In the letter, the governors express serious concerns about recent comments made by Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey in which he admitted that the U.S. does not have the capacity to adequately screen all Syrian refugees who attempt to enter the U.S..

A copy of the letter can be found here.

Grassley to Receive Award in Cedar Falls for Work to Protect Seniors

WASHINGTON?Sen. Chuck Grassley will receive the Guardian of Seniors' Rights award from the 60 Plus Association on Friday, November 20, for his work to create financial stability for seniors through tax reform.

The 60 Plus Association will present Grassley with the award at Western Home Communities in Cedar Falls.  Following the award presentation, Grassley will meet with Western Home Communities employees and answer questions.

"I'm honored to receive this award.  I've worked in the Senate to advance retirement security, going back to my work as chairman of the Aging Committee, continuing as Finance Committee chairman, where I led the committee's work on enacted provisions that improved qualified retirement accounts.  This included increasing and indexing to inflation the amounts that can be contributed to IRAs and employer defined contribution plans, such 401(k)s, as well as allowing individuals over the age of 50 to make 'catch-up' contributions to increase their retirement income security.  The catch-up provisions were designed to be especially helpful to women, whose time out of the workforce affected their employment-based retirement savings.  Pro-savings and pro-growth tax policy continue to be a high priority for me as a lawmaker. Going forward, the right kind of comprehensive tax reform would increase financial security for everyone by keeping tax rates low and fair and giving certainty to the tax code from year to year, so taxpayers know what to expect and can budget accordingly," Grassley said.  

Sen. Chuck Grassley today made the following comment on President Obama's nomination of Swati Dandekar of Marion, Iowa, as United States Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador.  The White House announced the nomination today.

"Swati Dandekar has served Iowa in many ways over a long period of time and demonstrated a gift for building relationships that lead to productive dialogue and initiatives.  I've no doubt she will take on this new responsibility with the same sort of dedication and resourcefulness.  The President has made a good decision in selecting Swati Dandekar to represent the United States in this capacity."

Iowan receives White House nomination for Asian Development Bank

From the White House:

Swati A. Dandekar, Nominee for United States Executive Director, Asian Development Bank, with the Rank of Ambassador

Swati A. Dandekar is a former Iowa state legislator and member of the Iowa Utilities Board.  Ms. Dandekar served on the Iowa Utilities Board from 2011 to 2013.  Prior to joining the Utilities Board, Ms. Dandekar served in the Iowa State Senate from 2009 to 2011 and in the Iowa State House of Representatives from 2002 to 2008.  From 2000 to 2003, she was a member of the Vision Iowa Board of Directors.  Ms. Dandekar also served on the Linn-Mar Community School District Board of Education from 1996 to 2002 and was a member of the Iowa Association of School Boards from 2000 to 2002.  Ms. Dandekar received a B.S. from Nagpur University and a Post-Graduate Diploma from Bombay University.

Setting the Record Straight on Sourcing for State Department Inquiries

Nov. 20, 2015

Democratic staff for the Senate minority leader and Democratic operatives appear to be circulating a false, misleading timeline with reporters suggesting incorrectly that a former staffer for Sen. Chuck Grassley is the "confidential source" for one of many Grassley inquiries into State Department personnel practices.  The former Grassley staffer was not the source.  The source, in fact, was well-known to bipartisan, bicameral staff who met with him jointly, along with Grassley staff.  Redacted emails showing the extent of knowledge of the source's identity and attempts to schedule a joint interview with him are available here.  A comment from Grassley's office in response to comment from staff for the Senate minority leader about "fishy" coincidences regarding the former Grassley staffer follows.

"What's 'fishy' is that the minority leader is engaging in vague implications rather than gathering the facts directly from his colleagues.  Senator Grassley has been seeking answers from the State Department on its use of the Special Government Employee designation since June 2013.   The Special Government Employee designation is an exception to criminal conflict of interest statutes and can be used as a means of avoiding conflict of interest rules that normally apply.  How that specific designation has been used by the department is a matter of public interest, and the laws at issue are within the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee.

"Senator Grassley has pressed the State Department for complete responses and added inquiries as new information came to light, such as whether the use of private email interferes with Freedom of Information Act compliance.  FOIA is also in the Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction, and the flood of FOIA litigation created by former Secretary Clinton's unusual email arrangement demands the attention of the committee and the State Department's Office of Inspector General.

"The information in Senator Grassley's July 30, 2015, letter was based on a confidential source who is well-known to staff for senior Democrats in the House and the Senate, not from a former Grassley staffer. If the minority leader wants to know where the information came from, there is no need for public speculation.  He merely needs to speak to staff for Ranking Member Leahy or Ranking Member Cummings because their staff members were present for the meeting with the source.  The source's attorney was also present.  The attorney happens to be a former staffer for Senator Feinstein.  So there's no mystery.  Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill know exactly where the initial information came from, and they also know that it was later corroborated by documents provided by the State Department itself.

"Senator Grassley's relationship with the State Department inspector general's office is no different than that of any other inspector general's office.  He respects their independence, supports their work, and appropriately seeks information from them to assist in his oversight of the executive branch.

"Regarding State Department nominees, the Senate recently confirmed 652 State Department nominees, including 20 who had been subject to Grassley holds.  Senator Grassley retains his hold on only three nominees over the State Department's stonewalling of his inquiries since June 2013.  He was forced to escalate his holds to an under secretary nominee over the agency's poor responsiveness.   Senator Grassley has been completely transparent about his holds and the reason for them."

Grassley's Nov. 19 statement on his holds on State Department nominees is available here.  His previous hold statements are available here and here.  Grassley's response to the Senate minority leader's floor speech about his inquiry is available here.

Weekly Video Address
Thursday, November 19, 2015

Video can be found here.

Every Child Deserves the Love of a Forever Family

On any given day, more than 400,000 children are living in foster care in the United States.  About one quarter of them are eligible for adoption, and anxiously wait for an adoptive family.

Many of these children are victims of trauma, abuse or neglect.  And every year, thousands of these kids age out of the system without ever knowing the stability, security and love of a forever family.

November is National Adoption month.  As co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, I'm working to bring people together at the policymaking table to make a difference for foster youth and promote the importance of adoption.

This week, I held a hearing in the Judiciary Committee to celebrate the positive impact that adoption brings.  We also examined policies related to international adoptions.  A number of families shared their experiences and challenges with international adoption, including one family from Spencer, Iowa.

We highlighted the struggles that more than 400 families are currently facing in bringing home children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.  The adoptions have been finalized by the home country as well as the United States, yet, despite the fact that the parents must provide financially and emotionally for their children who are physically in the Congo, they cannot bring them home.

After the hearing, several of my colleagues and I met with the Congolese ambassador to the United States to discuss this issue.  We stressed the importance of finding a solution for these families, all of whom simply need immigration travel documents from the Congolese government to bring home the children.