Q&A: Counterfeits Spoil Gift-Giving

Q: Are counterfeit goods a bigger risk during the holiday gift season?
Q: What do consumers need to know?

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This week the Justice Department announced that another 4.7 billion taxpayer dollars had been saved this year because of my reforms to the False Claims Act. In 1986, I authored the reforms to encourage whistleblowers to come forward with information involving fraud that exploits the federal government. Since their passage, those reforms have saved more than $53.1 billion for the taxpayer.

After investigating the practice of fetal tissue transfers and the federal laws governing the practice, I'm referring several Planned Parenthood affiliates and companies involved in fetal tissue transfers and Planned Parenthood Federation of America to the FBI and Justice Department for investigation and possible prosecution. I don't take lightly making a referral like this, but the seeming disregard for the law by these entities has been fueled by decades of utter failure by the Justice Department to enforce it. You can read the Majority Staff Report from the Judiciary Committee on the matter here.

I am urging President-elect Trump to help bring down prescription drug prices by addressing misclassifications under the Medicaid Drug Rebate Program and making sure laws to fight anti-competitive behavior are enforced. I have recently been working to understand the reasons behind the high cost of EpiPens. In my letter to the President-elect, I also urge him to reverse the unwillingness of the executive branch to cooperate with congressional requests for information in order to foster transparency and accountability. 

I sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson raising new questions about the vetting of the man who launched an attack on Ohio State University's campus last month. The man behind that attack arrived as a refugee from Somalia in 2013 with his mother and six siblings. It appears that some information provided by his mother in the course of seeking asylum should have spurred further questions by asylum officers, which is common practice in similar cases. It also appears that the Department of Homeland Security may have used outdated forms in processing the asylum request.

Each year I get an opportunity to nominate current or future Iowa high school graduates for a select few U.S. service academy appointments. This year I have nominated 34 exceptional young Iowans to the U.S. Air Force Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and the U.S. Military Academy.  These young Iowans, and their outstanding accomplishments, are a remarkable reflection on our state and signal continued excellence in the U.S. Armed Forces. 

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