Stories

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley may make waves in Iowa and throughout the nation for his deftly abbreviated tweets, but it wasn’t enough for him to garner top billing in a new “digital IQ” ranking of Senate members.
The ranking, which is part of a new joint study by New York University professor Scott Galloway and George [...]

George Packer’s latest New Yorker article, The Empty Chamber, took an unflattering look at arcane rules in the U.S. Senate that make it incredibly difficult for virtually anything, even routine actions, to make their way through the chamber if the minority party decides it wants to obstruct.
The article is getting a lot of media attention, [...]

In a bureaucratic spin on “don’t call us, we’ll call you,” the Department of Labor has notified a medical advocate for sick nuclear workers that he is no longer allowed to e-mail the federal program for information, a move he says is retribution for his outspoken criticism of the program’s failings.

U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin said he’ll request documents from 30 for-profit colleges to determine the scope of illegal practices in the industry.

Iowa lawmakers will be faced with a $32 million hole in the FY2010 budget when they return to Des Moines in January if Congress passes an extension to federal funding the state’s Medicaid program, down from an estimated $121 million shortfall if the legislation fails.

Before the ink was dry on President Barack Obama’s signature on the historic health care reform bill, Republicans had already begun to campaign on their desire to repeal and replace the legislation, setting the stage for at least one major talking point during the 2010 mid-term elections. Recent polls, however, show that Americans don’t view [...]

Members of Iowa’s Congressional delegation, sadly, already know the drill. Whether on the ground in Iowa Monday to tour flood damage, or remaining in contact with local authorities by phone, the members of Congress understand that they are once again about to go to bat for Iowans who have been devastated by flood waters.
“The words [...]

Some opponents of for-profit education says the plan won’t go far enough.

The U.S. Senate committee in charge of developing an appropriations bill for agricultural interests has, once again, failed to fund a national network that can aid farmers and ranchers in crisis.

In a recent op-ed article, Sen. Tom Harkin neglects to mention a for-profit college critic’s financial stake in the industry’s failure.