[Senate Report 111-13]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
111th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 111-13
======================================================================
R E P O R T
ON THE ACTIVITIES
of the
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
of the
UNITED STATES SENATE
during the
110th CONGRESS
pursuant to
Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules
of the
UNITED STATES SENATE
March 31, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
For Sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512-1800; (202) 512�091800
Fax: (202) 512�092104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402�090001
[110th Congress--Committee Membership]
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
MAX BAUCUS, Montana, Chairman
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
Virginia ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota TRENT LOTT, Mississippi\1\
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts JON KYL, Arizona
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas CRAIG THOMAS, Wyoming\2\
RON WYDEN, Oregon GORDON SMITH, Oregon
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
KEN SALAZAR, Colorado JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada\3\
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire\4\
Russell Sullivan, Staff Director
Kolan Davis, Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel
SUBCOMMITTEES
______
HEALTH CARE
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico CHUCK GRASSLEY, Iowa
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
RON WYDEN, Oregon JON KYL, Arizona
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
KEN SALAZAR, Colorado JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada\3\
______
TAXATION, IRS OVERSIGHT, AND LONG-TERM GROWTH
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota, Chairman
MAX BAUCUS, Montana JON KYL, Arizona
RON WYDEN, Oregon TRENT LOTT, Mississippi\1\
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire\4\
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
KEN SALAZAR, Colorado MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
(ii)
?
ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico, Chairman
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts GORDON SMITH, Oregon
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
RON WYDEN, Oregon TRENT LOTT, Mississippi\1\
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
KEN SALAZAR, Colorado JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada\3\
JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire\4\
______
SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSIONS, AND FAMILY POLICY
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts, Chairman
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada\3\
Virginia TRENT LOTT, Mississippi\1\
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota JON KYL, Arizona
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York JOHN E. SUNUNU, New Hampshire\4\
______
INTERNATIONAL TRADE AND GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas, Chairman
MAX BAUCUS, Montana GORDON SMITH, Oregon
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
Virginia OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
----------
\1\Resigned from the Senate December 18, 2007.
\2\Died June 4, 2007.
\3\Joined committee July 10, 2007.
\4\Joined committee January 24, 2008.
(iii)
?
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL
----------
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Finance,
Washington, DC, March 31, 2009.
Hon. Nancy Erickson,
Secretary, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
Dear Ms. Erickson: In accordance with rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the United States Senate and the pertinent
unanimous consent order pertaining to this rule, I am
transmitting herewith a report on the activities of the
Committee on Finance of the United States Senate for the 110th
Congress.
Sincerely,
Max Baucus, Chairman.
(v)
C O N T E N T S
__________
Page
110th Congress--Committee Membership............................. ii
Letter of Transmittal............................................ v
Committee Jurisdiction........................................... 1
Rules of Procedure............................................... 2
Tax--Summary of Activities....................................... 5
Committee Hearings and Member Meetings....................... 6
Full Committee Executive Meetings............................ 17
Trade--Summary of Activities..................................... 19
Full Committee Hearings...................................... 22
Full Committee Executive Meetings............................ 25
Full Committee Member Meetings............................... 26
Health--Summary of Activities.................................... 29
Hearings and Meetings........................................ 32
Summits and Conferences...................................... 37
Full Committee Field Hearings................................ 37
Subcommittee on Health Care.................................. 38
Social Security--Summary of Activities........................... 39
Full Committee Hearings...................................... 39
Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy............ 41
Oversight and Investigations--Summary of Activities.............. 43
Overview..................................................... 43
Hearings..................................................... 44
The Cayman Islands and Offshore Tax Issues................... 46
Legislative Action by Senate Finance Committee on Offshore
Tax Evasion................................................ 46
Legislation.................................................. 47
Active Oversight Initiatives................................. 50
Special IG for the TARP Program.......................... 50
Centers for Disease Control.............................. 51
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services............... 51
Department of Health and Human Services.................. 55
Federal Bureau of Investigation.......................... 56
Food and Drug Administration............................. 60
National Institutes of Health............................ 64
Pharmaceuticals and Devices.............................. 65
Miscellaneous............................................ 67
Monitored Oversight Initiatives.............................. 70
Federal Bureau of Investigation.......................... 70
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services............... 71
Department of Health and Human Services.................. 72
Food and Drug Administration............................. 72
Nominations...................................................... 75
Bills and Resolutions Referred to the Committee.................. 85
Reports, Prints, and Studies..................................... 87
Official Communications.......................................... 89
(vii)
111th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 111-13
======================================================================
REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE DURING THE 110TH
CONGRESS
_______
March 31, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Baucus, from the Committee on Finance, submitted the following
REPORT
This report reviews the legislative and oversight
activities of the Committee on Finance during the 110th
Congress. These activities parallel the broad scope of
responsibilities vested in the committee by the Legislative
Reorganization Act of 1946, as amended, rule XXV(k) of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, and additional authorizing
resolutions.
COMMITTEE JURISDICTION
Rule XXV(i) of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires
reference to this committee of all proposed legislation, and
other matters, dealing with (i) Committee on Finance, to which
committee shall be referred all proposed legislation, messages,
petitions, memorials, and other matters relating to the
following subjects:
1. Bonded debt of the United States, except as
provided in the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Customs, collection districts, and ports of entry
and delivery.
3. Deposit of public moneys.
4. General revenue sharing.
5. Health programs under the Social Security Act and
health programs financed by a specific tax or trust
fund.
6. National social security.
7. Reciprocal trade agreements.
8. Revenue measures generally, except as provided in
the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
9. Revenue measures relating to the insular
possessions.
10. Tariffs and import quotas, and matters related
thereto.
11. Transportation of dutiable goods.
(1)
COMMITTEE RULES
I. RULES OF PROCEDURE
Rule 1. Regular Meeting Days.--The regular meeting day of the
committee shall be the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, except
that if there be no business before the committee the regular meeting
shall be omitted.
Rule 2. Committee Meetings.--(a) Except as provided by paragraph 3
of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to special
meetings called by a majority of the committee) and subsection (b) of
this rule, committee meetings, for the conduct of business, for the
purpose of holding hearings, or for any other purpose, shall be called
by the chairman. Members will be notified of committee meetings at
least 48 hours in advance, unless the chairman determines that an
emergency situation requires a meeting on shorter notice. The
notification will include a written agenda together with materials
prepared by the staff relating to that agenda. After the agenda for a
committee meeting is published and distributed, no nongermane items may
be brought up during that meeting unless at least two-thirds of the
members present agree to consider those items.
(b) In the absence of the chairman, meetings of the committee may
be called by the ranking majority member of the committee who is
present, provided authority to call meetings has been delegated to such
member by the chairman.
Rule 3. Presiding Officer.--(a) The chairman shall preside at all
meetings and hearings of the committee except that in his absence the
ranking majority member who is present at the meeting shall preside.
(b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a) any
member of the committee may preside over the conduct of a hearing.
Rule 4. Quorums.--(a) Except as provided in subsection (b) one-
third of the membership of the committee, including not less than one
member of the majority party and one member of the minority party,
shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of business.
(b) Notwithstanding the rule prescribed by subsection (a), one
member shall constitute a quorum for the purpose of conducting a
hearing.
Rule 5. Reporting of Measures or Recommendations.--No measure or
recommendation shall be reported from the committee unless a majority
of the committee is actually present and a majority of those present
concur.
Rule 6. Proxy Voting; Polling.--(a) Except as provided by
paragraph 7(a)(3) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
(relating to limitation on use of proxy voting to report a measure or
matter), members who are unable to be present may have their vote
recorded by proxy.
(b) At the discretion of the committee, members who are unable to
be present and whose vote has not been cast by proxy may be polled for
the purpose of recording their vote on any rollcall taken by the
committee.
Rule 7. Order of Motions.--When several motions are before the
committee dealing with related or overlapping matters, the chairman may
specify the order in which the motions shall be voted upon.
Rule 8. Bringing a Matter to a Vote.--If the chairman determines
that a motion or amendment has been adequately debated, he may call for
a vote on such motion or amendment, and the vote shall then be taken,
unless the committee votes to continue debate on such motion or
amendment, as the case may be. The vote on a motion to continue debate
on any motion or amendment shall be taken without debate.
Rule 9. Public Announcement of Committee Votes.--Pursuant to
paragraph 7(b) of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate
(relating to public announcement of votes), the results of rollcall
votes taken by the committee on any measure (or amendment thereto) or
matter shall be announced publicly not later than the day on which such
measure or matter is ordered reported from the committee.
Rule 10. Subpoenas.--Subpoenas for attendance of witnesses and the
production of memoranda, documents, and records shall be issued by the
chairman, or by any other member of the committee designated by him.
Rule 11. Nominations.--In considering a nomination, the committee
may conduct an investigation or review of the nominee's experience,
qualifications, and suitability, to serve in the position to which he
or she has been nominated. To aid in such investigation or review, each
nominee may be required to submit a sworn detailed statement including
biographical, financial, policy, and other information which the
committee may request. The committee may specify which items in such
statement are to be received on a confidential basis. Witnesses called
to testify on the nomination may be required to testify under oath.
Rule 12. Open Committee Hearings.--To the extent required by
paragraph 5 of Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate (relating
to limitations on open hearings), each hearing conducted by the
committee shall be open to the public.
Rule 13. Announcement of Hearings.--The committee shall undertake
consistent with the provisions of paragraph 4(a) of Rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate (relating to public notice of committee
hearings) to issue public announcements of hearings it intends to hold
at least one week prior to the commencement of such hearings.
Rule 14. Witnesses at Hearings.--(a) Each witness who is scheduled
to testify at any hearing must submit his written testimony to the
staff director not later than noon of the business day immediately
before the last business day preceding the day on which he is scheduled
to appear. Such written testimony shall be accompanied by a brief
summary of the principal points covered in the written testimony.
Having submitted his written testimony, the witness shall be allowed
not more than 10 minutes for oral presentation of his statement.
(b) Witnesses may not read their entire written testimony, but
must confine their oral presentation to a summarization of their
arguments.
(c) Witnesses shall observe proper standards of dignity, decorum
and propriety while presenting their views to the committee. Any
witness who violates this rule shall be dismissed, and his testimony
(both oral and written) shall not appear in the record of the hearing.
(d) In scheduling witnesses for hearings, the staff shall attempt
to schedule witnesses so as to attain a balance of views early in the
hearings. Every member of the committee may designate witnesses who
will appear before the committee to testify. To the extent that a
witness designated by a member cannot be scheduled to testify during
the time set aside for the hearing, a special time will be set aside
for the witness to testify if the member designating that witness is
available at that time to chair the hearing.
Rule 15. Audiences.--Persons admitted into the audience for open
hearings of the committee shall conduct themselves with the dignity,
decorum, courtesy and propriety traditionally observed by the Senate.
Demonstrations of approval or disapproval of any statement or act by
any member or witness are not allowed. Persons creating confusion or
distractions or otherwise disrupting the orderly proceeding of the
hearing shall be expelled from the hearing.
Rule 16. Broadcasting of Hearings.--(a) Broadcasting of open
hearings by television or radio coverage shall be allowed upon approval
by the chairman of a request filed with the staff director not later
than noon of the day before the day on which such coverage is desired.
(b) If such approval is granted, broadcasting coverage of the
hearing shall be conducted unobtrusively and in accordance with the
standards of dignity, propriety, courtesy and decorum traditionally
observed by the Senate.
(c) Equipment necessary for coverage by television and radio
media shall not be installed in, or removed from, the hearing room
while the committee is in session.
(d) Additional lighting may be installed in the hearing room by
the media in order to raise the ambient lighting level to the lowest
level necessary to provide adequate television coverage of the hearing
at the then current state of the art of television coverage.
(e) The additional lighting authorized by subsection (d) of this
rule shall not be directed into the eyes of any members of the
committee or of any witness, and at the request of any such member or
witness, offending lighting shall be extinguished.
Rule 17. Subcommittees.--(a) The chairman, subject to the approval
of the committee, shall appoint legislative subcommittees. All
legislation shall be kept on the full committee calendar unless a
majority of the members present and voting agree to refer specific
legislation to an appropriate subcommittee.
(b) The chairman may limit the period during which House-passed
legislation referred to a subcommittee under paragraph (a) will remain
in that subcommittee. At the end of that period, the legislation will
be restored to the full committee calendar. The period referred to in
the preceding sentences should be 6 weeks, but may be extended in the
event that adjournment or a long recess is imminent.
(c) All decisions of the chairman are subject to approval or
modification by a majority vote of the committee.
(d) The full committee may at any time by majority vote of those
members present discharge a subcommittee from further consideration of
a specific piece of legislation.
(e) Because the Senate is constitutionally prohibited from
passing revenue legislation originating in the Senate, subcommittees
may mark up legislation originating in the Senate and referred to them
under Rule 16(a) to develop specific proposals for full committee
consideration but may not report such legislation to the full
committee. The preceding sentence does not apply to nonrevenue
legislation originating in the Senate.
(f) The chairman and ranking minority member shall serve as
nonvoting ex officio members of the subcommittees on which they do not
serve as voting members.
(g) Any member of the committee may attend hearings held by any
subcommittee and question witnesses testifying before that
subcommittee.
(h) Subcommittee meeting times shall be coordinated by the staff
director to insure that--
(1) no subcommittee meeting will be held when the committee
is in executive session, except by unanimous consent;
(2) no more than one subcommittee will meet when the full
committee is holding hearings; and
(3) not more than two subcommittees will meet at the same
time.
Notwithstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), a subcommittee may meet
when the full committee is holding hearings and two subcommittees may
meet at the same time only upon the approval of the chairman and the
ranking minority member of the committee and subcommittees involved.
(i) All nominations shall be considered by the full committee.
(j) The chairman will attempt to schedule reasonably frequent
meetings of the full committee to permit consideration of legislation
reported favorably to the committee by the subcommittees.
Rule 18. Transcripts of Committee Meetings.--An accurate record
shall be kept of all markups of the committee, whether they be open or
closed to the public. A transcript, marked as ``uncorrected,'' shall be
available for inspection by Members of the Senate, or members of the
committee together with their staffs, at any time. Not later than 21
business days after the meeting occurs, the committee shall make
publicly available through the Internet--
(a) a video recording;
(b) an audio recording; or
(c) after all members of the committee have had a reasonable
opportunity to correct their remarks for grammatical errors or to
accurately reflect statements, a corrected transcript;
and such record shall remain available until the end of the Congress
following the date of the meeting.
Notwithstanding the above, in the case of the record of an
executive session of the committee that is closed to the public
pursuant to Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate, the record
shall not be published or made public in any way except by majority
vote of the committee after all members of the committee have had a
reasonable opportunity to correct their remarks for grammatical errors
or to accurately reflect statements made.
Rule 19. Amendment of Rules.--The foregoing rules may be added to,
modified, amended or suspended at any time.
TAX
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
During the 110th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee
worked to address urgent challenges facing the American and
global economy. The committee also worked to move forward many
long-term priorities. The committee was actively involved in
several major tax policy issues, including: (i) the tax
portions of a bill to provide economic stimulus; (ii) the tax
portions of legislation to address the failure of major
financial firms and the tightening of credit; (iii) a patch to
the alternative minimum tax; (iv) the tax title to the farm
bill; and (v) the tax title to the housing bill. The committee
held hearings to support its legislation and to explore future
tax reform areas, including an examination of carried interest,
education tax incentives, the tax gap, and renewable energy tax
incentives.
2007 Legislation
On June 21st 2007, H.R. 6, the ``Energy Independence and
Security Act of 2007,'' which contained tax incentives to
increase investment in renewable energy sources and increase
energy independence and security, passed in the Senate. It
became law on December 19, 2007 (Pub. L. No. 110-140)
On May 17, 2007, H.R 2206., the ``U.S. Troop Readiness,
Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability
Appropriations Act, 2007,'' was passed in the Senate. It became
law on May 25, 2007 (Pub. L. No. 110-28).
On October 25, 2007, H.R. 3678, the ``Internet Tax Freedom
Act Amendments Act of 2007,'' which amended the Internet Tax
Freedom Act to extend the moratorium on certain taxes relating
to the Internet and to electronic commerce, was passed in the
Senate with unanimous consent. It became law on October 31
(Pub. L. No. 110-108).
On December 6, 2007, H.R. 3996, the ``Tax Increase
Prevention Act of 2007,'' passed the Senate by a vote of 88-5.
The law provided a one-year patch to the alternative minimum
tax. It was signed into law on December 26, 2007. (Pub. L. No.
110-166).
2008 Legislation
On February 5, 2008, the committee considered and reported
S. 715-S. 725 and S. 762-S. 773, the ``Recovery Rebates and
Economic Stimulus for the American People Act of 2008.'' S.
715-S. 725 and S. 762-S. 773 were included in a substitute
amendment to H.R. 5140. The bill included economic stimulus
rebates to individuals, incentives for business investment, and
an increase in conforming and FHA loan limits. The substitute
amendment was agreed to by the House on February 7, 2008 and
was signed into law on February 13, 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-185).
On June 5, 2008, H.R. 6124, the ``Food, Conservation, and
Energy Act of 2008,'' which continued agricultural programs
through fiscal year 2012, was passed in the Senate. It was
vetoed by the President on June 18, 2008. That same day, the
House and Senate voted to override the President's veto and the
bill became Pub. L. 110-246.
In May 2008, the committee shepherded passage of a military
personnel tax relief bill, S. 4772-S. 4774, by unanimous
consent. S. 4772-S. 4774 and their identical counterpart H.R.
6081, a bill ``to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to
provide benefits for military personnel and for other
purposes'' were signed into law on June 17, 2008 (Pub. L. No.
110-245).
On April 10, 2008, the Senate passed the ``Housing and
Economic Recovery Act of 2008.'' The bill provided tax relief
to homeowners, homebuyers, and homebuilders, including an
increase in funding for mortgage revenue bonds, a credit for
foreclosed properties, and a business loss tax relief
provision. The measure was signed into law on July 30, 2008
(Pub. L. 110-289).
On October 1, 2008, the Senate passed H.R. 1424, the
``Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.'' The bill gave
the Federal Government authority to purchase and insure certain
types of troubled assets with the goal of providing stability
to the economy. It included a number of tax provisions,
including energy tax incentives and extensions of current law.
It also provided individual income tax relief through the
alternative minimum tax and had disaster relief provisions. The
bill was signed into law on October 3, 2008 (Pub. L. No. 110-
343).
On December 11, 2008, the Senate passed the ``Worker,
Retiree, and Employer Recovery Act of 2008.'' The package
included modifications to pension distribution requirements for
seniors and temporary funding relief for pension plans. The
bill also included the Pension Protection Technical Correction
Act of 2008, originally passed by the Senate in December 2007
and the House in March and July 2008. The measure was signed
into law on December 23, 2008 (Pub. L. 110-458).
Committee Hearings and Member Meetings
2007
January 10, 2007--``Tax Incentives for Businesses in Response
to a Minimum Wage Increase.'' The purpose of the hearing
was to discuss the effects of a minimum wage increase and
potential policy responses to any additional burdens placed
on businesses. Received testimony from Dr. Jared Bernstein,
Director, Living Standards Program, Economic Policy
Institute, Washington, DC; Dr. Joseph Sabia, Assistant
Professor of Housing and Consumer Economics, College of
Family and Consumer Sciences, University of Georgia,
Athens, GA; Matthew Kadish, Vice President of Legislation,
Small Business Council of America, Cleveland, OH; Dave
Ratner, Owner, Dave's Soda & Pet City, Agawam, MA; and
Bruce Obenour, President, Akwen, LTD., Dublin, OH.
January 11, 2007--Senators Meeting on the Minimum Wage Tax
Package.
January 18, 2007--Senators Meeting to discuss Economic Policy
with Secretary Paulson and Director Portman.
January 23, 2007--Senators Meeting to discuss economic policy
with Chairman Bernanke.
February 27, 2007--``America's Energy Future: Bold Ideas,
Practical Solutions.'' The purpose of the hearing was to
discuss domestic energy sources and potential policy
proposals to spur alternative energy development. The
witnesses discussed possible solutions that are efficient,
domestically sustainable, and renewable, which can be
partially met through changes in the tax code that
incentivize new, alternative energy solutions. Received
testimony from Governor Brian Schweitzer, D-MT; Michael A.
Aimone, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics,
Installations, and Mission Support, U.S. Air Force; Dan
Arvizu, Ph.D., Director, National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, Golden, CO; Robert Socolow, Ph.D., Co-Director,
The Carbon Mitigation Initiative, Princeton University,
Princeton, NJ; and Dan Reicher, J.D., Director, Energy and
Climate Initiatives, Google Corp., Mountain View, CA.
March 13, 2007--Senators Meeting to discuss energy with
Secretary Samuel Bodman.
March 20, 2007--``Realizing a Competitive Education:
Identifying Needs, Partnerships, and Resources.'' This
hearing focused on flaws in the education system by
identifying problems from a variety of institutional
perspectives. It stressed the vitality of education in
sustaining economic growth and creating upward social
mobility. It also examined the role and effects of tax
policy on the future of education. Received testimony from
Governor Bob Wise, President, Alliance for Excellent
Education, Washington, DC; Jane Karas, President, Flathead
Valley Community College, Kalispell, MT; William Green,
Chief Executive Officer, Accenture, Boston, MA; Greg
Taylor, Vice President for Programs, Youth and Education,
Kellogg Foundation, Battle Creek, MI; Patty Myers, Teacher,
Lewis and Clark Elementary, Great Falls, MT; and Steven L.
Paine, State Superintendent, West Virginia Department of
Education, East Charleston, WV.
March 29, 2007--``Clean Energy: From the Margins to the
Mainstream.'' This hearing addressed the importance of
clean, renewable energy. It focused on how tax incentives
can be used to create more domestic energy, which can
stimulate the economy. Moreover, diversifying the
electricity portfolio through new alternatives has
widespread benefits for the economy and the environment.
Received testimony from His Excellency John Bruton,
Ambassador, European Commission Delegation, Washington, DC;
John Krenicki, President and Chief Executive Officer,
General Electric Energy, Atlanta, GA; Todd Raba, President,
MidAmerican Energy Company (MEC), Des Moines, IA; Johan
van't Hof, Chief Executive Officer, Tonbridge Corporation,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Dr. Ryan H. Wiser, Scientist,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA.
April 12, 2007--``Filing your Taxes: An Ounce of Prevention is
Worth a Pound of Cure.'' This hearing examined the role
that tax preparers play in creating the tax gap. It
analyzed the role of fraud in the tax system and the way
that taxpayers can be manipulated by tax preparers. The
hearing looked at potential solutions to increase
accountability and standards and strengthen the
capabilities of the IRS to regulate tax preparers. Received
testimony from the Hon. Mark W. Everson, Commissioner,
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC; James White,
Director, Tax Issues, Government Accountability Office,
Washington, DC; Michael Phillips, Deputy Inspector General
for Audit, Treasury Inspector General for Tax
Administration, Washington, DC; and the Hon. Eileen J.
O'Connor, Assistant Attorney General for the Tax Division,
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
April 12, 2007--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and
Infrastructure: ``International Perspectives on Alternative
Energy Policy: Incentives and Mandates and Their Impacts.''
This hearing addressed energy policy by identifying long-
term goals of affordability, efficiency, and environmental
protection. The witnesses analyzed the effectiveness of
energy tax provisions in the context of other policies like
alternative energy price supports, investment incentives,
and mandates. Received testimony from Chet Boortz, Vice
President of Business Development, Advent Solar, an
Albuquerque, NM manufacturer of a new solar technology that
serves large markets in Europe and Asia; Jonathon Johns,
Partner, Renewable Energy, Waste & Clean Energy Group,
Ernst & Young, LLP, Exeter, UK; and John Krenicki,
President & CEO, GE Energy, Atlanta, GA.
April 18, 2007--``Examining the Administration's Plan for
Reducing the Tax Gap: What are the Goals, Benchmarks and
Timetables?'' This hearing gauged the effectiveness of
approaches taken in the past to address the tax gap and
looked at possible solutions to reduce the tax gap in the
future. Chairman Baucus set the concrete goal of 90 percent
voluntary compliance by 2017. Increasing enforcement,
regulation, and simplicity will increase honest compliance
and shrink the tax gap. Received testimony from the Hon.
Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Secretary of the Treasury,
Washington, DC; accompanied by the Hon. Eric Solomon,
Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Washington, DC; and the
Hon. Mark W. Everson, Commissioner, Internal Revenue
Service, Washington, DC.
April 19, 2007--``Grains, Cane, and Automobiles: Tax Incentives
for Alternative Fuels and Vehicles.'' This hearing
addressed potential ways to address U.S. energy policy in a
way that alleviates the burdens that expensive foreign
energy puts on the environment, national security, and
families. Witnesses testified on cleaner and greener ways
to fuel vehicles. The hearing looked at domestic solutions
to increase the production of biofuel, biomass, clean coal,
and ethanol. Received testimony from James Woolsey, Vice
President, Booz Allen Hamilton, Washington, DC; Vinod
Khosla, Founder, Khosla Ventures, Menlo Park, CA; Robert
Farrington, Ph.D., Principal Engineer and Manager, Advanced
Vehicle Systems Group, National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, Golden, CO; Bruce Dale, Ph.D., Professor of
Chemical Engineering, Michigan State University, East
Lansing, MI; and Jay Debertin, Executive Vice President and
Chief Operating Officer for Processing and Renewables, CHS
Inc., Inver Grove Heights, MN.
April 26, 2007--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and
Infrastructure: ``Coal: A Clean Future.'' This hearing
addressed the future of clean coal and its potential as a
viable alternative to foreign energy sources. The hearing
analyzed policy ideas regarding coal tax credits,
sequestration, gasification, coal-to-liquid, and
retrofitting coal-fired power plants. Received testimony
from Steve Waddington, Executive Director, Wyoming
Infrastructure Authority, Cheyenne, WY; Dr. Nina French,
ADA-ES, Director, Clean Coal Combustion, Napa, CA; John
Diesch, President, Rentech Energy Midwest Corporation, East
Dubuque, IL; Dr. Brian McPherson, Research Scientist,
Petroleum Recovery Research Center, NM Tech and Manager,
Carbon Engineering Group Energy and Geoscience Institute,
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT; and Bill Townsend,
CEO, Blue Source, Holladay, UT.
May 1, 2007--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and
Infrastructure: ``Advanced Technology Vehicles, the Road
Ahead.'' This hearing analyzed the future of transportation
infrastructure as the price of oil continues to rise and
the U.S. becomes increasingly reliant on foreign energy
sources. The witnesses provided a variety of perspectives
to analyze the effectiveness of potential tax credit
solutions to guide the country toward a more viable energy
future. Received testimony from Mark Chernoby, Vice
President, Advance Vehicle Engineering, DaimlerChrysler
Corporation, Auburn Hills, MI; David Vieau, CEO,
A123Systems, Watertown, MA; Martin Eberhard, CEO, Tesla
Motors, San Carlos, CA; Dr. Walter McManus, University of
Michigan, Transportation Research Institute, Ann Arbor, MI;
and Phillip Baxley, President, Shell Hydrogen, LLC,
Houston, TX.
May 10, 2007--``Can the Middle Class Make Ends Meet? Economic
Issues for America's Working Families.'' This hearing
addressed the increase in inequality and potential tax cuts
to address the issue. The hearing considered potential
causes like corporate profits, health care costs, and
gasoline prices while stressing that a broad middle class
benefits society as a whole. Received testimony from Gary
Burtless, John C. and Nancy D. Whitehead Chair in Economic
Studies, Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; Elizabeth
Warren, Leo Gottlieb Professor of Law, Harvard Law School,
Cambridge, MA; Sarah Blackburn, Social Worker, Billings
Clinic, Billings, MT; and Scott Hodge, President, Tax
Foundation, Washington, DC.
May 24, 2007--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and
Infrastructure: ``Energy Efficiency: Can Tax Incentives
Reduce Consumption?'' This hearing focused on energy
efficiency, specifically in residential and commercial
infrastructure. Witnesses testified about ways that tax
credits can incentivize efficiency and thus limit
consumption in the long run. Received testimony from Kateri
Callahan, President, Alliance to Save Energy, Washington,
DC; Stuart Thorn, President, Southwire Company, Carrolton,
GA; Sean Casten, President, Recycled Energy Development,
Westmont, IL; Dan DeLurey, Executive Director, Demand
Response and Advance Metering Coalition, Washington, DC;
Chris Edwards, Director of Tax Policy Studies, Cato
Institute, Washington, DC; and Doug Smith, PhD, President,
NanoPore, Albuquerque, NM.
June 27, 2007--``The Stealth Tax That is No Longer a Wealth
Tax: How to Stop the AMT From Sneaking up on Unsuspecting
Taxpayers.'' This hearing focused on the flaws in the AMT
and stressed the importance of renewing the AMT patch.
Witnesses emphasized the importance of alleviating any
burden that the AMT puts on middle-class families since the
plan was designed to compensate for a very small number of
taxpayers who were avoiding taxes altogether. Received
testimony from Frank Degen, representing the National
Association of Enrolled Agents, Setauket, NY; Dr. Leonard
Burman, Director of the Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute,
Washington, DC; Dr. Kevin Hassett, Director of Economic
Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute for Policy
Research, Washington, DC; and Michael J. Graetz, Justus S.
Hotchkiss Professor of Law, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT.
July 11, 2007--``Carried Interest, Part 1.'' The hearing
examined whether hedge fund and private equity managers
should pay tax on ``carried interest'' at the ordinary rate
or capital gains rate. Received testimony from the Hon.
Eric Solomon, Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, U.S.
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC; Peter Orszag,
Director, Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC;
Andrew Donohue, Director, Division of Investment
Management, Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington,
DC; Kate D. Mitchell, Managing Director, Scale Venture
Partners, Foster City, CA; and Marc P. Gergen, Foundren
Foundation Centennial Chair for Faculty Excellence, The
University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX.
July 12, 2007--``Airport Airways Trust Fund: The Future of
Aviation Financing.'' This hearing provided context for
reauthorization of the Airport Airways Trust Fund (AATF).
Much of the reauthorization debate centers on the portion
of AATF funding that should be borne by users of the system
(commercial aviation vs. general aviation). Received
testimony from the Hon. Marion C. Blakely, Administrator,
Federal Aviation Administration, Washington, DC; Peter
Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office, Washington,
DC; Gerald Dillingham, Director, Civil Aviation Issues,
Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Mark
Hansen, Professor, Department of Civil and Environmental
Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, CA.
July 19, 2007--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and
Infrastructure: ``Aviation Financing: Industry
Perspectives.'' This hearing was the second on the aviation
trust fund and focused on the industry perspective. The
witnesses discussed their views on existing and proposed
tax structures and funding options for the reauthorization
of aviation programs. Received testimony from Jim
Whitehurst, Chief Operating Officer, Delta Air Lines,
Atlanta, GA; Fred Smith, CEO, Federal Express, Memphis, TN;
Vern Raburn, CEO and President, Eclipse Aviation Corp.,
Albuquerque, NM; Dave Hackett, President, Gulfstream
International Airlines, Fort Lauderdale, FL; Richard Shine,
CEO, Manitoba Recycling, Lancaster, NY; Robert Olislagers,
Executive Director, Colorado Centennial Airport, Englewood,
CO.
July 24, 2007--``Oversight of Government Tax Policy in Farm
Country.'' This hearing looked at how the Finance Committee
could assist the Agriculture Committee on the tax titles in
the upcoming Farm Bill. Received testimony from Tom Buis,
President, National Farmers Union, Washington, DC; Terrance
(Terry) R. Fankhauser, Executive Committee Member of the
National Cattlemen's Beef Association and Vice President of
the Colorado Cattlemen's Association, Arvada, CO; Alison
Siskin, Ph.D., Specialist in Immigration Policy, Domestic
Social Policy Division, Congressional Research Service,
Washington, DC; Lisa Shames, Director, Natural Resources
and Enviroment, United States Government Accountability
Office, Washington, DC; Glen Keppy, Associate Administrator
for Farm Programs, United States Department of Agriculture
Farm Services Agency, Washington, DC; John Johnson, Deputy
Administrator Farm Programs, United States Department of
Agriculture Farm Services Agency, Washington, DC.
July 31, 2007--``Carried Interest, Part 2.'' This hearing was a
continuation of the July 11, 2007 hearing on carried
interest. This part focused primarily on the operation of
private equity funds, hedge funds, and real estate funds
and whether income from a carried interest should be
treated as income from a service or if it should receive
the character determined at the partnership. Received
testimony from Joseph Bankman, Ralph M. Parsons Professor
of Law and Business, Stanford Law School, Stanford, CA;
Charles Kingson, Lecturer in Law, University of
Pennsylvania Law School, Philadelphia, PA; Darryl Jones,
Professor, Stetson University College of Law, Gulfport, FL;
Adam Ifshin, President, DLC Management Corp., Tarrytown,
NY; John B. Frank, Managing Principal, Oaktree Capital
Management, LP, Los Angeles, CA; Bruce Rosenblum, Managing
Director, The Carlyle Group, Washington, DC, and Chairman
of the Board, Private Equity Council, Washington, DC; and
William Stanfill, Founding Partner, Trailhead Partners LP,
Denver, CO.
August 27, 2007--``Airfields and Alternative Fuels: Exploring
Rural America's Transportation Infrastructure.'' The
hearing was held at Dubuque Regional Airport, Dubuque, IA,
under the direction of Chuck Grassley, Ranking Member. The
purpose of this hearing was to focus on the infrastructure
required to produce alternative fuels and to draw attention
specifically to the unique issues faced by rural airports.
Received testimony from Kevin W. Billings, Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Environment, Safety, and Occupational Health,
United States Department of the Air Force, Washington, DC;
Carl O. Bauer, Director, National Energy Technology
Laboratory, United States Department of Energy, Pittsburgh,
PA; the Hon. Thomas C. Dorr, Under Secretary for Rural
Development, United States Department of Agriculture,
Washington, DC; Bruce W. Heine, Director, Government and
Media Affairs, Magellan Midstream Partners, Tulsa, OK;
Steven R. Accinelli, Chairperson, Dubuque Regional Airport
Commission, Director, Aviation Programs, University of
Dubuque, Dubuque, IA; and Dr. Bruce J. Holmes, Director,
Aeronautics Research, DayJet Corporation, Boca Raton, FL.
September 6, 2007--``Carried Interest Part 3: Pension Issues.''
This hearing was the third part of a series of hearings on
carried interest. It focused on the impact on pension funds
of a potential change in the taxation of carried interest
taxation and investigated the contention that pension funds
would bear the brunt of any tax increase on private equity.
Received testimony from Dr. Alan J. Auerbach, Robert D.
Burch Professor of Law and Economics and Director, Robert
D. Burch Center for Tax Policy and Public Finance,
Department of Economics, University of California,
Berkeley, Berkeley, CA; Donald B. Trone, President,
Foundation for Fiduciary Studies, Coraopolis, PA; and
Russell Read, Chief Investment Officer, California Public
Employees' Retirement System, Sacramento, CA.
September 18, 2007--``Breaking the Methamphetamine Supply
Chain: Meeting Challenges at the Border.'' Witnesses
included Thomas M. Siebel, chairman, Meth Project, Palo
Alto, CA; Peter D. Wolfgram, president and chief executive
officer, Bungalow Drug Inc., Belgrade, MT; Gary W. Kendell,
Director, Iowa Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy,
Des Moines, IA; Joseph T. Rannazzisi, Deputy Assistant
Administrator, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration,
Washington, DC; Christy A. McCampbell, Deputy Assistant
Secretary, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law
Enforcement Affairs, U.S. Department of State, Washington,
DC; and Matthew C. Allen, Deputy Assistant Director, Office
of Investigations, U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Washington, DC.
September 26, 2007--``Offshore Tax Issues: Reinsurance and
Hedge Fund.'' The subject of this hearing was certain
international tax issues, including offshore reinsurance,
investment by tax exempts in offshore hedge funds, and
offshore deferral of compensation by U.S. managers of hedge
funds. The hearing also examined the growth of university
endowments, which are significant investors in offshore
hedge funds. Received testimony from two panels. Panel I:
the Hon. Byron L. Dorgan, United States Senator (D-ND).
Panel II: William R. Berkley, Chairman, President, CEO and
COO, W.R. Berkley Corp, Greenwich, CT; Donald Kramer,
Chairman and CEO, Ariel Reinsurance Ltd, Hamilton, Bermuda;
Suzanne Ross McDowell, Partner, Steptoe & Johnson, LLP,
Washington, DC; Daniel J. Shapiro, Partner, Shulte, Roth &
Zabel, London England; Dr. Jane G. Gravelle, Senior
Specialist in Economic Policy, Government and Finance
Division, Congressional Research Service, Washington, DC;
and Lynne Munson, Adjunct Fellow, Center for College
Affordability and Productivity, Washington, DC.
October 25, 2007--``Small Business Health Insurance: Building a
Gateway to Coverage.'' The hearing investigated the range
of concerns the committee will face when developing
legislation to expand health coverage for employees of
small business. Received testimony from Joel Ario,
Insurance Commissioner, Pennsylvania Department of
Insurance, Harrisburg, PA; Alden J. Bianchi, Member, Mintz,
Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C., Boston, MA;
Linda Blumberg, Principal Research Associate, Urban
Institute, Washington, DC; and Monty D. Newman, 2007 Vice
President & Liaison to Government Affairs, National
Association of Realtors, Hobbs, NM.
November 14, 2007--``Federal Estate Tax: Uncertainty in
Planning Under the Current Law.'' This hearing focused on
the difficulties of estate tax planning that result from
the ever-changing tax law. Received testimony from Warren
Buffett, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Berkshire
Hathaway, Omaha, NE; Conrad Teitell, Principal, Cummings
and Lockwood, LLC, Stamford, CT; Dean Rhoads, Rancher,
Tuscarora, NV; and Eugene G. Sukup, Chairman of the Board,
Sukup Manufacturing Company, Sheffield, IA.
December 13, 2007--``The Housing Decline: The Extent of the
Problem and Potential Remedies.'' This hearing addressed
the causes of the housing crisis, the underlying economics
of mortgages, the future impact of the credit crunch on the
domestic and international market, and potential
opportunities to address the situation. Received testimony
from the Hon. Jack Kemp, Principal, Kemp Partners,
Washington, DC; Professor Morris A. Davis, Assistant
Professor in Real Estate and Urban Land Economics, School
of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI;
Professor Deborah A. Geier, Leon M. & Gloria Plevin
Professor of Law, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law,
Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH; and Michael
Decker, Senior Managing Director, Research and Public
Policy, The Securities Industry and Financial Markets
Association, Washington, DC.
2008
January 22, 2008--``Strengthening America's Economy: Stimulus
That Makes Sense--Part I.'' CBO Director Peter Orszag
discussed the CBO's report on fiscal stimulus which was
released the week prior to the hearing. Received testimony
from Peter Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC.
January 24, 2008--``Strengthening America's Economy: Stimulus
That Makes Sense--Part II.'' This hearing was the second
part of the January 22, 2008 hearing on economic stimulus
and focused on specific proposals for a stimulus package.
Received testimony from Dr. Martin Feldstein, Baker
Professor of Economics at Harvard University, Cambridge, MA
and the President and CEO of the National Bureau of
Economic Research (NBER), Cambridge, MA; and Dr. Jason
Furman, Director of the Hamilton Project, Washington, DC.
January 25, 2008--Democratic Member's Meeting to discuss
Economic Stimulus.
February 5, 2008--``The President's Fiscal Year 2009 Budget
Proposal Part 1'' (for Part 2, see Health). The purpose of
this hearing was to discuss President Bush's budget and his
economic agenda for the rest of 2008. Received testimony
from the Hon. Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Secretary, U.S.
Department of Treasury, Washington, DC.
February 12, 2008--Senators Meeting to discuss the economy with
Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke.
February 26, 2008--``Economic and Fiscal Conditions of the
States.'' The witness presented information about the
diversity of economic conditions among the States. The
hearing explored the State-Federal interaction among the
various Federal programs under the jurisdiction of the
Finance Committee. Received testimony from the Hon. Janet
Napolitano, Governor of Arizona.
February 28, 2008--``The Real Estate Market: Building a Strong
Economy.'' This hearing addressed the state of the real
estate industry, focusing especially on the commercial
side, the underlying economics of commercial-backed
securities, the future impact of the credit crunch on the
domestic and international market, and potential
opportunities to address the situation. Received testimony
from Dr. Lawrence Lindsey, President and Chief Executive
Officer, The Lindsey Group, Washington, DC; Dr. David
Seiders, Chief Economist and Senior Staff Vice President,
National Association of Home Builders, Washington, DC;
Timothy Callahan, Chief Executive Officer, Callahan Capital
Partners, Denver, CO; and Jeffrey Schwartz, Chairman of the
Board and Chief Executive Officer, ProLogis, Chicago, IL.
March 5, 2008--Senators Meeting to discuss current revenue
estimating procedures with Edward Kleinbard, Chief of
Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation.
March 12, 2008--``Alternatives to the Current Federal Estate
Tax System.'' The witnesses discussed estate tax reform,
specifically possible alternative systems to the current
estate, gift, and generation skipping transfer tax system.
These alternative systems included an inheritance tax
system, an accessions tax, and an income inclusion system.
Received testimony from Professor Lily Batchelder, New York
University School of Law; Professor Joseph Dodge, Florida
State University College of Law; and Professor David Duff,
University of Toronto Faculty of Law.
April 1, 2008--``Anti-Terrorism Financing: Progress Made and
the Challenges Ahead.'' The committee held an oversight
hearing on the Department of Treasury's Office of Terrorism
and Financial Intelligence (TFI) and TFI's efforts to
safeguard the Nation's financial system from terrorist
financiers. Under Secretary Stuart A. Levey discussed the
progress that the TFI made since his confirmation as Under
Secretary in 2004, as well as the challenges TFI continues
to face. Received testimony from the Hon. Stuart A. Levey,
Under Secretary, Office of Terrorism and Financial
Intelligence, U.S. Department of Treasury.
April 3, 2008--``Outside the Box on Estate Tax Reform:
Reviewing Ideas to Simplify Planning.'' Witnesses testified
about possible ways to fix the current estate and gift tax
system. The witnesses discussed deferral and installment
options, portability of exemption, the unification of the
gift and estate tax, and charitable giving as it relates to
transfer taxes. Received testimony from Dennis Belcher,
Partner, McGuire Woods LLP, Richmond, VA; Shirley L. Kovar,
Shareholder, Branton & Wilson, APC, San Diego, CA; Dr. Roby
B. Sawyers, North Carolina State University, Department of
Accounting; and Diana Aviv, President and Chief Executive
Officer, Independent Sector, Washington, DC.
April 10, 2008--``Identity Theft: Who's Got Your Number?'' The
committee's filing season hearing focused on the effects of
identity theft from the victim's point of view. The purpose
was to demonstrate the devastating effect of tax related
identity theft on victims, how IRS processes fail to
adequately address the identity theft problem, and actions
the IRS can take right now, without any changes in the law,
to improve its identity theft strategy. Received testimony
from the Hon. Douglas H. Shulman, IRS Commissioner,
Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC, accompanied by
Linda Stiff, IRS Deputy Commissioner for Services and
Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC; Nina
Olson, IRS National Taxpayer Advocate, Internal Revenue
Service, Washington, DC; the Hon. J. Russell George,
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration,
Department of Treasury; and Rebecca Spencer, Enrolled
Agent, Benedict's Laser Tax Service, Billings, MT.
April 15, 2008--``Tax: Fundamentals in Advance of Reform.'' The
witnesses explored the function of an income tax system,
the choices available for defining taxable income, and the
impact of these choices on taxpayer behavior. Received
testimony from Daniel N. Shaviro, Wayne Perry Professor of
Taxation, New York University School of Law; Michael
Graetz, Justus S. Hotchkiss Professor of Law, Yale Law
School; Jason Furman, Director, The Hamilton Project,
Brookings Institution, Washington, DC; and Robert Carroll,
Vice President for Economic Policy, The Tax Foundation,
Washington, DC.
April 24, 2008--``Tax Aspects of a Cap-and-Trade System.'' The
witnesses discussed the effects of a cap-and-trade program
on the economy as well as the best way to design such a
system. Received testimony from Peter R. Orszag, Director,
Congressional Budget Office; Robert Greenstein, Executive
Director, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities; and Henry
Derwent CB, President and CEO, International Emissions
Trading Association, Geneva, Switzerland.
May 13, 2008--``Cracking the Code--Tax Reform for
Individuals.'' This hearing was the second in a series of
Finance Committee tax reform hearings. It focused on
individual income tax issues. The witnesses reviewed the
concept of implementing social policies through the tax
code, identified those goals that the tax code addresses
most effectively, and asked whether these goals should be
part of a reformed system. Received testimony from Dr.
Leonard Burman, Director, Tax Policy Center, and Senior
Fellow, Urban Institute, Washington, DC; Dr. William Gale,
Vice President and Director, Economic Studies, Brookings
Institution, Washington, DC; Stephen Entin, President and
Executive Director, Institute for Research on the Economics
of Taxation, Washington, DC; and Dr. J. D. Foster, Norman
B. Ture Senior Fellow, Economics of Fiscal Policy, The
Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC.
June 4, 2008--Senators Meeting to consider the Finance
Committee agenda for the work period.
June 5, 2008--``C, K, or S: Exploring the Alphabet Soup of
Small Business Choices in Advance of Tax Reform.'' This
hearing was the third in a series of Finance Committee tax
reform hearings. This hearing explored how the U.S.
currently taxes the income of domestic non-corporate
businesses and identified the benefits to the U.S. economy
of the current pass-through regime. It focused, in
particular, on entity classifications. Received testimony
from Dr. Douglas A. Shackelford, Meade H. Willis
Distinguished Professor of Taxation and Accounting, UNC
Kenan-Flagler Business School, Chapel Hill, NC; Dr. Eric J.
Toder, Senior Fellow, Urban Institute, Washington, DC;
Samuel P. Starr, Tax Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP,
and Adjunct Professor of Law, Georgetown University Law
Center, Washington, DC; and Dewey W. Martin, CPA, CMA,
Professor and Chair of the Accounting Department, Husson
College, Hampden, ME.
June 26, 2008--``The Foundation of International Tax Reform:
Worldwide, Territorial, and Something In-between.'' The
hearing explored how the United States taxes foreign income
of U.S. businesses under the current Federal tax system and
possible avenues of reform to help U.S.-based businesses
compete in a global economy. Currently, the United States
has a modified worldwide tax system. Received testimony
from Professor James R. Hines, Jr., University of Michigan
Law School; Stephen E. Shay, Partner, Ropes & Gray, Boston,
MA; and Robert H. Dilworth, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery
LLP, Washington, DC.
July 10, 2008--``Transportation Infrastructure: Issues and
Options.'' This hearing focused on transportation
infrastructure, specifically highways. The hearing was the
beginning of a discussion regarding the next Highway
Reauthorization bill and the need for a Highway Trust Fund
fix, and to debunk the notion that public private
partnerships (e.g., toll roads) and/or infrastructure banks
are good policy, particularly for rural areas. Received
testimony from Peter R. Orszag, Director, Congressional
Budget Office, Washington DC; and JayEtta Z. Hecker,
Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government
Accountability Office, Washington, DC.
July 22, 2008--``Indian Governments and the Tax Code:
Maximizing Tax Incentives for Economic Development.'' The
purpose of the hearing was to better understand the need
for tax incentives to assist economic development of Indian
country. The hearing reviewed tax exempt bonds, the Indian
employment tax credit, and the accelerated depreciation
credit. Received testimony from Dante Desiderio, Certified
Financial Planner, Economic Development Policy Specialist,
National Congress of American Indians, Washington DC;
Donald (Del) Laverdure, Chief Legal Counsel, Crow Nation
Executive Branch, Crow Agency, MT; and Wayne A. Shammel,
General Counsel, Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Tribe of Indians,
Roseburg, OR.
July 24, 2008--``The Cayman Islands and Offshore Tax Issues.''
The witnesses explored how individuals engage in tax
evasion through the use of offshore tax havens. Received
testimony from Michael Brostek, Director, Tax Issues,
Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Frank Ng,
Director, Large and Mid-sized Businesses, IRS, Washington,
DC; and Jack Blum, Counsel, Baker & Hostetler, Washington,
DC.
July 24, 2008--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and
Infrastructure: ``Tax and Financing Aspects of Highway
Public-Private Partnerships.'' This hearing was called by
Senator Jeff Bingaman to consider more closely the sale of
concession rights to existing tolled highways as a
financing option for America's surface transportation.
Received testimony from Edward D. Kleinbard, Chief of
Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation; JayEtta Z. Hecker,
Director of Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government
Accountability Office, Washington DC; Pat Choate, Economist
and Director, Manufacturing Policy Project, Washington, VA;
Linda E. Carlisle, Partner, White & Case LLP, Washington,
DC; and Dennis Enright, Principal, NW Financial, Jersey
City, NJ.
July 31, 2008--``Health Benefits in the Tax Code: The Right
Incentives.'' This hearing was the fifth in the series on
health reform and considered the tax treatment of current
health insurance and medical benefits. Received testimony
from Edward Kleinbard, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on
Taxation; Jonathan Gruber, Ph.D., Associate Head,
Department of Economics, Massachusetts Institute of
Technology, Cambridge, MA; and Katherine Baicker, Ph.D.,
Professor of Health Economics, Department of Health Policy
and Management, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston,
MA.
November 17, 2008--Pending nomination hearing for Neil M.
Barofsky: This hearing considered the nomination of Neil
Barofsky for the position of Special Inspector General for
the Department of Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program.
Received testimony from Neil M. Barofsky, Assistant United
States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Full Committee Executive Meetings
2007
January 17, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider the Small
Business and Work Opportunity Act.
June 19, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider the Energy
Advancement and Investment Act of 2007.
September 21, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider and make
recommendations on proposed legislation implementing the
U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement; to consider an
original bill entitled American Infrastructure Investment
and Improvement Act; and to consider an original bill
entitled The Habitat and Land Conservation Act of 2007.
October 4, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider The
Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2007
and legislation implementing the U.S.-Peru Trade Promotion
Agreement.
2008
January 30, 2008--Open Executive Session to consider the
Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 and to consider changes to
the Rules of Procedure of the Committee on Finance.
March 6, 2008--Open Executive Session to consider the
Nomination of Douglas H. Shulman, to be Commissioner of the
Internal Revenue Service and to consider revising
subcommittee assignments to fill vacancies.
September 10, 2008--Open Executive Session to consider the
following: the Chairman's Mark, in the nature of a
substitute, to S. 3038, the ``Improved Adoption Incentives
and Relative Guardianship Support Act of 2008;'' the
Chairman's Mark, in the nature of a substitute, to S. 1070,
the ``Elder Justice Act of 2008;'' and the Chairman's Mark,
in the nature of a substitute, to S. 1577, the ``Patient
Safety and Abuse Prevention Act of 2008.''
TRADE
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
During the 110th Congress, the committee exercised its
oversight responsibilities and acted upon many important issues
related to international trade and customs law and the American
economy. A brief summary of the committee's activities is
provided below, followed by a more detailed summary.
In the first session, the committee held several hearings.
The committee convened two hearings on the Administration's
2007 Trade Agenda, receiving testimony from United States Trade
Representative (USTR) Susan Schwab, and, in a separate panel,
from key stakeholders such as farmers, manufacturers, service
providers, and labor unions. The committee also held two
hearings on U.S. relations with China; the first on the
opportunities and challenges in our bilateral relationship, and
the second to examine the role of currency in the U.S.-China
relationship. The committee also convened hearings to assess
the effectiveness of U.S. trade preference programs, to examine
the impact of trade and globalization on the U.S. workforce, to
discuss import safety in an era of increasing trade, and to
debate ways to improve the enforcement of U.S. trade agreements
abroad and our domestic trade remedy laws here at home. And the
committee also heard testimony from key stakeholders on the
United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement and on the
Promoting American Agricultural and Medical Exports to Cuba Act
of 2007.
Separately, the committee convened several open executive
sessions. During these sessions, the committee considered S.J.
Res. 16, a joint resolution approving the renewal of import
restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act
of 2003; S. 1607, the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform
Act; and S. 2113, the United States-Peru Trade Promotion
Agreement Implementation Act. The committee also convened
confirmation hearings for Dean A. Pinkert and Irving A.
Williamson to be Members of the United States International
Trade Commission; the Hon. David. H. McCormick to be Under
Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs, United
States Department of the Treasury; and the Hon. Christopher A.
Padilla to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International
Trade, United States Department of Commerce.
The Chairman and Ranking Member also worked to extend trade
preferences and Trade Adjustment Assistance programs in the
first session. H.R. 3375 extended all Trade Adjustment
Assistance programs for three months, until December 31, 2007
(Pub. L. 110-89). H.R. 1830 (Pub. L. 110-42), which provided an
eight-month extension of the Andean Trade Preference Act
(ATPA), passed the Senate on June 28, 2007.
During 2007, the Chairman and Ranking Member worked with
the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means
Committee and USTR Schwab to complete a bipartisan trade deal
that modified labor, environment, and intellectual property,
and other standards for U.S. trade agreements. Upon completion
of the bipartisan trade deal, its elements were applied to the
recently completed trade agreements with Peru, Colombia and
Panama, and certain of its elements were applied to the trade
agreement with South Korea. The United States-Peru Trade
Promotion Agreement became the first agreement containing these
new standards to become law on December 14, 2007 (Pub. L. 110-
138).
The Chairman and Ranking Member were also consulted with
respect to conference negotiations for section 1701 of H.R. 1,
Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007
(Pub. L. 110-53). Section 1701 amends the Security and
Accountability For Every (SAFE) Port Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-
347) to require by July 1, 2012, the scanning of all
containerized cargo destined for the United States at a foreign
port. The Chairman and Ranking Member worked to ensure that
implementation of section 1701 will occur in a manner
consistent with the international trade obligations of the
United States and the framework of the World Customs
Organization. In addition, the Chairman and Ranking Member
worked to refine the conditions under which the Secretary of
Homeland Security may extend the implementation date, and to
adjust the deadline for publication of an interim final rule to
establish minimum standards and procedures for securing
containers. The Senate version of H.R. 1 (S. 4) was referred to
the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.
In the second session, the committee convened oversight
hearings on U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and other
trade agencies, as well as hearings on the international
aspects of proposed carbon cap and trade programs, proposals to
strengthen trade facilitation and enforcement through a customs
reauthorization bill, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of
2007, the Trade Enforcement Act of 2007, U.S. trade preference
programs, enforcement of U.S. intellectual property rights
abroad, and the future of U.S. trade policy from the
perspective of former U.S. trade representatives.
The committee also met in open executive session to discuss
the Administration's 2008 Trade Agenda with USTR Schwab, and to
consider S. 3227, the Iran Sanctions Act of 2008; S.J. Res. 41,
a joint resolution approving the renewal of import restrictions
contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003; and
the nomination of Deanna Tanner Okun to be Deputy United States
Trade Representative, Executive Office of the President.
During 2008, the Chairman and Ranking Member worked
together to include a number of trade and customs provisions in
bills originating in other committees. The Chairman and Ranking
Member worked to include in H.R. 6124, the Food, Conservation
and Energy Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-246), key provisions,
including measures to preserve the ``first-sale'' methodology
for determining value for the purpose of computing customs
duties; to preserve current provisions for computing duty
drawback for U.S. wine exporters; to eliminate the ability to
substitute jet fuel and mixtures containing imported ethyl
alcohol for purposes of claiming a refund under the duty
drawback program of duties paid on the imported ethyl alcohol;
to extend the secondary tariff on imported ethyl alcohol
through December 31, 2010; and to require declarations that
softwood lumber imports from Canada are complying with the
United States-Canada Softwood Lumber Agreement; an amendment to
the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act that extends the
Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act through 2010; and the
Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership
Encouragement Act of 2008, an amendment to the Caribbean Basin
Economic Recovery Act that provides expanded apparel benefits
to Haiti through 2018.
The Chairman and Ranking Member also supported further
extensions and reforms of U.S. trade preference programs. In
February 2008, the Senate passed, by unanimous consent, H.R.
5624 (Pub. L. 110-191), which extended ATPA through December
31, 2008. In October 2008, the Senate passed H.R. 7222 (Pub. L.
110-436), which renewed the Generalized System of Preferences
for one year; provided expanded access for certain apparel from
the Dominican Republic, through the Earned Import Allowance
Program; and amended the African Growth and Opportunity Act by
designating Mauritius as a lesser developed beneficiary sub-
Saharan African country and eliminating the so-called Abundant
Supply provision. H.R. 7222 also extended ATPA, with certain
amendments. ATPA benefits for Colombia and Peru were extended
for one year, while benefits for Ecuador were extended for 6
months, with an automatic extension for another 6 months unless
the President determines that Ecuador has failed to meet the
eligibility criteria for ATPA benefits. Benefits for Bolivia
were extended for 6 months, with the option to renew benefits
for another 6 months if the President determines that Bolivia
is in full compliance with ATPA eligibility requirements.
In H.R. 4040, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act
of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-314), the Chairman and Ranking Member
worked to include key trade provisions relating to the
importation of products regulated by the Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC). These measures include requiring the
CPSC to work with CBP to develop a risk assessment methodology
that utilizes the International Trade Data System (ITDS),
insofar as practicable, to identify shipments that are likely
to include consumer products that either fail to comply with a
consumer product safety rule or have been deemed hazardous
consumer products; to require the CPSC to develop a plan for
sharing information and coordinating with CBP, including on
staffing at U.S. ports of entry and the National Targeting
Center (or its equivalent); to preserve the Secretary of the
Treasury's authority to determine whether noncompliant imported
products are destroyed or exported; to require the CPSC, in
consultation with CBP and other relevant Federal agencies, to
identify any consumer products or substances for which the cost
of destruction would normally exceed bond amounts and recommend
to CBP a bond amount sufficient to cover the cost of
destruction of such products or substances; and to equally
apply the third party testing requirement of certain children's
products to all entities, whether domestic, foreign, joint
ventures, or entities controlled in whole by a government.
The Chairman and Ranking Member worked with House and
Senate colleagues to enact H.R. 3890, the Tom Lantos Block
Burmese JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008
(Pub. L. 110-286), or JADE Act. The JADE Act expanded U.S.
import sanctions against Burmese jade and rubies.
The Chairman worked to include in H.R. 1424, The Emergency
Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (Pub. L. 110-343),
provisions extending the wool research trust fund and the
suspension of certain wool duties. The fund provides new
product research and market information to U.S. wool growers,
and lowers duties on imports of certain wool textiles to help
U.S. textile and garment producers remain competitive. The
Chairman and Ranking Member also worked to include a provision
that provides that biodiesel imported and sold for export will
not be eligible for the biodiesel production tax credit
effective May 15, 2008.
Full Committee Hearings
2007
Feb. 15, 2007--``The Administration's 2007 Trade Agenda.''
Received testimony from Ambassador Susan Schwab, United
States Trade Representative.
Mar. 8, 2007--``Perspectives on the 2007 Trade Agenda.''
Received testimony from Larry Summers, Charles E. Eliot
University Professor, Harvard University; Fred Smith, CEO,
Federal Express; Bob Baugh, Executive Director, Industrial
Union Council, AFL-CIO; Craig Lang, President, Iowa Farm
Bureau Federation; Andy Warlick, President, Parkdale Mills,
Inc.; and Steve Holland, PE, Montana Manufacturing
Extension Center.
Mar. 27, 2007--``Opportunities and Challenges in the U.S.-China
Economic Relationship.'' Received testimony from Senator
Dorgan and a panel including Jagdish Bhagwati, Professor,
Columbia University; Daniel DiMicco, President and CEO,
NUCOR Corporation; Steve Chu, Director, Lawrence Berkeley
National Laboratory; and Norman Sorensen, President and
CEO, Principal International, Inc.
Mar. 28, 2007--``Risks and Reform: The Role of Currency in the
U.S.-China Relationship.'' Received testimony from Senator
Schumer and a panel including Stephen Roach, Managing
Director and Chief Economist, Morgan Stanley; Eswar Prasad,
Professor, Cornell University; Morris Goldstein, Senior
Fellow, Peter G. Peterson Institute for International
Economics; and John Makin, Visiting Scholar, American
Enterprise Institute.
May 16, 2007--``U.S. Preference Programs: How Well do they
Work?'' Received testimony from the Hon. Meredith
Broadbent, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for
Industry, Market Access and Telecommunications, Office of
the United States Trade Representative; Professor Muhammad
Yunus, Founder, Grameen Bank; Professor Eric Reinhardt,
Emory University; Marcos Iberkleid, President, Ametex; and
Katrin Kuhlmann, Senior Vice President, Global Trade,
Women's Edge Network.
June 6, 2007--``Trade and Globalization: Adjustment for a 21st-
Century Workforce.'' Received testimony from Dr. Lael
Brainard, Vice President and Director of the Global Economy
and Development Program, Brookings Institution; Kim Didier,
Executive Director, Newton Development Corporation; Jane
McDonald-Pines, Workforce Policy Specialist, AFL-CIO;
Howard Rosen, Executive Director, Trade Adjustment
Assistance Coalition; and Jerry Ross, current participant
in the Trade Adjustment Assistance program.
June 12, 2007--``Trade Enforcement for a 21st-Century
Economy.'' Received testimony from Secretary Dan Glickman,
Chairman and CEO, Motion Picture Association of America;
Jennifer Hillman, Distinguished Fellow, Institute of
International Economic Law, Georgetown Law School; Robert
Lighthizer, International Trade Partner, Skadden, Arps,
Meagher & Flom; and Erik Autor, Vice President and
International Trade Counsel, National Retail Federation.
July 25, 2007--Hearing to consider the nomination of the Hon.
David H. McCormick to be Under Secretary of the Treasury
for International Affairs, United States Department of the
Treasury, and other non-trade related nominations. The
nominee was favorably reported by the committee on July 26,
2007.
Sept. 11, 2007--``United States-Peru Trade Promotion
Agreement.'' Received testimony from Secretary Michael
Kantor, Partner, Mayer Brown; Thea Lee, Policy Director and
Chief International Economist, AFL-CIO; Patricia Forkan,
President, Humane Society International; David Winkles,
Jr., President, South Carolina Farm Bureau; and Thomas
Catania, Vice President, Government Relations, Whirlpool
Corporation.
Oct. 18, 2007--``Growing Trade, Growing Vigilance: Import
Health and Safety Today and Tomorrow.'' Received testimony
from the Hon. Daniel Baldwin, Assistant Commissioner,
Office of International Trade, U.S. Customs and Border
Protection, United States Department of Homeland Security;
the Hon. Calvin Dooley, President and CEO, Grocery
Manufacturers Association; Sandra Kennedy, President,
Retail Industry Leaders Association; and Jean Halloran,
Director of Food Policy Initiatives, Consumers Union.
Nov. 1, 2007--Hearing to consider the nomination of the Hon.
Christopher A. Padilla to be Under Secretary of Commerce
for International Trade, United States Department of
Commerce, and other non-trade related nominations. The
nomination was favorably reported by the committee on
December 13, 2007.
Dec. 11, 2007--``Promoting American Agricultural and Medical
Exports to Cuba Act of 2007.'' Received testimony from Col.
Lawrence Wilkerson, Chief of Staff to former Secretary of
State Colin Powell; Jaime Suchlicki, Director of Cuban and
Cuban-American Studies at the University of Miami; Sgt.
Carlos Lazo, a member of the Washington National Guard and
Iraq war veteran; Dave McClure, President, Montana Farm
Bureau Federation; and Frank Calzon, Executive Director,
Center for a Free Cuba.
2008
Feb. 14, 2008--``International Aspects of a Carbon Cap and
Trade Program.'' Received testimony from Senator Specter
and a panel consisting of the Hon. Jennifer Haverkamp,
Senior Counsel, Environmental Defense, and former Assistant
U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and Natural
Resources, Office of the United States Trade
Representative; Kjell Olav Kristiansen, Director of
Advisory Services, Point Carbon North America; Abraham
Breehey, Assistant Director of Government Affairs,
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers; and Ruksana
Mirza, General Counsel, Holcim Ltd.
Mar. 13, 2008--``Customs Reauthorization: Strengthening U.S.
Economic Interests and Security.'' Received testimony from
Samuel H. Banks, Executive Vice President, Sandler & Travis
Trade Advisory Services; Charlene N. Stocker, Chairwoman,
American Association of Exporters and Importers, Procter
and Gamble; Greg P. Brown, Counsel, Ford Global
Technologies; and Antoinette M. Tease, P.L.L.C., Registered
Patent Attorney.
Apr. 8, 2008--``S. 970, the Iran Counter-Proliferation Act of
2007.'' Received testimony from Philip Gordon, Senior
Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Brookings Institution; Orde
Kittrie, Visiting Associate Professor, University of
Maryland School of Law, and Professor of Law, The Sandra
Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University;
William A. Reinsch, President, National Foreign Trade
Council; and Danielle Pletka, Vice President, Foreign and
Defense Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute.
May 22, 2008--``S. 1919, the Trade Enforcement Act of 2007.''
Received testimony from the Hon. Warren Maruyama, General
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative;
Lael Brainard, Vice President and Director of the Global
Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institution;
John Magnus, President, TradeWins; and Robert Atkinson,
President, Information Technology and Innovation
Foundation.
June 12, 2008--``Oversight of U.S. Trade Preference Programs.''
Received testimony from Dr. Loren Yager, Director of
International Affairs and Trade, United States Government
Accountability Office; the Hon. Grant Aldonas, Principal
Managing Director, Split Rock International; Edward
Gresser, Director of the Project on Trade and Global
Markets, Progressive Policy Institute (PPI); and Fr. Andrew
Small, Foreign Policy Advisor, United States Conference of
Catholic Bishops.
June 24, 2008--``Oversight of Trade Functions: Customs and
Other Trade Agencies.'' Received testimony from the Hon. W.
Ralph Basham, Commissioner of Customs, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection; the Hon. Julie L. Myers, Assistant
Secretary, Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the Hon.
Daniel R. Pearson, Chairman, United States International
Trade Commission; and the Hon. Warren Maruyama, General
Counsel, Office of the United States Trade Representative.
July 15, 2008--``International Enforcement of Intellectual
Property Rights and American Competitiveness.'' Received
testimony from Andrew Lack, Chairman, SONY BMG Music
Entertainment; Jeffrey Kindler, Chairman and CEO, Pfizer
Inc.; John Barton, George E. Osborne Professor of Law,
Emeritus, Stanford Law School; and J. Walter Cahill,
International Vice President, International Alliance of
Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians,
Artists and Allied Crafts.
July 29, 2008--``The Future of U.S. Trade Policy: Perspectives
from Former U.S. Trade Representatives.'' Received
testimony from Secretary Michael Kantor, Partner, Mayer
Brown; Senator William E. Brock III, Founder and Senior
Partner, The Brock Offices; Secretary Carla A. Hills,
Chairman and CEO, Hills & Company; and Ambassador Charlene
Barshefsky, Partner, Wilmer Hale.
Full Committee Executive Meetings
2007
Jan. 31, 2007--Open Executive Session to organize for the 110th
Congress and to consider favorably reporting the
nominations of Dean A. Pinkert and Irving A. Williamson to
be Members of the United States International Trade
Commission and other non-trade related nominations. Both
nominees were favorably reported.
July 23, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider S.J. Res. 16,
a joint resolution approving the renewal of import
restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy
Act. The committee considered S.J. Res. 16 in open
executive session on July 23, 2007. The committee voted
unanimously, by roll call vote, and without amendment, to
favorably report S.J. Res. 16. A quorum was present. See
Report No. 110-146.
July 26, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider S. 1607, the
Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Reform Act. The committee
ordered S. 1607 favorably reported, as amended by the
Chairman's amendment in the nature of a substitute, by a
roll call vote of 20 ayes and 1 nay with a quorum present.
See Report No. 110-248.
Sept. 21, 2007--Open Executive Session to review and make
recommendations on proposed legislation implementing the
United States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement; to consider
an original bill entitled American Infrastructure
Investment and Improvement Act; and to consider an original
bill entitled The Habitat and Land Conservation Act of
2007. The committee informally considered draft
implementing legislation and a draft Statement of
Administrative Action for implementation of the United
States-Peru Trade Promotion Agreement. The committee
approved the draft implementing legislation and draft
Statement of Administrative Action without amendment, by
recorded vote, 18 ayes, 3 nays, a quorum being present. The
draft legislation and Statement of Administrative Action
were submitted pursuant to the cooperative procedures
provided in the Trade Act of 2002 for the approval of trade
agreements.
Oct. 4, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider S. 2242, The
Heartland, Habitat, Harvest, and Horticulture Act of 2007;
and S. 2113, legislation implementing the United States-
Peru Trade Promotion Agreement. The committee favorably
reported S. 2113 without amendment by voice vote, a quorum
being present. See Report No. 110-249.
Dec. 13, 2007--Open Executive Session to consider favorably
reporting the nomination of the Hon. Christopher A. Padilla
to be Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade,
United States Department of Commerce, and other non-trade
related nominations. The nominee was ordered favorably
reported by the committee.
2008
Mar. 6, 2008--Open Executive Session with Ambassador Susan
Schwab, United States Trade Representative, to consider the
Administration's 2008 Trade Agenda and other non-trade
related business items.
June 18, 2008--Open Executive Session to consider S. 3227, the
Iran Sanctions Act of 2008; S.J. Res. 38, a joint
resolution waiving certain provisions of the Trade Act of
1974 relating to the appointment of a Deputy United States
Trade Representative; and the pending nomination of Deanna
Tanner Okun to be Deputy United States Trade Representative
and other non-trade related nominees. S. 3227 was ordered
favorably reported, as amended by the Chairman's
modification, by a roll call vote, 19 ayes and 2 nays, with
a quorum present. See Report No. 110-408. S.J. Res. 38 was
favorably reported, without amendment, by voice vote. The
nomination of Deanna Tanner Okun was ordered favorably
reported upon the enactment of S.J. Res. 38, by voice vote.
July 23, 2008--Open Executive Session to consider S.J. Res. 41,
approving the renewal of import restrictions contained in
the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. S.J. Res. 41
was ordered favorably reported without amendment,
unanimously by voice vote. See Report No. 110-444.
Full Committee Member Meetings
2007
Feb. 8, 2007--Senators' Meeting with Ambassador Susan Schwab,
United States Trade Representative, to discuss trade
issues.
Mar. 21, 2007--Senators' Meeting with Labor Secretary Elaine
Chao to discuss Trade Adjustment Assistance.
Apr. 17, 2007--Senators' Meeting with AFL-CIO President John
Sweeney and U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Tom
Donohue to discuss trade policy and other issues.
Apr. 24, 2007--Senators' Meeting with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice to discuss world affairs and their impact
on economic policy.
Apr. 25, 2007--Senators' Meeting with Pascal Lamy, Director
General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), to discuss
the state-of-play in the Doha Round of WTO negotiations.
May 14, 2007--Senators' Meeting with Treasury Secretary Henry
M. Paulson, Jr. to discuss the upcoming Strategic Economic
Dialogue with China.
May 17, 2007--Senators' Meeting with China's Vice-Premier,
Madam Wu Yi, and senior Chinese government ministers, to
discuss key trade and economic issues between the United
States and China.
Oct. 23, 2007--Senators' Meeting with Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice and Ambassador Susan Schwab, United States
Trade Representative, to discuss pending free trade
agreements, U.S. trade preference programs, and the
geopolitical aspects of trade policy.
2008
June 4, 2008--Senators' Meeting to discuss the Iran Sanctions
Act of 2008, and other matters.
June 19, 2008--Senators' Meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Wang
Qishan and his delegation as part of U.S.-China Strategic
Economic Dialogue.
July 15, 2008--Senators' Meeting with Ambassador Susan Schwab,
United States Trade Representative, to discuss the Doha
round of WTO negotiations.
July 16, 2008--Senators' Meeting to discuss Trade Adjustment
Assistance.
HEALTH
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
Health Care Programs--During the 110th Congress, the
committee focused its efforts to reauthorize the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), review and oversee
Medicare Advantage and the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit,
and to build the foundation for health care reform. The
committee held multiple hearings and meetings on these issues.
In September and October of the first session, Chairman
Baucus and Ranking Member Charles E. Grassley along with the
Subcommittee on Health Chair and Ranking Member John D.
Rockefeller IV and Orrin G. Hatch worked to pass the Children's
Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007. The
Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of
2007, S. 1893, was successfully reported out of the Senate
Finance Committee with a strong bipartisan vote of 17 to 4 on
July 19, 2007. The full Senate debated the measure as a
substitute to H.R. 976, and it passed the full Senate by a vote
of 68-31. A bill resolving the differences between the House
and the Senate was subsequently passed but was vetoed by
President Bush on October 3, 2007. On October 18, 2007, the
House failed to override the veto by a vote of 273 to 156 (2/3
vote required to override). Further negotiations between the
Senate and House resulted in a second bill to reauthorize
SCHIP, H.R. 3963, which was introduced and passed by the House
and the Senate. This bill too was vetoed by President Bush on
December 12, 2007 and again the House failed to override the
veto on January 23, 2008 by a vote of 260-152.
The CHIP program was set to expire at the end of December
2007 unless Congress acted and legislation was also required at
that time to ensure the continuation of critical health care
programs and to prevent a reduction in Medicare physician fees.
Therefore, to ensure the continued coverage for millions of
children enrolled in CHIP and to extend other expiring
programs, Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley developed
legislation in the Senate, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP
Extension Act of 2007, which was signed into law in December
2007. The bill eliminated a 10.1 percent cut in Medicare
physician reimbursement scheduled to take effect in January of
2008 and increased reimbursement for physicians by 0.5 percent
through June 30, 2008. It also extended the voluntary quality
reporting system for physicians and other eligible
professionals who report quality measures and revised the
physician assistance and quality initiative fund to assist with
physician payments in 2008 and beyond. In addition, the
legislation extended several expiring provisions enacted by the
Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act
to help ensure beneficiaries' continued access to needed
medical services. These included a provision extending the 1.0
floor in the Work Geographic Index for any locality in which
the Index is less than 1.0, a provision continuing direct
payments to independent laboratories for physician pathology
services, a provision continuing Medicare reasonable cost
payments for lab tests in small rural hospitals, and an
extension of payment for brachytherapy devices based on
hospital costs. The legislation accommodated physicians ordered
to active duty in the Armed Services by extending a provision
that permits physicians in the armed services to engage in
substitute billing arrangements for longer than 60 days when
called to active duty. In addition, the legislation provided
for a 6-month extension of the therapy cap exceptions policy
established in the Deficit Reduction Act.
Also during the first session, the Finance Committee marked
up S. 3, the Medicare Fair Prescription Drug Price Act of 2007.
This legislation would have amended the noninterference
provision of the Medicare prescription drug benefit statute,
which prohibits the Secretary of Health and Human Services from
interfering in negotiations between pharmaceutical
manufacturers, pharmacies and prescription drug plan (PDP)
sponsors. The bill would have stricken the portion of this
provision that prohibits the Secretary from interfering in
negotiations between manufacturers, pharmacies, and PDP
sponsors and would have retained the prohibition on the
Secretary requiring a particular formulary of price structure
for the reimbursement of Part D covered drugs. On April 18,
2007, the Senate did not invoke cloture on the motion to
proceed to S. 3 by a vote of 55 to 42.
During the second session, the committee held 10 hearings
to build the foundation and educate the public toward health
care reform. These hearings and member meetings included
discussions on expanding coverage, improving quality of care,
delivery system and insurance market reform, and an economic
perspective to health care reform. In addition to these
hearings and meetings, Chairman Baucus released ``Call to
Action: Health Reform 2009'' in November 2008, laying out his
vision for health care reform in the upcoming year. The Baucus
white paper details policy options for consideration by the
111th Congress. The main objectives of the Baucus plan are to
achieve universal coverage, reduce health care costs, and
improve the quality of care our system provides.
Early in the second session, the committee reported the
Indian Health Care Improvement Act to the Senate floor. This
bill, which was substantially identical to bipartisan
legislation considered and reported by the committee in the
109th Congress, included provisions that bolster Medicare,
Medicaid, and the State Children's Health Insurance Program
(SCHIP) for Native Americans. The bill was placed on the
legislative calendar but did not see action by the full Senate.
In July of the second session, Chairman Baucus won passage
of, H.R. 6331, the Medicare Improvements for Patients and
Providers Act of 2008. The new law, based on a bill Baucus
authored in the Senate, included several key reforms and other
provisions developed on a bipartisan basis by Chairman Baucus
and Ranking Member Grassley. These provisions included
establishing an imaging accreditation requirement for
diagnostic imaging providers, improving payment and coverage
for patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
and other conditions, requiring a delay and improvements to the
competitive bidding program for durable medical equipment, and
significant reforms to the End Stage Renal Disease Program
which require the Secretary of HHS to implement a fully bundled
payment system for ESRD, effective January 1, 2011. Also
included were provisions that reversed a 10.6-percent cut in
the program's payments to physicians and provide a 1.1 percent
update for 2009. The legislation also extends and improves the
quality reporting system for eligible professionals through
2010, establishes reporting requirements for group practices,
and increases the incentive payments from 1.5 percent to 2
percent in 2009 and 2010. It also establishes a physician
feedback program to improve efficiency and control costs and
requires HHS to develop a plan to transition to a value-based
purchasing program for physicians and other practitioners. In
addition, this legislation establishes incentives for
physicians to adopt electronic prescribing by providing
incentive payments for the use of a qualified e-prescribing
system in 2011 and reduces payment for those who fail to use e-
prescribing beginning in 2012.
Other provisions included extensions to payments impacting
rural providers, extending the physician work geographic
adjustment 1.0 floor, providing improved access to ambulance
services, providing teaching anesthesiologists with full
reimbursement and improving payments for certain rural
hospitals.
Finally, the legislation phased-out medical education costs
from payments to some private Medicare plans, and beginning in
2011 Private Fee for Service Plans operating in a geographic
area with two or more network plans must meet network access
standards through the establishment of networks of providers.
Child Welfare
During 2008, the committee also considered legislation to
reauthorize and improve the adoption assistance program and
improve the foster care system.
On September 16, 2008, the committee favorably reported a
substitute to S. 3038, the Improved Adoption Incentives and
Relative Guardianship Act of 2008, introduced by Ranking Member
Charles E. Grassley on May 20, 2008. The committee substitute
included a modification of legislation to provide for Indian
Tribes to operate child welfare programs, the Tribal Foster
Care and Adoption Access Act of 2007, introduced by Chairman
Baucus on August 2, 2007.
Legislation reflecting an agreement between the Senate and
the House (H.R. 6893--Fostering Connections to Success and
Increasing Adoption Act) was passed by unanimous consent by the
Senate on September 22, 2008. President Bush signed the
legislation into law on October 7, 2008.
Key provisions of the new law:
Improved incentives for States to increase adoptions
of children from foster care, especially older youth
and those with special needs;
Adoption assistance for all children with special
needs;
Federal resources to help support children who leave
foster care for legal guardianships with family
members;
Equal access to Federal foster care funding for
tribal governments, so that American Indian and Alaskan
Natives can provide needed services to the children in
their care in their own communities;
The option for States to continue offering foster
care services, and receive Federal reimbursement, for
young people up to age 21;
Improved oversight of the educational progress and
health care needs of children in foster care; and
A requirement for States to make reasonable efforts
to keep siblings together in foster care.
Elder Justice
On September 18, 2008, the committee favorably reported a
substitute to S. 1070, the Elder Justice Act, introduced by
Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) and 33 cosponsors, both Democrat
and Republican, on March 29, 2007. The bill took many steps to
address the issues of elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
It also provides incentives for training and certification of
employees who provide direct care to long-term care facility
residents. This legislation did not see action by the full
Senate.
Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention
On September 22, 2008, the committee favorably reported a
substitute to S. 1577, the Patient Safety and Abuse Prevention
Act, introduced by Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) on June 7, 2007.
This legislation did not see action by the full Senate.
To ease the burden on millions of Americans during the
economic crisis, Chairman Baucus ensured the passage of his
Unemployment Compensation Extension Act of 2008 in November.
The proposal provides 7 additional weeks of extended benefits
nationwide, with an additional 13 weeks of benefits in States
with unemployment rates above 6 percent. The legislation also
offers temporary Federal support for the first week of extended
benefits without requiring a waiting period.
Hearings and Meetings
Jan. 11, 2007--Hearing: ``Prescription Drug Pricing and
Negotiation: Overview and Economic Perspectives for the
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit.'' The hearing designed
an approach in which the Secretary investigates Medicare
drug prices and intervenes only when drug plans fail to
produce competitive or fair prices for seniors. Witnesses
included a Government Accountability Office (GAO) expert,
professors from Johns Hopkins University, Harvard
University, Yale University, and a representative from the
Heritage Foundation.
Feb. 1, 2007--Hearing: ``The Future of CHIP: Improving the
Health of America's Children.'' This hearing was the first
opportunity to take on the reauthorization of the State
Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). The purpose of
this hearing was to review the program's history, explore
its successes and challenges, and consider ways to expand
the program to cover more children. Witnesses included a
Government Accountability Office (GAO) expert, Governor
Sunny Perdue of Georgia, representatives from Georgetown
University Health Policy Institute and the Iowa Department
of Human Services, and parents of a CHIP beneficiary.
Feb. 7, 2007--Hearing: ``President's Fiscal Year 2008 Budget
(Medicaid and Medicare Proposals).'' This hearing focused
on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
provisions in the President's 2008 budget. The witness was
Secretary of Health and Human Services Michael Leavitt.
Mar. 1, 2007--Hearing: ``Medicare Payment for Physician
Services: Examining New Approaches.'' This hearing focused
on Medicare payment for physician services and growing
concerns about the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula,
which will produce negative updates to the physician
payment rate for the foreseeable future. The hearing was an
important step in our effort to control health care
spending while ensuring that Medicare beneficiaries have
access to high quality services. The witnesses included
representatives from MedPAC, the Congressional Budget
Office (CBO), the American Medical Association (AMA), and
AARP.
Mar. 14, 2007--Hearing: ``Charting a Course for Health Care
Reform: Moving Toward Universal Coverage.'' The purpose of
this hearing was to begin a dialogue about health care
reform. It highlighted problems of the uninsured and the
impact our fractured health care system has on the economy.
The witnesses included representatives from Partners
HealthCare, the Lewin Group, and professors from the Heller
School and Harvard University.
Mar. 22, 2007--Hearing: ``Keeping America's Promise: Health
Care and Child Welfare Services for Native Americans.'' The
purpose of the hearing was to provide a forum for these
issues to prepare the committee to mark up the Medicare,
Medicaid, and SCHIP portions of the Indian Health Care
Improvement Act and consider further child welfare
legislation. The witnesses included a representative of
Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and members of the
Crow Tribe, the Suquamish Tribe, and the Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe.
Apr. 11, 2007--Hearing: ``Examination of the Medicare Advantage
Program.'' The purpose of the hearing was to take stock of
the Medicare Advantage program in an objective and balanced
manner. The witnesses included representatives from the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO), MedPAC, Center for
Studying Health System Change, and Independence Blue Cross
of Pennsylvania.
Apr. 12, 2007--Executive Session to consider a substitute to S.
3, the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act of
2007.
May 2, 2007--Hearing: ``Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit:
Monitoring Early Experiences.'' The purpose of this hearing
was to foster public discussion about the status of the
Medicare drug benefit and to identify what problems need to
be addressed, as well as issues related to beneficiary
access and pharmacy operations. The witnesses included
Tobey T. Schule of Sykes Pharmacy in Montana, Kris Gross of
the Iowa Insurance Division, and representatives from
American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and the Center for
Medicare Advocacy, Inc.
May 8, 2007--Hearing: ``Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit:
Review and Oversight.'' This hearing focused on issues
arising from the May 2nd hearing--specifically issues
related to beneficiary access and pharmacy operations.
Those topics included: picking a plan, enrollment, dual-
eligible reimbursement issues, the low-income subsidy,
premium withholding, plan formulary changes, and low and
slow pharmacy reimbursement. The witnesses included
Government Accountability Office (GAO) experts and
representatives from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) and the Social Security Administration of
New York.
June 21, 2007--Hearing: ``Barriers to Work for Individuals
Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits.'' The
purpose of this hearing was to spotlight the significant
barriers Social Security disability beneficiaries face when
they try to enter or reenter the workforce and the policy
changes that could be made to help beneficiaries overcome
those barriers. The witnesses included a self-advocate, a
representative of the Social Security Administration, and
professors from George Washington University and Cornell
University.
July 25, 2007--Confirmation hearing for: Dr. Tevi David Troy,
to be Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services,
Department of Health and Human Services; the Honorable
David H. McCormick, to be Under Secretary for International
Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury; Kerry N. Weems,
to be Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services; Peter B. McCarthy, to be Assistant
Secretary for Management and Chief Financial Officer, U.S.
Department of the Treasury; and Charles E. F. Millard, to
be Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation.
Sept. 12, 2007--Executive Session to consider ``The Medicare,
Medicaid, and SCHIP Indian Health Care Improvement Act of
2007;'' H.J. Res. 43, ``Increasing the Statutory Limit on
the Public Debt;'' and revising subcommittee assignments
for the 110th Congress.
Sept. 25, 2007--Hearing: ``Home and Community Based Care:
Expanding Options for Long-Term Care.'' This hearing
focused on the issues around providing home and community
based services (HCBS) and The Community Choice Act. The
witnesses included Bob Liston of Montana Fair Housing, Dr.
Mitchell LaPlante of the University of California in San
Francisco, Patrick Flood of the Vermont Agency of Human
Services, and Kevin Concannon of the Iowa Department of
Human Services.
Oct. 25, 2007--Hearing: ``Small Business Health Insurance:
Building a Gateway to Coverage.'' This hearing focused on
employer-based coverage, pooling across State lines, sole
proprietors, refundable tax credits, and health coverage.
The witnesses included Joel Ario of the Pennsylvania
Department of Insurance and the National Association of
Insurance Commissioners; Alden J. Bianchi, Member, Mintz,
Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky, and Popeo P.C.; and a
representative of the Urban Institute.
Dec. 13, 2007--Executive Session to consider the nominations
of: Christopher A. Padilla, to be Under Secretary of
Commerce for International Trade; Christina H. Pearson, to
be Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs, U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services; Benjamin Eric Sasse, to be
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services; and Charles E. F.
Millard, to be Director of the Pension Benefit Guaranty
Corporation.
Jan. 22, 2008--Hearing: ``Strengthening America's Economy:
Stimulus That Makes Sense (Part 1 of 2).'' This hearing was
the first part of two discussions regarding fiscal
stimulus. The witness list included Dr. Peter Orszag,
director of the Congressional Budget Office (CBO).
Jan. 24, 2008--Hearing: ``Strengthening America's Economy:
Stimulus That Makes Sense (Part 2 of 2).'' This hearing
included testimony from the President and CEO of the
National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) and the
Director of the Hamilton Project at the Brookings
Institution, who raised the prospect of health reform as an
element of long-term economic recovery.
Jan. 30, 2008--Hearing: ``Private Fee for Service Plans in
Medicare Advantage: A Closer Look.'' The purpose of the
hearing was to take stock of the Medicare Advantage program
in an objective and balanced manner. The witnesses included
MedPAC; a SHIP Coordinator from Virginia; the Medical
Director of a clinic in Everett, Washington; a hospital
representative from Mississippi; and a labor leader from
Pennsylvania.
Feb. 6, 2008--Hearing: ``The President's Fiscal Year 2009
Budget Proposal for the Department of Health and Human
Services.'' This hearing focused on the President's FY2009
HHS budget. The witness was Secretary of Health and Human
Services Michael Leavitt.
Feb. 7, 2008--Hearing: ``Selling to Seniors: The Need for
Accountability and Oversight of Marketing and Sales by
Medicare Private Plans (Part 1).'' This hearing examined
the sales and marketing tactics used by Medicare Advantage
plans and the current Federal laws in place to protect
consumers and police these sales and marketing activities.
The hearing also focused on CMS oversight of plans'
marketing. The witnesses included representatives of the
Illinois Division of Insurance, the Salt Lake County Aging
Services, Humana, and a Medicare beneficiary.
Feb. 13, 2008--Hearing: ``Selling to Seniors: The Need for
Accountability and Oversight of Marketing and Sales by
Medicare Private Plans (Part 2).'' The purpose of this
hearing was to question whether CMS has the expertise and
will power to set and enforce appropriate rules for the
direct sales of Medicare benefits. The witness was the
Honorable Kerry Weems, Acting Administrator of the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).
Feb. 26, 2008--Hearing: ``Economic and Fiscal Conditions of the
States.'' The purpose of this hearing was to present
information about the diversity of economic conditions and
to explore the State-Federal interaction among the various
Federal programs under the jurisdiction of the Finance
Committee. The witness was the Honorable Janet Napolitano,
Governor of Arizona.
May 6, 2008--Hearing: ``Seizing the New Opportunity for Health
Reform.'' This hearing reaffirmed the need for
comprehensive health reform, and that key goals of health
reform are the achievement of universal coverage and
reduced overall costs. The witnesses included two former
Secretaries of Health and Human Services.
June 3, 2008--Hearing: ``Rising Costs, Low Quality in Health
Care: The Necessity for Reform.'' The hearing discussed
problems in the current health care system, namely high
costs and low quality. The witnesses included
representatives from the Center for Studying Health System
Change, RAND, the Ford Motor Company, and the AFL-CIO.
June 10, 2008--Hearing: ``47 Million & Counting: Why the Health
Care Marketplace is Broken.'' This hearing provided
perspectives on the challenges providers face in obtaining,
affording, and offering health insurance coverage in the
private market. The witnesses included a representative
from Aetna Inc.; the co-founder and president/CEO of
Phoenix Products, Inc. in Ohio; a leading scholar in health
care law and policy, and a health care recipient.
July 17, 2008--Hearing: ``The Right Care at the Right Time:
Leveraging Innovation to Improve Health Care Quality for
All Americans.'' The hearing focused on the geographic
variations in costs and quality that exist in our health
care system and the two prominent proposals that have been
offered to address this challenge: health information
technology and comparative effectiveness research. The
witnesses included Dr. Peter Orszag, Director of the
Congressional Budget Office (CBO); Richard Hillestad,
senior principal researcher at RAND; George Halvorson, CEO
of Kaiser Permanente; and Gail Wilensky, senior fellow at
Project HOPE.
July 31, 2008--Hearing: ``Health Benefits in the Tax Code: The
Right Incentives.'' This hearing focused on the tax
treatment of current health insurance and medical benefits.
The witnesses included a representative of the Joint
Committee on Taxation and professors from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
Sept. 9, 2008--Hearing: ``Improving Health Care Quality: An
Integral Step Toward Health Reform.'' The hearing focused
on public and private efforts to improve health care
quality, including value-based purchasing and other
programs to measure and pay for high quality performance in
health care delivery. The witnesses included
representatives from WellPoint Inc., Fairview Northland
Health Services, the American Board of Medical Specialties,
and the Dean of UNC School of Medicine.
Sept. 10, 2008--Executive Session to consider the following:
the Chairman's Mark, in the nature of a substitute, to S.
3038, the ``Improved Adoption Incentives and Relative
Guardianship Support Act of 2008;'' the Chairman's Mark, in
the nature of a substitute, to S. 1070, the ``Elder Justice
Act of 2008;'' and the Chairman's Mark, in the nature of a
substitute, to S. 1577, the ``Patient Safety and Abuse
Prevention Act of 2008.''
Sept. 16, 2008--Hearing: ``Aligning Incentives: The Case for
Delivery System Reform.'' The hearing focused on problems
facing the current health care delivery system and reforms
aimed at addressing these concerns. The witnesses included
representatives from MedPAC, Geisinger Health System, the
Urban Institute, and a professor from Harvard University
School of Medicine.
Sept. 23, 2008--Hearing: ``Covering the Uninsured: Making
Health Insurance Markets Work.'' This hearing provided an
overview of the current insurance market, discussed
successful State-level efforts to improve the insurance
market, and talked about considerations for action at the
Federal level. The witnesses included representatives from
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and the RAND
Corporation, and the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner.
Nov. 19, 2008--Hearing: ``Health Care Reform: An Economic
Perspective.'' This hearing focused on the role that health
care plays in the economy and emphasized the need to reform
the health care system as part of any attempt to address
the state of our economy. The witnesses included
representatives from Verizon Communications, the Service
Employees International Union (SEIU), and economists from
Princeton University and Harvard University.
Summits and Conferences
June 16, 2008--Summit: ``Prepare for Launch: Health Reform
Summit 2008.'' Senate Finance Committee chairman Max Baucus
and ranking member Chuck Grassley co-hosted a bipartisan
summit at the Library of Congress to discuss options for
health care reform in 2009. ``Prepare for Launch: Health
Reform Summit 2008'' was part of the Finance Committee's
year-long series of hearings, roundtables, and events in
preparation for congressional action on health reform.
Keynote remarks by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on
health care and American economic competitiveness. Keynote
remarks by Dr. J. Craig Venter, genomic research pioneer,
on research advances and signposts for reform.
Full Committee Field Hearings
Apr. 4, 2007--Hearing: ``Children's Health Insurance Program in
Action: A State's Perspective on CHIP.'' The hearing
provided an opportunity to celebrate the success of CHIP in
Montana and to highlight efforts to extend and improve the
program. This hearing consisted of two panels. The first
panel included representatives of the Montana Department of
Health and Human Services and the Kaiser Family Foundation
Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, and the mother of
a CHIP beneficiary. The second panel included Dr. Janice
Langohr of the Billings Children's Clinic; Judy Stewart, RN
of the Yellowstone City-County Health Department; Reverend
F. Vernon Wright, 5th Minister of Plymouth Congregational
Church; and Representative Jonathan Windy Boy, Montana
Legislator.
Oct. 21, 2008--Hearing: ``High Health Care Costs: A State
Perspective.'' This hearing focused on the impact of high
health care costs on small businesses and individuals in
Montana. Witnesses discussed how medical bills can result
in medical debt and bankruptcy, which is particularly
relevant in the current economic climate. The witnesses
included representatives from the Commonwealth Fund, St.
Patrick Hospital and Health Science Center, Blue Cross Blue
Shield of Montana, and local individuals representing small
businesses and patient perspectives.
Subcommittee on Health Care
Apr. 9, 2008--Subcommittee on Health Care Hearing: ``Covering
Uninsured Children: Impact of the August 17 CHIP
Directive.'' This hearing examined the impact of the August
17 directive on coverage for uninsured children. The
witnesses included representatives from the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the Congressional
Budget Office (CBO), the Congressional Research Services
(CRS), the National Academy of State Health Policy (NASHP),
the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown
University Health Policy Institute, the Center for Health
Policy Studies, and a parent of a CHIP beneficiary from
Ohio.
SOCIAL SECURITY
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
During the 110th Congress, the committee held hearings on
administrative issues facing the Social Security
Administration; barriers to work faced by disability
beneficiaries and preventing Social Security benefits from
being frozen by banks. The committee also held hearings on
long-run deficits and debt, the President's Budget Request, the
economic squeeze on the middle-class, and the fiscal and
budgetary situation of States. The Social Security Subcommittee
held a hearing on policies related to pensions from work not
covered by Social Security.
Full Committee Hearings
2007
February 6, 2007--Hearing: ``The President's FY 2008 Budget
Proposal.'' This hearing featured the testimony of the Hon.
Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Secretary, U.S. Department of the
Treasury. The hearing delved into broad themes and details
of the President's Budget.
May 23, 2007--Hearing: ``Funding Social Security's
Administrative Costs: Will the Budget meet the Mission?''
This hearing featured the testimony of the Hon. Michael J.
Astrue, Commissioner, Social Security Administration,
Baltimore, MD; Nancy Shor, Executive Director, National
Organization of Social Security Claimants Representatives,
Englewood Cliffs, NJ; Richard E. Warsinskey, President,
National Council of Social Security Management
Associations, Inc., Washington, DC; and Charles Schimmels,
President, National Association of Disability Examiners,
Oklahoma City, OK. The testimony highlighted the
responsibilities being placed on the Social Security
Administration--including new responsibilities--and whether
or not the agency has adequate resources to meet these
responsibilities. The testimony examined the long waiting
times that disability applicants must endure to receive a
resolution of their disability applications, inadequate
services to the public in SSA field offices, and the role
of Continuing Disability Reviews (CDRs). With regard to
CDRs, the hearing explored the fact that CDRs are not being
performed at an optimal level due to administrative budget
issues, even though CDRs save $10 for each dollar spent on
them.
June 21, 2007--Hearing: ``Barriers to Work for Individuals
Receiving Social Security Disability Benefits.'' This
hearing featured the testimony of Sue Suter, Associate
Commissioner for Employment Support Programs, Social
Security Administration, Baltimore, MD; Allen Jensen,
Senior Research Staff Scientist, Center for Health Services
Research and Policy, The George Washington University,
Washington, DC; Dr. David C. Stapleton, Director, Cornell
Center for Policy Research, Washington, DC; and Jim Brown,
SSDI Beneficiary, Independent Advocate, Billings, MT. The
testimony presented information on the various complex and
confusing policies that confront Social Security disability
beneficiaries who want to return to work. To better
understand how the complex rules affect constituents, a
disability beneficiary from Montana described his struggle
to return to work while also retaining benefits that allow
him the supports needed to be able to work. The hearing
also examined other barriers to returning to work,
including access to health care.
September 20, 2007--Hearing: ``Frozen Out: A Review of Bank
Treatment of Social Security Benefits.'' This hearing
featured the testimony of Waverly Taliaferro, Social
Security beneficiary, New York, NY; Sara Kelsey, General
Counsel, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Washington,
DC; Montrice Goddard Yakimov, Managing Director of
Compliance and Consumer Protection, Office of Thrift
Supervision, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC;
Julie L. Williams, First Senior Deputy Comptroller and
Chief Counsel, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency,
Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC; and Margot
Saunders, Counsel, National Consumer Law Center,
Washington, DC. The testimonies indicated that the Social
Security and SSI benefits of some beneficiaries have been
frozen and/or garnished, even though Federal law would
appear to prohibit such actions. The witnesses generally
agreed that such freezes and garnishments are undesirable
outcomes, but there was much disagreement and confusion
about the regulatory steps that would be needed to preclude
such outcomes.
2008
February 5, 2008--Hearing: ``The President's FY 2009 Budget
Proposal.'' This hearing featured the testimony of the Hon.
Henry M. Paulson, Jr., Secretary, U.S. Department of the
Treasury. The hearing delved into broad themes and details
of the President's Budget.
February 26, 2008--Hearing: ``Economic and Fiscal Conditions of
the States.'' This hearing featured the testimony of the
Hon. Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona. The hearing
focused on the negative impact of the economic downturn on
States, and Federal policy options to provide assistance to
States.
May 8, 2008--Hearing: ``More Work, Less Resources: Social
Security Field Offices Struggle to Deliver Services to the
Public.'' This hearing featured the testimony of Barbara D.
Bovbjerg, Director, Education, Workforce, and Income
Security, Government Accountability Office, Washington,
D.C.; Linda S. McMahon, Deputy Commissioner for Operations,
Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD; Richard E.
Warsinskey, Immediate Past President, National Council of
Social Security Management Associations, Washington, D.C.;
and Witold Skwierczynski, President, National Council of
Social Security Administration Field Operations Locals,
AFL-CIO, Baltimore, MD. This hearing presented evidence
from the Government Accountability Office, SSA, the AFL-
CIO, and other experts about problems with service delivery
to the public in SSA's 1300 field offices. These problems
included inability to get through on the telephone to local
field offices and long waits for some individuals who visit
Social Security offices. The hearing considered the case
for providing SSA with additional resources to correct
these problems.
June 17, 2008--Hearing: ``Crisis in the Future: Long Run
Deficits and Debt.'' This hearing featured the testimony of
Dr. Peter R. Orszag, Director, Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC and Gene Dodaro, Acting Comptroller General,
Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC. Both
testimonies highlighted the fact that much--although not
all--of the long-term fiscal challenge facing the Federal
Government stems from the rapid growth rates of Medicare
and Medicaid costs, which are closely linked to the rapid
cost growth in the entire health care sector. Controlling
the rapid rates of per-capita health care cost growth in
the entire health care sector would significantly reduce
projected long-run Federal budget deficits. However, even
if such cost control would be effectuated, there would
still need to be some deficit reduction in the rest of the
budget to keep Federal long-run deficits manageable.
Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy
November 6, 2007--Hearing: ``GPO and WEP: Policies Affecting
Pensions from Work Not Covered by Social Security.'' This
hearing featured the testimony of the Hon. Susan Collins,
United States Senator (R-ME); Margaret Kane, Retired
Teacher, Medford, MA; Barbara D. Bovbjerg, Director,
Education, Workforce and Income Security Issues, U.S.
Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Priya
Mathur, Board of Administration Member of CalPERS, AFSCME
Local 3993, Sacramento, CA; and Lawrence Thompson, Senior
Fellow, Urban Institute, Washington, DC. The testimony
discussed how individuals who have pensions from work not
covered by Social Security are affected by the Social
Security policies related to such pensions. Options were
discussed to modify or repeal the Social Security policies
or to structure alternatives that can meet the goals of
current policies, but with more equitable results.
OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES
Overview
The Constitution granted to the Congress the important
responsibility of conducting oversight of Executive Branch
activities. Congressional authority to conduct oversight is
both extensive and powerful. Oversight is critically important
in helping to make government more transparent, more
accountable, and more effective for the taxpayers, program
participants, and beneficiaries. Taxpayers deserve transparency
because they finance the government. Government truly is the
people's business, and the people have a right to know what
their government is doing and how it spends their money.
One of the best means for achieving transparency in
operations is through consistent congressional oversight, in
conjunction with an aggressive and curious media, and the
vigilance of the public and brave whistleblowers who speak up
about the problems and abuses they see. Transparency also helps
to ensure a high degree of ethics, morality and honesty. As
former Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis once said,
``Sunshine is the best disinfectant.''
Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley take their
oversight responsibilities seriously. Both Chairman Baucus and
Ranking Member Grassley conduct oversight jointly and
separately. Chairman Baucus has focused on a number of critical
areas in his oversight work: offshore tax evasion and the tax
gap generally, border security, terrorism financing, the Social
Security Disability program, putting in place strong oversight
in the new TARP program, and oversight of the Medicare
Advantage program.
During the 110th Congress, Senator Grassley's oversight
efforts ranged from examining certain practices of fraud and
mismanagement at the Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
(CMS), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National
Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Senator Grassley
continued working to control fraud, waste, and abuse in nursing
homes across the country, and sought to uncover mismanagement
at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Highlights of the
committee's investigations ranged from targeting fraud and
abuse in the Medicaid prescription drug program to ensuring
that the Government has adequate resources to ensure the safety
of pharmaceuticals produced abroad. Senator Grassley also
continued to champion whistleblowers in government and private
industry to come forward and expose fraud and wrongdoing for
the public good. Senator Grassley also continued to rely
heavily on the services and expertise of the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) and the various Offices of
Inspector General (OIGs) throughout the government.
Hearings
Border Insecurity, Take Three: Open and Unmonitored
An oversight hearing was held on September 27, 2007
entitled, ``Border Insecurity, Take Three: Open and
Unmonitored.'' This hearing, the third in a series of hearings
on the topic, examined the possibility that terrorists might
exploit vulnerabilities in our Nation's border security to gain
access to the United States. The first hearing featured
testimony from GAO regarding how easy it is to make fake
documents to enter the United States. Additionally, the
committee heard about vast areas of our border that remain
either under-patrolled and/or unmonitored. In the second
hearing, the GAO briefed the committee on its success in
penetrating border checkpoints with counterfeit documents. This
final hearing focused on the GAO's ability to cross into the
United States with simulated nuclear materials via unmanned
portions of the border.
The committee heard testimony from Greg Kutz, Managing
Director for Forensic Audit and Special Investigations, U.S.
Government Accountability Office, from Ronald Colburn, Deputy
Chief, Office of Border Patrol, Department of Homeland
Security, and from Ken Luongo, Executive Director of the
Partnership for Global Security. Mr. Kutz testified to the GAO
investigators' success in penetrating areas of the Northern and
Southern borders. Mr. Colburn briefed the committee on Border
Patrol operations and how the Agency uses a mix of layered
enforcement techniques to fulfill its mission. Finally, Mr.
Luongo presented the sobering imperative of securing nuclear
and radiological materials around the world and eliminating
vulnerabilities as quickly as possible.
Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley requested GAO to
conduct a broad evaluation of the efficiency and effectiveness
of the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. GAO has
begun its work on that request. Chairman Baucus and Senator
Grassley requested and received from GAO a published report of
its findings for the entire series of three hearings.
Anti-Terrorism Financing: Progress Made and the Challenges Ahead
On April 1, 2008, the committee convened a hearing
entitled, ``Anti-Terrorism Financing: Progress Made and the
Challenges Ahead.'' The focus of the hearing was to examine the
Treasury Department's continuing efforts to understand and
combat terrorist financing seven years after the attacks of
September 11, 2001. At issue during the hearing was the
reported deterioration in the U.S.-led coalition to fight
terrorism financing and the ease with which terrorists adapt
their techniques to circumvent regulatory progress. The
committee also examined the exploitation of non-profit
organizations and off-shore tax havens to funnel terrorism
financing. The committee's investigation leading up to the
hearing also uncovered concerns over the level of communication
between U.S. agencies engaged in the anti-terrorism financing
activities, and whether the Treasury Department has sufficient
resources to adequately allocate to such activities.
Testimony was presented by the Hon. Stuart A. Levey, Under
Secretary, Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, U.S.
Department of Treasury. Throughout his remarks, Under Secretary
Levey stressed the use of targeted financial measures to combat
terrorists' abilities to exploit the world financial system.
According to the Under Secretary, such targeted financial
measures have garnered increased private sector and political
support. Additionally, Under Secretary Levey provided
investigative examples where the Treasury Department has
succeeded in disrupting terrorist support networks, targeting
proliferators, and combating the illicit financial conduct of
rogue regimes and narco-traffickers. Finally, the Under
Secretary discussed the Department's outreach efforts to
increase transparency, strengthen international anti-money
laundering standards, shore up systemic vulnerabilities in the
financial system, and partner with the private sector.
Offshore Tax Evasion
The Finance committee held two hearings on the problem of
offshore tax evasion as part of the committee's continuing
effort to address the tax gap. Legislation shutting down an
offshore tax evasion practice was also enacted in the 110th
Congress.
The Qualified Intermediary Program
GAO testified about the Qualified Intermediary Program and
offshore tax evasion in a May 2007 Finance Committee hearing.
Other witnesses at the hearing included John Harrington from
the Treasury Department, Reuven Avi-Yonah, director of the
international tax program at the University of Michigan law
school, and Jeffrey Owens, director of tax policy for the
Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development.
Qualified Intermediaries are a key element of the overseas
tax enforcement system--they are financial institutions that
serve as our Nation's eyes and ears on the movement of U.S.
funds overseas. GAO identified a number of flaws in the
program. The GAO determined that foreign corporations may
enable U.S. persons to evade U.S. income tax by hiding behind
the corporate veil. For example, a U.S. person establishes a
Cayman corporation that invests in a Cayman hedge fund. The
hedge fund will assume that the Cayman corporation is a foreign
taxpayer, and the U.S. person may decide to not report the
income on its U.S. return. The GAO also discovered that the IRS
does not know the destination of a significant portion of the
gross income flowing through the qualified intermediary
program.
The GAO testimony also focused on almost $300 billion in
funds being transferred out of the United States every year and
the tax issues raised by that transfer. Within the $300 billion
total, the committee was told that the IRS has no idea where
$19 billion ends up once the funds are transferred overseas.
The GAO explained in a second report presented at the
hearing that offshore tax evasion cases pursued by the IRS take
much longer to finish, but the return to the IRS is three times
what is recovered in a domestic tax evasion case.
The three main recommendations of the GAO were as follows:
--Congress should consider extending the statute of
limitations for complicated offshore tax evasion cases
--qualified intermediaries--foreign bank and other exchanges
that process funds entering and leaving the U.S.--need
to do a better job of tracking the money, and
--the IRS needs to do a better job of tracking information
about foreign financial transactions.
The Cayman Islands and Offshore Tax Issues
In July 2008 the Finance Committee hearing focused on the
Cayman Islands as an offshore tax haven. The General Accounting
Office was asked at the first offshore tax evasion hearing to
travel to the Caymans and look at the Ugland House, a five
story building that the GAO testified has 18,587 tenants. One
half of those tenants, around 9,000, are reportedly Americans.
GAO reported the following findings related to the Cayman
Islands:
US taxpayers have reported 1,400 controlled foreign
corporations in the Cayman Islands to the IRS.
732 companies trading on the US stock exchange said
they are incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
The IRS has investigated 45 criminal cases with
Cayman Island connections over the past 5 years.
$2 trillion of bank assets are based in the
Caymans--by comparison the GDP of the U.S. is $13
trillion.
9,000 mutual funds--most thought to be hedge funds--
are based in the Caymans, a hedge fund for every 7
people on the Island.
80,000 companies are registered in the Caymans,
about 2 for every resident.
A Cayman company can be created for less than $600,
and it is not required to hold annual shareholder
meetings.
Legislative Action by Senate Finance Committee on
Offshore Tax Evasion
The Finance Committee also acted in 2008 to shut down an
offshore tax abuse.
The committee found that U.S. companies, including Kellogg,
Brown and Root (KBR), were using foreign shell corporations to
avoid paying employment taxes. Under this scheme, the foreign
shell ``hires'' U.S. employees to provide services on behalf of
the U.S. parent company. Because of its foreign status, the
shell company is not required to pay or withhold Social
Security and Medicare taxes.
This practice gives companies who do not play by the rules
an undeserved competitive advantage when bidding for jobs. It
leaves employees in the lurch at tax time because they haven't
been paying the taxes they owe during the course of the year.
The Finance Committee shut down this scheme in a military
assistance bill enacted in June 2008. The law now requires that
these foreign shells be treated as American employers. They
must pay their full share of employment taxes just like other
American employers. They cannot take advantage of unintended
loopholes in the tax law to shortchange workers and the U.S.
Treasury.
Nomination Hearing: Neil Barofsky
On November 17, 2008, the committee heard testimony from
Neil Barofsky, Assistant United States Attorney, Southern
District of New York. Barofsky was nominated by the President
to serve as Special Inspector General to the Troubled Asset
Relief Program of the Department of the Treasury.
Legislation
S. 467, The Fair Access to Clinical Trials Act of 2007
On January 31, 2007, Senator Grassley joined Senator Dodd
in re-introducing the Fair Access to Clinical Trials Act, or
FACT Act, to create a publicly accessible national data bank of
clinical trial information. The comprehensive bill would
establish a clinical trials results database and make it
available to the public, maintain a clinical trials registry of
ongoing trials for serious and life-threatening diseases and
conditions, and require the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
to make internal drug approval and safety reviews publicly
available. The Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act,
Pub. L. 110-85, which became law on September 27, 2007,
incorporates some of the provisions of the FACT Act.
S. 468, The Food and Drug Administration Safety Act of 2007
On January 31, 2007, in tandem with the Fair Access to
Clinical Trials Act of 2007, Senators Grassley and Dodd re-
introduced the Food and Drug Administration Safety Act of 2007.
The proposed legislation would establish an independent Center
within the Food and Drug Administration--the Center for
Postmarket Evaluation and Research for Drugs and Biologics
(CPER/Center). The Director of CPER would report directly to
the FDA Commissioner, and would be responsible for conducting
risk assessments for approved drugs and biological products.
The Center would also be responsible for ensuring the safety
and effectiveness of drugs once they are on the market. The
Food and Drug Administration Safety Act was first introduced in
the 108th Congress in response to concerns about FDA's ability
to assess the risks of prescription drugs once they're on the
market and respond to drug safety issues in a timely manner. In
addition, because the Office of Drug Safety, now the Office of
Surveillance and Epidemiology (OSE), served primarily a
consultative role to the office that approves drugs for
marketing, the Office of New Drugs, the bill was intended to
provide OSE with greater authority and responsibility with
respect to postmarket safety issues.
While Congress did not establish a separate center for
postmarket safety issues during the 110th Congress, the Food
and Drug Administration Amendments Act, which became law in
September 2007, requires consultation with OSE in the handling
postmarket drug safety matters. In addition, in 2008 FDA
announced its Safety First/Safe Use Initiative, which according
to the Agency includes expanding the role of OSE in the
resolution of drug-related safety issues.
S. 473, The Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of
2007
In an effort to strengthen and broaden the Nation's current
money laundering statutes, Senator Grassley introduced The
Combating Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act of 2007
in February 2007. The purpose of the legislation is to amend
money laundering provisions of the Federal criminal code to
redefine ``specified unlawful activity'' as: (1) any act
constituting an offense in violation of the laws of the United
States or any State punishable by imprisonment for a term
exceeding 1 year; and (2) any act occurring outside of the
United States that would constitute such an offense if
committed within U.S. jurisdiction. Additionally, the
legislation would, among other things: (1) increase the penalty
for bulk cash smuggling in or out of the United States from 5
to 10 years; (2) redefine money laundering transactions
involving amounts greater than $10,000 to include commingling
of funds from separate accounts and structured transactions
designed to avoid reporting requirements; (3) prohibit illegal
money transmitting businesses; and (4) extend the jurisdiction
of the United States in money laundering cases to include
activities outside of the United States that have an effect in
the United States.
S. 1082, Food and Drug Administration Revitalization Act
In September 2007, Congress passed the Food and Drug
Administration Amendments Act (FDAAA), which includes new
authorities for the FDA to better protect patients from harm
caused by prescription drugs. In particular, it provides FDA
with the much needed authorities to require: (1) product
labeling changes to address new safety information and (2)
post-approval studies or clinical trials of a drug to assess
signals of a serious risk or to identify an unexpected serious
risk. FDAAA also expands the clinical trial registry,
ClinicalTrials.gov, to include a clinical trials results
database that will be publicly available.
Congress, however, did not create a separate center for
postmarket safety as advocated by Senator Grassley. During
Senate consideration of FDA drug safety legislation, S. 1082,
the Senator offered an amendment to address a fundamental
problem at FDA--the lack of equality between the pre-approval
and post-approval offices of the Agency, the Office of New
Drugs (OND) and the Office of Surveillance and Epidemiology
(OSE), respectively. Although Senator Grassley believes an
independent post-marketing safety center is still the best
solution to the problem, he proposed joint post-marketing
decision-making between OSE and OND to at least allow the
office with the post-marketing safety expertise to have an
equal say in what drug safety actions FDA would take. The
amendment lost by one vote. Strengthening OSE will continue to
be a central focus of Senator Grassley's effort to fix problems
at the FDA in the 111th Congress.
Senator Grassley also offered an amendment to S. 1082 that
was approved by the Senate with a vote of 64 to 30. The
amendment provided for the application of stronger civil
monetary penalties to improve industry compliance with FDA
directives, including labeling changes, post-approval studies
and communicating important drug safety information. Senator
Grassley will continue monitoring the implementation of the
FDAAA.
S. 1402, The Hedge Fund Registration Act
As a result of the Securities and Exchange Commission's
handling of a major hedge fund insider trading case, Senator
Grassley introduced the Hedge Fund Registration Act on May 15,
2007. The bill would amend section 203(b)(3) of the Investment
Advisers Act of 1940. It would narrow the current exemption
from registration for certain investment advisers. This
exemption is used by large, private pooled investment vehicles,
commonly referred to as ``hedge funds''.
Currently, the exemption applies to any investment adviser
who had fewer than 15 clients in the preceding year and who
does not hold himself out to the public as an investment
adviser. The Hedge Fund Registration Act narrows this exemption
and closes a loophole in the securities laws these hedge funds
use to operate in secret and to avoid registering with the SEC.
S. 2029, The Physician Payments Sunshine Act
In late 2007, Ranking Member Grassley and Senator Herb Kohl
introduced The Physician Payments Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act).
The legislation required manufacturers of pharmaceutical drugs,
devices, and biologics to disclose the amount of money they
give to doctors for payments, gifts, honoraria, and travel. If
passed, the Sunshine Act will require companies to report
payments to the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who
will post the information online in a user-friendly format. By
working with advocacy groups, physician organizations, and drug
and device companies, Senator Grassley was able to garner the
endorsement of groups such as the American Medical Association
and PhRMA. Senator Grassley will continue his efforts in
seeking passage of the legislation in the 111th Congress.
S. 2641, The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2008
In February 2008, Ranking Member Grassley introduced The
Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2008. The
driving force behind this bill was to increase the
accountability of owners and operators of nursing homes that
receive billions of dollars of Medicare and Medicaid funding
annually. The legislation requires nursing homes to disclose
their owners, operators and financiers, as well as undergo
annual independent audits. The bill also calls for the
Department of Health and Human Services to monitor facilities
with chronic poor performance and oversee corrective action.
Additionally, the bill would create a mechanism whereby
monetary fines could be levied upon facilities in cases of
deficiencies of care or cause of death to residents. Senator
Grassley will continue his efforts in seeking passage of the
legislation in the 111th Congress.
S. 3049, Drug and Device Accountability Act
On July 31, 2008, Senator Grassley introduced a bill with
Senator Kennedy to improve the Food and Drug Administration's
(FDA) oversight of pharmaceutical drugs and medical devices.
This bill, known as the Drug and Device Accountability Act of
2008, (DADAA) is part of the Senator's efforts to ensure that
America's increasingly foreign-produced drug and device supply
is both safe and effective.
DADAA would enhance registration of both domestic and
foreign drug and medical device establishments, so that the FDA
knows how many foreign facilities are exporting to the United
States and thus subject to inspection. It would also increase
resources through the collection of user fees so that the FDA
can conduct more inspections of overseas facilities. FDA
officials estimated that the Agency inspected foreign class II
device makers every 27 years and foreign class III device
makers every 6 years. Class III devices are devices that
support or sustain human life, or which present a potentially
unreasonable risk of illness or injury, such as pacemakers and
heart defibrillators.
In addition to the provisions related to the registration
and inspection of domestic and foreign drug and device
manufacturers, DADAA includes more general authorities and
requirements to enhance FDA's oversight of drugs and devices.
One requirement is for senior officers in drug and device
companies to certify to the FDA that none of the information
and data that is submitted to the Agency is false or
misleading. False or misleading certifications could be subject
to civil, as well as, criminal penalties. Another provision is
subpoena authority to facilitate FDA's investigation of safety
violations and other violations of the Federal Food, Drug and
Cosmetic Act.
ACTIVE OVERSIGHT INITIATIVES
Special IG for the TARP Program
Chairman Baucus proposed, and the negotiators for the
Troubled Asset Relief Program approved, a Special Inspector
General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).
Treasury's original proposal for the TARP was three pages long,
it gave the Secretary of the Treasury unlimited power over $700
billion allocated for the purchase of troubled assets, and it
included virtually no oversight of the new program. The need
for greater oversight spurred the creation of the Special IG
position.
Senator Grassley assisted in the development of the Special
IG statuary language.
The Special IG was based on the Iraqi Reconstruction
Special Inspector General, another massive oversight challenge.
Passed in early October 2008, the TARP law gives the
Special IG a $50 million budget. The office will have the
duties of inspectors general under the Inspector General Act of
1978. It will have the responsibility of supervising and
coordinating audits and investigations of TARP activities. The
Special IG will have the power to appoint staff to carry out
the activities of the office. And he or she may enter into
contracts for audits and studies. The Finance Committee expects
a report to the committee every 120 days on the activities of
the TARP and the law directs the Special IG to report to
Congress if information he requests is refused.
President Bush nominated Neil M. Barofsky to be the Special
Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and Mr.
Barofsky was confirmed by the Senate in December 2008.
Centers for Disease Control
Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis
Early in the 110th Congress, two individuals traveled into
and out of the United States despite having infectious forms of
drug-resistant tuberculosis. In both cases, the Centers for
Disease Control (CDC) notified Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)
in an effort to prevent the individuals from traveling and
potentially spreading their contagions. However, in neither
instance were officials from CBP or the CDC successful in
preventing the individuals from entering the United States.
Senator Grassley joined Senators Lieberman, Collins, and
Clinton in a request to the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to audit the two circumstances in an effort to find out
where the process broke down, and how to prevent such a
biological threat from occurring again. Additionally, Senator
Grassley requested that the GAO inspect the circumstances that
caused the CDC to initially misdiagnose one of the individuals.
Upon their inspection, the GAO faulted a lack of
information sharing and coordination between the Department of
Health and Human Services and the Department of Homeland
Security, as well as a breach of policy at the border
inspection point as the main factors for the failed Federal
response. Senator Grassley remains concerned about the CDC's
ability to meet its mission, and will continue to monitor the
Agency.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
CERT
Senator Grassley continued his efforts to flush out fraud,
waste, and abuse at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS/Agency) by scrutinizing the Agency's improper
payment rate estimates involving medical claims submitted to
Medicare. The estimates of improper payments, which cost
American taxpayers billions of dollars per year, are calculated
by CMS's Comprehensive Error Rate Testing (CERT) program, and
are reported annually to Congress. In 2008, the Senator
received allegations that CMS did not conduct appropriate
medical record reviews when it calculated its 2006 error rate
for claims submitted for durable medical equipment (DME). In
response, the Senator requested the Inspector General (IG) for
the Department of Health and Human Services to investigate CERT
and re-examine the DME error rate.
The results of the IG's examination were concerning. The IG
determined that the estimated 2006 DME error rate was not 7.5
percent, as originally reported to Congress, but instead closer
to 30 percent. According to the report, CMS may have
deliberately instructed its CERT contractor to undertake only a
limited review of the available data from suppliers, and not of
the full medical records from physicians. This deviation from
CERT policy may have resulted in a much lower estimate of the
error rate, specifically for DME. In response, Senator Grassley
asked the Office of Inspector General (OIG) to expand its
inquiry to examine the methodology used to determine the 2007
DME error rate, and to investigate who at CMS directed the
contractor, AdvanceMed, to deviate from the established
policies. The Senator also requested a five-year review of all
contracts between CMS and AdvanceMed, which allegedly received
$5 million for their work on CERT. The OIG's audit of the 2008
error rate is ongoing. Senator Grassley will continue to
address issues involving the CERT program as they arise.
Home Health Agencies
Senator Grassley has long been concerned with the quality
of home health care. According to a 2006 report released by the
Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC), spending on home
health care grew more than 10 percent the prior year, and that
70 percent of new home health providers were concentrated in
Florida and Texas. Such increases in both spending and the
number of facilities raised questions by the Senator about the
quality of care being provided and the transparency of
reimbursements made by Medicare and Medicaid. Accordingly,
Senator Grassley requested that the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) conduct a review of home health care to address
the oversight and accountability of providers, the transparency
of Medicare reimbursements, and the extent of home health
compliance programs. GAO's work is pending, and the Senator
will continue to monitor developments in the home health care
industry.
Long-Term Care Insurance
Ranking Member Grassley has been monitoring the growth and
administration of long term care insurance, which is an
essential lifeline for millions of Americans in the event of an
unexpected loss of independence. In response to allegations
that many policyholders were facing increased difficulty
recovering on their policies, he contacted the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners and the Nation's top
long-term care insurers to resolve the problem. He also
requested a GAO study on the issues of rate-setting and claims
settlement practices, which was released in June 2008. At this
time, Ranking Member Grassley is continuing his oversight of
this industry.
Quality of Care in Nursing Homes
Ranking Member Grassley continued his vigorous oversight of
the nursing home industry to ensure that Medicaid and Medicare
beneficiaries receive the quality of care that they deserve.
Ranking Member Grassley also continued to monitor the Centers
for Medicare and Medicaid Services's (CMS) efforts to address
fire safety issues identified by the Government Accountability
Office (GAO). Following the Senator's involvement, CMS issued a
new regulation requiring nursing homes to install smoke
detectors in patient rooms and public areas of nursing homes
that do not have sprinkler systems or hardwired smoke detection
systems. CMS has taken additional steps to address other GAO
recommendations. In addition, in 2006, CMS issued a new
regulation requiring all pre-existing nursing homes to have
sprinkler systems installed in their facilities.
The committee will continue to monitor this issue in the
111th Congress.
Quality Improvement Organizations--Conflicts of Interest
In 2007 Ranking Member Grassley received information
alleging conflicts of interest at a Quality Improvement
Organization (QIO). These allegations included the CEO running
private businesses out of largely taxpayer funded offices.
After ongoing correspondence in which Senator Grassley wrote to
the organization asking for specific answers to the
allegations, responses provided by the QIO appeared to be
contradictory and incomplete.
In 2008, in response to the allegations of conflicts of
interest, CMS withheld the QIO's 9th scope of work pending
resolution of the claims. In September 2008 CMS conducted an
onsite review at the QIO's headquarters. In the course of this
review, they collected various documents that will soon be
under review by the Ranking Member.
Quality Improvement Organizations--Effectiveness of Administration
In 2005, the committee received a series of allegations
concerning the integrity, effectiveness and administration of
various State and regional Quality Improvement Organizations
(QIO). In addition to allegations at the individual QIOs, the
committee also received allegations concerning problems with
the Federal officials tasked with overseeing QIOs. Chairman Max
Baucus and Ranking Member Charles Grassley requested
information from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services, the American Health Quality Association, and various
State and regional QIOs on a broad range of matters. The
Ranking Member also requested that the Government
Accountability Office and the Department of Health and Human
Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) evaluate the
fiscal integrity provided by beneficiary complaint process
among other things and quality of nursing home care of QIOs.
The HHS-OIG conducted nine audits of QIOs across the
country, and found problems such as conflicts of interest,
lavish severance packages, and improper travel, among others.
Senator Grassley is currently investigating a number of the
improper activities that the HHS-OIG identified.
The committee will continue its oversight of the QIOs in
the 111th Congress.
Specialty Hospitals
Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley have been at
the forefront of the debate over physician-owned specialty
hospitals. The committee continued its oversight of physician-
owned specialty hospitals in the 110th Congress. This oversight
discovered additional instances of tragic patient deaths at
physician-owned specialty hospitals where 9-1-1 services were
used in health emergencies.
Chairman Baucus and Grassley requested a review of
physician-owned specialty hospitals by the Department of Health
and Human Services OIG. The report found that almost half of
all such hospitals had no emergency room, that two thirds
regularly use
9-1-1 in their emergency response procedures, and that fewer
than one third have physicians on site at all times.
Recommendations called for the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services (CMS) to strengthen its monitoring of
physician-owned specialty hospitals by: (1) developing a system
to identify and track such hospitals;
(2) enforcing the requirement that the hospitals have a nurse
on duty and a physician on call 24 hours a day; and (3)
ensuring that the hospitals have the ability to appraise and
initially treat emergencies, and that they do not rely on 9-1-1
as a substitute for such emergency services.
Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley plan to closely
monitor the operations of physician-owned specialty hospitals
in the 111th Congress. Furthermore, Senator Grassley is
currently investigating a recent death at a specialty hospital
in Indiana, and this investigation will continue into the 111th
Congress.
Transplants
Ranking Member Grassley continued his longstanding
commitment to conducting oversight of America's organ
transplant network. Specifically, he continued oversight of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services's (CMS)
responsibility over transplant centers and conducted
investigations into allegations that physicians expedited the
death of organ donors in order to harvest organs more rapidly.
He also investigated reports that Japanese nationals with
ties to organized crime improperly received organ transplants
at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center
(UCLA) between 2000 and 2004. The reports raised concerns that
the foreign nationals may have made financial donations in
exchange for advancement in the organ recipient list. In
response, Senator Grassley sent letters to UCLA, CMS, and the
United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS). UCLA responded with a
briefing for the Senator's staff. Included in that briefing was
a detailed discussion of how the four Japanese individuals came
to receive organ transplants. Additionally, UCLA claimed that,
at the time of the transplants, the hospital had no knowledge
of allegations that the four men were tied to Japanese
organized crime, and that ``there was no exchange of money or
promises of money in order to be placed on the organ transplant
list, to move up on that list, or to procure an organ outside
of the UNOS rules.''
Shortly after receiving the Senator's letter, CMS conducted
a Complaint Validation Survey of the UCLA Liver Transplant
Program. However, CMS ``found no evidence that there were any
problems in how the hospital was selecting patients for liver
transplants.''
The committee also initiated an investigation of Federal
oversight of organ transplant centers. This investigation began
after newspaper reports relayed allegations that a Saudi
national paid money to move to the top of the organ transplant
waiting list at St. Vincent Medical Center in Los Angeles. The
L.A. Times subsequently identified a functionally inactive
transplant center at the University of California Irvine
(``UCI'') about which the committee also inquired. The
committee completed its inquiry of the St. Vincent and UCI
transplant centers.
Senator Grassley plans to monitor the organ transplant
system in the 111th Congress.
Department of Health and Human Services
Antipsychotic Medications in Adolescents
Ranking Member Grassley is conducting an ongoing
investigation into the use of atypical antipsychotics on
children. This investigation includes an inquiry into marketing
practices, conflicts of interest in the field, and other
issues. In the course of the investigation, the Senator
requested information on the financial ties between promoters
of atypical antipsychotics for children and drug companies. He
has also been collecting information on Nation-wide trends in
prescribing practices. This inquiry will continue into the
111th Congress.
Dr. David Schwartz and the NIH
Throughout 2007, Senator Grassley received information
concerning the inappropriate expenditure of public funds and
potential ethics violations by Dr. David Schwartz, the now
former Director of the National Institute of Environmental
Health Sciences (NIEHS). The NIEHS is one of the twenty-seven
institutes and centers run by the National Institutes of Health
(NIH). The Senator sent numerous letters to the Director of the
NIH requesting documentation to corroborate these allegations
regarding Dr. Schwartz. In a review of documents received from
NIH, investigators found an NIH report on alleged mismanagement
of funds by Dr. Schwartz for such things as a limousine ride
and the framing of personal pictures, as well as the misuse of
government contractors. Additionally, the Senator learned that
Dr. Schwartz received thousands of dollars in outside income
for testifying as an expert witness in asbestos cases. Such
outside activity raised serious questions about Dr. Schwartz
and possible ``conflict of interest'' and a ``conflict of
commitment.'' The Senator's concern heightened when it was
determined that NIEHS employees were advised by NIEHS
management not to speak with congressional investigators, and
that doing so could result in retaliation. In response, the
Senator sent a letter to the NIH warning against any
retaliation against whistleblowers.
On August 20, 2007, Dr. Schwartz stepped aside as Director
of NIEHS. The Senator continues to monitor the actions of the
NIH.
Information Technology Programs
In the 109th Congress, the GAO issued two reports requested
by Senator Grassley on information technology at HHS. The first
GAO audit examined concerns regarding the coordination of
funding and oversight for information technology projects
within HHS at the Department level. The second audit requested
an assessment of information technology programs at CMS.
Senator Grassley has also been concerned about FDA's Adverse
Events Reporting System and post-marketing safety surveillance
program for all approved drugs and biologic products. In the
110th Congress, Senator Grassley and Chairman Baucus asked the
HHS Office of Inspector General to examine the management and
contracting practices of the Office of Information Technology
within FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. The
committee will continue to address information technology
issues at HHS as they arise.
Transfer of Medicare Administrative Appeals
Senators Grassley and Baucus continued their oversight of
the transfer of Medicare administrative appeals from the Social
Security Administration (SSA) to HHS as mandated by section 931
of the Medicare Modernization Act (MMA). Senators Grassley and
Baucus wrote to Secretary Leavitt and Commissioner Barnhart
regarding concerns leading up to the July 1, 2005, transfer and
questioned whether the increased use of telephonic and video
conferencing along with the limited number of in-person
hearings was in line with the intent of the MMA. HHS responded
that it believed limited presence in the field--only four sites
nationally--would be supplemented through the extensive use of
video-teleconferencing. The committee continues to monitor this
matter to ensure that Medicare beneficiaries have the necessary
access to timely and accurate appeals of any coverage denial.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Firing of Elizabeth Morris
Senator Grassley wrote a letter to Department of Justice
Inspector General regarding the FBI's alleged violation of its
whistleblower protection regulations. According to former
Special Agent Elizabeth Morris, the FBI terminated her in
retaliation for complaining to the FBI's Office of Professional
Responsibility (FBI-OPR) of a colleague's compromising
practices. Senator Grassley found Ms. Morris's claim very
troubling since it followed closely the FBI's mismanagement of
two other high-profile whistleblower cases. Senator Grassley's
primary concerns were threefold: (1) that individuals within
the FBI may have retaliated against Morris, resulting in her
termination; (2) that FBI-OPR may have conducted a shoddy
initial investigation, favoring hearsay over evidence and
failing to interview exculpatory witnesses; and (3) that the
OIG may have failed in its duty to provide appropriate
notifications to Morris, and simply referred her case back to
the very agency responsible for her complaint.
The Inspector General responded, following an investigation
of its own, that FBI-OPR deemed Morris to have made various
misrepresentations under oath that warranted her termination.
However, neither the Inspector General nor FBI-OPR offered any
discussion of the merits of Ms. Morris's original claims.
Senator Grassley issued another letter to the Inspector General
requesting that a thorough investigation be initiated of Ms.
Morris's original claim. The Senator also sent a letter to FBI-
OPR to determine whether the termination was justified, given
the evidence available. Senator Grassley awaits a response to
his inquiries.
Mishandling of Anthrax Investigation
Senator Grassley has continued to follow closely the FBI
investigation of the mailings of letters laced with anthrax to
several targets in the United States, including members of
Congress and the national media. Until late 2008, the
investigation had yielded no criminal charges. Senator Grassley
had been critical that the FBI's apparent mishandling of the
investigation was a result of the FBI's institutional
resistance to criticism and by the misallocation of resources
toward protecting the FBI's image rather than protecting the
United States. Senator Grassley also expressed dissatisfaction
with the FBI's refusal to provide Congress with periodic
briefings on the status of the investigation. He requested both
a briefing on the status of the investigation and a number of
documents and records relating to the case. The Attorney
General responded with an initial refusal to provide either the
requested documents or a briefing on the status of the
investigation, citing the Department of Justice's policy
against disclosing non-public information concerning pending
law enforcement activities and prosecutions.
However, following additional negotiations, the FBI
Director provided a briefing to Judiciary Committee Chairman
Patrick Leahy and Ranking Member Arlen Specter, as well as
Senator Grassley. The initial portion of the briefing was open
to staff. However, the later portion of the briefing was
Members-only.
In July 2008, Dr. Bruce Ivins died from an apparent
overdose of acetaminophen. Following his death, the FBI
announced that Dr. Ivins had been their lead suspect, that they
were soon to arrest him for the anthrax killings, and that the
FBI would begin the process of closing the anthrax
investigation. Since Dr. Ivins death, the FBI has provided
several briefings for the staffs of Senator Grassley and other
Members of Congress. However, given his misgivings about the
FBI's handling of the case, Senator Grassley will continue to
conduct oversight of the FBI's handling of the investigation.
Significant questions remain unanswered about the scientific
evidence relied upon by the FBI, why that evidence failed to
lead them to Dr. Ivins much earlier in the investigation, how
the FBI entrusted Dr. Ivins with samples of the attack material
during the investigation, and when the FBI first learned of Dr.
Ivins' mental health issues. Senator Grassley has called for an
independent inquiry to assure the public that the FBI's
decision to close its investigation is appropriate.
Mismanagement of Resources Available for Counterterrorism Investigation
and Retaliation Against FBI Whistleblower
Senator Grassley wrote a joint letter with Senate Judiciary
Committee Chairman Specter and Ranking Member Leahy to FBI
Director Robert Mueller regarding the FBI failure to utilize
the experience and expertise of Bassem Youssef, an Arab-
American Special Agent of the FBI. After meeting with his
superiors, Agent Youssef suffered acts of retaliation by the
FBI, including the refusal to transfer Youssef to the Agency's
International Terrorism Operations Section (ITOS).
Senator Grassley testified at a House Judiciary Committee
hearing along with Youssef in May 2008. At that hearing,
Youssef revealed that the ITOS was staffed at only 62 percent
of the funded staffing level. Following the hearing, Senator
Grassley requested GAO to conduct a review of the FBI's human
capital strategy in order to verify and explain the reasons for
the severe understaffing of critical FBI units such as ITOS.
The GAO is working on that assessment.
Weaknesses in FBI Linguistic Capabilities
Senator Grassley and Senator Leahy continued to receive
periodic information from the FBI concerning efforts to improve
the Agency's linguistic translations capabilities and security.
Senator Grassley and Senator Leahy first contacted the FBI in
2002 to express their concerns over reports that the FBI was
unable to quickly and accurately translate recorded
conversations and documents in languages most commonly used by
terrorists. Since 2002, the FBI has invested considerable
effort and resources toward improving the Agency's language
capabilities.
Senator Grassley requested an audit by the Department of
Justice's Inspector General (DOJ OIG) of the FBI's linguist
division. According to the IG, the FBI has increased its
translation personnel and is making headway in reducing its
backlog of untranslated documents. The Senator has requested
future updates, and will continue to monitor the FBI's language
translation program to ensure that the Agency will be prepared
to protect the United States from future terrorist attacks. The
DOJ OIG is working on an update to its previous audit work on
the FBI's Foreign Language Program.
Mueller and Use of the FBI Jet
Senator Grassley received anonymous reports from FBI
personnel that the FBI Director was using an executive luxury
jet at the taxpayer's expense to attend speeches even though:
1) the expense was originally justified as a counterterrorism
tool to make emergency overseas flights; and 2) there are
shorter range FBI aircraft available for senior management to
use for domestic travel. The anonymous whistleblowers also
alleged that the jet is routinely and unnecessarily flown to
and from a nearby Northern Virginia airport to National Airport
in Washington, DC rather than transporting the Director to the
jet via helicopter or motorcade at a much lower expense.
Senator Grassley requested the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) to conduct a general audit of the FBI's aviation
program to examine these and other potential issues. However,
the GAO has failed to initiate work on the request and has
expressed concerns that the FBI would deny access to flight
logs and other documents necessary for a comprehensive audit.
National Security Letters
On March 9, 2007, the Department of Justice, Office of
Inspector General (OIG) released a report entitled ``A Review
of the Federal Bureau of Investigations' Use of National
Security Letters.'' Senator Grassley found that one of the most
disturbing problems exposed by the OIG report was the FBI's use
of so-called ``exigent letters'' to circumvent the National
Security Letter statutes. Under a statutory provision, phone
companies are allowed to voluntarily provide phone records in
an emergency situation when requested by the FBI via a National
Security Letter. However, the OIG report highlighted that the
exigent letters issued by the FBI did not cite that provision
and implied that production of the records was compulsory.
The OIG's report describes how an FBI headquarters division
known as the Communications Analysis Unit (CAU) obtained
information on about 3,000 telephone numbers by issuing 739 of
these ``exigent letters.'' According to the report, the letters
``contained factual misstatements,'' claiming that the FBI had
submitted a subpoena to a U.S. Attorney's office when, in fact,
no subpoena had been submitted. Moreover, the letters were
often issued when there was no emergency and although the FBI
promised to deliver a subpoena later, those subpoenas never
came.
The OIG is conducting a follow-up review jointly with the
FBI's Inspection Division to determine who should be held
accountable for issuing the improper exigent letters.
Sex Offender Information Sharing and Travel Restrictions
Senator Grassley wrote a letter to the Ambassador of Canada
to the United States to raise the concern that the government
of Canada is not providing U.S. law enforcement officials with
sufficient information to effectively secure our common
national border from convicted sex offenders. According to the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the Canadian government
maintained a national registry of sex offenders which was
available to Canadian law enforcement, but not to U.S. law
enforcement. Senator Grassley expressed his concern that the
public announcement of this fact could provide Canadian
convicted sex offenders with strong assurance that they may
migrate to the United States unfettered. Furthermore, this
policy stands in contrast to that of the United States, which
maintains a similar database that is available to the public,
including Canadian officials. Senator Grassley asked the
Ambassador to suggest ways that the two governments could
cooperate so as to share information in a more equitable
manner. The Ambassador's response noted that the RCMP would
consider individual requests for information from U.S.
officials for sexually related offenses, provided that there
are reasonable grounds to believe a Canadian citizen was
involved.
The Senator also wrote a letter to the Secretary of State
to make her aware of the cross-border problem. More
specifically, the Senator wrote that he requested the
Congressional Research Service (CRS) to prepare a memo on
whether the Secretary of State has the discretion to require
registered sex offenders to identify themselves on their
passport applications. The Senator conveyed CRS's finding that
the Department of State has the authority to do so. Thus, the
Senator asked the Secretary of State several clarifying
questions regarding current policy as it relates to the
issuance of U.S. passports to convicted sex criminals. The
Senator also asked whether, in her opinion, Congress should
pass new legislation to tighten restrictions on convicted sex
criminals' ability to access travel documents.
Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley have requested that
the GAO examine passport issuance procedures at the State
Department to assess their effectiveness at preventing certain
classes of passport applicants from receiving travel documents,
including those with tax debts and sex offenders. The GAO has
indicated that, to date, the State Department has not provided
it with access to the data needed to conduct its audit.
Food and Drug Administration
Compensation Management System
Senator Grassley continued his oversight of the Food and
Drug Administration with an inquiry into the myriad of
complaints that emerged about the Agency's pay and benefits
system. The Senator's concern developed out of anecdotes from
FDA employees of under- and overpayment of wages,
discontinuance of insurance benefits, and accidental
termination, among others. In late 2008, the Senator posed his
concerns in a letter to the FDA. Additionally, the Senator
requested an update on the FDA's mandate to hire 1,300 new
employees. The committee has yet to hear back from the FDA, and
is continuing to monitor this situation.
Dr. Victoria Hampshire
In 2005, the committee received allegation about Dr.
Victoria Hampshire. Dr. Hampshire was an FDA scientist and
commissioned officer in the Public Health Service who was
removed and reassigned from her post at the Food and Drug
Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) because
of her work cataloging adverse events on ProHeart 6. ProHeart 6
is a heartworm drug for dogs manufactured by Wyeth's Fort Dodge
Animal Health. Dr. Hampshire's findings regarding the safety of
ProHeart 6 had led to the product's removal from the market.
The committee also received allegations that the company had
conducted an independent investigation into Dr. Hampshire in an
alleged attempt to discredit Dr. Hampshire. In February 2008,
Senator Grassley wrote to the FDA about his findings. The
Senator's investigation not only showed that the company hired
a private investigator to investigate Dr. Hampshire, but also
that the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigation conducted its
own internal investigation. The FDA investigation resulted in a
criminal referral to law enforcement officials in Maryland that
contained misstatements of fact. In June 2008, the FDA
announced the limited reintroduction of ProHeart 6 to the
market. Senator Grassley is continuing to monitor this matter.
In addition, he has asked the Government Accountability Office
to examine the activities and operations of the Office of
Criminal Investigation.
ESAs
The developments surrounding erythropoiesis-stimulating
agents (ESAs) underscored Senator Grassley's ongoing concern
over the need for greater transparency in the financial
relationships between drug makers and doctors. According to a
government report, the Medicare system has created incentives
for using more doses than necessary of ESAs. ESAs are used for
the treatment of anemia in patients with chronic kidney failure
as well as chemotherapy-induced anemia in cancer patients.
Press reports described how doctors were profiting through
rebates and discounts they received from purchasing ESAs from
pharmaceutical companies and then collecting payments from
Medicare and private insurers, often above the price they paid
for the drugs. An FDA advisory committee recommended new
restrictions on prescribing information for ESAs and additional
clinical trials to assess the drugs' safety in light of reports
of increased risk of cardiovascular disease, tumor growth, and
even death associated with higher than recommended doses of the
drugs. As a result, the drug labeling for ESAs was revised to
restrict their use in treating patients with cancer. In
addition, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)
modified its coverage policies to limit Medicare reimbursement
for ESAs. Congress also passed legislation requiring the costs
of ESAs to be bundled into payments for all other dialysis-
related services rather than be reimbursed separately starting
2011.
As part of his inquiry, Senator Grassley sent letters to
CMS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Amgen Inc.,
Johnson & Johnson and Ortho Biotech. In addition to requesting
information on the payment for, and safety and use of ESAs, the
Senator asked the FDA to identify any new tools it might need
to gain access to necessary information from drug makers. In
the 111th Congress, the Senator will continue to address issues
involving these drugs should they arise.
Foreign Inspections and Heparin
In August 2007, Senator Grassley focused attention on the
Food and Drug Administration's ability to ensure the safety of
foreign-manufactured pharmaceuticals, in particular the
inadequacy of the Agency's inspections of foreign
pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities. Senator Grassley
sought information on what inspection measures the FDA has in
place and how it intends to improve its operations in the
future. Based on the FDA's response, Senator Grassley learned
of further concerning issues regarding the safety of foreign-
based manufacturing facilities. Specifically, while China
remains the world's largest producer of active pharmaceutical
ingredients, the FDA conducted a mere 11 inspections of Chinese
manufacturing facilities in 2007. Meanwhile, the FDA conducted
58 inspections of already highly-regulated Swiss, German and
French manufacturing facilities during the same time period.
This seeming misplacement of the FDA's limited resources led
Senator Grassley to suggest the implementation of registration
fees for pharmaceutical manufacturers. According to the
Senator, such a fee, which would mimic the existing procedure
already in place for foreign device manufacturers, would
augment FDA's budget and help pay for more comprehensive
foreign inspections.
The discovery of contaminated heparin, a blood thinning
drug, in early 2008 shined an additional spotlight on FDA's
inspection capabilities. According to the FDA, the Chinese
facility that produced the tainted heparin was supposed to be
inspected, but because of ``human error, and inadequate
information technology systems,'' it was not. Senator Grassley
wrote a letter to the FDA to find out how such an oversight
could have happened, and asked the U.S. heparin producer about
its own inspection activities of their foreign counterparts.
Further briefings with the FDA identified additional
vulnerabilities, like its lack of foreign language speaking
inspectors which leaves the Agency reliant on translators
provided by the very facility being inspected. Taken as a
whole, Senator Grassley remains troubled that the Agency
charged with ensuring the safety and efficacy of America's
pharmaceuticals is grossly under-resourced at a time when
foreign production of drugs is growing at record rates.
This concern led the Senator to join his colleagues in
requesting the Government Accountability Office audit of the
FDA's foreign inspections operations. The resulting report
concluded that: 1) the FDA databases containing information on
foreign pharmaceutical manufacturers are incomplete and
inaccurate; 2) the FDA inspects a far smaller percentage of
foreign facilities than it does U.S. facilities; and 3) while
the FDA has issued notices of deficiencies to foreign
facilities, its follow-up to determine their continued
compliance is not always done in a timely manner. These
findings remain troubling for the Senator, and he will continue
to monitor the situation.
In addition, the Senator co-sponsored a bill with Senator
Edward M. Kennedy to enhance registration and inspection of
domestic and foreign manufacturing facilities.
Fraud in Device Applications
During the 110th Congress, Senator Grassley received a
series of anonymous allegations suggesting fraud in medical
device applications that were approved by the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA). The allegations raised further concerns
over the adequacy of staffing at the FDA, as well as the degree
to which the FDA is aware of conflicts between device
manufacturers and their clinical investigators. Senator
Grassley requested conflict of interest information from a
device manufacturer listed in the anonymous letters. That
company's response satisfied the Senator's concern that results
of conflicted clinical investigators would materially impact
the overall test results of the device. Additionally, Senator
Grassley wrote a letter to the Commissioner of the Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) in an effort to notify the Agency, as
well as determine the Agency's policies and protocol regarding
device applications and conflicts of interest.
As of the close of the 110th Congress, Senator Grassley had
not received a response from the FDA. The Senator will continue
to monitor this situation.
Off-Label Marketing
In February 2008, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
released draft guidance on the dissemination of scientific
literature and reference publications on new or off-label uses
to physicians by pharmaceutical and medical device
manufacturers. Off-label uses are uses that have not been
cleared by the FDA as safe and effective. Physicians can
prescribe any drug or device approved for marketing by the FDA
as they see fit. Pharmaceutical and device manufacturers,
however, are not allowed to promote products for off-label
uses. Senator Grassley wrote to the Agency to express concern
that FDA's proposal would expand the industry's ability to
promote off-label use of drugs and devices through scientific
literature, even while there is growing evidence of efforts to
manipulate such literature to industry advantage.
Senator Grassley also asked the Government Accountability
Office (GAO) to examine how the FDA oversees the promotion of
off-label uses of prescription drugs. The GAO found that the
FDA does not have staff designated specifically to monitor
whether companies are following the rule against marketing
drugs for unapproved uses. It also found that the FDA had not
acted on a 2006 GAO recommendation to track which materials it
has reviewed. Thus, FDA still lacks a standardized tracking
system, which impedes the Agency's efforts to identify off-
label promotion.
The FDA has not issued final guidance on the dissemination
of scientific literature supporting off-label uses. The Senator
will continue to monitor this matter.
Unapproved Drugs
Throughout the 110th Congress, Senator Grassley continued
his inquiry into reports that thousands of prescription drugs
sold in the United States contain active ingredients that are
not approved by FDA. While FDA recognized its gravity, the
situation highlighted weaknesses in communication and
coordination between the FDA, which approves prescription drugs
for marketing to the American public, and the Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which pays billions of
dollars per year for prescription drugs under the Medicare and
Medicaid programs. Unapproved drugs may pose heightened risks
to consumers because their safety, efficacy, labeling, and
quality have not been reviewed by FDA. Furthermore, the
continued prescribing of, and reimbursement by CMS for such
unapproved drugs that may not be safe or effective, wastes
taxpayer money. The Senator is concerned not only about the
safety of these unapproved drugs, but also by the breakdown in
communication between the agencies that may have led to
millions in over-reimbursement by the Federal Government.
The Senator sent several letters to CMS and FDA in his
attempt to better understand why drugs, which have not been
reviewed by FDA, continue to be covered by Medicare and/or
Medicaid. He continues to ask why FDA has not compiled a
working list of unapproved drugs that could be made available
to the public. In addition, Senator Grassley has raised
questions about CMS's Medicaid State drug utilization database,
a database available for public review which summarizes drug
use and reimbursement by States. While CMS warned that the
database cannot be relied upon due to its dynamic nature and
because CMS does not audit the information that is submitted by
individual States, the database remains available to the public
without any disclosure of its potential inaccuracies.
Senator Grassley will continue to monitor the situation
surrounding unapproved drugs in the 111th Congress.
Office of Criminal Investigations
Since its creation in 1992, Terrell L. Vermillion has
headed up the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Office of
Criminal Investigations (OCI). After receiving complaints
regarding the improper removal of an FDA safety officer,
Senator Grassley identified concerns regarding the operation
and activities of OCI. The complaints were received from
various sources alleging that, at times, OCI used improper
investigative techniques, including abusive tactics.
The Senator asked the Government Accountability Office
(GAO) to perform an audit of OCI's budget and activities and to
review OCI's investigative standards and techniques. The GAO
inquiry is ongoing.
Vioxx and Ghost Writing
In 2004, Senator Grassley held a hearing of the Senate
Committee on Finance on the withdrawal of the painkiller Vioxx
from the U.S. market to examine the relationship between the
drug industry and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and to
expose shortcomings in the drug safety system. In 2008, the
Senator raised concerns about allegations that Merck, the
manufacturer of Vioxx, selectively reported mortality data from
clinical trials of Vioxx that had been conducted in patients
with Alzheimer disease or cognitive impairment. Researchers had
reviewed documents from recent litigation against Merck and
published their findings in the Journal of the American Medical
Association. According to the authors, Merck misled the FDA by
initially submitting mortality data that minimized the
appearance of an increased risk of death.
The researchers also reported that Merck hired a medical
publishing company, Scientific Therapeutics Information Inc.,
to draft manuscripts for the company's Vioxx studies and seek
academic investigators to sign on as the primary author(s),
even though the academic investigators may not be intimately
familiar with the underlying data and/or relevant
documentation. This is a practice known as ghostwriting. The
Senator's inquiries into this practice are ongoing. Information
in scientific journals can have a significant impact on
doctors' prescribing behavior and, in turn, on the taxpayer
because Medicare and Medicaid pay billions of dollars for
prescription drugs. The Senator also is concerned that patients
may be harmed if doctors are being misled to prescribe drugs
that may not work and/or are unsafe.
National Institutes of Health
NIH Extramural Program and Payments to Doctors
Beginning May 2007, Senator Grassley began asking questions
about the financial disclosures filed with the University of
Cincinnati by Dr. Melissa DelBello, a psychiatrist. The Senator
found that Dr. DelBello received tens of thousands of dollars
from a pharmaceutical company after doing a study finding that
the same company's drug should be used to treat children with
psychiatric disorders. The Senator then wrote the company and
discovered tens of thousands of dollars in payments that Dr.
DelBello did not report to her university, as required. In
addition, Dr. DelBello is the primary investigator on several
grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Senator
Grassley notified the NIH that this failure to report outside
payments violated NIH regulations on financial disclosure.
Grassley's staff then sent letters to almost 20
universities asking about the financial disclosure forms filed
by almost 30 different doctors. Letters were also sent to
several top drug companies asking about the payments they had
made to these doctors. Beginning in the summer of 2008, letters
were sent to Harvard, Stanford, the University of Texas, and
Emory University about discrepancies in their doctors'
financial disclosures. The NIH was also notified about these
discrepancies and removed a Stanford professor from a grant and
stopped a grant that was going to Emory.
Senator Grassley is continuing his inquiry into medical-
related financial disclosures.
Pharmaceuticals and Devices
Avandia
The committee initiated an investigation into the diabetes
drug, Avandia, and the FDA's response to reports that the drug
poses serious patient health risks. According to a study based
on a review of 42 clinical trials and published in the New
England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Steve Nissen of the Cleveland
Clinic found that Avandia increases the likelihood of heart
attacks (Nissen Study). As a result of this determination, the
committee sent letters to the FDA and to Avandia's sponsor,
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), to determine why it did not conduct
long-term safety studies, instead favoring small, short-term
trials. Additionally, the committee wanted to know what the FDA
and GSK knew about potential adverse events related to the
drug. The FDA later hosted a safety panel on Avandia, which
recommended that the drug remain on the market.
The committee also investigated the unauthorized release of
the Nissen Study to GSK by Dr. Steven Haffner. Dr. Haffner was
contracted by the New England Journal of Medicine to peer
review Dr. Nissen's study for quality. However, Dr. Haffner
breached this duty, as well as his affirmative responsibility
to maintain independence and integrity, by faxing a copy of the
draft study to GSK weeks before its official release. Senators
Baucus and Grassley sent a letter to GSK asking the company
what they did once they received the study.
The committee's work is continuing on Avandia.
Dr. Buse and Avandia
In 1999, Dr. Buse argued in several public fora that aside
from its benefit of controlling glucose levels in diabetics,
Avandia may carry cardiovascular risks. Shortly thereafter,
Avandia's manufacturer (which later merged to form
GlaxoSmithKline, or GSK) allegedly initiated a campaign
designed to intimidate Dr. Buse, including complaints to his
superiors and threats of a lawsuit. After hearing of these
allegations in 2007, the Finance Committee initiated an inquiry
into the allegations of intimidation. At an FDA safety hearing
on Avandia in the summer of 2007, FDA scientists presented an
analysis estimating that Avandia caused approximately 83,000
excess heart attacks since coming on the market. In November
2007, the committee released a staff report on the allegations
that GSK intimidated Dr. Buse. The report concluded that,
despite GSK's denial of any intimidation, the company's own
internal documents ``reveal what appears to be an orchestrated
plan to stifle the opinion of Dr. John Buse. . . .''
Medtronic
In September 2007, Senator Grassley initiated an
investigation into Medtronic Inc.'s alleged payments to doctors
to encourage the use and promotion of its products. According
to press articles, one prominent surgeon purportedly received
$400,000 annually from a Medtronic subsidiary in return for
eight days of consulting work per year. Such examples continue
to concern Senator Grassley that compensation and other
benefits given by drug and device manufacturers distort the
physicians' objectivity in decision-making.
The Senator sent Medtronic a letter conveying his concern,
and requested a briefing on the practice of payments and other
transfers of value to physicians. Additionally, the letter
sought information on Medtronic's transfer of funds to
organizations such as professional societies and hospitals.
Specifically, the Senator requested documentation on all
payments made by Medtronic to the Medical Education & Research
Institute (MERI) and Broadwater; two medical education service
companies which were also recipients of their own letters from
the Senator. The Senator also asked for payments made to
several Medtronic consultants. This inquiry is ongoing.
Paxil
In February of 2008, the New Scientist ran a story about an
expert report that was recently unsealed in a court case
against GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). The report alleged that GSK
submitted inaccurate data on suicide risk in their initial
submission to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). This
inaccurate data underestimated the risk of suicide from Paxil.
Senator Grassley asked GSK to explain the allegations in the
expert report and asked the FDA to look into the matter. This
inquiry is ongoing and new allegations have arisen that GSK
withheld safety data when publishing a study on Paxil in 2001,
which is called Study 329.
Vytorin
Following reports that Schering-Plough and Merck failed to
release the results of a study called ENHANCE that evaluated
its drug Vytorin, Senator Grassley sent letters to both
companies. Vytorin is a joint venture of Merck and Schering-
Plough and the New York Times reported that the ENHANCE trial
was completed in 2006, but had never been published. When the
results were later published in early 2008, it was found that
Vytorin did not appear to provide cardiac protection. The
Senator asked for all studies published on Vytorin and for
payments made to independent physicians who had advised the
companies on the drug. Based on media reports that executives
at the companies had sold large shares of stock, Grassley also
asked when the companies had unblinded the study to examine the
issue of insider trading.
Grassley later sent the companies a letter discussing their
respective internal emails which implied that officials from
the companies may have been interfering with the ENHANCE trial,
which was being conducted by academics in Europe. Grassley also
pointed out that the Federal Government spent hundreds of
millions of dollars on Vytorin during the time ENHANCE trial
was complete but was still not published. This inquiry is
ongoing.
Miscellaneous
Department of Veterans Affairs and Chantix
In mid-2008, Ranking Member Grassley grew concerned over
press reports alleging that the Department of Veterans Affairs
(VA) failed to warn veterans in a timely manner of risks
associated with the experimental anti-smoking drug Chantix.
This case is especially alarming since combat veterans have a
high incidence of mental illness and therefore an increased
vulnerability to the very risks the drug is alleged to
increase--suicidal tendency. The Senator contacted the VA to
better understand the timeline of events and the guidelines
governing notifications to study participants. The VA is
currently undergoing reforms to enhance communication with its
participants, and Senator Grassley will continue to monitor
this issue in the 111th Congress.
Disability Insurance Review
The Senate Finance Committee is investigating whether
insurance companies are forcing able-bodied people to apply for
Social Security disability benefits, worsening a severe backlog
in the government program while increasing their own profits.
It was reported in the press that disability insurers were
making claimants apply for Social Security even when they did
not qualify, and were cutting off insurance checks if the
claimants failed to do so. Insurance companies argue that
requiring a Social Security assessment is a standard practice
that helps their claimants by making sure they get the best
coverage from all possible sources.
As part of the committee's ongoing inquiry, Ranking Member
Grassley sent letters to nine insurers, requesting detailed
information about their handling of disability claims. Included
in the group of nine are: Aetna, Cigna, Hartford, Lincoln,
MetLife, Prudential, Reliance Standard, Standard, and Unum. The
Senator told the insurers to report on how many of their
claimants they had compelled to apply for Social Security in
the last five years; how many appeals they had required people
to file; and what methods they had used to screen the people
beforehand to ensure that they were indeed eligible for
benefits. Additionally, Senator Grassley asked the nine
insurers to explain how their claimants' Social Security
applications affected their reserves and to ''describe the
timing and financial flows resulting from these adjustments.''
The committee's review of this matter is on-going.
Equity Ownership of Nursing Homes
During the 110th Congress, Chairman Baucus and Ranking
Member Grassley sent requests for information to four large
private equity firms concerning the quality of care at nursing
homes within their investment portfolios. According to press
reports, the average investor-owned nursing home had fewer
registered nurses per resident and a higher share of serious
health deficiencies. Furthermore, investor-owned facilities
scored below average on 12 of 14 national nursing home quality
of care metrics, suggesting a detrimental relationship between
quality of care and ownership by large investment companies.
Senator Grassley was particularly concerned with the
possibility that the investment vehicle used to operate the
nursing homes may effectively shield investors from liability,
thereby reducing the transparency and accountability, which is
crucial to protecting the health and appropriate care of their
residents.
In their request for information, the Senators requested a
comprehensive list of all nursing home properties and entities
within each private equity firm's investment portfolio.
Additionally, the Senators requested that the investment firms
provide all contact information, provider numbers, and
contracts or agreements for each nursing home facility. Upon
reviewing the firms' responses, Senator Grassley requested that
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) do a comprehensive
audit of nursing homes which are financially related to large
investment companies. The Senator is awaiting the GAO's report,
and will continue to monitor this issue in the 111th Congress.
Financial Crisis Oversight
Senator Grassley took an active role in overseeing the
various Federal responses to the economic and financial
collapse of 2008:
Following the failure of Bear Stearns and its subsequent
brokered sale to Bank of America, Senators Baucus and Grassley
sought and has received briefings by the Federal Reserve Board
of New York (FRBNY). The Senators remain concerned about the
value of the Maiden Lane portfolio, and that it is managed in
the best interest of the taxpayer.
In response to the FRBNY's bailout of American
International Group (AIG), the Senators requested and received
a briefing on AIG's use of Federal funds, and the status of
their distressed mortgage-backed securities portfolio. The
Senators will continue to monitor AIG's fiscal activities in
the 111th Congress.
To manage the financial fallout resulting from the mortgage
and credit crisis, the Treasury Department unveiled the
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). In performing the
committee's oversight function, Senator Grassley receives
bimonthly briefings from the GAO on the state of the TARP and
the use of its funds.
To slow the rate of home foreclosures, the FDIC proposed a
home loan modification program that would reduce the monthly
mortgage payment of qualified borrowers. Senator Grassley
expressed his concern that the FDIC program contains few
provisions to deter fraud, and that it may unintentionally
benefit those who fraudulently obtained mortgages. The Senator
has requested the FDIC-OIG review a sample of eligible loans to
determine the extent of fraud in the population of mortgages.
The Senator will continue to monitor the FDIC's proposed plan
in the 111th Congress.
Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals
In August 2006, the Ravenwood Nursing and Rehabilitation
Center (Ravenwood) located in Waterloo, Iowa, and owned by Care
Initiatives, terminated a nursing assistant who disclosed to a
patient's family the perceived need for that patient's
emergency care and possible transfer to another nursing
facility. Shortly thereafter, the Iowa Department of
Investigations and Appeals (IDIA) conducted an inquiry into the
handling of Ravenwood's patient and dismissal of its employee.
Ranking Member Grassley found the results of that inquiry to be
lackluster, as IDIA failed to conduct even one interview or
contact the complainant. After a series of critical news
articles regarding its Ravenwood inquiry, IDIA requested that
the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) conduct a
review of the investigation. The CMS report confirmed the
Senator's finding that IDIA failed to conduct a serious and
complete investigation into Ravenwood's patient care and
termination of its employee. The Senator has since asked CMS to
take action to rectify and discourage IDIA's failings. He has
also requested that GAO investigate whether complaints are
being adequately reviewed at the State level. He will continue
his oversight of nursing home quality of care, as well as
investigations of complaints, in the 111th Congress.
Legal Services Corporation
Senators Chuck Grassley and Pete Domenici asked the Legal
Services Corporation (LSC) to account for its spending
practices and management of resources as the legal aid
corporation faces a possible budget shortfall. Federal tax
dollars provide about 99 percent of the Corporation's
resources. A December 2007 report by the Government
Accountability Office (GAO) documented spending by the Legal
Services Corporation (LSC) on interest-free loans for employees
of Corporation grantees, late-fee payments on overdue accounts,
questionable contracts for computer services and lobbyist
registration fees. The Office of the Inspector General at the
LSC also determined that the Corporation spent public tax
dollars on $14 cookies, limousine rides, premium travel and
expensive hotels for board meetings. ``Bad management and
abusive spending is jeopardizing the ability of the Legal
Services Corporation to provide legal assistance to people in
need,'' Grassley said. ``Congress needs to hold the Corporation
and its board of directors accountable on behalf of taxpayers,
who provide most of the money to run the Legal Services
Corporation, and for the fundamental right in our society to
legal representation.'' Senator Grassley is actively monitoring
the LSC and continues to hear from whistleblowers. In addition,
the GAO will be conducting a second review of the LSC and its
operations.
Pharmaceutical Companies' Use of Educational Grants
Chairman Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley wrote to 18
leading drug manufacturers and five leading biotech companies
to inquire about grants for continuing medical education (CME).
In recent years, there have been concerns that CME has been
used in the promotion of off-label drugs and medical devices.
The purpose of the request was to determine whether, and to
what extent, educational grants are used to support off label
promotion and if further guidance or legislation is needed.
Educational grants were identified by the Department of Health
and Human Services Office of Inspector General as a key risk
area in its 2003 OIG Compliance Program Guidance for
pharmaceutical manufacturers. Senator Grassley stated that he
wanted to be sure that educational grants are not just a
``backdoor way to funnel money to doctors and other individuals
who can influence prescribing and purchasing of particular
prescription medicines, including off-label prescriptions.''
Given the potential risk that off-label promotion creates
overutilization of Federal monies, the committee is working to
ensure that Federal monies are protected and utilized to the
fullest extent with the lowest risk of waste and mismanagement.
The committee released a report on its finding in April 2007
and an inquiry into this matter is ongoing.
MONITORED OVERSIGHT INITIATIVES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Preferential Treatment Wrongfully Being Afforded to Supervisory FBI
Personnel in Disciplinary Matters
Senator Grassley wrote letters to FBI Director Robert
Mueller concerning the decision reached by FBI officials who
allegedly retaliated against Special Agent Cecilia Woods for
reporting to FBI officials that her former supervisor, Torrez,
had engaged in an inappropriate sexual relationship with a paid
FBI informant. Torrez was then the FBI's Legal Attache for
Panama. After reporting the misconduct by Torrez, Agent Woods
alleged that she was targeted by the FBI for reporting the
misconduct and was subjected to a series of disciplinary
actions that ultimately resulted in her early retirement from
the Agency. Circumstances support that these actions against
Woods were taken for the purpose of retaliating against her for
reporting that her supervisor, Torrez, eventually admitted to
engaging in an illicit sexual relationship with a paid FBI
informant and was also investigated and disciplined. After
discovering that Torrez's employment had not been terminated by
the FBI, despite Torrez having engaged in a sexual relationship
with a paid informant, the committee requested a copy of the
FBI's written standards for discipline of agents involved in
various acts of misconduct. A review of the standards revealed
that the FBI's written standards of conduct do not mandate
immediate dismissal from the FBI of all agents who engage in
sexual misconduct with paid informants. The FBI refused to
provide documents from its Office of Professional
Responsibility regarding the investigation and discipline of
the supervisor, citing pending EEO litigation on the part of
Woods. Despite the end of that EEO litigation and renewed
requests for information, the FBI has continued to withhold the
documents, and Senator Grassley continues to await documents.
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
Medicaid Drug Prices
In the 108th Congress, the committee initiated its inquiry
into the use of an exception to the best-price reporting
requirements that applies to the Medicaid drug rebate program.
To participate in the drug rebate program, a drug company must
report to the government its best price, which is the lowest
price at which its drug was sold to any purchaser in the United
States. The committee released its findings in a letter to CMS
in January 2007 and continues to monitor issues related to the
Medicaid drug rebate program.
Oncology Demonstration Project
In 2006, Ranking Member Grassley requested the HHS-OIG to
evaluate the cost and effectiveness of the CMS oncology
demonstration to improve the quality of care for chemotherapy
patients. CMS estimated that Medicare and its beneficiaries
spent $300 million under this demonstration project in 2005.
CMS modified the demonstration project and lowered
reimbursement for 2006. The committee will be monitoring
implementation of the 2009 demonstration project in the 111th
Congress.
Resolution of Audit Recommendations
In November 2008, the HHS-OIG released a status review of
audit recommendations for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services. In the report, the HHS-OIG found that CMS had
resolved approximately 75 percent of its outstanding audit
recommendations during fiscal years 2006 and 2007, but that
over 80 percent of those recommendations were not resolved
during the required 6-month period. Therefore, the HHS-OIG
recommended that CMS resolve all open audit recommendations
within the required audit resolution period. Senator Grassley
will continue to monitor CMS's progress in implementing the
HHS-OIG's recommendations.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey
In 2006, Senators Baucus and Grassley sought assurances
that the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey was
on the right track toward reversing governance problems that
lead to allegations of serious Medicare and Medicaid fraud,
corruption and mismanagement. Among other things, committee
staff interviewed Dr. Vladek, the interim president of UMDNJ.
In addition, the committee kept in contact with the U.S.
Attorney for New Jersey, the Federal Monitor, the interim
President of UMDNJ, and New Jersey State investigators.
Senators Baucus and Grassley continue to monitor the progress
being made by the medical school.
Department of Health and Human Services
Anthrax Vaccine Stockpile
The committee is continuing to monitor developments related
to the stockpiling of anthrax vaccine. Senator Grassley began
his inquiries into the adequacy of the Nation's supply of
anthrax vaccine in the Strategic National Stockpile in 2005.
Food and Drug Administration
Cyberonics
In February 2006, the committee staff issued a report to
the Chairman and Ranking Member of the committee concerning
their findings regarding the FDA's handling of Cyberonics,
Inc.'s pre-market approval application to add a new
indication--treatment-resistant depression--to Cyberonics'
Vagus Nerve Stimulation Therapy System, an implanted device.
While inquiries into this specific matter have concluded, the
committee continues to monitor FDA's oversight of medical
devices.
Ketek
In April 2006, Senator Grassley initiated an investigation
into the FDA's approval and post-market surveillance of
telithromycin (``Ketek''), an antibiotic approved by the FDA in
April 2004. In December 2006, the committee reported on a
portion of its findings to the Commissioner of the FDA. The
committee reported additional findings to the Commissioner in
December 2007. On February 12, 2007, the label for Ketek was
updated to include a boxed warning. The new label also dropped
two previously approved indications. Senator Grassley will
continue to monitor developments regarding Ketek.
Medicaid Reimbursements for Adderall and Adderall XR
In the 108th Congress, the committee examined a number of
allegations regarding Adderall and Adderall XR. Adderall is a
prescription amphetamine most often used to treat Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in both children and adults. The
committee will continue to address this issue should any
developments arise.
Pharmacy Compounding of Inhalation Drugs
In 2006, the committee received allegations concerning the
inappropriate compounding of inhalation drugs. While
recognizing the various legitimate needs for compounding
medications, Senator Grassley was concerned about the health
and safety of the patients using these drugs as well as the
financial impact that unsafe and/or ineffective compounded
medications may have on the Medicare program in particular and
the health care system generally. As of July 1, 2007, Medicare
is no longer reimbursing providers for compounded inhalation
drugs. The committee will continue to monitor this matter
during the 111th Congress.
PolyHeme
In the 109th Congress, the committee led an inquiry into
the FDA's handling of a large clinical trial for PolyHeme, a
synthetic blood substitute that was being tested in major
metropolitan areas across the country. Northfield Laboratories
Inc. presented the results of that study in 2007 and announced
that it intends to seek FDA approval for PolyHeme. The
committee is continuing to monitor this matter.
SFBC and Clinical Trial Oversight
In November 2005, the committee examined the practices of
SFBC, the largest clinical research organization (``CRO'') in
the country, following media reports that the CRO had failed to
adequately safeguard test subjects involved in clinical trials.
In addition to examining this CRO, the committee also began
looking at the entire CRO industry as well as the Department of
Health and Human Services' oversight of the industry. Senator
Grassley's inquiry into SFBC concluded during the 109th
Congress, however he continues to work to ensure the proper and
effective oversight of human subject studies.
NOMINATIONS
William E. Grayson, of California, to be a Member of the
Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board for a term
expiring Sept. 14, 2010, vice Nancy Killefer, term
expired.
Sept. 15, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Edwin Eck, of Montana, to be a Member of the Internal Revenue
Service Oversight Board for a term expiring Sept. 14,
2013. (Reappointment)
Sept. 15, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Oct. 2, 2008--Senate Committee on Finance discharged by
Unanimous Consent.
Oct. 2, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Anthony W. Ryan, of Massachusetts, to be an Under Secretary of
the Treasury, vice Robert K. Steel, resigned.
July 31, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Richard A. Anderson, of Georgia, to be a Member of the Internal
Revenue Service Oversight Board for a term expiring
Sept. 14, 2013, vice Paul Jones, term expiring.
June 26, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jason J. Fichtner, of Virginia, to be Deputy Commissioner of
Social Security for the term expiring Jan. 19, 2013,
vice Andrew G. Biggs, resigned.
June 25, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
J. V. Schwan, of Virginia, to be a Member of the United States
International Trade Commission for a term expiring June
16, 2017, vice Deanna Tanner Okun, term expired.
June 18, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
A. Ellen Terpstra, of New York, to be Chief Agricultural
Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade
Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice
Richard T. Crowder.
Mar. 31, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Kenneth E. Carfine, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Internal
Revenue Service Oversight Board for a term expiring
Sept. 21, 2010, vice Robert M. Tobias, term expired.
Feb. 26, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Edwin Eck, of Montana, to be a Member of the Internal Revenue
Service Oversight Board for a term expiring Sept. 14,
2008, vice Karen Hastie Williams, term expired.
Feb. 26, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Apr. 17, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-415.
June 18, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 18, 2008--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 18, 2008--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 636. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
July 7, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Elizabeth Crewson Paris, of the District of Columbia, to be a
Judge of the United States Tax Court for a term of 15
years, vice Joel Gerber, retired.
Feb. 14, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Apr. 17, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-415.
June 18, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 18, 2008--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 18, 2008--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 635. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
July 7, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
David Gustafson, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United
States Tax Court for a term of 15 years, vice Carolyn
P. Chiechi, term expired.
Feb. 14, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Apr. 17, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-415.
June 18, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 18, 2008--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 18, 2008--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 634. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
July 7, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Jeffrey Robert Brown, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Board
of Trustees of the Federal Supplementary Medical
Insurance Trust Fund for a term of 4 years, vice Thomas
R. Saving.
Feb. 14, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jeffrey Robert Brown, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Board
of Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors
Insurance Trust Fund and the Federal Disability
Insurance Trust Fund for a term of 4 years, vice Thomas
R. Saving.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jeffrey Robert Brown, of Illinois, to be a Member of the Board
of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust
Fund for a term of 4 years, vice Thomas R. Saving.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Deanna Tanner Okun, of Idaho, to be a Deputy United States
Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice
Karan K. Bhatia.
Dec. 19, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Apr. 17, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-415.
June 18, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Douglas H. Shulman, of the District of Columbia, to be
Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the term
prescribed by law, vice Mark W. Everson.
Dec. 11, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jan. 29, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Mar. 6, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Mar. 6, 2008--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Mar. 6, 2008--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 480. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Mar. 13, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Richard T. Morrison, of Virginia, to be a Judge of the United
States Tax Court for a term of 15 years, vice Carolyn
Miller Parr, term expired.
Nov. 15, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Apr. 17, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-415.
June 18, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 18, 2008--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 18, 2008--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 633. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
July 7, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Eric M. Thorson, of Virginia, to be Inspector General,
Department of the Treasury, vice Harold Damelin,
resigned.
Nov. 15, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance; when reported by Committee on
Finance to be sequentially referred to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for not to
exceed 20 calendar days under authority of the order of
the Senate of Jan. 9, 2007.
Apr. 17, 2008--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-415.
June 18, 2008--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
June 18, 2008--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
June 18, 2008--Referred sequentially to the Committee on
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for not to
exceed 20 days pursuant to the order of Jan. 9, 2007.
July 8, 2008--Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs discharged pursuant to an order of
Jan. 9, 2007.
July 8, 2008--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 691. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Aug. 1, 2008--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Christina H. Pearson, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary
of Health and Human Services, vice Suzanne C.
DeFrancis, resigned.
Sept. 25, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Nov. 1, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Dec. 13, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Dec. 13, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Dec. 13, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 409. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Dec. 19, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Christopher A. Padilla, of the District of Columbia, to be
Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade,
vice Franklin L. Lavin, resigned.
Sept. 4, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Sept. 20, 2007--By unanimous consent agreement, Joint
referral to Committees on Finance and Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs.
Sept. 20, 2007--Referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs by unanimous consent
agreement of Sept. 20, 2007 stating that the nomination
be jointly referred to the Committee on Banking,
Housing, and Urban Affairs and to the Committee on
Finance.
Nov. 1, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Dec. 13, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Dec. 13, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Dec. 19, 2007--Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and
Urban Affairs discharged Unanimous Consent.
Dec. 19, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Benjamin Eric Sasse, of Nebraska, to be an Assistant Secretary
of Health and Human Services, vice Michael O'Grady,
resigned.
July 26, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Nov. 1, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Dec. 13, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Dec. 13, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Dec. 13, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 408. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Dec. 19, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Diane D. Rath, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Family
Support, Department of Health and Human Services, vice
Wade F. Horn, resigned.
July 11, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
David H. McCormick, of Pennsylvania, to be an Under Secretary
of the Treasury, vice Timothy D. Adams.
June 4, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 25, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 26, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
July 26, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
July 26, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 254. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Aug. 1, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Andrew G. Biggs, of New York, to be Deputy Commissioner of
Social Security for a term expiring Jan. 19, 2013, vice
James B. Lockhart III, to which position he was
appointed during the last recess of the Senate.
May 16, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jan. 23, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Kerry N. Weems, of New Mexico, to be Administrator of the
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, vice Mark
B. McClellan.
May 3, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 25, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Tevi David Troy, of New York, to be Deputy Secretary of Health
and Human Services, vice Alex Azar II.
May 3, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 25, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Aug. 3, 2007--Senate Committee on Finance discharged by
Unanimous Consent.
Aug. 3, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Charles E. F. Millard, of New York, to be Director of the
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. (New Position)
May 3, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred jointly to
the Committee on Finance; Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions pursuant to Sec. 411(c) of Pub. L. 109-280.
Sept. 6, 2007--Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions. Hearings held.
Nov. 14, 2007--Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions. Ordered to be reported favorably.
July 25, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
Nov. 14, 2007--Reported by Senator Kennedy, Committee on
Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, without printed
report.
Dec. 13, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Dec. 13, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Dec. 13, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 410. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Dec. 14, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Peter B. McCarthy, of Wisconsin, to be an Assistant Secretary
of the Treasury, vice Sandra L. Pack.
Apr. 10, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
July 25, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
July 26, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
July 26, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
July 26, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 253. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Aug. 1, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Michael J. Astrue, of Massachusetts, to be Commissioner of
Social Security for a term expiring Jan. 19, 2013, vice
Jo Anne Barnhart.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jan. 24, 2007--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings
printed: S.Hrg. 110-222.
Jan. 31, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Jan. 31, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Jan. 31, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 13. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Feb. 1, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Andrew G. Biggs, of New York, to be Deputy Commissioner of
Social Security for the term expiring Jan. 19, 2013,
vice James B. Lockhart III.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jan. 23, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Peter E. Cianchette, of Maine, to be a Member of the Internal
Revenue Service Oversight Board for a term expiring
Sept. 14, 2010, vice Nancy Killefer, term expired.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 26, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Daniel Meron, of Maryland, to be General Counsel of the
Department of Health and Human Services, vice Alex Azar
II.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Thomas R. Saving, of Texas, to be a Member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust
Fund for a term of 4 years. (Reappointment)
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Thomas R. Saving, of Texas, to be a Member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
for a term of 4 years. (Reappointment)
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Thomas R. Saving, of Texas, to be a Member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance
Trust Fund for a term of 4 years. (Reappointment)
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Dean A. Pinkert, of Virginia, to be a Member of the United
States International Trade Commission for the term
expiring Dec. 16, 2015, vice Jennifer Anne Hillman,
term expired.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jan. 31, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Jan. 31, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Jan. 31, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 12. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Feb. 1, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
John L. Palmer, of New York, to be a Member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund and the Federal Disability Insurance Trust
Fund for a term of 4 years. (Reappointment)
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Catherine G. West, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member
of the Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board for a
term expiring Sept. 14, 2008, vice Karen Hastie
Williams, term expired.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 26, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
Irving A. Williamson, of New York, to be a Member of the United
States International Trade Commission for the term
expiring June 16, 2014, vice Stephen Koplan, term
expired.
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Jan. 31, 2007--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported
favorably.
Jan. 31, 2007--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on
Finance, without printed report.
Jan. 31, 2007--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar
No. 11. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond to
requests to appear and testify before any duly
constituted committee of the Senate.
Feb. 1, 2007--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
John L. Palmer, of New York, to be a Member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust Fund
for a term of 4 years. (Reappointment)
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
John L. Palmer, of New York, to be a Member of the Board of
Trustees of the Federal Supplementary Medical Insurance
Trust Fund for a term of 4 years. (Reappointment)
Jan. 9, 2007--Received in the Senate and referred to the
Committee on Finance.
Feb. 12, 2008--Received message of withdrawal of nomination
from the President.
BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS REFERRED
TO THE COMMITTEE
There were 797 Senate bills and 19 House bills referred to
the committee for consideration during the 110th Congress. In
addition, 16 Senate and House resolutions (joint, concurrent or
simple resolutions) were referred to the committee.
REPORTS, PRINTS, AND STUDIES
During the 110th Congress, the committee and supporting
Joint Committees, prepared and issued 19 reports, special
prints, and studies on the following topics:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Title Senate Report To accompany
------------------------------------------------------------------------
PATIENT SAFETY AND ABUSE 110-474........... S. 1577
PREVENTION ACT.
ELDER JUSTICE ACT............... 110-470........... S. 1070
IMPROVED ADOPTION INCENTIVES AND 110-467........... S. 3038
RELATIVE GUARDIANSHIP SUPPORT
ACT OF 2008.
APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF IMPORT 110-444........... S.J. Res. 41
RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE
BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
ACT OF 2003.
IRAN SANCTIONS ACT OF 2008...... 110-408........... S. 3227
MEDICARE, MEDICAID, AND SCHIP 110-255........... S. 2532
INDIAN HEALTH CARE IMPROVEMENT
ACT OF 2007 FILED, UNDER
AUTHORITY OF THE ORDER OF THE
SENATE OF DECEMBER 19, 2007.
UNITED STATES-PERU TRADE 110-249........... S. 2113
PROMOTION AGREEMENT
IMPLEMENTATION ACT.
CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE OVERSIGHT 110-248........... S. 1607
REFORM ACT OF 2007.
AMERICAN INFRASTRUCTURE 110-228........... S. 2345
INVESTMENT AND IMPROVEMENT ACT
OF 2007.
HEARTLAND, HABITAT, HARVEST, AND 110-206........... S. 2242
HORTICULTURE ACT OF 2007.
HABITAT AND LAND CONSERVATION 110-205........... S. 2223
ACT OF 2007.
INCREASING THE STATUTORY LIMIT 110-184........... H.J. Res. 43
ON THE PUBLIC DEBT.
APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF IMPORT 110-146........... S.J. Res. 16
RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE
BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
ACT OF 2003 FILED, UNDER
AUTHORITY OF THE ORDER OF THE
SENATE OF AUGUST 3, 2007.
REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE 110-41............ ..................
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE OF THE
UNITED STATES SENATE DURING THE
109TH CONGRESS PURSUANT TO RULE
XXVI OF THE STANDING RULES OF
THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
SMALL BUSINESS AND WORK 110-1............. S. 349
OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2007.
RULES OF PROCEDURE, SENATE S.Prt. 110-37..... ..................
COMMITTEE ON FINANCE.
THE FIRING OF AN SEC ATTORNEY S.Prt. 110-28..... ..................
AND THE INVESTIGATION OF PEQUOT
CAPITAL MANAGEMENT.
USE OF EDUCATIONAL GRANTS BY S.Prt. 110-21..... ..................
PHARMACEUTICAL MANUFACTURERS.
TRADE PROMOTION AUTHORITY S.Prt. 110-10..... ..................
ANNOTATED.
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OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS
During the 110th Congress, a total of 882 official
communications were submitted to the committee. Of these, 9
were Presidential Messages; 801 were Executive Communications--
these communications include reports to advise and inform the
Congress, required annual or semi-annual agency budget and
activities summaries, and requests for legislative action. The
committee also received 72 Petitions and Memorials.