[Senate Report 112-11]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


112th Congress 
 1st Session                     SENATE                          Report
                                                                 112-11
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     

                                     

                                     


                              R E P O R T

                           ON THE ACTIVITIES

                                 of the

                          COMMITTEE ON FINANCE

                                 of the

                          UNITED STATES SENATE

                               during the

                             111th CONGRESS

                              pursuant to

                    Rule XXVI of the Standing Rules

                                 of the

                          UNITED STATES SENATE




                 March 31, 2011.--Ordered to be printed
?

                 [111th 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            OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico            JON KYL, Arizona
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas         MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
RON WYDEN, Oregon                    PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York         JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JOHN CORNYN, Texas
BILL NELSON, Florida
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

                    Russell Sullivan, Staff Director

        Kolan Davis, Republican Staff Director and Chief Counsel

                             SUBCOMMITTEES

                                 ______

                              HEALTH CARE

            JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman

JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico            ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas         JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
RON WYDEN, Oregon                    MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York         JOHN CORNYN, Texas
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            JON KYL, Arizona
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
BILL NELSON, Florida                 MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

                                 ______

             TAXATION, IRS OVERSIGHT, AND LONG-TERM GROWTH

                  KENT CONRAD, North Dakota, Chairman

MAX BAUCUS, Montana                  JON KYL, Arizona
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West         ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
Virginia                             OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
RON WYDEN, Oregon                    PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York         JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           JOHN CORNYN, Texas
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

                                  (ii)
?

             ENERGY, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE

                  JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico, Chairman

KENT CONRAD, North Dakota            JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas         JOHN CORNYN, Texas
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan            ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington           MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming
BILL NELSON, Florida
THOMAS R. CARPER, Delaware

                                 ______

              SOCIAL SECURITY, PENSIONS, AND FAMILY POLICY

                 BLANCHE L. LINCOLN, Arkansas, Chairman

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West         PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
Virginia                             JON KYL, Arizona
KENT CONRAD, North Dakota            JOHN ENSIGN, Nevada
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York
BILL NELSON, Florida

                                 ______

        INTERNATIONAL TRADE, CUSTOMS, AND GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

                      RON WYDEN, Oregon, Chairman

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West         MIKE CRAPO, Idaho
Virginia                             OLYMPIA J. SNOWE, Maine
JEFF BINGAMAN, New Mexico            JIM BUNNING, Kentucky
JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts         PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
DEBBIE STABENOW, Michigan
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey

                                 (iii)
?

                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       U.S. Senate,
                                      Committee on Finance,
                                    Washington, DC, March 31, 2011.
Hon. Nancy Erickson,
Secretary, U.S. Senate,
Washington, DC.
    Dear Madam Secretary: 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 111th 
Congress.

            Sincerely,
                                              Max Baucus, Chairman.
      

                                  (v)
                                     



                            C O N T E N T S

                               __________
                                                                   Page

111th 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............................    10
    Senators' Only Meetings......................................    10
    Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure    10
Trade--Summary of Activities.....................................    13
    Full Committee Hearings......................................    15
    Full Committee Executive Meetings............................    16
    Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global 
      Competitiveness............................................    16
Health--Summary of Activities....................................    19
    Committee Hearings and Member Meetings.......................    21
    Full Committee Executive Meetings............................    23
    Senators' Only Meetings......................................    23
    Subcommittee on Health Care..................................    24
Social Security--Summary of Activities...........................    25
    Full Committee Hearings......................................    25
Oversight and Investigations.....................................    27
    Overview.....................................................    27
    Full Committee Hearings......................................    27
    Oversight Activities.........................................    29
    Department of Health and Human Services......................    33
    Food and Drug Administration.................................    35
    Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services...................    41
    National Institutes of Health................................    47
    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...................    50
    Department of Treasury/FRBNY.................................    51
    Securities and Exchange Commission...........................    54
    Social Security Administration...............................    56
    American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.......................    57
    GAO and OIG Access and Independence..........................    62
    Pharmaceuticals and Devices: Conflicts of Interest...........    65
    Department of Homeland Security..............................    67
    Federal Bureau of Investigation..............................    68
    OIG Oversight................................................    71
    GAO Requests.................................................    73
    Other Oversight Activities...................................    75
    Legislation..................................................    83
Nominations......................................................    87
Bills and Resolutions Referred to the Committee..................   103
Reports, Prints, and Studies.....................................   105
Official Communications..........................................   107

                                 (vii)

  
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     112-11

======================================================================



 
 REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON FINANCE DURING THE 111TH 
                                CONGRESS

                                _______
                                

                 March 31, 2011.--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 111th 
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 111th Congress, the Senate Finance Committee 
played a critical role in passing economic stimulus 
legislation, reforming the nation's health care system and 
addressing the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. The 
committee held hearings to support its legislation and to 
explore such issues as climate change, middle-class tax relief, 
small business job creation and comprehensive tax reform.
2009 Legislation
    On February 10, 2009, H.R. 1, the ``American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009,'' passed in the Senate. The act 
contained numerous tax cuts designed to help families and small 
businesses through the financial crisis and spur economic 
growth. It became law on February 17, 2009 (Pub. L. No. 111-5).
    On November 4, 2009, H.R. 3548, the ``Worker, 
Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009,'' passed in 
the Senate. The act extended unemployment benefits and the 
homebuyer tax credit and expanded the net operating loss 
carryback provision. It was signed into law on November 6, 2009 
(Pub. L. No. 111-92).
    On December 24, 2009, H.R. 3590, the ``Patient Protection 
and Affordable Care Act,'' which provided tax credits to small 
businesses and individuals for the purchase of health care and 
made other tax changes related to the nation's health care 
system, was passed by the Senate. It was signed into law on 
March 23, 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-148).
2010 Legislation
    On January 21, 2010, H.R. 4462, the ``Haiti Assistance 
Income Tax Incentive Act'' was passed in the Senate. The act 
altered, for purposes of the tax deduction for charitable 
contributions, the date for which taxpayers can account for 
cash contributions for the relief of victims of the earthquake 
in Haiti. It became law on January 22, 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-
126).
    On March 17, 2010, H.R. 2847, the ``Hiring Incentives to 
Restore Employment Act,'' passed in the Senate. The act 
contained tax incentives designed to encourage hiring and lower 
unemployment. It was signed into law on March 18, 2010 (Pub. L. 
No. 111-147).
    On March 25, 2010, H.R. 4872, the ``Health Care and 
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010,'' passed in the Senate. 
The act made a number of health-related financing and revenue 
changes to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. It 
was signed into law on March 30, 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152).
    On June 18, 2010, H.R. 3962, the ``Preservation of Access 
to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 
2010,'' was passed in the Senate. The act provided temporary 
funding relief for pension plans. It became law on June 25, 
2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-192).
    On August 5, 2010, H.R. 1586, the ``Education Jobs and 
Medicaid Assistance Act,'' which made a number of changes 
relating to the taxation of foreign income, passed in the 
Senate. It became law on August 10, 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-226).
    On September 16, 2010, H.R. 5297, the ``Small Business Jobs 
Act of 2010,'' was passed in the Senate. The act provided tax 
incentives to help small businesses access capital, stimulate 
investment and promote entrepreneurship and tax equity. It 
became law on September 27, 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-240).
    On December 15, 2010, H.R. 4853, the ``Tax Relief, 
Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 
2010,'' was passed in the Senate. The act extended for two 
years the tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 and certain other 
tax cuts expiring in 2009 and 2010, provided 2 years of AMT 
relief, enacted a temporary payroll tax reduction for employees 
and expanded and extended bonus depreciation for businesses. It 
became law on December 17, 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-312).

                 Committee Hearings and Member Meetings

2009
March 4, 2009--``The President's Fiscal Year 2010 Budget 
    Proposal: Part One.'' The purpose of this hearing was to 
    introduce to the committee the administration's FY2010 
    proposed budget. Testimony was received from the Honorable 
    Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, United States 
    Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC.
March 17, 2009--``Tax Issues Related to Ponzi Schemes and an 
    Update on Offshore Tax Evasion Legislation.'' The purpose 
    of this hearing was to discuss the effects of Ponzi schemes 
    on the American taxpayers, as well as their effects on 
    charitable contributions. The hearing also examined the 
    overseas tax gap. Testimony was received from Doug Shulman, 
    Internal Revenue Service Commissioner; Michael Brostek, 
    Director of Tax Issues, Strategic Issues Team of the US 
    Government Accountability Office; and William Josephson of 
    Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, LLP.
March 26, 2009--``The Middle Income Tax Relief Question: 
    Extend, Modify, or Expire?'' This hearing focused on the 
    potential options for extension of the middle-class tax 
    cuts and other tax provisions set to expire at the end of 
    2010. Testimony was heard from Paul Taylor, Executive Vice 
    President, Pew Research Center, Washington, DC; George Yin, 
    Edwin S. Cohen Distinguished Professor of Law and Taxation, 
    University of Virginia, School of Law, Charlottesville, VA; 
    Robert Greenstein, Ph.D., Executive Director, Center on 
    Budget and Policy Priorities, Washington, DC; and Alan 
    Viard, Ph.D., Resident Scholar, American Enterprise 
    Institute for Public Policy Research, Washington, DC.
April 23, 2009--``Technology Neutrality in Energy Tax: Issues 
    and Options.'' The purpose of this hearing was to discuss 
    technology neutrality with respect to energy tax 
    incentives. Testimony was received from Gilbert Metcalf, 
    Ph.D., Professor of Economics, Tufts University, Medford, 
    MA; David Greene, Ph.D., Corporate Fellow, Oak Ridge 
    National Laboratory, Center for Transportation Analysis, 
    National Transportation Research Center, Knoxville, TN; and 
    John Urbanchuk, Ph.D., Director, LECG, LLC, Wayne, PA.
May 7, 2009--``Auctioning under Cap and Trade: Design, 
    Participation and Distribution of Revenues.'' The purpose 
    of this hearing was to understand the effects of a cap and 
    trade program on the economy and to discuss how cap and 
    trade legislation should be structured. Testimony was heard 
    from the Honorable Alan Krueger, Assistant Secretary for 
    Economic Policy, United States Department of the Treasury, 
    Washington, DC; Dr. Douglas Elmendorf, Ph.D., Director, 
    Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC; Dr. Jos 
    Delbeke, Deputy Director-General, European Commission 
    Directorate-General for the Environment, Brussels, Belgium; 
    and Dr. Anne Smith, Ph.D., Vice President, Practice Leader 
    of Climate & Sustainability, CRA International, Washington, 
    DC.
June 16, 2009--``Climate Change Legislation: Tax 
    Considerations.'' This hearing was held to discuss how tax 
    law should treat emission allowances under a cap and trade 
    program. Testimony was received from Gary Hufbauer, 
    Reginald Jones Senior Fellow, Peterson Institute for 
    International Economics, Washington, DC; Mark Price, 
    Principal-in-Charge, Financial Institutions and Products, 
    Washington National Tax, KPMG LLP, Washington, DC; and 
    Keith Butler, Senior Vice President of Tax, Duke Energy, 
    Charlotte, NC.
August 4, 2009--``Climate Change Legislation: Allowance and 
    Revenue Distribution.'' The purpose of this hearing was to 
    discuss ways to distribute emission allowances and revenues 
    under a cap and trade program. Testimony was received from 
    John Stephenson, Director, Environmental Protection Issues, 
    National Resources and Environment Team, United States 
    Government Accountability Office, Washington, DC; Dallas 
    Burtraw, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Resources for the Future, 
    Washington, DC; Alan Viard, Ph.D., Resident Scholar, 
    American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, 
    Washington, DC; and Nathaniel Keohane, Ph.D., Director of 
    Economic Policy and Analysis, Environmental Defense Fund, 
    New York, NY.
November 10, 2009--``Climate Change Legislation: Considerations 
    for Future Jobs.'' The purpose of this hearing was to 
    discuss the effects climate change legislation may have on 
    employment and the economy. The hearing also considered the 
    role of the Senate Finance Committee with respect to 
    climate change legislation. Testimony was heard from 
    Abraham Breehey, Director, Legislative Affairs, 
    International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, Iron 
    Shipbuilders, Blacksmiths, Forgers and Helpers, Department 
    of Government Affairs, Fairfax, VA; Carol Berrigan, 
    Director, Industry Infrastructure, Nuclear Energy 
    Institute, Washington, DC; Dr. Kenneth P. Green, Resident 
    Scholar, American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy 
    Research, Washington, DC; Dr. Margo Thorning, Senior Vice 
    President and Chief Economist, American Council for Capitol 
    Formation, Washington, DC; and Van Ton-Quinlivan, Director, 
    Workforce Development and Strategic Programs, Pacific Gas 
    and Electric Company, San Francisco, CA.
2010
February 2, 2010--``The President's Fiscal Year 2011 Budget.'' 
    This hearing was held to discuss the President's budget for 
    FY 2011 and the President's tax cut proposals for job 
    creation. Testimony was received from the Honorable Timothy 
    Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury, United States 
    Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC.
February 4, 2010--``The President's Fiscal Year 2011 Budget.'' 
    The purpose of this hearing was to discuss the President's 
    FY 2011 budget proposal and its proposed temporary economic 
    recovery measures. Testimony was received from the 
    Honorable Peter Orszag, Ph.D., Director, Office of 
    Management and Budget, Washington, DC.
February 23, 2010--``Trade and Tax Issues Relating to Small 
    Business Job Creation.'' The purpose of this hearing was to 
    discuss the impact small businesses have on job creation 
    and to consider various policy options to increase 
    employment. Testimony was heard from Jim Sanford, Assistant 
    United States Trade Representative for Small Business, 
    Market Access and Industrial Competitiveness, Washington, 
    DC; Spencer Williams, President, West Paw Design, Bozeman, 
    MT; Dr. Eric Toder, Institute Fellow, Urban Institute, 
    Washington, DC; Chris Edwards, Director, Tax Policy 
    Studies, Cato Institute, Washington, DC; and Bill Rys, Tax 
    Counsel, National Federation of Independent Business, 
    Washington, DC.
April 20, 2010--``The President's Proposed Fee on Financial 
    Institutions Regarding TARP: Part 1.'' This hearing was 
    held to discuss potential options to recover the losses 
    resulting from the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Testimony 
    was heard from the Honorable Neil Barofsky, Special 
    Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program 
    (SIGTARP), United States Department of Treasury, 
    Washington, DC.
May 4, 2010--``The President's Proposed Fee on Financial 
    Institutions Regarding TARP: Part 2.'' The purpose of this 
    hearing was to discuss the administration's proposed fee on 
    financial institutions and understand what effect the fee 
    would have on businesses and the economy. Testimony was 
    received from the Honorable Timothy Geithner, Secretary of 
    the Treasury, United States Department of the Treasury, 
    Washington, DC; the Honorable Steve Bartlett, President and 
    CEO, Financial Services Roundtable, Washington, DC; John K. 
    Sorensen, President and CEO, Iowa Bankers Association, 
    Johnston, IA; James Chessen, Chief Economist, American 
    Bankers Association, Washington, DC; and Patrick S. Baird, 
    Chairman, AEGON, USA, LLC, Cedar Rapids, IA.
May 11, 2010--``The President's Proposed Fee on Financial 
    Institutions Regarding TARP: Part 3.'' The third and final 
    hearing on the President's proposed fee on financial 
    institutions was held to discuss the extent of the economic 
    effects of the financial crisis, and how best to structure 
    a financial institutions fee. Testimony was received from 
    David C. John, Senior Research Fellow, The Heritage 
    Foundation, Washington, DC; Douglas Elliott, Economic 
    Studies, Brookings Institution, New York, NY; Edward 
    DeMarco, Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 
    Washington, DC; and Nancy McLernon, President and CEO, 
    Organization for International Investment, Washington, DC.
July 14, 2010--``The Future of Individual Tax Rates: Effects on 
    Economic Growth and Distribution.'' The purpose of this 
    hearing was to discuss the expiration of the 2001 and 2003 
    tax cuts and the implications of extending the tax cuts on 
    the national deficit. Testimony was received from Carol 
    Markman, Certified Public Accountant, Feldman, Meinberg and 
    Co. LLP, Syosset, NY; David Marzahl, President, Center for 
    Economic Progress, Chicago, IL; Dr. Donald Marron, 
    Director, Tax Policy Center, Urban Institute, Washington, 
    DC; Dr. Douglas Holtz-Eakin, President, American Action 
    Forum, Washington, DC; and Dr. Leonard Burman, Daniel 
    Patrick Moynihan Professor of Public Affairs, Maxwell 
    School, University of Syracuse, Syracuse, NY.
September 22, 2010--``Tax and Fiscal Policy: Effects on the 
    Military and Veterans Community.'' The purpose of this 
    hearing was to discuss the impact that current tax and 
    fiscal policies have on military personnel, their families, 
    and the veteran community. Testimony was heard from 
    Specialist Dan Dobyns, Director, State Family Programs for 
    Montana National Guard Family Programs, Helena, MT; Staff 
    Sergeant Michael Noyce-Merino, Montana National Guard, 
    former ``Noncommissioned Officer (NCO) of the Year'' for 
    2008, and winner of the U.S. Army's 2008 ``Best Warrior'' 
    competition, Fort Harrison, MT; Dr. Mark Darrah, President 
    and Chief Executive Officer, Athena GTX, Inc., Des Moines, 
    IA; Captain Marshall Hanson USNR (Retired), Director of 
    Legislative and Military Policy, Reserve Officers 
    Association of the United States, also representing The 
    Military Coalition (TMC), Washington, DC; and Timothy 
    Embree, Legislative Associate, Iraq and Afghanistan 
    Veterans of America (IAVA), Washington, DC.
September 23, 2010--``Tax Reform: Lessons from the Tax Reform 
    Act of 1986.'' The purpose of this hearing was to discuss 
    lessons learned from the Tax Reform Act of 1986. Testimony 
    was received from The Honorable Richard A. Gephardt, 
    President and CEO, Gephardt Group, Washington, DC; The 
    Honorable William R. Archer, Jr, Senior Policy Advisor, 
    PricewaterhouseCoopers, Washington, DC; The Honorable John 
    E. Chapoton, Strategic Advisor, Brown Advisory, Washington, 
    DC; and Randall D. Weiss, Ph.D, Managing Director, Economic 
    Research, The Conference Board, New York, NY.
December 2, 2010--``Tax Reform: Historical Trends in Income and 
    Revenue.'' The purpose of this hearing, the second in a 
    series on tax reform, was to look at historical trends in 
    income and in taxes as background for tax reform. Testimony 
    was received from Dr. Douglas Elmendorf, Director, 
    Congressional Budget Office, Washington, DC; Mr. Thomas A. 
    Barthold, Chief of Staff, Joint Committee on Taxation, 
    Washington, DC; and Dr. Mark J. Mazur, Deputy Assistant 
    Secretary for Tax Analysis, United States Department of 
    Treasury, Washington, DC.

                   Full Committee Executive Meetings

2009
January 27, 2009--Open Executive Session to Consider an 
    Original Bill Titled, ``The American Recovery and 
    Reinvestment Act.''

                        Senators' Only Meetings

2009
January 8, 2009--Senators' Only Meeting to discuss the 
    committee agenda for the month of January.
January 14, 2009--Senators' Only Meeting to meet with Douglas 
    Elmendorf, Director-designate of the Congressional Budget 
    Office to discuss economic recovery legislation.
2010
March 4, 2010--Senators' Only Meeting to discuss the committee 
    agenda.
March 17, 2010--Senators' Only Meeting to discuss the economic 
    policy with Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke.
July 22, 2010--Senators' Only Meeting to discuss the committee 
    agenda.

               Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources,
                       and Infrastructure Hearing

2009
September 10, 2009--Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, 
    and Infrastructure of the Committee on Finance: ``Oil and 
    Gas Tax Provisions: A Consideration of the President's FY 
    2010 Budget Proposal.'' This hearing was held to discuss 
    the modifications of the taxation of domestic oil and gas 
    activities contained within the President's FY 2010 budget 
    proposal. Testimony was heard from the Honorable Alan 
    Krueger, Assistant Secretary for Economic Policy, United 
    States Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC; Dr. 
    Stephen P.A. Brown, Nonresident Fellow, Resources for the 
    Future, Arlington, TX; Calvin Johnson, Andrews and Kurth 
    Centennial Professor of Law, The University of Texas School 
    of Law, Austin, TX; Larry Nichols, Chairman, American 
    Petroleum Institute, Oklahoma City, OK; Kevin Book, 
    Managing Director, ClearView Energy Partners, LLC, 
    Washington, DC; and Henry Kleemeier, Chairman, Independent 
    Petroleum Association of America, Tulsa, OK.
2010
May 20, 2010--``Clean Technology Manufacturing Competitiveness: 
    The Role of Tax Incentives.'' The purpose of this hearing 
    was to discuss the role of tax incentives with regard to 
    competitiveness in clean technology manufacturing. 
    Testimony was heard from Mark Mazur, Deputy Assistant 
    Secretary for Tax Analysis, United States Department of 
    Treasury, Washington, DC; Henry Kelly, Principal Deputy 
    Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable 
    Energy, United States Department of Energy, Washington, DC; 
    Robert Atkinson, President, Information Technology and 
    Innovation Foundation, Washington, DC; Jon Sakoda, Partner, 
    New Enterprise Associates, Chevy Chase, MD; Douglas Parks, 
    Senior Vice President for Business Development and 
    Attraction, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, 
    Lansing, MI; Kevin Book, Managing Director, ClearView 
    Energy Partners, LLC, Washington, DC; Karen Alderman 
    Harbert, President and CEO, Institute for 21st Century 
    Energy, United States Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC; 
    and J.D. Foster, Norman B. Ture Senior Fellow, Economics of 
    Fiscal Policy, The Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC.
                                 TRADE

                         SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

    During the 111th 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 activity is 
provided below.
    During the first session, the committee held several 
hearings. The committee convened a hearing on the U.S.-Panama 
Trade Promotion Agreement, receiving testimony from the Office 
of the United States Trade Representative and key stakeholders, 
including agriculture, manufacturing, and labor union 
representatives. The committee also held a hearing on the 
international trade aspects of climate change legislation, 
focusing on the findings of a Government Accountability Office 
report commissioned by the Chairman. The committee also 
convened a hearing on S. 1631, the Customs Facilitation and 
Trade Enforcement Act of 2009, introduced by the Chairman and 
Ranking Member, to strengthen trade facilitation and 
enforcement.
    The committee convened an open executive session to 
consider S.J. Res. 17, a joint resolution approving the 
reauthorization and renewal of import restrictions contained in 
the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. The committee 
also convened hearings and met in open executive sessions to 
consider the nominations of Ronald Kirk, to be U.S. Trade 
Representative; Miriam Sapiro to be a Deputy U.S. Trade 
Representative; Demetrios Marantis, to be a Deputy U.S. Trade 
Representative; Michael Punke, to be a Deputy U.S. Trade 
Representative; Islam Siddiqui, to be Chief Agricultural 
Negotiator in the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative; Lael 
Brainard, to be Under Secretary of the Treasury for 
International Affairs; and Charles Collyns, to be Assistant 
Secretary of the Treasury for International Finance.
    The Chairman and Ranking Member also worked together to 
reauthorize and expand Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) 
programs in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 
(H.R. 1). H.R. 1, which the Senate approved on February 13, 
2009, expanded TAA coverage to both workers and firms in the 
services sector and to workers whose jobs have been off-shored 
to any country; increased training, health coverage, and other 
benefits available for TAA certified workers; and increased 
flexibility in program requirements to allow more workers, 
firms, farmers, and fishermen to participate in TAA (Pub. L. 
111-5).
    The Chairman and Ranking Member also worked together to 
extend trade preference programs. On December 22, 2009, the 
Senate passed H.R. 4284, which extended the Generalized System 
of Preferences and the Andean Trade Promotion Act (ATPA) until 
December 31, 2010 (Pub. L. 111-124). The bill also required the 
U.S. Trade Representative to evaluate the compliance of ATPA 
beneficiary countries with the program's eligibility criteria 
and to submit a report on the results of that evaluation to 
Congress by June 30, 2010.
    In the second session, the committee held a hearing on 
trade and tax issues relating to small business job creation, 
hearing testimony from the Assistant U.S. Trade Representative 
for Small Business, Market Access, and Industrial 
Competitiveness and a small business owner from Bozeman, MT. 
The committee also held a hearing on the 2010 trade agenda, 
hearing testimony from U.S. Trade Representative Ronald Kirk. 
The committee also convened a hearing to consider options for 
reforming U.S. trade preference programs, with witnesses 
representing major U.S. importers. And the committee convened a 
hearing on the U.S.-China economic relationship with Secretary 
of the Treasury Tim Geithner and a separate hearing on the 
U.S.-China trade relationship with Secretary of Commerce Gary 
Locke and U.S. Trade Representative Ronald Kirk.
    The committee convened in open executive session to 
consider S.J. Res. 29, a joint resolution approving the 
reauthorization and renewal of import restrictions contained in 
the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003. The committee 
also convened hearings and met in open executive session to 
consider the nominations of Francisco Sanchez, to be Under 
Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, and Michael 
Camunez, to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Market 
Access and Compliance. The committee also held a nomination 
hearing for Alan Bersin, to be Commissioner of Customs for U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection.
    In response to the devastating earthquake that struck Haiti 
in January 2010, the Chairman and Ranking Member worked 
together to expand Haiti's duty-free access to the U.S. market. 
In May 2010, the Senate passed H.R. 5160, the Haiti Economic 
Lift Program Act, which expanded duty-free access to the U.S. 
market for certain products produced in Haiti and extended the 
Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and the Haitian 
Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act 
through September 30, 2020 (Pub. L. 111-171).
    The Chairman and Ranking Member also worked together to 
enact the U.S. Manufacturing Enhancement Act, H.R. 4380, which 
suspended or reduced the duty rates on hundreds of 
manufacturing inputs not available in the United States. The 
bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent on July 27, 2010 
(Pub. L. 111-227). The Chairman and Ranking Member also worked 
together to extend trade preference and TAA programs. On 
December 22, 2010, the Senate passed H.R. 6517, which extended 
the TAA and ATPA programs for six weeks (Pub. L. 111-344). In 
addition, the Chairman and Ranking Member worked together to 
extend the U.S. import surcharge on ethyl alcohol (ethanol). On 
December 15, 2010, the Senate passed H.R. 4853, which extended 
the import surcharge through December 31, 2011 (Pub. L. 111-
312).

                        Full Committee Hearings

2009
May 21, 2009--``The U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement.'' 
    Received testimony from Everett Eissenstat, Assistant U.S. 
    Trade Representative for the Americas; Jim Owens, Chairman 
    and Chief Executive Officer of Caterpillar, Inc; Thea Lee, 
    Policy Director and Chief International Economist at the 
    AFL-CIO; and Sam Carney, President-elect of the National 
    Pork Producers Association.
July 8, 2009--``Climate Change Legislation: International Trade 
    Considerations.'' Received testimony from Loren Yager, the 
    Director of the International Affairs and Trade Team at the 
    U.S. Government Accountability Office; Eileen Claussen, the 
    President of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change; and 
    Gary Horlick, an international trade attorney.
October 20, 2009--``S. 1631, the Customs Facilitation and Trade 
    Enforcement Act of 2009.'' Received testimony from Mr. 
    Jerry Cook, Vice President of Government and Trade 
    Relations of Hanesbrand, Inc.; Mr. Rick Cotton, Executive 
    Vice President and General Counsel of NBC Universal; Mr. 
    Ted Sherman, Director of Global Trade Services of Target 
    Corporation; and Ms. Mary Ann Comstock, Brokerage 
    Compliance Manager for UPS Supply Chain Solutions.
2010
February 23, 2010--``Trade and Tax Issues Relating to Small 
    Business Job Creation.'' Received testimony from Jim 
    Sanford, Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Small 
    Business, Market Access, and Industrial Competitiveness; 
    Spencer Williams, President, West Paw Design; Dr. Eric 
    Toder, Institute Fellow, The Urban Institute; Chris 
    Edwards, Director, Tax Policy Studies, Cato Institute; and 
    Bill Rys, Tax Counsel, National Federation of Independent 
    Business.
March 3, 2010--``The 2010 Trade Agenda.'' Received testimony 
    from Ambassador Ronald Kirk, U.S. Trade Representative.
March 9, 2010--``U.S. Preference Programs: Options for 
    Reform.'' Received testimony from Eric Norris, Executive 
    Director of Global Marketing, FMC Lithium Division; Edward 
    Gresser, Senior Fellow and Director, Trade and Global 
    Markets Project, Democratic Leadership Council; Jeff Vogt, 
    Global Economic Policy Specialist, Policy Department, AFL-
    CIO; and Gregory Simpkins, Vice President of Policy and 
    Programs, Leon H. Sullivan Foundation.
June 10, 2010--``The U.S.-China Economic Relationship: A New 
    Approach for a New China.'' Received testimony from the 
    Hon. Timothy Geithner, Secretary of the Treasury.
June 23, 2010--``The U.S.-China Trade Relationship: Finding a 
    New Path Forward.'' Received testimony from the Hon. Gary 
    Locke, Secretary of Commerce; and Ambassador Ronald Kirk, 
    U.S. Trade Representative.

                   Full Committee Executive Meetings

2009
July 23, 2009--Open Executive Session to consider S.J. Res. 17, 
    a joint resolution approving the reauthorization and 
    renewal of import restrictions contained in the Burmese 
    Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003.
2010
June 30, 2010--Open Executive Session to consider S.J. Res. 29, 
    a joint resolution approving the renewal of import 
    restrictions contained in the Burmese Freedom and Democracy 
    Act of 2003.

             Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs,
                  and Global Competitiveness Hearings

2009
December 9, 2009--``Exports Place on the Path of Economic 
    Recovery.'' Received testimony from the Honorable Amy 
    Klobuchar, Senator from Minnesota; the Honorable George 
    LeMieux, Senator from Florida; Rochelle Lipsitz, Deputy 
    Director General of the United States Foreign and Commerce 
    Service, U.S. Department of Commerce; Alexandre Mas, Chief 
    Economist, U.S. Department of Labor; Dr. Loren Yager, 
    Director of International Affairs and Trade, U.S. 
    Government Accountability Office; Howard Rosen, Visiting 
    Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics; Bob 
    Beisner, Vice President, SolarWorld Industries America; and 
    Tamara Harney, HMI Worldwide.
2010
April 29, 2010--``Doubling U.S. Exports: Are U.S. Sea Ports 
    Ready for the Challenge?'' Received testimony from Polly 
    Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, 
    U.S. Department of Transportation; Nicole Lamb-Hale, 
    Assistant Secretary for Manufacturing and Services, U.S. 
    Department of Commerce; Leal Sundet, Coast Committeeman, 
    International Longshore and Warehouse Union; Steve Larson, 
    Chairman and President of Cat Logistics and Vice President 
    of Caterpillar Inc.; Errol Rice, Executive Vice President, 
    Montana Stockgrowers Association; Bill Wyatt, Executive 
    Director, Port of Portland; Phil Lutes, Deputy Managing 
    Director, Seaport Division, Port of Seattle; Larry Paulson, 
    Executive Director, Port of Vancouver; and Jeff Bishop, 
    Executive Director, Oregon International Ports of Coos Bay.
July 14, 2010--``Marine Wealth: Promoting Conservation and 
    Advancing American Exports.'' Received testimony from Ted 
    Danson, Board Member, Oceana; David Schorr, Fellow, World 
    Wildlife Fund; Rod Moore, President, West Coast Seafood 
    Processors; Tom Bastoni, Vice President (Scallop Division), 
    American Pride Seafoods; Eric Schwab, Assistant 
    Administrator for Fisheries, National Oceanic and 
    Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); and Mark Linscott, 
    Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Environment and 
    National Resources, Office the United States Trade 
    Representative.
November 18, 2010--``International Trade in the Digital 
    Economy.'' Received testimony from Dr. Catherine Mann, 
    Professor of Economics, Brandeis University; Ed Black, 
    President and CEO, Computer and Communications Industry 
    Association; Daniel Burton, Senior Vice President for 
    Global Public Policy, Salesforce.com; Mike Sax, Board 
    President, Association for Competitive Technology (ACT); 
    and Greg Slater, Director of Trade and Competition Policy, 
    Intel Corporation.
                                 HEALTH

                         SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

    Health Care Programs--During the 111th Congress, the 
committee focused its efforts to reauthorize the Children's 
Health Insurance Program (CHIP), pass the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act, and enact comprehensive health care reform.
    In January of the first session, Chairman Baucus worked to 
pass the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization 
Act of 2009 (CHIPRA). CHIPRA, S.275, was successfully reported 
out of the Senate Finance Committee by a vote of 12 to 7 on 
January 15, 2009. The Senate debated the measure as a 
substitute to H.R. 2. The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 
66 to 32 on January 29, 2009. The House passed the identical 
bill on February 4, 2009. CHIPRA extended CHIP through 
September 30, 2013 and made changes to the program, such as 
offering states outreach and enrollment incentives, provisions 
intended to strengthen quality of care and health outcomes, and 
increase access to benefits.
    Also during the first session, the Finance Committee marked 
up S. 350, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). 
ARRA was successfully reported out of the Senate Finance 
Committee by a vote of 14 to 9 on January 27, 2009. S. 350 was 
combined with S.336, a bill reported out of the Senate 
Committee on Appropriations, and sent to the Senate for debate 
as a substitute to H.R. 1. The bill passed the Senate by a vote 
of 61 to 37 on February 10, 2009. A bill resolving the 
differences between the House and the Senate was subsequently 
passed by a vote of 60 to 38 on February 13, 2009. Health 
provisions in ARRA included an increase in states' Medicaid 
match in order to relieve budgetary strains due to the 
recession, an expansion of eligibility for COBRA to provide 
insurance to those who lost their jobs, and a significant 
investment in health information technology. ARRA also included 
provisions to provide child support incentive payments to 
states as well as a new TANF Emergency Contingency Fund to 
assist states with rising welfare caseloads.
    The committee also played an integral role during the 111th 
Congress in the passage of health care reform. The Finance 
Committee marked up the America's Healthy Future Act, which was 
reported by the committee on October 13, 2009 by a vote of 14 
to 9. The America's Healthy Future Act was merged with the 
health reform legislation reported out of the Senate Committee 
on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions to form the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). The Senate debated 
the bill as a substitute to H.R. 3590. On December 24, 2009, 
the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 60 to 39. The House 
passed the identical bill on March 21, 2010.
    The Senate, through the reconciliation process, also passed 
health care reform legislation, entitled the Health Care and 
Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HCERA) that amended 
PPACA. The full Senate debated this bill as a substitute to 
H.R. 4872. The Senate passed the bill on March 25, 2010 by a 
vote of 56 to 43. The House passed the identical bill the same 
day.
    Throughout the 111th Congress, the committee also acted 
several times to prevent significant reductions in Medicare 
physician payments. After several shorter extensions, Chairman 
Baucus and Ranking Member Grassley, working with Majority 
Leader Reid and Minority Leader McConnell, worked to extend all 
expiring Medicare and Medicaid provisions by introducing H.R. 
4994, the Medicare and Medicaid Extenders Act of 2010. The bill 
included an extension of the Section 508 hospital program, a 
provision extending the 1.0 floor in the Work Geographic Index 
for any locality in which the Index is less than 1.0, an 
extension of the exceptions process for therapy caps, a 
provision continuing direct payments to independent 
laboratories for physician pathology services, an extension of 
ambulance and mental health add-on payments, an extension of 
the outpatient hold harmless provision, an extension of the 
Transitional Medical Assistance program, an extension of the 
Qualified Individual program, and a two-year extension of 
special diabetes programs. The bill also prevented, for one 
year, a schedule reduction in Medicare physician payments. H.R. 
4994 passed the Senate by unanimous consent on December 8, 
2010. The House passed the identical bill on December 9, 2010.
    The committee also achieved an extension of the Temporary 
Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program. H.R. 4783, the 
Claims Resolution Act of 2010, included an extension of TANF 
and related programs, as well as, improved data collection 
provisions through the end of FY 2011. These new data 
collection provisions are intended to provide information on 
welfare client participation in work readiness activities and 
program expenditures to Congress in a timely manner to assist 
Members in making decisions on welfare reauthorization. H.R. 
4783 passed the Senate by unanimous consent on November 19, 
2010. The House passed the identical bill on November 30, 2010.
    In addition, the committee was very active on Unemployment 
Insurance during the 111th Congress. The committee was integral 
in the design and continuation of the federally funded 
emergency benefits program.
    H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, 
extended the two tier Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) 
program through December 26, 2009 and included several other 
initiatives. Those were: (1) the Federal Additional 
Compensation (FAC) benefit of an additional $25 per week for 
those receiving unemployment benefits, (2) 100 percent federal 
financing of the EB program, and (3) the first $2,400 of 
unemployment benefits excluded from income tax in 2009.
    H.R. 3548, the Worker, Homeowner, and Business Assistance 
Act of 2009, changed the EUC tier structure from two tiers to 
four tiers and reallocated the number of weeks previously 
allotted. Tier I: 20 weeks for all states, Tier II: 14 
additional weeks (all states), Tier III: 13 additional weeks 
(if a state's unemployment rate is 6 percent or higher), and 
Tier IV: 6 additional weeks (if a state's unemployment rate is 
8.5 percent or higher). The bill also continued the FAC 
additional benefit, the EB changes, and the tax exclusion of 
the first $2,400 of benefits. The authorization remained 
through December 26, 2009.
    The UI program was reauthorized two more times without 
change. First, the H.R. 3326, the Department of Defense 
Appropriations Act, 2010, extended the program through February 
27, 2010. Then, H.R. 4691, the Temporary Extension Act of 2010, 
extended the program through March 2, 2010.
    H.R. 4851, the Continuing Extension Act of 2010, 
reauthorized the program through November 30, 2010 with one 
change--the removal of the FAC benefit, so there is no longer 
an additional $25 in weekly benefits.
    The last reauthorization of the federally funded emergency 
benefits program was provided by H.R. 4853, the Tax Relief, 
Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 
2010. The bill provides a 13-month reauthorization of the 
program through January 3, 2012.

                 Committee Hearings and Member Meetings

2009
February 25, 2009--``Scoring Health Care Reform: CBO's Budget 
    Options.'' CBO Director, Dr. Douglas Elmendorf, testified 
    about opportunities identified by CBO to expand affordable 
    health insurance options to more Americans and to make the 
    health care system more efficient and affordable for 
    families, employers, and governments. Dr. Elmendorf spoke 
    to committee members about two recently-published CBO 
    reports that included scores for specific provisions aimed 
    at expanded coverage or health care affordability.
March 10, 2009--``The President's Fiscal Year 2010 Health Care 
    Proposals.'' This hearing focused on the Department of 
    Health and Human Services (HHS) provisions in the 
    President's 2010 budget. The Witness was The Honorable 
    Peter Orszag, Ph.D., Director, Office of Management and 
    Budget, Washington, DC.
March 12, 2009--``Workforce Issues in Health Care Reform: 
    Assessing the Present and Preparing for the Future.'' The 
    Finance Committee held a hearing to focus on health care 
    workforce issues facing the nation in the context the 
    committee's efforts to enact comprehensives health reform. 
    The hearing highlighted the nation's health care workforce 
    needs, including a shortage of primary care providers, and 
    discussed various reform proposals to prepare our workforce 
    to deliver high quality, cost-effective medical care for 
    all Americans.
April 21, 2009--Roundtable to Discuss ``Reforming America's 
    Health Care Delivery System.'' The discussion was designed 
    to inform the committee's deliberations regarding 
    comprehensive health care reform, thirteen representatives 
    from various fields within the health care sector--
    including providers, patient advocates, health plans, 
    employers, and policy experts--presented the committee with 
    the challenges and opportunities facing the health care 
    delivery system. Witnesses proposed specific ideas for 
    ensuring that the delivery of health care services is more 
    patient-centered, of consistently higher quality, and at a 
    cost that is lower than currently projected. Concepts 
    presented included the medical home, accountable care 
    organizations, and avoiding preventable hospital 
    readmissions.
May 5, 2009--Roundtable Discussion on ``Expanding Health Care 
    Coverage.'' The Finance Committee held a public Roundtable 
    Discussion on Expanding Health Care Coverage with fifteen 
    witnesses testifying to the committee members about health 
    care coverage levels and sources today, as well as options 
    to expand health care coverage to more Americans. The 
    witnesses included economists, health services researchers, 
    health insurers, business leaders, consumer organizations, 
    and other health policy experts. The options discussed 
    included ways to expand both public and private sources of 
    coverage as well as changes to private insurance market 
    regulations.
May 12, 2009--Roundtable Discussion on ``Financing 
    Comprehensive Health Care Reform.'' The roundtable was 
    intended to facilitate a discussion between Finance 
    Committee Members, tax experts, health care policy experts, 
    and industry representatives to explore options to finance 
    comprehensive health care reform. Three general categories 
    were explored including; finding savings within the health 
    system, reevaluating current health care tax subsidies, and 
    making changes to more general tax provisions.
September 15, 2009--``Unemployment Insurance Benefits: Where Do 
    We Go From Here?'' The Finance Committee held a hearing to 
    highlight the effects of the recession on the unemployment 
    system. The hearing had four witnesses who spoke about the 
    benefits of reauthorizing the federally funded emergency 
    unemployment benefits program. The hearing also focused on 
    the strain the recession caused on state unemployment 
    system solvency. The witnesses identified areas for 
    improvement, including addressing workforce training needs, 
    and addressing state insolvency.
2010
February 3, 2010--``The President's Fiscal Year 2011 Health 
    Care Proposals.'' This hearing focused on the Department of 
    Health and Human Services (HHS) provisions in the 
    President's 2010 budget. The Witness was the Honorable 
    Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services.
April 14, 2010--``Using Unemployment Insurance to Help 
    Americans Get Back to Work: Creating Opportunities and 
    Overcoming Challenges.'' The Finance Committee held a 
    hearing to highlight state innovation in unemployment 
    systems. The hearing had four witnesses who spoke about the 
    training and education programs adopted by different states 
    to address job shortages. The witnesses presented ideas for 
    expanding workforce training opportunities. However, the 
    witnesses cautioned on the need for balance in the system 
    between training and existing jobs.
September 21, 2010--``Welfare Reform: A New Conversation on 
    Women and Poverty.'' The Finance Committee held a hearing 
    to highlight the current challenges faced by the Temporary 
    Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The hearing 
    had four witnesses who spoke about the need to reauthorize 
    the TANF program. The witnesses also pointed out that 
    poverty levels have risen in the last five years and that 
    special attention needs to be paid to TANF's ability to 
    prevent families from failing into poverty and to serve 
    women and children at or below the Federal poverty level. 
    The witnesses identified areas for improvement including; 
    access to education, the involvement of fathers, 
    interconnectedness with other Federal systems like juvenile 
    justice and the need for better data, and accountability 
    from states.
November 17, 2010--``Strengthening Medicare and Medicaid: 
    Taking Steps to Modernize America's Health Care System.'' 
    The hearing focused on key delivery system reforms included 
    in the Affordable Care Act and CMS's progress in 
    implementing those provisions. Dr. Donald Berwick, the 
    Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
    Services (CMS), was the witness before the committee.

                   Full Committee Executive Meetings

2009
January 15, 2009--Open Executive Session to consider adoption 
    of the committee's rules for the 111th Congress, and an 
    original bill reauthorizing the Children's Health Insurance 
    Program. The Finance Committee marked up legislation to 
    reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). 
    The reauthorization bill extended CHIP through September 
    30, 2013 and made improvements to the program like offering 
    states outreach and enrollment incentives, strengthening 
    quality of care and health outcomes, and increasing access 
    to benefits. The Children's Health Insurance Program 
    Reauthorization Act of 2009 (CHIPRA) became P.L. 111-3.
September 22, 2009--Open Executive Session to consider an 
    original bill providing for health care reform.
September 23, 2009; September 24, 2009; September 25, 2009; 
    September 29, 2009; September 30, 2009; October 1, 2009; 
    and October 13, 2009--Continuation of the Open Executive 
    Session to consider an original bill providing for health 
    care reform. The committee met to consider the ``America's 
    Healthy Future Act of 2009,'' an original bill providing 
    for health care reform. The bill provided for access to 
    health insurance for all Americans and put in place 
    policies to decrease the cost of health care and improve 
    the quality of the health care delivery system. On October 
    13th, 2009, the committee voted to report the bill by a 
    vote of 14 
    to 9.

                        Senators' Only Meetings

2009
March 5, 2009; May 5, 2009; June 4, 2009; June 11, 2009; June 
    17, 2009; June 25, 2009; July 9, 2009; and September 17, 
    2009. Senators' Only Meetings to discuss Comprehensive 
    Health Reform: Members of the Finance Committee met to 
    discuss comprehensive health care reform, including topics 
    related to providing health insurance to all Americans, 
    lowering the cost of health care, and improving the quality 
    of the health care delivery system.

                  Subcommittee on Health Care Hearings

2009
March 18, 2009--``What is Health Care Quality and Who 
    Decides?'' The Finance Health Subcommittee held a hearing 
    to highlight quality of care and delivery system reform 
    issues to be addressed in the health reform debate. The 
    hearing had three witnesses (Dr. Carolyn Clancy, Dr. Brent 
    James, and Dr. Marjorie Kanof), who spoke about the current 
    status of health care quality efforts, how to better align 
    financial incentives to improve health outcomes, how the 
    federal government defines quality measures, and 
    coordination between public and private-sector quality 
    improvement efforts.
March 25, 2009--``The Role of Long-Term Care in Health 
    Reform.'' The Finance Health Subcommittee held a hearing to 
    highlight long-term care issues for inclusion in the 
    comprehensive health reform debate. The hearing had four 
    witnesses who spoke about the long-term health care options 
    today, states' cost of providing and paying for long-term 
    care services, and opportunities to improve long-term care 
    services. The witnesses identified areas for improvement, 
    including expanding home and community-based services, 
    addressing workforce shortages, and reducing states' costs 
    while improving quality.
                            SOCIAL SECURITY

                         SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES

    During the 111th Congress, the committee held hearings on 
policy options and potential benefits of making it easier for 
individuals to voluntarily work during retirement, and on how 
court interpretations of federal law have affected the 
protections provided by private disability insurance policies.

                        Full Committee Hearings

July 15, 2010--``Choosing to Work During Retirement and the 
    Impact on Social Security.'' This hearing featured the 
    testimony of Stephen Goss, Chief Actuary, Social Security 
    Administration, Washington, DC; Marc Freedman, CEO and 
    Founder, Civic Ventures, San Francisco, CA; Marcia Brown, 
    Chief Operating Officer, National Center for Appropriate 
    Technology, Butte, MT; Nicole Maestas, Economist and Group 
    Manager, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA; Bonnie Shelor, 
    Senior Vice President for Human Resources, Bon Secours 
    Richmond Health Systems, Richmond, VA. The testimony 
    focused on the growing trend of more Americans choosing to 
    phase into retirement or return to work after retiring, and 
    the impediments to these choices and the ways in which 
    Congress could reduce these barriers. The hearing also 
    examined how a greater share of workers choosing to 
    continue working voluntarily after they have retired from 
    their principal job could have a modest but positive effect 
    on the long-term solvency of the Social Security trust 
    fund.
September 28, 2010--``Do Private Long-Term Disability Policies 
    Provide the Protection They Promise?'' This hearing 
    featured the testimony of Ron Leebove, C.R.C., DABFC, 
    Scottsdale, AZ; Mark DeBofsky, Attorney, Daley, DeBofsky 
    and Bryant, Chicago, IL; The Honorable William M. Aker, 
    Jr., Senior United States District Court Judge, Northern 
    District of Alabama, Birmingham, AL; David Rust, Deputy 
    Commissioner for Retirement and Disability Policy, Social 
    Security Administration, Baltimore, MD; Paul Graham, Senior 
    Vice President, Insurance Regulation and Chief Actuary, 
    American Council of Life Insurers, Washington, DC. The 
    hearing focused on the problems that employees experience 
    when filing for disability benefits under private long-term 
    disability insurance policies covered under the Employee 
    Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). Testimony from the 
    Social Security Administration detailed current regulations 
    for Social Security which ensure a transparent disability 
    adjudication process, and a due process appeals hearing 
    before an Administrative Law Judge, if needed. Additional 
    testimony at the hearing revealed that these same 
    protections do not currently exist for private employer-
    provided long-term disability benefits. While Congress 
    enacted ERISA with the stated intention to protect 
    employees, according to the witnesses, its subsequent 
    interpretation by the courts has complicated the claims 
    review process and resulted in a systemic failure of due 
    process protections. The witnesses described instances of 
    how private long-term disability insurance companies avoid 
    paying claims by creating long procedural delays, hiring or 
    paying for their own doctors as experts, and using other 
    unfair tactics. The witnesses also discussed the 
    legislative action necessary to ensure a fair process for 
    individuals filing for employer-provided private long-term 
    disability benefits.
                      OVERSIGHT AND INVESTIGATIONS

                                Overview

    The Constitution granted to Congress the important 
responsibility of conducting oversight of the Executive Branch. 
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. To this end, 
Chairman Baucus and Senator Charles E. Grassley, Ranking Member 
of the Committee on Finance, take seriously their 
constitutional oversight responsibilities and work to keep the 
Federal Government effective, transparent, and accountable.
    One of the best means for achieving transparency and 
accountability is through consistent Congressional oversight. 
In conjunction with a curious media, the vigilance of the 
public, and brave whistleblowers who speak-up about the 
problems they see--Congressional oversight seeks to ensure 
ethics, morality, and honesty in government. As former Supreme 
Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis once said, ``Sunshine is the 
best disinfectant.''

                        Full Committee Hearings

2009
March 17, 2009--``Tax Issues Related to Ponzi Schemes and an 
    Update on Offshore Tax Evasion Legislation.'' The purpose 
    of this hearing was to discuss options for curbing offshore 
    tax evasion. Testimony was received from the Honorable 
    Douglas Shulman, Commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, 
    Washington, DC; Michael Brostek, Director, Tax Issues, 
    Strategic Issues Team, United States Government 
    Accountability Office, Washington, DC; and William 
    Josephson, Esq., Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, 
    LLP, New York, NY.
March 21, 2009--``Corporate Tax Shelters: Looking Under the 
    Roof.'' The purpose of this hearing was to discuss tax 
    reform options related to corporate taxation. Testimony was 
    received from the Honorable Mark Weinberger, Assistant 
    Secretary of the Treasury for Tax Policy, United States 
    Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC; the Honorable 
    B. John Williams, Jr., Chief Counsel/Assistant General 
    Counsel, United States Department of Treasury, Washington, 
    DC; and the Honorable Larry Langdon, Commissioner of Large 
    and Medium Business Division, Internal Revenue Service, 
    Washington, DC.
March 31, 2009--``TARP Oversight: A 6-Month Update.'' The 
    purpose of this hearing was to discuss the Special IG's 
    efforts to provide transparency to and prevent fraud in the 
    TARP program. Testimony was received from the Honorable 
    Neil Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Troubled 
    Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), United States Department of 
    Treasury, Washington, DC; Elizabeth Warren, Chair, 
    Congressional Oversight Panel, Boston, MA; and Gene Dodaro, 
    Acting Comptroller General, United States Government 
    Accountability Office, Washington, DC.
2010
April 15, 2010--``Filing Season Update: Current IRS Issues.'' 
    The purpose of this hearing was to update the committee on 
    the 2010 tax filing season and to discuss other matters 
    affecting tax administration. Testimony was received from 
    Steven T. Miller, Deputy Commissioner for Services and 
    Enforcement, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, DC; and 
    Nina Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate, Internal Revenue 
    Service, Washington, DC.
April 20, 2010--``The President's Proposed Fee on Financial 
    Institutions Regarding TARP: Part 1.'' The purpose of this 
    hearing was to discuss the merits of the President's 
    proposal. Testimony was received from the Honorable Neil 
    Barofsky, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset 
    Relief Program (SIGTARP), United States Department of 
    Treasury, Washington, DC.
May 4, 2010--``The President's Proposed Fee on Financial 
    Institutions Regarding TARP: Part 2.'' Testimony was 
    received from the Honorable Timothy Geithner, Secretary of 
    the Treasury, United States Department of the Treasury, 
    Washington, DC; the Honorable Steve Bartlett, President and 
    CEO, Financial Services Roundtable, Washington, DC; John K. 
    Sorensen, President and CEO, Iowa Bankers Association, 
    Johnston, IA; James Chessen, Chief Economist, American 
    Bankers Association, Washington, DC; and Patrick S. Baird, 
    Chairman, AEGON, USA, LLC, Cedar Rapids, IA.
May 11, 2010--``The President's Proposed Fee on Financial 
    Institutions Regarding TARP: Part 3.'' Testimony was 
    received from David C. John, Senior Research Fellow, The 
    Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC; Douglas Elliott, 
    Economic Studies, Brookings Institute, New York, NY; Edward 
    DeMarco, Acting Director, Federal Housing Finance Agency, 
    Washington, DC; and Nancy McLernon, President and CEO, 
    Organization for International Investment, Washington, DC.
May 25, 2010--``Reducing Overpayments and Increasing Quality in 
    the Unemployment System.'' The Finance Committee held a 
    hearing to highlight the need for program integrity in the 
    unemployment system. The hearing had three witnesses who 
    spoke about the need to control overpayments and fraud in 
    the unemployment system. The hearing focused on the need to 
    hold local and national government, employers, and 
    beneficiaries accountable for controlling waste and 
    increasing quality in the unemployment insurance system. 
    The witnesses identified areas for improvement, including 
    updating state administrative systems, and improving the 
    sharing of information between states and employers.
July 21, 2010--``An Update on the TARP Program.'' The purpose 
    of this hearing was to discuss continuing efforts by the 
    Special IG to monitor the TARP program. Testimony was 
    received from the Honorable Neil Barofsky, Special 
    Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program 
    (SIGTARP), United States Department of Treasury, 
    Washington, DC; Elizabeth Warren, Chair, Congressional 
    Oversight Panel, Boston, MA; Richard Hillman, Managing 
    Director Financial Markets and Community Investment Team, 
    United States Government Accountability Office, Washington, 
    DC.

                          Oversight Activities

TARP Oversight
    Chairman Baucus fought to include the Special Inspector 
General for TARP requirement in the Emergency Economic 
Stabilization Act of 2008 to protect taxpayer interests and 
guard against waste, fraud and abuse in the Treasury's 
financial rescue program.
    The committee held two hearings on the TARP program and the 
oversight efforts of the Special IG. Both hearings were 
organized around quarterly reports issued by the Special IG 
Neil Barofsky.
    Barofsky outlined the following requirements that he 
insisted on for TARP transactions, including:

     Lestablishing internal controls and reporting to 
TARP on the implementation of those controls
     Laccounting for the use of TARP funds and 
certifying that information to the TARP

    The Special IG also outlined conditions he has insisted on 
for the funding provided to Citigroup by TARP, including:

     Laccess by the Special IG to Citigroup personnel 
and records
     Lestablishing internal controls on corporate 
expenses, executive compensation, and dividend and stock 
repurchase conditions
     Ltracking of the funds invested by TARP

    During the first hearing, the Special Inspector General for 
the Troubled Assets Relief Program calculated that, in the TARP 
and associated programs, taxpayers were potentially at risk for 
about $2.9 trillion.
    The key TARP areas discussed included: the capital 
investment program for large banks, the capital investment 
program for small banks, Citigroup, Bank of America, A.I.G., 
the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, or TALF, G.M., 
G.M.A.C., Chrysler, the mortgage relief program, the small 
business program, and the ``bad assets'' program.
Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence
    At the request of Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley, the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported on the Treasury 
Department's Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence 
(TFI). The TFI, created in March 2004, is primarily focused on 
freezing and seizing funds suspected to be used for terrorist 
activities, enforcing economic sanctions against ``rogue'' 
nations, protecting the integrity of the financial system and 
fighting financial crime. Within the TFI are the Office of 
Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and the Financial Crimes 
Enforcement Network (FinCEN).
    The Office of Foreign Assets Control has the power to 
designate a person or organization as a sponsor of terrorism. 
Subsequent to this designation, the target's assets are frozen 
indefinitely and/or seized, and a request is made to the United 
Nations for similar action on a world-wide basis. FinCEN uses 
the Bank Secrecy Act to investigate money laundering and 
counterfeiting, and issues regulations governing U.S. financial 
institutions. The Office of Intelligence and Analysis within 
the TFI provides information supporting OFAC's designations of 
individuals and organizations.
    The GAO report noted that TFI Under Secretary Levey 
concluded that Al Qaida is `in its worst financial position in 
at least three years'. It also described the TFI applying 
lessons learned from using financial tools in the terrorism 
context to advance counter proliferation finance strategy to 
isolate banks, companies and individuals with ties to North 
Korean, Iranian and Syrian proliferation. The report expressed 
concern about declining collaboration between the Treasury 
Department and the State and Justice Departments on terrorism 
financing issues, and the GAO found that the TFI is at a 
competitive disadvantage in hiring intelligence analysts. The 
Chairman also expressed concern that OFAC continued to spend an 
inordinate amount of resources enforcing the embargo with Cuba, 
despite the national security imperative of enforcing the U.S. 
embargos with North Korea and Iran.
Indian Health Service Payment Collection
    Chairman Baucus requested a GAO report on the Indian Health 
Service's payment collection process. The GAO found that the 
IHS did not have adequate procedures in place to maximize its 
collection of payments owed to the agency by private insurers. 
Chairman Baucus requested that GAO conduct the report as part 
of an ongoing effort to improve IHS collection from private 
insurers, which could free up resources to improve health care 
for Native Americans and Alaskan Natives.
    According to the report, IHS does have procedures in place 
for billing and collecting revenue from private insurers, but 
those procedures are not in line with the agency's current 
financial management system, making it difficult to maximize 
collection of payments.
    In discussions with IHS offices, GAO found that none had 
well-defined debt management plans to enhance collections and 
that IHS headquarters did not properly oversee its Area and 
Service Unit offices. Additionally, the Office of Resource 
Access and Partnerships, whose responsibility it is to perform 
policy compliance reviews, was understaffed.
    Among its recommendations, GAO called for IHS to develop 
tools for managing and monitoring its business cycle, including 
payment collection and debt management.
    IHS took steps to ensure the accuracy of its reports and 
debt management procedures by increasing its oversight 
capabilities, implementing a new web-based monitoring service 
and giving direct line authority to a new position entitled the 
Deputy Director of Field Operations.
Premium Increases at Wellpoint
    In February 2010 Chairman Baucus and Senator Grassley sent 
a letter calling on WellPoint's CEO to explain the company's 
proposed health insurance rate increases after it was reported 
that increases of up to 39% were planned. In April, an 
independent actuarial report identified troubling 
miscalculations by WellPoint and raised serious concerns about 
the assumptions the company used to support its rate increases.
Medicare payments of $2.5 billion recovered
    Chairman Max Baucus commented on a report released by the 
Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control Program, a program within 
the Department of Health and Human Services that funds efforts 
to prevent health care fraud, waste and abuse, including 
prevention, audits and investigations. The program's report 
indicated that $2.5 billion in Medicare overpayments were 
recovered in 2009 and can be returned to the Medicare trust 
fund.
Tax Practices of Gulf Oil Rig Owner
    Chairman Baucus conducted an investigation into the tax 
practices of Transocean Ltd., owner of the offshore drilling 
rig that exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010 
leading to a disastrous oil spill. Chairman Baucus continues to 
examine U.S. tax implications resulting from Transocean 
relocating its headquarters to the Cayman Islands and 
Switzerland.
    Transocean moved its headquarters to the Cayman Islands in 
1999 then relocated the headquarters to Switzerland. Baucus led 
the fight in the Senate to shut down this practice, known as 
corporate inversion, and successfully passed the American Jobs 
Creation Act of 2004, which closed loopholes in the tax code 
that made corporate inversion possible.
    Baucus sent a letter calling on Transocean to provide 
detailed documents and explanations relating to the company's 
tax practices. This information was requested to help the 
Finance Committee discern the tax benefits Transocean received 
by exploiting the loopholes closed by the American Jobs 
Creation Act of 2004 and to determine whether further 
legislative action is necessary to prevent erosion of the U.S. 
tax base through corporate inversions.
    The Transocean investigation is part of a longstanding 
committee effort to fight offshore tax avoidance and evasion, 
which deprive American taxpayers of thousands of jobs and 
billions of dollars.
Involvement of Tax-Exempt Groups in Political Activity
    In September of 2010 Chairman Baucus sent a letter to IRS 
Commissioner Doug Shulman requesting an investigation into the 
use of tax-exempt groups for political advocacy. Baucus asked 
for the investigation after recent media reports uncovered 
instances of political activity by non-profit organizations 
secretly backed by individuals advancing personal interests and 
organizations supporting political campaigns. Under the tax 
code, political campaign activity cannot be the main purpose of 
a tax-exempt organization and limits exist on political 
campaign activities in which these organizations can 
participate. Tax-exempt organizations also cannot serve private 
interests. Baucus expressed serious concern that if political 
groups are able to take advantage of tax-exempt organizations, 
these groups could curtail transparency in America's elections 
because non-profit organizations do not have to disclose any 
information regarding their donors.
    Baucus asked Commissioner Shulman to review major 
501(c)(4), (c)(5) and (c)(6) organizations involved in 
political campaign activity. He asked the Commissioner to 
determine if these organizations are operating for the 
organization's intended tax exempt purpose, to ensure that 
political activity is not the organization's primary activity 
and to determine if they are acting as conduits for major 
donors advancing their own private interests regarding 
legislation or political campaigns, or are providing major 
donors with excess benefits.
Bulk Cash Smuggling
    Chairman Max Baucus and Finance Committee member Senator 
Jeff Bingaman requested a report by the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) on the problem of cross-border 
currency smuggling. The Senators asked the GAO to examine the 
problem of currency smuggling--the transportation of bulk cash 
proceeds from drug sales in the United States to Mexico or 
Canada. In GAO's subsequent report, the National Drug 
Intelligence Center estimated that criminals smuggle between 
$18 billion to $39 billion each year across the southwest 
border alone.
    The report found that since March 2009, when the Secretary 
of Homeland Security called on Customs and Border Protection 
(CBP) to step up efforts to stem the flow of bulk cash, through 
June 2010, CBP agents seized about $41 million in illicit bulk 
cash leaving our country at land ports of entry. While this 
represents a significant increase in seizures compared to 
previous years, because CBP currently does not conduct full-
time inspections of outbound traffic, shortcomings in our 
nation's infrastructure, and a lack of technology deployed at 
ports of entry, only a fraction of the illicit cash flow is 
seized.
    The report also pointed to emerging money laundering 
concerns, made possible by advancing technology. For instance, 
it highlighted the problem of using ``stored value cards''--
prepaid cards loaded with value or currency--to move illegal 
proceeds across the border and to countries around the world. 
It also pointed to the ability of making monetary transactions 
via mobile phone technology. The report explored various 
regulatory gaps under federal anti-money laundering laws that 
allow criminals to move funds without detection and reviews 
efforts to address this issue.
    The Senators pledged to work to keep resources flowing to 
the CBP bulk cash seizure program and to support efforts to 
make the program more effective.

                Department of Health and Human Services

Abuse of Mental Health Prescriptions
    Documents provided by the Florida Agency for Health Care 
Administration list the top Medicaid prescribers of mental 
health drugs. One Medicaid prescriber wrote 96,685 
prescriptions for the second half of 2007, all of 2008 and 
first quarter of 2009. This is 153 prescriptions each day. The 
committee asked: (1) whether HHS has a system in place to 
monitor this activity, (2) whether any investigations have been 
conducted and what the outcomes were, and (3) what information 
States share with the HHS regarding any overutilization.
    HHS responded that Florida Medicaid has been scrutinizing 
billings for problem providers for quite some time, and 
provided documentation to that affect. Further HHS pointed out 
that in the Presidents fiscal year 2011 Budget new resources 
were authorized to more aggressively pursue inappropriate 
prescribing practices of providers in both Medicare and 
Medicaid.
    On October 20, 2010, Senator Grassley responded to HHS 
Secretary Sebelius' letter as well as the information provided 
by HHS in reply to previous letters. This letter addressed two 
major topics: The March 15, 2010 HHS Letter Regarding 
Overutilization and State Medicaid Data Regarding 
Overutilization. The letter also requested, among other things, 
details of guidelines HHS gives contractors and how the agency 
ensures that they are conducting complete analyses of Medicare 
and Medicaid data. The committee is awaiting the agency's 
response.
Health Information Technology
    In the 111th Congress, Senator Grassley sent letters to 
Health Information Technology (HIT) manufacturers in response 
to complaints from patients and medical practitioners regarding 
difficulties they encountered with HIT use and implementation 
in medical facilities. In October 2009, letters were sent to 
3M, Allscripts, Cerner Corporation, Cognizant Technology 
Solutions, Computer Sciences Corporation, Eclipsys, Epic 
Systems Corporation, McKesson Corporation, Perot Systems 
Corporation, and Philips Healthcare. In January 2010, the 
Senator also sent letters to 31 letters to hospitals to gather 
information on their perspective and experiences with HIT. 
Review of the responses is ongoing.
    In February 2010, Senator Grassley also sent a letter to 
the HHS expressing his concerns regarding safety issues 
associated with HIT. The Senator asked what HHS was doing to 
address potential safety concerns and inquired about the role 
FDA should play in the review of HIT devices. In response, HHS 
stated that it shared his concerns and reiterated its 
commitment to making sure that HIT is safe.
Federal Health Information Technology Programs
    In the 109th Congress, the Government Accountability Office 
(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 the Food and Drug Administration's 
(FDA) Adverse Events Reporting System, FDA's 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. In the 111th Congress, Senator Grassley asked the 
HHS Secretary to increase the level of communication between 
the various systems between agencies within the Department.
H1N1 Storage and Potency
    Responding to questions raised by patients and some health 
care providers regarding the safety, potency, and efficacy of 
the H1N1 vaccine, Senator Grassley sent a letter to HHS, FDA, 
and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in January 
2010, asking them to respond to a number of questions on how 
they were addressing these issues. In particular, Senator 
Grassley asked about the shelf life of the 2009 H1N1 influenza 
virus vaccines, how many doses of the vaccine had been 
purchased by HHS, any additional findings regarding the adverse 
event profiles of the vaccines, and what oversight was in place 
to ensure that the individuals and entities authorized to 
manufacture, distribute and/or administer the vaccines do so as 
intended and as legally authorized.
    HHS responded to the Senator's letter by illustrating the 
steps and precautions that the agency has taken to ensure the 
safety, potency, and efficacy of the vaccine. In May 2010, the 
Senator sent a follow-up request to HHS regarding his concerns 
that a number of the doses may be nearing the end of their 
shelf life and may have to be destroyed, wasting the taxpayer 
money that was used to secure them. The Senator also inquired 
about HHS's plans for the 2010 flu season. HHS responded on May 
11, 2010 stating that about 40 million doses would expire on 
June 30, 2010. The agency also stated that it would monitor 
demand for the remaining supply. For the 2010-2011 flu season, 
protection against the H1N1 flu virus was included in the 
seasonal flu vaccine rather than administered separately. In 
addition, HHS reported that less fiscal year 2009 supplemental 
funding was needed than projected for the purchase of H1N1 
vaccines so the balance of that funding would be used to 
support future preparedness activities.
``State Your Support'' Link on HHS Website
    On the HHS.GOV website is a link titled, ``State Your 
Support.'' This link takes the visitor to the HEALTHREFORM.GOV 
website, which indicates that it is ``an official U.S. 
Government website managed by the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services.'' The visitor is presented with a pre-written 
letter to the President in support of enactment of reform in 
2009. By signing the statement, visitors affirm their 
commitment to work with the President and their Congressional 
leaders ``to enact legislation this year which provides 
affordable, high quality coverage for all Americans.'' Also, in 
order to ``show their support,'' visitors are required to 
submit their names, zip codes and email addresses.
    On October 20, 2009, Senator Grassley asked whose idea this 
was, who gave the instructions to include it on the HHS.GOV 
website, who paid for the implementation and upkeep of this 
website, what role did the White House have in creating this 
website, where is the personal information stored, who has 
access to this information, has anyone been given access to the 
information and have any of the visitors been contacted?
    The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) responded 
that current law states that the government is prohibited from 
covertly producing materials for public dissemination that hide 
any evidence of government involvement. HHS says since the link 
was prominently displayed it is not secretive so therefore 
nothing improper was done. HHS did not respond to the question 
of what they did with the stored names, zip codes, and email 
information.

                      Food and Drug Administration

Foreign Inspections and Heparin
    In August 2007, Senator Grassley focused attention on the 
Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) 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 scheme 
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 raised concerns about the 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 
inquired from the U.S. heparin producer about its own 
inspection activities of their foreign counterparts.
    FDA identified additional vulnerabilities, such as 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.
    In addition, the Senator co-sponsored a bill, the Drug and 
Device Accountability Act, with the late Senator Edward M. 
Kennedy to enhance registration and inspection of domestic and 
foreign manufacturing facilities.
    In response to the heparin contamination, the FDA opened 
field offices in China, India and Latin America, and announced 
that it would pursue international agreements to augment its 
foreign inspection program. In February 2010, Senator Grassley 
sent a follow-up to the FDA asking that the agency provide a 
status on FDA's initiatives to improve its foreign drug 
inspection program. FDA responded with examples of some of its 
efforts, including improving testing methods to ensure drug 
purity, switching to an electronic drug registration and 
listing system, and examining over 1,000 active pharmaceutical 
ingredients (API) to identify API at greater risk of being 
adulterated.
    The findings regarding FDA's inspection program, however, 
remain troubling. In the 112th Congress, the Senator will work 
to get legislation passed that would bolster FDA's ability to 
protect the safety of the U.S. drug and medical device supply.
Unapproved Drugs
    Throughout the 111th 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 wastes taxpayer money and may potentially harm 
patients. 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 that 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, 
which summarizes drug use and reimbursement by state. 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.
    In the 111th Congress, Senator Grassley introduced the 
``Strengthening Program Integrity and Accountability in Health 
Care Act,'' which would require, among other things, that 
states first verify with the FDA that a drug has been approved 
for marketing before paying for it. The Senator plans to re-
introduce the bill in the 112th Congress.
Menaflex and CDRH
    In 2009, Senator Grassley obtained documents that suggested 
FDA's handling of the review of the Collagen Scaffold, a knee 
repair device now called Menaflex, may have been influenced by 
the manufacturer, ReGen Biologics, Inc. (ReGen). The Senator's 
Committee on Finance staff conducted numerous interviews with 
FDA officials regarding FDA's review of this device. In the 
course of the inquiry, it was discovered that ReGen may not 
have provided complete information to the FDA for purposes of 
the 510(k) review of its product.
    In September 2009, FDA reported problems in the agency's 
review of Menaflex and announced that it would conduct a re-
evaluation of the scientific evidence. The findings about how 
FDA handled the review of Menaflex tracked what Senator 
Grassley had found in his own review. The agency failed to 
follow procedures, excluded the FDA review team from speaking 
before an advisory panel, and was too quick to accommodate 
demands made by the device manufacturer. On October 14, 2010, 
FDA announced that Menaflex should not have been cleared for 
marketing in the United States.
    In August 2009, CMS initiated a national coverage 
determination for Menaflex to decide if the device should be 
covered by Medicare. Senator Grassley had shared some of his 
findings regarding the review of that device with CMS. CMS 
determined that as of May 25, 2010, ``evidence was adequate to 
conclude that the collagen meniscus implant does not improve 
health outcomes and, therefore, is not reasonable and necessary 
for the treatment of meniscal injury/tear under section 
1862(a)(1)(A) of the Social Security Act. Thus, the collagen 
meniscus implant is non-covered by Medicare.''
    In addition, as a result of this matter and other 
allegations the Senator received regarding FDA's Center for 
Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), Senator Grassley asked 
the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review 
of CDRH procedures for approving and clearing medical devices 
for marketing in the U.S.
FDA Office of Criminal Investigations
    The Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal 
Investigations (OCI) was created in 1992 to conduct and 
coordinate investigations of suspected criminal violations of 
the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and other laws 
enforced by the FDA. 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 GAO to perform an audit of OCI's budget 
and activities and to review OCI's investigative standards and 
techniques.
    In January 2010, the GAO provided a preliminary report to 
Senator Grassley detailing its findings regarding OCI; shortly 
thereafter, a briefing was held with FDA discussing a number of 
recommendations for improving OCI.
dETlogix Annuloplasty Ring and 510(k) Submissions for Modifications to 
        Devices on the U.S. Market
    Senator Grassley sent a letter to the FDA on December 18, 
2008, regarding the marketing and use of the dETlogix 
Annuloplasty Ring, formerly called the Myxo ETlogix ring. The 
ring was being implanted in patients for heart-valve repair 
before it was cleared for marketing by the FDA. The FDA told 
Senator Grassley that its current policy was inadequate and 
that an update was underway. In February 2010, the Senator 
asked FDA for an update on the implementation of new guidelines 
for medical device makers on when they need to file new 
information with the agency and seek clearance for the 
marketing and use of modified devices under the 510(k) system. 
The FDA responded that it considers this policy a high priority 
and plans to complete the clarification within the year.
    Senator Grassley was concerned with the lack of 
transparency about when modifications to a device already 
cleared for marketing would require a new 510(k) submission. 
Based on FDA's existing guidelines, if a device maker believes 
a change to its device is insignificant, it can make the 
determination that its device does not require a new 510(k) 
submission. In the case of the dETlogix ring, however, FDA 
concluded that the company made the incorrect determination, 
when the agency was informed of the device 2 years after it had 
already been in use.
    Senator Grassley asked FDA if the agency would be informing 
patients that they had been implanted with the device before it 
was cleared. The FDA responded that it did not require patients 
who had the dETlogix ring implanted be notified since the FDA 
ultimately cleared the device for marketing.
Conflicts of Interest (Clinical Investigators)
    On October 22, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a letter to FDA 
Commissioner Margaret Hamburg inquiring about FDA's policies 
and procedures regarding the financial relationship between 
clinical investigators and product manufacturers. In 
particular, the Senator was interested in how the agency 
handles reports of medical device companies' payments to 
physicians who participate in clinical studies of the 
companies' products. In 2006, the Association of American 
Medical Colleges (AAMC) and Association of American 
Universities (AAU) asked an advisory committee of senior 
officials at major research universities and medical schools to 
review 2001 AAMC issued guidelines governing the oversight of 
financial interests in human subjects research and provide 
further guidance on the subject. In February 2008, the advisory 
committee issued its report, which reiterated the 2001 
rebuttable presumption that an individual who holds a 
significant financial interest in research involving human 
subjects may not conduct such research and clarified the 
compelling circumstances exception. In light of the 
recommendations presented this 2008 report, Senator Grassley 
asked the FDA to explain how it treats financial interests that 
may present a conflict of interest for clinical researchers and 
describe guidance provided to product manufacturers to minimize 
and manage potential conflicts.
Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agents (ESA)
    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 had created incentives 
for using more doses of ESAs than what are necessary for the 
treatment of anemia. 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. As a result, the drug labeling for ESAs 
was revised to restrict their use in treating patients with 
cancer. In addition, CMS modified its coverage policies to 
limit Medicare reimbursement for ESAs. Congress also passed 
legislation that requires that the costs of ESAs 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, 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. CMS and FDA have public meetings 
scheduled to further discuss safety of ESAs.
    In 2010, FDA called for more clinical trials to establish 
the optimal hemoglobin target for use of ESAs in treating 
anemia in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). On 
October 18, 2010, the FDA convened an advisory committee for 
advice on the appropriate use of ESAs for patients with CKD, in 
light of concerns about whether the drugs increase risks of 
strokes and other cardiovascular problems.
    In June 2010, CMS also opened a national coverage 
determination (NCD) analysis on ESA use for the treatment of 
anemia for patients with CKD. A proposed decision will be 
issued by March 16, 2011 and a final decision is expected by 
June 16, 2011.
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. Unconscious trauma 
patients were given PolyHeme in the ambulance, where real blood 
was not available, and afterward in the hospital, when real 
blood became available. The Food and Drug Administration allows 
an experimental product to be given to patients without prior 
informed consent if a study meets the requirements for 
emergency research. Thus, those who did not want to be subjects 
in the PolyHeme experiment had to opt out by wearing hospital-
like bracelets to convey their wishes to medical professionals.
    Northfield Laboratories Inc. presented the results of its 
study in 2007 and sought FDA approval for its product. On April 
30, 2009, the FDA issued a complete response letter to 
Northfield, communicating to the company that in its present 
form, FDA will not approve the company's application to market 
PolyHeme.
    In August 2010, the American Journal of Bioethics invited 
Senator Grassley to submit an op-ed regarding the PolyHeme 
matter for the journal's 10th Anniversary edition. Senator 
Grassley's op-ed titled, ``Americans Should Not Be on a Game 
Show in U.S. Emergency Rooms and Ambulances,'' was published in 
October 2010.
Accuracy of Glucometers
    Nearly 24 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes and rely 
on self-monitoring devices to control their blood-glucose 
levels. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 
reimburses nearly $1.3 billion every year for diabetic 
supplies. Recent findings by Consumer Reports found that some 
glucometers are inaccurate and inconsistent. The American 
Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) wrote to the 
FDA regarding the accuracy standards set by the agency. In 
light of these concerns Senator Grassley asked for a briefing 
by FDA regarding any complaints concerning glucometers and/or 
test strips, when the agency first became aware of any problems 
and its concerns regarding the reliability of the glucometers.
    FDA informed the Senator that the United States is one of a 
few countries in the world that reviews the performance of in 
vitro diagnostic devices before they can be marketed. The 
standards for the way glucometer performance is established are 
set forth in the International Standard Organization (ISO) 
document 15197 titled, ``In vitro diagnostic test systems- 
Requirements for blood-glucose monitoring systems for self-
testing in managing diabetes mellitus.'' FDA stated that the 
document was drafted 7 years ago. At that time, FDA had argued 
in support of stricter criteria and even considered voting 
against the standard but ``determined that we needed to balance 
our recommendations with those from the international community 
and the available scientific evidence to support the 
recommendation.'' When FDA briefed Senator Grassley's staff, 
the agency stated that ISO 15197 was being reviewed to 
determine if revisions were necessary. The agency added that it 
was recommending the revision of the current standards of 
accuracy in light of new technological advancements. 
Furthermore, FDA also said that if the ISO standard for 
accuracy is not revised, it would consider recognizing other 
higher performance standards for glucometers.
Gardasil
    In response to a study conducted by the National Research 
Center for Women and families (NRC), Senator Grassley became 
concerned that young girls and their parents and women who have 
received Gardasil may have a false sense of security about the 
extent of protection provided by Gardasil under the current 
three-dose regimen. Gardasil is used to combat the HPV virus 
that can lead to cervical, penile, and anal cancer. Senator 
Grassley asked that studies be conducted by the FDA to further 
examine the long-term efficacy of Gardasil vaccination and the 
possibility that a booster shot may be needed. In its response, 
the FDA stated that the manufacturer of Gardasil is continuing 
to study the long-term effectiveness of the drug, but that at 
this time, there is no data that supports the need for a 
booster shot.

               Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services

Medicare Pays Dead Doctors
    Following a report in the New York Times that Medicare had 
been paying out tens of millions of dollars to suppliers who 
were improperly using identification numbers of doctors who 
were dead, Senator Grassley asked the Department of Health and 
Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid 
Services (CMS), and the HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) a 
series of questions regarding how they were addressing that 
issue. The request included statistics concerning the Medicare 
Fraud Hotline. HHS responded to the request, detailing a number 
of steps the agency has taken and is planning to take in order 
to mitigate this problem. It also provided a chart regarding 
the calls the OIG hotline has received over the last 2 years.
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% the prior year, and that 70% 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. On February 27, 2009, GAO released its report and 
issued four recommendations to CMS to help improve the agency's 
oversight in this area.
Fire Safety in Nursing Homes
    In the 111th Congress, Senator 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. The Senator also continued to monitor CMS's 
efforts to address fire safety issues identified by the 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.
Physician-Owned Hospitals
    Following the death of a patient in a physician-owned 
hospital in Colorado, Senators Baucus and Grassley sent a 
letter to CMS requesting the agency to keep them apprised of 
the investigation into the patient's death. CMS responded that 
the State of Colorado investigated and determined that the 
hospital was out of compliance with five Medicare Hospital 
Conditions of Participation. The hospital was ordered to 
immediately suspend all surgical services and all new 
admissions.
Phantom Pharmacies
    A private insurer contacted Senator Grassley to report its 
concerns over the lack of responsiveness from CMS to the 
insurer's attempts to communicate information regarding phantom 
pharmacies defrauding Medicare. The insurer provided to the 
committee information about pharmacies that did not exist or 
had no customers that may have been billing Medicare for 
millions of dollars. Senator Grassley asked HHS the following 
questions: (1) describe in detail how HHS interacts with 
private insurers who report cases of possible health care 
fraud; (2) specify whether or not HHS has a formal system in 
place to deal with private insurers reporting allegations of 
fraud; (3) explain the lack of responsiveness by CMS; and (4) 
describe any changes being made to ensure that CMS is taking 
allegations of fraud from insurers seriously.
    HHS responded on June 18, 2010, that the eight pharmacies 
alleged to be conducting fraud are presently under 
investigation. For that reason, HHS declined to provide further 
information to the committee.
Management Implication Reports (MIRs)
    Since 2006 the Committee on Finance has requested 35 
Management Implication Reports (MIRs) from CMS. A MIR is a 
document the HHS OIG produces, identifying systematic 
weaknesses or vulnerabilities in Federal programs to fraud, 
waste or abuse, and recommending ways to correct or minimize 
them. CMS responded to nine, was unresponsive to three, 
provided no response to 21 and had two with responses that were 
not yet due. Senator Grassley requested information as to why 
not all requested information was provided, wanted a timeline 
committing CMS to when they would respond and wanted a 
commitment that CMS will respond to all future MIRs within a 
60-day timeline.
    The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen 
Sebelius, responded that CMS is establishing a formal agency-
wide process to track the MIRs and ensure that the Agency 
remains responsive to concerns expressed by the OIG. In January 
2010, Senator Grassley introduced S. 2964, Strengthening 
Program Integrity and Accountability Act, which included a 
requirement that OIG inform Congress when it transmits MIRs to 
CMS and a requirement that CMS respond to OIG within 90 days.
Effectiveness of Quality Improvement Organizations
    The committee started receiving allegations in 2005 
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. Senators 
Baucus and Grassley requested information from CMS, the 
American Health Quality Association, and various state and 
regional QIOs on a broad range of matters. Senator Grassley 
also requested that GAO and HHS OIG evaluate the fiscal 
integrity, beneficiary complaint process, 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 other 
things.
    In addition, GAO determined that the Defense Contract Audit 
Agency (DCAA) did not meet the Generally Accepted Government 
Auditing Standards (GAGAS) for the 37 audit reports the GAO 
reviewed. The Senator followed up his initial letter to CMS 
with a question on how it can accept the QIO findings that DCAA 
submitted given that DCAA did not meet the GAGAS.
    On October 2, 2009, CMS responded by saying it has been 
using DCAA since 1998, when OIG and DCAA entered into a 
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Under the MOU, DCAA performs 
a defined set of priced audits to support the QIO program. 
Every year, the OIG and CMS have executed an Inter-Agency 
Agreement that authorizes the DCAA to perform audits for the 
QIOs. The DCAA issues a copy of all QIO audits to the OIG 
External Audit Center in Kansas City, which reviews these audit 
reports under the MOU.
    On May 28, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up letter 
to CMS asking why it continues to use DCAA in light of GAO's 
concerns. He asked what other entity within CMS uses DCAA and 
what independent validation and verification is being conducted 
by CMS to ensure that its audits are accurate and 
representative of the QIOs.
    CMS responded on July 18, 2010 by explaining that DCAA is 
the primary cost-audit entity across the entire Federal 
Government. However, in light of all the recent GAO findings, 
CMS is reassessing whether to continue using DCAA.
Group Purchasing Organizations
    Since group purchasing organizations (GPO) play a role in 
the cost and availability of drugs, medical devices, and 
medical supplies, Senator Grassley, in conjunction with the 
Special Committee on Aging and the Subcommittee on Antitrust, 
Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, sent letters to 
Amerinet, Broadlane, Consorta, MedAssets, Novation, Premier, 
and HealthTrust Purchasing Group inquiring about their policies 
and practices. He also asked that GAO examine the impact of 
GPOs' codes of conduct on GPO contracting practices, contract 
administrative fees, potential conflicts of interest, and the 
transparency and accountability of GPO business practices.
    In 1986, Congress passed legislation that provided a 
statutory safe harbor for GPOs under the Anti-Kickback Statute, 
42 U.S.C. 1320a-7b. This safe harbor allows GPOs to receive 
fees from manufacturers without violating antitrust and anti-
kickback laws. The purpose of GPOs is to contain health care 
costs and save money for hospitals and other health care 
providers by negotiating better prices with manufacturers. The 
question of interest to the committee was whether or not GPOs 
successfully achieve that purpose, since GPO activities have 
implications for Federal health care spending. In addition, it 
is the responsibility of the committee to conduct oversight 
into entities and activities that could affect the quality of 
care received by Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. GPOs 
determine what medical products are on GPO contracts for 
purchase by GPO hospitals and other members and customers. 
Thus, they play a significant role in the availability and cost 
of the medical products to their members and customers, which 
in turn can impact the quality of care delivered to Medicare 
and Medicaid beneficiaries.
    In September 2010, the Senator released a Minority staff 
report on GPOs. The findings in that report are based on (1) a 
review of documents provided to the committee by the seven 
GPOs; (2) a review of publications the staff received and 
collected through literature searches; (3) a review of GAO and 
HHS OIG reports on GPOs; and (4) interviews with device 
companies, distributors, trade associations, and attorneys 
examining group purchasing practices. The report concluded that 
there is limited data available on whether GPOs achieve cost 
savings. The report recommended that Congress consider 
legislation to provide HHS OIG with greater oversight authority 
so that HHS OIG could conduct an independent analysis and 
assess the true value provided by GPOs to hospitals, Medicare, 
and Medicaid.
CERT
    Senator Grassley scrutinized improper payment rate 
estimates involving claims submitted to Medicare. Improper 
payments cost American taxpayers billions of dollars per year. 
Estimates 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 durable medical equipment (DME) claims.
    In response, the Senator requested the HHS OIG investigate 
CERT and re-examine the DME error rate. The OIG determined that 
the DME error rate was not 7.5%, as originally reported to 
Congress. Instead it was closer to 30%. According to the 
report, CMS may have deliberately instructed its CERT 
contractor to undertake a limited review of the available data 
from suppliers rather than the full medical records from 
physicians. This deviation from CERT policy may have resulted 
in the much lower estimate of the error rate, specifically for 
DME.
    Senator Grassley asked the HHS 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 5-year review of all contracts between 
CMS and AdvanceMed, which allegedly received $5 million for its 
work on CERT. The OIG audited the 2008 error rate and found 
that the similar error reporting problems continued.
    In November 2009, HHS announced that CMS had revised and 
improved its calculations of Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) 
error rates in 2009 to reflect a more complete accounting of 
Medicare's improper payments than in past years. In December 
2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to HHS and CMS expressing 
his continued concerns that CMS had not released its detailed 
2009 CERT report or the 2008 report with a breakdown of error 
rates by provider types. In November 2010, CMS reported the 
annual Medicare FFS error rate without the breakdowns. The 
agency stated that the detailed report would be released 
publicly at a later date, although officials informed Congress 
that rates remained high, for example, more than 70% for 
durable medical equipment claims.
Zone Program Integrity Contractors and Program Safeguard Contractors
    Zone Program Integrity Contractors (ZPIC) and Program 
Safeguard Contractors (PSC) are tasked with providing Medicare 
benefit integrity functions for CMS, such as conducting fraud 
investigations, referring suspected fraud to law enforcement, 
and performing data analysis to identify trends and billing 
patterns that indicate fraudulent billing.
    HHS OIG found in 2007 that PSCs failed to adequately open 
new investigations or refer cases to law enforcement. There 
were a number of allegations regarding the effectiveness, 
performance, and operation of the ZPICs and the PSCs. Senator 
Grassley asked CMS about the fees, including awards and 
bonuses, paid to ZPICs and PSCs as well as the number of fraud 
referrals made to law enforcement.
    In its response, CMS stated it does not pay awards and 
bonuses based on contractor performance. CMS referred 384 cases 
to law enforcement in 2006, 444 in 2007, 574 in 2008 and 560 
for the first ten months of 2009. Additionally, it has received 
5,894 requests for assistance from law enforcement from January 
2008 to October 2009.
    On August 5, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up letter 
to CMS regarding these programs. He's concerned that referrals 
to law enforcement sometimes take more than a year to be made. 
Furthermore in 2007, contractors referred 4,239 overpayments 
totaling $825 million. As of June 2008, claims processers had 
collected only 7% of these payments, totaling $55 million. The 
processors sent 53% of the identified overpayments to the 
Department of the Treasury's cross-service program, which has 
never collected more than 2% of all debt referred to it. Some 
contractors are identifying many more overpayments than other 
contractors, yet taxpayer dollars continue to flow to 
underperforming contractors.
    On October 15, 2010, Senator Grassley also sent a follow-up 
letter to CMS requesting financial information for PSCs and 
ZPICs from January 2006 to the present. The same information 
had been requested on November 5, 2009. However, the CMS reply 
was incomplete. CMS cited the Trade Secrets Act, the Privacy 
Act, and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) as reasons for 
not providing all requested information. The request was 
forwarded by CMS to its FOIA office for processing.
Oversight of CMS Medicare Contractors
    In October 2009, the HHS OIG issued a report titled, 
``Medicare Drug Integrity Contractors' Identification of 
Potential Part D Fraud and Abuse.'' The OIG sought to determine 
the extent to which Medicare Drug Integrity Contractors (MEDIC) 
identified and investigated potential Part D fraud and abuse 
and whether the incidents were identified through external 
sources or proactive measures, and (2) describe any issues or 
barriers MEDICs encountered in identifying or investigating 
fraud and abuse.
    The OIG report made a number of recommendations to CMS that 
would assist the MEDICs in discharging their contractual 
obligations, and indicated that CMS concurred with three of the 
four recommendations. Senator Grassley wrote to CMS requesting 
an update on CMS's efforts to implement the HHS OIG's report 
recommendations.
    On October 6, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a letter to HHS 
and CMS to reiterate his concerns over inadequate management 
and oversight of CMS contractors. An OIG audit in early 2010 
found that CMS contractors, including Medicare Administrative 
Contractors (MAC), Program Safeguard Contractors (PSC), and 
Quality Improvement Organizations (QIO), were not fulfilling 
their responsibilities pursuant to the contracts.
    In addition, in response to a letter from the House of 
Representatives, Senators Grassley and Kohl investigated CMS's 
lack of proper oversight during the transition from National 
Health Insurance Company to Palmetto as the Medicare Affiliated 
Contractor in Region J1. The lack of oversight resulted in 
significant delays in Medicare contractors being paid for their 
services. As a result of the inquiry by the Senators, CMS 
accepted responsibility for the many problems and stated that 
it has taken steps to make sure these issues are avoided in 
future transitions.
Medicare and Medicaid Payments for Unnecessary Use of GA and GZ 
        Modifiers
    GA and GZ modifiers are pressure reducing support surfaces 
used to prevent bedsores or decubitus ulcers, which can occur 
when a person remains in one position without shifting his or 
her weight for long periods of time. Data provided by CMS show 
that in 2009, Medicare Part A and Part B paid more than $35 
million and $490 million, respectively, for claims with GA 
modifiers. Part A and Part B also paid more than $265,000 and 
$20 million, respectively, for claims with GZ modifiers. A 
contractor for CMS's CERT program reviewed claims with GA 
modifiers. The CERT contractor did not find a single claim for 
an item or service that was medically necessary, yet CMS paid 
most of these claims anyway. Senator Grassley was told that CMS 
recently changed its reimbursement policy so that Medicare Part 
A claims with GA and GZ modifiers are automatically denied but 
did not make a similar change for Part B claims.
CMS Five-Star Nursing Home Rating
    In response to concerns raised by a group of nursing home 
administrators, Senator Grassley inquired into CMS's 
implementation of the Five-Star Quality Rating System. This 
rating system ranks nursing homes from one to five stars on the 
basis of (1) Federal quality standards from surveys and 
complaint investigations, (2) nursing home staffing levels, and 
(3) ratings of quality of care measures. Concerns were raised 
that low ratings could hurt a company's ability to obtain 
funding and increase its liability in civil lawsuits, among 
other things. While CMS acknowledged some problems with the 
rating system and committed to reevaluating it, none of the 
concerns had yet materialized.
Health Care Procedure Coding System
    Senator Grassley sent a letter to the GAO asking it to look 
into medical billing codes the Centers for Medicare and 
Medicaid Services is maintaining under the Health Care 
Procedure Coding System (HCPCS). Some have raised concerns that 
the HCPCS has produced a growing number of broadly defined 
codes that are unduly ambiguous and imprecise. This could have 
an adverse impact on payers and payment systems. Without 
sufficiently detailed and precise coding, a wide range of 
products may become indistinguishable to payers, including 
Medicare and Medicaid. Furthermore, imprecise coding might have 
an adverse impact on patients and providers. An overly-broad 
code could impede access to clinically needed items and 
services.

                     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 which found 
that the 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 was 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.
    Senator Grassley then sent letters to about 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 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. It removed a 
Stanford professor from a grant and stopped a grant that was 
going to Emory.
    In 2009 Senator Grassley continued seeking more information 
regarding the $24 billion the NIH spends annually for 
extramural grants. One of the cases involved Emory University 
chair of the department of psychiatry, Dr. Charles Nemeroff. 
Reportedly, Dr. Nemeroff may have violated NIH conflict of 
interest rules for several agency grants. One instance in 
particular was the nature of Dr. Nemeroff's promotional talks 
with GlaxoSmithKline and Paxil.
    Senator Grassley also learned that Dr. Christie Ballantyne 
of Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) received over $34,000 for 
consulting work for Merck. Baylor responded in a news article 
that it was ``confident that its rules guard against any 
financial conflict of interest, saw no need to tell the NIH of 
payments by Merck to Dr. Ballantyne.'' Senator Grassley asked 
for the NIH's response to this statement.
    The NIH responded in writing and appeared before the 
committee to address this issue. The NIH had serious concerns 
regarding BCM's compliance with the Federal Financial Conflict 
of interest (FCOI) regulation. To that end the NIH has imposed 
special award conditions on all BCM grant awards until BCM can 
assure the NIH that the detected deficiencies noted in their 
response have been appropriately addressed and BCM can 
demonstrate compliance with the FCOI regulation to the NIH's 
satisfaction.
    The NIH is expected to enact new policies on conflicts of 
interest for the extramural program in spring 2011.
Physician Payments from Pharmaceutical Companies
    Senator Grassley continued to examine physician-industry 
relationships, including the failure of physicians to disclose 
payments from industry while receiving grants from the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) or while serving at institutions 
that make decisions affecting medical research and practices. 
Past investigations have revealed that physicians are failing 
to disclose the money they receive from companies as required 
by university and Federal regulations governing the NIH.
    In April 2009, Senator Grassley sent letters to eight 
pharmaceutical companies including Bristol-Myers Squib Company, 
Eli Lilly & Company, Forest Laboratories, GlaxoSmithKline, 
Johnson & Johnson, Novartis Corporation, Pfizer, and Schering-
Plough Corporation relating to the payments of four physicians. 
Responses from the companies were received and helped shape the 
Physician Payments Act bill.
Ghostwriting
    In 2004, Senator Grassley held a Finance Committee hearing 
on (1) the withdrawal from the U.S. market of the painkiller 
Vioxx, (2) the relationship between the drug industry and the 
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and (3) the 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. 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. 
Patients may be harmed if doctors are being misled to prescribe 
drugs that may not work or are unsafe.
    During the 111th Congress, Senator Grassley sent letters to 
Wyeth, American Journal of Medicine, Annual Review of Medicine, 
Archives of Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Medical 
Association, Nature Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine, 
PLoS Medicine, and Annals of Internal Medicine inquiring about 
their ghostwriting practices. In addition, in November 2009, 
Senator Grassley sent 10 additional letters to various medical 
academic institutions inquiring about their policies regarding 
the ghostwriting practice. Response to these 10 letters were 
received in December 2009.
    On June 24, 2010, a staff report was issued based on (1) a 
review of documents provided to the committee by the medical 
schools, the medical journals, Merck, Wyeth and the medical 
education and communications companies; (2) a review of court 
documents and publications the staff collected online and 
through literature search; and (3) interviews with published 
academic researchers, physicians, and attorneys examining 
conflicts of interest or the practice of ghostwriting.
    The report found that (1) despite acknowledgment of medical 
writers for ``editorial assistance,'' the role of 
pharmaceutical companies in medical publications remains veiled 
or undisclosed; (2) some medical schools explicitly prohibit 
ghostwriting in their policies; (3) detection of ghostwriting 
by medical schools is limited; (4) strengthening journal 
authorship policies appears to have limited effect on 
ghostwriting and disclosure of industry financing of medical 
articles; and (5) NIH does not have explicit policies on 
disclosure of industry financing of ghostwritten articles.
NIH Proposed Rule on Promoting Objectivity in Research
    In May 2010, the NIH issued a Proposed Rule on the 
Responsibility of Applications for Promoting Objectivity in 
Research for Which Public Health Service Funding Is Sought 
(Proposed Rule). The purpose of the rule is to strengthen 
existing financial conflict of interest rules to improve 
transparency and accountability. Senators Grassley and Kohl, 
who championed the passage of the Physician Payments Sunshine 
Act submitted their recommendations. These recommendations 
include requiring (1) researchers in an NIH grant to report 
outside income to the nearest $1000, (2) academic institutions 
to complete a plan to manage their researcher's potential 
conflicts of interest and (3) the NIH to make that information 
available to the public on NIH's website. The Senators believe 
these are reasonable initial steps to provide more transparency 
to the billions of dollars that the government spends on 
biomedical research.
    In addition, Senator Grassley wrote to the NIH to urge the 
agency to take into consideration the findings outlined in a 
report prepared by his committee staff on ghostwriting in 
medical literature in finalizing its Proposed Rule. In 
particular, the Senator urged NIH to ensure that the final rule 
defines the term ``significant financial interest'' to include 
company financing or other material contributions to develop 
medical literature. The definition should include: (1) 
conceiving and designing the underlying paper, (2) collecting 
or analyzing the data, and (3) drafting, reviewing or revising 
the manuscript.
    Senator Grassley also told NIH that it should require 
institutions that receive NIH grants to maintain up-to-date, 
written and enforced policies on (1) the authorship of 
articles, such as those established by the International 
Committee of Medical Journal Editors, and (2) the disclosure of 
any financial or material support, contribution or other item 
or service of value provided by a drug or device company to any 
articles written by or attributed to the institution, including 
any faculty member or researcher affiliated with the 
institution, that are published in a medical journal or other 
publication. The Senator further recommended that NIH consider 
requiring that articles based on research funded by NIH are 
published in a medical journal or other publication that has 
written, enforced policies on the authorship and the disclosure 
of any financial or material support provided by a drug or 
device company.
    On September 1, 2010, NIH responded to Senator Grassley's 
letter, advising that it does not condone ghostwriting and 
recognized that this practice may contribute to conflicts of 
interest and bias in research. The NIH has proposed to broaden 
Significant Financial Interest guidelines, which will require 
investigators to disclose more information to their 
institutions to combat the possibility of conflicts of interest 
and bias. The NIH has not yet finalized the Proposed Rule.

               Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Conditions of Drug Storage at the CDC
    In January 2010, Senator Grassley requested that the 
Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) Centers for 
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) keep him informed of the 
agency's progress in addressing drug storage concerns. The CDC, 
as a result of an HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) review, 
had agreed to initiate an independent review of its quality 
system and other procedures relative to CHEMPACK containers and 
the rest of the Strategic National Stockpile assets to ensure 
compliance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 
requirements. The OIG found that the CDC had not complied with 
those requirements in its storage of CHEMPACK.
    On May 10, 2010, the CDC provided a letter to update 
Senator Grassley on its efforts to improve storage and the 
quality control in its CHEMPACK program. The CDC advised the 
Senator of the implementation of quarantine procedures and 
improvements in standard operating procedures involving 
temperature monitoring, documentation, staff training, and 
quality management. Further, the CDC has begun steps to allow 
for ``an independent review to ensure that the CHEMPACK 
program's quality procedures and policies are consistent with 
relevant statutes and FDA guidance for the storage of 
pharmaceuticals.''
Follow-up on Office of Inspector General Audit of Centers for Disease 
        Control and Prevention Ethics Programs
    In December 2009, the HHS OIG released a report detailing 
the CDC ethics program for Special Government Employees (SGE) 
on Federal Advisory Committees. This report found an error rate 
of 97% on financial disclosure forms submitted by SGEs. 
Furthermore, the CDC certified these forms without being able 
to identify and/or resolve 64% of SGEs' potential conflicts of 
interest. Additionally 41% of SGEs did not receive ethics 
training from CDC in 2007.
    Senator Grassley requested an update on CDC's 
implementation of all seven HHS OIG recommendations, what steps 
the CDC has taken to ensure the proper completion of forms and 
an explanation of the consequences of not filling out a form 
correctly. Senator Grassley also sought a listing of all 
Federal Advisory members from January 2008 to the present with 
potential conflicts of interest, which CDC provided.
    The CDC responded that it immediately concurred with the 
recommendations the HHS OIG put forth. CDC stated in February 
2010 that the Army Financial Disclosure Management System 
became fully operational to process SGE forms. This should 
increase timeliness, consistency, and accuracy of the financial 
disclosure program. In the 2009 OIG report, no SGE was found to 
be in violation of conflict of interest laws or regulations. If 
issues of ethical behavior arise, an SGE may be subject to 
disqualification, recusal, divestiture, 18 USC section 
208(b)(3) waiver, and authorization under 5 C.F.R. section 
2635.502[a].

                      Department of Treasury/FRBNY

Treasury's Failure to Recover AIG Bonuses
    In December 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
Department of Treasury regarding the Treasury Department's 
failure to prevent the payment of exorbitant bonuses to AIG 
executives, despite the extraordinary level of taxpayer support 
for the company. Although the public outrage at the bonuses had 
led at least 18 top AIG executives to pledge to return the 
money, only $19 million of the $165 million in bonuses had been 
repaid. Therefore, the Senator asked Treasury to respond to a 
number of questions regarding how it planned to address the 
issue and enforce repayment.
    The Office of the Special Master for TARP Executive 
Compensation responded that he engaged in negotiations for the 
return of the bonuses and that failure to return bonuses 
voluntarily would be taken into consideration in his 2010 
compensation determinations.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY) Exposes Taxpayers to 
        Unknowable Levels of Risk
    The Office of the Special Inspector General for the 
Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) conducted a study 
titled, ``Factors Affecting Efforts to Limit Payments to AIG 
Counterparties.'' This study found that the Federal Reserve 
Bank of New York (FRBNY) potentially exposed the U.S. taxpayers 
to unknowable levels of risk, and failed to use its leverage to 
obtain concessions from counterparties at the height of the 
financial crisis. Senator Grassley asked whether Goldman Sachs 
would have incurred economic loss without the support to AIG 
and plans for 2009 bonuses. Goldman claimed to be fully hedged 
against the possibility of an AIG failure, which raises the 
question of why the FRBNY did not require Goldman to take 
losses on its credit default swaps with AIG and pass those 
losses on to the counterparties with which it was hedged. The 
Assistant Secretary of the Department of Treasury responded 
that it was implementing many of the recommendations of SIGTARP 
and the Government Accountability Office (GAO). Treasury failed 
to specifically address the Goldman Sachs and AIG questions.
Executive Pay and Bonuses to Employees of Bailed Out Corporations
    Following reports that employees of American International 
Group (AIG) received $160 million in bonuses and knowing that 
AIG had received over $170 billion in taxpayer funds to support 
its operations after suffering massive losses due to poor 
management decisions, Senator Grassley asked the Treasury 
Inspector General and the SIGTARP to look into the role, if 
any, and actions of the Department of the Treasury in the 
decision to pay those bonuses. In addition, the Senator asked 
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to provide information regarding 
executive compensation and bonuses to assure that they, too, 
were not using taxpayer funds for excessive compensation. In 
regards to AIG, the response was that the bonuses were actually 
retention payments intended to keep the employees who had 
helped build the company. These payments were allegedly 
contractually obligated because they existed before the Federal 
Government became involved with AIG. In regards to Fannie Mae 
and Freddie Mac, they too responded that they intended to pay 
retention bonuses in an attempt to keep their staffing levels 
up and operating ``at full speed,'' which they believed was in 
the best interest of the American taxpayer.
Federal Home Loan Modification Programs
    After reviewing a report from the Office of the Comptroller 
of the Currency (OCC) and the Office of Thrift Supervision 
(OTS), Senator Grassley questioned the long-term success of the 
FDIC's IndyMac loan modification program. In January 2009, he 
requested that the FDIC provide summary statistics of the 
status of IndyMac's loans modified under the FDIC's current 
program. The response from the FDIC showed that less than 1 
percent of the loans are more than 30 days past due, though 
they acknowledged that deteriorating economic conditions could 
affect that figure.
    Due to concerns that a large percentage of mortgage loans 
issued just prior to the financial crisis were obtained 
fraudulently, Senator Grassley asked the Treasury Department to 
take steps to minimize rewarding such fraud through its Federal 
loan modification program, the Homeowner Stability Initiative. 
Treasury responded that it is taking steps to minimize exposure 
to fraud in the initiative and will work with other entities in 
furtherance of that goal.
SIGTARP Delayed from Collecting Information
    In January 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) asking 
for an explanation of the facts and circumstances surrounding 
OMB's intervention to delay the SIGTARP's collection of 
information from TARP recipients. Specifically, OMB had ruled 
that SIGTARP was bound by the Paperwork Reduction Act in its 
attempt to gather information from TARP recipients. The Senator 
asked OMB to provide documentation as to how it arrived at this 
decision. While OMB did not provide the documentation 
requested, it did resolve the Paperwork Reduction Act issues in 
a way that eventually allowed SIGTARP to gather the information 
that it sought from TARP recipients.
Repayment of GM's Government Loan
    In April 2010, General Motors (GM) announced that it repaid 
``in full'' loans it had received under the Troubled Asset 
Relief Program (TARP). Senator Grassley asked the Department of 
the Treasury to explain how GM could have ``repaid'' those 
loans, given that it did so with other government funds being 
held in a Treasury escrow account. Those funds were originally 
proceeds from a larger loan to GM before it entered bankruptcy. 
However, the debt was converted in the transaction that 
resulted in the taxpayers' acquisition of 61% of GM stock and a 
smaller loan. The new GM repaid that smaller remaining loan 
after the bankruptcy with funds originally from the 
government's larger loan. GM and Treasury's claim that GM had 
repaid the taxpayer ``in full'' was, therefore, misleading. In 
fact, the taxpayer will only be made whole when and if the 
government is able to sell its entire ownership stake in the 
company for a profit.
Special Master for Compensation Conflict of Interest
    In March 2010, Senator Grassley asked the SIGTARP to 
investigate the apparent conflict of interest for an employee 
in the Office of the Special Master for Compensation under 
TARP. The employee joined Treasury in May 2009 and participated 
in drafting the Treasury regulations regarding executive 
compensation at TARP recipients like AIG and Bank of America. 
He had previously worked for the Wall Street law firm Wachtell, 
Lipton, Rosen & Katz. While at Wachtell, he represented Bank of 
America during its acquisition of Merrill Lynch in the fall of 
2008. Also, the Wachtell firm represents the former CEO and 
former CFO of AIG on executive compensation matters, including 
severance. Those executives may still be planning to make 
claims against AIG for millions of dollars of severance pay. 
SIGTARP agreed to examine the conflict of interest issue.
OIG Recommendations to Treasury
    In November 2009, Senator Grassley asked the Treasury 
Department to provide him with an update on the status of a 
recommendation made by the SIGTARP that Treasury require all 
TARP recipients to report on the actual use of TARP funds. This 
recommendation had been made before, but Treasury had failed to 
adopt this recommendation for all but three TARP recipients. 
Treasury responded that beginning in late November 2009 it 
would issue expanded reports that should address the Senator's 
concerns. It committed to continuing to implement new ways to 
report this information.
Special Considerations Given to Some Banks
    The government's extraordinary interventions in the economy 
during the financial crisis raised concerns about the basis on 
which it would pick winners and losers. Decisions about which 
institutions received Federal money may have been influenced by 
political considerations, such as interventions by elected, 
appointed, or other officials. Objective criteria should 
outweigh such considerations. Therefore, in February 2009 
Senator Grassley asked the Treasury Department's Inspector 
General and SIGTARP to investigate the Treasury Department's 
decisions to provide billions of taxpayer dollars to private 
financial institutions through the Troubled Assets Relief 
Program, the Capital Purchase Program, or through any other 
means. On July 20, 2009, SIGTARP released its use of funds 
audit, which addressed these issues.

                   Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC Implementation of OIG Recommendations
    In December 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) 
regarding dozens of recommendations from the Office of 
Inspector General (OIG) that had received ``no action'' or 
remain pending. In the letter, Senator Grassley asked the SEC 
to provide a detailed explanation for each OIG recommendation 
as to why the SEC has taken no action and, for those 
recommendations that remain pending, to provide a timeframe 
within which implementation is expected to be complete. The SEC 
responded that it had concurred with all 37 recommendations. Of 
those, 14 had been implemented, one is partially implemented, 
and 22 are pending. Of the 22 pending, 18 will be completed by 
the end of fiscal year 2010, two during fiscal year 2011, and 
the remaining two require additional funding to implement. SEC 
stated that it has developed a corrected action plan to assure 
that all recommendations are implemented.
Pequot Capital Management Report Recommendations
    As a follow-up to a previous investigation into the 
failings of the SEC during its investigation of Pequot Capital 
Management, Senator Grassley asked the SEC Chairman about 
recommendations from the joint Finance and Judiciary Committee 
staff report. Chairman Shapiro responded that the Commission 
plans to have all recommendations implemented by May 8, 2009.
Improper Trading by SEC Employees
    In March 2009, Senator Grassley asked the SEC Inspector 
General to provide the committee with information regarding his 
investigations into improper trading by employees of the SEC. 
Upon receipt of that information, Senator Grassley asked the 
Chairman a series of questions regarding how she planned on 
implementing the recommendations in the OIG report and how she 
planned on preventing future violations. The Chairman responded 
with a letter illustrating numerous steps the SEC is 
implementing to prevent violations. The SEC responded to the 
Senator's letter on May 4, 2009, and provided a copy of the OIG 
investigative report.
Whistleblower Retaliation
    In May 2010, the committee received reports that the SEC 
OIG conducted investigations that substantiated claims that SEC 
management engaged in whistleblower retaliation. Yet the SEC 
failed to take remedial action even though the OIG 
substantiated the allegation. Therefore, the Senator requested 
the OIG provide the committee with descriptions and copies of 
any investigative reports where the OIG substantiated 
whistleblower retaliation for the period of January 2007 to the 
present. He asked that OIG include any comments made or actions 
that were taken by the SEC in response to the OIG's reports.
    On May 26, 2010, Eric Spitler from the SEC Office of 
Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs provided a response 
to the request. A redacted copy of the SEC OIG report entitled, 
``Allegations of Retaliatory Personnel Actions'' (Case Number 
OIG 494-A, involving the Fort Worth Office) was attached. The 
report stated that on July 24, 2008, the SEC OIG initiated an 
investigation involving two employees' complaints of 
retaliation. The OIG found that retaliation occurred against 
both employees by supervisors. However, due to the nature of 
the disclosures, only one employee could be considered to have 
been retaliated against as a whistleblower. The OIG recommended 
disciplinary action of the supervisors for their actions of 
retaliation against their subordinates and submitted their 
recommendations to the Director of OCIE, the Associate 
Executive Director for Human Resources, the Associate General 
Counsel for Litigation and Administrative Practice, and the 
Ethics counsel. The SEC took no disciplinary action against the 
supervisors.
SEC Accessing Pornographic Materials from Government Computers
    Senator Grassley requested the Securities and Exchange 
Commission's Office of Inspector General (OIG) to provide a 
detailed, comprehensive summary of pornography cases the OIG 
had investigated over the last 5 years. The OIG had reported in 
the last three reports that at least 18 employees and 
contractors had been investigated for using their government 
computers to access pornographic materials.
    The OIG responded that over the last 5 years its 
investigations determined that of the 33 subjects who had 
engaged in inappropriate conduct, five contractors have been 
removed from their SEC contract, eight employees resigned from 
the Commission, six employees were suspended (with the 
suspensions ranging in length from 1 day to 14 days), five 
employees were issued formal reprimands, six employees were 
issued informal counseling or warning letters, and three 
employees are currently facing disciplinary action.

                     Social Security Administration

Fraudulent Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Claims Filed
    An issue Senator Grassley has closely monitored is the 
filing of false claims of Social Security Disability Insurance 
(SSDI) benefits by insurance companies. It is to the benefit of 
a private insurance company that a policy holder files for 
SSDI; for if a policy holder obtains SSDI, the private 
insurance company reduces a claimant's benefit by the amount of 
the SSDI benefit. In some cases, private insurers may be 
allowed to reduce their reserves when the SSDI claim is filed, 
regardless of whether the Social Security Administration 
approves or denies the claim. What this creates is thousands of 
unnecessary and meritless claims submitted for the Social 
Security Administration (SSA) to process.
    Senator Grassley recommended that individuals applying for 
SSA benefits must disclose if they have private or other non-
SSA disability coverage, require SSDI and SSI applicants and 
claimant representatives to attest to the accuracy and 
truthfulness of SSDI or SSI claim information, and arrange an 
information sharing network among private and other non-SSA 
disability programs regarding the status or disposition of 
disability claims. Further Senator Grassley recommended that 
SSA coordinate with the SSA Office of Inspector General to 
prosecute and penalize individuals responsible for filing false 
disability claims.
    SSA responded on April 23, 2009 by saying it is studying 
the issue. SSA said the Federal Trade Commission was conducting 
a study on the alleged practices of long-term disability 
insurance providers. Once SSA receives the results of the study 
it said it would act accordingly.
Disability Insurance Review
    Senator Grassley sent letters to nine insurers (Aetna, 
Cigna, Hartford, Lincoln, MetLife, Prudential, Reliance 
Standard, Standard, and Unum) requesting detailed information 
about their handling of disability claims. The Senator asked 
the insurers to report on how many of their claimants they had 
compelled to apply for Social Security in the last 5 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.''
SSA Representative Payees
    After recent media reports on SSA beneficiaries with 
representative payees falling prey to mistreatment from others, 
Senator Grassley asked the OIG for SSA to answer a number of 
questions regarding the SSA's representative payee program. One 
article highlighted a situation where a Texas-based business 
``paid mentally disabled men a pittance to work for an Iowa 
meat processing plant.'' The Senator wanted to ensure that SSA 
exerts adequate oversight of and has the commitment to 
continuously improve its management of representative payees. 
The OIG responded that it is committed to ensuring that SSA 
exerts adequate oversight and continuously improves its 
management of representative payees. In addition, the OIG 
provided a list of unimplemented recommendations from prior 
representative payee audits and evaluations.
Operations of the EAA at the Social Security Administration
    After receiving documents outlining a number of concerns 
regarding the activities of the Social Security Administration 
(SSA) Employees Activity Association (EAA), Senator Grassley 
began an inquiry into the operations of the EAA and its 
relationship to the SSA. The documents suggested that the EAA 
may have violated a number of Federal laws. In addition, it was 
relayed that the EAA refused to permit an independent audit of 
its books and records. For instance, MOUs between SSA and EAA 
may have violated the Federal Competitive Contracting Act, 
which requires contracts to be awarded through a competitive 
process and prohibits the award of contracts to organizations 
owned or controlled by Federal employees. In addition, 
questions were raised about possible conflicts of interest with 
EAA management, and at least two of the organizations 
established and controlled by the EAA Board appeared to be 
``for-profit'' organizations. In July 2009, the Senator asked 
the OIG for SSA to conduct a review and audit of the EAA. The 
OIG responded that it will conduct the review and will provide 
the results to the committee.
SSA Training Conferences
    After troubling media reports regarding a SSA training 
conference at the Arizona Biltmore, Senator Grassley requested 
that the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) for the SSA 
conduct an audit of the conference. In addition, the Senator 
asked that the OIG provide information on all past audits it 
had performed on conferences held within the past 5 years. In 
October 2009, the Senator, along with Senator Baucus, also 
requested a copy of the investigation of the Diversity 
Conference that was held in Atlanta, GA in 2006. The OIG 
provided the requested information and the report stated that 
the SSA had complied with all procurement rules.

                 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

CARS
    In August 2009, Senator Grassley asked the Office Inspector 
General (OIG) of the Department of Transportation (DOT) to pay 
particular attention to the Department's ability to assure 
program integrity of the Consumer Assistance to Recycle and 
Save program (CARS). CARS was intended to help consumers pay 
for new, more fuel efficient cars or trucks from participating 
dealers when they trade in less fuel efficient vehicles. 
Additionally, he requested that the OIG give serious 
consideration to sampling a number of transactions and examine 
whether or not the parties involved complied with all 
applicable law. He asked that the OIG consider such issues as 
the level of compliance with applicable Federal requirements, 
the accuracy and reliability of data on which transactions are 
based, actions the DOT has underway to safeguard the program 
against fraud, waste, and abuse and overall accountability for 
those found in non-compliance.
    On March 11, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up letter 
to the DOT questioning the numbers provided. Senator Grassley 
also had questions regarding the 32 companies and governmental 
entities that received Federal contracts or executed inter-
agency agreements to administer the CARS program. He had 
further questions regarding the awarding of contracts to former 
department officials and the payment of award fees to at least 
two contractors.
    In April 2010, GAO and DOT OIG released their reports on 
CARS. In general, many of the claims related to jobs and impact 
on GDP cannot be determined because it is not possible to 
quantify the exact impact this program had on vehicle 
purchases.
    In May 2010, the Senator requested the DOT provide all 
final payments made to the contractors utilized by the 
Department, the scheduled date for any and all close-out 
audits, and information regarding who will be conducting the 
close-out audits. The Senator also asked for a copy of the 
close-out audits once they were completed.
    On July 26, 2010 DOT provided accounting reports for all 
CARS contractors. Two contracts, those of Oracle and Citibank, 
contained provisions for award fees. By the end of fiscal year 
2010 NHTSA expects to determine how the CARS program will be 
closed out.
Concerns on ARRA Implementation at GSA
    Following the release of a General Services Administration 
(GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) report on the topic, in 
April 2010 Senator Grassley asked the GSA to explain the 
safeguards GSA developed to limit fraud, waste, or abuse of 
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds. The 
Senator was concerned because the increased workload for 
construction projects, nearly four times greater than a typical 
construction budget for a year, combined with the short 
timeframe in which to obligate ARRA funds, creates ``an 
environment that provides more opportunities for fraud, waste, 
and abuse to occur,'' according to the OIG.
    On July 26, 2010, the GSA sent a letter referencing reports 
from Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) relating to GSA 
stimulus funding, which were provided to Senator Grassley's 
office per request. GSA advised that a recent internal quality 
assurance review of DCAA has found that 10 out of 17 selected 
audit reports for review failed to comply with generally 
accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS). Consequently, 
the 10 reports have been rescinded and DCAA must qualify any 
and all work covered by GAGAS until a current peer review is 
completed. Once the peer review is completed, GSA will re-
evaluate whether to resume using DCAA as a subcontractor for 
audit services.
ARRA Funds to be Used for Off-Campus SSA National Computer Center
    The SSA planned on using a portion of the $500 million 
Recovery Act funds to purchase land for a new National Computer 
Center. This would have been a new land purchase even though 
SSA had federally owned land at the Baltimore campus location. 
The Senator was concerned that the SSA and the GSA had not 
conducted a cost-benefit analysis to make sure the off-campus 
location planned for the new facility was in the best interest 
of the American taxpayer. As a result, GSA performed a study of 
the issue that claimed to justify the off-campus option.
Request of Office of Management and Budget to Explain How to Prevent 
        ARRA Fraud
    Estimates are that $55 billion of ARRA money will be lost 
through fraud, waste, and abuse. Senator Grassley asked the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) what it is doing to keep 
this from happening. Over 3,500 recipients failed to file as 
recipients of award money and failed to provide receipts for 
work performed. There are several reasons: outright fraud, the 
lack of penalties for failure to file, and a cumbersome filing 
process. The Excluded Parties List System (EPLS) is meant to 
exclude individuals and firms from receiving Federal contracts 
or subcontracts due to statutory exclusions. However, once 
individuals and firms received ARRA funds, they keep receiving 
funds even if they were on the EPLS. OMB responded that the 
overwhelming majority of recipients are complying with ARRA 
requirements and that the Federal Acquisition Regulation gives 
contracting officers the discretion to continue an existing 
contract with companies or individuals on the EPLS in order to 
minimize unnecessary disruption to the agency mission.
Department of Energy Weatherization Assistance Program
    The Department of Energy (DOE) received over $32.7 billion 
in ARRA funds, which have to be obligated by September 30, 
2010. To meet this requirement the DOE had to obligate $55 
million a day. One of the programs the DOE funded was the 
Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP), which is a program to 
improve energy efficiency of homes owned or occupied by low 
income persons. The DOE Office of Inspector General reported 
that less than 8% of the $4.73 billion allocated for the 
Weatherization Assistance Program has been drawn. 156,118 homes 
were planned to be upgraded but only 677 were actually 
completed. The desire to spend the weatherization funds on a 
catch-up basis may lead to an environment conductive to 
wasteful, inefficient, and perhaps even abusive practices. 
Senator Grassley requested that the DOE answer several 
questions as to the oversight of the weatherization program.
    The DOE responded that in February 2010 it weatherized 
18,091 homes. It expects to weatherize 20,000 to 30,000 homes 
per month to reach the President's goal of 593,000 homes 
weatherized by March 31, 2012. As of April 12, 2010, the WAP 
expended $724.7 million and was spending more than $100 million 
monthly.
    On July 21, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up letter 
to DOE asking why its staff spent a disproportionate amount of 
time ``monitoring'' weatherization efforts in the Pacific 
Territories (Guam, Northern Marianas Islands and American 
Samoa) rather than in New York, Texas and Michigan. The Senator 
further wanted to know how DOE was ensuring the accuracy of 
weatherization data. He requested the identification of any 
Stimulus funds that have been re-captured by DOE relating to 
WAP.
    On October 19, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a letter to DOE 
Secretary Chu regarding the latest OIG audit of the Illinois 
WAP. The OIG report found significant substandard performance 
in areas of workmanship, initial home assessments, and 
contractor billing for labor costs not incurred and materials 
that had not been installed. The OIG found widespread 
deficiencies in weatherization work and home inspections and 
erroneous billing.
Housing and Urban Development Disbursement of Funds
    Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received nearly $14 
billion of taxpayer money pursuant to the American Recovery and 
Reinvestment Act of 2009. Some of these funds went to areas 
noted by the HUD Office of Inspector General to be troublesome 
areas where there were instances of fraud, waste, and abuse. 
Senator Grassley asked if HUD took into consideration whether 
those housing authorities slated to get large sums of money 
could handle these funds. HUD maintains a list of troubled 
housing authorities and Senator Grassley wanted to know if 
anyone on this list received ARRA money. Senator Grassley also 
wanted to know what safeguards HUD had in place to limit fraud, 
waste, and abuse of Recovery Act funds at housing authorities. 
Finally, Senator Grassley requested information on all action 
taken against any and all housing authorities found to have 
misspent ARRA funds or otherwise not complied with their 
obligations.
    HUD responded that all troubled housing authorities 
received ARRA funds. HUD agreed that troubled Housing 
Authorities would require enhanced monitoring and oversight. 
There was no publically available listing of troubled housing 
authorities. It was only available to the public through a 
Freedom of Information Act request. However, HUD agreed to post 
Public Housing Assessment System scores on its website.
    On June 16, 2010, Senators Grassley and Bond sent a follow-
up letter to HUD seeking additional information on troubled 
Public Housing Authorities (PHA). The Senators asked whether 
the Puerto Rico Housing Authority was going to pay back $32.1 
million of stimulus funds after HUD found the money to be 
inappropriately obligated. The Senators wanted to know how a 
PHA is placed on a troubled housing list, how one is removed, 
and how a PHA is placed in or removed from receivership.
    On July 23, 2010, HUD responded in a 15-page letter that 
provided summary data about the Recovery Act monitoring 
reviews, listed troubled housing authorities, and described the 
actions being taken to get them back in order.
    On August 23, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up 
letter to HUD regarding issues with the PHAs in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania and Lakeland, Florida. The Philadelphia Executive 
Director was receiving annual compensation of over $350,000, 
more than the Philadelphia mayor and Pennsylvania Governor 
combined. The Lakeland Executive Director enjoyed an annual 
salary of over $182,000, as well as a benefits package, 
including an $18,000 car allowance and 8 weeks of paid 
vacation. The Senator was concerned that Stimulus dollars were 
being spent on exorbitant salaries rather than caring for the 
needy. The Senator requested: (1) the annual compensation 
packages of all executive directors of troubled PHAs, (2) the 
compensation packages at the top 20 PHAs, (3) a justification 
for all the annual bonuses paid to executive directors, and (4) 
an explanation of who determines executive compensation at 
PHAs.
    On September 17, 2010, Senator Grassley sent another letter 
to HUD continuing to seek information insights into HUD's 
oversight of PHAs and in particular Philadelphia, involving 
areas such as conflicts of interest and allegations of sexual 
harassment against senior PHA staff.
    On October 5, 2010, HUD responded to the Senator's August 
23rd letter, indicating that no questionable financial 
activities at the Philadelphia PHA had been uncovered by HUD's 
independent auditor. HUD dispatched a team of CPAs with 
extensive Public Housing experience to audit PHA's financial 
and management operations. HUD further conducted a remote 
review of the grants that the Philadelphia PHA received. 
Regarding employee complaints, HUD advised that there were two 
complaints during fiscal year 2008 to date, neither of which 
apparently impacted Recovery Act functions. HUD said it does 
not regulate compensation for PHA Executive Directors, but that 
in light of events, the agency would work to reassess that 
policy.
Small Business Administration--Funds Received from Recovery Act
    The Small Business Administration (SBA) received $585 
million of Recovery Act funds. Senator Grassley asked a series 
of questions addressing efforts to prevent waste, fraud, and 
abuse. On June 15, 2010, the SBA responded that it had used the 
money to establish several new programs to facilitate lending 
and other benefits to small businesses. SBA explained that 
loans are monitored through the use of the Form 1502 reporting 
system. Each month, the lenders report the status of each 
guaranteed loan. The agency developed a risk mitigation plan to 
identify potential areas of vulnerability for each Recovery Act 
initiative.
Department of Energy Grant Being Used to Import Wind Turbines
    The Department of Energy was awarded $3.08 billion for 
fiscal year (FY) 2010 with another $4.46 billion for fiscal 
year 2011 for renewable energy programs. It has been reported 
that grants have gone to foreign suppliers for renewable 
energy, for example to China for wind turbines. Senator 
Grassley pointed out that ARRA was for the creation of U.S. 
jobs, not to spend on imports. He requested a summary of the 
total amount of Recovery Act funds that were spent on products 
manufactured in foreign countries. Additionally Senator 
Grassley asked what safeguards were in place to ensure Recovery 
Act recipients and sub-recipients only hire individuals legally 
authorized to be in the United States.
    The OMB responded that the U.S. has a relatively small 
share of worldwide manufacturing capacity for clean energy-
related industries, such as wind, solar and advanced battery 
technologies. Heads of Federal Departments waive the Buy 
America provision if certain conditions are met, and many 
agencies elected to use this waiver provision.
Department of Labor and ``Green Jobs''
    The Department of Labor (DOL) received $58 billion in 
Recovery Act funding to provide worker training for jobs and 
ease the burden of the recession on workers and employers. The 
Obama Administration focused on the development of ``green 
jobs,'' which includes job training, technology investment, and 
promoting energy efficiency. DOL distributed millions of 
dollars before actually adopting a definition for ``green 
job.'' Senator Grassley asked DOL how it could distribute 
millions of taxpayer dollars for ``green jobs'' without 
defining them.
    DOL responded that it designated $490 million in Recovery 
Act money for green jobs training. DOL said it consulted 
definitions in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Workforce 
Investment Act, and the Occupational Information Network. It 
indicated that the Bureau of Labor Statistics was still working 
to develop a definition of green sectors and jobs for the 
purposes of counting employment.
    On September 23, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up 
letter to DOL seeking additional assurances that, among other 
things, stimulus money provided to DOL would not be squandered 
on programs that produced few, if any, employment results. On 
October 6, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a letter to DOL Acting 
Inspector General Daniel Petrole requesting a programmatic 
review of the stimulus program expenditures.
National Endowment of the Arts
    Senator Grassley sent a letter to the National Endowments 
of the Arts (NEA) OIG asking that it look into allegations that 
the NEA was using American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) 
funds to subsidize pornographic performances. The Senator asked 
that the NEA OIG staff keep him apprised of its work on this 
topic. There were three organizations in question regarding the 
presentation of obscene material. The NEA stated it had found 
no prior cases involving obscenity issues for these 
organizations. The NEA further stated that until all NEA ARRA 
funds are drawn down it cannot determine whether expenditures 
are in compliance with NEA and ARRA guidelines.

                  GAO and OIG Access and Independence

Access Issues Limiting GAO's Ability to Conduct Its Mission
    In September 2009, Senator Grassley asked the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) for information regarding any 
access issues that hinder its ability to provide to Congress 
timely and thorough reports about executive branch agencies and 
programs. He also asked whether or not the GAO needed any other 
authorities or legislative changes that would enhance its 
ability to fulfill its mission. GAO responded that, generally, 
most departments and agencies are quick to comply with requests 
and supply the requested information. However, GAO did 
specifically single out problems it has had with delays at HHS 
and FDA, extreme delays for information from DHS, and outright 
refusal for information from DOJ, including the FBI. GAO stated 
that it could benefit from legislation related to its ability 
to audit the Federal Reserve.
    In May 2010, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up letter to 
GAO requesting a description of all instances where a Federal 
or private entity impeded, delayed, or refused a GAO request 
for information. Additionally the Senator requested the GAO 
provide his office with notification of any refusal to provide 
information as they happen and any failures to provide 
information upon completion of the project.
    On June 15, 2010 the GAO responded with certain instances 
of agencies or departments not cooperating with its requests. 
The GAO sought adoption of S. 2991, The Government 
Accountability Office Improvement Act of 2010.
State Department Fails to Cooperate with GAO
    In July 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
Department of State (State) regarding the lack of cooperation 
the GAO was receiving from State. Specifically, the GAO was 
working on a request from the Senator regarding the number of 
passport recipients who owed Federal taxes or were registered 
sex offenders. State was not providing the GAO with the 
information it needed to complete its review. Senator Grassley, 
along with Senator Baucus, requested that State fully cooperate 
with GAO, which it eventually did following a long and 
unnecessary delay.
Removal of AmeriCorps IG
    President Bush signed the Inspector General Reform Act 
(P.L. 110-409) into law which was designed to strengthen the 
independence and integrity of the Inspectors General. One of 
the most important provisions of the legislation was Section 3, 
which amended the procedures for the removal of Inspectors 
General. Specifically, Section 3 requires that, ``the President 
shall communicate in writing the reasons for any such removal 
or transfer to both Houses of Congress, not later than 30 days 
before the removal or transfer.'' In June 2009, Senator 
Grassley began an inquiry into the removal of the Corporation 
for National and Community Service (CNCS) Inspector General 
Gerald Walpin without the required notice to Congress. As a 
U.S. Senator, the President had co-sponsored the Inspector 
General Reform Act with Senator Grassley. However, without 
providing any notice to Congress, an administration official 
gave the watchdog an ultimatum to resign within an hour or be 
terminated. Complete findings from the investigation are 
detailed in two joint staff reports completed in conjunction 
with staff from the House Committee on Oversight and Government 
Reform.
ITC OIG Access to Agency Information
    In June 2009, Senator Grassley requested information from 
the International Trade Commission (ITC) regarding an incident 
where documents were forcibly taken from an OIG employee by an 
ITC employee. In addition, the Senator asked why the IG had a 
limited-term six-month appointment contrary to the provisions 
of the IG Act. Subsequent to Senator Grassley's request, the 
ITC IG was told that she would be transferred from the 
position. As a result, the Senator asked the ITC for the notice 
and reasons for the transfer, as required by law, along with an 
explanation of why it has not yet been provided. The ITC then 
provided the official notice as required by law.
    In addition, Senator Grassley asked the GAO to conduct a 
study into the ITC IG's ability to function effectively and 
independently. In August 2009, Senator Grassley, along with 
Senators Lieberman and Collins of the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs, sent a letter to the ITC 
asking that ITC appoint a permanent Inspector General within a 
reasonable amount of time.
Amtrak OIG
    During the 111th Congress, Senator Grassley received 
reports that Amtrak was interfering with the independence of 
its Inspector General, Fred Weiderhold. At the IG's request, 
the law firm of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, LLP drafted a 
``Report on Matters Impairing the Effectiveness and 
Independence of the Office of Inspector General.'' The Report 
suggests a long-term and unrelenting interference with the 
activities and operation of the OIG. The Chairman of Amtrak's 
Board of Directors gave the IG an ultimatum to retire within 48 
hours or a notice of his removal would be provided to Congress. 
The IG chose to accept a generous severance agreement with a 
non-disclosure provision that did not contain an exception for 
speaking with Congress about his removal. The circumstances of 
the IG's removal raised concerns that Amtrak had circumvented 
the IG Reform Act's requirement to notify Congress 30 days in 
advance. The complete findings of a comprehensive investigation 
of what amounts to a constructive removal of the IG are 
detailed in a joint staff report prepared with the staff of the 
House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Both DOT 
OIG and the Postal OIG are conducting additional follow-up 
related to the controversy.
Request for Removal of NASA IG
    In March 2009, Senator Grassley and Senators McCaskill and 
Rockefeller asked President Obama to immediately remove the 
Inspector General (IG) of the National Aeronautics and Space 
Administration (NASA). The Senators found that since his 
appointment, the IG had repeatedly stifled investigations, 
retaliated against whistleblowers, and prioritized his social 
relationships with top NASA officials over proper Federal 
oversight. On April 2, 2009, the IG resigned from his position.
Improved Financial and Commodity Markets Oversight and Accountability 
        Act
    In July 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
Chairman and Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and 
Governmental Affairs Committee requesting that they reconsider 
a provision in the Improved Financial and Commodity Markets 
Oversight and Accountability Act that would make the Inspectors 
General of five designated Federal entities Presidential 
appointees. The Senator was concerned that this change would 
introduce partisan politics into these positions. The 
provisions were inserted into the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform 
bill. However, the Senate adopted an amendment by Senators 
Grassley and McCaskill to enhance independence in other ways 
for those five inspectors general, as well as all designated 
Federal entity inspectors general.
Freedom of Information Act Requests--Letters Sent to OIG's to See if 
        FOIA Requests Are Receiving Political Reviews
    Senator Grassley sent letters to 28 Inspectors General 
requesting that they conduct an inquiry into their agency's 
FOIA office to determine whether, and if so, the extent to 
which political appointees are made aware of information 
requests and have a role in request reviews or decision-making.

           Pharmaceuticals and Devices: Conflicts of Interest

Vytorin
    Following reports that Schering-Plough and Merck failed to 
release the results of a study called ENHANCE that evaluated 
their drug Vytorin, Senator Grassley sent letters to both 
companies. Vytorin, a cholesterol-lowering drug, is a joint 
venture of Merck and Schering-Plough.
    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.
    Senator Grassley first sent the companies a letter 
discussing the companies' 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. The Federal Government spent hundreds of millions of 
dollars on Vytorin after the ENHANCE trial was complete, but 
before it was published.
    On December 9, 2010, the FDA responded to Senator 
Grassley's November 14th letter regarding the ENHANCE study 
involving Vytorin, an FDA approved drug in 2004 that is a 
combination of the statin simvastatin and ezetimibe. The FDA 
acknowledged, as noted in its public communication of the final 
clinical study report of ENHANCE on January 8, 2009, that the 
difference in changes in carotid artery thickness between the 
Vytorin group and the simvastatin-only group was not 
statistically significant.
    An ongoing trial, Improved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin 
Efficacy International Trial (IMPROVE-IT), is studying the 
effect of Vytorin vs. simvastatin alone in approximately 18,000 
patients. Results are expected in 2012.
    Vytorin's current labeling states, ``No incremental benefit 
of Vytorin on cardiovascular morbidity and mortality over and 
above that demonstrated for simvastatin has been established.''
Pharmaceutical Industry Funding of National Alliance on Mental Illness 
        (NAMI)
    Reports in the New York Times claim that money from the 
pharmaceutical industry shapes the practices of non-profit 
organizations which purport to be independent in their 
viewpoints and actions. It is alleged that pharmaceutical 
companies give money to non-profits in an attempt to garner 
favor in ways that increase sales of their products. Senator 
Grassley wanted to know if the National Alliance on Mental 
Illness (NAMI) accepted pharmaceutical funding and what kind of 
influence this funding had on its operations.
    Senator Grassley received a response from NAMI National, 
which reported that it received $28,659,300 from pharmaceutical 
companies from 2005 to 2008. It also stated that there are 
approximately 1,000 NAMI affiliates throughout the country. 
NAMI National stated it could not detail the financial 
relationships affiliates may have with pharmaceutical 
companies. Senator Grassley then sent letters to 51 various 
NAMI affiliates requesting financial records on monies received 
from pharmaceutical companies and from NAMI National.
    All but three (Alabama, Arizona, Connecticut) of the NAMI 
affiliates responded. All stated they accept unrestricted 
contributions from pharmaceutical companies.
    Senator Grassley sent another letter to NAMI National to 
ask what steps it was taking to help state chapters make their 
sources of funding transparent. He asked what NAMI National was 
doing to ensure that NAMI state chapters use money properly. 
Finally, Senator Grassley inquired if NAMI state chapter 
leaders were required to complete and file conflict of interest 
forms.
    NAMI National responded that NAMI's chartered state 
organizations are independently incorporated and that NAMI 
National does not have direct oversight on the operations. 
However, for the last 2 years NAMI has undertaken a Standards 
of Excellence process that will include expectations for 
maintenance of independence, conflict of interest procedures, 
and transparency.
Industry Funding of Non-Profit Medical Organizations
    Senators Grassley and Kohl wrote to the American Academy of 
Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) regarding reports in the New York 
Times of the lack of transparency in payments from medical 
companies to non-profit organizations that purport to be 
independent. The Senators requested policies for accepting 
industry funding and whether the AAOS allows companies to place 
restrictions on industry funding.
    The AAOS responded on July 28, 2009 that no money was 
received from foundations established by medical device or 
pharmaceutical companies. It also reported that it did not 
accept support from commercial entities that place restrictions 
on support. The Academy retains complete responsibility, 
control, and decision-making authority for all of its programs.
    In addition, Senator Grassley wrote to 33 nonprofit medical 
organizations for information about the financial support they 
get from the pharmaceutical, medical device and insurance 
industries. The Senator stated that the organizations have a 
lot of influence over public policy. Transparency in industry 
payments would lead to accountability.

                    Department of Homeland Security

Naturalization of Times Square Bomber Faisal Shahzad
    After learning the alleged Times Square bomber and 
terrorist Faisal Shahzad had become a naturalized U.S. citizen 
in 2009 even though he had been under suspicion by the Joint 
Terrorism task Force, Senator Grassley asked the Department of 
Homeland Security (DHS) to answer a number of questions and 
provide certain documents regarding his naturalization. He 
stated that Shahzad's recent naturalization raises questions 
about how thoroughly potential citizens are being vetted before 
being granted the privileges of U.S. citizenship.
    On July 7, 2010, the Office of Legislative Affairs at DHS 
responded to Senator Grassley's inquiry. Citing an exemption 
under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and the Privacy 
Act, DHS asserted incorrectly that it cannot provide answers to 
the Senator's questions absent a written request from the 
Chairman of a committee or subcommittee. However,  552a(b)(9) 
of the Privacy Act permits the Executive Branch to provide 
information that would otherwise be protected by the Act to 
Congress or a ``committee or subcommittee thereof.'' The 
Executive Branch interprets this exemption to only apply if 
there is a ``request'' from the Chairman. However, the one-and-
a-half page DOJ/OLC opinion to that effect cites no legal 
authority to support its conclusion. By contrast, the Second 
Circuit has held that information sent to a Congressman in his 
official capacity as a member of a subcommittee fell ``squarely 
within the ambit of  552a(b)(9).'' See Devine v. United 
States, 202 F.3d 547, 551 (2nd Cir. 2000).
Lack of Progress in Establishing Visa Security Units
    The Homeland Security Act of 2002 required that DHS 
personnel be physically stationed at every visa-issuing post to 
screen applications for security concerns. This requirement 
grew out of the lax visa processing safeguards that allowed the 
9/11 hijackers to come to the United States despite their 
suspicious and incomplete visa applications. Congress seriously 
considered taking the visa issuance function away from the 
State Department entirely. However, establishing a DHS presence 
through Visa Security Units (VSUs) was the compromise position 
adopted.
    After learning that DHS had established only 14 of the 
approximately 40 VSUs in overseas posts identified as high 
risk, Senator Grassley asked Secretary Clinton of the 
Department of State (State) to provide a briefing on the steps 
that it will take to speed the process of establishing the 
VSUs. Additionally, he asked the Secretary to answer a series 
of questions regarding Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab's entry into 
the U.S.
    The Senator followed that letter with a request on February 
18, 2010, for State to reverse its decision to deny a VSU in 
Jerusalem. State responded that it is actively working to 
improve the Visa issuance process and that it had plans to open 
three VSUs, including Jerusalem, soon. Though State did not 
provide the requested documents, it did allow staff members to 
review them during a subsequent meeting.
Allegations of Deficiencies in CBP's Revenue Collection Program
    In November 2009, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the DHS 
regarding allegations of deficiencies in Customs and Border 
Protection's (CBP) revenue collection program. Specifically, a 
former auditor with CBP contacted Senator Grassley and reported 
that employees of the CBP were not effectively performing the 
functions of their jobs, leading to loss of substantial revenue 
for the United States. In addition, CBP was routinely reducing 
fines and interest payments, and auditors lack the independence 
from politicization to effectively perform their jobs. Since 
these allegations had previously been provided to the 
Secretary, the Senator requested an update on the current 
status of DHS's review of the allegations and requested that 
the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) conduct an audit of 
all trade compliance and revenue collection programs. The OIG 
responded that it planned to address the issues raised by the 
Senator with a series of audits set to begin in December 2009.

                    Federal Bureau of Investigation

Cheating on DIOG Exam
    The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) required all 
Special Agents, Task Force Officers, Intelligence Analysts, 
Investigative Assistants, and all relevant individuals take the 
Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide (DIOG) 
examination. This exam required 16 hours of instructions 
followed by an open book exam that a typical agent required 2 
to 5 hours to take. To pass this exam, a score of 80 percent or 
better was needed. The test taker was not allowed to consult 
with anyone regarding the test. The last question on the test, 
question 51, asked if the examiner had consulted with anyone 
while taking the test. Many of the individuals did not get the 
required 80 percent the first time they took the exam.
    Senator Grassley learned that high ranking FBI officials 
cheated on the DIOG exam and asked what the Director of the FBI 
was doing about these allegations, since historically there has 
been a disparity of punishment between the rank and file FBI 
agents and top management.
    The FBI responded to Senator Grassley that its 
investigation determined that four top ranking individuals did 
cheat on the exam. One of the individuals retired before any 
punishment could be meted. The other three individuals are 
pursuing their options of requesting a hearing to review the 
proposed penalties.
    On August 12, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
Department of Justice (DOJ) OIG requesting a briefing on the 
investigation that it was conducting regarding this matter. He 
wanted to know why and when OIG took over the investigation. 
The Senator was concerned that the OIG deferred the case 
regarding Assistant Director Joseph Perichini and two Special 
Agents in Charge.
Mismanagement of Resources Available for Counterterrorism Investigation 
        and Retaliation Against FBI Whistleblower
    Senator Grassley testified at a House Judiciary Committee 
hearing along with the FBI's highest-ranking Arab American 
agent, Bassem Youssef, in May 2008. At that hearing, Youssef 
revealed that the FBI's International Terrorism Operations 
Section (ITOS) was staffed at only 62% of the funded staffing 
level. Following the hearing, Senator Grassley requested, along 
with the Chairmen of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees, 
that GAO 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. However, GAO encountered 
significant obstacles from the FBI in conducting its review. 
The FBI refused to provide information necessary for GAO to 
conduct its work on the grounds that its functions are funded 
from the National Intelligence Program budget and are allegedly 
not subject to GAO review. The Congressional co-requestors of 
GAO's work have explained to DOJ and FBI representatives that 
GAO's authority is sufficient and that the agency's objections 
to the information requests have no legal basis.
Preferential Treatment Wrongfully Being Afforded to Supervisory FBI 
        Personnel in Disciplinary Matters
    In May 2009, the DOJ OIG released an audit report that 
described a perceived double standard in the FBI's disciplinary 
system. In general, the OIG found that: (1) allegations against 
supervisors were found to be unsubstantiated at a higher rate 
than that of non-supervisors; (2) almost all penalties against 
Senior Executive Service (SES) supervisors were mitigated; and 
(3) most of the reasons for the mitigation of the penalties 
were unreasonable.
Mishandling of Anthrax Investigation
    Senator Grassley has closely followed 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 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, citing the DOJ'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, Ranking 
Member Arlen Specter, Senator Grassley, and their staff.
    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 and they 
were about to arrest him for the anthrax killings. However, 
with his death, the FBI said it would begin the process of 
closing the anthrax investigation.
    Since Dr. Ivins's death, the FBI has provided several 
briefings Congressional staff. However, 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, why the FBI entrusted Dr. 
Ivins with samples of the attack material during the 
investigation, and why Dr. Ivin's mental health issues did not 
preclude him from working with Anthrax professionally in a 
government laboratory. Senator Grassley has called for an 
independent inquiry to assure the public that the FBI's 
decision to close its investigation is appropriate.
    In July 2009, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) began 
an independent review of the FBI's scientific evidence. NAS 
released its report on February 15, 2011. The report found that 
the scientific evidence did not conclusively support the FBI's 
claim that the anthrax found in the letters ``matched'' the 
anthrax found in Dr. Ivins's lab.
Passport Availability for Delinquent Taxpayers and Sex Offenders
    Senators Baucus and Grassley requested that the GAO examine 
passport issuance procedures at the State Department to assess 
their effectiveness in preventing certain classes of passport 
applicants from receiving travel documents, including those 
with tax debts and sex offenses. Initially, the State 
Department refused to provide GAO with access to the data 
needed to conduct its audit. Resistance from the State 
Department caused significant and unreasonable delays in GAO's 
work. However, GAO eventually obtained enough information to 
conduct its review and the report of its findings was released 
on June 15, 2010, report number GAO-10-643.
National Security Letters
    On March 9, 2007, the DOJ OIG released a report entitled, 
``A Review of the Federal Bureau of Investigations' Use of 
National Security Letters.'' The OIG report detailed 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 Inspector General'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 filed. 
Moreover, the FBI often issued those letters even though there 
was no emergency. The FBI promised to deliver the subpoenas 
later but never did so.
    In March 2008, the OIG completed a follow-up of the FBI's 
use of NSLs and found that the FBI had made significant 
progress in addressing the concerns raised in the earlier 
report. In addition, 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. In April 2009, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up to 
the OIG asking for the status of that report. The final report 
was released on January 20, 2010, and contained a number of 
recommendations for the FBI. The report also stated that the 
FBI has not issued any exigent letters since the first OIG 
report in March 2007.
Unimplemented OIG Recommendations from Robert Hanssen Investigation
    In May 2010, Senator Grassley asked the DOJ OIG to provide 
the status of FBI's implementation of recommendations that came 
out of the OIG's review of the Robert Hanssen spy case. The OIG 
concluded in its 2003 review of this case that, ``Robert 
Hanssen did not escape detection because he was a `master spy' 
who was extraordinarily clever and crafty, but because of 
longstanding systemic problems in the FBI's counterintelligence 
program and a deeply flawed internal security program.'' As a 
result, the OIG made 21 recommendations to improve the FBI's 
internal security and its ability to deter and detect espionage 
by its own employees. On July 26, 2010, the DOJ OIG responded 
to Senator Grassley's letter and advised that the FBI has 
closed seventeen of the twenty-one OIG recommendations.

                             OIG Oversight

Department of Housing and Urban Development--Lifetime Sex Offenders 
        Living in Public Housing
    The Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of 
Inspector General (OIG) released an audit report which stated 
that approximately 2,094 to 3,046 lifetime registered sex 
offenders are being subsidized by HUD, which is illegal 
according to a provision in the Quality Housing and Work 
Responsibility Act of 1998. Senator Grassley wanted to know 
what HUD was doing to address this concern. He also wanted a 
listing of all Public Housing Authorities where these sex 
offenders reside. Finally, the Senator wanted to know what HUD 
intended to do with the sex offenders residing on their 
properties.
    HUD replied to the Senator's letter on October 1, 2010, 
stating that it was currently exploring options to address the 
issue of lifetime registered sex offenders residing in 
federally assisted housing. The options noted were working with 
Congress on legislation to address the issue and partnering 
with the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) to conduct 
database matching between NCIC's and HUD's tenant information 
databases. Additional steps being taken by HUD include 
development and implementation of Lease Addendum that 
strengthen the language concerning lifetime registered sex 
offenders who were wrongly admitted or committed the crime 
after admission to federally assisted housing. HUD is also 
considering a self-certify requirement for new applicants and 
current tenants.
Employees of U.S. Postal Service Filing False Health and Injury Claims
    A former U.S. Postal Service (USPS) employee reported to 
Senator Grassley inaccurate injury and illness recordkeeping 
submissions by USPS employees in Des Moines, IA to the 
Department of Labor. The former USPS employee provided 
documents from the Occupational Safety and Health 
Administration (OSHA) that showed significant violations of law 
by the USPS. The Senator had earlier written OSHA regarding the 
Des Moines issues and received a response from OSHA staff in 
Washington, DC that there were no violations of law. Letters 
were sent to the Department of Labor and to U.S. Postal Service 
Office of Inspector General. USPS OIG replied June 8, 2010, 
stating that it would examine the circumstances described in 
Senator Grassley's letter.
Library of Congress OIG
    On October 6, 2010, Senator Grassley sent a letter to Dr. 
James Billington, Librarian of Congress, in response to OIG 
oversight work involving the Library of Congress. The Inspector 
General reported the following interference from the Library of 
Congress Office of General Counsel (OGC): (1) the OGC told 
Library of Congress employees that reporting certain activities 
to the OIG is optional but the same activities require 
mandatory reporting to OGC; (2) OGC unwillingness to change 
agency regulation requiring employees to report thefts of 
library property to U.S. Capitol Police rather than to OIG; and 
(3) the OGC erroneously stated that management does not have to 
report employee misconduct to the OIG unless it is potentially 
criminal in nature.
    The OGC and OIG have since worked together to fashion 
language to afford OIG the necessary law enforcement authority 
to perform its mandated duties. This language was sent to the 
Senate Rules Committee Chairman Schumer and House 
Administration Committee Chairman Brady in August 2009 for 
their consideration.
DOI OIG--Cooperative Agreements and Cost Sharing Programs
    On September 22, 2010, Senator Grassley wrote to the Acting 
Inspector General for the Department of Interior (DOI) 
regarding three separate reports the OIG published on the DOI's 
use of cooperative agreements and cost sharing programs, and 
the issues that these reports raised. The Senator sent the 
letter after a staff briefing by OIG, which disclosed that 
cooperative agreements have less stringent rules than grants or 
contracts and participants do not have to meet Federal 
Acquisition Regulation (FAR) requirements. The OIG reports also 
documented that matching funds were poorly documented and that 
for every dollar spent, only 12 cents in matching contributions 
could be adequately supported. Questionable relationships and 
funding activities were noted by the OIG, as well as, concerns 
about the ``lack of competition'' for funding awards, the lack 
of program documentation and ``inadequate training'' for grants 
administrators.
    As a result, Grassley's letter requests, among other 
things, for fiscal years 2008-2010, the total amount of DOI 
funding distributed through cost sharing and cooperative 
agreements, a listing of all cost sharing programs and 
cooperative agreements within DOI, and any and all 
documentation requiring that Stimulus funding be distributed 
through cooperative agreements.
Oversight of USDA Programs
    In January 2009, Senator Grassley asked the Inspector 
General for the Department of Agriculture to look into 
allegations involving abuse, wasteful and excessive spending, 
and mismanagement surrounding the United Soybean Board (USB) 
and the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC). In 
addition, the Senator asked the OIG to conduct a complete and 
thorough review of the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) 
oversight activities involving check-off funds and the 
administration of these funds by the USB. He also asked the OIG 
to review Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) controls over 
funds provided for increasing soybean export activities. This 
request resulted from growing concerns about internal controls 
and agency oversight of the FAS and the AMS. These are two 
critical entities representing U.S. farmers and the food and 
agricultural industry of which the USDA has oversight. The OIG 
agreed to conduct an in-depth review of the allegations.

                              GAO Requests

Review of Issues Related to Oversight of LTCHs
    In March 2010, Senators Baucus and Grassley asked the 
Government Accountability Office (GAO) to examine the level and 
type of oversight that is conducted with respect to patient 
care provided at long-term care hospitals (LTCHs) compared to 
other facilities and long-term care settings, including 
hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. As part of this, the 
Senators requested information on what types of quality and 
patient safety information the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid 
Services (CMS) collects regarding LTCHs. Finally, they 
requested an examination of the coordination between CMS, state 
survey and certification agencies, and private accrediting 
entities to ensure that LTCHs are providing quality care to 
Medicare beneficiaries. This request was in response to an 
article in the New York Times that stated that these facilities 
face little scrutiny, and the lack of scrutiny has led to 
patient injury and death. The Senators also sent a request for 
information to Select Medical Corporation, as it was 
specifically mentioned as a LTCH in the article that provided 
substandard care.
Request for GAO Examination of DOJ
    In December 2009, Senator Grassley asked GAO to evaluate 
Department of Justice (DOJ) actions for implementing its 
internal control assessment over Recovery Act funded programs. 
The Senator expressed concerns regarding the implementation of 
DOJ's agency plan and internal control activities established 
to mitigate the risk of improper payments or mismanagement of 
Recovery Act dollars. Senator Grassley asked the GAO to: (1) 
determine the actions DOJ has taken to evaluate the 
effectiveness of its internal control assessment over Recovery 
Act activities; (2) identify the corrective actions DOJ has 
implemented to address weaknesses identified; and (3) review 
the effectiveness of DOJ's internal control activities to 
prevent, detect, and recoup the misuse of Recovery Act funds.
Request for GAO Examination of HCFAC
    In December 2009, Senator Grassley asked GAO to update its 
April 2005 Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) report. 
That report had identified several weaknesses including: (1) 
some expenditure data was not properly captured in agency 
information systems, (2) non-adherence to accounting policy for 
select HCFAC expenditures, and (3) lack of supervisory review 
procedures for deposits. Specifically, the Senator wanted to 
know the reliability of fiscal year 2008 amounts reported as 
deposits to the trust fund and appropriations from the trust 
fund. He also sought information about what accountability 
mechanisms, if any, the Department of Health and Human Services 
and Department of Justice had implemented to improve internal 
controls over HCFAC program expenditures since GAO's April 2005 
report. GAO expects to issue the report in Spring 2011.
Request for GAO Examination of FBI Protocols
    In December 2009, Senator Grassley asked GAO to review the 
status of FBI's corrective actions to determine whether or not 
they have been appropriately implemented to address the issues 
identified in the GAO's 2006 report on the FBI's Trilogy 
project. That report found that the FBI's review and approval 
process for contractor invoices was inadequate and that the FBI 
did not maintain accountability over computer equipment 
purchased for the Trilogy project. The GAO suggested numerous 
recommendations for the FBI and General Services Administration 
to improve the process.
PBGC Strategic Planning
    Acting on concerns about the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation's (PBGC) preparedness to manage a potentially 
daunting workload with contractors, Senator Grassley asked the 
GAO to conduct a study that addresses the issue. This was of 
particular concern because the PBGC was expected to receive a 
large influx of pension plan terminations due to the economic 
downturn.
Administrative Controls at NARA
    In response to the loss of a hard drive containing data 
from the Clinton Administration, Senator Grassley asked GAO to 
undertake a review to assess how effectively and efficiently 
the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is 
carrying out its mission to ensure that Federal and classified 
records and information are managed, secured, and preserved. 
The Senator was interested in both its information security 
program and the larger picture of NARA's organization and 
management, including the internal controls and activities 
(i.e., policies, procedures, and mechanisms), that NARA has in 
place to carry out its mission and address program risk in an 
age of rapid change.
SSA's Ticket to Work Program
    In July 2009 Senator Grassley asked GAO to examine the 
Social Security Administration's (SSA) Ticket to Work program. 
The program is intended to help transition disability 
recipients to self-sufficiency through temporary training 
assistance. However, there were concerns that the program had 
become merely a little-known way to supplement disability 
payments by working while maintaining disability benefits 
indefinitely.

                       Other Oversight Activities

Nonpayment of Taxes by Medicare Contractors
    Acting on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report 
that stated that thousands of health care providers who receive 
Federal monies through the Medicare and/or Medicaid program owe 
billions of dollars in unpaid taxes, Senator Grassley asked the 
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to describe all of the 
collection activities and other actions taken by the agency 
subsequent to the GAO referral. On January 20, 2010, President 
Obama issued a memorandum directing the IRS to review the 
certifications firms submit when bidding for Federal contracts, 
showing they are up-to-date on their taxes. IRS was instructed 
to report to the White House within 90 days on the accuracy of 
those certifications. The memorandum further requires other 
agencies to evaluate how their contracting officers deal with 
companies who are delinquent on their taxes. The Office of 
Management and Budget is directed to make contractor tax 
certifications available in a government-wide procurement 
database. The IRS responded that it has taken action or is in 
the process of some sort of enforcement action on all of the 
providers listed in the GAO report.
International Trade Commission, Unauditable Financial Statements for 
        Fiscal Year 2009
    The accounting firm of Castro and Company attempted to 
conduct an audit of the International Trade Commission (ITC) 
but the financial statements for fiscal year 2009 were not 
auditable. According to the ITC, it migrated to a new financial 
system that did not account for resources to monitor internal 
controls. This caused the ITC to fail to detect errors which 
resulted in the auditor's inability to render an opinion on its 
financial statements. The ITC responded to Senator Grassley's 
inquiries by letter on January 11, 2010, and a briefing was 
held on January 15, 2010. The ITC stated the change to a new 
financial system caused the auditor not to be able to render an 
opinion. The ITC intends to return to good standing in fiscal 
year 2010 and to ensure that its future financial statements 
are timely and accurate. In the meantime, it does not intend to 
destroy any fiscal year 2009 financial documents.
    On March 17, 2010, the ITC provided a copy of memorandum 
CO80-HH-004, dated March 3, 2010, from the Commission to the 
Commission's Inspector General titled, ``Management Decisions 
on Recommendations Found in the Independent Auditor's Auditor 
Audit Report and Management Letter Concerning the Audit of the 
U.S. International Trade Commission's Financial Statements for 
Fiscal Year 2009.'' The Chairman also stated that while the 
audit reports did identify a number of shortcomings, in no 
instance did they find any waste, fraud, or abuse.
Avandia
    The committee initiated an inquiry 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 keeping the drug on the market.
    The committee also examined 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 
faxed 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 it did once it received the study.
    Senators Baucus and Grassley also sent a letter to the Food 
and Drug Administration to report the response received from 
GSK regarding Avandia. The Senators learned that GSK apparently 
failed to publish studies that found problems with Avandia. In 
internal emails, executives expressed concern that their 
product did not stack up well with its competitor, ACTOS, and 
GSK told committee investigators that it failed to provide the 
FDA a document describing heart attack risks while using 
Avandia.
BBG and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks
    In December 2009, Senator Grassley began an inquiry into 
the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) and its relationship 
with the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MEBN). A previous 
employee of MBN stated that he was fired after exposing 
corruption and mismanagement to the Department of State Office 
of Inspector General. He alleged that a number of MBN 
journalistic code of ethics violations occurred at its 
satellite company, Radio Sawa, because there was a lack of 
management on site. However, the most serious of these ethical 
violations seems to have occurred in March 2008, when Radio 
Sawa aired an interview with an unknown Iraqi who called for 
the killing of more Americans in Iraq. According to a 
transcript of the March 24, 2008 broadcast, provided by Dr. 
Awadh, an unknown Iraqi stated on air that, ``Occupation is 
occupation of Iraq. We must resist them and kill more of them, 
more than 4,000, more than 4,000. Had they stayed in their 
country, they wouldn't have sustained 4,000 death toll.'' He 
also raised allegations of financial irregularities and 
mismanagement within Radio Sawa's bureau in Baghdad. Senator 
Grassley sent a letter to the BBG and the Department of State 
OIG asking these organizations to respond to these allegations.
    On December 22, 2009, Harold Geisel, Deputy Inspector 
General, responded in a letter to Senator Grassley. The letter 
addressed the Senator's concerns and provided previous OIG 
reports concerning MBN. On March 2, 2010, Senator Grassley sent 
another request to the Department of State OIG after reviewing 
its response to his previous letter. The Senator was concerned 
that the allegations had not been fully investigated and the 
investigation left many issues unresolved. On March 5, 2010, 
the OIG provided a reply that addressed the Senator's concerns 
and included copies of OIG letters to the Department of State, 
outlining its recommendations.
Assisted Living Facilities Evicting Medicaid Residents
    In recent years the long-term care community has 
experienced significant shifts from nursing home care to 
alternatives such as assisted living facilities (ALFs). A 
number of companies that operate ALFs have begun terminating 
their Medicaid provider agreements and evicting Medicaid 
residents. Senator Grassley sent a letter to Assisted Living 
Concepts, Inc., a leading provider of assisted living care, 
requesting information on how many ALFs it owns or operates and 
how many Medicaid beneficiaries have been evicted or had their 
residency agreements terminated. Assisted Living Concepts 
responded that due to the inadequate level of reimbursement 
provided, it canceled Medicaid contracts with some states and 
stopped accepting new Medicaid agreements.
False Claims Act Letters
    Senator Grassley sent letters to 16 pharmaceutical 
companies requesting information on their current policies and 
procedures regarding the False Claims Act and how they educate 
their employees about it. The letters were a follow-up to 
letters the Senator sent to the companies in 2005 after 
convening a two-day hearing titled, ``Medicaid Waste, Fraud and 
Abuse: Threatening the Healthcare Safety Net.'' In the follow-
up request, the Senator also wanted to know how the companies 
handled False Claims Act allegations.
MIT Professor Dr. Jonathan Gruber Testimony on Health Care While 
        Receiving Money from HHS
    On January 26, 2010, Senators Grassley and Enzi wrote 
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) regarding the 
testimony of Dr. Jonathan Gruber. Dr. Gruber testified before 
Congress promoting and defending the Administration's preferred 
health care reform policies, while receiving nearly $400,000 
from the Department of Health and Human Services for various 
services. The economic interest he was receiving should have 
been disclosed prior to the testimony, so that Congress could 
give his testimony the proper weight.
    In the February 23, 2010 response to the request, Dr. 
Gruber failed to answer any of the questions posed. The 
Senators wrote to MIT again on March 17, 2010. They requested 
meaningful responses from Dr. Gruber. They also requested that 
MIT provide information regarding whether, and if so, how the 
institution monitors the financial interests of its faculty and 
how it manages conflicts of interest that may arise.
    On April 8, 2010, MIT responded that MIT's faculty members 
annually submit an ``MIT Faculty Report on Outside Professional 
Activities and Interests,'' which is reviewed on all levels, 
including the University president. With respect to Professor 
Gruber, MIT stated he engaged in consulting work for the 
Department of Health and Human Services during the past year as 
part of his outside professional activities. He has disclosed 
this activity on his most recent ``Faculty Report on Outside 
Professional Activities and Interests.''
    On June 15, 2010, Senators Grassley and Enzi sent another 
letter to MIT regarding Dr. Gruber and his failure to respond 
to an earlier letter. In this letter, the Senators requested 
every ``Faculty Report on Outside Professional Activities and 
Interests'' Professor Gruber had submitted from January 1, 2008 
to the present, any communications regarding potential 
conflicts of interest or outside activities submitted, and a 
detailed description of MIT's efforts to monitor faculty 
conflicts of interest.
Office of Personnel Management and the Excessive Costs of Higher 
        Education for Executive Training
    Senator Grassley examined the high cost of executive 
leadership training provided to Federal Government employees 
and the failure of the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to 
track these costs. For example, a 4-week program titled, 
``Leadership for a Democratic Society,'' at the Federal 
Executive Institute costs $18,375. A 4-week course at the 
Harvard Kennedy School's Senior Executive Fellows program costs 
$18,300. And, a five-day course by the Center for Creative 
Leadership costs between $6,200 and $10,600. These costs are 
much higher than what a student attending a public college 
would pay. The Senator requested information on how many 
government executives participated in these programs and who 
paid for the training. Letters went to OPM, the Center for 
Creative Leadership, the John F. Kennedy School of Business, 
and the Federal Executive Institute.
    OPM responded that since December 31, 2006, in response to 
5 CFR 410.601, agencies have been required to submit 
information monthly on all training events, including executive 
training. This information will be public and placed on the 
website: www.data.gov. OPM stated it is up to agencies to 
determine how much to spend on training. On October 7, 2010, 
Senator Grassley wrote a letter to Director John Berry of OPM 
regarding the Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of 
Government's ``Senior Executive Fellows'' program and the OPM 
Federal Executive Institute (FEI) flagship ``Leadership for a 
Democratic Society'' (LDS) program. The Senator requested 
information regarding faculty credentials, specific course 
descriptions, and comprehensive breakdowns of expenses.
Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division Fund Settlements
    Senator Grassley learned that leftover funds garnered 
through settlements by the Civil Rights Division (CRD) have 
been diverted to third parties not affiliated with the 
settlement. The payments are made from money remaining in 
victim compensation funds after no more victims can be 
identified. Rather than returning the remainder to the 
defendant, it is paid to ``qualified organizations'' who serve 
the ``victim group.'' Senator Grassley asked who decides what a 
``qualified organization'' is, how many settlements have used 
this new policy, and whether the Association of Community 
Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) received any such funds.
    The Justice Department replied on August 10, 2010. It 
indicated that from May 2004 to the Fall of 2009 the Division 
required any unclaimed settlement funds to revert to the 
defendants. However, under its current practice, the defendants 
propose the organization that would receive any unclaimed 
funds. If the United States approves, the parties jointly 
submit the defendant's proposal to the court for final 
approval. Under the current practice, the Division identified 
three settlements that utilized the practice, and ACORN was not 
identified.
Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)--Using 
        Grant Money to Support Their Headquarters
    The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now 
(ACORN) has received over $40 million in grants and sub-awards 
from nine Federal agencies. Internal documents reveal that 20% 
of taxpayer funded Federal grants are siphoned away from 
grantees and paid to ACORN's national headquarters, independent 
of any assistance provided on the grant in question. From 2005-
2009, ACORN national was paid $8 million, money that was taken 
away from Federal grants intended to provide assistance to 
victims of housing discrimination and to promote fire safety 
and other legitimate purposes. Senator Grassley and 
Representative Darrell Issa requested that the Departments of 
Justice, Homeland Security and Housing and Urban Development 
look into this matter and take whatever action deemed 
necessary.
AARP Indemnity Health Plans
    As a follow-up to an investigation begun during the 110th 
Congress, in April 2009 Senator Grassley sent a letter to the 
AARP about a number of concerns he had regarding its indemnity 
health plans. The Senator expressed concerns that the AARP was 
misleading people to believe that this was a full-coverage 
health plan or a bridge plan to be used until the person was 
eligible for Medicare. He asked AARP a number of questions 
regarding how it was addressing those concerns and requested a 
follow-up every 6 months.
PBGC Misconduct
    After receiving a report that former Pension Benefit 
Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) Director Charles E.F. Millard may 
have engaged in inappropriate behavior relating to several 
potential PBGC contractors, Senator Grassley, along with 
Senators Kennedy and Baucus, requested that the Office of 
Inspector General of the PBGC provide to them a briefing on the 
matter. The OIG agreed to look into the matter and later 
provided a report of investigation that confirmed the 
allegations. The PBGC agreed to implement a number of 
recommendations in an effort to avoid similar problems in the 
future.
    However, in May 2010, PBGC sent a follow-up letter to the 
Senator to more fully explain its previous response. The OIG 
had reviewed PBGC's previous response and stated that the 
response was both misleading and inaccurate. Senator Grassley 
requested that the PBGC inform him of any other information it 
provided that was misleading or inaccurate, and requested that 
PBGC take whatever administrative action necessary to make sure 
it did not happen again in the future.
Director of Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation's Executive Contacts 
        After Implementation of its Investment Policy
    Committee on Finance Chairman Max Baucus, Ranking Member 
Charles E. Grassley along with HELP Committee Chairman Edward 
M. Kennedy and Ranking Member Michael Enzi signed a letter to 
the Inspector General of the Pension Benefit Guaranty 
Corporation (PBGC) requesting further investigation into 
Director Charles E.F. Millard's contacts with executives at 
companies that were awarded strategic partnership contracts. 
Particular concern is contacts the Director sought with 
executives of Goldman Sachs following its award of $700 million 
of PBGC assets for private equity investments. A response by 
the PBGC Inspector General on March 15, 2010, advised that the 
investigation has concluded and no charges will be filed.
Legal Services Corporation
    Continuing with an investigation that he and Senator Pete 
Domenici started in the 110th Congress, in January 2009, 
Senator Grassley asked the Office of Inspector General (OIG) 
for the Legal Services Corporation (LSC) to review a number of 
matters at the LSC including: (1) the LSC president's new 
contract, (2) account for the LSC's spending practices, and (3) 
management of resources, as LSC faced a possible budget 
shortfall and Federal tax dollars provided about 99 percent of 
LSC's resources. A December 2007, report by the Government 
Accountability Office (GAO) had documented spending by the LSC 
on interest-free loans for employees of LSC grantees, late-fee 
payments on overdue accounts, questionable contracts for 
computer services and lobbyist registration fees. The OIG also 
determined that the LSC spent public tax dollars on $14 
cookies, limousine rides, premium travel and expensive hotels 
for board meetings.
    In August 2009, Senator Grassley asked the LSC to provide 
all reports, evaluations, and audits (drafts and finals) 
conducted by the LSC for Neighborhood Legal Services of Los 
Angeles County (NLSLSA) and Philadelphia Legal Assistance 
Center (PLAC) for the period of January 1, 2003 through July 
31, 2009. He further requested that LSC identify the date(s) 
that each such report was completed in draft, completed in 
final, made available to the program and made available to the 
public. The Senator also asked that LSC advise him of the 
amount of Federal funds expended to conduct each on-site review 
for NLSLSA and PLAC. On August 28, 2009, the LSC provided the 
requested information with a follow-up letter on October 27, 
2009. Total expenditures of on-site reviews, which include 
travel costs and consultant fees are: NLSLSA--$55,412.98, 
PLAC--$7,559.93.
    In furtherance of the committee's duty to ensure that the 
Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is fulfilling its mission and 
responsibilities while safeguarding taxpayer dollars authorized 
by Congress for these programs, in July 2009 Senator Grassley 
sent a letter to the Senate's Committee on Appropriations 
asking that LSC must implement all the outstanding 
recommendations made by the LSC OIG and the GAO before it 
receives any additional funds. In addition, in October 2009, 
the Senator asked the LSC OIG to look into allegations of 
various forms of mismanagement at LSC and to verify the 
information previously submitted to the committee by LSC.
    In addition, Senator Grassley is concerned about reports of 
waste, fraud, and abuse occurring at the LSC. There have been 
reports of theft of funds within the organization, misuse of 
funds, and lack of controls over grants received. GAO found 
that the ``LSC has not kept up with evolving reforms aimed at 
strengthening internal control over an organization's financial 
reporting process and systems.'' They also found ``weaknesses 
in LSC's internal controls over grant management and oversight 
of grantees that negatively affect LSC's ability to provide 
assurance that grant funds are being used for their intended 
purposes in compliance with applicable laws and regulations.'' 
The LSC OIG has also reviewed the LSC and discovered some 
unfavorable issues, such as few compliance visits and weak 
controls over consultant contract actions. Sources have alleged 
that various LSC offices are currently and systematically 
destroying Corporation documents, including emails in an 
attempt to cover up current and past indiscretions among and 
between LSC staff members.
    On October 5, 2010, Senator Grassley and Congressman Issa 
sent a letter to Chairman Levi and President Fortuno of the LSC 
requesting an update on the implementation of GAO 
recommendations and corrective actions initiated by LSC that 
resulted from previous OIG reports. LSC indicated in a July 21, 
2010 letter that the LSC has approved the creation of an 
independent task force to review and make recommendations 
regarding LSC's fiscal oversight responsibilities. The Senator 
and Congressman wanted to know the extent of this oversight 
responsibility, specifically if it was limited to ``fiscal'' 
oversight, and requested copies of the resumes of those serving 
on the task force. Secondly, the Senator and Congressman 
requested information related to the method LSC employs to 
ensure that hired consultants are not collecting both a salary 
from their underlying grantee and from the LSC, thereby 
creating a potential conflict of interest. Finally, they asked 
whether the LSC intends to conduct its meetings in public view 
by subjecting its meeting to Sunshine Act provisions.
    On October 14, 2010, LSC Chairman, John Levi, responded to 
Senator Grassley and Congressman Issa's letter. Levi stated 
that in the previous letter LSC ``affirmed our belief in doing 
all that we reasonably can to eliminate any possible fraud, 
waste and abuse, and affirmed our commitment to ensuring that 
Federal funds are used in compliance with the law.'' Chairman 
Levi attached a copy of a memorandum outlining all OIG 
recommendations and LSC management actions taken in response to 
those recommendations.
Aetna's Limited Major Medical Plan
    Senator Grassley learned of a health insurance plan offered 
by Aetna titled, ``Affordable Health Choices, Limited Major 
Medical Plan.'' This plan was purported to provide $150,000 in 
coverage. The PPO MAX plan is described as covering 70% in 
network ``for covered inpatient and most covered Outpatient 
expenses up to $150,000 per person per Coverage Year.'' Further 
review of the policy seems to indicate that coverage is limited 
to $10,000 for both inpatient and outpatient care. The 
insurance buying public could easily be fooled into thinking 
the plan covers $150,000 in medical expenses.
    Senator Grassley requested a written response by Aetna 
detailing how the $150,000 maximum works in conjunction with 
the $10,000 limits, how this insurance plan was marketed and 
how many plans were sold since 2005. On July 23, 2009, Aetna 
responded with the requested information. Aetna claimed that it 
was possible to recover $150,000 in medical expenses. It 
indicated that some members did have claims of over $100,000 
paid and that the marketing materials were not prepared by 
Aetna, but rather by the employer's broker.
Waste and Abuse of Resources at NARA
    In response to an OIG semiannual report that over 2,400 
items had been reported missing during fiscal year 2002-2006, 
including servers, tape drives, desktop computers, and laptop 
computers with the capability to store personally identifiable 
information (PII) and classified information of National 
Archives and Records Administration (NARA) property--all with 
an acquisition value of approximately $6 million--Senator 
Grassley began an inquiry into the operations of the NARA. In 
addition, based on acquisition cost, over $540,000 of NARA 
property was stolen from NARA's warehouse space in College 
Park, MD, before being put into service. Senator Grassley asked 
the acting administrator of NARA to respond to a set of 
questions regarding how NARA was addressing these problems. At 
first, NARA responded with statistical data and vague answers. 
So, in June 2009, Senator Grassley sent a follow-up request to 
NARA for the information. NARA responded only partially to that 
request, prompting another follow-up by Senator Grassley in 
August 2009. Finally, in September 2009, NARA responded more 
fully to the inquiry and provided the requested information. In 
addition, the acting administrator pledged better safeguard of 
the records in NARA's custody.
Mishandling of Passports at DOI
    In response to a Department of Interior (DOI) Inspector 
General Inspection Report that detailed widespread mishandling 
and erratic tracking of diplomatic and official passports, 
Senator Grassley began an inquiry into the DOI's handling of 
such information. The Office of Inspector General (OIG) also 
could not account for at least 49 expired passports of former 
employees, including former Secretary Gale Norton's diplomatic 
passport. Since the OIG estimated that there were over 3,000 
official or diplomatic passports issued to DOI employees, the 
DOI's gross mismanagement of expired passports and records 
poses a great risk for fraud, identity theft, and national 
security. In June 2009, Senator Grassley asked the DOI to 
respond to a number of questions on the issue, including its 
plans on implementing the OIG's recommendations to address the 
issue. DOI responded by stating that it takes seriously the 
reports issued by the OIG and the findings reported in the May 
2009 report on passport offices. As a result, DOI instituted 
changes in the operation of its offices immediately after the 
OIG conducted the inspection in January 2009. Since that time 
DOI completed many of the actions that were recommended by the 
OIG to address problems. All of the passports and associated 
paperwork have been secured. Expired passports have been 
returned to the Department of State to be destroyed, cancelled 
or otherwise invalidated. DOI has cancelled the passport of 
former Secretary Gale Norton.
OMB Waivers and the LDA
    In February 2009, Senator Grassley began an inquiry into 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) implementation of the 
President's Ethics Executive Order. Certain political 
appointees received waivers allowing them to participate in 
matters despite having been involved in the matter as a 
lobbyist. Senator Grassley was concerned as it was unclear 
exactly how these requirements were being interpreted and 
enforced by various agencies, how they interact with the 
disclosure requirements in the Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), 
and how public disclosure of recusals and waivers will be 
handled consistently across the government. In response, the 
White House Counsel said the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) 
would provide guidance across the Executive Branch on the 
implementation of the executive order. On March 3, 2009, OMB 
failed to address the Senator's questions about publicly 
disclosing any future waivers granted to political appointees 
with respect to their prior lobbying activities. The remainder 
of OMB's response advises that OGE continues to work on 
guidance on how LDA filings will be utilized in the wavier and 
recusal process for political appointees.

                              Legislation

S. 882, Drug and Device Accountability Act, Formerly S. 3409
    In April 2009, Senator Grassley introduced a bill with the 
late 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 2009, (DADAA), S. 882, was 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 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 included more general authorities and 
requirements to enhance FDA's oversight of drugs and devices. 
One requirement was 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 was 
subpoena authority to facilitate FDA's investigation of safety 
violations and other violations of the Federal Food, Drug and 
Cosmetic Act.
    DADAA also included whistleblower protection for employees 
providing information regarding a drug, biological product, or 
device.
S. 344, Hedge Fund Transparency Act
    As a result of oversight of the Securities and Exchange 
Commission's mishandling of a major hedge fund insider trading 
case, Senator Grassley introduced the Hedge Fund Transparency 
Act in January 2009. 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.'' 
With passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform bill, 
Congress eliminated the 15 client rule and replaced it with a 
test that requires registration of investment advisors who have 
more than $150 million in assets under management.
S. 647, The Nursing Home Transparency and Improvement Act of 2009, 
        Formerly S. 2641
    In March 2009, Senator Grassley introduced The Nursing Home 
Transparency and Improvement Act of 2009. 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. This bill was incorporated into the Patient 
Protection and Affordable Care Act, which was signed into law 
on March 23, 2010.
S. 301, The Physician Payments Sunshine Act, Formerly S. 2029
    In January 2009, Senators Grassley and Kohl introduced The 
Physician Payments Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act). The legislation 
requires companies to report payments they make to physicians--
such as gifts, honoraria, and travel--to the Secretary of 
Health and Human Services, who is required to 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 the 
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Sunshine 
Act was incorporated into the Patient Protection and Affordable 
Care Act, which was signed into law on March 23, 2010.
                              NOMINATIONS

 Maurice B. Foley, of Maryland, to be a Judge of the United 
        States Tax Court for a term of 15 years.
  Dec. 6, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Richard Sorian, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, vice Christina H. Pearson, 
        resigned, to which position he was appointed during the 
        last recess of the Senate.
  Sept. 13, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Jeffrey Alan Goldstein, of New York, to be an Under Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Robert K. Steel, resigned.
  Sept. 13, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Donald M. Berwick, of Massachusetts, to be Administrator of 
        the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, vice 
        Mark B. McClellan.
  Sept. 13, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Alan D. Bersin, of California, to be Commissioner of Customs, 
        Department of Homeland Security, vice W. Ralph Basham.
  Sept. 13, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Juan F. Vasquez, of Texas, to be a Judge of the United States 
        Tax Court for a term of 15 years. (Reappointment)
  Aug. 5, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Timothy Charles Scheve, of Pennsylvania, to be a Member of the 
        Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board for a term 
        expiring Sept. 14, 2015. (Reappointment)
  Aug. 3, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Timothy Charles Scheve, of Pennsylvania, to be a Member of the 
        Internal Revenue Service Oversight Board for a term 
        expiring Sept. 14, 2010, vice Nancy Killefer, term 
        expired.
  Aug. 3, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Joshua Gotbaum, of the District of Columbia, to be Director of 
        the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, vice Charles 
        E. F. Millard, to which position he was appointed 
        during the last recess of the Senate.
  July 19, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred jointly to 
            the Committees on Finance and Health, Education, 
            Labor, and Pensions pursuant to Sec. 411(c) of P.L. 
            109-280.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Donald M. Berwick, of Massachusetts, to be Administrator of 
        the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, vice 
        Mark B. McClellan, to which position he was appointed 
        during the last recess of the Senate.
  July 19, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Alan D. Bersin, of California, to be Commissioner of Customs, 
        Department of Homeland Security, vice W. Ralph Basham, 
        to which position he was appointed during the last 
        recess of the Senate.
  Apr. 21, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  May 13, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Jeffrey Alan Goldstein, of New York, to be an Under Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Robert K. Steel, resigned, to 
        which position he was appointed during the last recess 
        of the Senate.
  Apr. 21, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Islam A. Siddiqui, of Virginia, to be Chief Agricultural 
        Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade 
        Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice 
        Richard T. Crowder, to which position he was appointed 
        during the last recess of the Senate.
  Apr. 21, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Michael F. Mundaca, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Eric Solomon, resigned, to which 
        position he was appointed during the last recess of the 
        Senate.
  Apr. 21, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Michael W. Punke, of Montana, to be a Deputy United States 
        Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice 
        Peter F. Allgeier, resigned, to which position he was 
        appointed during the last recess of the Senate.
  Apr. 21, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Francisco J. Sanchez, of Florida, to be Under Secretary of 
        Commerce for International Trade, vice Christopher A. 
        Padilla, resigned, to which position he was appointed 
        during the last recess of the Senate.
  Apr. 21, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred jointly to 
            the Committees on Finance and Banking, Housing, and 
            Urban Affairs under authority of the order of the 
            Senate of Apr. 21, 2009.
  June 30, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Donald M. Berwick, of Massachusetts, to be Administrator of 
        the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, vice 
        Mark B. McClellan.
  Apr. 19, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Michael C. Camunez, of California, to be an Assistant 
        Secretary of Commerce, vice David Steele Bohigian, 
        resigned.
  Mar. 2, 2010--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1082. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Joshua Gotbaum, of the District of Columbia, to be Director of 
        the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, vice Charles 
        E. F. Millard.
  Nov. 9, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred jointly to 
            the Committees on Finance and Health, Education, 
            Labor, and Pensions pursuant to Sec. 411(c) of P.L. 
            109-280.
  May 26, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Jan. 20, 2010--Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
            Pensions. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S. Hrg. 
            111-685.
  May 5, 2010--Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
            Pensions. Ordered to be reported favorably.
  May 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Harkin, Committee on Health, 
            Education, Labor, and Pensions, without printed 
            report.
  June 7, 2010--Senate Committee on Finance discharged pursuant 
            to Sec. 411(c) of P.L. 109-280 and placed on the 
            Executive Calendar.
  June 7, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 929. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Robert D. Reischauer, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board 
        of Trustees of the Federal Supplementary Medical 
        Insurance Trust Fund for a term of 4 years, vice John 
        L. Palmer.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1088. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Robert D. Reischauer, of Maryland, 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 John 
        L. Palmer.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1086. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Robert D. Reischauer, of Maryland, to be a Member of the Board 
        of Trustees of the Federal Hospital Insurance Trust 
        Fund for a term of 4 years, vice John L. Palmer.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1084. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Charles P. Blahous, III, of Maryland, 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.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1085. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Charles P. Blahous, III, of Maryland, 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.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1087. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Charles P. Blahous, III, of Maryland, 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.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 29, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1083. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Michael F. Mundaca, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Eric Solomon, resigned.
  Oct. 6, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Nov. 4, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 652. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Mary John Miller, of Maryland, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
        the Treasury, vice Anthony W. Ryan, resigned.
  Oct. 6, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Nov. 20, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 651. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Feb. 11, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
Richard Sorian, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, vice Christina H. Pearson, 
        resigned.
  Oct. 5, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  May 26, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  June 30, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  June 30, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  June 30, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 999. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Charles Collyns, of Maryland, to be a Deputy Under Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Clay Lowery, resigned.
  Oct. 5, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Nov. 20, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 650. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Feb. 11, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Carolyn W. Colvin, of Maryland, to be Deputy Commissioner of 
        Social Security for the term expiring Jan. 19, 2013, 
        vice Andrew G. Biggs, resigned.
  Oct. 1, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Dec. 9, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 15, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 15, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 15, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 1229. Subject to nominee's commitment to 
            respond to requests to appear and testify before 
            any duly constituted committee of the Senate.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Alan D. Bersin, of California, to be Commissioner of Customs, 
        Department of Homeland Security, vice W. Ralph Basham.
  Sept. 29, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Islam A. Siddiqui, of Virginia, to be Chief Agricultural 
        Negotiator, Office of the United States Trade 
        Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice 
        Richard T. Crowder.
  Sept. 24, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Nov. 4, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 649. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Michael W. Punke, of Montana, to be a Deputy United States 
        Trade Representative, with the rank of Ambassador, vice 
        Peter F. Allgeier, resigned.
  Sept. 14, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Nov. 4, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 648. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Dec. 22, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Jim R. Esquea, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, vice Vincent J. Ventimiglia, 
        Jr., resigned.
  Aug. 6, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings 
            printed: S. Hrg. 111-451.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 647. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  June 22, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Jeffrey Alan Goldstein, of New York, to be an Under Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Robert K. Steel, resigned.
  July 22, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Mar. 2, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Aug. 5, 2010--Returned to the President under the provisions 
            of Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6 of the Standing 
            Rules of the Senate.
 Bryan Hayes Samuels, of Illinois, to be Commissioner on 
        Children, Youth, and Families, Department of Health and 
        Human Services, vice Joan E. Ohl, resigned.
  July 13, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings 
            printed: S. Hrg. 111-451.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 646. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Feb. 11, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Sherry Glied, of New York, to be an Assistant Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services, vice Benjamin Eric Sasse, 
        resigned.
  July 9, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Mar. 2, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  May 27, 2010--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  May 27, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  May 27, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 916. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  June 22, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Daniel M. Tangherlini, of the District of Columbia, to be 
        Chief Financial Officer, Department of the Treasury, 
        vice Peter B. McCarthy, resigned.
  June 3, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 14, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 308. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  July 24, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Daniel M. Tangherlini, of the District of Columbia, to be an 
        Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, vice Peter B. 
        McCarthy, resigned.
  June 3, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 14, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 307. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  July 24, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Ellen Gloninger Murray, of Virginia, to be an Assistant 
        Secretary of Health and Human Services, vice Charles E. 
        Johnson, resigned.
  June 1, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Oct. 15, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held. Hearings 
            printed: S. Hrg. 111-451.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 645. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Feb. 11, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Rosa Gumataotao Rios, of California, to be Treasurer of the 
        United States, vice Anna Escobedo Cabral, resigned.
  May 18, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 14, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 306. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  July 24, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 William J. Wilkins, of the District of Columbia, to be Chief 
        Counsel for the Internal Revenue Service and an 
        Assistant General Counsel in the Department of the 
        Treasury, vice Donald Korb, resigned.
  May 12, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 14, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 305. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  July 24, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Carmen R. Nazario, of Puerto Rico, to be Assistant Secretary 
        for Family Support, Department of Health and Human 
        Services, vice Wade F. Horn.
  May 6, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  July 14, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 304. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 22, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Miriam E. Sapiro, of the District of Columbia, to be a Deputy 
        United States Trade Representative, with the rank of 
        Ambassador, vice John K. Veroneau, resigned.
  Apr. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  June 5, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 303. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Dec. 24, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Neal S. Wolin, of Illinois, to be Deputy Secretary of the 
        Treasury, vice Robert M. Kimmitt, resigned.
  Apr. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  May 8, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  May 12, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  May 12, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  May 12, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 134. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  May 18, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 George Wheeler Madison, of Connecticut, to be General Counsel 
        for the Department of the Treasury, vice Robert F. 
        Hoyt, resigned.
  Apr. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  June 5, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 302. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 8, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Francisco J. Sanchez, of Florida, to be Under Secretary of 
        Commerce for International Trade, vice Christopher A. 
        Padilla, resigned.
  Apr. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Mar. 2, 2010--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Apr. 21, 2009--By unanimous consent agreement, for joint 
            referral to Committees on Finance and Banking, 
            Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  Apr. 21, 2009--Referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, 
            and Urban Affairs pursuant to unanimous consent 
            agreement to refer jointly to Finance and Banking, 
            Housing, and Urban Affairs.
  May 13, 2009--Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
            Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S. Hrg. 
            111-234.
  May 21, 2009--Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
            Affairs. Ordered to be reported favorably.
  May 21, 2009--Reported by Senator Dodd, Committee on Banking, 
            Housing, and Urban Affairs, without printed report.
  June 30, 2010--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  June 30, 2010--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 998. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Sept. 16, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Lael Brainard, of the District of Columbia, to be an Under 
        Secretary of the Treasury, vice David H. McCormick, 
        resigned.
  Mar. 23, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Nov. 20, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Dec. 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 644. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Apr. 15, 2010--By unanimous consent agreement, the Senate to 
            proceed to executive session to consider 
            nomination.
  Apr. 15, 2010--Cloture motion presented in Senate.
  Apr. 15, 2010--By unanimous consent agreement, debate and 
            cloture vote to occur on Apr. 19, 2010.
  Apr. 19, 2010--Considered by Senate pursuant to an order of 
            the Senate of Apr. 15, 2010.
  Apr. 19, 2010--Cloture invoked in Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 84-
            10. Record Vote Number: 118.
  Apr. 19, 2010--By unanimous consent agreement, debate and 
            vote Apr. 20, 2010.
  Apr. 20, 2010--Considered by Senate pursuant to an order of 
            Apr. 19, 2010.
  Apr. 20, 2010--Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 78-
            19. Record Vote Number: 119.
 Demetrios J. Marantis, of the District of Columbia, to be a 
        Deputy United States Trade Representative, with the 
        rank of Ambassador, vice Karan K. Bhatia, resigned.
  Mar. 17, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Apr. 30, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  May 5, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  May 5, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  May 5, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 104. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  May 6, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 William V. Corr, of Virginia, to be Deputy Secretary of Health 
        and Human Services, vice Tevi David Troy, resigned.
  Mar. 17, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Apr. 30, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  May 5, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  May 5, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  May 5, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 103. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  May 6, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Kathleen Sebelius, of Kansas, to be Secretary of Health and 
        Human Services.
  Mar. 17, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Mar. 31, 2009--Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and 
            Pensions. Hearings held.
  Apr. 2, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Apr. 21, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Apr. 21, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Apr. 21, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 62. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Apr. 23, 2009--By unanimous consent agreement, debate and 
            vote on Tuesday, Apr. 28, 2009 with confirmation 
            subject to an affirmative 60-vote threshold.
  Apr. 28, 2009--Considered by Senate pursuant to unanimous 
            consent agreement of Apr. 23, 2009.
  Apr. 28, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 65-
            31. Record Vote Number: 172.
 Demetrios J. Marantis, of the District of Columbia, to be a 
        Deputy United States Trade Representative, with the 
        rank of Ambassador, vice Peter F. Allgeier, resigned.
  Mar. 16, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Mar. 17, 2009--Received message of withdrawal of nomination 
            from the President.
 Kim N. Wallace, of Texas, to be a Deputy Under Secretary of 
        the Treasury, vice Kevin I. Fromer, resigned.
  Mar. 16, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  June 5, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  July 23, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  July 23, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  July 23, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 301. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  July 24, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Alan B. Krueger, of New Jersey, to be an Assistant Secretary 
        of the Treasury, vice Phillip L. Swagel, resigned.
  Mar. 10, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Apr. 30, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  May 5, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  May 5, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  May 5, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 102. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  May 6, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Voice Vote.
 Ronald Kirk, of Texas, to be United States Trade 
        Representative, with the rank of Ambassador 
        Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
  Jan. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Mar. 9, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Mar. 12, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Mar. 12, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Mar. 12, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 24. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Mar. 17, 2009--By unanimous consent agreement, debate and 
            vote Mar. 18, 2009.
  Mar. 18, 2009--Considered by Senate pursuant to unanimous 
            consent agreement of Mar. 17, 2009.
  Mar. 18, 2009--By unanimous consent agreement, vote following 
            debate at 2:00 today.
  Mar. 18, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 92-5. 
            Record Vote Number: 100.
 Timothy F. Geithner, of New York, to be Secretary of the 
        Treasury.
  Jan. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Jan. 21, 2009--Committee on Finance. Hearings held.
  Jan. 22, 2009--Committee on Finance. Ordered to be reported 
            favorably.
  Jan. 22, 2009--Reported by Senator Baucus, Committee on 
            Finance, without printed report.
  Jan. 22, 2009--Placed on Senate Executive Calendar. Calendar 
            No. 3. Subject to nominee's commitment to respond 
            to requests to appear and testify before any duly 
            constituted committee of the Senate.
  Jan. 22, 2009--By unanimous consent agreement, debate and 
            vote Jan. 26, 2009.
  Jan. 26, 2009--Considered by Senate per unanimous consent 
            agreement of Jan. 22, 2009.
  Jan. 26, 2009--Confirmed by the Senate by Yea-Nay Vote. 60-
            34. Record Vote Number: 15.
 Thomas Andrew Daschle, of South Dakota, to be Secretary of 
        Health and Human Services.
  Jan. 8, 2009--Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
            and Pensions. Hearings held prior to introduction 
            and/or referral. Hearings printed: S. Hrg. 111-469.
  Jan. 20, 2009--Received in the Senate and referred to the 
            Committee on Finance.
  Feb. 9, 2009--Received message of withdrawal of nomination 
            from the President.
                     BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS REFERRED
                            TO THE COMMITTEE

    There were 1532 Senate bills and 15 House bills referred to 
the committee for consideration during the 111th Congress. In 
addition, 16 Senate and House resolutions (joint, concurrent or 
simple resolutions) were referred to the committee.
                      REPORTS, PRINTS, AND STUDIES

    During the 111th Congress, the committee and supporting 
joint committees, prepared and issued 6 reports, special 
prints, and studies on the following topics:
          

------------------------------------------------------------------------
              Title                  Document no.        To accompany
------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF IMPORT   111-279...........  S.J. Res. 29
 RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE
 BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
 ACT OF 2003.
AMERICA'S HEALTHY FUTURE ACT OF   111-89............  S. 1796
 2009.
APPROVING THE RENEWAL OF IMPORT   111-63............  S.J. Res. 17
 RESTRICTIONS CONTAINED IN THE
 BURMESE FREEDOM AND DEMOCRACY
 ACT OF 2003.
STAFF REPORT ON CARDIAC STENT     111-57............  ..................
 USAGE AT ST. JOSEPH MEDICAL
 CENTER.
STAFF REPORT ON GLAXOSMITHKLINE   111-41............  ..................
 AND THE DIABETES DRUG AVANDIA.
REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE   111-13............  ..................
 COMMITTEE ON FINANCE OF THE
 UNITED STATES SENATE DURING THE
 111TH CONGRESS PURSUANT TO RULE
 XXVI OF THE STANDING RULES OF
 THE UNITED STATES SENATE.
RULES OF PROCEDURE, SENATE        111-2.............  ..................
 COMMITTEE ON FINANCE.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

                        OFFICIAL COMMUNICATIONS

    During the 111th Congress, a total of 644 official 
communications were submitted to the committee. Of these, 3 
were Presidential Messages; 625 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 16 Petitions and Memorials.

                                  
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