Friday, November 16, 2012

Senator Chuck Grassley released the following statement after learning that terrorist Ali Musa Daqduq was released from an Iraqi prison.  The U.S. government turned over the well-known terrorist to the Iraqi government less than a year ago.  Grassley sent several letters to the Obama administration urging them to try Daqduq before a military tribunal.  Those letters can be found here.  Grassley is the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.

Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. John Thune made the following comment on information provided by A123 Systems, Inc., in response to the senators' Oct. 9 inquiry about a federal stimulus grant provided by the Department of Energy:

"The very day A123 filed for bankruptcy, the Department of Energy sent the company a check for nearly $1 million. The Department of Energy was aware of A123's pending transaction with a foreign company, Wanxiang.  In fact, the Energy Department was informed on August 3 and still gave the company more federal tax dollars. In addition, A123 confirms it has a federal government contract with a 'secret' security classification.  All of this paints a disturbing picture.  One, the Department of Energy is writing checks to a company literally as it is declaring bankruptcy.  Two, a private company and federal grant recipient has provided more disclosure about its operations and assurances about intellectual property and national security than our own Department of Energy.  The Department of Energy needs to answer for why it appears to put federal grants on auto-pilot to the detriment of U.S. taxpayers.  This can't stand."

A123 Systems, Inc.'s response to the senators is available here.

The senators' letter to A123 Systems is available here.

Adoption Tax Credit set to expire at end of 2012

Washington, D.C. - Ahead of National Adoption Day, observed tomorrow, Saturday November 17^th, Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) renewed his call to Congressional leaders to extend the adoption tax credit.  National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to raise awareness of more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find permanent families.  If Congress fails to act, the current adoption tax credit of $12,360 will expire at the end of 2012.

"There are thousands of kids out there that deserve good homes, and we need to ensure that loving families who make the decision to adopt find that the financial cost isn't a barrier," said Braley. "With all the talk of the fiscal cliff, it's important to remember that the adoption tax credit saves taxpayers money by getting kids into loving homes and out of the costly foster care system.  It's a win-win.  We can't afford to let this tax credit expire."

In April, Braley introduced the Making Adoption Affordable Act that would permanently expand the federal adoption tax credit to $13,360 and make it refundable, which would allow more families to take full advantage of the incentive.

Adoption is preferable to foster care not only because it results in better outcomes for children, but because it is far less costly for taxpayers.  As of 2010, foster care costs to taxpayers averaged $47,000 per child, per year.

The adoption tax credit is a proven incentive to promote adoptions.  Before its last expansion in 1998, the tax credit was claimed after only 50,400 adoptions.  After expansion, in 2004, the tax credit was claimed in nearly 87,000 adoptions, representing a nearly 50 percent increase.

Braley has worked to help Iowa families, like the Craig family of Des Moines, navigate bureaucratic red tape and realize their adoption dreams: http://qctimes.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/braley-visits-family-he-helped-with-adoption/article_7ec49e76-e896-11e0-9125-001cc4c002e0.html

More information about the act can be found at the following link: http://go.usa.gov/yo0

More information about National Adoption Day can be found at the following link: http://www.nationaladoptionday.org/about

In a letter sent today to Holder and Mueller, Grassley asked for a full briefing on the matter, as well as answers to several questions including a timeline of events, an explanation as to how the FBI got involved, information on the legal authority used to pursue electronic communications involved in the investigation, if the FBI shared information regarding the investigation with military criminal investigation organizations, and the legal analysis conducted to determine if the White House, including the President, should be notified.

"A number of questions have been raised about the FBI's actions during the course of its investigation of the Petraeus matter.  It would be best for the administration to be forthright and transparent so the country can feel comfortable that our chief domestic law enforcement agency is doing everything properly under the law to protect national security," Grassley said.

Here is a copy of the text of Grassley's letter.  A signed copy can be found here.

November 15, 2012

Via Electronic Transmission

The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr.                            The Honorable Robert S. Muller, III

Attorney General                        Director

U.S. Department of Justice                        Federal Bureau of Investigation

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.                           935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, DC  20530                          Washington, DC 20535

Dear Attorney General Holder and Director Mueller:

I write today regarding the recent resignation of Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) General David Petreaus and the involvement by the U.S. Department of Justice (Department), including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in uncovering information that revealed an extramarital affair cited by General Petreaus as a reason for his resignation.  On Tuesday, my staff received a very brief preliminary call with an official from the FBI who declined to discuss the matter, citing its ongoing nature.  However, the FBI official suggested my staff issue a formal request to the Department.

Yesterday, the Director provided a closed door briefing to members of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Chairman Leahy of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary.  As the Ranking Member of the authorizing committee of jurisdiction for the Department and the FBI, and given the numerous press reports on this matter, including information alleged to have been provided by government sources, I request a detailed briefing to discuss this matter and provide concrete facts surrounding this resignation and the Department's involvement.

Specifically, I would ask that any briefing include the following information:

(1)   a timeline of events from initial contact with FBI personnel through the current status of the inquiry,

(2)   an explanation of how and why the FBI opened the inquiry,

(3)   a detailed list of personnel who signed off on the investigation,

(4)   a detailed account of the legal authorities used to obtain each of the electronic communications of those involved, and the role, if any, of any U.S. Attorneys' Offices,

(5)   an explanation of timing and circumstances of how you and the FBI Director first learned of this inquiry and when the White House was notified of the inquiry,

(6)   a description of Department employee's contacts with Congress prior to the election and whether the Department considers those contacts protected whistleblower disclosures,

(7)   an explanation of whether the FBI shared information regarding the investigation with investigators from various military criminal investigation organizations (including Army Criminal Investigation Command (CID), Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), or Navy Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS)) and when that information was shared,

(8)   a description of the status of any related reviews being conducted by the FBI Inspections Division, the Office of Professional Responsibility, the Deputy Attorney General's Office, or the Office of Inspector General, including any related to public reports of alleged communications between an FBI agent and a witnesses that involved inappropriate photographs or text,

(9)   an explanation of whether the extramarital affair was uncovered during the initial background investigation conducted by the FBI prior to General Petreaus' confirmation as DCI

(     10)                       an explanation of any legal analysis conducted by any component of the Department, including the FBI, regarding whether you or the FBI Director were obligated by law to report the investigation of DCI Petreaus to the President or any other government official.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.  To address the questions raised by this matter, I ask that you provide a briefing no later than November 28, 2012.

Sincerely,

Charles E. Grassley

Ranking Member

Cc:       The Honorable Patrick Leahy

Chairman