“It’s disappointing for senators to refuse to allow a trade bill to come...
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley will hold five town meetings in Southeast Iowa during the week of May 25 as part of his annual 99-county tour. Grassley has held a meeting in each of Iowa’s 99 counties at least once every year since he was first elected to the U.S. Senate. On May 28 and May 29 Grassley will be in Tipton, West...
WASHINGTON – Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, introduced a Senate resolution declaring May 10 through May 16, 2015, as National Police Week, which passed in the Senate by unanimous consent Monday evening. Grassley today issued the following statement commending law enforcement for their work to serve...
