Requesting Help for Farmers Inundated with Natural Disasters

This week I called on U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack to grant a request by Iowa Governor Terry Branstad for 27 counties to be designated as disaster areas. The counties sustained substantial damage from several weather events over the summer, including a major hail and wind storm... Read more

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Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Deserve Support

At a rally in front of the United States Capitol this week, I met a woman from Minnesota who’s been raising her grandchildren for 18 years. It’s an impressive record but she isn’t unusual at all. More than 2.5 million grandparents nationwide are responsible for their grandchildren living with them... Read more

 

Common Sense Amendment Wins Approval in Judiciary Committee

Most of us use a computer without even thinking of the consequences. When we sit down at home or at work, we check our email, read the news and generally go about our routine. What we don’t know is that we may be in violation of federal criminal law based upon a violation of internet terms of service... Read more

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Government Contractor Salaries and Fees: Are Taxpayers Getting the Best Deal?

The top five executives at big government contractors are able to charge as much as $693,951 apiece directly to the taxpayers while working for the taxpayers. That’s apart from what they might earn from the company itself. That’s more than the President of the United States earns from the taxpayers. Some contracts allow contractors to directly bill the government for their costs, including salaries, in addition to the fee for performing the contract. President Obama had pledged to crack down on the use of such contracts, but so far... Read more