1 Boring Old Man

Chuck Grassley [R-Iowa]:

^{In 2005, Charles Grassley received a 7 percent rating on the Republicans for Environmental Protection’s (REP) environmental scorecard. He voted in a manner inconsistent with what the REP considers pro-environment on 14 of 15 issues considered environmentally critical by the REP. He voted with REP on an amendment to the Energy Policy Act of 2005 proposed by Senator Jeff Bingaman to require at least 10% of electricity sold by utilities to originate from renewable resources. Issues in which Senator Grassley voted anti-environment are all other amendments to the Energy Policy Act proposed in 2005, the issue of authorizing drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, and fuel economy standards for vehicles.}

^{Senator Grassley received a 10 percent rating on the League of Conservation Voters (LCV) scorecard for his pro-environment votes on the issues of renewable energy and farm conservation programs.These pro-environment votes, however, were balanced by his anti-environment votes on the energy conference report, global warming, natural gas facilities, undermining fuel economy, increasing fuel economy, and various other issues.}

^{In 2006, Grassley received a 0 percent rating from the REP and a 14 percent rating from the LCV. According to these organizations, he voted pro-environment on the issue of energy and weatherization assistance, and voted anti-environment on drilling, environmental funding, peer review, renewable resources, and The Gulf of Mexico Security Act.}

^{Senator Grassley has the third-worst voting record in the entire US Congress (both House and Senate combined) on veterans issues, according to the Disabled American Veterans, earning a 40 rating. Only 2 senators, both Republicans, have lower ratings.}

^{In May 2009, Grassley cosponsored a resolution to amend the US Constitution to prohibit flag-burning, stating the flag is "… the symbol our men and women in uniform have fought for over 200 years."}

^{Grassley was among 20 co-sponsors of a 1993 Senate bill that would have mandated health insurance for Americans. In 2009 and 2010, however, when President Barack Obama and the Democratic Party proposed a health reform bill featuring mandated health insurance, Grassley vocally opposed the health insurance mandate, saying that it was a deal breaker.}

^{Grassley voted in favor of end-of-life counseling as part of the 2003 Medicare prescription drug bill. Six years later, in 2009 and 2010, he changed positions and began referring to end-of-life-counseling as “death panels,” and strongly opposed the Democratic proposals for health care reform in the United States that would include this counseling. In 2009, he told an Iowa town hall meeting, “In the House bill, there is counseling for end of life. You have every right to fear. You shouldn’t have counseling at the end of life…”}

^{Senator Grassley has a 100 percent rating from the National Right to Life Committee, 84 percent rating from the American Conservative Union, 100 percent rating from the Family Research Council, and 100 percent rating from Eagle Forum. Grassley scored a 20 percent rating from the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization for the 110th Congress.}

^{Grassley has campaigned to increase protection and provide support for "Whistleblowers". He has supported a number of FBI whistle blowers, including Coleen Rowley, Michael German, and Jane Turner. Grassley received a lifetime achievement award on May 17, 2007 from the National Whistleblower Center. A September 2009 poll shows Grassley with a popularity rating in Iowa of 50% approving of his job, and 40% disapproving.}

Probes

Religious organizations

^{On November 5, 2007, Grassley announced an investigation into the tax-exempt status of six ministries under the leadership of Benny Hinn, Paula White, Eddie L. Long, Joyce Meyer, Creflo Dollar, and Kenneth Copeland by the United States Senate Committee on Finance. In letters to each ministry, Grassley asked for the ministries to divulge specific financial information to the committee to determine whether or not funds collected by each organization were inappropriately utilized by ministry heads. By the December 6, 2007 deadline, only three of the ministries had shown compliance with the Finance Committee’s request. On March 11, 2008, Grassley and Finance Chairman Max Baucus sent follow-up letters to Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Eddie Long, explaining that the Senate reserved the right to investigate the finances of their organizations under federal tax laws.}

^{Responses from these Ministers included Constitutional arguments about Congressional power to oversee such matters. They claim that only the IRS has the authority to request such information, and should the IRS request it or pursue an investigation, the ministries involved would gladly comply.}

Medical research

^{Grassley also began an investigation about unreported payments to physicians by pharmaceutical companies. The New York Times reported that Dr. Joseph Biederman of Harvard University had failed to report over a million dollars of income that he had received from pharmaceutical companies. Weeks later, Business Week reported that Grassley alleged that Alan Schatzberg, chair of psychiatry at Stanford University, had underreported his investments in Corcept Therapeutics, a company he founded. Dr. Schatzberg had reported only $100,000 investments in Corcept, but Grassley stated that his investments actually totalled over $6 million. Dr. Schaztberg later stepped down from his grant which is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Similarly, Dr. Charles Nemeroff resigned as chair of the psychiatry department at Emory University after failing to report a third of the $2.8 million in consulting fees he received from GlaxoSmithKline. At the time he received these fees, Dr. Nemeroff had been principal investigator of a $3.9 million NIH grant evaluating five medications for depression manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline.}