by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

The health of the U.S. economy typically serves as a good yardstick to gauge the public's approval or disapproval towards Washington. This year, the public's distaste for Washington's appetite to tax, spend and borrow our way back to prosperity exposes a major disconnect between the political leadership and the grassroots.

Inch by inch, Washington's cure for fixing health care, the economy, the environment, higher education, housing, Wall Street and Detroit has involved unprecedented taxpayer bailouts and unrealistic promises.

Many Iowans share how fed up they are with this Washington-knows-best approach to governance. From mandating individuals to buy health insurance to phasing out conventional light bulbs and shutting local lenders out of the school loan market, Washington is taking American consumers out of the decision-making process.

A Washington-knows-best philosophy undermines personal responsibility and weakens genuine accountability and effective transparency that are fundamental to upholding our government "of, by and for the people."

I work to keep Washington on a short leash.  It's not always popular, but I relish my job as a watchdog in Washington. It demands long haul oversight work that I have pursued as a representative for Iowa in the U.S. Senate. Holding the federal bureaucracy accountable, protecting the integrity of hard-earned tax dollars and keeping the people's business open to the public are non-negotiable principles.

Recently, I've focused my oversight work on several federal agencies to give voice to the concerns of Iowa farmers, retirees, taxpayers and investors, including:

·         The EPA's proposed federal rule that would dictate how much dust could reach beyond the ditch to the roadside when farmers harvest their crops;

·         Inadequate scrutiny of health care contractors by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Fraudulent claims and improper payments paid by Medicare siphons scarce tax dollars and further weakens the long-term solvency of this important health insurance program for retirees and disabled individuals. Consider one example in which a durable medical equipment supplier in Florida was ordered by a federal court in February to repay $445 million to the U.S. government. I want to know why CMS failed to detect suspicious billing activity (the investigation was launched by the FBI) and have serious concerns regarding how many cases of fraud go undetected.

·         The internal auditors at the Department of Defense are failing to follow the "money trail" and conduct full-scale contract audits. Unless the Inspector General commits to returning to the core mission of connecting the dots between a contract and a payment, the taxpaying public and military readiness risk losing even more to waste, fraud and abuse.

I also use legislative tools to establish accountability and transparency in government.

·         More than a decade ago, I secured passage of the landmark "Congressional Accountability Act" which holds the legislative branch of the federal government to the same civil rights, workplace safety and employment laws as the rest of the country.

·         My bipartisan effort to end the practice of so-called "secret holds" would end the ability of a single lawmaker to anonymously hold the people's business hostage by preventing a nomination or bill from coming to a vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate.

·         My Witness Sunshine Resolution would require individuals who testify before Senate committees to disclose outside affiliations and financial interests in organizations which have ties to the issue under consideration. The public deserves to know about special interests witnesses might have that could influence the outcome of public policy.

·         The president signed into law my bipartisan legislation to repeal blanket exemptions of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for the Securities and Exchange Commission. Considering the SEC's failure to investigate the ponzi scheme cooked up by Bernard Madoff, it's obvious the American public deserves more disclosure, not less.

It's pretty clear that Washington sticks to the adage "if you give an inch, it'll take a mile."  Considering the $13 trillion national debt and fragile economic recovery, it's more important than ever to make sure the federal government measures up to the highest standards of service, integrity and accountability.

Friday, October 15, 2010

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley said the Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) has issued new information for Iowans affected by the June 1 to Aug. 31, 2010 severe storms, flooding and tornados.  The deadline for Iowans to register for federal disaster assistance has been extended to November 12, 2010.

The deadline applies to registration only.  It is not the deadline for all related paperwork.  Homeowners, renters, and business owners who suffered losses in the June 1 to Aug. 31, 2010 severe storms, flooding and tornados who live in one of the 35 declared counties may be eligible for disaster assistance.  Counties included in the declaration are Appanoose, Black Hawk, Cherokee, Clayton, Decatur, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Kossuth, Lee, Lucas, Lyon, Mahaska, Marion, Monroe, O'Brien, Osceola, Polk, Ringgold, Sioux, Story, Taylor, Union, Wapello, Warren, Webster and Wright.

Registration should be completed with FEMA online at www.disasterassistance.gov; or by calling 1-800-621-FEMA(3362) or 1-800-462-7585 for the hearing- or speech-impaired. The numbers are available from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., daily, until further notice.  For Disaster Recovery Center information, Iowans should visit www.fema.gov/assistance/opendrcs.shtm.  

It's important for anyone impacted by the storms to register even if no decision has yet been made to submit additional paperwork.  Registration ensures that the person impacted may ask for federal assistance in the future.

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Iowans who lost work as a result of the summer floods now have until the first week of November to file for Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), state/federal officials announced today.

DUA was made available as part of the Presidential Disaster Declaration resulting from the severe storms, flooding, and tornadoes of June 1 through Aug. 31, 2010.  DUA provides weekly benefit payments to those out of work due to the disaster, including self-employed persons, farm and ranch owners, and others not covered by typical unemployment insurance programs.

The filing deadline is Nov. 1, 2010, for residents who live or work in one of the following counties: Appanoose, Black Hawk, Cherokee, Clayton, Decatur, Delaware, Dubuque, Fayette, Franklin, Hamilton, Howard, Humboldt, Ida, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Kossuth, Lee, Lucas, Lyon, Mahaska, Marion, O'Brien, Osceola, Polk, Ringgold, Sioux, Story, Taylor, Union, Wapello, Warren, Webster, and Wright.

The filing deadline is Nov. 4, 2010, for residents of Monroe County, which was added to the declared counties in late September.

"This is not regular unemployment compensation, but a program to help people who lost their jobs or cannot work because of the disaster," said the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Tom Hall, the federal coordinating officer for the Iowa recovery.

DUA claims can be filed at any Iowa Workforce Development Center. Individuals applying for DUA need to provide proof of past earnings, such as business records or bank statements and their most recent income tax form, at the time they file their claim.

In addition to assistance filing a DUA claim, Iowa Workforce Development Centers offer reemployment services, including testing, counseling and placement. Job search and career information also is available through Iowa Workforce Development's Web site at www.iowaworkforce.org.

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WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley said new information about taxpayers having to pay $8,000 for a 160-mile trip by a senior government official underscores the need to limit unnecessary government travel expenses.

"Chartered aircraft may be necessary for emergencies, but there's no need for taxpayers to spend $8,000 for a 160-mile flight, as the Health and Human Services Secretary did when traveling from Topeka, Kansas to Omaha, Nebraska.  That would have been less than a three-hour drive," Grassley said.  "Government officials always should avoid extravagant and unnecessary expenses at taxpayer expense."

A Department of Health and Human Services memo, obtained by Grassley earlier this year, showed that in fiscal 2008 there was a six-percent increase in the number of federal employees traveling internationally and a nearly 14-percent increase in the cost of that travel.  More than 95 percent of the international travel was by employees of agencies that fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Human Services.  In response to questions from Grassley about this travel, a former Health and Human Services official informed Grassley that an Assistant Secretary for the Department had severely reduced oversight of personnel travel expenses.

In addition to conducting oversight to hold federal agencies accountable and bring about reduced travel costs, Grassley voted this year to eliminate non-essential government travel.

Grassley's February 17, 2010 letter to Secretary Sebelius about this issue is available here.

Grassley's May 5, 2010 letter to Secretary Sebelius about this issue is available here.

Grassley's October 4, 2010 letter to Secretary Sebelius about this issue is available here.

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