The Iowa State Fair

This week marks the start of one of Iowa’s most iconic events. The Iowa State Fair attracts more than one million people every year and highlights the state’s rich agricultural history to visitors from both in and out of Iowa. This quintessential Iowa celebration provides educational and informational activities as well as entertainment for the entire family.

For many people, this is the only time they’ll see a cow, pig or lamb, let alone a llama or a rooster. It’s a great way to connect people with agriculture and learn more about how our food is produced... Read more

Watch: Broken Bookkeeping at the Pentagon

Broken bookkeeping has plagued the Pentagon for years. It’s an important issue. Without sound auditing, over-priced hammers and toilet seats gouge the taxpayers. Multi-million-dollar buildings sit empty in Afghanistan and other places where the U.S. military has a presence. The Defense Department is unable to account for the more than $500 billion it spends every year. Wasteful spending piles up as a result.

The latest debacle involves the Marine Corps... Read more

Education Anti-Trust Bill Signed into Law

Every college student, regardless of financial situation, wants a shot at the best education. Meanwhile, colleges and universities looking to attract the best and the brightest want to ensure that financial aid goes to those who need it most. I introduced a bipartisan bill earlier this year to remove barriers to making this possible. Just last week, President Obama signed into law my Need-Based Educational Aid Act of 2015.

For more than 20 years, colleges and universities that admit students based on academic merit have been able to collaborate with each other on the formula they use to determine a family’s ability to pay for college, thanks to an exemption to current anti-trust law... Read more

IRS Needs a Course Correction

The Senate Finance Committee just released the first bipartisan report from Congress on the IRS’ scandal on targeting certain groups over their political leanings.

The results of the long-time investigation are alarming for taxpayers. On a bipartisan basis, the committee leaders found the agency mistreated conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. Both sides agreed the IRS targeting scandal came from a “dysfunctional culture” and poor management. It’s clear to me from the report that political biases and poor management went hand in hand to let politically motivated behavior continue unchecked. When the people in charge are politically biased and overlook and even encourage bad actors in the ranks, you have the perfect environment for the targeting scandal. Poor customer service goes hand in hand with those at the top who don’t care what managers are doing or not doing... Read more