Senators Ernst, Grassley to Introduce Bill to Name Cedar Rapids Post Office after Iowa Guardsman Killed in Afghanistan
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) are introducing legislation to name a Cedar Rapids post office in honor of Sergeant First Class (SFC) Terryl L. Pasker, an Iowa National Guardsman who was killed in action in Afghanistan on July 9, 2011. Specifically, the bill would designate the facility of the United States Postal Services located at 615 6th Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, as the “Sergeant First Class Terryl L. Pasker Post Office Building”.
“When our country called on him to serve, Sergeant First Class Terryl Pasker made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our freedoms,” said Senator Ernst. “While we will never be able to say ‘thank you’ enough to SFC Pasker and his family, this post office would honor his legacy and serve as a symbol throughout the community of his unwavering heroism.”
“Sergeant First Class Terryl Pasker served our country and lost his life on our behalf,” said Senator Grassley. “In turn, we should honor his service in every possible way, including the recognition of a community fixture named for him.”
This is the Senate companion to Representative Rod Blum’s (R-IA) bill, cosponsored alongside Iowa Representatives Dave Loebsack (D-IA), David Young (R-IA) and Steve King (R-IA).
SFC Terryl L. Pasker was born in Anamosa, Iowa, enlisted in the US Army in 1990, and joined the Iowa National Guard in 1995. While serving in the Guard, he deployed to Afghanistan from 2004, and again in 2011 with the 334th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 34th Infantry Division. SFC Pasker gave the ultimate sacrifice to his county when he was killed in a green-on-blue attack in Panjshir Province, Afghanistan on July 9, 2011, near the end of his tour. SFC Pasker was awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart. He is survived by his wife, Erica; parents, Mary and David; brother, Andrew, and two sisters, Christine and Rebecca.
Click here to view the legislation.
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Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Senator Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made the following statement after President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the Chief Judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, to replace Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States.
“When they structured our nation, the founders placed trust in three separate but equal branches of government. Co-equal authorities are throughout the Constitution, including Article II, Section 2, where the power to nominate an individual to the Supreme Court is granted to the President and authority is given to the Senate to provide advice and consent. Nowhere in the Constitution does it describe how the Senate should either provide its consent or withhold its consent.
“Today the President has exercised his constitutional authority. A majority of the Senate has decided to fulfill its constitutional role of advice and consent by withholding support for the nomination during a presidential election year, with millions of votes having been cast in highly charged contests. As Vice President Biden previously said, it’s a political cauldron to avoid. Judge Bork learned even after being unanimously confirmed for a circuit court judgeship, the confirmation process for the Supreme Court is unlike any other.
“It’s also important to remember the type of nominee President Obama said he’s seeking. He says his nominee will arrive at ‘just decisions and fair outcomes’ based on the application of ‘life experience’ to the ‘rapidly changing times.’ The so-called empathy standard is not an appropriate basis for selecting a Supreme Court nominee.
“A lifetime appointment that could dramatically impact individual freedoms and change the direction of the court for at least a generation is too important to get bogged down in politics. The American people shouldn’t be denied a voice. Do we want a court that interprets the law, or do we want a court that acts as an unelected super legislature? This year is a tremendous opportunity for our country to have a sincere and honest debate about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government.”
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Thursday, March 17, 2016
Video can be found here.
There’s a new, disturbing trend in nursing home abuse that’s on my radar.
In several cases around the country, nursing home workers have been caught taking photos and videos of residents in vulnerable positions and posting them on social media outlets such as Snapchat.
The mocking posts are meant for the workers’ amusement.
The posts are degrading and horrifying. The residents are frail and incapable of fighting back against the abusive treatment.
Much nursing home care in the United States is paid for through Medicaid, a federal-state program.
The nursing home inspection process also is a federal-state program. In accepting public money, nursing homes must adhere to state and federal health and safety standards.
As chairman of the Judiciary Committee, I’ve asked the U.S. attorney general what the Justice Department is doing to fight social media exploitation in nursing homes.
I’ve asked for details about the number of cases the Justice Department might be engaged in around the country in this area.
The Justice Department is the nation’s top law enforcement agency.
Its involvement in fighting a newly emerging crime is critical to prevention, prosecution and holding perpetrators accountable.
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Grassley, McCaskill, Wyden Bill Expands Whistleblower Protections to the Legislative Branch
WASHINGTON – In celebration of Sunshine Week, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senators Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced legislation to shield congressional employees from retaliation when they call attention to fraud, waste or mismanagement. The bill extends whistleblower protections in place at many executive branch agencies to the legislative branch of government.
“Congress has worked hard to encourage employees in the bureaucracy to come forward and disclose misconduct or waste at work, and we’ve put in place many protections so that these patriotic employees don’t face retribution for exposing the truth. But Congress is not without its own flaws, and legislative branch employees should enjoy the same protections. This bill simply applies to Congress the same philosophy that government workers should not be punished for disclosing wrongdoing,” Grassley said.
“Whistleblowers are our first line of defense against the abuse of taxpayer dollars. They play a critical role in ensuring government remains accountable to the public by exposing waste, fraud and abuse—and their place of employment shouldn’t mean they aren’t afforded legal protections that enable to them to come forward to report wrongdoing,” McCaskill said.
“Everyone in government needs to do more to protect those who blow the whistle on waste of taxpayer funds, fraud or abuse. That includes Congress itself. This bipartisan bill will strengthen whistleblower protections, so legislative branch employees have the same safeguards as other federal workers,” Wyden said.
The Senators’ bill is modeled after the Whistleblower Protection Act, which establishes a process for whistleblowers in many executive branch agencies to disclose concerns and prohibits agency authorities form retaliating against employees for such disclosures. The bill amends the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995 to include the same principles. Grassley has led the effort to bring whistleblower protections to Capitol Hill in each Congress since 2006
Full text of the bill can be found HERE.
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WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley is asking questions about the Justice Department’s refusal to defend the actions of the Election Assistance Commission, an independent federal agency without litigation authority, despite the law requiring the department to represent the commission in court. The Justice Department’s actions could result in state voter ID laws not being followed and non-citizens being allowed to vote.
Specifically, at issue is the Justice Department’s unprecedented action in the case League of Women Voters of the U.S., et al. v. Brian Newby, et al. Although the Election Assistance Commission is an independent agency that is supposed to be outside of the control of the administration, it is required by law to have the Justice Department represent it in litigation because the commission does not have its own litigation authority. However, in an unheard of act, the Justice Department refused to defend the independent, bipartisan agency regarding its update of the state-specific instructions to the federal voter registration form, siding instead with the plaintiffs against its own client. The department’s move was so unusual that the judge refused to grant the plaintiffs’ motion to force the commission to remove the updates to the instructions, and is requiring a full adversarial briefing.
In a letter to the Commissioner and Executive Director of the Election Assistance Commission, as well as one to the Attorney General, Grassley expressed concern that the Justice Department was trying to force the judge to order the Election Assistance Commission to take actions against the commission’s will and contrary to the commission’s own legal judgment. Removing the updated instructions would likely make it easier for non-citizens to register to vote.
Grassley wrote, “The Committee must evaluate the situation and determine whether the EAC (Election Assistance Commission) needs independent litigation authority in order to truly be free from political influence from the administration. This case involves the integrity of elections and is taking place in the context of an ongoing Presidential election process. The potential appearance that the administration is substituting its judgment for the EAC’s is a matter of significant concern.”
The text of Grassley’s letters to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the Justice Department can be found below. A copy of the letter to the Election Assistance Commission can be found here, and the letter to the Justice Department can be found here.
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Grassley Introduces Bill to Require Transparency for Political Intelligence Firms, Clients
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley has introduced legislation to require political intelligence firms and political intelligence consultants to register and list their clients as lobbyists are required to do.
“There are benefits to transparency just about wherever it’s applied,” Grassley said. “We’ve seen how the disclosure of prescription drug company payments to doctors helps inform the public about that part of medicine. Having political intelligence firms disclose their activities would inform the public. It wouldn’t stop the free flow of information. It would remove the mystery behind who’s gathering the information.”
The Political Intelligence Transparency Act of 2016 (S. 2738) would apply the requirements of the Lobbying Disclosure Act to political intelligence firms and political intelligence consultants. The firms and individuals would have to register with Congress and disclose their clients, as lobbyists long have been required to do.
Several good government groups called the bill “a straightforward transparency measure” for a growing industry in Washington and urged senators to co-sponsor it. They include American Family Voices, the Campaign for Accountability, the Center for Media and Democracy, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Common Cause, the Government Accountability Project, the New Progressive Alliance, Public Citizen and the Sunlight Foundation.
A similar bill is pending in the House of Representatives from Rep. Louise Slaughter.
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Spring Brings Flowers, Tax Scammers
By Chuck Grassley
Tax season is upon us once again. Across the country, millions of Americans are taking time out of their busy schedules to file their tax returns. But with tax season, unfortunately, comes a tide of deceitful tax scammers who prey upon Americans and try to bilk them out of their hard-earned money. Often, these scammers will call their would-be victims and, while impersonating IRS agents, threaten to sue unless the victim sends them money immediately. According to the IRS, hundreds of thousands of Americans have been targeted by these scams, and thousands have been cheated out of over $26.5 million since October 2013. Given these staggering numbers, it’s important that everybody knows what to watch out for this time of year to avoid falling victim to scammers’ increasingly sophisticated tactics. And it’s especially important that we watch out for our loved ones and neighbors, particularly the elderly who are often a primary target of tax scammers and fraudsters.
Q: What should I be on the lookout for this tax season?
A: Be alert for unsolicited calls from people claiming to be IRS officials and who demand that you pay an overdue tax bill. In many ways, these calls can seem legitimate. The scammers may use your name, your home address, and even the last four digits of your Social Security number to sound informed and credible. The number they call from may even look like it belongs to the IRS or another government agency. The scammers may use IRS titles or fake badge numbers to introduce themselves and to try to gain your trust. Sometimes they leave “urgent” callback requests through telephonic “robo-calls,” or via a luring email. Their goal in any case is to trick you into sending money, usually through a prepaid debit card or wire transfer, as fast as possible. When they don’t get their way, phone scammers use threats of arrest or prosecution to bully you into immediate payment.
To help protect yourself, keep in mind the following five things these scammers often do but which the IRS will never do. Any one of these is a tell-tale sign of a scam. The IRS will never:
· Ask for credit or debit card numbers over the phone.
· Threaten to bring in local police or other law enforcement groups to have you arrested for not paying.
· Require you to use a specific payment method for your taxes, such as a prepaid debit card.
· Call to demand immediate payment, nor will the agency call about taxes owed without first having mailed you a bill.
· Demand that you pay taxes without giving you the opportunity to question or appeal the amount they say you owe.
Q: If I think I’ve been targeted by a tax scam, what should I do next?
A: Use one of the following resources before providing any personal information:
If you think you may owe taxes or know you owe taxes:
· Do not give out any information. Hang up the phone immediately.
· Call the IRS at 800-829-1040. IRS workers can help you find out whether you in fact have unpaid taxes.
If you know you don’t owe taxes, or have no reason to think you owe taxes:
· Contact the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) to report the scam call. Use its “IRS Impersonation Scam Reporting” web page. You can also call 800-366-4484.
· Report it to the Federal Trade Commission. Use the “FTC Complaint Assistant” on FTC.gov. Be sure to add "IRS Telephone Scam" in the notes of your report.
Keep in mind, tax scams can happen any time of year, not just at tax time. For more information, visit “Tax Scams and Consumer Alerts” on IRS.gov.
The bottom line is this: Tax scammers and fraudsters are breaking the law. People work too hard year-round to be tricked out of their money during tax season. By keeping in mind these tips, and by helping to watch out for our loved ones and neighbors, we can all help to put these scammers out of business. For more information, please see the following resources:
§ Five Easy Ways to Spot a Scam Phone Call on irs.gov.
§ Government Impostor Scams on consumer.ftc.gov.
§ IRS Imposter Scams Infographic on consumer.ftc.gov.
§ Fighting Fraud: U.S. Senate Aging Committee Identifies Top 10 Scams Targeting Our Nation’s Seniors on aging.senate.gov.
Grassley, U.S. senator, is chairman of the Judiciary Committee and a senior member and former chairman of the Finance Committee, with jurisdiction over the IRS.
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