Leahy & Grassley Press Treasury, IRS on the Use of Cell Phone Tracking Technology

WASHINGTON - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are once again pressing a top cabinet official about a government agency's use of cell-site simulator technology, which can sweep up the cell phone signals of innocent Americans.

Following news reports that the Internal Revenue Service is using cell-site simulators, or "Stingrays," the senators sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Thursday seeking information about the department's legal justification for using the technology and what privacy controls are in place.  The senators also asked about which other agencies within the department use the technology.

"We were surprised to learn that IRS investigators may be using these devices," the senators wrote.  "While the devices can be useful tools for identifying the location of a suspect's cell phone or identifying an unknown cell phone, we have previously expressed concerns about the privacy implications of these devices, as well as the inconsistent practices and policies across the federal, state and local agencies that employ them.  The devices indiscriminately gather information about the cell phones of innocent people who are simply in the vicinity of the device."

Grassley and Leahy have long raised concerns regarding the use of cell-site simulators, and their oversight has led to the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security implementing new rules requiring agents to obtain a search warrant in many cases before employing the technology.

A copy of the October 29 letter to Lew can be found online.

Klobuchar, Grassley Call on Federal Trade Commission to Protect Consumers from Anticompetitive Pay-For-Delay Patent Settlements

Senators urged the FTC to aggressively challenge any anticompetitive settlements where brand-name drug companies pay generic drug companies to delay marketing lower cost generic drugs

WASHINGTON, DC - Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senator Amy Klobuchar today called on the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect consumers from anticompetitive pay-for-delay patent settlements. In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the senators urged the FTC to aggressively challenge any anticompetitive settlements where brand-name drug companies pay generic drug companies to delay marketing lower cost generic drugs. Klobuchar and Grassley have introduced the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act to help put an end to these pay-off agreements, bring more affordable generic equivalents on the market, and ensure consumers have access to the cost-saving generic drugs they need.

"We are writing to encourage the Federal Trade Commission to maintain its vigilance in protecting American consumers from anticompetitive pay-for-delay patent settlements, which keep more affordable generic equivalents off the market," the senators wrote. "This issue is extremely important to consumers; competitive drug prices are necessary for affordable health care. We commend the FTC for its work in this area but encourage you to aggressively challenge any pharmaceutical patent settlement that is anticompetitive."

Klobuchar and Grassley have long supported efforts to combat anti-consumer pay-for-delay settlements. The senators are the lead sponsors of the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act, which would crack down on anti-competitive pay-offs and make sure consumers have access to cost-saving generic drugs they need. The bipartisan legislation would make it illegal for brand-name drug manufacturers to use anti-competitive pay-off agreements to keep more affordable generic equivalents off the market. Klobuchar and Grassley introduced similar legislation in 2010 following a resurgence of patent settlement agreements. In July 2013, the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights held a hearing to scrutinize pay-for-delay deals.

Full text of the letter is below:

Dear Chairwoman Ramirez:

We are writing to encourage the Federal Trade Commission to maintain its vigilance in protecting American consumers from anticompetitive pay-for-delay patent settlements, which keep more affordable generic equivalents off the market. The FTC should be proud of its work in this area.

Unfortunately, neither the Supreme Court's decision in Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis nor the earlier Third Circuit decision In re K-Dur Antitrust Litigation appears to have stopped this practice. You reported 29 settlements in 2013 that potentially involved pay-for-delay provisions, impacting $4.3 billion in U.S. sales. Combined with deals from prior years, dozens of agreements may be delaying access to generic drugs, which can be as much as 90 percent cheaper than their brand-name counterparts. As you have documented, agreements with payments to the generic company delay its entry into the market an average of nearly 17 months longer than agreements without payments.

However, in the two years since Federal Trade Commission v. Actavis, the FTC has challenged only one pay-for-delay pharmaceutical patent settlement. Although we appreciate the important work the FTC has done in filing amicus briefs on these issues, enforcing the law in this area is critical to protecting consumers.

We understand the challenges that the FTC still faces in stopping this practice, which is why we have introduced the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act. This bill would require pharmaceutical companies to justify any pay-off and impose penalties on companies that break the law. Given the substantial incentives for companies to enter these pay-for-delay agreements, the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act would provide the appropriate legal standard and deterrence to protect competition and American consumers.

This issue is extremely important to consumers; competitive drug prices are necessary for affordable health care. Again we commend the FTC for its work in this area but encourage you to aggressively challenge any pharmaceutical patent settlement that is anticompetitive.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Cool Stored Grain Now

In the past couple of weeks a lot of corn and soybeans went into storage with

temperatures in the 60s.  With grain this warm, moisture migration within the grain mass

and spoilage can occur very quickly, even with fairly dry grain.

With average daily temperatures soon in the low to mid 40s, newly stored grain should

be cooled down as soon as possible.  While stored grain should be cooled to 30-40

degrees for winter storage, the sooner we get grain temperatures down, the better.  Fans

might need to be run several times during the fall to get grain down to wintertime storage

temperatures.

The time required to completely cool a bin of grain depends on fan size.  In general

terms, a large drying fan will take 10-20 hours to cool a bin of grain.  However, a small

aeration fan can take a week or more to completely cool a full bin.  In either case, it is

best to measure the temperature of the air coming out of the grain to see if cooling is

complete.  It is also much better to error on the side of running the fan too long rather

than turn it off too soon.

Now is also a good time to "core" each of your bins to remove fines that have

accumulated in the center of the bin.  When coring a bin after filling, remove about half

the peak height for improved aeration. After coring, the top of the grain should be visually

inspected to ensure an inverted cone has been created. If no cone is created, bridging of

the grain has taken place and a very unsafe condition has been created. No one should

enter the bin until situation has been safely corrected.

If grain is dried down to the proper moisture and correctly cooled, it should store very

well through the winter.  Even so, it is best to check stored grain at least every two

weeks during the winter and once a week in warmer weather.  To do a good job

checking grain, inspect and probe the grain for crusting, damp grain, and warm spots.  

Also, run the fan for just a few minutes and smell the exhaust air for any off odors.  For

more details, order a copy of "Managing Dry Grain in Storage" AED-20 from Midwest

Plan Service at https://www-mwps.sws.iastate.edu/catalog/grain-handling-storage   or

check out more grain drying and storage information at

https://www.ag.ndsu.edu/graindrying

NEW MISS IOWA USA AND MISS IOWA TEEN USA CROWNED

Newton, Iowa - The 2016 MISS IOWA USA and MISS IOWA TEEN USA Pageants took place Sunday night at the Newton High School Auditorium in Newton. A capacity crowd filled the auditorium on Sunday evening for the pageant finals, where the panel of judges selected Alissa Morrison of Davenport as MISS IOWA USA 2016, and Hannah Bockhaus of Tripoli as MISS IOWA TEEN USA 2016.

Both titleholders will now advance and compete next year at the MISS USA and MISS TEEN USA national pageants.

The competition, which is held annually, consists of three proportional segments: evening gown, swimwear and interview. Eligible young women must be between the ages of 14 and 26 and be unmarried residents of Iowa in order to compete in the pageant.

Alissa and Hannah will each receive thousands of dollars in prizes and awards. Most importantly, they will have the opportunity to compete for the national titles of MISS USA and MISS TEEN USA this coming year.

Alissa will compete for the title of MISS USA 2016 on the live national telecast of MISS USA, and Hannah will compete for the title of MISS TEEN USA 2016 at the national pageant next year. In addition, the new MISS USA will go on to represent the United States in the MISS UNIVERSE competition, which is televised in over 130 countries worldwide.

The Miss Universe Organization (MUO) uses its global grassroots reach to empower women to be self-confident and strive to be their personal best. MUO believes that every woman should be "Confidently Beautiful." The MISS UNIVERSE®, MISS USA®, and MISS TEEN USA® beauty pageants provide an international platform through dedicated partnerships with charities, sponsors, and brands around the world. During their reign, winners are given the tools to personally and professionally enrich others by providing humanitarian efforts to affect positive change, all while developing their personal career goals.

For more information on the MISS USA and MISS TEEN USA state pageants, please visit www.missiowausa.com or www.missiowateenusa.com, email info@futureproductions.net, or call the Future Productions state pageant offices at (651) 222-9650.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after Paul Ryan was elected the next Speaker of the House.

"I want to congratulate Paul Ryan on his selection as the Speaker of the House. It is my hope that Speaker Ryan will be the leader of the entire House, not just the Republican Party. While we may not always see eye to eye, I look forward to working with Speaker Ryan to move our nation forward."