Senator Chuck Grassley today commented on the inclusion of two provisions that will help solidify the future of the Rock Island Arsenal in the Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 2014.  The bill resulted from a budget agreement between the House and the Senate.  Both chambers are expected to act on the appropriations bill this week.

"It's good news that this effort is moving forward. The capabilities of the Rock Island Arsenal have proven their value time and again and are a vital backstop in wartime.  This measure will help secure the long-term viability of the Arsenal," Grassley said.

The first provision requires the Secretary of the Army to maintain a workload that allows the Arsenal to sustain critical capabilities for when they are needed in time of war.  Those levels were determined in the Army Organic Industrial Base Strategy Report, released in August 2013.  The report resulted from a mandated study that was first proposed by Grassley with U.S. Senators Tom Harkin of Iowa and Mark Kirk and Dick Durbin of Illinois as part of the Army Arsenal Strategic Workload Enhancement Act of 2012 and authorized in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013.

The second provision ensures the Arsenal's competitiveness by providing additional funding through the Arsenal Sustainment Initiative.  This will help the Arsenal compete more effectively for partnerships in the private sector.

The provisions were included by Durbin with the support of the entire Rock Island Arsenal delegation: Grassley, Harkin and Kirk along with U.S. Reps. Dave Loebsack of Iowa and Cherri Bustos of Illinois.

GRANTHAM, PA (01/14/2014)(readMedia)-- Bettendorf resident Allison Campbell was named to the dean's list for the 2013 fall semester at Messiah College. Campbell is a junior majoring in psychology. Dean's list is earned by receiving a 3.6 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale.

Messiah College, a private Christian college of the liberal and applied arts and sciences, enrolls over 3,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Established in 1909, the primary campus is located in Grantham, Pa., near the state capital of Harrisburg.

Prepared Statement of Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Ranking Member, Senate Committee on the Judiciary

"The Report of the President's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies"

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Mr. Chairman, thank you for holding this hearing.  I join you in welcoming the members of the President's Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies.

This is the latest in a series of hearings on the government's surveillance authorities that the Committee has held.  The NSA continues to be of great concern to my constituents and many across our country.

The most important responsibility of government is to protect our national security, while at the same time preserving our civil liberties.  This is a responsibility that's getting harder to meet.  Rapid changes in technology are making our enemies more lethal, our world more interconnected, and our privacy more subject to possible intrusion.

Under these circumstances, it's useful to hear a variety of perspectives, including from those outside government.  I thank the members of the Review Group for their service.

Some of the conclusions in the Review Group's report may help clarify the issues before us as we consider possible reforms.

First, according to the report, "although recent disclosures and commentary have created the impression in some quarters that NSA surveillance is indiscriminate and pervasive across the globe, that is not the case."  Moreover, the report concludes, "we have not uncovered any official efforts to suppress dissent or any intent to intrude into people's private lives without legal justification."

None of this means that the potential for abuse of these authorities shouldn't concern us.  It should.  Or that the NSA hasn't made serious mistakes.  Or that the law in this area couldn't be improved.  Indeed, there's a place for additional transparency, safeguards and oversight in this area. But these conclusions are helpful in clarifying the issues before us.

Second, the report recommends that "the national security of the United States depends on the continued capacity of NSA and other agencies to collect essential information.  In considering proposals for reform, now and for the future, policymakers should avoid the risk of overreaction and take care in making changes that could undermine the   capabilities of the Intelligence Community."  This seems like good advice.

One recommendation that may reflect this advice is the Review Group's proposal to preserve the government's controversial ability to query telephone metadata, but with some changes.

One of those recommended changes is that private entities hold the metadata.  This is an interesting idea perhaps worth investigating.  But I'm concerned that it may create as many privacy problems as it solves.  Indeed, private companies seem to be allowing their customers' information to be hacked on what seems like a daily basis.

Just as importantly, I'm concerned that in other instances the Review Group may not have followed its own advice.  Some of its other recommendations may seriously threaten our national security, especially if adopted collectively.

For example, some of the recommendations in the report appear to make it more difficult to investigate a terrorist than a common criminal.

Some appear to extend the rights of Americans to foreigners without a good reason.

And some appear to rebuild the wall between our law enforcement and national security communities that existed before September 11, 2001.  Of course, that wall helped contribute to our inability to detect and thwart the attack on that day.  Thousands died as a result.

I don't mean to criticize the effort or intentions of the Review Group.  But I'm concerned that the group was given such a relatively short time to do their work.  As a result, for example, I understand the group spent only one day at the NSA.

I'm also concerned that the group lacked some important perspectives.  For example, none of its members has any experience supervising terrorism investigations at the Department of Justice or the FBI.

And I'm concerned that the group produced a large number of recommendations, but didn't develop many of them fully.

As the Review Group wrote, its recommendations "will require careful assessment by a wide range of relevant officials, with close reference to the likely consequences."  I look forward to beginning that process today, and again welcome our witnesses.

Omnibus spending bill restores across the board cuts to Senior Nutrition Programs

Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack today announced that the omnibus appropriations bill that was recently introduced contains funding to reverse the across the board cuts, known as sequestration, for Senior Nutrition Programs. Meals on Wheels and other nutrition assistance programs faced a $46 million cut in the past year due to sequestration. The spending bill will restore funding to the pre-sequester level.

Loebsack spearheaded efforts in the House of Representatives to secure this restoration of funding for Senior Nutrition Programs. He led a bipartisan group of nearly 50 members in urging the Budget Conference Committee to reverse the harmful sequestration related cuts and reinstate the lifeline to our elderly population.

"Millions of Americans depend on the lifeline these meals provide. The across the board cuts have had a direct impact on the well-being of our most vulnerable, frail and isolated seniors," said Congressman Dave Loebsack. "I was proud to spearhead this effort and pleased to see that these cuts were restored. We have to continue to meet the needs of our aging population and provide this important assistance so seniors can live with independence and dignity."

"Due in large part to Congressman Loebsack's tireless efforts to lead and advocate for our nation's most vulnerable and hungry seniors, the devastating sequester cuts to Older Americans Act Nutrition Programs may soon be fully restored," said Ellie Hollander, President and CEO of the Meals On Wheels Association of America "We are immensely grateful to the Congressman for being a champion for senior nutrition at a time when the need has never been greater, and for recognizing that Meals on Wheels not only improves lives and but it saves taxpayer dollars."

The text of the bipartisan letter can be found here.