Grassley
Direct
I
spoke with
Mike
Peterson
of
KMA
radio
in
Shenandoah
and
Gordon
Wolf
of
the
Denison
Bulletin
and
Review
about health
care
legislation,
the
Iowa
stopgap
measure
and
the
Renewable
Fuel
Standard.
Q&A:
Grassley
Law
Targets
"Crime
of
the
21st
Century"
Q.
How
will
your
legislation
help
curb
financial
exploitation
of
older
Americans?
Q.
How
widespread
and
costly
are
financial
crimes
against
older
Americans?
Q. How
can
families
protect
loved
ones
from
financial
exploitation?
Quick
Links
Several
of
my
colleagues
and
I
received assurances from
EPA
Administrator
Scott
Pruitt
that
the
agency
will
not
follow
through
on
a
proposal
that
would
have
undermined
the
integrity
of
the
Renewable
Fuel
Standard. Renewable
energies
like biofuels
are
the
backbone of
so
many
local
economies
across
the
Midwest. This
is
good
news
for Iowa
and
the
entire
country,
which
is
made
stronger
by
the
many
jobs,
increased
energy
independence
and
cleaner
air
that
renewable
sources
of
energy
like
biofuels
provide.
Senator
Jon
Tester of
Montana
and
I
are
the
only
two
farmers
currently
serving
in
the
Senate.
We
wrote
to Agriculture
Secretary
Sonny
Perdue
expressing
our
vehement
disagreement
with
the
USDA’s
withdrawal of
two
rules
related
to
the
Packers
and
Stockyards
Act.
The
industry
has
consolidated
for
decades
into
its
current
structure
that
enables
a
handful
of
companies
to
have
extraordinary
market
power.
This
rule
would
ensure a
better
functioning
marketplace
for
farmers.
Local
media reported unauthorized
waiting
lists
outside
the
VA
patient
tracking
system
for
some
mental
health
appointments
in
Omaha. It’s
important
for
veterans
and
taxpayers
to
know
what
role
these
lists
played,
how
they
impacted
access
to
care
and
what
corrective
actions
and
disciplinary
measures
were
applied
to
make
sure
this doesn’t
happen
again.
A
report
shows
a
number
of
Afghan
military
trainees
in
the
United
States
went
absent
without leave, and
a
number
are
still
missing. This
is
bad
for
national
security,
bad
for
Afghan
military
readiness
and
bad
for
U.S.
taxpayers. The
U.S.
government
has
to do
a
better
job,
especially the
agencies
fulfilling
the number
one
responsibility
of
the
federal
government
of
protecting
the
homeland.
That’s
why
I’m
writing
to
press
the
relevant
agencies
for
answers.
Recent
patterns
of
foreign
investment
in
the United
States
have
raised
concerns
that
overseas
competitors
are
pursuing
investments
to
make
strategic
gains
in
the
U.S.
market
or
to
benefit
their
own
domestic
industries.
Senator Sherrod
Brown
of
Ohio
and
I introduced
bipartisan
legislation to
review
foreign
investments
in
the
United
States
to
ensure
they
are
in
the
long-term
economic
interests
of
the
United
States.
I
have
long worked
to
stop the
abuse
and
waste
of
taxpayer
money.
At
my
urging,
the
Inspector
General
for
the
Troubled
Asset
Relief
Program is reviewing state
agency
spending
on
travel,
conference
attendance
and
other
administrative
waste
from
the
Hardest
Hit
Fund,
a
$9.6
billion
program
that
began
in
2010
to
help
homeowners
who
suffered
during
the
housing
crisis.
Post
of
the
Week
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