Grassley
Direct
I spoke
with
Jamie
Whitney
of
the
Buena
Vista
County
Journal
and
Chris
Vrba
of
the
Pocahontas
Record-Democrat
about
President
Trump's
budget
proposal,
health
care,
conservation
programs
and
presidential
appointment
confirmations.
Q&A:Tax
Filing
Season
Q.
What
tips
do
you
have
for
Iowans
this
tax
filing
season?
Q.
What
tips
do
you
have
for
Iowans
worried
about
identity
theft?
Q.
Will
comprehensive
reform
and
tax
simplification
be
ready
by
the
next
tax
filing
season
in
2018?
Quick
Links
This
week
I
presided
over
four
days
of
hearings
on
the
nomination
of
Judge
Neil
Gorsuch
to
be
the
next
Associate
Justice
of
the
Supreme
Court.
Judge
Gorsuch,
in
nearly
20
hours
of
testimony
before
the
Senate
Judiciary
Committee,
showed
he
has
a
command
of
the
law,
an
independent
voice,
and
a
deep
sense
of
humility.
It
was
a
brilliant
demonstration
of
the
qualities
we
want
in
a
Supreme
Court
justice.
In
the
wake
of
the
Enron
scandal,
one
of
the
biggest
audit
failures
in
American
history,
Congress
established
the
Public
Company
Accounting
Oversight
Board
(PCAOB)
to
prevent
auditing
deficiencies
that
could
cost
investors
billions
of
dollars
and
damage
our
economy.
I
am
re-introducing
a
bill that
will
bring
even
greater
transparency
and
reliability
to
the
audit
oversight
process
at
this
board.
With
public
proceedings,
the
bad
actors
would
be
less
able
to
hide
and
continue
their
misdeeds.
I
reintroduced
a
bill
that
would
make
more
hearing
aids
available
over
the
counter.
If
you
can
buy
non-prescription
reading
glasses
over
the
counter,
it
makes
sense
that
you
should
be
able
to
buy
basic,
safe
hearing
aids,
too. The
goal
is
that
by
making
more
products
more
easily
available
to
consumers,
competition
will
increase
and
lead
to
lower
costs.
I
am
seeking
details on
how
an
undocumented
criminal,
with
a
long
and
violent
criminal
record
and
multiple
encounters
with
immigration officials,
could
be
allowed
not
only
to
remain
in
the
country,
but
also
be
granted
a
work
permit.
The
man
in
question
was
recently
charged
in
the
murder
of
his
15-year-old
stepdaughter,
who
was
nine
months
pregnant
with
their
second
child.
You
can
read
my
letter
to
Department
of
Homeland
Security
Secretary
John
Kelly
here.
As
a
founding
member
of
the
Senate
Whistleblower
Protection
Caucus,
I
am
urging
the
Trump
Administration
to
re-nominate
the
head
of
the
government's
central
whistleblower
advocacy
office.
Carolyn
Lerner,
who
has
served
one
term
leading
the
Office
of
Special
Counsel,
has
a
proven
record
of
working
in
a
nonpartisan
fashion
to
improve
government
accountability
and
save
taxpayer
dollars
by
protecting
and
empowering
whistleblowers.
Post
of
the
Week
|