Grassley
Direct
I
spoke
with
Gordon
Wolf
of
the
Denison
Bulletin
&
Review
and
Ed
Funston
of
KILR
Radio
about
the
FBI's
providing
public
access
to
Hillary
Clinton’s
unclassified
emails,
the
backlash
against
the
US
Patent
and
Trademark
office
for
300,000
hours
paid
but
not
worked, my
continued
wait
for
a
response
from
the
manufacturer
on
high
EpiPen
prices
despite
news
of
a
generic
product,
Trump's
meeting
with
the
President
of
Mexico,
nominations
to
the
Supreme
Court,
and
the
administration's
response
to
the
Zika
virus
outbreak.
Q&A:
99
County
Meetings
Q.
Why
do
you
hold
meetings
in
every
county,
every
year?
Q.
What
issues
came
up
most
frequently
in
2016?
Quick
Links
In
early
2015,
I
cosponsored
and
led
a
bill
through
committee
that
would
establish
a national
law
enforcement
threat
system,
which
the
President
signed
into
law.
The
system,
known
as
Blue
Alert,
is
supposed
to
notify
law
enforcement
agencies
when
a
credible
threat
is
made
against
members
of
the
law
enforcement
community.
Recent
media
reports
indicate
that
despite
an
uptick
in
attacks
targeting
police
officers,
the
Department
of
Justice
has
yet
to
implement
any
portion
of
the
law.
I
sent
a
letter
this
week
to
Attorney
General Loretta
Lynch
calling
for
an
implementation
plan
by
September
30.
Another senator and
I
pressed
the
Obama
Administration
on
why
it
appears
that
billions
of
dollars
in
unobligated
funds
aren’t
being
directed
to
a
Zika
response.
The
Administration,
via
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
Secretary
Sylvia
Mathews
Burwell,
responded
but
did
not
address
our
questions
about
redirecting
billions
of
dollars
of
available
funds
to
the
Zika
response.
I'll
keep
pressing
for
answers.
I,
along
with
Senator
Vitter
and
Senator
Cassidy,
sent
a
letter
to Homeland
Security
Secretary
Jeh
Johnson
seeking
background
information
on
the
driver
of
a
bus
that
collided
with
emergency
personnel
who
were
responding
to
another
incident,
killing
two
and
injuring
dozens
more.
The
bus
driver
is
allegedly
in
the
country
illegally,
had
a
history
of
driving
without
a
license,
and
was
driving
a
bus
allegedly
full
of
other
foreign
nationals
when
the
collision
occurred,
which
killed
local
fire
chief
Spencer
Chauvin
and
civilian
Jermaine
Starr.
My
office
in
Des
Moines
has
added
a
new
Veterans
Fellow,
Dave
Allen.
I'm
glad
to
have
Dave
available
to
meet
with
veterans
and
put
his
experience
to
work
on
their
concerns.
He
was
instrumental
in
helping
my
office
in
the
case
of
a
veteran
from
Altoona
who
ended
up
with
expensive
private
hospital
bills
after
treatment
at
a
Department
of
Vetarans
Affairs
facility.
Ultimately,
the
hospital
cleared
the
veteran's
debt.
My
regional
directors
for
the
Des
Moines
and
Waterloo
areas
will
be
holding
open
office
hours
at
locations
across
northern,
central
and
southern
Iowa
and
will
be
available
to
take
questions,
comments
and
concerns
about
federal
issues
from
Iowans.
Post
of
the
Week
|