Press releases
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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672 rows where state = "IA" and year = 2014 sorted by date descending
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| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/leahy-grassley-press-administration-use-cell-phone-tracking-program | Leahy & Grassley Press Administration on Use of Cell Phone Tracking Program | 2014-12-31 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) pressed top Obama administration officials on the use of cell-site simulators, which can unknowingly sweep up the cell phone signals of innocent Americans. Recent news reports have chronicled the use of such simulators by law enforcement, explaining that the simulators have the potential to capture data about the location of thousands of cell phones in their vicinity. Leahy and Grassley previously pressed the FBI about the use of this technology. In a joint letter sent last week to Attorney General Eric Holder and Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, the Senators raised questions about exceptions to a new FBI policy to obtain a search warrant before using a cell-site simulator. The Senators also asked about other agencies' use of the technology. It remains unclear how other agencies within the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security make use of cell-site simulators and what policies are in place to govern their use of that technology, Leahy and Grassley wrote. Outlining privacy concerns for innocent individuals, the letter continues: The Judiciary Committee needs a broader understanding of the full range of law enforcement agencies that use this technology, the policies in place to protect the privacy interests of those whose information might be collected using these devices, and the legal process that DOJ and DHS entities seek prior to using them. A signed copy of the December 23 letter to Attorney General Holder and Secretary Johnson is available Here. Text of the letter can be found below. December 23, 2014 The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. The Honorable Jeh Johnson Attorney General Secretary of Homeland Security Department of Justice Department of Homeland Security 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20528 Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Attorney General Holder and Secretary Johnson: In recent months, media reports have detailed the use of cell-site simulator… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-nominates-iowa-students-us-service-academies-0 | Grassley Nominates Iowa Students to the U.S. Service Academies | 2014-12-23 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley has nominated 37 outstanding Iowa students for consideration for appointments to the U.S. service academies. Young Iowans who want to enter the academies and serve our country are remarkable for their accomplishments and leadership. These candidates are an impressive reflection on our state and signal continued excellence in the U.S. armed forces, Grassley said. Each year Grassley has the opportunity as a U.S. senator to nominate either current or future Iowa high school graduates for a select few service academy placements. The Air Force, Military, and Naval academies all select at least one qualified student from Grassley's nominations. The Merchant Marine Academy makes selections in proportion to states' representation in Congress. Grassley said he encourages Iowa students to consider applying to more than one service academy due to the highly competitive nature of admissions. The academies offer some of the best options for higher education, and they offer an outstanding way to serve our country, Grassley said. It's a tremendous opportunity for young Iowans. Students interested in academy appointments should begin the application process in the spring of their junior year of high school. The academies select students based on the number of vacancies available for the next school year. Iowa Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives also make nominations in addition to both of Iowa's U.S. Senators. Traditionally, the high quality of Iowa nominees results in several Iowa students being selected to attend each of the service academies. More information about service academy nominations can be foundhere. Grassley said he will make announcements as appointments to the academies are offered to Iowans. The lists below include the names and hometowns of Grassley's nominees for the 2015-2016 school year. U.S. Air Force Academy Yair Abramoff, Iowa City Jessica Brown, Sioux City Jean Etnyre, Pella* Mark Farlinger, Cresco* Jeffrey Giannettino, West Burlington Adrianna H… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-designated-%E2%80%9Cfriend-farm-bureau%E2%80%9D | Grassley Designated a Friend of Farm Bureau | 2014-12-22 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON- Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has been designated as a Friend of Farm Bureau for the 113th session of Congress that just concluded by the America Farm Bureau Federation. Grassley received the award for his work to advance agricultural interests across Iowa and the United States. I'm honored to receive this award, Grassley said. The work that family farmers do is valuable not just to the nation, but to the world, and I want to be sure their views are represented in Washington. I've made a strong commitment to support agriculture in the U.S. Senate. The Friend of Farm Bureau award is given out during each session of Congress to members who have supported Farm Bureau policy. Recipients are nominated by their respective state Farm Bureaus and approved by the American Farm Bureau Federation. As one of only two working family farmers in the U.S. Senate, Grassley works to be a voice for agriculture and rural America in Washington through his work in the U.S. Senate and his roles on the Finance, Judiciary, Budget, and Agriculture committees. More about Grassley's work to support agriculture can be foundhere. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-additions-doctor-payment-database-says-sunshine-act-fulfills-public | Grassley on Additions to Doctor Payment Database; Says Sunshine Act Fulfills Public Interest | 2014-12-19 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on CMS' addition of records to the database made possible under the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which Grassley co-authored and saw through to enactment into law. CMS continues to make the database more complete and more helpful for the public. The dollar amount over a short period of time might be higher than many people might have anticipated. There's a strong public interest in knowing where this money goes and why. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-announces-deadline-submit-federal-judgeship-applications | Grassley Announces Deadline to Submit Federal Judgeship Applications | 2014-12-19 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON -- With U.S. District Judges for both Northern and Southern Iowa retiring in 2015, Sen. Chuck Grassley is inviting members of the Iowa legal community to contact his office between now and January 9 in order to be considered for a recommendation by him to President Barack Obama. It's important to me that this opportunity be made available to the entire legal community in Iowa. Anyone may apply for a recommendation, Grassley said. Following a comprehensive review of applicants, I will make recommendations to the President and he will make the decision about who is nominated. Grassley, who is expected to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in January, said that Iowa lawyers with stellar legal credentials should contact Aaron McKay of his staff in Des Moines with a cover letter, CV, and references. McKay can be reached ataaron_mckay@grassley.senate.govand 515-288-1145 in Grassley's Des Moines office, which is located at 210 Walnut Street in Room 721 of the Federal building. Applicants may begin submitting applications immediately, but must do so later than Friday, January 9. Interviews will be scheduled starting January 14. The openings are available because U.S. District Judge James Gritzner, the chief judge for Iowa's Southern District, will take senior status, and U.S. District Judge Mark W. Bennett, the chief judge for Iowa's Northern District, is retiring. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-asks-attorney-general-study-ellingson-case | Grassley Asks Attorney General to Study Ellingson Case | 2014-12-19 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa has contacted U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder about investigating the death of Iowan Brandon Ellingson at the Lake of the Ozarks while in police custody. Grassley has spoken with Ellingson's family and their attorney about the case and told them that he would forward to the Attorney General any information they provided. Just this week, Grassley received the information and immediately made a call to Holder. The Attorney General told Grassley that he would review the information personally before providing it to staff attorneys at the Justice Department. Grassley sent the information, along with the letter below to Holder, today. December 19, 2014 Via Hand Delivery The Honorable Eric H. Holder, Jr. Attorney General U.S. Department of Justice 950 Pennsylvania Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20530 Dear Attorney General Holder, As we discussed yesterday, I am writing to you regarding the tragic death of my constituent Brandon Ellingson, who drowned while hand-cuffed and in the custody of Missouri state troopers after they arrested him on the Lake of the Ozarks on May 31, 2014. According to some reports in the media, there continue to be important unanswered questions about, among other things, whether the officer involved in his arrest was properly trained for water safety, whether he gave Brandon a floatation device that was appropriate for an individual in handcuffs, whether the speed of the police boat and Brandon's positioning on the boat caused him to fall into the water, and whether all efforts were made to save Brandon's life afterward. In addition, questions persist in the media about whether Missouri officials conducted a thorough and impartial investigation into Brandon's death. I'm sure you agree that whenever an individual's death is alleged to have been caused by federal or state law enforcement officers, the matter deserves a thorough, independent investigation, including by federal authorities if necessary and appropriate. Obviously, the Department of… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-dea-ban-new-types-synthetic-drugs | Grassley on DEA Ban of New Types of Synthetic Drugs | 2014-12-19 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) today announced it will use its administrative powers to ban three more synthetic drugs under the strictest level of federal law. The agency said the three drugs have appeared in Iowa, among other states, but it does not provide any specific incidents involving the drugs. Sen. Chuck Grassley sponsored legislation, signed into law, that banned a broad category of synthetic drugs. Grassley is ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control. He made the following comment on today's announcement from the DEA. Congress and the Drug Enforcement Administration have to work hard to stay on top of synthetic drugs. The cynical makers of these drugs change one chemical to evade existing federal bans. The DEA's action today is welcome to protect Iowans and others who might run across the latest versions of this dangerous product. The DEA's documents are availablehereandhere. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-us-changes-toward-cuba | Grassley on U.S. Changes Toward Cuba | 2014-12-17 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on President Obama's announcement of eased economic and diplomatic relations between the United States and Cuba. This policy change is a gift for the Cuban government that has done nothing to provide basic, fundamental human rights to the Cuban people. According to our own Department of State, the authoritarian regime led by the Castros for decades has severely restricted fundamental freedoms, repressed political opponents, and violated human rights.' Today's announcement of eased economic and diplomatic relations is not a result of democratic or economic reforms or a newfound respect for human rights or religious freedom. This decision rewards a brutal regime without any significant commitment toward change for the oppressed Cuban people. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-kick-annual-99-county-tour | Grassley to Kick Off Annual 99-County Tour | 2014-12-16 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley will hold four town meetings in Iowa on Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 as part of his annual 99-county tour. With these meetings, Grassley will begin his 35th year holding meetings in every one of Iowa's 99 counties. Grassley has held a meeting in every county, every year since he was first elected to serve in the U.S. Senate. On Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 Grassley will be inAllison, Waverly, Grundy Center, and Marshalltown. Representative government is a two-way street. I'm one half of the process and the people of Iowa are the other half. You can't have representative government without dialogue between elected officials and the people we represent, Grassley said. I appreciate the opportunity to hold town meetings, answer questions and take comments. Grassley will be available for 15 minutes after each meeting to answer questions from local reporters. These town meetings are open to the public and media. Grassley's town meeting schedule for Jan. 3 and Jan. 5 is as follows: Saturday, Jan. 3 9:15-10:15 a.m. Butler County Town Meeting Allison Public Library 412 3rd St. Allison *Grassley will be available for 15 minutesafterthe meeting to answer questions from local reporters. 11 a.m.-Noon Bremer County Town Meeting Waverly Public Library Bremer Room 1500 West Bremer Ave. Waverly *Grassley will be available for 15 minutesafterthe meeting to answer questions from local reporters. Monday, Jan. 5 8-9 a.m. Grundy County Town Meeting Kling Memorial Library 708 7th St. Grundy Center *Grassley will be available for 15 minutesafterthe meeting to answer questions from local reporters. 10-11 a.m. Marshall County Town Meeting Marshalltown Public Library Room B 105 West Boone St. Marshalltown *Grassley will be available for 15 minutesafterthe meeting to answer questions from local reporters. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-teen-drug-use-survey-marijuana-results-are-worrying | Grassley on Teen Drug Use Survey; Marijuana Results are Worrying | 2014-12-16 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, ranking member of the Judiciary Committee and co-chairman of the Caucus on International Narcotics Control, today made the following comment on the National Institutes of Health's 2014 Monitoring the Future Survey. The survey measures drug use and attitudes among the nation's 8th, 10th, and 12th graders. The survey finds that in 2014, in states with medical marijuana laws, 40 percent of 12th graders who reported using marijuana in the past year said they had consumed marijuana in food products (edibles) versus 26 percent in non-medical marijuana states. The majority of high school seniors do not think occasional marijuana smoking is harmful, with only 16.4 percent saying occasional use puts the user at great risk, compared to 27.4 percent five years ago. Earlier this year, President Obama said he thought recreational use of marijuana was just a bad habit' no more dangerous than consuming alcohol. He also indicated he thought it was important' for the legalization of recreational marijuana under state law in Colorado and Washington to go forward.' Attorney General Holder has also recently stated that he's cautiously optimistic' about the legalization of recreational marijuana in those states. Finally, the President recently installed an advocate for the legalization of recreational marijuana as well as the decriminalization of possession of all controlled substances, including cocaine, LSD, and methamphetamine, as acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. When kids receive the message that marijuana use is acceptable and even welcome, it's no wonder that the perception of harm from marijuana goes down. It shouldn't surprise anyone that marijuana edibles are popular among teen-agers in states where those products are available. Those of us in the public eye have an obligation to make sure kids understand the dangers of all drug use, including marijuana. Even in today's survey press release, a government expert warns of the effects of drugs on the developing brain. We can't let… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/tax-extenders-bill-passes-last | Tax Extenders Bill Passes at Last | 2014-12-16 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on Senate passage of legislation to extend expired tax provisions. The provisions include a series of provisions for individuals, such as the college tuition deduction and deduction for teachers who buy classroom supplies out of their own pocket, which Grassley advanced as Finance Committee chairman, and provisions of interest to employers such as equipment expensing provisions for farmers and business owners and a tax credit for the production of electricity from wind energy. Grassley is the author of the original wind energy tax credit and has advanced it several times. Grassley voted for the bill, which now heads to the President for his consideration. Among the last votes of the Senate's lame duck session was on tax extenders. Under the current leadership, the Senate has assigned this piece of business one of the lowest priorities. The message from the Democratic leadership is that certainty for individuals who look forward to these provisions or people who create and maintain jobs is a low priority. This is a bad message in any economy and especially in one that could be much better. House and Senate negotiators were closing in on an agreement that would have provided a two-year extension for most provisions and would have been good for wind energy production, with a multi-year extension. But the President threatened a veto before the ink on the agreement was even written, much less dry. The President was set to get a lot of what he wanted in that deal, but he wanted more. Now we're left with a weak tax package. I hope for better next year, when the Senate is under new leadership. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-civil-asset-forfeiture-reform-legislative-plans | Grassley on Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Legislative Plans | 2014-12-15 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, today made the following comment on news reports that prosecutors are abandoning their seizure of assets belonging to an Iowa restaurant owner over whether she structured bank deposits to avoid federal bank reporting requirements. Grassley is expected to become chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the next Congress. He is a senior member and former chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over the IRS. I'm working on civil asset forfeiture reform legislation to introduce in the new Congress. News reports including those in The Washington Post have detailed aggressive seizures of cash and property from drivers. In the case of the Iowa restaurant owner and others like it, the IRS has now adopted an enforcement policy under which it won't seize assets under the structuring law without evidence of underlying criminal activity unless there are extenuating circumstances. I'm looking at ways to make sure the IRS and other federal agencies' use of these statutes are reformed permanently going forward. Since the IRS changed its approach in these cases, it could change its approach again, and the same is true for other agencies. It's important to look at getting the right policies set in statute going forward. The government's power to seize assets should be used fairly and with common sense. The reforms I'm developing are meant to curb instances in which government power unfairly infringes on the rights of motorists, small business owners and other Americans. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-voting-against-omnibus-spending-bill | Grassley on Voting Against the Omnibus Spending Bill | 2014-12-15 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following comment on his vote against the omnibus spending bill approved by the Senate over the weekend. This bill continued a bad pattern the Senate has fallen into in recent years under the current leadership. Instead of hastily considering a 1,600-page, $1.1 trillion spending bill, we need to return to considering annual appropriations bills. So much spending deserves debate, consideration and an open, transparent amendment process. Senate committees should be able to vet the government programs and spending within their jurisdiction. Senators should be allowed to offer amendments, both in committee and on the Senate floor. A poor process leads to bad policy, like scaling back banking derivatives laws without debate or accountability. It also leads to the distrust the American people have in their government. The people feel Congress writes back-room deals, and we ought to earn back their trust with an open process. And, we're allowing the President to bypass Congress, ignore the rule of law and make major immigration policy by acting unilaterally. My hope for the new year under new leadership is a return to a better process that will lead to better policy than what we're enacting now. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/too-many-red-flags-support-district-judge-nominee-bough | Too Many Red Flags to Support District Judge Nominee Bough | 2014-12-15 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee The Nomination of Stephen Bough to be District Judge for the United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri Mon., Dec. 15, 2014 I'd like to speak today in opposition to the nomination of Stephen Bough to a seat on the district court for the Western District of Missouri. As I do with every nominee, I thoroughly examined Mr. Bough's record with an eye to giving him the benefit of the doubt if problematic issues arose. After full consideration of that record, I am, regrettably, unable to support this nominee. There are just too many data points red flags, if you will which tell me that Mr. Bough doesn't have what it takes to serve in a lifetime appointment on the Missouri district court. These red flags all relate to one troubling question that the nominee's record raises: whether Mr. Bough has the temperament to be a federal judge. He doesn't. Let me explain how I came to that conclusion. First, there's the issue of this nominee's professional conduct. A specific incident from last year demonstrates how Mr. Bough has engaged in what I believe to be unethical behavior that precludes him from service on the federal bench. Last October, a member of the Missouri bar drew to my attention the nominee's participation in a civil case in federal district court. The presiding judge on the case was the nominee's former employer, Senior District Judge Scott O. Wright. About a week before the nominee signed onto the case, the plaintiff's attorney asked the court to transfer the case to another judge. Judge Wright denied that motion the next day. Then, just one week later, the nominee entered his appearance in the case. Mere hours after that, Judge Wright recused himself without any motion from the parties. Now, why did Judge Wright do that? Well, when Mr. Bough joined the case, he created a conflict with Judge Wright. You see, Mr. Bough was Judge Wright's law clerk and remains his close perso… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-supports-bill-iowan-mind-legislation-requires-reporting-deaths-police | Grassley Supports Bill with Iowan in Mind; Legislation Requires Reporting of Deaths in Police Custody Heads to President | 2014-12-11 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Legislation requiring law enforcement to report to the federal government any deaths of people in its custody cleared the Senate late last night and will now be sent to the President to be signed into law. The bill passed the House of Representatives on Dec. 12, 2013. Grassley is Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which passed the bill on Nov. 20, 2014. Grassley said that reducing deaths in custody requires knowing when and how they occur and adopting policies to reduce them. I've supported this bill in the past, but my support is strengthened by a tragic incident involving Iowan Brandon Ellingson, who died earlier this year in police custody in Missouri. There are allegations that his death was due to police negligence, Grassley said. Whenever a citizen dies while in the custody of law enforcement, it deserves to be closely reviewed by the appropriate authorities. That would include the Department of Justice, if it appears that any federal laws were broken. The Death in Custody Reporting Act requires states that receive federal Byrne-JAG funding to report to the U.S. Attorney General about the death of any person in its custody. Failure to report would result in loss of funding of such federal funding. In addition, the bill requires federal law enforcement agencies to report the death of any person detained or arrested by any federal agency of officer or if the person is en route to be incarcerated or detained. The Attorney General is then required to study the information and report to Congress on ways in which the number of deaths in law enforcement custody can be reduced. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-whitehouse-introduce-reauthorization-juvenile-justice-delinquency | Grassley, Whitehouse Introduce Reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice & Delinquency Prevention Act | 2014-12-11 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. Today U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) introduced the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2014 (JJDPA), which updates and strengthens protections for young people in our criminal justice system and reauthorizes funding for key juvenile justice programs. The JJDPA has not been reauthorized since 2002 despite several attempts in recent Congresses. The Senators' bill maintains protections and programs established in the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), and authorizes funding for the law for five years. It also takes steps to improve the treatment of youth under the JJDPA by bolstering its core protections, improving conditions for detained juveniles, incorporating new science on adolescent development, and increasing accountability and oversight in administering the law. The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention program helps in preventing at-risk youth from entering the system and helps those in the system become valuable members of communities across the country. This bipartisan bill will be a good starting point for reauthorizing this important program as we begin a new Congress. It contains significant accountability measures that I've been championing to ensure that funds go to those most in need, and just as importantly it reflects the current fiscal situation of the country, Grassley said. Children are our most precious cares, and as lawmakers we should focus on giving them every opportunity to reach their potential, said Whitehouse, who chaired a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism in June on the need for a reauthorization. This legislation will strengthen the main protections of the JJDPA, and improve the conditions and practices that can determine whether offenders leave our justice system as productive members of society. I'm glad we have arrived at this strong bipartisan bill and look forward to working with Senator Grassley during the next Congress. The new le… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394723 | Loebsack, McKinley Propose Bill to Help Emergency First Responders | 2014-12-10 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Yesterday, Congressmen Dave Loebsack (D-IA) and David B. McKinley (R-WV) introduced bipartisan legislation to help volunteer firefighters and other first responders who keep our communities safe. The bill creates a tax deduction for volunteer first responders and will help Volunteer Fire Departments and other public safety organizations recruit and retain volunteers.“I’d like to thank Representatives McKinley and Loebsack for introducing this important legislation,” said Chief Philip C. Stittleburg, Chairman of the National Volunteer Fire Council. “The services donated by volunteer emergency response personnel are valued at more than $140 billion annually and the average responder donates services worth more than $18,000 each year. At the same time, local agencies are increasingly struggling to recruit and retain volunteer firefighters and EMTs. This common sense bill would help bolster staffing in volunteer public safety agencies by allowing responders to claim a portion of the value of the services they donate each year as a charitable donation.”“Our volunteer firefighters stand ready to serve us the moment disaster strikes. They donate their time and energy to keep us safe, and we can do more to support their critical role in our communities,” said Loebsack. “Over 90% of Iowa’s firefighters are volunteers, and this tax credit would provide an important recruitment tool for Fire Departments to maintain the level of staffing that they need to do their jobs. I am pleased to work on a bipartisan basis with Rep. McKinley to advance this important legislation.” “Small towns across West Virginia and the country rely on volunteers to respond to fires, accidents, and other emergencies,” said McKinley. “Yet these same men and women are often forced to raise money to simply have adequate equipment and training. We can do more to help them.”“We’ve had a number of meetings with Volunteer Fire Departments across West Virginia, and the number one issue they have is recruiting volunteers and keeping them,” said McKinley. “Th… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394724 | Loebsack Named to Powerful Energy and Commerce Committee | 2014-12-10 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Dave Loebsack announced today that he has been named to serve on the House Energy and Commerce Committee for the 114th Congress. The committee has jurisdiction over a wide range of issues, including energy policy; healthcare policy; trade policy; telecommunications and the internet; environment and air quality; and consumer affairs and protection.“Having a seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee will allow me to make a greater impact on job creation, growing the economy, making sound investments in renewable energy such as wind, solar and biofuels and growing the Middle Class in Iowa and across the country,” said Loebsack. “I look forward to this new opportunity that will benefit the state and will continue to work with anyone who is willing to come together and to find a way to move Iowa and our nation forward.” The Energy and Commerce Committee is the oldest standing committee in the House and is an exclusive committee, meaning members of the committee may only serve on other House committees with a waiver from leadership. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/king-amendment-to-house-cromnibus | King Amendment to House CRomnibus | 2014-12-10 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. – Congressman Steve King released the following video statement on the amendment he is offering to the House Rules Committee to the “CRomnibus” funding bill in the United States House. King’s amendment will fund all of the government until January 30 of next year but will prohibit any and all funds from being used to carry out the president’s lawless, unconstitutional executive amnesty in all its forms. To watch Congressman Steve King’s full remarks, click here. To view the full text of the King Amendment, click here. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-statement-nominations-hearing-intellectual-property-positions | Grassley Statement at Nominations Hearing for Intellectual Property Positions | 2014-12-10 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing Regarding the Nominations of: Michelle K. Lee, to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office Daniel Henry Marti, to be Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, Executive Office of the President Wednesday, December 10, 2014 Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before I turn to the nominees who are appearing before us today, I'd like to say just a few words about the process we're following with today's hearing. Everyone in the room today, including the nominees themselves, understands that there isn't enough time for these nominations to be confirmed before we adjourn for the year. We also know, of course, that when the new Congress is sworn in next year, this Committee will have new Members. And those Members should have an opportunity to participate in a hearing. And I expect that next year, those new Members will have that opportunity. So, I wanted to make sure the nominees are on notice and don't have any false expectations. With that said, let me turn to the nominees. Thank you, Ms. Lee and Mr. Marti, for being here today. Congratulations on your nominations to serve as the Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office and as the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator, respectively. You both have strong qualifications and years of experience. You have a proven track record in the field of intellectual property law and are well respected by the intellectual property community. Both the Patent and Trademark Office and the Office of the IPEC need strong and accountable leadership, so I'm pleased that the President has submitted your nominations for the Senate's consideration. The United States is at the forefront for innovating, creating and developing new technologies and products. Intellectual property supports technological advances and spurs innovation. Intellectual property also plays a critical role in … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-tax-extenders-proposal-missed-opportunity | Grassley: Tax Extenders Proposal is Missed Opportunity | 2014-12-10 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Floor Speech of Senator Chuck Grassley on Tax Extenders Delivered Tuesday, Dec. 9, 2014 This week, the Senate is finally poised to take up and pass a tax extenders bill. Congress' procrastination on tax extenders has been causing a lot of headaches and indigestion for many of my constituents back home. Small business owners and farmers want to know whether the enhanced expensing rules under Section 179 will be extended so they can invest in new machinery. Retirees want to know whether they can make a charitable donation from their IRA to meet their required minimum distribution. The renewable energy sector wants to know what investments they should make to increase production. The Senate could have made strides toward answering these questions this past spring. The Finance Committee acted in bipartisan fashion to report an extenders package to the floor that would have extended all expiring provisions for two years. By all accounts this package could have passed the Senate with broad support on both sides of aisles. Unfortunately, movement of this package in the Senate stalled in May due to procedural maneuvering on the Senate floor to prevent votes on all amendments, even those with bipartisan support. With the Senate failing to take action, the hopes of getting extenders done in a timely fashion faded. However, there were high hopes that a bipartisan deal could be worked out with the House that could provide individuals and businesses much-needed tax certainty. Before Thanksgiving, House and Senate negotiators were making headway toward a bipartisan agreement that would have extended most provisions for two years and made several other provisions permanent. The President then thwarted negotiations by threatening to veto that package before it was even finalized. Why the President would threaten to veto a package that by all accounts recognized bipartisan priorities, as well as priorities of the Administration, is beyond me. The President's stated complaint is that the deal was geared too … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/hearing-president%E2%80%99s-executive-action-immigration | Hearing on the Presidents Executive Action on Immigration | 2014-12-10 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Statement for the Record of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on the President's Executive Action on Immigration Wednesday, December 10, 2014 I appreciate the Chairman holding this hearing on this important matter. As a nation founded by newcomers, the United States, for more than two centuries, has served as a haven for those seeking refuge and the chance to make a better life. It's inspiring to consider the sacrifices made by those who've come here to pursue liberty, prosperity and happiness. The promise of freedom and opportunity continues to guide those who dare to dream big and work hard. One of the reasons why so many seek out a new life in America is because our nation is founded upon the rule of law. We are, indeed, a nation of laws not men. And this tradition isn't held in as high regard in some other areas of the world. But I fear that the rule of law here in the United States is being slowly eroded, as the branch of government charged with faithfully executing the laws is increasingly abandoning its duty. Today, it's estimated that more than 11 million undocumented immigrants live in the country, with many deliberately bypassing the proper channels and breaking our laws to gain entry. By all accounts, the U.S. immigration system is broken, and we must return to a system where the rule of law applies to our immigration policies just as it applies to other sectors of society. And the question of how to properly handle people already in the United States illegally is a challenging one. But instead of trusting in Congress's role and in the democratic process, President Obama has chosen to further erode the rule of law by doing what he's said for so long he lacked authority to do he's unilaterally altering our nation's immigration policy in one fell swoop. I recently spoke on the Senate floor about this administration's pattern of unconstitutional executive action, including how it has been rebuked by the courts for overstepping its bounds. … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/king-no-provision-for-funding-now-and-fighting-later | King: No Provision for Funding Now and Fighting Later | 2014-12-09 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. - Congressman Steve King released the following statement regarding the upcoming vote on continued funding of the federal government. House Leaders are preparing to move an omnibus spending bill that would provide funding for all departments of government except the Department of Homeland Security(DHS) which would be funded in a short term continuing resolution(CR). The President of the United States has violated the separation of powers doctrine of the Constitution by lawlessly issuing executive amnesty directives for an estimated 5 million people. A short term CR for DHS coupled with full funding of the balance of government until September 30th gives away almost all of the leverage of Congress to restrain a president by using the “power of the purse.” "The promise to fight later is not new but an actual all out effort by Congress to defund Obama's violations thereby defending the Constitution would be new,” said King. “This battle must be enjoined and the time is now. Anything less and House Republicans will have funded unconstitutional acts. All of us took an oath to defend the Constitution. Our oath means do so come what may. There is no provision for funding now and fighting later. There is no exception for political expediency and we will be called upon in early January to take the oath for the next Congress. “If we fund DHS for a short time without spending limitations stripping Obama Amnesty, we will have lost our Constitutional virtue. It will be nearly impossible to get it back in Congress or in the courts. That's why I'll offer an amendment to restore immigration policy back to current law. Keep in mind, the Obama Administration issued DACA cards and work permits during the shutdown. They would not hesitate to shut down DHS because USCIS employees were paid on time while Border Patrol agents had to wait until after the shutdown. “To preserve leverage, my amendment will fund all of the government until January 30 of next year but will prohibit any and all funds from being used to carry… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394722 | VIDEO: Loebsack Says Farewell to Rep. Latham | 2014-12-08 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Dave Loebsack today gave remarks on the House floor saying farewell to Congressman Tom Latham, who is retiring at the end of this year. Loebsack recalled their work on various issues affecting the state, including the Iowa National Guard, recovery after the Floods of 2008 and addressing the recent VA scandal. The two have worked together since 2007. A video of Loebsack’s remarks can be seen here.“It’s really an honor for me to be up here tonight to speak for and about Tom Latham. When I got elected, one of the first things I did was try to find out as much as I could about Tom Latham and meet with Tom Latham and work with him on a number of issues because I knew he had a reputation for working across the aisle,” Loebsack said on the House floor. “Even at a time and in this Body we’ve seen a lot of ugliness over the years. It seems as though our politics in America has just gotten uglier by the day sometimes. And even in the middle of all that, Tom Latham has stood tall, he’s stood proud as an Iowan, he’s got a lot of commonsense like most Iowans do and he works with the other side because he knows that the job is to get things done. And that’s what Tom Latham does. He has gotten things done.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-weekly-schedule-10 | Grassley Weekly Schedule | 2014-12-08 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Here is information about Senator Grassley's schedule this week. The Senate is in session. Senator Grassley will meet with Iowans in Washington, D.C., from the National Conference of State Legislatures, Iowa Community Development, and the Outreach Program. Senator Grassley will be a guest on public affairs programs hosted by Greg Haubrich and Rich Cain on WGEM in Quincy. On Tuesday, December 9, at 10 a.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in a Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime hearing on Campus Sexual Assault: The Roles and Responsibilities of Law Enforcement. Senator Grassley is a cosponsor of the Campus Accountability and Safety Act which seeks to address sexual assaults on campuses by protecting and empowering students and strengthening accountability and transparency for institutions. More information about the bill can be found here. On Tuesday, December 9, at 10 a.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in a Finance Committee hearing on Social Security: Is a Key Foundation of Economic Security Working for Women? On Wednesday, December 10, at 10 a.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in an Agriculture Committee hearing on The Commodity Futures Trading Commission: Effective Enforcement and the Future of Derivatives Regulation. In August, Senator Grassley launched an inquiry into the CFTC's excessive amount of unused office space, potentially costing taxpayers more than $70 million nationwide. More information can be found here. On Wednesday, December 10, at 10 a.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in a Judiciary Committee hearing considering the nominations of Michelle K. Lee to be Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, and Daniel Henry Marti to be Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator in the Executive Office of the President. On Wednesday, December 10, at 2:30 p.m. (ET), Senator Grassley will participate in a Judiciary Committee hearing on the President's executive action on immigration. On Thursday, De… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/no-social-security-nazis-act-heads-president | No Social Security for Nazis Act Heads to President | 2014-12-05 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on Senate passage last night of a bipartisan, bicameral bill to terminate Social Security benefits for suspected Nazi persecutors. Grassley is a sponsor of the Senate version of the bill, the No Social Security for Nazis Act. The Senate passage clears the bill for the President's consideration. Earlier this week, Grassley and Sen. Orrin Hatch wrote to the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department on Social Security benefits given to suspected ex-Nazis. It's unclear why the federal government allowed millions of dollars to flow to these individuals, including those who have left the country. Record-keeping discrepancies have exacerbated uncertainty and confusion over U.S. government practice and policy on allowing ex-Nazis to retain their Social Security benefits. Once signed into law, this bill will enshrine what should have been the policy of the Justice Department in the first place. Suspected Nazi war criminals should in no event be permitted to retain Social Security benefits. However, the agencies that permitted the benefits still need to explain their actions and commit to enforcing the law as written going forward. I look forward to responses from the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department to the letters Senator Hatch and I sent. The Grassley-Hatch letter to Social Security Administration Acting Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin is available here. The Grassley-Hatch letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394720 | Loebsack Provisions Included in 2015 Defense Policy Bill Pass House | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement after provisions he authored were passed by the House. Loebsack, the only member of the Iowa delegation who serves on the House Armed Services Committee, offered these provisions to be included in the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The legislation also includes new language, which Loebsack supported and worked to include, addressing the ongoing sexual assault crisis in the military. Additionally, it prohibits any new BRAC rounds, which Loebsack also fought to include in the bill. “Our men and women in uniform, along with their families, proudly and honorably serve our country. As a military parent, I am proud to have worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to deliver the level of support and access to resources our troops need and deserve. While it does not include everything I would have hoped, it takes important steps to drive more workload to the Rock Island Arsenal and help both the Arsenal and Quad Cities’ economy remain strong. “This legislation also takes multiple important steps to continue to address the horrific sexual assault crisis that has engulfed the military, though a lot of work remains to be done to address the issue. We must ensure victims have the support they need and prosecute perpetrators to the fullest extent. I will continue to work to address this issue with the urgency it deserves.” Provisions Congressman Loebsack fought to include in the FY 2015 National Defense Authorization Act specifically for the Rock Island Arsenal are: Greater utilization of the organic industrial base – The NDAA will broaden existing efforts from the Army to the entire DOD directing greater utilization of the organic industrial base, which includes the Arsenal. This provision will ensure contracting officers have to give justification for skipping over the organic industrial base for the commercial base. Eliminates authority of the secretary of the Army to abolish arsenals – Since the creation of the Arsenal Act, … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/king-statement-on-present-vote-for-yoho-bill | King Statement on Present Vote for Yoho Bill | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. - Congressman Steve King spoke on the House Floor today on H.R. 5759, “The Executive Amnesty Prevention Act,” also known as the Yoho Bill. King voted present on H.R. 5759. King supports Representative Ted Yoho but is determined to defund the lawless acts of this President. To watch Congressman Steve King’s remarks, click here. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/fans-act-are-sports-blackouts-and-antitrust-exemptions-harming-fans-consumers-and | The FANS Act: Are Sports Blackouts and Antitrust Exemptions Harming Fans, Consumers, and the Games Themselves? | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee "The FANS Act: Are Sports Blackouts and Antitrust Exemptions Harming Fans, Consumers, and the Games Themselves?" Thursday, December 4, 2014 Mr. Chairman, First, let me welcome the witnesses who've taken the time out of their schedules to be with us today and share their views. The subject of today's hearing is the legislation sponsored by Senators Blumenthal and McCain, the FANS Act. But more broadly speaking, we're here to talk about sports blackouts, and sports blackout policies. Let me start by saying that I think we can all agree on one fundamental notion: No one likes sports blackouts. The sports leagues and their member teams don't like them. Television providers don't like them. And of course, sports fans definitely don't like them. In Iowa, even though we don't have a Major League Baseball team, the entire state falls within a blackout territory of six different teams: the Cardinals, Royals, Twins, Brewers, Cubs, and White Sox. I can tell you, the periodic blackouts are a very frustrating experience for a lot of Iowans. So there is no question that blackouts are an exasperating experience and disfavored. The question is how best to minimize blackouts and thereby maximize the benefits to consumers, while also respecting the rights of private parties to negotiate with each other at arms-length. On that note, I'll add one other comment. As we all know, the Federal Communications Commission voted unanimously in September to eliminate its sports blackout rules. I think as a general matter, the federal government shouldn't be in the business of mandating policies that parties are otherwise free to negotiate privately. At the same time, however, I think we need to be mindful of the flip side of that same coin. More specifically, as a general rule, the federal government shouldn't be in the business of mandating which provisions should and should not be included in private contracts. Anytime such a step is proposed… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-paul-welcome-house-oversight-national-science-foundation-neon | Grassley, Paul Welcome House Oversight of National Science Foundation, NEON | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | In September, Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Rand Paul wrote to the National Science Foundation and the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) to express concern over NEON's spending of federal funds on parties, alcohol and lobbying and the National Science Foundation's apparent sanction of that spending. The spending on highly questionable management fees was a subject of a House of Representatives hearing today. Grassley and Paul made the following comment on today's hearing and their plans going forward. The hearing was welcome and appropriate. The National Science Foundation management seemed to jump at the chance to approve NEON's highly questionable expenses. Nobody on the outside would have known if not for a whistleblower who tried to flag the problem. The onus is on National Science Foundation to make sure the organizations it funds take care with federal funds, not to whitewash spending on parties, alcohol and lobbying. We intend to make sure the National Science Foundation is held accountable for such wasteful spending in the past and that it prevents this kind of spending going forward. The taxpayers can't and shouldn't have to sustain inappropriate spending. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-receives-first-ever-award-policy-work-uniting-children-grandparents | Grassley Receives First-ever Award for Policy Work on Uniting Children With Grandparents | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has received the first-ever Grandfamilies Champion Award from the advocacy group Generations United for his work to support grandparents raising their grandchildren. Helping to present the award was a West Des Moines woman who has informed congressional policy work through her own example. It's an honor to receive recognition for something that makes sense to many families, Grassley said. Sometimes grandparents are more than willing to step in and raise their grandchildren but policies might discourage that. Congress enacted changes to encourage grandchild-grandparent households and build more stability for the children than they would have in the foster care system. We should continue with work to build on the family success stories here. Andreah Moyer of West Des Moines presented Grassley with the Grandfamilies Champion Award. Moyer spent years in the foster care system but would have preferred placement with her grandparents. However, at the time, there was no flexibility with foster care policy to help grandparents who are on a fixed income and need financial assistance to be able to raise their grandchildren. In 2008, after hearing the stories of Moyer and others, Congress enacted the Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008. Grassley was key in enacting the legislation, which includes a provision for states to adopt and provide subsidized guardianships for children in the care of relatives in the foster care system. That means the children can exit the foster care system but still have the financial support that enables them to live with their grandparents. In Moyer's case, had this been law when she and her brothers were growing up, her grandparents could have received the subsidy and been able financially to raise them. Instead, her brothers were adopted, and she was moved from foster home to foster home. A new report from Generations United describes progress in placing children in foster care with grandparents and other rel… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-releases-report-inspector-generals-bungling-zero-dark-thirty | Grassley Releases Report on Inspector General's Bungling of Zero Dark Thirty Investigation | 2014-12-04 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | ***A copy of the report can be found here. Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa United States Senate Zero Dark Thirty Report Thursday, December 4, 2014 Mr. President, I come to the floor today to talk about Zero Dark Thirty not the movie but a report on the movie. The report was supposed to tell us how the movie's producers obtained top secret information. But the report never took us there. The Department of Defense Inspector General (IG) stumbled and fell and lost sight of the goal and the need for independence. People were exposed to harm. The Taxpayers' money got wasted. Alleged misconduct by top officials was shielded by a policy that may have been abused. Bureaucratic bungling caused confusion, turmoil, and dissent. It was a fiasco. The Zero Dark Thirty report was driven by the hemorrhage of leaks of highly classified information by senior administration officials after the Osama bin Laden raid. It was requested by the Chairman of a House oversight Committee, Congressman Peter King. He read a column in the New York Times, which indicated that Hollywood filmmakers received top-level access to the most classified mission in history. He was concerned that those disclosures could undermine our ability to successfully conduct covert operations in the future. So in August 2011, King asked the Inspectors Generals (IG) at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Department of Defense (DOD) to answer five simple questions. My focus is the DOD IG investigation. I became involved after whistleblowers contacted my office in December 2012, alleging that Acting and Deputy Inspector General Lynne Halbrooks was sitting on the King report. They alleged that she was suppressing the report to (1) protect her boss, Secretary of Defense Panetta and other senior officials, from disciplinary action or prosecution and (2) to further her candidacy to be the next defense IG. Her nomination was vetted while the investigation was in progress. The convergence of these potential conflicts-of-intere… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/statement-ice-nominee-judiciary-executive-business-meeting | Statement on ICE Nominee at Judiciary Executive Business Meeting | 2014-12-03 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary Executive Business Meeting I. Nominations Sarah Saldaa, to be an Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Joan Marie Azrack, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York Loretta Copeland Biggs, to be a United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina Elizabeth K. Dillon, of Virginia, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia Michael P. Botticelli, to be Director of National Drug Control Policy II. Bills Saving Kids from Dangerous Drugs Act (S. 1686) Protecting Our Youth from Dangerous Synthetic Drugs Act (S. 1323) Wednesday, December 3, 2014 Mr. Chairman, There is a request on our side that we hold over the three district court nominees and the nominee to be Director of National Drug Control Policy, Mr. Botticelli. I understand we will also be holding over the two bills on the agenda. I'd like to say a few words on Ms. Saldaa's nomination before we vote. At our last markup, two weeks ago, I mentioned that because Ms. Saldaa didn't appear before the full committee to answer questions, the Republican Senators on the committee invited her to meet with us to have a dialogue on some of the challenges facing ICE. I was disappointed not only in the fact that she didn't come and meet with us, but that we didn't even receive the courtesy of a reply to this invitation. Moreover, we received Ms. Saldaa's answers to the questions for the record only yesterday. I am still reviewing them, but as an initial response, I'm disappointed in many of her answers, not only on immigration but on other issues as well. With respect to the recent executive order on immigration, I recognize that it was the President's decision and not hers, but I was disappointed that she seemed to embrace rather than disavow the President's recent actions. Beyond that, I'd note that there are other areas as well where her answers were unsatisfactory. Many time… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-comments-meeting-attorney-general-nominee-loretta-lynch | Grassley Comments on Meeting with Attorney General Nominee Loretta Lynch | 2014-12-02 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and likely incoming Chairman, made the following statement after meeting with Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch. This was the first time I'd had the opportunity to meet Ms. Lynch. We had a very nice conversation that focused on my priorities as well as priorities she would have as Attorney General. I look forward to continuing to learn more about Ms. Lynch's background as we gather and review all of the relevant materials in advance of her appearance before the committee. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-hatch-press-social-security-administration-justice-department-benefits | Grassley, Hatch Press Social Security Administration, Justice Department on Benefits for Suspected Nazis | 2014-12-02 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Orrin Hatch are seeking details from the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department on Social Security benefits given to suspected ex-Nazis. It's unclear why the federal government allowed millions of dollars to flow to these individuals, including those who have left the country. Record-keeping discrepancies have exacerbated uncertainty and confusion over U.S. government practice and policy on allowing ex-Nazis to retain their Social Security benefits. We have introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation to close the Social Security loophole in order to prevent this practice in the future and hope that it will become law soon, Grassley and Hatch wrote in letters to each agency. However, there remain questions about DOJ's actions and what will be done in current cases if the law is not passed before they are resolved. Grassley and Hatch asked for statistics in areas including the total number of Nazi suspects who received Social Security benefits after leaving the United States, how many suspected Nazis currently receive Social Security benefits and live outside the country, information on the potential outcome of certain identified cases, and details of interaction between the Social Security Administration and the Justice Department on the issue. Hatch is the sponsor and Grassley is an original cosponsor of bipartisan, bicameral legislation to terminate Social Security benefits for Nazi persecutors who receive them because of a loophole in current law. The practice appeared to be little-known in recent years until an Associated Press report exposed the practice, leading to scrutiny from Congress and public outcry. The Grassley-Hatch letter to Social Security Administration Acting Commissioner Carolyn W. Colvin is available here. The Grassley-Hatch letter to Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. is available here. Hatch is ranking member of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over Social Security. Grassley is a senior member and former c… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-pushes-independent-military-justice-system | Grassley Pushes for Independent Military Justice System | 2014-12-02 | 2014 | 2014-12 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today reiterated the need for an independent military justice system, citing the mounting evidence that the existing system continues to fail members of the military who are victims of sexual assault and other crimes. The longer we wait, the more we will fail the men and women who choose to serve in our country's military, Grassley said. The Military Justice Improvement Act will bring the change that public pressure will not and cannot. There's an old Washington expression that trying to turn around a bureaucracy is like trying to turn around an aircraft carrier. It takes time and effort. When it comes to military justice, we don't have the luxury of waiting for the aircraft carrier to turn around. We need action, now. Grassley joined a bipartisan group of colleagues at a press conference to renew the push for passage of their bipartisan Military Justice Improvement Act. The legislation would remove the decision of whether to prosecute serious crimes such as sexual assault from military commanders, who have a lack of independence from both perpetrators and victims. Led by the bill's main sponsor, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, the news conference featured former Air Force Chief Prosecutor Colonel Don Christensen (Ret.), who served as chief prosecutor for four years. Christensen was featured in a New York Times Magazine cover story this past Sunday. He said he has left the military after 23 years because it was impossible to fix the system from the inside. The full text of Grassley's statement at the news conference follows below. Video from the news conference is available here. A photo from the news conference is available here. Grassley Statement at News Conference on the Military Justice Improvement Act In Washington, promises of reform are often just promises until an institution is forced into action. The action often comes after public embarrassment and pressure through outside scrutiny from Congress, watchdog groups, and the national media. But the military's approac… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394718 | Loebsack Leads Bipartisan Fight Against Cuts to Critical Access Hospitals | 2014-11-25 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Dave Loebsack recently continued his fight against misguided cuts to Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) that provide care to many Iowans living in rural areas. Loebsack helped lead a bipartisan effort with 45 Members of Congress in calling on the President to refrain from including arbitrary cuts to CAH in his upcoming budget proposal. “(Critical Access Hospitals) play an important role in communities by providing access to primary, emergency, and acute care services,” the lawmakers wrote. “As you consider the FY 2016 budget, we believe that indiscriminate cuts to CAHs, similar to those included in previous budgets, are not the answer." A copy of the letter can be seen here. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-law-helps-justice-department-recover-3-billion-taxpayer-money | Grassley Law Helps Justice Department Recover $3 Billion Taxpayer Money | 2014-11-21 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | More than $44 billion has been recovered through the federal False Claims Act WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today that the federal False Claims Law has recovered $5.69 billion in the fiscal year 2014, nearly $3 billion of which was related to lawsuits filed under the qui tam provisions of the False Claims Act. Grassley is the author of the 1986 qui tam amendments to the False Claims Act as well as an update to the law in 2009. In total, $44.67 billion has been recovered through the False Claims Act since Grassley's 1986 provisions were signed into law. The Justice Department announced that this is the first year that the annual recovery has exceeded $5 billion. Time and time again the False Claims Act has proven to be the key tool in battling fraud and recovering more taxpayer dollars. Nearly $45 billion have been recovered because of the law, and an untold amount deterred, Grassley said. The False Claims Act provides a crucial check during a time of growing government and out of control federal spending. No matter what we do to deter fraud, whistleblowers are the key to finding it. Our 1986 qui tam amendments have empowered these people to come forward and risk their livelihoods to do what is right. The amendments Grassley championed 25 years ago along with Rep. Howard Berman of California strengthened the Civil War-era False Claims Act which was originally signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. The 1986 Grassley-Berman qui tam amendments empowered whistleblowers to file suit on behalf of the United States against those who fraudulently claim federal funds, including Medicare, Medicaid, contract payments, disaster assistance and other benefits, subsidies, grants and loans. The number of suits filed under the qui tam provisions exceeded 700 in the fiscal year 2014 for the second year in a row, according to the Justice Department. In 2009, in coordination with Senator Patrick Leahy, Grassley worked to pass legislation to shore up whistleblower pr… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/hud-oversight-moving-work-dollars-lacking | HUD Oversight of Moving to Work Dollars is Lacking | 2014-11-21 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley today released a response from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to his letter, with Sen. Mark Kirk, on the department's oversight of billions of dollars of federal Moving to Work program funds given to local housing authorities in Chicago and elsewhere across the country. Grassley is concerned that HUD appears to be rushing to extend new Moving to Work contracts well before the existing contracts expire and that HUD is performing inadequate oversight of how housing authorities spend these program funds. The Chicago Housing Authority, for example, has stockpiled Moving to Work funds while people in need of affordable housing remain on long waiting lists. Grassley has placed a hold on the nominee for HUD Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing, the office with jurisdiction over the Moving to Work program, out of his concerns. Grassley wants to ensure that the Moving to Work program works as intended before extending it another ten years. Grassley made the following comment on HUD's response: HUD has a pattern of conducting too little oversight of federal funds until it's too late, and the damage has been done. The latest response doesn't give me confidence that HUD is performing enough oversight of Moving to Work dollars. It's true that this program was meant to provide housing authorities with more flexibility than under other federal housing programs, but flexibility doesn't mean a free pass from checks and balances. The buck still starts and stops with the agency writing the checks. HUD is ultimately responsible for making sure people in need receive the safe, affordable housing intended with federal funding, in Chicago and elsewhere around the country. The Grassley-Kirk letter to HUD is available here. HUD's response is available here. Grassley's statement on the nomination hold is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/renewable-fuel-standard-reprieve-mixed-news-farmers-biofuel-producers | Renewable Fuel Standard reprieve is mixed news for farmers, biofuel producers | 2014-11-21 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on the announcement from the Environmental Protection Agency that it will delay finalization of the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) Renewable Volume Obligations (RVO) until 2015. The reprieve is mixed news for the farmers and biofuel producers who have responded to the call for more homegrown, renewable energy. The Administration's ill-conceived proposal would have caused real harm to farmers, producers, and consumers. It would have increased dependence on oil and protected the stranglehold Big Oil has on our country's fuel supply. Still, the Administration doesn't deserve praise. Creating uncertainty for everybody who works in this industry isn't a good way to do business. No one knows what kind of proposal the Administration might offer next year. Uncertainty is the enemy of job creation and investment. Unfortunately, as we also saw with the Keystone XL pipeline, uncertainty, delay and indecision are hallmarks of this Administration on energy policy. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/soon-expire-satellite-tv-law-reauthorized | Soon-to-Expire Satellite TV Law Reauthorized | 2014-11-21 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today that a bill reauthorizing for five years the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act, more broadly known as STELA, cleared the Senate last night. The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act provides consumers access to distant television content by satellite. It was set to expire on Dec. 15. Passage of this bill makes sure the statute won't expire and the 1.5 million customers who likely don't have other options for receiving television service won't lose their satellite service, Grassley said. I appreciate the bipartisan work that went into getting this law reauthorized. Grassley's bill reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act was included in a larger package of telecom related legislation. It will now go to the President for signature. The Judiciary Committee held a hearing on The Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act in March. STELA touches on both copyright and communications law. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/veterans-foreign-wars-bill-passes-charter-updated-include-women | Veterans of Foreign Wars bill passes; charter updated to include women | 2014-11-21 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, today made the following comment on Senate passage last night of a House of Representatives-passed bill to amend the federal charter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States to reflect the service of women in the U.S. Armed Forces. The bill was called up for expedited consideration in the Senate. Since the bill was in the Senate Judiciary Committee's jurisdiction but had not been through the committee, Grassley's consent was necessary for expedited consideration. The Senate passed the bill by unanimous consent. The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States has a long history of serving combat veterans. Women serve in a variety of roles in the military, with an increasing role in combat. Women have given their lives and received recognition for their heroism, the same as men, and so the charter of a prominent veterans organization should reflect the modern reality of the armed forces. More information on the House-passed bill, H.R. 5441, is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/ebola-visa-ban-introduced | Ebola Visa Ban Introduced | 2014-11-20 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley today joined Senators Marco Rubio, Pat Roberts, John Thune and Mark Kirk to introduce legislation that would create a temporary visa ban for people who have resided in a country that the Centers for Disease Control has designated as a country with widespread transmission of Ebola. Aid workers and foreign military who must travel to the United States would be exempted. The Ebola virus outbreak has wreaked havoc on several West African countries and has threatened the United States. To protect our security, we must stop Ebola at its source. The best way to make this happen is to cease issuing visas or restricting entry to people from countries that are most impacted. The fact of the matter is that these countries simply don't have the standards in place to properly screen travelers entering the United States, Grassley said. According to U.S. State Department officials, between March 1, 2014, and September 27, 2014, a total of 6, 398 U.S. visas were issued to nationals of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. There were 3,135 visas issued to Liberians, 1,472 visas issued to Sierra Leoneans, and 1,791 visas issued to Guineans. Meanwhile, according to International SOS, a company that provides organizations help in managing the health and security risks facing travelers, dozens of countries including many in Africa have instituted travel and entry restrictions. Grassley said that most of the calls and emails coming into his office have advocated for a travel ban. On October 17, Grassley wrote to the President and encouraged him to consider travel restrictions. To date, the administration has not committed to doing so. Keeping America Safe from Ebola Act of 2014: Restricts entry, suspends new visas and revokes current visas of an individual: o Who is a permanent resident or national of a country that the Centers for Disease Control has certified is a country for widespread transmission of Ebola, and o Whose last habitual residence was a country t… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-expired-tax-provisions-require-action | Grassley: Expired Tax Provisions Require Action | 2014-11-20 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Floor Statement by Senator Charles E. Grassley The Need to Act on Tax Extenders Delivered Thursday, November 20, 2014 Here we are in another lame duck session of Congress working to finish the business that we've failed to complete during the previous year or two. One of those critical pieces of legislation that must be enacted is a tax extender bill. It seems as though nearly every year in recent memory we've put off the extension of expired tax provisions until the very last minute. In 2012, provisions remained expired for an entire year before finally being extended in January of 2013. Similarly, the previous extension of expired provisions did not occur until the middle of December. Now, once again we find ourselves heading into the month of December with tax extenders having been expired for nearly eleven months. This is no way to do business. Such late action by Congress results in complications come filing season for taxpayers. Tax season is unpleasant enough without us adding to it by failing to do our job in a timely fashion. But, once again, we have created a lot of headaches and uncertainty for individuals and businesses. This uncertainty harms investment and business growth. This is bad for economic growth and bad for jobs. The lapse of renewable energy incentives has also created a lot uncertainty and slowed growth in the renewable industry. This serves only to hamper the strides made toward a viable self-sustainable renewable energy and fuel sector. It didn't have to be this way. The Senate Finance Committee, under the leadership of Chairman Wyden and Ranking Member Hatch, did its job. We marked up an extenders package in early April. The Senate never took up that package because the Majority Leader refused to allow Republicans to offer amendments. Rather than consider and advance the Finance Committee bill, the Majority Leader shelved the extenders bill because of fear that members of his party might have to take tough votes before the election. With the elections behind us, it's n… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-importance-rural-health-care-maintaining-providers | Grassley on the Importance of Rural Health Care, Maintaining Providers | 2014-11-20 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley Floor Statement on Rural Health Delivered Thursday, November 20, 2014 Today I rise to recognize National Rural Health Day. I would like to take a moment to recognize our rural healthcare providers and all that they do for this country. Approximately 62 million Americans live in rural areas, and they depend on an ever shrinking number of healthcare providers. Rural providers play an important role in improving the health of their communities and supporting local economies. I want to thank our rural providersindividuals, hospitals and clinics for all that they do. Rural providers support a population that makes invaluable contributions to this country through food production, manufacturing and other vital industries. Yet, more people in rural areas are living below the poverty line than their urban counterparts. Rural hospitals are struggling to continue providing care due to declining payments, many exacerbated by the Affordable Care Act. The past few years have been marked by increasing rural hospital closures, with 27 hospitals shutting their doors in the last two years. The trend is concerning and deserves attention as many more facilities and communities are at risk right now. Once a hospital is gone, the devastating impact on the community cannot be undone. The economic impact is unmistakable. The typical critical access hospital creates over 140 jobs in primary employment and $6.8 million in local wages while serving a population of over 14,000. When facilities close, the consequences of traveling great distances for medical care are much more than inconveniencethe delays in obtaining care can mean the difference between life and death. According to U.S. News & World Report, that was the case for an infant in Texas who choked on a grape and died after the only hospital in the county had closed just a few months before. There are a number of similarly tragic stories, and they will continue to mount if we fail to take action. In 1946, Congress recognized the importance of rural he… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-reacts-president-obamas-executive-actions-immigration | Grassley Reacts to President Obama's Executive Actions on Immigration | 2014-11-20 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following statement after President Barack Obama's announcement tonight that he will make a series of executive actions thwarting the Immigration and Nationality Act. Grassley has sent letters questioning the President's planned executive action, and his actions to enforce current immigration law. Grassley also has asked about policies prioritizing deportation of criminal aliens. In addition, Grassley gave a speech on the Senate floor last night about the President's abuse of executive authority and mass amnesty. Here is Grassley's statement. The President's executive actions on immigration are the wrong way forward and disrespectful of the law. Such broad, massive legalization is an affront to the Constitution. The President himself has said that he doesn't have authority, or that he doesn't prefer this course of action, but yet continues to take this route. The President is missing a big opportunity to enact real reform, and instead he's poisoning the well for future action. Nobody thinks the status quo is okay. But, the President's actions are only a Band-aid for a real problem; in fact, he's making it worse. How does Congress move forward when the President has made it clear with tonight's announcement that he doesn't want to work with the elected officials in the legislative branch where reform has to happen? Unfortunately, if the American people have learned anything about this President, it's that he has never worked well with Congress-even those in his own party. His disdain for a co-equal branch of government is very evident. It shows in executive actions like this, in regulations that the American people are solidly against, and in his and his Cabinet's responses to Congress' constitutional responsibility of oversight. I think the president would have been wise to start where we can agree. Let's work on Trade Promotion Authority or Corporate Tax Reform. If we start with items we can agree on, maybe, just maybe, it would lead to… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394715 | Loebsack Backed Legislation to Reform Child Care Program is Signed into Law | 2014-11-19 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Dave Loebsack today joined a bipartisan group of leaders from the House and Senate at the White House for the bill signing ceremony for the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act (CCDBG). As Ranking Member of the House Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education, Loebsack helped negotiate the final agreement, which will enhance transparency, strengthen health and safety protections, and improve the quality of child care for low-income families. “Ensuring your child is safe and well cared for when you are not around is a concern for every parent. For low-income working families who are struggling to make ends meet, having someone to care for their children can mean the difference between finding a job or not,” said Loebsack. “The Child Care Development Block Grant provides a critical lifeline to families and allows them to work or attend school with the peace of mind knowing their children are safe and well cared for. This bipartisan legislation makes long needed updates and improvements to CCDBG that will promote healthy child development and enhance quality and safety. I am pleased that both Republicans and Democrats came together to help improve the lives of working families.”The Child Care and Development Block Grant Act provides funds to states to help low-income families pay for child care while a parent works or is in an educational or job training program. The law has not been reauthorized since 1996.The bipartisan, bicameral legislation includes reforms to: Enhance parental choice by providing information about available care options from all providers, including faith-based and community-based providers, and allowing parents to choose the child care provider that best suits their family’s needs. Strengthen safety in child care settings by requiring all providers to comply with state health, safety, and fire standards and undergo annual inspections. Promote high quality child care by reserving funds at the state level to improve the quality of care provided to… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/criminal-aliens-may-be-allowed-remain-country-under-executive-action-despite | Criminal Aliens may be Allowed to Remain in Country Under Executive Action Despite Policy Prioritizing their Deportation | 2014-11-19 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the Ranking Member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today that executive action taken by President Barack Obama may continue to allow thousands of undocumented criminals to remain in the country even though they have been identified as a priority for deportation by his own administration. Grassley sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson expressing his concerns that despite a 2011 enforcement memorandum prioritizing the deportation of convicted criminals, the department released more than 36,000 of them back into U.S. communities during fiscal 2013, including 169 homicide convicts. During this same time frame, the Obama administration reportedly released an unknown number of people who had been convicted of 426 sexual assaults, 1,075 aggravated assaults, 228 kidnappings, 647 hit-and-runs, 1,317 domestic violence offenses, and thousands of other dangerous crimes, including treason. The egregious use of executive action and rule by fiat is bad enough, but knowing that undocumented criminals continue to be released into communities, even this past year, and could still remain in the country is outrageous, Grassley said. The Obama administration allowed tens of thousands of undocumented criminals to stay in communities across the country despite a policy specifically stating that these people be deported. The Department released murderers and domestic abusers from its custody. So, why would anyone trust this administration going forward? Grassley wrote in the letter to Johnson, Given ICE's admitted failure in FY 2013 to pursue the removal priorities identified in the June 2011 enforcement memorandum, there is a genuine concern as to whether deportations of convicted criminals and those who pose a national security risk will be any different under a new enforcement memorandum. In June, Grassley began asking questions about the release of individuals convicted of homicide and were awaiting deportation proceedings. Grassley said that ICE's… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-floor-statement-national-adoption-day | Grassley Floor Statement on National Adoption Day | 2014-11-19 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley National Adoption Day on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2014 Delivered Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 On Saturday, many children and families around the country will celebrate National Adoption Day. It's a day that many adoptions are finalized and youth find their forever families. It's very comforting and fitting that this day helps kick off the holiday season. Families will be formed and strengthened. This Thanksgiving, many children will celebrate with their new families and not have to worry about their next placement or their next meal. And this month, we give thanks to the men and women who make their dreams come true. Since the first National Adoption Day in 2000, nearly 50,000 children have joined forever families during National Adoption Day. In 2013 alone, adoptions for 4,500 children were finalized through 400 National Adoption Day events across the county. These are impressive numbers -- numbers that make us proud of the work being done to help children in foster care find loving families. But there is always more work to be done. Today, there are over 102,000 children in the foster care system. Iowa alone has over 6,200 children in foster care, many of whom are waiting for a loving family to adopt them. There are so many issues facing foster youth in addition to being torn apart from their families. They face serious trauma. They are likely to be treated differently, and don't get to do the same activities as other kids. They transition from home to home, and school to school. They don't know normalcy. And they may never know permanency. And, after years of challenges, some are forced to transition to adulthood on their own. Unfortunately, each year over 23,000 youth age out of care in the U.S. Too many older children in foster care, especially those with special needs, are often the ones who wait the longest to leave foster care. Foster youth simply desire to have what so many of us were blessed to have that is, a home with caring, loving parents and siblings. These kids… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-floor-statement-tribute-us-senator-tom-harkin | Grassley Floor Statement: Tribute to U.S. Senator Tom Harkin | 2014-11-19 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Video of the floor statement can be viewed here. Floor Statement Tribute to U.S. Senator Tom Harkin by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley November 19, 2014 Mr. President, I rise today to celebrate the 75th birthday of my friend and long-time colleague from our home state of Iowa, Tom Harkin. As you know, Mr. President, Senator Harkin will be retiring from public office in just a few weeks. At the end of the 113th Congress, Senator Harkin will close a chapter on public service that spans more than a half-century, including four decades in Congress. He served 27 years in the United States Navy and U.S. Naval Reserves. Ten years in the U.S. House of Representatives. And 30 years here in the United States Senate. That's a remarkable and distinguished record of public service. After 40 years of representing Iowans in Congress, Tom soon will leave behind the halls of the U.S. Capitol. He also will leave behind a legacy of fiery floor speeches, passionately delivered on behalf of individuals with disabilities. For Iowa farmers. For the elderly. For child laborers. And for the many causes he championed, such as early childhood education, nutrition and wellness, conservation, renewable energy and the environment. Through the years, Tom and I have served side-by-side in Washington for the good of our home state. For three terms, we worked together in the U.S. House of Representatives. It was here our shared commitment to give Rural America a voice at the policymaking tables was sown. And for the many years we have worked together on the Senate Agriculture Committee, we looked out for the millions of Americans who choose to work and earn a living in Rural America. We worked together to advocate for rural infrastructure and investment and access to health care, housing, technology and transportation. For the last three decades we have served alongside one another in the United States Senate, an institution we hold near and dear to our hearts. Although some of our silver-tongued critics over the years may have as… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/president-obama%E2%80%99s-abuse-executive-action-and-mass-amnesty | President Obamas Abuse of Executive Action and Mass Amnesty | 2014-11-19 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Floor Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee President Obama's Abuse of Executive Action and Mass Amnesty Wednesday, November 19, 2014 In his State of the Union address last January, President Obama announced what he called a year of action. Armed with a pen and a phone, he promised to take action where Congress wouldn't. At the time, I warned that these threats were a gathering danger to the separation of powers established in the Constitution. The President is now threatening to implement a mass amnesty from our immigration laws by executive fiat. He plans to act without the support of Congress or the American people. In fact, he has conveniently waited until after the recent elections to do so, to avoid being punished at the ballot box. This executive order will be the culmination of his self-proclaimed year of action. The President may think of this executive action as a political victory in a year filled with so many failures and defeats for him and his party. But history will surely view it as a serious blow to the system of checks and balances established by the Framers. In reality, this was a year in which the President's abuse of executive power came into clear focus. Today I'd like to review President Obama's pattern of unconstitutional executive action this year. I'd like to explain why the mass amnesty he is threatening is merely the latest in a long list of abuses of his executive authority. And I'd like offer a few thoughts about what the Senate can do about these kinds of abuses. After the President's State of the Union address, I wrote to the Attorney General on January 31st. I wrote that I was gravely concerned that the system of checks and balances enshrined in the Constitution [was] threatened by the President's determination to take unilateral action. In short, I made clear, that while the President has a pen and a phone, we have a Constitution that places limits on his use of them to issue Executive Orders. Indeed, my concern about t… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/columns/steve-king-op-ed-in-breitbart-protecting-the-constitutional-balance-of-power | Steve King op-ed in Breitbart: Protecting the Constitutional Balance of Power from Executive Amnesty | 2014-11-18 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | President Barack Obama was right when he said on May 10, 2011, "sometimes when I talk to immigration advocates, they wish I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that’s not how a democracy works." And when he said, on March 28, 2011, "with respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed." Those quotes are from before his re-election. Apparently his belief about "how democracy works" was a ploy. Now, he wants to unilaterally rewrite immigration law, and illegally grant amnesty to millions. Since he was reelected, and (apparently) once his Democrat colleagues get through the midterms, he now believes he can suspend deportations for anyone and ignore immigration law altogether. And for the benefit of the Constitutional professors among us, there is no magical section of the Constitution that says a president can use executive power if Congress fails to enact his will. Our Republic will not long survive if we continue to allow a president to defy the Constitution, let alone the will of the people. Congress will have a chance to act in December. We can write a provision that specifically defunds any action the President may take to weaken enforcement of immigration law. One such as the amendment I offered in September. However, if we take another road, and enact an Omnibus appropriations bill that runs the course of the Fiscal Year with no mention of immigration enforcement, Congress will have no leverage. We will not have the ability to exercise the power of the purse, the only power this president appears to respect. Some say we should wait until after the President has acted. He's already started. "When the cat's away, the mice will play," as the adage goes, and the Obama Administration is making the moves that Democrats in tight races claim to oppose, while the nation is focused on those tight races. Now, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/king-on-ebola-this-threat-must-be-contained-and-controlled | King on Ebola: This Threat Must be Contained and Controlled | 2014-11-18 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. - Congressman Steve King released the following statement after the Iowa National Guard announced that by the order of the Secretary of Defense, the 294th Area Support Medical Company, Iowa Army National Guard based in Washington, Iowa has a pending mobilization in support of the Operation United Assistance. This will affect approximately 80 soldiers from that unit. “God Bless everyone who is willing to go to the Ebola stricken regions in Africa,” said King. “I have many times said they should be volunteers for a mission to fight an unseen, lethal enemy. As part of the Iowa family, our prayers go with you all. Except for U.S. citizens quarantined upon their arrival, the President should immediately halt travel between the U.S. and any country that is a source of the Ebola outbreak. According to the State Department 13,500 foreign nationals from Sierra Leon, Guinea, and Liberia have been granted travel visas for the U.S. These individuals could pose a serious threat to the public health and security of the U.S. This threat must be contained and controlled.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-vote-favor-keystone-xl-pipeline | Grassley on Vote in Favor of Keystone XL Pipeline | 2014-11-18 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today made the following comment on his vote in favor of the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. We need an all-of-the-above approach to meet the country's energy needs and give consumers choice. That means oil, ethanol, electricity from wind, and nuclear power. The State Department this year released its fifth environmental review of the pipeline, concluding that the project would not bear significant environmental impact and would provide the safest way to transport oil. A pipeline would be safer than transporting oil by rail. Congress needs to act because the Obama Administration has stalled for years. Canada will produce this oil with or without U.S. involvement in the shipment. I'd rather work with one of our strongest allies than continue to get oil from the volatile Middle East or Venezuela. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/intellectual-honesty-needed-income-data | Intellectual Honesty Needed on Income Data | 2014-11-18 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Grassley points out that a tax code that's uncompetitive and federal regulation that's heavy handed and overly aggressive has been a wet blanket on America's economic recovery in recent years, hurting American workers. Washington needs to focus on an environment for job creation and economic opportunity. In that debate, distortions of data about income inequality need to be exposed. Former Sen. Phil Gramm and Michael Solon reveal how data has been twisted in a way that's intellectually dishonest in order to promote the redistribution of income. That goal in fact limits economic opportunity rather than expands the economic opportunity that's been the tradition and great opportunity of living in America. How to Distort Income Inequality The Piketty-Saez data ignore changes in tax law and fail to count noncash compensation and Social Security benefits. By Phil Gramm And Michael Solon Nov. 11, 2014 6:50 p.m. ET What the hockey-stick portrayal of global temperatures did in bringing a sense of crisis to the issue of global warming is now being replicated in the controversy over income inequality, thanks to a now-famous study by Thomas Piketty and Emmanuel Saez, professors of economics at the Paris School of Economics and the University of California, Berkeley, respectively. Whether the issue is climate change or income inequality, however, problems with the underlying data significantly distort the debate. The chosen starting point for the most-quoted part of the Piketty-Saez study is 1979. In that year the inflation rate was 13.3%, interest rates were 15.5% and the poverty rate was rising, but economic misery was distributed more equally than in any year since. That misery led to the election of Ronald Reagan, whose economic policies helped usher in 25 years of lower interest rates, lower inflation and high economic growth. But Messrs. Piketty and Saez tell us it was also a period where the rich got richer, the poor got poorer and only a relatively small number of Americans benefited from the economic bo… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://loebsack.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=394714 | Loebsack Leads Call for Action on Wind Energy Prior to Adjournment | 2014-11-17 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Democrat | House | IA | Dave Loebsack | L000565 | loebsack.house.gov | legacy | Congressman Dave Loebsack today led a call to Congressional leaders to take action and extend the job-creating Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Investment Tax Credit (ITC) before the 113th Congress adjourns. Loebsack joined with Senator Tom Harkin and Representative Bruce Braley in writing to the leaders of both the House and Senate calling for Congress to provide the wind energy industry the stability it needs to operate. The three have been longtime proponents of the wind energy industry.“Like all businesses, the wind industry seeks certainty and predictability so that long term project decisions and investments can be made. Without that stability, we once again risk losing many of the jobs, infrastructure and investment that the wind industry has created,” the Members wrote. “Time is running out for us to pass an extension of the PTC and ITC to help to avoid further layoffs and divestment. It is imperative that a vote to extend these important provisions occurs before the 113th Congress adjourns sine die.”A copy of the letter can be found here. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/king-we-are-headed-for-a-constitutional-crisis-if-president-grants | King: We are Headed for a Constitutional Crisis if President Grants Amnesty | 2014-11-13 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. – Congressman Steve King released the following statement in reaction to the leaked amnesty details this morning: “This President has been floating the trial balloon on executive amnesty for a long time,” said King. “Today, new details surfaced that the President plans to attempt amnesty as early as next Friday, sending us into a Constitutional crisis. The President was right when he said on March 28, 2011, ‘with respect to the notion that I can just suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case, because there are laws on the books that Congress has passed.’ And when he said, on May 10, 2011, ‘sometimes when I talk to immigration advocates, they wish I could just bypass Congress and change the law myself. But that’s not how a democracy works.’ Well, now we know that his belief about ‘how democracy works’ was a ploy. Now he wants to unilaterally rewrite immigration law granting illegal amnesty to millions. The audacity of this President to think he can completely destroy the Rule of Law with the stroke of a pen is unfathomable to me. It is unconstitutional, it is cynical, and it violates the will of the American people. Our Republic will not stand if we tolerate a President who is set upon the complete destruction of the Rule of Law. I am calling on all of my colleagues in the House to use the power of the purse to protect our Article I authority. This is about defending our oath to the Constitution too. We cannot allow Barack Obama’s anticipated, unconstitutional act to be implemented, for if it is it will destroy the pillars of American Exceptionalism. Come what may – we must always protect the Constitution.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-adoption-advocates-honor-bettendorf-family-adopting-foster-care | Grassley, Adoption Advocates Honor Bettendorf Family for Adopting from Foster Care | 2014-11-13 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley and the group Voice for Adoption are highlighting an Iowa family that expanded through adopting four children from foster care. The Grise family of Bettendorf has a portrait on display in Grassley's office for this month, National Adoption Month. Children in foster care deserve a permanent family, Grassley said. We should commend the volunteers and parents who make adoption possible. Ali and Chris Grise grew their family from two to six by adopting four children in three years. It's an honor to showcase their story to inform and inspire others on the joy of adoption. Voice for Adoption arranged the portrait and biography of the Grise family on display in Grassley's office. The group also gave Grassley one of ten Legislative Champion awards to Congress on behalf of children in foster care and adoptive families. More than 400,000 children are in the foster care system nationwide. Each year, more than 23,000 youth age out of care. Grassley is co-chairman and founder of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, with a special focus on preventing youth from aging out of the system and helping those who do. The Grise family's story is available here. The portrait of the Grise family on display in Grassley's office is available here. A photo of Grassley with Nicole Dobbins, executive director of Voice for Adoption, is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-statement-nominations-hearing-lame-duck-hearings-no-saldana | Grassley Statement at Nominations Hearing, Lame Duck Hearings, No Saldana | 2014-11-13 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary Hearing regarding the nominations of: Joan Marie Azrack, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of New York; Loretta Copeland Biggs, to be a United States District Judge for the Middle District of North Carolina; Elizabeth K. Dillon, of Virginia, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Virginia; and Michael P. Botticelli, to be Director of National Drug Control Policy Thursday, November 13, 2014 Mr. Chairman, Congratulations to all the nominees and their families here today. This is a big moment for all of you in your professional careers, and I offer my congratulations on your nomination. Along with three nominees to district courts, we will be hearing today from the nominee to be Director of National Drug Control Policy. I'm looking forward to hearing what he has to say about many of the challenges we as a nation are facing in this area, including the ongoing epidemic of prescription drug abuse, as well as the increasing availability of marijuana to young people. I must say, I'm a bit disappointed we won't be hearing from the nominee to run the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Ms. Saldana. Although the Chairman is working with me and Senator Cornyn to refer her nomination to the Judiciary Committee and while I appreciate that accommodation from the Chairman I am disappointed she won't be providing live testimony before our committee. In my view, written questions for the record are no substitute for live testimony. Finally, I just wanted to point out, as we all know, we are now in a lame duck session of Congress. I would note that although the committee has held hearings for judicial nominees during lame duck sessions in the past, in modern history none have ever been confirmed that same year. As the 113th Congress draws to a close, I would like to remind my colleagues that we have confirmed 106 district and circuit court judges in the past t… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-announces-intent-object-hud-nominee-consideration-over-agency-rush | Grassley Announces Intent to Object to HUD Nominee Consideration Over Agency Rush on Moving to Work Contracts, Lack of Program Oversight | 2014-11-12 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today said he intends to object to Senate consideration of a Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) nominee over the agency's apparent rush to negotiate new contracts with local housing authorities participating in the Moving to Work demonstration program. Grassley announced his hold on the nomination of Lourdes Castro Ramirez to be the Assistant Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the Office of Public and Indian Housing. A group of housing advocacy organizations is concerned about the lack of transparency surrounding the contract negotiations. I recently learned that HUD is negotiating new, ten year contracts with the thirty-nine housing authorities participating in the Moving to Work (MTW) demonstration program. The Office of Public and Indian Housing is also responsible for administering this program but has failed to conduct proper oversight for years, Grassley said in a statement. The current contracts don't expire until 2018 so there's no need to rush into signing new contracts. Instead, I recommend HUD takes serious steps to address the program deficiencies and determine if this demonstration should continue. Grassley's objection would take place if and when the nomination reaches the full Senate. His statement is available here. A letter from the housing advocacy organizations to HUD is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-reacts-white-house-nomination-loretta-lynch-be-attorney-general | Grassley Reacts to White House Nomination of Loretta Lynch to be Attorney General | 2014-11-07 | 2014 | 2014-11 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley made the following statement on the White House's intent to nominate U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch to be the next Attorney General. I congratulate Ms. Lynch on her nomination. Being selected to serve as our nation's top law enforcement officer is both a tremendous honor and responsibility. As we move forward with the confirmation process, I have every confidence that Ms. Lynch will receive a very fair, but thorough, vetting by the Judiciary Committee. U.S. Attorneys are rarely elevated directly to this position, so I look forward to learning more about her, how she will interact with Congress, and how she proposes to lead the department. I'm hopeful that her tenure, if confirmed, will restore confidence in the Attorney General as a politically independent voice for the American people. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-and-harkin-call-postal-service-ensure-all-absentee-ballots-are-counted | Grassley and Harkin Call on Postal Service to Ensure All Absentee Ballots are Counted | 2014-10-30 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) today called on the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to make all possible effort to ensure that Iowa absentee ballots are counted. Specifically, the senators issued a letter to the district managers of the Hawkeye District USPS and the Central Plains District USPS urging them to ensure that ballots receive legible postmarks between now and Election Day. Under Iowa state law, ballots received on Election Day or after may only be counted if they are postmarked one day prior to the election. The USPS does not routinely postmark business reply mail envelopes, including ballots, leaving many Iowans at risk of being disenfranchised. We must make all possible effort to ensure that every ballot receives a legible postmark between now and Election Day, next Tuesday, November 4, said Grassley and Harkin. We respectfully request that the Postal Service instruct its staff across the state to take the actions necessary to ensure that every ballot is postmarked, ensuring that each Iowa vote that is properly cast can also be properly counted. The full text of the senators' letter is below. October 30, 2014 Jim Herrman District Manager Hawkeye District United States Postal Service 7900 Hickman Road Des Moines, IA 50324-4400 Rick Pivovar District Manager Central Plains District United States Postal Service 6005 Lockheed Court P.O. Box 199500 Omaha, NE 68119 Dear Mr. Herrman and Mr. Pivovar: As you may be aware, Iowa state law currently requires that ballots received on Election Day or after may only be counted if they are postmarked one day prior to the election. Because the United States Postal Service does not routinely postmark business reply mail envelopes, including ballots, many Iowans are at risk of being disenfranchised by not having a legitimately cast ballot counted. This is particularly problematic given that Iowans have chosen to vote early in 2014 at a rate unprecedented in a non-Presidential election year. Already nearly 400,000 Iowans … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-spring-internships-available-applications-due-november-15 | Grassley Spring Internships Available, Applications Due November 15 | 2014-10-30 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa said today that spring internships for college-age Iowans are available, and applications are due November 15. Internships are available in Grassley's Washington, D.C., office as well as his offices in Cedar Rapids, Council Bluffs, Davenport, Des Moines, Sioux City and Waterloo. The semester-long internship will run from January 19 through May 15. Interns in the Washington, D.C., office will be placed in one of three departments: administrative, legislative or communications. An internship allows for a wide range of learning experience and exposure for students on Capitol Hill. A firsthand account of a Grassley internship can be read here. Grassley said he encourages young Iowans who are interested in learning more about the government to apply. Interning in a congressional office is a good way for college students and new graduates to learn more about the legislative branch of the federal government while gaining valuable experience. Internships in my offices are available to students in all areas of study, Grassley said. Application forms are available on Grassley's website and in Grassley's offices in Iowa. Due to security-related delays in postal mail delivery to U.S. Senate office buildings, internship applications should be emailed to intern_applications@grassley.senate.gov or faxed to 202-224-5136. For additional information, email intern_applications@grassley.senate.gov or call 202-224-3744. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/issa-and-grassley-us-attorney-put-public-danger-failing-bring-charges-border | Issa and Grassley: US Attorney Put Public in Danger by Failing to Bring Charges in Border Grenade Case | 2014-10-30 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, R-IA, today made the following statement after the Department of Justice's Inspector General released a report on the conduct of the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) regarding a case on Jean Baptiste Kingery, an American who was suspected of smuggling thousands of grenade parts from the U.S. to Mexico to build live grenades for Mexican drug cartels: The Inspector General's detailed review found that federal prosecutors should have approved the arrest and prosecution of Kingery long before they did, said Issa. The failure of the Arizona U.S. Attorney's Office, and specifically Assistant United States Attorney Emory Hurley, to take action allowed a dangerous individual to remain free and continue his criminal activities, placing public safety at risk on both sides of the border by allowing the trafficking of grenades to narco-terrorists. The IG's report shows that Hurley again failed to bring charges against suspected criminals when he had more than enough evidence, as he did in Operation Fast and Furious. The IG report makes clear that an assistant U.S. attorney refused to prosecute a known arms trafficker for unpersuasive' reasons. Not only is this the same problem that occurred in Operation Fast and Furious, it was the same assistant U.S. attorneywho is still working for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Arizona today, Grassley said. The Kingery case is a microcosm of problems at the Justice Department. It's another example of agents being hung out to dry by the Justice Department and a dysfunctional U.S. attorney's office. It's long past time for accountability at the Department of Justice. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/stewardship-taxpayer-dollars-question-during-unaccompanied-minors-influx | Stewardship of Taxpayer Dollars in Question during Unaccompanied Minors Influx | 2014-10-30 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley said today that a contract signed by the federal government during the influx of unaccompanied minors crossing the United States' southern border raises more questions about the Obama administration's stewardship of taxpayer dollars. In a letter to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell, Grassley wrote, In your testimony, just months after this grant was approved, you claimed that a large infusion of taxpayer dollars was necessary because, we don't have enough beds and we don't have sufficient resources to continue to add beds.' It's disturbing that HHS is funding such expensive facilities despite claiming to be unable to meet basic needs for UACs (Unaccompanied Alien Children). The contract between the federal government and Southwest Key Programs provided for a facility with an organic garden, a small petting farm and guitar lessons for the minors. Grassley also said he was concerned that documents provided to his office showed no attempt to negotiate the contract. Grassley began asking the Obama administration to explain and justify apparent outrageous spending on housing for the high numbers of undocumented migrants crossing the southern border. In a July 17, 2014, letter to Burwell, Grassley expressed concerns about news reports of a $50 million contract now apparently withdrawn to house some 600 undocumented border crossers and her statement at a member-level briefing that it is costing the taxpayers between $250 and $1000 a day to house one individual. Grassley reiterated his questions in an August 22, 2014, letter before the department responded on August 26, 2014. In addition, on October 10, 2014, Grassley, along with Senators Orrin Hatch and Tom Coburn, asked the Government Accountability Office to review HHS policies in caring for unaccompanied minors, including the ability of the department to accommodate this year's influx and how the office has prepared to deal with another surge which the administration suggests … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/klobuchar-grassley-urge-federal-trade-commission-release-data-pay-delay | Klobuchar, Grassley Urge Federal Trade Commission to Release Data on Pay-For-Delay Settlements | 2014-10-29 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the senators requested the prompt release of the agency's annual report summarizing agreements where brand-name drug companies pay generic drug companies to delay marketing lower cost generic drugs WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) today urged the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to release data on pay-for-delay settlements. In a letter to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez, the senators requested the prompt release of the agency's annual report summarizing agreements where brand-name drug companies pay generic drug companies to delay marketing lower cost generic drugs. Pay-for-delay agreements deny consumer access to more affordable alternatives to brand medications, the senators wrote. The 2013 and 2014 numbers will help Congress understand whether the Court's decision [in Actavis v. FTC] has altered the behavior of drug manufacturers, and what legislative reforms are currently needed. Klobuchar and Grassley have long supported efforts to combat anti-consumer pay-for-delay settlements. The senators are the lead sponsors of the Preserve Access to Affordable Generics Act which would crack down on anti-competitive pay-offs and make sure consumers have access to cost-saving generic drugs they need. The legislation would make it illegal for brand-name drug manufacturers to use anti-competitive pay-off agreements to keep more affordable generic equivalents off the market. Klobuchar and Grassley introduced similar legislation in 2010 following a resurgence of patent settlement agreements. In July 2013, the Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights held a hearing to scrutinize on pay-for-delay deals. Pay-for-delay agreements delay generic entry into the market nearly 17 months longer on average than agreements without payments. These pay-off settlements (also known as reverse payments) delay consumer access to cost-saving generic drugs, which can be as much as 90 percent cheaper than brand-nam… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/irs-use-civil-asset-forfeiture-laws-and-small-business-owners | IRS' Use of Civil Asset Forfeiture Laws and Small Business Owners | 2014-10-27 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Ranking Member of the Judiciary Committee, today made the following comment on a New York Times story describing the IRS' use of civil asset forfeiture laws to seize the assets of small business owners without suspicion of a crime. A senior member and former chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over the IRS, Grassley is a long-time proponent of IRS improvements, having served on the National Commission on Restructuring the IRS and co-authoring the first-ever Taxpayer Bill of Rights and its sequel. When I hear about legitimate business owners' having their money seized without judicial review, it reminds me of the taxpayer abuses that led Congress to create taxpayer bill of rights laws and the IRS restructuring commission. The IRS plays a role in fighting money laundering and other criminal activity, but it has to treat business owners fairly. If the pendulum has swung too far in favor of the government and against fairness for innocent people, then it's time to reform civil asset forfeiture laws and procedures. I plan to look into the government's use of civil forfeiture laws, including the IRS' use, and develop potential reforms where necessary. The New York Times story is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-highlights-congressional-foster-youth-internship-qualified-applicants | Grassley Highlights Congressional Foster Youth Internship for Qualified Applicants | 2014-10-24 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today noted qualified applicants are eligible to apply for a special internship in the nation's capital for young people who spent time in foster care. The non-profit Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute sponsors its Foster Youth Internship to place interns in congressional offices for the summer to work on child welfare policy. The purpose of this internship is to inform congressional policy debates about foster care and adoption policy and come up with specific solutions, Grassley said. I can say from experience that the internship works as intended since my office has had interns through this program, including one this year. Having interns with recent foster care expertise is valuable to the policy discussion and helpful to the cause going forward, as the interns learn about policy-making firsthand. I hope qualified Iowans will be among the applicants in the coming year. Grassley has hosted an intern from the program on several occasions. Most recently, his office benefited from the internship of Amnoni Myers, a former foster youth who developed a proposal to promote resilience in foster youth through trauma-informed training for caregivers. Her proposal, along with other proposals from her fellow interns, is available here. The dates for the 2015 Foster Youth Internship Program are May 26 to July 30. All application materials must be received by Friday, Jan. 9, 2015. Details are available here. Grassley is co-chairman and founder of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth. The caucus provides a voice for foster youth in shaping the policies that affect their quality of life. The caucus has a special focus on older youth who need continued support as they age out of the system. Among other activities, it sponsors a speakers' series to bring the best ideas from the field to policymakers in Washington, D.C. Grassley formed the caucus after working on major adoption and foster care policy, including the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and the Fostering Connection… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-comments-terrorist-being-tried-us-and-alleged-criminals-being-released | Grassley Comments on Terrorist Being Tried in the U.S. and Alleged Criminals Being Released into Local Communities | 2014-10-23 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today made the following statement after the media reported that the Obama administration had released perpetrators of serious crimes from immigration facilities prior to removal proceedings. Media reports also claim that the administration is bringing to the United States a terrorist caught on the battlefields of Afghanistan and will have him tried in the federal court system. Press reports today have indicated two serious breaches of trust with the Obama administration. Earlier today, it was reported that the Obama administration at best misled Congress, and at worst lied, when it told Congress that immigration detainees it had freed from jail last year were low risk offenders with no serious criminal records. According to media reports, documents show that alleged kidnappers and perpetrators of such heinous crimes such as sexual assault and even homicide were released into communities in the United States. If the report is accurate, the administration has a lot of explaining to do, including why they haven't answered my letter from last summer asking for the same information. In addition, we're just learning that the Obama administration plans to bring a foreign terrorist, who was captured on the battlefield in Afghanistan, to the United States to face criminal charges in federal court. Terrorists taken from the battlefield should be tried in the military commission system that was created for that very purpose, not a civilian court. There's a reason that even Russia won't take this terrorist back. Now, to give him the full set of rights that an American citizen is afforded when accused of a crime is a slap in the face to the men and women fighting abroad to keep us safe. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-wyden-optimistic-future-whistleblowers-fbi | Grassley, Wyden Optimistic for Future Whistleblowers at FBI | 2014-10-22 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden today expressed optimism that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whistleblowers may receive better protection under new guidelines outlined in a proposal to President Barack Obama. In August, Grassley and Wyden asked the President to release a 14-month overdue report on Protecting Whistleblowers with Access to Classified Information. The President had requested on Oct. 10, 2012, that the Attorney General deliver a report to him within 180 days assessing the effectiveness of the Federal Bureau of Investigation regulations for protecting whistleblowers as well as ensuring enforcement of those regulations and describing any needed improvements. Nobody's got on rose-colored glasses that the culture for whistleblowers at the FBI will change anytime soon, but many of the items outlined in the FBI's analysis are promising. I'm not a fan of all of the recommendations, but it would at least be a step forward if some of them are actually implemented and carried out. That said, in an agency with so much focus on the chain of command, it makes no sense for the FBI to be the only agency in the federal government not to protect disclosures of waste, fraud, and abuse to immediate supervisors, Grassley said. They have been a long time in coming, but many of the Justice Department proposals to improve protections and due process for whistleblowers at the FBI would be significant improvements, Wyden said What's important now is to make sure the Department follows through and really makes those changes. The report makes several proposals that would bring FBI whistleblowers more in-line with the rest of the government, such as equalizing a whistleblower's access to witnesses with the agency's access, awarding compensatory damages for retaliation, and publishing decisions on internal whistleblower appeals as well as the annual Justice Department reports on FBI whistleblowing. The report proposes expanding the categories of officials to whom a protected disclosure can b… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-issa-seek-agency-explanation-federal-workers-long-term-paid-leave | Grassley, Issa Seek Agency Explanation of Federal Workers on Long-term Paid Leave | 2014-10-21 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley and Rep. Darrell Issa today asked the federal agencies featured in a critical government audit to account for the hundreds of federal employees on paid leave for a year or more. Each agency handles administrative leave on its own terms in the absence of clear guidance that should apply to everyone, Grassley said. The result is employees' getting paid to stay home, sometimes for more than a year, while management looks the other way. This is detrimental to taxpayers and good government. The agencies should account for each case of paid leave, especially those lasting more than a year. The explanations will help Congress arrive at solutions to stop abusively long leave. Given the GAO's report showing the incredible amount of money being spent on leave, Congress must know how it is possible that agencies' current processes result in gross overuse of paid administrative leave, wasting taxpayer funds, Issa said. The GAO reported that the VA continued to pay nearly 6,000 workers for one to six months, with no obligation on these employees to work. The taxpayers have the right to know why their money was spent on paid administrative leave instead of caring for our nation's veterans. Grassley and Issa wrote to 17 agencies and the inspector general for one agency featured in a report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO), issued this week at their request, along with Sen. Tom Coburn. The report documented paid leave for what appears to be the first time, finding that over a three-year period, data covering about 60 percent of all civilian federal employees found that more than 57,000 employees were on paid administrative leave for more than a month, costing $700 million in salary alone, excluding benefits. About 4,000 of the employees were off the job for three months to a year and 263 employees for one to three years. The most common reason cited for periods of extended administrative leave to GAO was personnel matters such as investigations into misconduct and pending administra… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-joins-bipartisan-group-calling-irs-address-tax-refund-fraud | Grassley Joins Bipartisan Group Calling on IRS to Address Tax Refund Fraud | 2014-10-21 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is among a bipartisan group of 15 senators calling on the IRS to do a better job of preventing tax refund fraud using stolen identities. This is a chronic problem, Grassley said. The IRS should make fixing it a high priority. Identity theft is devastating for victims and when it comes through the IRS, it undermines the integrity of the tax system. Grassley is former chairman and ranking member of the Finance Committee, with exclusive Senate jurisdiction over the IRS. The full text of the senators' letter to IRS Commissioner John Koskinen follows here. October 20, 2014 The Honorable John A. Koskinen Commissioner Internal Revenue Service 1111 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, DC 20224 Dear Commissioner Koskinen: We are writing to request information regarding the IRS's efforts to prevent identity theft-related refund fraud. There has been a substantial increase in this kind of fraud in recent years with $5.2 billion being lost to fraudulent tax returns in 2013, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). GAO characterized this growing problem as a persistent, evolving threat to honest taxpayers and tax administration in its latest report on the subject. We understand that the IRS may not be able to stop all refund fraud, but a lot more can be done within the IRS's current authority to reduce the risk of fraud and improve taxpayer services. We would like an update from you on what you have done to date with respect to the following: Accelerating the verification of tax return information. By law, the IRS has 45 days after a return is due to issue a refund without interest, yet refunds are typically issued just 9.6 days after a return is filed, according to the GAO. Providing victims of tax-related identity theft with a single point of contact, as recommended by the National Taxpayer Advocate for several years. According to the Taxpayer Advocate, without a single person responsible for transferring cases from one function to another, cases can become stu… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-comments-world-trade-organization-latest-ruling-country-origin-labeling | Grassley Comments on World Trade Organization Latest Ruling on Country of Origin Labeling | 2014-10-20 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following comment after a World Trade Organization (WTO) compliance panel determined that the revised rule released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) violates rules under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). COOL was included in the 2002 farm bill, but was delayed for several years before finally being implemented in March 2009. In 2011, a WTO compliance panel found that some aspects of COOL discriminated against foreign livestock, specifically from Mexico and Canada. In May 2013, USDA released an updated COOL rule reflecting the initial WTO ruling, which was again challenged be Mexico and Canada, and is what was most recently found to violate WTO rules. I'm a supporter of Country of Origin Labeling. People, now more than ever, want to know where their food comes from. We know where our T-shirts come from. We should know where our meat comes from. After two negative findings from the WTO, with the second WTO ruling saying that the revised rule from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was actually worse than the original rule, it's likely time for Congress to go back to the drawing board. Country of Origin Labeling needs to be written and implemented clear of any trade distorting principles. As a member of the world trading community, we have an obligation to be trade compliant, even if we disagree with the rulings. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-expresses-alarm-thousands-federal-workers-paid-leave-months | Grassley Expresses Alarm at Thousands of Federal Workers on Paid Leave for Months | 2014-10-20 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa today expressed alarm at the findings of a new report, issued at his request, documenting that tens of thousands of federal employees were on paid leave for at least one month and several hundred employees for nine months to three years, over a recent three-year period. These employees should be working for the taxpayers, not getting paid to stay home, Grassley said. Paid leave is an excuse for managers not to manage and put off a decision on what to do with employees accused of misconduct or who blow the whistle or dispute a personnel action. The mentality seems to be out of sight, out of mind, and that's not the way to run the government or act responsibly with tax dollars. Grassley commented on a report he sought from the non-partisan Government Accountability Office (GAO), which found that over a three-year period, data covering about 60 percent of all civilian federal employees found that more than 57,000 employees were on paid administrative leave for more than a month, costing $700 million in salary alone, excluding benefits. About 4,000 of the employees were off the job for three months to a year and 263 employees for one to three years. The most common reason cited for periods of extended administrative leave to GAO was personnel matters such as investigations into misconduct and pending administrative actions. Grassley said the practice of paid leave has been little-documented until now. He sought the study because of numerous instances of paid leave that came to light through his oversight and investigative work. Sometimes the leave is used to retaliate against a whistleblowing employee, and other times it's used to distance an agency from an employee accused of misconduct while an investigation drags on, Grassley said. Separate from the GAO report, examples of paid leave that came across Grassley's radar include: --Multiple employees of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were on paid leave for extended periods during the Fast and Furious i… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/senators-press-president-stop-issuing-visas-west-african-countries | Senators Press President to Stop Issuing Visas in West African Countries | 2014-10-17 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans are asking President Barack Obama to immediately cease issuing visas to persons of Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea, and to consider expanding this ban to other countries that may not have standards in place to properly screen travelers entering the United States. In a letter to President Obama, Judiciary Committee members, led by Ranking Member Chuck Grassley, along with senators Orrin Hatch, Mike Lee, Jeff Sessions, Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and John Cornyn, wrote, the Ebola epidemic is a national security issue, and a threat to global security. And, we couldn't agree more with the American people that a travel ban must be put in place to protect our homeland and reduce any spread of the virus. More than 6,000 visas were issued between March 1, 2014, and September 27, 2014 to people in Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea. In a recent Washington Post-ABC News poll, two-thirds of those polled backed restrictions on individuals traveling to the United States from countries with an Ebola virus outbreak. Here is a copy of the text of the letter to the President. A copy of the signed letter can be found here. October 17, 2014 President Barack H. Obama The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear President Obama: As members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has oversight over immigration and visa policies, we write to express our grave concerns about the seemingly inflexible position you have taken in issuing a travel ban or heightened entry requirements on individuals who may been infected with the Ebola virus. On September 16 of this year, you spoke at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, saying, Now, here's the hard truth: In West Africa, Ebola is now an epidemic of the likes that we have not seen before. It's spiraling out of control. It is getting worse. It's spreading faster and exponentially. Today, thousands of people in West Africa are infected. That number could rapidly grow to tens of thousands. … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-issa-press-answers-about-another-crime-gun-connected-fast-and-furious | Grassley, Issa Press for Answers about Another Crime Gun Connected to Fast and Furious | 2014-10-16 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley and Congressman Darrell Issa are again pushing the U.S. Department of Justice to be forthcoming about yet another gun found at the scene of a shooting in Arizona and connected to the ill-advised gunwalking strategy known as Operation Fast and Furious. The shooting occurred at a Phoenix apartment complex and left two individuals wounded. Grassley and Issa learned of the gun from documents obtained through a request under Arizona's open records law by Judicial Watch. According to the non-profit's website, the organization promotes transparency, accountability and integrity in government. Grassley and Issa were able to confirm through documents obtained during their investigation that the weapon found at the scene was purchased by Sean Christopher Steward, who has since been convicted for his role in Operation Fast and Furious and is serving 9 years in prison. Steward purchased the firearm while under surveillance by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The ATF agents watched Steward purchase the firearms, place them in another person's vehicle, and transfer them to a suspected stash house. Despite the continued surveillance, the ATF did nothing to stop the guns from being moved. The gun was one of approximately 200 firearms that Steward purchased in December 2009 with full knowledge of the ATF. In a letter to Deputy Attorney General James Cole, Grassley and Issa ask for additional information about this particular gun and other firearms associated with crimes that were allowed to be trafficked by the ATF during Operation Fast and Furious. Grassley and Issa have previously asked for similar information, and make clear that the continued lack of transparency by the Obama administration regarding Operation Fast and Furious creates mistrust from Congress and the American people. The refusal to respond to our standing requests for this information effectively hides the connection between crimes like this and Operation Fast and Furious. Unless the informati… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/cedar-falls-named-2014-%E2%80%9Cdigital-capital%E2%80%9D-iowa | Cedar Falls Named the 2014 Digital Capital of Iowa | 2014-10-15 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTONSenator Grassley today applauded Cedar Falls for being named the 2014 Iowa eCity in recognition of the strength of the Cedar Falls online business community. The award was presented by Google today at Scratch Cupcakery, a small business in Cedar Falls. The award was determined by a review of local small businesses in cities in all 50 states by Google and the independent research firm Ipsos MORI. A variety of factors were analyzed including the likelihood of small businesses in each city to have a website, sell goods directly from their website, promote their business on a social network, use a blog, and whether they have a mobile-friendly site. The top scoring city in each state was designated as a Google eCity. I always take great pride in visiting small businesses throughout Iowa, which serve as an engine of economic prosperity. Small businesses create jobs, boost local economies, and provide a route for entrepreneurs to turn dreams into reality. Iowa is clearly embracing technology and the power of the Internet to grow its business community, and I congratulate Cedar Falls on helping to lead the charge, said Grassley. Grassley is an advocate for small businesses and has worked to advance federal policies that encourage growth and innovation in this important sector, including increasing the accessibility of a research and development tax credit for small business owners. He supports pro-growth tax reform such as simplifying and reducing tax rates for individuals and small businesses. Grassley has also been named a Guardian of Small Business by the National Federation of Independent Business. Two out of every three new jobs in America are created by small businesses. According to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, small businesses make up 99.7 percent of all U.S. employer firms, and over half of the American workforce either owns or works for a small business. More information about the Google eCity Awards can be found here. Grassley's remarks today in Cedar Falls are below. Pre… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-conyers-question-new-practice-denying-records-doj-inspector-general | Grassley, Conyers Question New Practice Denying Records to DoJ Inspector General | 2014-10-15 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senate and House Judiciary Committee Ranking Members Chuck Grassley and John Conyers are raising questions about a new practice by the Justice Department denying certain records to the department's Inspector General. During testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, the Inspector General for the Department of Justice, Michael Horowitz, raised concerns about the FBI's refusal to provide certain documents, such as grand jury records and material witness warrants information. The Inspector General sought these records to determine whether the Department had violated the civil liberties and civil rights of individuals detained in national security investigations following September 11. In addition, the Inspector General also sought records as part of the review of Operation Fast and Furious. The Department's refusal to provide records immediately as required by law wastes months in bureaucratic roadblocks and frustrates the independent oversight Congress created Inspectors General to provide. Prior to 2010, the FBI and other agencies in the Justice Department routinely provided similar information to the Inspector General's office. Grassley and Conyers, who both voted for the original Inspector General Act, wrote in a letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Karl Thompson, In order to carry out audits and investigations with the independence mandated by the (Inspector General) Act, Inspectors General must have unfettered access to records of the Departments they oversee. Grassley and Conyers acknowledged that an Inspector General inquiry can be prevented under the law in certain limited circumstances, but they emphasized in their letter that the Attorney General is required to explain in writing to both the Inspector General and Congress why the Inspector General's work should be impeded despite the Inspector General Act's guarantee of access to all agency records. The current practice is the opposite of the procedure dictated by the statute and unnecessarily delays the work of the Inspec… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-reacts-white-house-delay-announcing-attorney-general-nominee | Grassley Reacts to White House Delay on Announcing Attorney General Nominee | 2014-10-14 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement after a White House official acknowledged that the President would delay announcing a replacement for Attorney General Eric Holder until after the mid-term elections. According to the AP, Senate Democrats asked the President to delay the announcement to avoid controversy about whether they will support the nominee. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has policy and oversight jurisdiction over the Justice Department, will consider the nominee. This timing shows, once again, that the President and Democrat Senate leaders are willing to play politics with important policy decisions. First it was immigration, and now Senate Democrats have asked the President to delay his announcement for Attorney General so they can avoid making clear to the voters of their states where they stand on what could be a controversial choice for Attorney General. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-hatch-coburn-press-gao-study-office-refugee-resettlement-efforts | Grassley, Hatch, Coburn Press for GAO Study on the Office of Refugee Resettlement Efforts with Unaccompanied Minors | 2014-10-10 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senators Chuck Grassley, Orrin Hatch and Tom Coburn are asking the Government Accountability Office to review policies of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, the agency charged with caring for unaccompanied minors crossing the southern U.S. border. The senators questioned the ability of the Office of Refugee and Resettlement (ORR) to accommodate the recent influx and how the office has prepared to deal with another surge which the administration suggests could include up to 145,000 more unaccompanied minors. The increase in the number of unaccompanied children crossing the border has strained the capacity of ORR and its grantees to provide them with appropriate accommodations and has raised questions about ORR's management and oversight of the program, Grassley, Hatch and Coburn wrote. The senators also raised concerns about the sponsors to whom these unaccompanied minors are being released. In addition, concerns have been raised about children who are subsequently released to relatives or other sponsors throughout the country, including how sponsors are screened and monitored while they have custody of the children. The agency is responsible for the well-being of these children, yet there's question about whether custodians and grantees are adequately being overseen once a child leaves federal custody, the senators wrote. Grassley, Hatch and Coburn are Ranking Members of the Judiciary, Finance and Homeland Security and Government Affairs committees respectively. Below is a copy of the senators' request to the Government Accountability Office. A signed copy of the letter can be found here. October 9, 2014 The Honorable Gene L. Dodaro Comptroller General of the United States U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G Street NW Washington, DC 20548 Dear Comptroller General Dodaro: According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, more than 57,000 children under the age of 18 traveling without an adult were apprehended at the United States' southwest border between October 1, 2013 and June 30… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-presses-obama-planned-executive-action-immigration | Grassley Presses Obama on Planned Executive Action on Immigration | 2014-10-10 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said today that President Barack Obama should consider the harmful effects on American workers before moving forward on executive action on immigration policy. In a letter to the President, Grassley reiterated that circumventing Congress on immigration policy would be an abuse of authority and would diminish the programs put in place to protect American workers and visa holders. Grassley added that the country needs A President who is a champion for policies that protect(s) American workers. Acting unilaterally for some businesses without providing protections for U.S. workers would be detrimental to the future of our workforce, Grassley wrote. I agree that changes are needed so that American businesses and U.S. workers are truly benefitting, and I am committed to legislation to ensure that we strike the appropriate balance. I would like to see your commitment to changing the law and working with Congress to make it happen. Grassley has been an outspoken opponent of the President's use of executive action on immigration. He previously said, Just because the legislative branch may not act on immigration reform this year doesn't mean the President can do an end run around Congress and act unilaterally by signing executive orders that do nothing to fix the underlying problem. Below is a copy of the text of Grassley's letter. A copy of the signed letter can be found here. October 9, 2014 President Barack Obama The White House Washington, D.C. 20500 Dear Mr. President: You have made it clear that you plan to act unilaterally on immigration if Congress does not pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill. Recent reports indicate that you plan to act beyond expanding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program. I do not support efforts to circumvent Congress on immigration policy, and urge you to consider the harmful effects of some proposals on American workers should you act. According to Politico, you and officials i… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-receives-award-support-us-manufacturing | Grassley Receives Award for Support of U.S. Manufacturing | 2014-10-09 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa was honored by the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) for his support of issues that are critical to U.S. manufacturing jobs and investment. Grassley received NAM's Award for Manufacturing Legislative Excellence based on his votes in the 113th Congress on policies that enhance U.S. manufacturers' ability to succeed in the global economy. Manufacturing supports jobs and investments across Iowa and the rest of the United States, Grassley said. Congress needs to continue to implement policies that increase America's competitiveness in the global economy. NAM is the largest manufacturing association in the United States, representing small and large manufacturers in every industrial sector and in all 50 states. More information on the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturing Legislative Excellence Award can be found here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/obama-administration-knew-white-house-involvement-secret-service-prostitution | Obama Administration Knew of White House Involvement in Secret Service Prostitution Scandal | 2014-10-09 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley released the following statement after the Washington Post reported that the White House was aware of evidence that its own personnel was entangled in the prostitution scandal involving several Secret Service agents in Colombia. Two years ago, Grassley questioned the White House extensively about the possibility of its own people being involved, but the Obama administration stonewalled his inquiries and refused to respond. Here is an April 20, 2012 letter to former Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan and Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Charles Edwards regarding other involvement, including White House staff, in the prostitution scandal in Colombia. Here is an April 23, 2012 letter from Grassley to White House Chief Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler about comments made by White House Press Secretary Jay Carney following questions Grassley had presented to Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan. Here is a follow-up letter from Sept. 20, 2012 to Ruemmler regarding the review conducted by the White House Counsel into allegations of the involvement of White House staff in the prostitution scandal. Here is a comment from Grassley about the news from the Washington Post. The assurances by the President's press secretary to the American people, Congress and the White House press corps about the prostitution scandal in Colombia are just part of a pattern of deception by this administration in an effort to save the White House from embarrassment. As I said at the time, a weekend investigation with a predetermined outcome doesn't meet the smell test. I had asked White House Counsel Kathryn Ruemmler to explain how she came to a definite conclusion so fast. It's now clear why the White House wouldn't be transparent and it took the press to uncover the truth. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/university-changes-position-moves-toward-securities-market-fairness | University Changes Position, Moves Toward Securities Market Fairness | 2014-10-08 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | In July 2013, Sen. Chuck Grassley asked the University of Michigan to account for an arrangement that allowed certain investors early access to a university-produced consumer confidence survey. The University of Michigan now will make the information more widely available upon release. Grassley made the following comment on this development. It was surprising that a public university was helping to give an edge to private clients over the average investor. It's good news that the university is changing that practice. For the securities markets to be fair, all levels of investors should receive market-moving information at the same time. The University of Michigan's announcement is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-seeks-details-bank%E2%80%99s-exclusive-agreement-federal-bureau-prisons | Grassley Seeks Details of Banks Exclusive Agreement With Federal Bureau of Prisons | 2014-10-06 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is asking the federal government to account for an exclusive, long-time contract between Bank of America and the government to operate an expanding array of services for federal prison inmates. The government has competitive bidding for good reason. It's meant to get taxpayers the most bang for the buck, Grassley said. Anytime the government avoids competitive bidding, the practice needs exploration. Transparency will shed light on whether this arrangement is the best deal the government can get. Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded to an investigative journalism report from the Center for Public Integrity detailing the long-term agreement between Bank of America and the federal Treasury Department and the Bureau of Prisons to provide services for federal inmates. The services include electronic money transfers, phone technology and e-messaging. According to the Center for Public Integrity, the bank has received at least $76.3 million to manage the accounts since 2000, and its contract has been amended 22 times. It's unclear how much money the bank receives directly from the inmates in service fees. The Treasury Department has the authority to make such arrangements but it's unclear why the department uses an exclusive agreement instead of adopting the competitive bidding and transparency that apply to most federal contracts. It is concerning that these requirements do not apply to financial agency agreements such as the one with Bank of America, Grassley wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew. The Treasury Department's decision to repeatedly amend rather than competitively bid this arrangement raises significant questions. Grassley's letter notes that prisons account for a significant portion of the Justice Department's discretionary budget, an amount that could grow. Grassley asked the Treasury Department for details of all payments by Treasury and the Justice Department to Bank of America or its subcontractors and for disclosure of all 22… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| http://steveking.house.gov//media-center/press-releases/king-we-must-maintain-free-trade-between-the-states | King: We Must Maintain Free Trade Between the States | 2014-10-03 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Steve King | K000362 | steveking.house.gov | legacy | Washington, D.C. – Congressman Steve King released the following statement in response to the California Egg Law lawsuit being rejected. This lawsuit was filed by the state of Missouri, along with five others, to eliminate a California law that prohibits the sale of eggs laid by hens held in cages they deem “too small.” Mr. King’s Protect Interstate Commerce Act (PICA), which the California lawsuit originates from, was attached to the House Farm Bill during markup in the House Agriculture Committee last year but was ultimately not accepted with the final Farm Bill Act of 2014. This act would prohibit any state from enacting laws that place restrictions on the means of production for agricultural goods that are sold within the state but are produced in other states. "It is not surprising that the egg lawsuit was rejected by the 9th Circuit on a technicality. California's law regulating egg producers in other states is unconstitutional and anti-consumer,” said King. “It is trade protectionism for California egg producers who are handicapped by a foolish California policy that would regulate them out of business without protection from competition from Iowa and other states. Now we renew our efforts at additional litigation and legislation. If we fall short of fixing this problem, the result will be trade retaliation from other state legislatures. It's hard to push for free trade with foreign countries when we have to admit that we can't, at least for now, maintain free trade between the states. I think I can do without California wine longer than they can without our eggs.” | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-receives-recognition-respected-children%E2%80%99s-group | Grassley Receives Recognition from Respected Childrens Group | 2014-10-01 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has been named a Defender of Children by the First Focus Campaign for Children, a well-respected, national bipartisan advocacy group, for leadership on children's issues during the current congressional session. I appreciate the work of the First Focus Campaign for Children, Grassley said. This organization advocates for children in a high-profile way and behind the scenes, too. I'm grateful for the recognition. Bruce Lesley, president of the Campaign for Children, said, Lots of politicians talk about kids' issues, but few back it up. Champions and Defenders delivered for kids. Grassley is a long-time legislative sponsor and advocate for policies that promote adoption, better foster care services, and policies such as better child support enforcement. This week, the President signed into law legislation Grassley helped to write to strengthen sibling relationships in foster care and improve child support enforcement, among other pro-children policies. Grassley is the co-founder and co-chairman of the Senate Caucus on Foster Youth, with a special focus on helping the 26,000 youth who age out of the system every year with few resources at their disposal. More information on the Defender of Children Award is available here. More information on the Grassley co-authored provisions signed into law this week is available here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-statement-secret-service-director-resignation | Grassley Statement on Secret Service Director Resignation | 2014-10-01 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement regarding the resignation of United States Secret Service Director Julia Pierson. Over the last several years, we've seen the sterling reputation of the Secret Service shattered by missteps around the world and here at home. When Director Pierson stepped into this leadership role, we all knew things had to change. Unfortunately, the recent failures have undermined public confidence in the safety of the President and his family. This is unacceptable. Director Pierson's willingness to step aside should help restore focus on ensuring that the agency can fulfill its core mission again and regain the trust of the American people. No internal Department of Homeland Security review should prevent a full and independent investigation. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/more-fbi-whistleblowers-allege-retaliation-through-loss-effectiveness-orders | More FBI Whistleblowers Allege Retaliation through Loss of Effectiveness Orders | 2014-10-01 | 2014 | 2014-10 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley today said that 11 whistleblowers have now come forward telling their stories of FBI managers using Loss of Effectiveness orders to retaliate for speaking up about wrongdoing in the agency. The whistleblowers allege that the FBI uses Loss of Effectiveness orders to further abuses of discrimination and retaliation. Every time we bring this to the administration's attention, more whistleblowers come forward, Grassley said. These whistleblowers never have the opportunity to make their case. It's stereotypical treatment of whistleblowers for the executive branch. An FBI internal office reportedly agrees that this is a problem. According to whistleblowers, the FBI Office of Integrity and Compliance has drafted a report calling for reform and more transparency in the use of Loss of Effectiveness orders. The whistleblowers claim that Loss of Effectiveness orders allow managers to bypass the Office of Professional Responsibility and avoid basic due process. Unlike reviews through the Office of Professional Responsibility, a Loss of Effectiveness order does not provide the employee in question a right of appeal. In addition, employees who receive such an order do not necessarily even receive notice of the underlying allegations, and never have the opportunity to defend against those allegations. Grassley's latest letter to FBI Director James Comey outlines specific allegations by one whistleblower about how the FBI used a Loss of Effectiveness order to retaliate against him. The whistleblower, Richard Kiper, worked as Unit Chief of the Investigative Training Unit in the Training Division. Kiper claims that, at the behest of his supervisor, the FBI Inspection Division issued a Loss of Effectiveness Electronic Communication on fabricated grounds against Kiper in retaliation for Kiper's identification of inefficiencies in curriculum management and business process. Grassley first brought this matter to the attention of Comey in May during a regular oversight hearing before … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-comments-first-amendment-case-between-washington-times-and-department | Grassley Comments on First Amendment Case between Washington Times and Department of Homeland Security | 2014-09-30 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Department of Homeland Security settled a case with the Washington Times regarding documents of a Washington Times reporter that it had seized during execution of a search warrant to allegedly seize weapons and firearms belonging to the reporter's husband. Grassley wrote to the United States Coast Guard on March 27, 2014, and July 17, 2014, questioning the seizure of the reporter's documents. Those letters can be found here (March 27, 2014) and here (July 17, 2014), while the Coast Guard's responses can be found here (April 9, 2014) and here (August 1, 2014). This case seems to have had a positive outcome for the First Amendment, but the Department of Homeland Security's claims that it did not record the names of individual whistleblowers before returning the documents cannot be checked. Homeland Security should continue to ensure that there is no reprisal against any whistleblower. Further, it's outrageous that the Department of Homeland Security seized non-classified documents from any individual's custody without the authorization of a search warrant. Government agencies must be reminded in the future that unless documents are classified or prohibited from distribution by Congress, internal protections of information do not give an agency the authority to seize documents once they are outside of its control -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/whistleblower-protection-act-intended-shield-whistleblowers-agency-rules | Whistleblower Protection Act Intended to Shield Whistleblowers from Agency Rules Undermining the Law | 2014-09-30 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON In an Amicus brief submitted to the United States Supreme Court, a bipartisan group of senators and congressmen argued that Congress intended for whistleblowers who are federal government employees to be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act for making disclosures, unless explicitly prohibited by statute. Senators Chuck Grassley and Ron Wyden and Representatives Darrell Issa, Elijah Cummings, Blake Farenthold and Stephen F. Lynch signed an amicus brief in MacLean v. Department of Homeland Security, which is expected to come before the Supreme Court in its upcoming term. The members of Congress explained in their amicus brief that the Whistleblower Protection Act supersedes any rules or regulations created by federal agencies. Only Congress does, and should, have the authority to determine the law when it comes to whistleblowing. Agencies have a clear conflict of interest. Giving them the power to define on their own what information is exempt from whistleblower protections would be like putting the fox in charge of the henhouse. It would sacrifice one of the most important means of uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse, Grassley said. The issue before the Supreme Court is whether Federal agencies can unilaterally decide whether or not information disclosed by a whistleblower is protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act. My congressional colleagues and I strongly believe that unless Congress has specifically passed a law prohibiting the release of information, such as the statutory prohibition on the release of taxpayer information, the Whistleblower Protection Act truly means what it says: whistleblowers must be protected from retaliation if they disclose agency information for the benefit of the public. Agencies can't simply decide themselves what a whistleblower can legally disclose, Wyden said. Shining the spotlight on waste and mismanagement within government often depends on information brought to light by whistleblowers. Both houses of Congress have stood squarely behind whistlebl… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-physician-payments-sunshine-act-data-set-launch | Grassley on the Physician Payments Sunshine Act Data Set to Launch | 2014-09-29 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa is the co-author of the bipartisan Physician Payments Sunshine Act. Enacted in 2010, the law requires drug and medical device companies to disclose the payments they make to doctors for speaking fees, research grants, trips, and other items of value. The information will be included in a publicly available database maintained by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The first public release of the data is set to occur on Tuesday, Sept. 30. Grassley made the following comment on the scheduled release. After years of data reporting, database mechanical work, and review of accuracy from doctors, the payment data will become public for the first time. My staff sought and received regular briefings from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on the launch. The roll-out won't be perfect. Some information will be withheld because CMS wanted to protect doctors from a small amount of reports that might be imprecise. But as the information is refined, the database will improve. It will become more complete as doctors, drug and device companies and CMS work to update and refine the information. From day one, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act database will be helpful in shining light on a part of medicine most people haven't had the time or opportunity to consider. Eventually, the database will become a valuable resource for all of us with a stake in our country's health care system. That includes individual consumers, insurance companies, and taxpayers who pay for Medicare and Medicaid. Transparency shouldn't stop doctors from receiving a payment if they want to. It should empower consumers to learn whether their doctors take payments and if so, why, and whether that matters to them. The patient who is prescribed a drug that might be beneficial yet risky will be able to learn whether the prescribing doctor accepted drug company money to study the risks. The information might not change the outcome, but it's something a patient might like to know. That's the idea behind the Ph… | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/japan-resists-trade-liberalization-trans-pacific-partnership | Japan Resists Trade Liberalization in Trans-Pacific Partnership | 2014-09-26 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa made the following comment on Japan's continued resistance to trade liberalization through the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The Trans-Pacific Partnership has great potential to help create jobs in the United States and abroad. The purpose of the agreement is to promote trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific region. Unfortunately, Japan seems to continue to believe it's fair to keep several agricultural products off the table. If Japan is allowed to keep high tariffs for these products untouched through these negotiations, it's going to send a strong message to the other countries involved that they also can protect products. Japan is an economically developed nation, not a developing country. The third-largest economy in the world can't make these protectionist moves without causing a ripple effect. If a final Trans-Pacific Partnership ever makes it to the Senate floor, I'd have a hard time voting for an agreement that lets the third-largest economy in the world keep high tariffs on agricultural products, specifically beef and pork. I urge Japanese leaders to consider the commitments they made when they joined the negotiations. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-statement-resignation-attorney-general-eric-holder | Grassley Statement on Resignation of Attorney General Eric Holder | 2014-09-25 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement after press reports indicated that Attorney General Eric Holder will resign when a successor is confirmed. I voted to confirm Mr. Holder to be Attorney General, and I had high hopes for his leadership. But, Attorney General Holder's tenure has been strained by his lack of respect for Congress, the American taxpayer, and the laws on the books. The Attorney General has committed to staying until a successor has been confirmed, so the Senate can exercise its constitutional responsibility to vet a nominee thoroughly. The country faces difficult challenges that the chief law enforcement officer must meet head on. It will take someone who has the right qualifications and experience to fill the job. Rather than rush a nominee through the Senate in a lame duck session, I hope the President will now take his time to nominate a qualified individual who can start fresh relationships with Congress so that we can solve the problems facing our country. I wish Attorney General Holder well in the future. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/treasurys-tax-inversions-move-might-take-pressure-tax-reform-grassley-says | Treasury's tax inversions move might take the pressure off for tax reform, Grassley says | 2014-09-23 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, as chairman of the Finance Committee in 2004, was successful in enacting reforms that prevented companies from simply setting up a filing cabinet and a mailbox overseas to escape millions of dollars of federal taxes. He made the following comment today on the Treasury Department's new attempt to curb the latest iteration of tax inversions. The Treasury secretary first said he didn't have the authority to do something on inversions. Now he's found the authority. That's consistent with the President's approach to use his pen and phone instead of working with Congress. Unfortunately, that approach might give the President a short-term gain but it's bad for the country in the long term. The Obama Administration's limited action on inversions might take the pressure off for tax reform. Just about everybody agrees comprehensive tax reform is necessary to make U.S. companies more internationally competitive. It's important for the President to use his bully pulpit to work with Congress on tax reform and help build a consensus on the right approach, yet this President hasn't done it. That's too bad because tax reform is something Congress and the executive branch could accomplish instead of jumping from inversion crisis to crisis. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/efforts-help-end-human-trafficking-sexual-assault-move-forward | Efforts to Help End Human Trafficking, Sexual Assault Move Forward | 2014-09-19 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Legislation to help boost efforts for sexual assault victims and end human trafficking moved forward in the United States Senate this week, Senator Chuck Grassley said. Grassley, the Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee which has jurisdiction over the legislation, supported both bills. These bills give a real lift to our efforts to help sexual assault victims and end human trafficking, Grassley said. These are horrible crimes that deserve attention. The Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act passed the Senate late last night after being passed by the House of Representatives in April. The bill will now be sent to the President to be signed into law. The legislation works to end the backlog of rape kits, provide DNA training for law enforcement and other officials who work on sexual assault cases, and distribute sexual assault forensic exam program grants. The House passed the Debbie Smith bill nearly six months ago, so to have it finally cleared by the Senate Majority, who had blocked it earlier, is helpful to victims of sexual assault everywhere, Grassley said. Grassley had also voted to reauthorize the Debbie Smith Act in the Senate Judiciary Committee last year. In addition, legislation cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee that would create a new block grant program for victim-centered anti-human trafficking programs (paid for by a new $5,000 special assessment on those convicted of certain trafficking and sex crimes), increase restitution for human trafficking victims, make it easier to obtain wiretaps in human trafficking investigations, and enhance human trafficking reporting. This bill would give law enforcement a real helping hand in going after human traffickers right here in our country. It would also create a new avenue to assist victims and those who work to help end these heinous crimes, Grassley said. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-child-welfare-provisions-pass-congress-advance-president | Grassley Child Welfare Provisions Pass Congress, Advance to President | 2014-09-19 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa has received final congressional approval for his bipartisan child welfare policy improvements including promoting sibling connections in foster care and strengthening child support enforcement. The provisions are part of legislation that is on its way to the President for his expected signature into law. Child welfare experts tell you, and common sense tells you, that children benefit when they're kept together and have strong relationships, Grassley said. This legislation removes barriers to federal law that prevent families of siblings from knowing when a child is placed in foster care or siblings from losing ties when parental rights are terminated. This will help maintain sibling relationships and in turn help the kids. The child support provisions help states recover money that family courts have determined is owed to custodial parents. We ought to do more to make sure money owed gets to the parents and children who need and deserve it. Child support enforcement helps make sure families are strong and independent. Last night, the U.S. Senate approved the Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 4980). The House of Representatives approved the legislation in July. The sibling provisions are based on the Sibling Connections Act introduced by Grassley earlier this year with Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. The Sibling Connections Act provides for the parents of a child's siblings to be notified when the child enters foster care, allowing the adult guardians to try to maintain the sibling relationships. It follows the example of at least five states, including Iowa, that have passed legislation or regulation that recognizes the parents of siblings as relatives for foster care placement. Also, the provisions correct the current situation in which siblings lose their status as siblings when their parents' rights are terminated. The loss of sibling status undermines the requirement of the landmark Fostering Connections law that siblings be placed … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-cornyn-request-judiciary-committee-consideration-immigration-nominee | Grassley, Cornyn Request Judiciary Committee Consideration of Immigration Nominee | 2014-09-19 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Chuck Grassley and Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee Ranking Member John Cornyn are asking for sequential referral of the nominee to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Grassley and Cornyn made the request to Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy stressing the need for the committee of jurisdiction over immigration matters, the Judiciary Committee, to process the nomination as is consistent with past practice. The letter can be found here. -30- | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-questions-oversight-us-attorneys%E2%80%99-offices | Grassley Questions Oversight of U.S. Attorneys Offices | 2014-09-19 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | WASHINGTON Senator Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today is raising questions about the management and oversight of U.S. attorneys' offices across the country. Grassley said that disclosure of non-public investigations by the Justice Department Inspector General revealed concerns about the management of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys and the discipline administered to assistant United States attorneys who appear to have broken the law. Whether they work at Justice Department headquarters or one of the 94 U.S. attorneys' offices across the country, accountability for prosecutors is important because it fulfills a basic expectation from the general public that the government will be held to the same standards as everyone else. If anything, employees paid by the taxpayers should be held to a higher standard, Grassley said. In separate letters to Monty Wilkinson, Director of the Executive Office of United States Attorneys (EOUSA), and Gene Dodaro, the Comptroller General of the Government Accountability Office, Grassley outlined several examples of assistant U.S. attorneys who may have benefited from a double standard when it comes to accountability. In addition, Grassley wrote that it appeared that officials at Justice Department headquarters failed to adequately supervise U.S. attorneys' offices. In his letters, Grassley cites a case where one assistant U.S. attorney whose spouse was engaged in embezzlement made misleading and contradictory statement to the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office, and the Inspector General. The assistant U.S. attorney's only punishment was apparently verbal admonishment. Grassley is asking Wilkinson about the resolution of specific cases outlined in his letter. Grassley is asking the Government Accountability Office to evaluate and report on general practices of the EOUSA, the Office of Professional Responsibility and the U.S. attorneys' offices and how misconduct is addressed. Here is a copy of the text of Grassley's letters. The signed … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | ||
| https://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/judiciary-executive-business-meeting-bolden-bough-2nd-chance-act-runaway-and | Judiciary Executive Business Meeting: Bolden, Bough, 2nd Chance Act, Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention | 2014-09-18 | 2014 | 2014-09 | Republican | House | IA | Charles Grassley | G000386 | www.grassley.senate.gov | legacy | Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee Executive Business Meeting I. Nominations Madeline Cox Arleo, to be a United States District Judge for the District of New Jersey Wendy Beetlestone, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Victor Allen Bolden, to be a United States District Judge for the District of Connecticut Armando Omar Bonilla, to be a Judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims Stephen R. Bough, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri David J. Hale, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky Mark A. Kearney, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Joseph F. Leeson, Jr., to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Gerald J. Pappert, to be a United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Gregory N. Stivers, to be a United States District Judge for the Western District of Kentucky II. Bills S.1690, The Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013 S.2646, The Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act S.2520, The FOIA Improvement Act of 2014 H.R.1447, The Death in Custody Reporting Act of 2013 Thursday, September 18, 2014 Mr. Chairman, We would like to hold over two bills that appear on the Committee agenda for the first time today. Those are S. 2520, the FOIA Improvement Act and H.R. 1447, the Death in Custody Reporting Act. On today's agenda we have a number of judicial nominations that are ripe for consideration. Before we vote, I'd like to speak on a couple of them. First, I'd like to make a few comments on Mr. Bolden's nomination to the Connecticut District Court. I'll vote no on Victor Bolden, and I'd like to explain why. At Mr. Bolden's hearing, I raised the issue of a law-review article the nominee wrote a number of years ago. The article described the nominee's judicial philosophy and the principles he argued … | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |
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