Q&A: Clean Energy Fuels Economy With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley
Q: Why is an “all-of-the-above” energy policy good for the economy and national security?
A: The United States has entered a new era of domestic energy production that is setting the stage for energy independence. Thanks to remarkable innovation and investment, American businesses and entrepreneurs are driving job creation and economic growth by tapping into natural resources to produce more energy than ever before right here in the United States. The efforts are creating a promising path ahead for strengthening national security, plugging into a clean energy grid, driving clean energy vehicles, and improving our balance of trade. Keeping more energy dollars at home pumps up the U.S. economy. As a federal lawmaker, I champion tax and regulatory policies that leverage our natural resources to foster a sustainable, stable, secure energy supply. The United States can’t sit on the sidelines and depend on foreign oil to keep our economy running. America is a powerful nation. We can’t let oil imports set the agenda. We can’t let our foreign policy or economic vitality be dictated by volatile regimes overseas. The sovereignty and economic prosperity of the United States are strengthened by homegrown supplies of energy. And that means capturing energy from above the ground and from below the ground. That’s why I support domestic oil, natural gas and coal production. I support hydropower, solar, wind and nuclear energy. As a longstanding champion for Rural America, I whole-heartedly support alternative fuels, from biodiesel to corn-based and cellulosic ethanol. Nearly 50 percent of all new electricity generating capacity comes from renewables. And the potential exists for even more growth. Thanks to supportive federal policies, Iowa leads the nation in renewable energy production. We know that America’s entrepreneurial spirit that’s baked into our system of free enterprise for more than two centuries makes the U.S. economy incredibly resilient. Generations of Americans have used their ingenuity and work ethic to get ahead and stay ahead. Tapping into that drive for prosperity to help quench our thirst for energy is a win-win-win strategy for the economy, for energy independence and the environment.
Q: How big of an impact is the wind energy industry in Iowa?
A: Without a doubt, wind energy helps keep the lights on in homes and businesses from the Mississippi to the Missouri Rivers. Electricity generated from wind powers the equivalent of 1.5 million households in Iowa. Today Iowans get more than 31 percent of our electricity from wind. Lifelong Iowans and newcomers to our state know that Iowa is blessed with this powerful, clean, inexhaustible energy supply. Robust growth and advances in wind energy technology have allowed Iowa to hit this tremendous milestone. Innovation and enterprise are working to harness our natural resources and producing clean electricity, creating good-paying jobs, boosting farm-lease receipts and growing the revenue base. Beyond the electrical power that we all rely upon for daily life, the wind industry employs nearly 7,000 Iowans in 12 active manufacturing facilities in the state. More than 70 percent of a U.S. wind turbine’s value is now produced in America, compared to only 25 percent a decade ago. Iowa continues to innovate and build upon the tax incentives I got enacted into the federal tax code. Last year, I secured a five-year extension of the wind energy tax credit. It was a victory for Iowa and a nod to the free marketplace. The extension will lead to a responsible phase-down of the federal tax credit. Laying out the five-year road map gives the wind industry time to plan and invest accordingly. From taxes to regulations, I work to uphold fiscal responsibility and limited government that will strengthen America’s productivity and prosperity.
Q: How does Iowa rank with renewable fuels?
A: Iowa is a stand-out chapter in America’s renewable fuels success story. Our state has the capacity to produce more than 4 billion gallons of clean-burning ethanol from 43 biorefineries. Three of those are commercial-scale production facilities for cellulosic ethanol. Iowa has a dozen biodiesel facilities that have the production capacity to make 315 million gallons each year. Renewable fuels now account for 10 percent of the nation’s transportation fuel supply. Homegrown production keeps those fuel dollars at home, churning through the U.S. economy. The 14.3 billion gallons of ethanol produced in America is more than the gasoline produced from crude oil imported from Saudi Arabia. It’s important to remember that stewardship of America’s natural resources is good for national security, economic security and energy security.
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Afghanistan Watchdog Confirms Audit of Defense Department Task Force Spending, Per Grassley’s Request
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley today received formal confirmation that the watchdog for U.S. military spending in Afghanistan will audit the hundreds of millions of dollars spent by the Defense Department’s Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO). Grassley requested a formal, comprehensive audit after the watchdog, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR), documented numerous instances of excessive spending by the now-defunct task force and a shoddy record of projects. The task force oversaw a compressed natural gas station that might have cost as much as $43 million and approved private housing in high-end villas rather than less expensive military housing.
SIGAR agreed to conduct two audits, a financial audit to assess “internal controls, compliance, corrective actions taken on prior findings and recommendations, and outstanding liabilities,” and a performance audit that “will assess the strategy, planning, interagency coordination, oversight, and outcomes” of the task force’s programs and activities in Afghanistan.
“These audits are necessary,” Grassley said. “Someone needs to document whether the task force has the receipts and records to support its spending. Otherwise, the American taxpayers have no way of knowing whether they got what they paid for or whether there was outright fraud or theft.”
SIGAR’s letter to Grassley is available here.
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Grassley Seeks Justice Department Response on Reasons for Few Tax Impersonation Prosecutions
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, is asking the Justice Department why it appears to have prosecuted so few IRS impersonation scams, despite the vast prevalence of such crimes.
“This is a serious issue that demands a strong response,” Grassley wrote to Deputy Attorney General Sally Quillian Yates. “Robust federal prosecution serves a critical role in deterring unlawful activities. Despite the scope and prevalence of the IRS impersonation scam, however, the Department of Justice to date has prosecuted a very limited number of individuals for conduct related to these scams.”
Grassley said available information about such prosecutions has been scant, and one report indicates only a handful of them. He sought a detailed accounting of the investigations and prosecutions of such scams and an explanation of why the crimes apparently have not been a greater priority for the Justice Department, despite their scope and prevalence.
Grassley noted that the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration called the IRS impersonation scam “the largest, most pervasive impersonation scam in the history of (the) agency” and that Americans submit up to 14,000 complaints about these scams every week. News reports say the scammers especially target older Americans “because they’re home, they’ll answer the phone and they often have the money to pay.”
Tax impersonation scams involve tricking individuals into paying the scammers money by pretending to be from the IRS, often using sophisticated tactics to come across as legitimate. The IRS makes clear that it does not seek or take payment information by phone.
Grassley asked for a response by April 11, before this year’s April 18 tax filing deadline.
Grassley’s letter is available here.
Earlier, Grassley released a tip sheet for avoiding tax scams and remedies for those who are targeted.
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Grassley Joins Bipartisan Effort Urging Full Enforcement of Tools Cracking Down on Trade Violations
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley joined a bipartisan group of senators in urging the Obama Administration to fully utilize a trade enforcement tool enacted last year.
“Trade violators ought to be held accountable,” Grassley said. “The Obama Administration should use every tool Congress has provided to crack down on foreign companies or governments that don’t cooperate with a U.S. investigation. U.S. producers deserve trade enforcement and a chance to compete fairly.”
The letter Grassley signed presses the Commerce Department to apply adverse facts available (AFA) in trade cases in which a foreign company or government does not cooperate with Commerce’s investigation. AFA ensures the United States can use all the information and facts otherwise available during an investigation in which the other party is not cooperating. The Leveling the Playing Field Act enacted in June 2015 marked the most significant changes to trade remedy law since 2002, and the law specifically sought to restore strength to AFA and guard it from legal challenges that have left Commerce reluctant to employ the tool during investigations.
The Leveling the Playing Field Act has made it easier for workers and businesses to petition the Commerce Department and the International Trade Commission when foreign producers cheat trade laws by selling goods in the United States below market price or receive illegal subsidies. It restored strength to antidumping and countervailing duty statutes. This will benefit the domestic steel industry, which has been especially hard-hit by illegal trade.
Grassley has weighed in with the Commerce Department on a domestic steel industry case about unfairly priced imports that the manufacturer said caused reduced operating hours at a facility in Camanche in Clinton County.
This week’s letter to the Commerce Department is available here.
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