(C) Iowa Capital Dispatch
This story was originally published by Iowa Capital Dispatch and is unaltered.
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D.C. Dispatch: Iowa lawmakers call for AI regulation, year-round E15, hospital price transparency [1]
['Jay Waagmeester', 'More From Author', '- January']
Date: 2024-01-12
Members of Congress returned to Washington after a weeks-long break and plunged into yet another government shutdown scare.
Congress has averted a shutdown since October with continuing resolutions but more work needs to be done on the budget, including a solution to avoid a partial government shutdown on Jan. 19.
Sen. Chuck Grassley raised concern on X, formerly known as Twitter, about the speed at which Congress is working.
in 2024 the senate has voted twice LETS GET 2WORK Schumer should run the Senate & get appropriation bills going We’ve had every approps bill out of cmte since July 27 but we aren’t doing approps bills +We are only working 2.5 days a week (max!) Time 2stop doing nothing — Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 9, 2024
Outside of budget concerns, Iowa’s delegates addressed health care costs, awareness for hostages held by Hamas, artificial intelligence safety and more.
Here’s what members of Iowa’s delegation have been working on:
Grassley: Disclosure of cash prices at hospitals a necessity
A bipartisan bill to increase health care cost transparency cosponsored by Grassley, Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, and others, would require publication of actual prices for health care services.
Prices are inconsistent and inflated by negotiations between insurance companies and hospitals, Grassley said. He is calling for hospitals, clinical diagnostic labs, imaging centers and ambulatory surgical centers to publish all negotiated rates and cash prices between insurance companies and providers.
“Patients should be able to compare and shop for health care services,” Grassley said in a news release. “However, the pricing information they need when visiting the hospital or working with insurance companies isn’t always available. By strengthening transparency and accountability requirements, our bill would help lower costs for patients through more competition and added sunlight in the health care industry.”
Consumers should know price of health care services b4 u buy Thats why Im cosponsoring bipartisan Health Care PRICE Transparency 2.0 /Bill will hold health care providers accountable & give u timely/accurate info Sunshine brings accountability — Chuck Grassley (@ChuckGrassley) January 10, 2024
The bill comes after a 2019 executive order from then-President Donald Trump, which mandated similar requirements.
The bill would also increase the maximum enforcement penalty for noncompliance.
Ernst, Miller-Meeks speak with hostage negotiators in Israel
Sen. Joni Ernst and Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks spent part of their break in the Middle East, meeting with leaders in Egypt, Israel, Qatar and Bahrain.
America stands with Israel🇮🇱🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/3c2Qa3EZpL — Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) January 5, 2024
The travel was in coordination with families of Americans being held hostage by Hamas to advocate for their release.
“Three months after Hamas’s brutal attacks on Israel, it is evident that more must be done to secure the release of all hostages, especially Americans, held by Iran-backed Hamas,” Ernst said in a news release. “Through productive meetings, we delivered our message face-to-face with senior leaders and lead hostage negotiators to reunite families. Every second counts.”
The White House believes six Hamas-held hostages are Americans.
Ernst led the delegation to the Middle East that met with leaders from each country, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel hostage negotiators.
“It was important for me to join Senator Ernst …to not only advocate for the Americans held hostage by Hamas, but to hear from family members, released hostages and also to hear from leaders on the global stage about the escalation of crimes committed by Hamas against women and potential paths towards the immediate release of American and all hostages,” Miller-Meeks said in a news release.
Thank you, @SenJoniErnst, for leading a Congressional Delegation to Israel, Qatar, Egypt, and Bahrain. Our meetings with leaders on the global stage about crimes committed by Hamas against women and potential paths toward the release of American – and all – hostages further… pic.twitter.com/tHzILWqgdG — Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, M.D. (@RepMMM) January 10, 2024
The bipartisan, bicameral group consisted of the two Iowans, Sen. Ted Budd, a North Carolina Republican, and Reps. Darrel Issa, a California Republican; Debbie Wasserman, a Florida Democrat; Don Norcross, a New Jersey Democrat; Jimmy Panetta, a California Democrat and Ann Wagner, a Missouri Republican.
“Our message was very clear to these leaders, that they must work with the United States and Israel to bring these hostages home,” Ernst said in a news conference.
Nunn advocates for data protection as AI evolves
A bill to protect Americans’ data as the use of artificial intelligence increases, would provide safety during the good that comes from technological advancements, Rep. Zach Nunn says.
The Federal Artificial Intelligence Risk Management Act deals with what data the federal government may access as it adapts to using AI in its operations.
“Technological advancement is good for society, and if done right, can make the government more effective,” Nunn said in a news release. “As the federal government implements AI towards this end, we must ensure that Americans’ data is safe and the government is transparent about what it is doing. This bipartisan bill will ensure we’re doing everything we can to protect the American people while leveraging the full capabilities of new technology.”
The risks of governmental use of AI include data privacy, personal information security, transparency in decision making and incidental use of unverified data, according to Nunn’s office.
Framework from the National Institute of Standards and Technology was developed to ensure private and public sector organizations could utilize AI safely. Nunn’s bill would require federal agencies to incorporate the framework into their operations.
Hinson’s bill to protect pregnant students passes committee
The House Education and Workforce Committee advanced a bill by Rep. Ashley Hinson that would promote protections and options for students who are pregnant.
Those protections, including flexible class schedules, excused absences and child care assistance, are a pro-life effort, Hinson said.
“It is unacceptable that pregnant women on college campuses are often told they have to choose between finishing their education and having their baby,” Hinson said in a news release. “Pregnant women should be informed of all resources available to continue their education while pregnant, never pressured into having an abortion.”
Title IX protects pregnant students by legally protecting their right to stay in school.
Nunn bill against Russian ag passes House
A bill sponsored by Nunn that aims to protect the global grain supply passed the House Friday and now awaits a vote from the Senate.
The bill was prompted by Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Nunn’s office says endangered market stability and provoked spikes in food prices.
Nunn’s bill attempts to utilize U.S. influence by instructing the Secretary of the Treasury to direct U.S. executive directors of international financial institutions to support projects that encourage resilience of global grain supplies.
“Food security is national security,” Nunn said in a news release. “As we’ve seen during Russia’s war on Ukraine, Putin is willing to weaponize agricultural exports as a war tactic. That’s unacceptable. The world cannot be reliant on Russia or other adversaries in anyway, but especially not to get the food we need.”
Ernst writes to expand military spouses’ leave without pay
Ernst and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, urged the Department of Defense in a letter to establish a baseline amount of leave without pay for spouses of service members.
The change would accommodate military spouses during times when their spouse who serves is relocating.
A leave-without-pay policy would allow spouses to apply for federal jobs and access existing benefits during periods of relocation.
The change Ernst proposes would allow spouses to be hired at jobs that are only available to those who are current federal employees, would maintain some accrued leave and would assist in maintaining agency-matched contributions to Thrift Savings Plan accounts.
Not all defense agencies and departments currently have leave-without-pay policies, though some do. Ernst is advocating for a Department of Defense-wide leave-without-pay policy for spouses.
Ernst writes to ill defense secretary with complaint of poor communication
Ernst and 11 other Republican senators accused Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who fell ill and was hospitalized, of breaking the law.
Austin was hospitalized at Walter Reed Medical Center on Jan. 1, including receiving care in the intensive care unit.
The signees of the letter are requesting a full timeline of Austin’s previous two weeks and more information about the delay in transmission of Austin’s illness and leave from work, and what, if any, role the Department of Defense played in the delay.
“We cannot do this without clear and open communication. Your statement provided on January 6th is wholly insufficient to address the situation,” the senators wrote.
Austin made a statement Jan. 6 that he “could have done a better job ensuring the public was appropriately informed.”
The Associated Press reported Austin has known of his diagnosis for a month, but President Joe Biden learned of the cancer diagnosis on Tuesday. Biden learned of Austin’s hospitalization Jan. 4. Ernst and the other senators criticized Austin for the breakdown in communications during “a dangerous moment for U.S. national security.”
The senators say Austin contravened the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.
Grassley reintroduces bill to audit the Fed’s decision-making process
Grassley has reintroduced a bill that would require an audit of the Federal Reserve System’s Board of Governors and reserve banks.
Fed financial statements are audited yearly, but the bill Grassley is reintroducing would audit the Fed in other ways.
The audit by the Government Accountability Office that Grassley is seeking would include transactions between foreign central banks and governments and nonprivate international financing organizations, deliberations and decisions on monetary policy matters, transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open Market Committee and more.
“The Fed’s actions significantly affect our economy and Americans’ spending flexibility,” Grassley said in a news release. “It only makes sense that Congress and the taxpayer have insight into the factors that influence inflation and interest rates, which directly impact Iowans’ pocketbooks.”
Hinson introduces workforce building package
Hinson introduced a package of three bills aimed at growing the workforce in Iowa.
One bill, the REAL Trucking Act has been introduced and would allow 18- to 20-year-olds with commercial driver’s licenses to travel across state lines.
The BEST Act would provide tax credits for employers training workers who are not seeking a college degree.
The third bill, the Workforce Solutions Act, would study barriers in seeking careers in energy and manufacturing.
“America’s workers are our greatest asset as we work to strengthen our economy and compete with China, but outdated policies are holding everyone back,” Hinson said in a news release. Rather than pushing four-year degrees, we should provide pathways to success in the trades and empower workers to excel in their chosen fields.”
Year-round E15 sales
All of Iowa’s delegation except Nunn signed a letter in mid-December calling for the Biden administration to allow the sale of E15 fuel, which contains 15% ethanol, year-round without restriction.
Gov. Kim Reynolds and other Midwest governors have requested the change.
“As we approach the 2024 summer driving season, it is critical that the Biden Administration works swiftly to finalize the Governors’ requests, bringing much-needed certainty to our corn growers, fuel retailers and consumers to enjoy the clean-burning, lower cost benefits of year-round E15,” the Iowa lawmakers wrote to the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
A final rule of an effort to legalize the use of the fuel, which started in 2022, was set to be made in June 2023.
The letter cites a Reuters article, which reports the White House has not approved the governors’ requests due to concerns of supply disruption and increased prices for gasoline.
Nunn led the House members representing Iowa in a letter a week later to Biden, asking him to approve the final rule of expanded E15 sales, saying “Any delays in securing permanent, year-round E15 sales punishes Americans and farmers who have already faced record inflation, fuel prices and market uncertainty as a result of your Administration’s economic policies.”
Grassley, colleagues, rewarded for organ transplant oversight
Grassley received an award for his bipartisan efforts to improve the organ transplant system.
Grassley, and Sens. Ron Wyden, a Democrat from Oregon, Todd Young, a Republican from Indiana, and Ben Cardin, a Democrat from Maryland, all received the Carl Levin Award for Effective Oversight, an award for fact-based oversight.
“Government services shouldn’t prioritize industry insiders over patient care, especially when lives are on the line,” the senators said in a joint statement. “We’re honored to be recognized for this unified effort to shine a light on decades of mismanagement in the U.S. organ transplant system.”
Grassley has been involved in several organ donation-related efforts in his career, including a bill to allow for multiple contracts to be accepted for organ procurement, allowing for more competition, an attempt to waste fewer donated organs.
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