Grassley talks about meth, lawsuits funding for military

Iowa’s two U.S. Senators are co-sponsoring the Combat Meth Act. It would put all cold and allergy drugs containing pseudoephedrine behind the counters nationwide to keep the medicines away from methamphetamine makers. A similar measure is being considered in the Iowa legislature. Senator Chuck Grassley says he and Tom Harkin support the measure as more needs to be done to fight the meth epidemic. If it was only done state-by-state, Grassley says people who want to make meth would only have to leave Iowa and go next door to Illinois, for example, to get the ingredients they need. The federal plan would make pseudoephedrine a controlled substance and would put 30-million more dollars into the fight against meth. On another topic, Grassley says too many unscrupulous lawyers are lining their pockets with money that should be going to wronged consumers. He’s introducing legislation he says would reform the rules on class-action lawsuits, so the victims come first in settlements, not the lawyers. Grassley says the system is “rife with problems” and “many class action (lawsuits) are just frivilous lawsuits filed by lawyers that wanna’ make a quick buck that do little or nothing for the consumers and victims they’re supposed to help.” Among other things, Grassley says his bill would ensure consumers are the primary beneficiaries in class-action cases, not the attorneys who prosecute the cases. The Bush Administration is expected to request an additional 80-billion dollars from Congress today to pay for the wars underway in Iraq and Afghanistan. If granted, it would push the total amount devoted since the nine-eleven attacks to 280-billion. Senator Grassley says the figure is a bit staggering. Grassley says “It’s obviously a lotta’ money, but…we’ve got American men and women on the battlefields, putting their life on the line. We have a responsibility…so they can do the job.” Grassley expects the funding request to pass fairly easily. Sources say a large portion of the 80-billion would go to the Army, which is doing most of the fighting in Iraq.