As you may have heard, there are only a few days left until the federal government may be forced to shut down all because of unnecessary political brinksmanship.

With so many critical issues facing the country, threatening to shut down the government is the height of irresponsibility. The health of our economy should not be a partisan issue, and Congress must do its most basic job of funding our government. All Members, regardless of party, must work together to put a responsible budget in place and put an end to the repeated manufactured crises that threaten economic growth and job creation.

I do not believe that shutdown theatrics should be a normal function of our government, which is why I am an original cosponsor of the Hold Congress Accountable Act. This legislation would cut off pay for Members of Congress for each day the government is shutdown. I am also a cosponsor of the No Budget, No Pay Act, which would stop member pay if Congress fails to pass all of its budget and spending bills on time.  

After the last shutdown, which I strongly opposed, I saw first-hand the impact of congressional inaction as I met with furloughed workers, small business owners, research faculty, veterans, and workers across our state. I heard directly from you about how Washington needs to step up and do its job.  

I fought to keep the government open in September, and I'm working around the clock to find practical solutions to make sure we do not shut down this time either. Please know that I will continue to keep you updated on this important issue moving forward.

Sincerely, 

Dave Loebsack
Iowa's Second District

Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the re-instatement of private firms to collect tax debt for the IRS.  The provision was enacted as part of the five-year highway bill given final congressional approval and signed into law late last week.  The provision takes effect immediately and requires the IRS to enter into qualified tax collection contracts within three months.  The official revenue estimate from the non-partisan congressional Joint Committee on Taxation on the new provision is available here.

"The IRS allowed politics to trump its responsibility to collect unpaid taxes when it decided to prematurely discontinue the private debt collection program in 2009.  As we know from an estimate by the Joint Committee on Taxation, this meant leaving billions of dollars in uncollected taxes on the table.  This provision requires the IRS to once again use private contractors to collect overdue taxes that the IRS isn't attempting to collect.  These are taxes that are owed and not in dispute.   This provision provides the IRS with a tool to pursue these unpaid taxes while respecting taxpayer privacy and rights.  The IRS should implement this program without delay."

WASHINGTON - The job-creating immigrant investor visa program, known as the EB-5 Regional Center program, is set to expire in just one week if Congress does not move to reauthorize it.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) are urging Congressional leaders to support a bipartisan, bicameral proposal that would provide much-needed reforms to the program and reauthorize it for four years.

"The EB-5 program is not working how it was intended to by Congress.  The EB-5 program has serious vulnerabilities, is loaded with fraud and abuse, and isn't nearly the job-creator it has been purported to be.  We need to be sure that the EB-5 Regional Center program is not only creating economic stimulus and jobs in areas that need it the most, but also not jeopardizing the nation's security or harming U.S. investors," Grassley said.  "The program needs an overhaul with the common sense reforms that we've put together in a bipartisan, bicameral way.  The status quo is unacceptable."

"The EB-5 Regional Center program has generated investment and created jobs in distressed communities, but the program is facing some pressing challenges. Reports of rampant fraud and abuse raise serious concerns and threaten the program's mission. The incentives Congress established to spur investment in high unemployment and rural communities are also routinely abused, undermining a core objective of the program," Leahy said. "The Regional Center should be reauthorized, but only if reformed.  There is now bipartisan consensus around these reforms, and we cannot squander this opportunity."

Since launching in 1993, this program has generated capital investment and created jobs across the country.  But the program has also experienced significant problems in recent years, underscoring the need for Congress to restore the program to one that transforms local economies in impoverished areas as well as rural states.

To improve the program and ensure its reauthorization, Grassley and Leahy on Friday released the text of a carefully-crafted compromise with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) and Ranking Member John Conyers (D-Mich.), Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), and House Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.). The proposal modifies legislation the lawmakers unveiled earlier this year to bolster the Department of Homeland Security's authorities to administer the program, and provide investors with greater protections and more information about their investments.

Additionally, the bipartisan proposal increases transparency and oversight and provides DHS the ability to proactively investigate fraud, both in the United States and abroad, using a dedicated fund paid for by certain program participants. It raises the amount of investment required and helps to restore the program to its original intent, by ensuring that much of the capital generated and jobs created occur in rural areas and areas with high unemployment.

The bipartisan compromise has the support of Invest in the USA (IIUSA), by far the largest association of regional centers and EB-5 stakeholders, as well as the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.

An outline of the bipartisan proposal can be found here.  Text of legislation can also be found here.

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WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah are asking the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to account for how much federal money it has given to each state health care exchange, how much money it has identified as misused, what it can do to recover money for unallowable activities, and how much money for unallowable activities it has recovered.

"Given the continuing failure of SBMs (state-based marketplaces or exchanges) and the use of taxpayer funds for unallowable activities, CMS has an elevated responsibility to ensure that any future funding to SBMs is appropriate and that SBMs fulfill all grant terms and conditions," Grassley and Hatch wrote to CMS Acting Administrator Andrew Slavitt.  "With the ongoing risk that more SBMs will shut down or partially transition to the federal IT structure, and the continuing threat that SBMs will use taxpayer funds for unallowable activities, it is imperative to determine the full cost to the taxpayer of the failures thus far, and what funds the federal government has been able to recover."

Grassley and Hatch described the failure of Maryland's exchange as an example of a murky outcome for federal taxpayers.  As a result of a lawsuit, the Maryland exchange's prime contractor settled with the state for $45 million.  That amount appears to contain federal funds, since the federal government provided $179 million to create the Maryland exchange.  Grassley and Hatch said Slavitt wrote in a prior response that CMS is working with the Maryland SBM so that funds are returned to the Treasury.  The senators wrote, "but it is not clear what specifically the federal government is doing to recoup these federal monies."

The Grassley-Hatch letter to Slavitt is available here.  Their prior letter to Slavitt is available here.  Slavitt's response to the prior letter is available here.

Hatch is chairman and Grassley is former chairman and a senior member of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over federal health care programs.

 

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