Vicksburg, Miss. -- (July 7, 2011) The Mississippi Valley Division continues to assess damages and prioritize repairs to the Mississippi River and Tributaries (MR&T) System in the aftermath of historic Mississippi River flooding that broke flow elevation records at many locations.  The repairs will ensure the future integrity of flood risk management projects along the Mississippi and its major tributaries and restore function to critical project components.  All of this recovery work will require significant funding.

Without supplemental funding to address the flood and navigation system repair costs, the Corps is looking at internal funding sources to reset and repair the most critical flood risk management projects damaged by this year's event.

The Flood Control and Coastal Emergencies (FC&CE) appropriation is used for flood fighting, repair and rehabilitation of qualifying non-federal flood and storm protection facilities, and emergency dredging, among other things.  The Secretary of the Army has the authority to transfer funds to the FC&CE appropriation from other flood control appropriations to meet emergency requirements.

Funds that are transferred are revoked from individual studies and projects for which the funds are surplus.  A total of $52 million has been transferred to date.  Thus far, only funds surplus to FY 2011 and FY 2012 requirements have been transferred.  However, additional transfers are very likely.

In some cases the funds transferred ultimately would have been used on the projects from which transferred.  However, the needs of flood fighting and response are more pressing and immediate.  Without additional appropriations, projects losing funds can compete for funds in FY 2013 and beyond through the budget process.

-end-

Now, becoming an art collector can be as easy as buying a candy bar or a bag of chips.

The first Art-o-mat in Iowa will start vending art and culture for $5.00 a pull at CornerHouse Gallery & Frame in Cedar Rapids, IA on July 14, 2011, 5-8pm. Artist Clark Whittington, from North Carolina, will give opening comments at 6pm that evening.

Art-o-mat machines are retired cigarette vending machines that have been converted to vend art. Since 1997, Clark Whittington, has been making Art-o-mats that vend "Artists in Cellophane." He now has over 90 active machines in various locations throughout the country with approximately 400 contributing artists from 10 different countries. Most importantly, each Art-o-mat is one-of-a-kind, custom built to the host's desire.

Each "Artist in Cellophane" is art on a block of wood or in a box if it is 3D. It's then wrapped in a piece of cellophane to help it slide out of the machine like an old cigarette pack.

CornerHouse Gallery & Frame is now a host like the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Smithsonian, Whole Foods, the Studios of Key West, the Contemporary Museum of Honolulu, the contemporary Art Center New Orleans, SUNY Cortland, and the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, just to name a few.

Come by, pick your artist, plug, pull, unwrap and smile.

See more Art-o-mats at  www.artomat.org

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley today questioned why the Justice Department declined to prosecute an Assistant United States Attorney after the department's Inspector General found at least one image of child pornography on the attorney's work computer.  The Inspector General also determined that the attorney had spent hours viewing adult content during work hours.   

According to the Inspector General's report, the Assistant U.S. Attorney acknowledged he had spent a significant amount of time each day viewing pornography.  The report also cited that at least one image of child pornography was recovered on the attorney's government computer.  The report indicates that the U.S. Attorney's office declined to prosecute the case and as of May 31, 2011, disciplinary action against the attorney was still pending.  

Grassley said he was concerned that the attorney, who admitted viewing pornography on the taxpayers' dime, was employed by the federal government at least two months after the allegations were outlined in the Inspector General report.   

In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, Grassley questioned the department's decision to not prosecute and delay disciplinary action against the attorney.  He also asked the types of cases the attorney worked on and the steps the department has taken to update its technology to keep pornography off its computers.   

Last year, Grassley learned that 33 employees at the Securities and Exchange Commission who were found to have viewed pornography during work hours were not terminated and were given uneven and light disciplinary action.   

Here is a copy of the text of Grassley's letter to Holder.  Click here for a copy of the signed letter.     

July 7, 2011 

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.  

Attorney General 

U.S. Department of Justice  

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW  

Washington, DC 20530  

Dear Attorney General Holder:  

On May 31, 2011 I received a report from the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of Inspector General (OIG) in response to a request Senator Coburn and I made to all Inspectors General to provide semiannual reports on closed investigations, evaluations, and audits that were not disclosed to the public.  

This report contained what appears to be an inexcusable mishandling of serious allegations against an Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) which calls into question the DOJ's internal controls and prosecutorial discretion.  The report cites the following OIG investigation of an AUSA:  

"The OIG conducted an investigation concerning allegations that an AUSA was using his government computer to view inappropriate material on his government computer.  The investigation determined that the AUSA routinely viewed adult content during official duty hours, and that there was at least one image of child pornography recovered on the AUSA's government computer.  The AUSA acknowledged that he had spent a significant amount of time each day viewing pornography.  The U.S. Attorney's Office declined prosecution.  Disciplinary action against the AUSA is pending."     

This report relates to OIG investigations from October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2011 and was submitted two months later.  As the case for disciplinary action is "pending" as of May 31, 2011, this means that, at the very least, the DOJ has allowed an admitted serial viewer of pornography - possibly child pornography - to serve as an AUSA for two months, if not longer, and has yet to take action.  This is simply unacceptable and compounds the questions raised by the fact that this AUSA was found to have "at least one image of child pornography" on his government computer and yet he was not charged with a crime.  

Regarding the DOJ's decisions in this case, I respectfully ask the following questions:  

 1.       Is this individual still employed by the Department of Justice?  

 a.        If so, in what capacity?  

 b.       If not, when did this individual leave employment with the Department of Justice?  

  i.       Was this departure voluntary or were they terminated?  

 2.       Is this individual eligible for a government pension?  

 a.        If so, has the DOJ made any efforts to strip this individual of his or her pension?  

  i.       If so, what efforts have been made?  

  ii.       If not, why not?  

 3.       What types of cases did this AUSA handle?  

 4.       Did the cases this AUSA was assigned to handle ever lead to any interaction with children?  

 5.       Was the decision not to prosecute this individual made by the U.S. Attorney's Office in which he or she served?  

 a.        If so, did that raise any concerns regarding a conflict of interest?  

 b.       If not, what office made the decision not to prosecute this individual?  

 6.       How was this individual able to evade the DOJ's pornography filters?  

 7.       Has the DOJ made efforts to upgrade its pornography filters as a result of this individual's actions?  

a.       If so, what efforts have been made?

b.      If not, why not?

Thank you for cooperation and attention in this matter.  I would appreciate a response by July 21, 2011.  If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact (202) 224-5225.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley
Ranking Member
Committee on the Judiciary

Here is a comment from Sen. Grassley about the ethanol agreement announced today by Sens. Thune and Klobuchar:

"All things considered, it's good news that an agreement was reached that salvages some of the effort to reduce America's dependence on foreign oil.  I wish it would have included a more robust investment in alternative fuel infrastructure and cellulosic ethanol.  Overall, the fact that this happened in a vacuum, rather than in an even-handed debate over all energy tax incentives, will always be a raw deal, especially for taxpayers and renewable fuel producers," Grassley said.

Jul 07 2011

Thune, Klobuchar Announce Bipartisan Compromise on Renewable Energy

Agreement would put savings toward deficit reduction, infrastructure

WASHINGTON, D.C.?U.S. Senators John Thune (R-S.D.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) today announced that a bipartisan agreement has been reached that allows for a transition to a more sustainable model of incentives for domestic renewable fuel production while reducing the nation's deficit by $1.3 billion. The agreement, based on Thune and Klobuchar's bipartisan Ethanol Reform and Deficit Reduction Act, would end the existing 45 cent per gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit on July 31, 2011, instead of the current expiration date of December 31, 2011. The bipartisan agreement would dedicate two-thirds of the savings from existing money?$1.3 billion?to debt reduction and the remaining $668 million in savings to renewable fuel incentives, helping provide consumers with lower gas prices. The compromise can now be considered by the full Senate.

"After productive discussions with industry stakeholders over the past several weeks, we have reached a bipartisan solution that reduces the federal deficit and modifies current biofuels policy without pulling the rug out from under American renewable energy producers," said Thune. "Domestic biofuels production in South Dakota and throughout the country continues to play an important role in reducing our nation's dependence on foreign oil and creating American jobs. I look forward to moving our bipartisan plan through both the Senate and the House of Representatives."

"This bipartisan agreement is a major step toward providing our businesses a clear path forward and keeping the biofuels industry competitive while reducing our debt by over a billion dollars this year,"said Klobuchar. "With this agreement we can not only continue to support homegrown energy, we can also demonstrate that members with different viewpoints can come together to find common ground to reduce the debt. It is a model for reducing government subsidies going forward."

"I thank Senator Thune for his work in crafting a bipartisan path forward for the ethanol industry," said Lisa Richardson, Executive Director of South Dakota Corn. "Senator Thune continues to fight for rural America. With the significant budgetary challenges facing our country, it is important that the ethanol industry in South Dakota have common sense policies in place to keep the biofuels industry moving forward. The enhanced blender pump tax credit will help give access to the market place, and the extended small producer tax credit will help our farmer-owned plants compete against foreign oil imports. We appreciate the work of Senator Thune and thank him for his continued support of agriculture producers in South Dakota."

"ACE thanks both Senators John Thune and Amy Klobuchar for their support and leadership in negotiating this compromise, which represents the art of the possible given the fiscal mood in Congress,"said Brian Jennings, Executive Vice President of the American Coalition for Ethanol. "We are pleased with the three-year blender pump tax credit and will work with marketers to try and take full advantage of these increased incentives to convert to blender pumps. ACE is also grateful that the Small Ethanol Producer Tax Credit, which is crucial for many of our independent and farmer-owned members, was extended for one year as well as key cellulosic biofuel provisions. ACE will work with Senators Thune and Klobuchar to support enactment of this legislation by the end of July."

"Senators Thune and Klobuchar worked tirelessly to help shape a compromise that will benefit all Americans," said Growth Energy CEO Tom Buis. "This proposal will benefit consumers at the pump, reduce our dependence on foreign oil by investing in next generation biofuels, and make a significant contribution to reducing our nation's budget deficit."

"This bipartisan effort to find common ground is the kind of sensible policy making American voters desperately want from their elected leaders," said Bob Dinneen, President and CEO of the Renewable Fuels Association. "We greatly appreciate the leadership of Senators Klobuchar and Thune in doggedly pursuing a solution to this impasse. Walking away from investments made in America's ethanol industry cold turkey would jeopardize the future of biofuel production in America, including stifling the progress of advanced and cellulosic ethanol technologies. We look forward to seeing the details of the agreement and working with all renewable fuel advocates in Congress to move this industry forward."

"The final compromise reflects both the importance of the ethanol industry to achieve energy independence and the need for fiscal responsibility," said Bart Schott, President of the National Corn Growers Association.

Recent votes in the Senate on this issue have sought to end the current Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit while still continuing to fund blender pumps. This agreement is consistent with those votes and would end the existing 45 cent per gallon Volumetric Ethanol Excise Tax Credit, provide funding for homegrown energy infrastructure and reduce the nation's deficit, based only on remaining 2011 funding.

Additional details of the compromise include :

Deficit Reduction

Immediately allocate $1.3 billion toward deficit reduction.

Blender Pump and Alternative Fueling Infrastructure Tax Credit

Extends the existing alternative fuel station tax credit to include blender pumps and extend the credit through 2014 by using 2011 funding only; modify the tax credit to allow for ethanol blends between E15 and E85; and clarify that entire cost of dual-use blender pumps qualify for the credit rather than the incremental cost. 

A taxpayer may take a 20 percent tax credit for the installation of alternative fuel infrastructure, up to $30,000, including E85 (85 percent ethanol and 15 percent gasoline) infrastructure. This credit is currently scheduled to expire on December 31, 2011. Other fuels that are eligible for the credit include electric charging stations and natural gas refueling stations.

Small Producer Ethanol Credit

Extend through 2012 the small producer ethanol credit by using 2011 funding only. This credit is currently scheduled to expire December 31, 2011. The small ethanol producer credit is valued at 7 cents per gallon of ethanol produced. The credit may be claimed on the first 15 million gallons of ethanol produced by a small producer in a given year. It applies to any ethanol producer with production capacity below 60 million gallons per year.

Credit for Production of Cellulosic Biofuels and Special Depreciation Allowance for Cellulosic Biofuels Plants

Modify and extend through 2015 the existing $1.01 per gallon tax credit for cellulosic biofuels that would otherwise expire on December 31, 2012. This is done by using 2011 funding only.

Includes a depreciation allowance for cellulosic plants, and the definition of cellulosic biofuels will include fuels made from algae.