Following a slew of midterm victories this week, Democrats will take control of the U-S Senate in January, and Iowa Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, says he’s confident he’ll still be able to pursue top items on his agenda. Bipartisanship is key and Grassley says he knows he’ll be able to work well alongside any number of Democrats.
The 93-year-old says one of his major annual goals is to bring about more oversight, which he says is an effort to make government more transparent. Grassley says he’s a big believer in government accountability and he’s co-founder and chair of the Senate Whistleblower Protection Caucus.
Grassley was a key player in enacting the Whistleblower Protection Act in 1989 and the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act in 2012. They are considered “anti-gag provisions” which require federal agencies to inform employees of their rights to report wrongdoing at any level.
Grassley also led a bipartisan effort to update the False Claims Act, which allows whistleblowers to sue contractors that defraud the government on its behalf. It’s helped recover tens of billions of dollars for the U.S. Treasury.
