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Lawmakers Call for Probe of Alleged Drug Industry Price Gouging
On November 17, the leaders of two key House committees sent a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to request an expedited analysis on recent trends in prescription drug pricing. The GAO is Congress’ non-partisan watchdog agency. The lawmakers’ letter was sent to GAO following news reports that indicated that the pharmaceutical industry may be artificially raising prices in anticipation of the passage of health reform legislation by Congress. For more information, click here.
Thousands of Americans Turn Themselves in to IRS
On November 17, the Internal Revenue Service announced that more than 14,700 Americans have disclosed their secret foreign bank accounts rather than risk criminal prosecution for tax evasion. The rush to take advantage of the IRS offer of amnesty came after the U.S. Government reached agreement with the Swiss bank UBS over the summer to turn over the names of thousands of its Americans customers who are suspected of using offshore accounts to evade taxes. Those who voluntarily disclosed their offshore accounts will have to pay taxes, interest and penalties on the hidden income.
Ways and Means Committee Holds Hearing on Hunger in America
On November 19, two subcommittees of the House Ways and Means Committee held a joint hearing to review the impact of the economic downturn on the demand for hunger-relief assistance at food banks and other charities. Earlier in the week, the Department of Agriculture released its annual report on food insecurity in the United States. The report found that 49 million Americans are food insecure. Of those, 17 million children, more than one in five, went without food at some point during the year – an increase of 5 million children over the previous year.
Rep. Levin, who attended the hearing, called for a stronger partnership between government and private assistance to get at the problem. Earlier this year, Rep. Levin introduced bipartisan legislation [H.R. 3227] to expand and strengthen a tax deduction that encourages business donations to food banks and pantries.
To read the testimony presented at the hearing, click here.
Michigan Awarded Funds to Improve Worker Retraining
On November 18, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio would share a $4 million grant that will help the three states to collect data on where job growth is occurring and what skills are needed to obtain those jobs. The study will have an emphasis on locating career path opportunities for displaced auto workers in energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. The grant was funded by the Recovery Act which was approved by Congress earlier this year.
“We need to take additional steps to grow jobs and as we do so we must ensure that training programs are effective for workers transitioning to completely new lines of work,” said Rep. Levin. “This grant will also help to flush out the workforce needs of the ‘green’ jobs market so we can attract these jobs to Michigan.” For more information, click here.
To Our Readers
The House of Representatives is in recess this week for the Thanksgiving Day holiday. The House will reassemble on December 1. The next issue of the Connector will go out on December 8.
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