SPRINGFIELD - Governor Bruce Rauner took action today the following bill:

Bill No.: SB 96

An Act Concerning: Regulation

Action: Signed

Effective: This Act takes effect immediately, except Article II of this Act takes effect on January 1, 2016.

By Jason Alderman

Identity theft is one of the fastest-growing fraud issues at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Online thieves have been capturing Social Security numbers and other tax filing data to file fraudulent returns, principally for the purpose of stealing refunds.

Just this past tax season, TurboTax, the leading tax preparation software company, had to stop transmitting state tax returns and introduce new safeguards after a run of suspicious returns. In March, the U.S. Treasury Department reported slightly over 2.9 million incidents of tax-related identity theft in 2013, up from 1.8 million in 2012. As to dollar loss, in January, the General Accounting Office (GAO) said the IRS had prevented an estimated $24.2 billion in fraudulent identity theft tax refunds in 2013, but actually paid $5.8 billion in refunds later determined to be fraudulent.

In terms of damage, tax identity theft is really no different than any other form of identity theft. Thieves illegally obtain your Social Security number through online or other resources and then go to work on your finances and reputation. The first you'll see of it will be on your credit report in the form of unfamiliar (and likely unpaid) accounts or unusual credit inquiries from employers or agencies you've never contacted. The problem may take months or years to straighten out.

Hearing about a false tax return might take time. Many taxpayers find out they've been hacked via a physical letter from the U.S. Postal Service - the IRS never sends (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Report-Phishing) taxpayer-specific correspondence via email -indicating that a duplicate return has been filed in the taxpayer's name. That means a significant amount of time might have passed between the hack and the taxpayer learning about the problem. Electronic filers might find out sooner because their return might bounce if a fraudulent one was successfully filed earlier.

Recent reports quote the IRS as saying it tries to settle such cases within 4-6 months, but news reports have indicated wait times might be longer. This is why anyone dealing with identity theft needs to move fast and be actively involved in containing the damage. Regulators can't do it for you and advertised services that say they can handle everything probably won't. You'll need to investigate and clean up your own records.

If you've been hit, first go to the identity theft action pages on both the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0008-tax-related-identity-theft) and the IRS (http://www.irs.gov/Individuals/Identity-Protection) websites for immediate ways to deal with the problem. Start with the following immediate steps:

• Order your current credit reports and set a fraud alert on each at the three major consumer credit rating agencies - Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Follow up to make sure those alerts are active.
• Set up a physical or computer-based file where you can organize, date and file all contacts, communications and paperwork associated with your case and keep track of any fraudulent transactions that occur.
• Create an identity theft report (http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0277-create-identity-theft-report) with the FTC and your local police department. This will help you document your contacts with regulators and law enforcement if there is an arrest.
• Make a call list for all creditors, banks, investment companies, utilities and your employer to let them know about the breach. If you work with qualified financial and tax experts, inform them too. If you've spotted fraudulent accounts, contact those entities to put a freeze on them and thereby limit potential losses.

If you've never experienced this type of identity theft, don't take your luck for granted. Even if you file your taxes by regular mail, make sure you set up your own personal IRS e-services (http://www.irs.gov/uac/Step-1-Create-an-IRS-e-services-Account) account, because reports have surfaced that identity thieves are opening false accounts with stolen taxpayer data. Finally, schedule receipt throughout the year of your three credit reports, which you can receive free once a year.

Bottom line: Anywhere your Social Security number goes, identity thieves follow - this tax filing season proved that. Safeguard your data and check your credit reports several times a year for irregularities.

Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry

Hearing on Country of Origin Labeling

Thursday, June 25, 2015

Thank you Mr. Chairman for holding this important hearing on Country of Origin Labeling.  I would also like to thank Craig Hill, President of the Iowa Farm Bureau, for testifying here today.

I have supported COOL since it was first adopted during the 2002 Farm Bill.  My support for COOL stems from wanting to provide consumers additional information about the meat they consume.  If we can know the country of origin for every T-shirt in this country, we should also be able to know where our meat is coming from.

We must be true to our obligations at the World Trade Organization.  The WTO has ruled against the current COOL law four times.  I think we are past the point of debating IF our COOL law is going to change.

The question we are debating is HOW the current COOL law is going to change.  I'm not ready to eliminate COOL altogether for pork and beef.  I think we can find a way forward on COOL that ends the mandatory segregation under current law which is the key point of the WTO case.

As proof that there is a way forward on COOL, I would simply point out that Canada has a voluntary "Product of Canada" label. That label even has its own qualifying statement outlining the fine details that must be met in order for the product of Canada label to be used.

I fail to see how Canada can have a voluntary program with clear stipulations but we cannot. 

Beyond that point, I have heard rumblings that a voluntary program is not flexible enough.  To people with those concerns I simply ask- how do you get more flexible than voluntary?

A voluntary program for beef and pork is something we need to consider.  There are undoubtedly details to be worked through, but I must say I find it hard to believe we cannot set some basic criteria for a voluntary label.

Chairman Roberts, Ranking Member Stabenow, I look forward to working with you all to resolve this issue before August recess.

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the tax breaks included in the Affordable Care Act to help low-income Americans purchase health insurance are constitutional.

"Today's Supreme Court decision is a big relief for the thousands of Iowa families who would have faced large, unforeseen, out of pocket increases in their health care costs. If Republicans would have had their way thousands of young adults under 26 would lose their insurance, women would again be considered a second class citizen, seniors would have to pay more for their medications and 43,000 children in Southeast Iowa would be denied insurance because they had a preexisting condition. Congress clearly meant for these tax breaks to be available to anyone who qualified, no matter where they lived. It is time we move forward and work to strengthen this law, not continue to try and dismantle it."