Claire McCaskill

A column by U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill

November 4, 2009 -- Thousands of Missouri seniors, like my mother Betty Anne, rely on Medicare for their health care. However, if Medicare remains on the same course as it is today, it will run out of money by 2017 and seniors may be without coverage.

Additionally, without adequate reforms, Medicare is on track to cut payments to physicians by as much as 21 percent starting next year, which may cause some doctors to drop Medicare patients.

By rooting out more than $400 billion in identified waste, fraud, and inefficiencies, we can make sure Medicare remains solvent for years to come, ensure doctors are paid fairly so that seniors can keep their doctors, and not cut benefits for seniors.    » read more »

As the Senate combines legislation, waste-cutting reforms that ensure improved coverage must remain, McCaskill says

October 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, a bipartisan vote in the Senate Finance Committee marked the next step toward combining two versions of health insurance reform legislation in the Senate. As the two bills – the Finance Committee’s newly passed bill and the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee bill passed this summer – are combined into one version to be sent to the Senate floor for a vote, U.S. Senator McCaskill is focused on ensuring that waste-cutting reforms remain in the combined bill in order to strengthen Medicare.

Without currently proposed reforms, Medicare will run out of money by 2017.    » read more »

October 14, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill announced today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will provide the state of Missouri with $37,801,428.07 in federal grant money to help repair damage resulting from the severe ice storms that swept through Southeast Missouri in January 2009.

According to FEMA, the state of Missouri is responsible for distributing the funding to the recipients. Specifically, the grants will go to:    » read more »

October 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill made the following statement today after hearing that President Barack Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.    » read more »

Senator introduces bill to make it easier for employees to report waste and fraud in government contracting

October 1, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the federal government spending $530 billion on contracts in 2008 alone, people who blow the whistle when they see waste or fraud are more important than ever. Yet, most employees of government contractors currently don’t have adequate whistleblower protections to safeguard them from retaliation.

U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill plans to change that in order to encourage more people to step forward and report fraud, waste and abuse by introducing legislation to extend ground breaking whistleblower protections to all government contractors.    » read more »

September 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – In 2008 the federal government paid $530 billion to contractors, but today it was made clear that the system for tracking key information about these contracts is in need of major improvement.

The Senate Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight, led by Chairman Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and ranking member Bob Bennett (R-Utah), examined in a hearing the issues surrounding the current decentralized, cumbersome system and the plans to develop a new platform for integrating these databases.    » read more »

September 14, 2009 -- U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Efficient and Conservation Block Grant (EECBG) awards will provide money to the state of Missouri and Jefferson and St. Charles counties. The entities are receiving $14,027,200 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds to improve their efficiency, reduce energy use and fossil fuel emissions and create green jobs locally.

According the DOE, activities eligible for EECBG funding include energy audits and building retrofits in the residential and commercial sector, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections and the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements.    » read more »

Senator expressed concerns regarding oversight of contractors and security risks in war zone

September 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Continuing her fight for better oversight of federal government contracting, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today questioned Admiral (ADM) Michael G. Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, on whether lessons learned from Iraq are being applied to contracting practices in Afghanistan.    » read more »

Senate hearing on Alaska Native Corporations planned for July 16th

June 23, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – As the Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight continues its investigation into Alaska Native Corporations (ANC) and contracting policies that favor them, Chairman Claire McCaskill today released a preliminary analysis of publicly-available data about contracts awarded to ANCs from 2000 through 2008.

This information shows that federal government contracts to ANCs have increased dramatically and that ANCs have received a disproportionate share of small business loans. The preliminary analysis also indicates many ANCs are not based in Alaska and most of the work awarded to ANCs, which primarily contract through the Department of Defense, is not performed in Alaska at all.    » read more »

Airlines continue to send repair work abroad despite security and safety concerns

June 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a Senate Commerce subcommittee hearing, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill this week followed up on a series of Department of Transportation Inspector General reports that have exposed gaping loopholes in the security and oversight of foreign repair work on domestic, commercial aircraft.

McCaskill questioned the heads of the national and regional airline associations about the industry’s increasing outsourcing of airline maintenance, including to non-FAA certified repair facilities.    » read more »

Senator questions Chrysler, GM execs on bankruptcy settlement, including rumored bonuses and insurance at hearing today

June 3, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – As endless questions remain in the wake of dealership closures by Chrysler and General Motors (GM), today U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill urged Chrysler and GM executives to be more accountable to local dealers and consumers in a hearing held by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.

Recently, dealerships across the country, including a number in Missouri, that sell Chrysler and GM vehicles learned their contracts will soon be terminated as part of bankruptcy settlements.    » read more »

McCaskill sends letter asking for answers on Missourians awaiting Disability Claims

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill sent a letter this week to Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA), calling for answers about what the agency is doing to deal with the current backlog of disability claims in Missouri and requesting information about the status of hiring of new Administrative Law Judges to accelerate the process.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the nation are awaiting decisions on their disability claims. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provided the agency with $500 million to process its workloads, including the disability backlog.    » read more »

Request information on behalf of Missouri dealerships

May 22, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a letter sent today to the Presidential Task Force on the Auto Industry, U.S. Senators Claire McCaskill and Kit Bond sought answers to concerns raised by those Missouri dealerships selling Chrysler and General Motors vehicles that learned last week that their contracts will soon be terminated.    » read more »

May 19, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight Chairman Claire McCaskill last week began the process of gathering key information on a how a federal law is being used to obtain millions of dollars in government contracts without competition.

Read a copy of McCaskill’s letter (pdf file)    » read more »

One-time $250 check will help seniors make ends meet during tough economic times

May 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Seniors and many veterans will soon find a $250 check in the mail from the government, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill said today. As part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the federal government is providing America’s senior citizens with a little extra money in their pockets through a one-time increase in social security, veterans, and retirement benefits.

Details about the Economic Recovery Payment:

* Missourians who fall into the following categories should expect to receive a $250 check this month:    » read more »