Senate Bill Would Force Red Cross to Open Books to Outside Oversight

Legislation introduced in the Senate last week would open the American Red Cross to outside oversight that it has long resisted.

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the bill following his staff's lengthy investigation that raised questions about the charity’s spending after the 2010 Haiti earthquake and documented how Red Cross leaders resisted an earlier congressional inquiry. Grassley launched his probe in response to reporting by ProPublica and NPR.

Grassley’s American Red Cross Transparency Act would amend the group’s congressional charter to allow unfettered access to its records and personnel by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.