WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa tonight received final legislative approval of his legislation to ban the chemicals used to make a dangerous synthetic drug called K2 or spice.  The Senate gave final approval to the measure as part of a Food and Drug Administration bill, sending the measure to the President for his consideration and expected signature into law.  Grassley's measure is named for David Rozga, an 18-year-old Iowan who committed suicide shortly after trying the product, bought from a local store.

 

"This ban can't come quickly enough," Grassley said.  "Just about every day, there's a new tragedy related to K2 or bath salts.  The sooner this poison is off the store shelves, the better.  I hope the President will sign this measure into law very quickly."

 

Grassley delivered a floor statement on his legislation this week.  Click here for the video.  The text follows.

 

Floor Statement of Sen. Chuck Grassley

On Synthetic Drugs

Delivered Monday, June 25, 2012

 

Two years ago a constituent of mine named David Rozga committed suicide shortly after smoking a product called K2 ? a synthetic form of marijuana.  A week before he passed away, David graduated from Indianola High School.  He was looking forward to attending my alma mater, the University of Northern Iowa, that fall.  David and his friends spent the week after graduation going to parties and celebrating their achievements. Some of David's friends heard about K2 from some other friends who were home from college.  They were told that if you smoked this product like marijuana you could get a high.  David and his friends were about to go to a concert and thought smoking K2 before would be nothing but harmless fun. However, shortly after smoking K2, David became highly agitated and terrified.  His friends tried to calm him down and once he appeared calmer, he decided to go home instead of going out with them. Tragically, David took his own life shortly after returning home ? only about 90 minutes after smoking K2 for the first time. The only chemicals in his system at the time of his death were those that constituted K2.

 

David's tragic death is one of the first in what has been a rapidly growing drug abuse trend. In the past two years, the availability and popularity of synthetic drugs like K2, spice, bath salts, and 2C-E have exploded. These drugs are labeled and disguised as legitimate products to circumvent the law. They are easily purchased online, at gas stations, in shopping malls and in other novelty stores. Poison control centers and emergency rooms around the country are reporting skyrocketing cases of calls and visits resulting from synthetic drug use. The physical effects associated with this use include increased agitation, elevated heart rate and blood pressure, hallucinations, and seizures.  A number of people across the country have acted violently while under the influence of the drug, dying or injuring themselves and others.  Just a few weeks ago a man in Miami, Florida, attacked a homeless man and ate nearly half his face before police had to shoot him to stop him.   Bath salts are suspected in that attack.  Two weeks ago, police in upstate New York tasered a woman who was choking her three-year-old son after smoking bath salts.

 

These ongoing and mounting tragedies underscore the fact that Congress must take action to stop these drugs from causing further damage to our society.  I introduced the David Mitchell Rozga Act a year ago last March to ban the drugs that constitute K2. My colleagues Sens. Schumer, Klobuchar, and Portman have also joined me to ban synthetic drugs including bath salts and 2-CE compounds. Today our separate bills are included as part of the House and Senate agreement on the Food and Drug Administration user fee bill we'll be voting on shortly.  I want to thank all who have worked very hard to get my bill, as well as the other bills banning synthetic drugs, through Congress. I especially want to thank Mike and Jan Rozga and their family for their tireless efforts to prevent more tragedy from befalling other families.  This legislation will drastically help to remove these poisons from the store shelves and protect our children from becoming more victims.  I urge my colleagues to support cloture on this bill and I yield the floor.

Making College Affordable

DES MOINES, IA (06/22/2012)(readMedia)-- State Treasurer Michael Fitzgerald was on a call with President Obama on Thursday discussing the importance of helping families make college affordable. "As state treasurer, I have always advocated for saving for college," Fitzgerald stated. "Since the 1998 launch of College Savings Iowa, Iowa's 529 plan, my efforts in raising awareness about this important topic have only increased. While tens of thousands of families are saving through College Savings Iowa right here in Iowa, many still find themselves taking out student loans."

On a call with President Obama, Treasurer Fitzgerald and the President determined that they have a common belief, we need to help young people and their families make college affordable.

The President wants Congress to pass legislation that will stop student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1, 2012. For Iowa families, the average amount Iowa students will borrow next year is just over $4,000. If the interest doubles, this will cost those students an extra $993 over the life of that loan.

Through College Savings Iowa, Fitzgerald advises families to start saving early and to save regularly. Saving early may help reduce a family's need to borrow to cover educational expenses, which will help parents - and their children - get through college with less debt. "While my message is still the same, I don't believe that families who have been unable to save enough should be penalized by having to pay more in student loan interest," Fitzgerald stated. "I encourage all Iowans to make their voice heard in Washington the next nine days."

###

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley has asked President Obama for a description of the scope of the executive privilege claim made this morning for documents in the congressional investigation of the Fast and Furious program, where the government allowed as many as 2,500 guns to be illegally purchased and trafficked to Mexico.

In a letter to the President this afternoon, Grassley asked if the privilege was being asserted only with regard to documents called for by a subpoena from the oversight committee in the House of Representatives that may have involved communications with the President, or if the privilege was being extended to records of purely internal Justice Department communications, not involving the White House.

Grassley has questioned the last-minute assertion of executive privilege by the President regarding Fast and Furious.  "At no point in the last 18 months since I started asking questions has the Department of Justice hinted that there was a potential that the documents might be subject to executive privilege.  That includes a face-to-face meeting with the Attorney General last night," Grassley said.  "If it were a serious claim, the administration would have and should have raised it last night, if not much earlier."

In fact, some White House emails involving the Fast and Furious program already have been turned over to congressional investigators, including messages between White House National Security staffer Kevin O'Reilly and William Newell, Special Agent in Charge of Phoenix field division for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

The congressional investigation began with Senator Grassley's inquiry into whistleblower allegations first made in January 2011 that the government had allowed the transfer of the illegally-purchased weapons later found at the scene of the murder of U.S. Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.  The Department of Justice denied the allegations to Senator Grassley for 10 months before being forced to withdraw its denial in face of evidence to the contrary.

"We owe no less to the family of Brian Terry than our best effort to get to the truth," Grassley said.  "That has been my primary goal all along.  It is what motivated the whistleblowers to risk their careers, and it is why I will continue to insist on answers."

The Iowa senator said the House committee investigating the gun-walking operation was forced to subpoena documents due to stonewalling by the Department of Justice and that the contempt citation is "an important" procedural mechanism in our system of checks and balances.  "Congress has a constitutional responsibility to determine what happened so that there's accountability and this kind of disastrous government program never happens again," he said.

Click here to see a copy of Grassley's letter to Obama today.  The text of the letter is below.

 

June 20, 2012

President Barack Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20500

 

Dear Mr. President:

This morning, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform began considering a contempt citation against Attorney General Holder for his refusal to deliver documents related to Operation Fast and Furious.  As you know, two guns that federal law enforcement allowed to be illegally purchased and trafficked to Mexico as part of that operation were found at the murder scene of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry on December 14, 2010.  I have been seeking documents related to this matter from the Justice Department since January 2011.

At the last minute before the House Committee proceedings began this morning, I received notice that you were claiming executive privilege.  After 18 months of investigation and interaction with Justice Department officials on this matter, this was the first indication that anyone at the Department or the White House believed the documents being sought were subject to executive privilege claims.  Last week, I questioned the Attorney General about a specific example of a document that I and the House Committee have been seeking and whether there could be a legitimate claim of executive privilege over that document and others like it.  The document I referenced is an internal email from the then-Acting Director of ATF to people at ATF and DOJ headquarters.

The Attorney General was not clear in response to my question whether he believed that executive privilege could be asserted with regard to that document or others like it.  Rather than executive privilege, the Attorney General talked about "deliberative process."  He indicated a willingness to provide that document and others like it, if the possibility of contempt were to be taken off the table.  Yet this morning, it appears that you may be claiming executive privilege over the very same type of document?internal Justice Department communications not involving the White House?that the Attorney General said he was willing to provide.

Can you please provide a more precise description of the scope of your executive privilege claim? Are you asserting it only with regard to documents called for by the subpoena that may have involved communications with you?  Or are you extending your claim to records of purely internal Justice Department communications, not involving the White House?  Please provide a more detailed description of the documents that you are or are not asserting executive privilege to protect.

 

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member

 

cc:        Darrell Issa

Chairman

Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

U.S. House of Representatives

WASHINGTON - June 20, 2012 - Senators Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Ben Nelson of Nebraska today released a letter asking President Obama to prioritize Russia's compliance with scientific standards set for international trade of for beef, pork and poultry products as part of negotiations with Russia over international trade relations.

"As we look to possibly grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations to Russia as part of the WTO accession process, livestock producers in the United States needs the President to give attention to sanitary and phytosanitary issues," Grassley said.  "As it stands, Russians have standards that simply aren't supported by science for some U.S. meat and poultry exports."

"Nebraska livestock producers have seen a drop in sales from Russia imposing standards not based entirely on sound science," Nelson said. "Russia's restrictions on American livestock violate the WTO rules, and we must have assurances Russia will abide by all of its rules and standards before Russia joins the WTO."

On Thursday, the Finance Committee will hold a hearing on Permanent Normal Trade Relations for Russia.  Grassley, a former chairman of the committee, said he will ask questions of administration officials about Russia's treatment of U.S. agricultural goods.

The text of the Grassley-Nelson letter is below.  The following 32 senators joined them in signing the letter:  Mark Kirk of Illinois, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Jeff Sessions of Alabama, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, John Thune of South Dakota, Al Franken of Minnesota, Jon Kyl of Arizona, Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Michael Bennett of Colorado, Mike Johanns of Nebraska, Herb Kohl of Wisconsin, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, Richard Lugar of Indiana, Debbie Stabenow of Michigan, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, Kay Hagan of North Dakota, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Mark Udall of Colorado, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Tim Johnson of South Dakota, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Mark Pryor of Arkansas, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Richard Durbin of Illinois, Dan Coats of Indiana, Orrin Hatch of Utah, John Boozman of Arkansas, and Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma.

 

Click here to see a signed copy of the letter.

 

June 19, 2012

President Barack H. Obama

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C.  20500

 

Dear President Obama:

As Congress is faced with a decision of whether or not we grant Permanent Normal Trade Relations (PNTR) to Russia, there are a number of issues left to be resolved.  However, we want to raise a particular issue with you that is important to U.S. farmers and ranchers.  Among the outstanding issues yet to be addressed adequately is Russia's failure to bring its practices into compliance with unambiguous WTO sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) standards with respect to imports of meat and poultry products from the United States.

We know you understand the importance of beef, pork, and poultry to the U.S. and Russia trade relationship.  Last year, U.S. meat and poultry exports collectively ranked second only to aircraft engines in total U.S. export value to Russia.  We appreciate our trade officials' efforts in obtaining strong tariff and quota access provisions from Russia in the accession talks.

However, U.S. meat and poultry exports have been steadily falling in recent years due to Russia's non-science based sanitary measures.  Russia's restrictions are numerous and range from the unjustifiable de-listing of U.S. meat processing facilities to arbitrary SPS actions that lack scientific justification to limit or even halt poultry and meat imports.  Judging by Russia's past and current practices on SPS issues, we lack confidence that Russia will all of a sudden treat U.S. pork and poultry products equitably upon entry into the WTO.  Furthermore, while U.S. beef does not currently face the challenges U.S. pork and poultry are dealing with, given Russia's track record on U.S. pork and poultry, we have little reason to believe U.S. beef won't eventually face its own issues with non-science based SPS measures instituted by Russian officials.

Officials in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Department of Agriculture are well acquainted with the Russian measures we are referring to, and they appreciate the fact Russia's approach is not supported by science.  Our trade officials must keep up the pressure on Russia to lower these non-science based SPS barriers, and urge Russia to take these steps prior to formal entry into the WTO.  If we are not able to adequately address the SPS issues, it will undermine the commitments we obtained on tariffs and quotas.

We ask that you direct our trade officials to continue every effort to obtain firm, science-based commitments from Russia on the outstanding SPS issues prior to their formal entry into the WTO.  The commitments we are asking for from Russia are reasonable and achievable and are within the scope of the type of commitments made to the United States by both China and Vietnam in the context of their accessions to the WTO.  In addition, we urge you to address these issues with President Putin at your earliest opportunity.

We hope you will agree every effort should be made to lower these unjustifiable barriers hurting U.S. farmers, and that it should happen prior to Russia's formal entry into the WTO.  We stand behind our farmers and products they produce, and they deserve to be treated equitably by our trading partners.  While this is only one of many issues that needs to be addressed by Russia, it is a key issue. If it were resolved in a satisfactory manner it would certainly be a crucial step forward in our trade relationship with Russia.

Sincerely,

Chuck Grassley

Ben Nelson

Mark Kirk

Tom Harkin

Jeff Sessions

Claire McCaskill

Richard Burr

Amy Klobuchar

John Thune

Al Franken

Jon Kyl

Sherrod Brown

Pat Roberts

Michael Bennett

Mike Johanns

Herb Kohl

Tom Coburn

Joe Manchin

Richard Lugar

Debbie Stabenow

Mike Enzi

Kay Hagan

Roy Blunt

Mark Udall

Jerry Moran

Tim Johnson

Saxby Chambliss

Mark Pryor

John Hoeven

Richard Durbin

Dan Coats

Orrin Hatch

John Boozman

Jim Inhofe

-30-