News Releases

Grassley Plan to Help Disabled Children Wins Committee Approval ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today won committee approval for his bill to provide health coverage to disabled children. The Senate Committee on Finance passed the bipartisan Family Opportunity Act, S.321, by voice vote. Grassley said his initiative means that "parents with disabled children won't have...

Committee Approves Grassley Bill to Protect Employees' Pensions ? The Committee on Finance today unanimously passed legislation from Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, to better protect employees' pension plans from corporate malfeasance. Also included are corrections to laws that penalize teachers in Iowa and elsewhere. "Enron...

Grassley Requests Funding for Iowa Army Ammunition Plant Investigation ? Sen. Chuck Grassley has asked Senate appropriators to consider funding for an investigation of the radiological contamination at the Iowa Army Ammunition Plant. On July 2, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers designated portions of the plant as eligible under the Formerly Utilized Sites...

Protecting Social Security Numbers Mr. Chairman, I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the need to protect Social Security numbers. Although the Social Security number was originally created to administer the Social Security program, its use has expanded over the years, so that today, it has for all practical purposes become a national identity...

Grassley Questions Work of INS Law Enforcement Center ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today released an inquiry he's made of Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner James Ziglar about reports of mismanagement of a law enforcement support center that plays an important role in securing the nation's borders. July 9, 2002 The Honorable James W....

Grassley: Funding Approved for Cedar Rapids and Davenport Courthouses ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today said that Senate appropriators have confirmed that they will approve his full request for funding for federal courthouses in Cedar Rapids and Davenport when they meet on Thursday to consider fiscal 2003 funding legislation. "This is good news for Iowa,"...

Grassley: Funding Approved for Cedar Rapids and Davenport Courthouses ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today said that Senate appropriators have confirmed that they will approve his full request for funding for federal courthouses in Cedar Rapids and Davenport when they meet on Thursday to consider fiscal 2003 funding legislation. "This is good news for Iowa,"...

Visa Express program On July 2, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Dave Weldon wrote to Secretary of State Colin Powell to urge termination of the Visa Express program. Grassley made the following comment today on the Visa Express program. "Terrorism has changed the way we look at visas. After September 11, we can no longer grant visas willy nilly. These days,...

Grassley Works to Strengthen Accounting Standards Legislation ? Sen. Chuck Grassley has filed several amendments to significantly strengthen the accounting legislation under consideration by the U.S. Senate. Grassley said the overall bill ? S.2673, the Public Company Accounting Reform and Investor Protection Act of 2002 ? represents an opportunity for...

Grassley Supports Yucca Mountain Senator Says Permanent Storage Site Would Protect Public Safety ? Sen. Chuck Grassley today issued the following comment regarding Yucca Mountain: "Given the threat of terrorist activity on U.S. soil, it's absolutely necessary that the government provide safe and secure permanent storage for spent nuclear fuel. We can't...

Committee to Consider Grassley Bills on Children's Health, Pension Reform ? Two pieces of legislation from Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, will advance this week when they receive committee consideration. Grassley's bills to improve health care for children with disabilities and to reform pension laws to better protect...

Grassley Raises Public Disclosure of Some Corporate Tax Returns ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today asked two federal agencies to analyze whether key information from the tax returns of publicly traded companies should be public. Grassley asked Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and Securities and Exchange Commission...

Grassley, Report Shows EPA Science on Sludge is Old Today the federal National Research Council issued a report on the Environmental Protection Agency's human health standards for sludge use. (The report is available at http://www.national-academies.org). Sen. Chuck Grassley wrote to the EPA in February expressing concern about the integrity of the...

Grassley Seeks Accountability for WorldCom Executive Bonuses ? Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, today urged the Securities and Exchange Commission and WorldCom, Inc. to provide details of millions of dollars of bonuses that news reports say top company executives received before the company's collapse. "It's critical that...

Grassley, Weldon Seek Tighter Visa Restrictions ? Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Dave Weldon, M.D., today asked Secretary of State Colin Powell to terminate a State Department program that allows visa applicants to receive approval to come to the United States without proper in-person interviews. The Visa Express program was implemented three months prior to...

irradiated mail Note: This is embargoed until 12 a.m. Tuesday, per the Office of Compliance. M E M O R A N D U M To:Reporters and Editors Re:irradiated mail Da:Monday, July 1, 2002The legislative branch's Office of Compliance is releasing a report concluding that handling irradiated mail for substantial periods of time may cause or contribute to adverse...

Word On: Pledge of Allegiance   Q: Is it true a federal appeals court ruled the Pledge of Allegiance unconstitutional? A: In an outrageous decision handed down by the Ninth Circuit Court based in San Francisco, a three-judge panel in June indeed ruled the Pledge of Allegiance was unconstitutional. If the ruling were allowed to stand, public school...

Tip the Scales in Your Favor by Sen. Chuck Grassley, of Iowa   In American society, consumers want it bigger, better and faster. Super-sized portions at restaurants are the norm not the exception. By and large when it comes to diet and exercise, too many folks cave in to impatience and an underlying need for comfort, convenience and instant...

Grassley Urges China to Open Markets to U.S. Ag Products Sen. Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, and other senators today urged China to stop threatening U.S. exports of soybeans, soybean products, processed food and other agricultural products. The senators wrote to the Chinese ambassador to the United States and also wrote to...

Pentagon credit cards Today the Pentagon announced the results of the task force it created in March in response to reports of government credit card abuse by defense workers and military personnel. Sen. Chuck Grassley, who has worked to expose credit card abuse by some Department of Defense workers and urged Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to take...