WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark Warner secured final passage of the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2017. Once signed by the President, the legislation will grant federal recognition of six Virginia tribes: the Chickahominy, the Eastern Chickahominy, the Upper Mattaponi, the Rappahannock, the Monacan, and the Nansemond. Many of these include descendants of Pocahontas’ Virginia Powhatan tribe. Kaine and Warner worked with Democratic and Republican colleagues to ensure that the bill made it through to final passage. These tribes had received official recognition from the Commonwealth of Virginia, but had not received federal recognition, which will grant the tribes legal standing and status in direct relationships with the U.S. government. 

U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives from Virginia have pushed for federal recognition since the 1990s, with Senators George Allen and John Warner first introducing this legislation in the Senate in 2002. Kaine and Warner introduced this legislation in the Senate in the 113^thand 114^th Congresses, and Warner had introduced it in prior Congresses.

“This is about Virginia tribes that were here and encountered the English when they arrived in [Jamestown] in 1607, the tribes of Pocahontas and other wonderful Virginians. They are living tribes, never recognized by the federal government for a series of reasons. . . . It's a fundamental issue of respect, and fairly acknowledging a historical record, and a wonderful story of tribes that are living, thriving and surviving and are a rich part of our heritage. This is a happy day to stand up on their behalf,” Senator Kaine said on the Senate floor ahead of passage. 

“We and some of the folks who are in the gallery today were not sure this day would ever come, but even here in the United States Congress and the United States Senate, occasionally we get things right. And boy, oh, boy, this is a day where we get things right on a civil rights basis, on a moral basis, on a fairness basis, and to our friends who are representatives of some of the six tribes who are finally going to be granted federal recognition, we want to say thank you for their patience, their perseverance, their willingness to work with us and others,” Senator Warner said on the Senate floor ahead of passage. 

This version, which originated in the House of Representatives and was introduced by Virginia Congressman Rob Wittman, passed in the House unanimously in May. 

Congressman Wittman said, “Today we have taken a critical step forward in correcting the Federal Government’s failure to recognize the ‘first contact' tribes of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Decades in the making, federal recognition will acknowledge and protect historical and cultural identities of these tribes for the benefit of all Americans. It will also affirm the government-to-government relationship between the United States and the Virginia tribes, and help create opportunities to enhance and protect the well-being of tribal members. I want to thank Senators Kaine and Warner for their support to give these tribes the recognition they have long deserved.”

Once signed by the President, federal recognition will allow Virginia’s tribes legal standing and status in direct relationships with the U.S. government. Further, it would allow tribes to: 

• Compete for educational programs and other grants only open to federally recognized tribes;
• Repatriate the remains of their ancestors in a respectful manner. Many of these remains reside in the Smithsonian, but without federal status there is no mandate to return the remains; and
• Provide affordable health care services for elder tribal members who have been unable to access care.

These tribal leaders were in attendance in the Senate Gallery for the vote:

• W. Frank Adams, Chief, Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe
• Stephen R. Adkins, Chief, Chickahominy Indian Tribe
• Wayne B. Adkins, Chair of VITAL
• Dean Branham, Chief, Monacan Nation
• Lee Lockamy, Chief Nansemond Indian Tribe
• Frank Richardson, representing Chief Anne Richardson, Rappahannock Tribe
• Gerald A. Stewart, Assistant Chief, Eastern Chickahominy Indian Tribe 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $350,000 in federal funds towards the development and implementation of a comprehensive economic development strategy for rural communities across Virginia. The funds will be awarded to planning district commissions in Accomack County, Smyth County, Russell County, Scott County, and Augusta County. The funding will be used to establish an economic development planning framework, process, and strategy that supports private capital investment and job creation in each region.

“These grant awards provide an opportunity for long-term economic planning, supporting growth and development in rural counties,” the Senators said. “These are important investments to promote job creation and draw in new business in these communities.” 

• The Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission in Accomack County will receive $70,000 for economic development planning.
• The Mount Rogers Planning District Commission in Smyth County will receive $70,000 for economic development planning.
• The Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission in Russell County will receive $70,000 for economic development planning.
• The Lenowisco Planning District Commission in Scott County will receive $70,000 for economic development planning.
• The Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission in Augusta County will receive $70,000 for economic development planning.

This funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration’s Economic Development District Planning Awards. The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposed to eliminate funding for the Economic Development Administration. Warner and Kaine wrote to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting that this proposal be overruled.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $3,150,000 in federal funds for a new Apprentice Academy at the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Prince George County, Virginia. This Apprentice Academy will train workers for highly skilled jobs in the growing advanced manufacturing industries of the region.

“We are thrilled to announce funding for this advanced manufacturing center in Prince George County that will provide a boost for the region’s growing economy,” the Senators said. “Manufacturers all over the Commonwealth have told us one of their biggest struggles is filling jobs with skilled workers. Apprenticeship programs like this will help build the necessary skilled workforce of the future.”

The project will expand an existing building to make room for classroom space, administrative space, and a training area.

Warner and Kaine have been advocates for new investments in job training that help better prepare the workforce for a changing 21^st century economy. In October, Warner, a member of the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, introduced legislation to reward employers for providing their workers with skills training to better adapt to new demands in talent. Warner has also pushed for innovative support for the growing independent workforce, introducing legislation to test-drive portable benefits models that would provide an economic safety net for Americans engaged in temporary, contract, or on-demand work.   

Kaine, a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and co-chair of the Senate Career and Technical Education (CTE) Caucus, has been a leader in the Senate on efforts to support skills training programs to prepare workers for good-paying, in-demand jobs. In September, Kaine introduced, and Warner cosponsored, the bipartisan Middle School Technical Education Program (Middle STEP) Act to address workforce shortages through a middle school career exploration program. In July, Kaine introduced the Building U.S. Infrastructure by Leveraging Demands for Skills (BUILDS) Act to ensure that workers are prepared with the skills needed for jobs in fields like construction, transportation and energy that would be created by a major investment in infrastructure. Last January, Kaine introduced the bipartisan Jumpstart Our Businesses by Supporting Students (JOBS) Act to help workers access Pell Grants for high-quality and rigorous short-term job training programs. 

This funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration. The Trump Administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposed to eliminate funding for the Economic Development Administration. Warner and Kaine wrote to the Senate Appropriations Committee requesting that this proposal be overruled.

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Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (D-WV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Mark Warner (D-VA) and Bob Casey (D-PA) sent a letter to the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL), Alexander Acosta, urging him to keep the Respirable Dust Rule to protect mine safety and miners health. This letter comes after the rule was included in the Unified Agenda for re-examination. 

The Senators said in part: “Given this increase in black lung disease and the devastating impact that this disease has on coal miners and their families, we believe that it is critical that we maintain this rule. Claims that the Respirable Dust Rule is unnecessary, imposes a costly burden, or provides little to no benefit to society ignore the fact that it can take up to a decade or longer for simple black lung disease to develop.

“We are also keenly aware that the rate of black lung disease fell after Congress passed the Coal Act of 1969 and that comprehensive evidence that this rule has been effective will not be fully available until 2026 at the earliest. We should not abandon our coal miners three short years after the rule went into effect.”

Read the full letter below or click here:

Dear Secretary Acosta, 

On December 14, 2017, the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) published its fall Unified Agenda and Regulatory Plan, a semiannual list of federal regulatory and deregulatory actions.  We write to express our concerns regarding the decision to list several rules under the purview of the Mine Safety Health Administration (MSHA) for re-examination in the Unified Agenda.  These rules are meant to protect the health and safety of our nation’s coal miners.  

The Trump Administration has made clear its commitment to reducing regulatory burdens. We agree that unnecessary, outdated, or duplicative regulations should be examined for elimination or modification.  However, we believe that worker safety is of the utmost importance and we unequivocally oppose rolling back the Respirable Dust Rule (“the rule”) which is meant to protect the safety, health, and – in effect – the livelihood of our coal miners.  

In particular, the rule, which took effect in 2014, was promulgated by MSHA in an effort to reduce occupational lung diseases - namely coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP), commonly known as “black lung disease”.   Black lung disease is a common but preventable disease that has plagued coal miners in Appalachia for decades.  The impacts of black lung disease are debilitating and, in the most serious cases, fatal.  

In 2010, the Secretary of Labor, acting under the authority of the Federal Mine Safety Health Act of 1977, proposed the rule.  The rule lowers the acceptable threshold for concentrations of respirable coal mine dust with the goal of making the air that miners breathe in coal mines less toxic.  The final rule decreased the dust limits from 2.0 milligrams per cubic meter to an improved level of 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter.   

Unfortunately, recent research, most notably a report from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), has indicated the prevalence of black lung in Appalachian coalfields is worse than previously thought.  Furthermore, black lung clinics in Appalachia report that younger coal miners are being diagnosed with the disease at increasing rates.   

Given this increase in black lung disease and the devastating impact that this disease has on coal miners and their families, we believe that it is critical that we maintain this rule. Claims that the Respirable Dust Rule is unnecessary, imposes a costly burden, or provides little to no benefit to society ignore the fact that it can take up to a decade or longer for simple black lung disease to develop. 

We are also keenly aware that the rate of black lung disease fell after Congress passed the Coal Act of 1969 and that comprehensive evidence that this rule has been effective will not be fully available until 2026 at the earliest. We should not abandon our coal miners three short years after the rule went into effect. 

In short, we believe in worker safety first and foremost.  MSHA’s mission is a critical one for the safety and health of our nation’s miners and the Respirable Dust Rule is vital to ensuring that MSHA succeeds in that mission.   We urge you to retain the Respirable Dust Rule and prevent the unnecessary erosion of vital mine safety and health standards.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Tim Kaine (D-VA), were joined today by Senator Mark Warner (D-VA) and 14 Senators in sending a letter to Department of Defense Secretary James Mattis expressing their support for the Pentagon’s pursuit to block buy two Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers in FY2019.

“Committing to a block-buy for the newest generation of aircraft carriers would save us both time and money while offering much needed stability to our shipbuilders in Hampton Roads and suppliers across the Commonwealth as they build the ships to meet our nation’s national security needs,”Kaine said. “It is critical that we ensure tomorrow’s Navy has the next-generation of warships necessary to meet challenges around the world, and this procurement strategy will ensure that our flexible force continues to be ready and agile.”

“It is the official policy of the United States government – and in the interest of our national security – to meet the Navy’s requirement for 355 ships,”Wicker said. “That requirement includes having a total of 12 aircraft carriers, which are the centerpieces of American power on the seas.  Attaining this goal is going to require better procurement strategies and use of taxpayer dollars. Secretary Mattis has my full support to move forward with a block buy for the next two Ford-class carriers.” 

In addition to Wicker, Kaine, and Warner, the letter was signed by Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tim Scott (R-SC), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Luther Strange (R-AL), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

The letter reads in full:

Dear Secretary Mattis,

As you continue preparation of the Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request for the Department of Defense, we write to express our support for the block buy of Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers.  It is our understanding that the Navy and industry have been evaluating the feasibility of block-buy for CVN-80 and CVN-81, as well as the potential cost savings from such a procurement strategy.  We applaud the Department of Defense’s efforts to examine smarter and more efficient acquisition approaches and would actively support the Department’s pursuit of a block buy of Ford-class aircraft carriers in Fiscal Year 2019.

Previous block-buys have yielded savings of several percent of the total cost of the ships when compared to annual procurements, which could be in excess of $1 billion for two Ford-class carriers. Total savings could grow to something closer to $2 billion if the procurement intervals between the ships are additionally shortened from five-year centers to three- or four-year centers, which would be consistent with the Navy's goal of achieving and maintaining the 12-carrier force called for in the Navy's 355-ship requirement.

In light of the increased budgetary demands placed on the Department, we believe that revisiting a proven acquisition method, one that could be executed without reducing funding for other vital shipbuilding programs, is not only warranted, but a sound investment. 

As recent events in the Pacific have shown, our nation's carrier fleet is under considerable demand, with 3 of 11 deployed and 7 of 11 carriers underway in recent weeks.  A block-buy of Ford-class will help the Navy achieve its objective of 12 carriers that better meets combatant commander requirements and readiness goals to sustain worldwide operations.  Additionally, a block-buy would continue to signal to the shipbuilding industrial base about our nation’s resolve to field a 355-ship fleet.  Over the past 25 years, our shipbuilding industrial base has undergone a massive consolidation.  The community, which used to tap into more than 17,000 suppliers now relies on fewer than 3,000 across the country. These remaining suppliers would significantly benefit from the predictability and stability of a known future workload.  We believe the stability offered by a block-buy approach would enable suppliers to develop greater efficiencies and invest in their own businesses, which would further benefit other Navy shipbuilding programs as well.

At the forefront of today’s Navy is the Nimitz class carrier and Virginia-class submarine, both of which are successful products of block-buy type initiatives.  As we look to the next 50 years, we believe a wise investment of our precious defense dollars would be in the time-proven acquisition method of block-buy for our next generation of aircraft carrier. Thank you for your consideration and service to our country. 

Click here to view a copy of the signed letter.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services (DMAS) announced they will begin to notify families tomorrow who have one or more family members enrolled in the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) that they will lose coverage on January 31^st if Congress does not pass a bipartisan CHIP reauthorization bill: 

“Today is a scary day for a lot of families in Virginia, and it was completely preventable. We asked Senator McConnell multiple times to help us support the 66,000 children and 1,100 pregnant women in Virginia who receive their health care through the CHIP program, but Republican leadership still hasn't brought it forward for a vote. There is a bipartisan bill on the table, and it’s critical that we pass it before Congress leaves for the holidays so we can give some peace of mind to Virginia parents who are worried about whether their children will have health insurance in the new year.”

Warner and Kaine have urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to immediately pass bipartisan legislation to reauthorize CHIP, with letters in October and December. 

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to immediately pass bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), which provides health care coverage for 128,000 children in Virginia, by including it in any upcoming government funding legislation. The CHIP program is set to run out of funding on January 31^st if Congress fails to reauthorize the program, and if no action is taken, Governor Terry McAuliffe and the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services will be forced to notify families in the coming days of their impending loss of health care coverage. This is the second letter to McConnell from Warner and Kaine urging passage of CHIP. 

“We write again to emphasize our support for the prompt reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). We ask that you include bipartisan legislation reauthorizing CHIP in any upcoming funding legislation. Prompt reauthorization of this program is necessary to protect the health of thousands of Virginia children and families,” Sens. Warner and Kaine told Leader McConnell in a letter sent today.

Previously, Sens. Warner and Kaine wrote to Leader McConnell in October, asking to expedite a vote on the CHIP reauthorization. The Senators have yet to receive a response to the earlier letter.

“On September 18th, Senators Hatch and Wyden introduced the Keeping Kids Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act. This bill represents a bipartisan compromise that will extend CHIP for five years. We wrote you on October 26, 2017, after you had failed to schedule a vote for three weeks, requesting bipartisan legislation reauthorizing CHIP be brought to the floor as soon as possible. It has been more than nine weeks since funding for this essential program expired,” wrote the Senators today.

Added the Senators, “It is imperative that Congress act quickly to end the uncertainty around health care coverage for thousands of Virginia children. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services is preparing to notify families of the impending loss of coverage. As such, we request that a full CHIP reauthorization be included in the next available legislative vehicle, so we can prevent letters from going out in Virginia that will unnecessarily frighten parents whose children are in CHIP. On January 31, 2018, Virginia will have insufficient funds to continue the program, and thousands of children in our state would be at risk of losing health care coverage. We can, and must, put an end to this uncertainty.”

View full text of the letter below and PDF can be found here. 

Dear Leader McConnell, 

We write again to emphasize our support for the prompt reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). We ask that you include bipartisan legislation reauthorizing CHIP in any upcoming funding legislation. Prompt reauthorization of this program is necessary to protect the health of thousands of Virginia children and families. 

CHIP has been essential to guaranteeing that the children in our state can access health coverage. In FY 2017, Virginia received $285.9 million from CHIP. Between Virginia’s separate CHIP program, the Family Access to Medical Insurance Security, and CHIP-funded Medicaid, our state provides coverage for nearly 128,000 children. This includes 66,000 children on CHIP alone. This coverage includes doctor visits, hospital care, prescription medicines, eyeglasses, immunizations, and regular check-ups for kids under 18 years old with minimal cost sharing and without premiums. Since 2009, dental coverage has also been included in the program.

On September 18th, Senators Hatch and Wyden introduced the Keeping Kids Insurance Dependable and Secure (KIDS) Act. This bill represents a bipartisan compromise that will extend CHIP for five years. We wrote you on October 26, 2017, after you had failed to schedule a vote for three weeks, requesting bipartisan legislation reauthorizing CHIP be brought to the floor as soon as possible. It has been more than nine weeks since funding for this essential program expired.

It is imperative that Congress act quickly to end the uncertainty around health care coverage for thousands of Virginia children. The Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services is preparing to notify families of the impending loss of coverage. As such, we request that a full CHIP reauthorization be included in the next available legislative vehicle, so we can prevent letters from going out in Virginia that will unnecessarily frighten parents whose children are in CHIP. On January 31, 2018, Virginia will have insufficient funds to continue the program, and thousands of children in our state would be at risk of losing health care coverage. We can, and must, put an end to this uncertainty.

We remain committed to urging you to bring the KIDS Act to the floor quickly and include offsets acceptable to both sides. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement regarding the President’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and direct the State Department to begin the process to move the U.S. embassy:   

“The President’s decision today to move the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital comes at the wrong time and unnecessarily inflames the region. This announcement upends long-standing U.S. policy and international agreements that the status of Jerusalem should be determined as part of a peace settlement between Israel and the Palestinians, not unilaterally.

“I have been, and remain a strong and consistent ally of Israel. The relationship between our countries is unique – defined by close friendship, strategic cooperation and mutual respect. As Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I fear the administration’s decision at this time will alienate key partners in the Middle East, fuel growing anti-American sentiment, and put U.S. diplomatic and security personnel at risk in the region and beyond. I further remain concerned that it undermines the ability to broker a peace settlement between the Israelis and Palestinians, and undercuts Israel’s security by placing overwhelming pressures on Israeli-Palestinian security coordination.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) urged Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai to delay a planned December 14^th vote to roll back net neutrality rules until an investigation can be completed into reports that internet “bots” – automated computer programs designed to pose as people – filed hundreds of thousands of comments to the FCC during the net neutrality policymaking process.

“A free and open Internet is vital to ensuring a level playing field online, and we believe that your proposed action may be based on an incomplete understanding of the public record in this proceeding,” the Senators wrote in a letter to Chairman Pai. “In fact, there is good reason to believe that the record may be replete with fake or fraudulent comments, suggesting that your proposal is fundamentally flawed.”

“Without additional information about the alleged anomalies surrounding the public record, the FCC cannot conduct a thorough and fair evaluation of the public’s views on this topic, and should not move forward with a vote on December 14, 2017,” the Senators continued.

“The FCC must invest its time and resources into obtaining a more accurate picture of the record as understanding that record is essential to reaching a defensible resolution to this proceeding,” the Senators concluded.

In addition to Sens. Warner and Kaine, the letter was signed by Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Patty Murray (D-WA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Angus King (I-ME), Al Franken (D-MN), and Cory Booker (D-NJ). 

The full text of the letter appears below. A copy of the letter is available here.

December 4, 2017

The Honorable Ajit Pai

Chairman

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street Southwest

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Pai:

We are deeply concerned by your recently released proposal to roll back critical consumer protections by dismantling the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) current net neutrality rules. A free and open Internet is vital to ensuring a level playing field online, and we believe that your proposed action may be based on an incomplete understanding of the public record in this proceeding. In fact, there is good reason to believe that the record may be replete with fake or fraudulent comments, suggesting that your proposal is fundamentally flawed.

To this end, we request a thorough investigation by the FCC into reports that bots may have interfered with this proceeding by filing hundreds of thousands of comments. Furthermore, an additional 50,000 consumer complaints seem to have been excluded from the public record in this proceeding, according to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests filed by the National Hispanic Media Coalition.  Without additional information about the alleged anomalies surrounding the public record, the FCC cannot conduct a thorough and fair evaluation of the public’s views on this topic, and should not move forward with a vote on December 14, 2017. 

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has spent the past six months conducting an investigation into the fraudulent comments, and found that “hundreds of thousands” of comments may have impersonated New York residents, a violation of state law. He further asserts that the FCC has not cooperated with requests for additional data and information. Data scientist Jeff Kao has also run an analysis of the public record, and estimates that over a million comments filed in support of repealing net neutrality may have been fake. These reports raise serious concerns as to whether the record the FCC is currently relying on has been tampered with and merits the full attention of, and investigation by, the FCC before votes on this item are cast. 

A transparent and open process is vitally important to how the FCC functions. The FCC must invest its time and resources into obtaining a more accurate picture of the record as understanding that record is essential to reaching a defensible resolution to this proceeding.  As a result, we are requesting that you delay your planned vote on this item until you can conduct a thorough review of the state of the record and provide Congress with greater assurance of its accuracy and completeness.  

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Virginia’s two Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, along with U.S. Reps. Don Beyer and Gerry Connolly (both D-VA) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) , today announced that after years of effort by the Senators and House members, the National Park Service (NPS) has approved $227 million to initiate a long-awaited contract to fully repair and rehabilitate Arlington Memorial Bridge. The 85-year-old bridge, owned and maintained by NPS, is a vital daily route connecting Arlington, Virginia and the District of Columbia.  

The Virginia and D.C. delegations, with support of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, played a decisive role in successfully advocating for a federal FASTLANE project grant, as well as secured additional appropriations to launch the Memorial Bridge rehabilitation project in January. Construction will begin in the fall of 2018, with the project being completed in 2021, giving the bridge a lifespan of an additional 85 to 100 years. During construction, at least three lanes of traffic will remain open at all times to allow for continued use of the span. Identifying the remaining required funds allows the NPS to save $35 million in costs by completing the project in one phase rather than two, and will allow the project to be finished 18 months sooner than previously estimated.

“It is hard to overstate the importance of this progress on a key transportation project for this region,” Sen. Warner said. “It required the combined efforts of all of us from the national capital region – those of us serving in both houses of Congress, as well as the District government, the National Park Service, and the U.S. Transportation Department. These partnerships allowed the Park Service to design an innovative project that will save money and time for  the region’s commuters and visitors.”   

“Arlington Memorial Bridge is among the nation’s most deteriorated bridges, and I’m extremely proud that after years of hard work, the National Park Service has committed full funding for rehabilitation of the bridge. This is a huge win for Northern Virginia commuters, as well as visitors to the nation’s capital,” Sen. Kaine said. “As we celebrate this good news, we should also redouble our efforts to pass a major infrastructure bill so other aging bridges don’t degrade to such a terrible condition in the first place.”

“After years of work to secure funding to fix Arlington Memorial Bridge, today’s announcement gives us hope that the bridge will remain safe and serviceable into the 22nd century,” Rep. Beyer said. “Our tour of the bridge and press conference in 2015 crystalized the dire need for this funding. Since then I have worked together with my colleagues in Congress, leaders from Virginia and the District, and two Administrations to secure the money for these structural repairs. This truly is great news, and I thank everyone whose efforts brought us here.”

"This is a victory for Northern Virginia commuters and the effort to improve our nation’s ailing infrastructure,” Rep. Connolly said. “I am pleased the National Park Service stepped up to the plate to address this uniquely federal transportation challenge. Communities across the country deserve this kind of good news about their old and failing infrastructure.”

“As Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, I could not be more delighted that the National Park Service has secured full funding to repair a critical priority, the iconic Memorial Bridge, with significant cost and time savings,” Rep. Norton said.  “When I visited the bridge before construction, I saw firsthand how it was barely standing, and why traffic has to be rerouted, bringing even more traffic congestion on both sides of the river.  With full funding rather than the phased dollars we already secured, we can finally break ground.”

The Memorial Bridge, which carries 68,000 vehicles daily between Washington, D.C. and Arlington, Va., was originally opened in 1932 with a 75-year design life. It is now structurally deficient, having never undergone a major rehabilitation. As a result a 10-ton load limit remains in effect, and large vehicles, including trucks and buses, are prohibited from crossing. Without a major overhaul, it has been expected that the Bridge would have to be closed to vehicular traffic beginning in 2021. However, NPS has an annual budget of just $20 million for transportation projects across all its assets in the National Capital Region.

The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments has previously estimated that closing the Memorial Bridge could cost local governments $75 million per year in transportation outlays alone. Moreover, transit studies suggest that traffic from the bridge would spill over onto other area bridges, particularly the 14th Street Bridge and Roosevelt Bridge, further exacerbating congested roadways in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC.

Last year, the region’s congressional delegation was instrumental in securing $90 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation for Phase 1 of the reconstruction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge, with NPS providing an additional $60 million in matching funds. At the time, NPS estimated that more than $100 million in additional funding would be needed in order to bring the Memorial Bridge into a state of good repair.

Due to years of chronic underfunding, NPS has been forced to defer billions of dollars in necessary maintenance on transportation infrastructure such as Memorial Bridge, as well as other facilities it operates, like visitor centers, rest stops, trails and campgrounds. In March, Sen. Warner and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) announced legislation, the National Park Service Legacy Act, to address the maintenance backlog at the National Park Service, which is currently more than $11 billion, and Sen. Kaine is one of a dozen bipartisan co-sponsors who have signed on to support the effort.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance and Investment, today pressed Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi on the company’s recent disclosure that hackers accessed the personal information of 57 million users last year.  Uber paid the hackers $100,000 to pledge to destroy the data – which included the names and driver’s license numbers of 600,000 drivers, and names, phone numbers, and email addresses of millions of riders – and did not disclose the hack to regulators or users until last week.

Warner posed the following questions to Khosrowshahi: 

1. According to reports, Uber’s systems were breached after the attackers discovered log-in credentials to an AWS account used to handle payments. Why weren’t more robust access management mechanisms, including strong multi-factor authentication, enabled to prevent unauthorized access to passenger and driver data?
2. Who conducted the initial investigation for Uber that successfully identified the hackers? What “assurances” were provided by the hackers to prove they did, in fact, delete the compromised data? 
3. Unlike ransomware payments, in which payment is made to recover or regain access to inaccessible data or systems, it appears the motivation behind this payment was principally to prevent the public or authorities from learning of the breach. What rationale was provided by senior executives for covering up this breach?
4. Uber has alleged that it was required to provide information relating to the breach and subsequent cover-up to prospective investors. Can you explain why Uber chose not to disclose the breach to drivers and users prior to, or at least at the same time as, a prospective investor?
5. Reports indicate that Uber successfully “tracked down the hackers and pushed them to sign nondisclosure agreements.” While some information necessary to accomplish this could certainly have been gleaned from traditional digital forensic tools, these reports – combined with Uber’s past pattern of conduct – raise serious questions about how Uber was able to track down the criminals who breached Uber’s systems and blackmailed the company, and whether these actions might have constituted violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. As you know, no private right exists for companies to “hack back” those who compromise their systems. In the process of tracking down these hackers, did Uber or any authorized party acting on its behalf engage in unauthorized access of third party systems?
6. Uber’s decision to identify the responsible parties and commit them to a non-disclosure agreement thwarts law enforcement’s ability to bring criminal hackers to justice. To the extent Uber had lawfully acquired information enabling it to identify the hackers who had compromised its systems, ensure they would abide by agreements to delete the data and not to disclose the breach, and transfer them $100,000, it conceivably had enough information at hand to assist law enforcement in the apprehension of these criminals. Why did Uber choose not to provide relevant forensic information to law enforcement and has this information been provided to law enforcement in the last week?

Sen. Warner is a former technology executive and the co-founder of the Senate’s bipartisan Cybersecurity Caucus. Sen. Warner is working to finalize bipartisan legislation to create a comprehensive, nationwide and uniform data breach standard, requiring timelier consumer notification for breaches of financial data and other sensitive information, and setting national data-protection standards for companies handling sensitive personal information. 

A PDF of the signed letter is available here.

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