Claire McCaskill

December 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today applauded the final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008, the bill that authorizes funding for the U.S. Department of Defense and includes key provisions sponsored by McCaskill. The legislation passed the Senate with a 90 – 3 vote.    » read more »

December 14, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill filed legislation today aimed at protecting seniors from aggressive marketing and predatory lending amid the rapid growth of the reverse mortgage industry. The Reverse Mortgage Proceeds Protection Act would help to protect seniors by ensuring they receive independent counseling prior to signing up for a reverse mortgage and requiring that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issue stronger regulations related to consumer protections. Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI), chairman of the U.S.    » read more »

December 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill voiced her disappointment today following a vote on an amendment she co-sponsored to the Farm Bill that would have cut over $2.3 billion in wasteful government spending by reforming the federal crop insurance program. The measure, which McCaskill co-sponsored with Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Sununu (R-NH), Dick Durban (D-IL), John McCain (R-AZ), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Russ Feingold (D-WI) failed with a vote of 32 – 63.    » read more »

December 12, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging held a hearing today to examine the rapid growth of reverse mortgages and hear from those most affected by the expanding industry: seniors. With the senior population soaring as baby boomers reach retirement age, the committee looked specifically at ways to ensure consumers are protected as they consider this type of loan.    » read more »

December 11, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – As gas prices remain high during the holiday travel season, U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill spoke today about rising gas prices at a subcommittee hearing examining the impact of speculation in the crude oil market. Speculators, who have a stake in the industry, make predictions about oil prices and are often blamed for causing oil price increases.    » read more »

Bipartisan Commission to Investigate Wartime Support Contracting and Reconstruction in Iraq & Afghanistan

December 7, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - Late Thursday, the Senate and the House negotiators agreed on a landmark provision to improve wartime contracting and accountability sponsored by Senators Jim Webb (D-VA) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO). The measure is expected to receive final approval when both chambers of Congress vote on final passage of the National Defense Authorization Act later this month.    » read more »

December 4, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today renewed her commitment to advancing meaningful credit card reform amid inconsistencies in the testimony of credit card executives at a hearing of the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.    » read more »

November 20, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – With the holiday season upon us, too many seniors, veterans, and disabled Americans are facing empty bank accounts thanks to an illegal, but increasingly common, practice of creditors garnishing government benefits, including safety-net programs such as Social Security. The result for some could be an empty table at Thanksgiving.    » read more »

Bill Will Restore Affordable Birth Control for College Students and Low-Income Women

Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), praised Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) and Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) for introducing The Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, which would fix the affordable birth control crisis affecting college health clinics and safety-net providers and restore affordable birth control pricing for college students and low-income women.    » read more »

November 13, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today was joined by Senator Claire McCaskill (D-MO) to introduce the Prevention Through Affordable Access Act, which would allow drug manufacturers to offer deeply discounted contraceptives to clinics serving low-income women and college students. The legislation is supported by Planned Parenthood Federation of America.    » read more »

Bill aims to increase government accountability and strengthen IG system

November 8, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Three decades after Congress first created government watchdogs within each federal agency to enforce greater government accountability, a bipartisan group of four U.S. senators introduced legislation today that would significantly strengthen the Inspector General (IG) system for the future.    » read more »

November 2, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – After months of severe drought in Southeast Missouri, farmers can finally look forward to some relief. U.S. Senators Christopher “Kit” Bond and Claire McCaskill announced today that the United States Department of Agriculture designated 22 counties in the state of Missouri as primary natural disaster areas and an additional eight neighboring counties as contiguous disaster counties. Farmers in all 30 counties are eligible for disaster relief assistance in the form of low-interest emergency loans from the Farm Service Agency (FSA).    » read more »

McCaskill provisions aim to protect consumers while restoring accountability at the Consumer Product Safety Commission

October 30, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – After the White House publicly opposed Senate efforts to ensure whistleblower protections for employees who report consumer product hazards to the government, the Senate Commerce Committee today unanimously accepted a provision offered by U.S.    » read more »

Adds provision to alleviate backlog at the Social Security Administration

October 24, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill late Tuesday voted to continue funding important federal programs related to education, health care, and labor for fiscal year 2008, including new federal dollars to help alleviate a growing backlog of cases at Social Security Administration (SSA).    » read more »

As President Requests Additional $46B for Iraq War, Senators Demand Greater Accountability for Taxpayer Dollars

October 23, 2007 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. State Department’s inability to account for $1.2 billion in funding awarded to DynCorp International to train Iraqi police underscores the need for an independent commission to oversee and investigate wartime contracting, said Senators Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Jim Webb (D-VA) today.    » read more »