I’ve heard from so many constituents impacted by foreclosures, declining home values and tough economic times.  This legislation strikes a balance between free enterprise and regulation, which is what needs to happen for our system to work. I am proud to back this legislation to help homeowners stay in their homes and keep making payments, which will help ease the credit crisis faced by our markets.

The housing crisis is impacting all of us. Families who lose their homes are directly impacted, but their former neighbors have also seen their homes lose value. Our comprehensive approach will help end this crisis and get our economy back on track.

I have not introduced a gas tax increase and I do not plan to do so.  My comments about the gas tax this week were made during a Transportation and Infrastructure hearing and were part of a discussion about Congressional inaction on our nation’s energy supply emergency.  Congressional hearings like these allow Members an open forum to discuss issues.

Right now, Congress under Democratic Leadership is paralyzed.  Under Republican Leadership I passed ANWR in 1995 but it was vetoed by President Clinton.  This week, ANWR was voted down by Democrats in the Natural Resources Committee.  Congress is passing annual moratoria on producing energy from the outer continental shelf.  Congress refuses to amend flawed environmental laws that make it easy for radical environmentalists to tie up development.  Environmental groups are suing to stop leasing in the Beaufort Sea . . . the Chukchi Sea . . . the Rocky Mountain Front.  The U.S. has more than two trillion barrels of oil in shale, more than Saudi Arabia’s total oil reserves, yet our government doesn’t have a fully operational oil shale leasing program.  Faced with today’s energy supply emergency, this is a shame. Read the rest of this entry »

In one way or another, cancer has touched all of our lives. A loved one, a neighbor, a friend, a role model. Someone we know is fighting cancer. As it stands, cancer is a vicious enemy, a brutal fact of life. But we are making progress, and someday we will put cancer in its place. We will prevent it and we will cure it.

Medical research is the lynchpin. And needless barriers to research are a deadly setback. I’m introducing legislation today that confronts one of those barriers: unjustifiable out-of-pocket costs. Here’s what happens: An insurer sells you a policy on the premise that the policy covers medically necessary routine care. Virtually all health plans do. Then you enroll in a clinical trial. Suddenly, your insurer refuses to cover routine health care costs, even if those costs have nothing to do with the clinical trial itself. It deters people from enrolling in clinical trials, which thwarts medical research and chokes off hope for patients who have exhausted all their other options.

I am introducing the Access to Cancer Clinical Trials Act to prevent insurers from establishing illogical, unethical, insupportable coverage exclusions for routine care — care that is not associated with a clinical trial, but that happens to coincide with it. This bill is a true Ohio effort — Ohio Congresswoman Deborah Pryce (R), a leader in the area of cancer research, has championed this legislation in the House. I am introducing the Senate companion to advance her vision and pave the way for more cancer clinical trials. Read the rest of this entry »

Wednesday afternoon, I joined my Senate colleagues in introducing the Consumer-First Energy Act.  What we did was we brought forward a comprehensive package that says to the American people: what’s going on now is unacceptable.  The price of oil and gas has got to go down.  This is Washington.  But in the real world, representing a cold weather state, a rural state, a working family wrote to me: last year they could not afford to heat their home and their daughter came down with pneumonia.  In the real world, workers making $10 an hour, traveling fifty miles to their jobs and fifty miles back, can’t fill up their gas tanks.  I have received hundreds of these emails and they are heartbreaking.

If we don’t act boldly, the economic situation for millions of middle-class families and working Americans will continue to deteriorate.  Congress and the president can no longer sit idly by while Americans are getting ripped off at the gas pump, the economy deteriorates, and Exxon Mobil, greedy speculators, and OPEC are allowed to make out like bandits pushing oil and gas prices higher and higher.

The American people are looking out and seeing Exxon-Mobil making more profits than any corporation in the history of the world.  They’re looking at hedge fund managers making billions of dollars in personal profits.  The time is now for Congress to begin to respond to the needs of the American people.  This package begins to do that.

Today the House passed H.R. 3221, the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act. This comprehensive response to the current mortgage crisis includes measures aimed at helping families stay in their homes and stabilizing our nation’s housing market.

According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, between 7,000 and 8,000 people per day are filing for foreclosure across the country.  Foreclosures negatively impact our nation on every level.  They cause families to lose their homes, tenants to have to relocate and cities to lose valuable tax revenue, making it harder to provide good schools, police protection, code enforcement and other vital services.  By taking steps to help homeowners avoid foreclosure, we are, in turn, taking steps to strengthen our families, our communities and this great nation.

There is no dream more fundamentally American than the dream of owning a home.  By passing the American Housing Rescue and Foreclosure Prevention Act, Congress took an important step in protecting that dream for current and future homeowners.

Sen. Grassley is chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.

Without ethanol, the cost of energy would be even higher, and the high cost of energy is the main reason for higher food costs.  Ethanol is proving to be part of the energy solution, and it’s misguided and short-sighted to try to make ethanol the scapegoat for gas and grocery prices.

The extensive and widespread devastation left this weekend by the cyclone in Burma has claimed over 60,000 lives and millions more have seen their homes and communities destroyed. I extend my deepest condolences to the people of Burma struggling to recover from this catastrophic disaster.

Through tragedy, there may be some hope for the future for the citizens of Burma. After years of being isolated from the rest of the world, the United States along with the international community can use this opportunity to assist Burma and demonstrate good will towards the Burmese people.

The time is ripe to move beyond the strategy of isolation and sanctions and toward the goal of opening up Burma. I am hopeful that the administration will move forward in that spirit and that the Government of Burma will accept the outpouring of international aid and allow international relief organizations access throughout the country.

Both Congress and the Administration have failed mightily to provide the Social Security Administration the resources it needs to assist the millions of Americans who rely on its services. Consequently, the Agency has been unable to hire new employees to replace the 10 percent of its workforce that has retired in just the last two years.

As baby boomers begin applying for Social Security and disability claims increase, it is absolutely critical that Congress provide the appropriate funding to address this shortfall and prepare for future challenges. Our constituents deserve nothing less, and we must not fail to act on this priority.

The causes of rising food prices in the United States are complex, but one thing is certain: low-income people feel the greatest impact. Food accounts for 17.1 percent of income for households making less than $10,000 per year, compared to the U.S. average of 12.6 percent.  While rising food costs are placing additional strain on family budgets, they are part of a long list of increasing costs for housing, childcare, healthcare, and fuel.

In the long term American families need the economic stability to withstand financial fluctuations. But right now Congress should provide immediate relief for struggling families by strengthening our food assistance programs.

Enrollment in the Food Stamp Program jumped considerably in the last year, in part because of higher food prices. A total of 28 million now receive food stamps each month; it is expected to reach as high as 29 million.

Participation in other programs is expected to rise as well. For programs like WIC that depend on annual appropriations, higher food prices mean higher program costs. Without additional funding from Congress, mothers and children have to be cut from the program.

Food banks traditionally help fill gaps in our safety-net by providing short-term, emergency food assistance. Food banks estimate a 20 percent increase in requests for help. The annual appropriation for The Emergency Food Assistance Program has not increased since 2003, despite the fact that the cost of food at home has gone up 18 percent since January 2003.

In the short term, Congress must provide immediate assistance through a second stimulus package to allow nutrition programs to meet increasing. The stimulus should provide 1) an immediate boost in food stamp benefit levels to help families meet today’s actual food prices; 2) additional WIC funding to ensure that all eligible women and children continue to receive benefits; and 3) additional funding for TEFAP so that food banks can help families weather higher food prices.

David Beckman is President of Bread for the World. 

We have provided a boost for Wyoming tourism and honored the legacy of the late Senator Craig Thomas.  The “Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act” is now pending consideration by the full Senate.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee voted to approve passage of the legislation introduced by Senator Thomas last May which we enhanced this past year.

Senator Thomas had a passionate vision for the Snake River.  His vision has been maintained, clarified and strengthened in this bill.  I have worked hard to add solid protections for existing property and water rights.

Wyoming folks and visitors from around the world experience unrivaled recreational opportunities including hunting, fishing, hiking, camping, and boating along these stretches. That will continue, along with vital protections for existing water rights and land owners.  In short, private property rights will be protected. Read the rest of this entry »