Community continues to excel in serving Quad City seniors and their families

DAVENPORT, IA (June 25, 2015) - Senior Star at Elmore Place is pleased to announce today that they were awarded a certificate of recognition for achieving exceptional results from their monitoring visit by the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals.

The certificate of recognition, authorized by the Director of the Health Facilities Division of the Iowa Department of Inspections & Appeals, acknowledges the associates of Senior Star for their outstanding care and commitment to the health and safety of Iowa's senior citizens, and for meeting or exceeding the state requirements of established rules and regulations governing assisted living programs.

"We are extremely proud of this accomplishment," said Marc Strohschein, executive director of Senior Star at Elmore Place.  "This award is an important acknowledgement of our dedicated associates who strive for excellence every day as they work with our residents and families to provide the very best care.  We will continue to meet and exceed expectations that are not only outlined by our governing state organizations but also expected by the residents and families who have come to know the stellar Senior Star level of service."

For more information about Senior Star at Elmore Place or to schedule a tour, call 563.359.0100 or visit the website at www.seniorstar.com.

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."

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Grassley is asking the IRS to explain its handling of Premium Tax Credit claims and the procedures it uses to reconcile those claims with overpayments of the Advanced Premium Tax Credit under the health care law.

"The accuracy of the procedures is important for making sure recipients are getting the intended amounts and that taxpayers aren't overpaying," Grassley said.  "An audit raised questions about gaps and discrepancies in how the tax credits are calculated.  The IRS should explain how it's handling these issues and how it will fix the problems."

A recent audit by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration highlighted shortcomings in the preparation for processing Premium Tax Credit claims. The audit also revealed problems with the procedures used to reconcile Advanced Premium Tax Credit overpayments.

Grassley, with Sen. Orrin Hatch, sought information from the IRS in a letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen on how the agency determined the accuracy of Premium Tax Credit claims and how it reconciled overpayments, given gaps in the information necessary to calculate the amounts.

The text of the letter is available here.

USDA research last year also led to process for faster egg pasteurization, new methods of mosquito control

WASHINGTON, June 24, 2015 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced a new report on discoveries by USDA researchers that have led to new patents and inventions with the potential for commercial application and potential economic growth. USDA innovations included in this annual report range from USDA supported research that could offer solutions for millions who suffer allergies from peanuts and wheat to safe mosquito control that can help halt the transmission of diseases they spread, and others.

"USDA has a proven track record of performing research that has tangible benefits for the American public, and studies have found every dollar invested in agricultural research returns $20 to our economy," said Secretary Vilsack. "USDA is now accelerating the commercialization of federal research, and government researchers are working closely with the private sector to develop new technology and transfer it to the marketplace."

USDA received 83 patents in Fiscal Year 2014, up from 51 patents in 2013. USDA filed 119 patent applications and disclosed another 117 new inventions, which may lead to future patents and are detailed in the Department's 2014 Annual Report on Technology Transfer released today. Helping drive these innovations, USDA has 267 active Cooperative Research and Development Agreements with outside partners, which includes Universities, and other organizations, and more than 100 small businesses. The USDA's technology transfer program is administered by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency.

Highlighted discoveries from USDA's 2014 Technology Transfer Report include :

• Procedures to remove up to 98-percent of the allergens from peanuts without affecting the flavor;
• A new process for pasteurizing shelled eggs using radio frequency energy that is 1.5 times faster than the current pasteurization process;
• A portable method for identifying harmful bacteria in food that could improve the response to foodborne illness outbreaks;
• A new method for mosquito control that specifically silences genes in the mosquito so it does not pose a danger to other insects, including pollinators;
• A new soil nitrogen test that rapidly and inexpensively determines the total amount of nitrogen in the soil that is available to a plant, reducing costs for farmers while benefiting the environment;
• Improved information on non-honey bee pollinators and methods for trapping bees to assure quality apple production.

Over the years, USDA innovations have created all sorts of products Americans use every day, from food products to insect controls, medicine to clothing. Here are just a few examples of things USDA research is responsible for:

• A new kind of flour made from chardonnay grape seeds that can prevent increases in cholesterol and weight-gain;
• "Permanent press" cotton clothing;
• Mass production of penicillin in World War II;
• DEET, the active ingredient in all the world's most effective and widely-used mosquito repellents;
• Frozen orange juice concentrate;
• Almost all breeds of blueberries and cranberries currently in production, and 80% of all varieties of citrus fruits grown in the U.S.;
• "Tifsport", a turfgrass specifically designed to withstand the stress and demands of major team sports and used on sports fields across the country.

The 2014 Farm Bill will help to build on these accomplishments by establishing a new Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research that leverages $200 million in public funding and another $200 million from the private sector to support groundbreaking agricultural research.