WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement ahead of the Senate’s historic vote on a resolution that would facilitate the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA), which was first introduced 100 years ago to guarantee equal protection for women in the U.S. Constitution:

“In 2020, Virginia made history by becoming the 38^th and final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. Today, the Senate has the opportunity to make history by voting to remove the time limit for ratification of the ERA. We urge our colleagues to join us in voting to remove this arbitrary and unnecessary time limit and enshrine equality for women into the U.S. Constitution.”

Warner and Kaine are cosponsors of the bipartisan resolution to remove the time limit for ratification of the ERA. In December 2022, Kaine led members of the Virginia delegation, including Warner, in urging a Senate vote on this important resolution.

The ERA was first introduced in 1923 and passed the House and Senate in 1972. At the time of passage, Congress required three-fourths of the states to ratify the amendment within seven years, although the Constitution does not impose a deadline for ratification of amendments. The 27th Amendment was ratified two centuries after it passed Congress. By 1977, 35 states had ratified the ERA, and in 1978, falling short of the required 38 states for adoption, Congress extended the time limit an additional three years. In 2020, Virginia became the 38^th and final state needed for ratification.

If the ERA became the 28^th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, it would serve as a new mechanism – for Congress, for federal agencies, and in the courts – to advance equality in the fields of workforce and pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment and violence, and reproductive freedom. It would also signal to the courts that they should apply a more rigorous level of review to laws and government policies that discriminate on the basis of sex, making it more likely for them to be struck down.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today urged CEOs of several artificial intelligence (AI) companies to prioritize security, combat bias, and responsibly roll out new technologies. In a series of letters, Sen. Warner expressed concerns about the potential risks posed by AI technology, and called on companies to ensure that their products and systems are secure.

In the past several years, AI technology has rapidly advanced while chatbots and other generative AI products have simultaneously widened the accessibility of AI products and services. As these technologies are rolled out broadly, open source researchers have repeatedly demonstrated a number of concerning, exploitable weaknesses in the prominent products, including abilities to generate credible-seeming misinformation, develop malware, and craft sophisticated phishing techniques.

“[W]ith the increasing use of AI across large swaths of our economy, and the possibility for large language models to be steadily integrated into a range of existing systems, from healthcare to finance sectors, I see an urgent need to underscore the importance of putting security at the forefront of your work,” Sen. Warner wrote. “Beyond industry commitments, however, it is also clear that some level of regulation is necessary in this field.”

Sen. Warner highlighted several specific security risks associated with AI, including data supply chain security and data poisoning attacks. He also expressed concerns about algorithmic bias, trustworthiness, and potential misuse or malicious use of AI systems.

The letters include a series of questions for companies developing large-scale AI models to answer, aimed at ensuring that they are taking appropriate measures to address these security risks. Among the questions are inquiries about companies' security strategies, limits on third-party access to their models that undermine the ability to evaluate model fitness, and steps taken to ensure secure and accurate data inputs and outputs. Recipients of the letter include the CEOs of OpenAI, Scale AI, Meta, Google, Apple, Stability AI, Midjourney, Anthropic, Percipient.ai, and Microsoft.

Sen. Warner, a former tech entrepreneur, has been a vocal advocate for Big Tech accountability and a stronger national posture against cyberattacks and misinformation online. He has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at addressing these issues, including the RESTRICT Act, which would comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries; the SAFE TECH Act, which would reform Section 230 and allow social media companies to be held accountable for enabling cyber-stalking, online harassment, and discrimination on social media platforms; and the Honest Ads Act, which would require online political advertisements to adhere to the same disclaimer requirements as TV, radio, and print ads.

A copy of the letters can be found here and below. 

I write today regarding the need to prioritize security in the design and development of artificial intelligence (AI) systems. As companies like yours make rapid advancements in AI, we must acknowledge the security risks inherent in this technology and ensure AI development and adoption proceeds in a responsible and secure way. While public concern about the safety and security of AI has been on the rise, I know that work on AI security is not new. However, with the increasing use of AI across large swaths of our economy, and the possibility for large language models to be steadily integrated into a range of existing systems, from healthcare to finance sectors, I see an urgent need to underscore the importance of putting security at the forefront of your work. Beyond industry commitments, however, it is also clear that some level of regulation is necessary in this field.

I recognize the important work you and your colleagues are doing to advance AI. As a leading company in this emerging technology, I believe you have a responsibility to ensure that your technology products and systems are secure. I have long advocated for incorporating security-by-design, as we have found time and again that failing to consider security early in the product development lifecycle leads to more costly and less effective security. Instead, incorporating security upfront can reduce costs and risks. Moreover, the last five years have demonstrated that the ways in which the speed, scale, and excitement associated with new technologies have frequently obscured the shortcomings of their creators in anticipating the harmful effects of their use. AI capabilities hold enormous potential; however, we must ensure that they do not advance without appropriate safeguards and regulation. 

While it is important to apply many of the same security principles we associate with traditional computing services and devices, AI presents a new set of security concerns that are distinct from traditional software vulnerabilities. Some of the AI-specific security risks that I am concerned about include the origin, quality, and accuracy of input data (data supply chain), tampering with training data (data poisoning attacks), and inputs to models that intentionally cause them to make mistakes (adversarial examples). Each of these risks further highlighting the need for secure, quality data inputs. Broadly speaking, these techniques can effectively defeat or degrade the integrity, security, or performance of an AI system (including the potential confidentiality of its training data). As leading models are increasingly integrated into larger systems, often without fully mapping dependencies and downstream implications, the effects of adversarial attacks on AI systems are only magnified.

In addition to those risks, I also have concerns regarding bias, trustworthiness, and potential misuse or malicious use of AI systems. In the last six months, we have seen open source researchers repeatedly exploit a number of prominent, publicly-accessible generative models – crafting a range of clever (and often foreseeable) prompts to easily circumvent a system’s rules. Examples include using widely-adopted models to generate malware, craft increasingly sophisticated phishing techniques, contribute to disinformation, and provide harmful information. It is imperative that we address threats to not only digital security, but also threats to physical security and political security.

In light of this, I am interested in learning about the measures that your company is taking to ensure the security of its AI systems. I request that you provide answers to the following questions no later than May 26, 2023.

Questions: 

1.     Can you provide an overview of your company’s security approach or strategy?

2.     What limits do you enforce on third-party access to your model and how do you actively monitor for non-compliant uses?

3.     Are you participating in third party (internal or external) test & evaluation, verification & validation of your systems?

4.     What steps have you taken to ensure that you have secure and accurate data inputs and outputs? Have you provided comprehensive and accurate documentation of your training data to downstream users to allow them to evaluate whether your model is appropriate for their use?

5.     Do you provide complete and accurate documentation of your model to commercial users? Which documentation standards or procedures do you rely on?

6.     What kind of input sanitization techniques do you implement to ensure that your systems are not susceptible to prompt injection techniques that pose underlying system risks?

7.     How are you monitoring and auditing your systems to detect and mitigate security breaches?

8.     Can you explain the security measures that you take to prevent unauthorized access to your systems and models?

9.     How do you protect your systems against potential breaches or cyberattacks? Do you have a plan in place to respond to a potential security incident? What is your process for alerting users that have integrated your model into downstream systems? 

10. What is your process for ensuring the privacy of sensitive or personal information you that your system uses?

11. Can you describe how your company has handled past security incidents?

12. What security standards, if any, are you adhering to? Are you using NIST’s AI Risk Management Framework?

13. Is your company participating in the development of technical standards related to AI and AI security?

14. How are you ensuring that your company continues to be knowledgeable about evolving security best practices and risks? 

15. How is your company addressing concerns about AI trustworthiness, including potential algorithmic bias and misuse or malicious use of AI?

16. Have you identified any security challenges unique to AI that you believe policymakers should address?

Thank you for your attention to these important matters and I look forward to your response. 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today voted to pass the Fire Grants and Safety Act, legislation to ensure years of continued funding for grant programs that support fire departments and firefighters all across the Commonwealth. Today’s vote in the Senate comes as two critical funding programs near their 2024 expiration deadline.

“Virginia firefighters routinely put themselves at risk to save lives and stop catastrophe in its tracks. We are proud to have voted to continue delivering the federal dollars fire departments need to keep serving their communities. We urge our colleagues in the House to pass this bill expeditiously and send it to the President’s desk so that firefighters can count on the resources they need to stay safe and retain a solid frontline workforce,” said the Senators. 

Specifically, this legislation would reauthorize the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, which provides funding to help firefighters and other first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards. It would also reauthorize the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, which provides funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained, "front line" firefighters available in their communities.

Since 2015, more than 253 AFG grants and 72 SAFER grants have been awarded to communities throughout the Commonwealth, with Virginia fire departments receiving more than 8 million dollars from these programs in this year alone.

So far, in 2023, the following localities have received funding through the Assistance to Firefighters (AFG) grant program:

• Isle of Wight County received $959,020
• The City of Alexandria received $600,000
• The City of Lynchburg received $830,636
• Franklin County received $438,238
• The Bland County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. received $163,476
• The Scruggs Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Inc. in Franklin County received $66,666

So far, in 2023, the following localities have received funding through the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program:

• The City of Manassas Park received $3,582,866
• Rappahannock County received $561,617
• Goochland County received $556,972
• The Town of Chatham received $204,804
• Hanover County received $41,800 
• Stephens City Fire And Rescue Company, Inc. in Frederick County received $21,068

This legislation, passed by the Senate, will now head to the House of Representatives.

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WASHINGTON –U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and 12 colleagues in introducing a resolution that would designate April 2023 as “Preserving and Protecting Local News Month.” The resolution officially recognizes the role of local news as an essential function for democracy in the United States.

“In Virginia and across the country, local news outlets are relied on to keep our citizens informed, combat disinformation, and serve as a crucial check on our government institutions,” said Sen. Warner. “It is important that we continue to honor the hard work that local journalists do for our Commonwealth and for our democracy in the face of continued budget cuts, newsroom closures, and staff reductions that have made their work more challenging.” 

According to research, the overall employment in newspaper, television, radio, and digital newsrooms in the United States fell by 26 percent, or 30,000 jobs, from 2008-2020. More than 100 local newsrooms were forced to close during the COVID-19 pandemic, with 30 percent of local television stations reporting budget cuts and staff reductions. As of September 2022, 42 local newspapers have closed or merged in Virginia alone, with significant staff cuts plaguing surviving papers. This resolution affirms the significance of local news in increasing civic engagement and strengthening democratic norms and practices, and acknowledges the valuable contributions of local journalism toward the maintenance of healthy and vibrant communities.

In addition to Sens. Warner and Schatz, the resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Cory Booker (D-NJ).

The resolution has been endorsed by PEN America; Alliance for Community Media; Free Press Action; National Press Photographers Association (NPPA); Native American Journalists Association (NAJA); Writers Guild of America, East, AFL-CIO; Ethnic Media Services; Society of Environmental Journalists; Society for News Design; Common Cause; Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO; National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ); Native Public Media; Public Knowledge; Society of Professional Journalists; Theatre Communications Group; National Newspaper Association (NNA); National Writers Union (NWU); and National Association of Broadcasters (NAB).

 Sen. Warner has long been an outspoken supporter of local news. In the midst of the COVID-19 Pandemic, Sen. Warner led colleagues in a push to include local journalism and media outlets in relief packages.

Full text of the resolution is available here.

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WASHINGTON – Today, following a federal district court judge’s ruling suspending the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s 2000 approval of mifepristone, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, along with 238 other members of Congress, submitted an amicus brief urging a higher court to prevent that dangerous ruling from going into effect. Mifepristone is a safe and effective medication that has been widely used for abortion care and miscarriage management for over two decades. The Department of Justice announced on Monday that it would appeal the lower court ruling and ask the Fifth Circuit to stop the ruling from going into effect.

The lawmakers’ brief underscores that the district court ruling denies access to mifepristone in every state, posing serious health risks to pregnant patients, and jeopardizes patients’ access to other medications by threatening FDA’s drug approval process, which was mandated by Congress. Accordingly, the brief asks the Fifth Circuit to pause the district court’s order.

“The district court appears to have second-guessed FDA’s scientific determinations with cherry-picked anecdotes and studies, and on that basis, imposed a remedy that could significantly upend the status quo,” write the lawmakers in their brief.

If the Fifth Circuit allows the district court ruling to go into effect, the members stress that patients in every state may be denied access to the most common form of abortion care and a key drug used in miscarriage management. This ruling would also undermine FDA’s authority to determine the safety and efficacy of other drugs , threatening patients’ access to medications. The members also explain that Congress specifically designed FDA’s expert-driven drug approval process to ensure that the medications relied on by Americans are safe and effective. FDA followed that careful review process in its approval of mifepristone for use in 2000, and that approval has been repeatedly affirmed in the more than 20 years since.

“[T]he district court’s misguided stay under Section 705 of the Administrative Procedure Act will reduce access to abortion, exacerbating an already significant reproductive health crisis,” write the lawmakers, adding: “The consequences of the district court’s remedy could extend far beyond mifepristone, for it undermines the science-based, expert-driven process that Congress designed for determining whether drugs are safe and effective.”

“Its perilous consequences reach far beyond mifepristone. Providers and patients rely on the availability of thousands of FDA-approved drugs to treat or manage a range of medical conditions, including asthma, HIV, infertility, heart disease, diabetes, and more,” the lawmakers state.

“For the last century, a statutory scheme designed by Congress has assured the safety and effectiveness of the drugs available in the United States. At its core resides the application of scientific standards by agency experts,” the lawmakers write. “Here, FDA’s determination that mifepristone is safe and effective is based on a thorough and comprehensive review process prescribed and overseen by the legislative branch.  Since mifepristone’s initial approval in 2000, FDA has repeatedly and consistently reaffirmed that the medication is safe and effective for its approved conditions of use. FDA’s process and conclusions have been validated by both Congress and the Government Accountability Office—and by the lived experience of over 5 million patients who have used the drug in the United States.”

The lawmakers conclude by asking the Fifth Circuit to stay the decision, writing: “emergency relief from the order is necessary to mitigate the imminent harm facing members of the public, many of whom rely on the availability of mifepristone for reproductive care—and many more rely on the integrity of FDA’s drug approval process for continued access to life-improving and life-saving drugs. Congress intended to—and did—vest authority in FDA to evaluate and ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs in the United States, and Amici call on this Court to give due weight to that intent.” 

In addition to Warner and Kaine, the amicus brief was signed by U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey Jr. (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR). 190 members of the House of Representatives also signed the amicus brief.

The amicus brief is available here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and John Hoeven (R-ND) this week introduced legislation to support the research and development of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) technologies at the nation’s UAS test sites, including the site at Virginia Tech.

“Unmanned Aerial Systems have the potential to transform the way we manage disasters, maintain our infrastructure, administer medicine, tackle national security threats, and conduct day-to-day business,” said Sen. Warner. “UAS test sites, such as the one located at Virginia Tech, are crucial to the research and development of these technologies and I am glad to continue building on the progress we have made over the last decade.” 

“UAS play a crucial role in our country’s defense, and there is tremendous potential yet to be realized, benefiting our national security as well as our economy,” said Sen. Hoeven. “The UAS test sites, including the Northern Plains UAS Test Site in North Dakota, are at the center of our efforts to ensure these aircraft can be safely integrated into our national airspace. This legislation supports their ongoing work and dovetails with the new BVLOS waivers we recently secured for our test site, further strengthening North Dakota’s position in this dynamic industry.”

Specifically, this legislation:

• Extends the authorization for the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) UAS test sites for an additional five years through 2028;
• Formally authorizes research grants through the FAA for the purpose of demonstrating or validating technology related to the integration of UAS in the national airspace system (NAS);
• Requires a grant recipient to have a contract with an FAA UAS test site;
• Identifies key research priorities, including: detect and avoid capabilities; beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations; operation of multiple unmanned aircraft systems; unmanned systems traffic management; command and control; and UAS safety standards.

This legislation builds on Sen. Warner’s efforts to expand the domestic production of unmanned systems, including driverless cars, drones, and unmanned maritime vehicles and make Virginia a national leader in this growing sector. Earlier this year, he introduced the Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act, legislation that will clear the way for drones to be used for commercial transport of goods across the country. As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he has led efforts in Congress to shore up U.S. national and cybersecurity against hostile foreign governments through unmanned air systems. Last month, Sen. Warner introduced legislation to prohibit the federal government from purchasing drones manufactured in countries identified as national security threats, such as the People’s Republic of China. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement regarding the release of a Joint Economic Committee Democratic staff report outlining the devastating cost for Virginia of a potential debt default:

“No one wins when lawmakers play political games with a debt default. Every day that we don’t raise the debt ceiling inches us closer to catastrophic economic impacts that would be felt in every community in Virginia, including through higher mortgage payments and uncertainty for those relying on Social Security, Medicare, or veterans benefits. We will continue to urge our colleagues on the other side of the aisle to join us in protecting American families from the dangers of a default, and to stop holding our economy hostage.”

The report outlines how raising the debt limit is essential for the United States to continue to keep its promise to veterans, military personnel, and seniors and how a default would push up costs for families and small businesses and risk millions of jobs.

In Virginia specifically, the report estimates that even the threat of a debt default would increase monthly mortgage payments by an average of $151 per month, or approximately $54,000 over the course of a 30-year mortgage. Additionally, 1,598,000 Social Security recipients—whose monthly payments total over $2.5 billion—1,608,000 Medicare recipients, and 691,000 veterans in Virginia would be at risk of benefit disruption if the federal government does default on its debt.

In recognition of the additional risk shouldered by federal workers, whose incomes can be put in direct jeopardy by government shutdowns and a debt default, Warner and Kaine recently reintroduced the Federal Employee Civil Relief Act, legislation to protect federal workers and their families from foreclosures, evictions, and loan defaults during a government shutdown or debt default. The Federal Employee Civil Relief Act would enable government employees and contractors to postpone payment obligations during a shutdown or debt default and for 30 days afterward.

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 WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (Both D-VA) released the following statement ahead of the U.S. Senate’s first procedural vote on the Fire Grants and Safety Act, legislation to reauthorize grant programs for fire departments and firefighters, which is expected later today:

“Virginia’s fire departments play an essential role in supporting our communities and saving lives. We have a responsibility to make sure they have the resources they need to protect, recruit, and retain firefighters. For years, grant programs like those included in the Fire Grants and Safety Act have helped provide those resources. We look forward to voting for this legislation to make sure those grant programs continue, and will do everything else we can to support our brave firefighters and first responders.”

Specifically, the legislation would reauthorize the Assistance for Firefighters (AFG) and the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant programs, both of which are set to expire in 2024. AFG grants are awarded to fire departments, state fire training academies, and emergency medical service organizations to help them meet the needs of their communities, by helping firefighters and first responders obtain critically needed equipment, protective gear, emergency vehicles, training and other resources necessary for protecting the public and emergency personnel from fire and related hazards.

So far in 2023, the following localities in Virginia received AFG awards to support their operations and safety upgrades:

• Isle of Wight County received $959,020
• The City of Alexandria received $600,000
• The City of Lynchburg received $830,636
• Franklin County received $438,238
• The Bland County Volunteer Fire Department, Inc. received $163,476
• The Scruggs Volunteer Fire Department and Rescue Squad, Inc. received $66,666

For the full list of 253 AFG grants awarded to Virginia communities since 2015, click here.

SAFER grants provide funding directly to fire departments and volunteer firefighter interest organizations to help them increase or maintain the number of trained “front line” firefighters available in their communities.

So far in 2023, the following localities in Virginia received SAFER grants to assist with recruitment and retention efforts:

• The City of Manassas Park received $3,582,866
• Rappahannock County received $561,617
• Goochland County received $556,972
• The Town of Chatham received $204,804
• Hanover County received $41,800
• Stephens City Fire And Rescue Company, Inc. received $21,068

For the full list of 72 SAFER grants awarded to Virginia communities since 2015, click here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD), lead sponsors of the RESTRICT Act, legislation that will comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries, released a statement in response to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew’s testimony today before the House Energy and Commerce Committee:

“Under PRC law, all Chinese companies, including TikTok, whose parent company is based in Beijing, are ultimately required to do the bidding of Chinese intelligence services, should they be called upon to do so. Nothing we heard from Mr. Chew today assuaged those concerns. It is vital for Congress to establish a process to review and mitigate the harms posed by foreign technology products that come from places like China and Russia. We are encouraged by the quick momentum and strong bipartisan support for our legislation and expect that it will only grow following today’s testimony.”

Sen. Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Sen. Thune, ranking member of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, recently introduced the RESTRICT Act along with a bipartisan coalition of co-sponsors, including U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Susan Collins (R-ME), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). 

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WASHINGTON – Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, has announced that he is co-sponsoring legislation to ensure executives of failed banks are held accountable for mismanagement.

In the wake of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) collapse, the FDIC has acted to ensure workers and small businesses won’t have to pay the price for the bank’s mismanagement. However, before the bank failed, CEO Greg Becker sold a reported $3.6 million in SVB stock, potentially profiting off the impending demise of the very bank he managed, while other SVB employees received bonuses just hours before the government stepped in to close the bank.

The Deliver Executive Profits on Seized Institutions to Taxpayers (DEPOSIT) Act would hold executives of failed banks like SVB accountable for the mismanagement of the funds they were trusted with by allowing the Treasury Department to claw back bonuses and stock profits – ensuring they are held financially responsible and the burden of their actions does not land on the shoulders of consumers or taxpayers.

“Bank executives, shareholders, and bondholders should not profit from mismanagement,” said Sen. Warner. “This new bill will help ensure that those responsible for bank failures like that of Silicon Valley Bank are held accountable.”

The DEPOSIT Act would:

• Recoup from bank executives the bonuses and profits from stock sales made within 60 days of a bank failing;
• Impose a 90% tax on the bonuses of bank executives who make an annual income over $250,000 during the year when a bank goes under FDIC acquisition;
• Require bank executives to forfeit 100% of profits they made from recent bank stock trades;
• Direct the recouped funds to the FDIC insurance fund so that it can be returned to depositors and used to pay workers and small businesses that were impacted.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and John Thune (R-SD), ranking member of the Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications, Media and Broadband, announced six new bipartisan co-sponsors for the Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act, legislation that will comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology from foreign adversaries by better empowering the Department of Commerce to review, prevent, and mitigate information communications and technology transactions that pose undue risk to our national security.

U.S. Sens. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) have signed on to the bill in the last week. This announcement brings the total number of cosponsors to 18 – nine Democrats and nine Republicans. The legislation has also been endorsed by the White House.

“We are pleased by the growing support for our sensible, bipartisan bill to establish a comprehensive, risk-based approach to tackle technology threats from countries like China and Russia,” said Sens. Warner and Thune.

The Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology (RESTRICT) Act would:

• Require the Secretary of Commerce to establish procedures to identify, deter, disrupt, prevent, prohibit, and mitigate transactions involving information and communications technology products in which any foreign adversary has any interest and poses undue or unacceptable risk to national security;
• Prioritize evaluation of information communications and technology products used in critical infrastructure, integral to telecommunications products, or pertaining to a range of defined emerging, foundational, and disruptive technologies with serious national security implications;
• Ensure comprehensive actions to address risks of untrusted foreign information communications and technology products by requiring the Secretary to take up consideration of concerning activity identified by other government entities;
• Educate the public and business community about the threat by requiring the Secretary of Commerce to coordinate with the Director of National Intelligence to provide declassified information on how transactions denied or otherwise mitigated posed undue or unacceptable risk.

“The technology challenges that we face require a strong approach to protect Americans online from our foreign adversaries,” said Sen. Luján. “I’m proud to co-sponsor the bipartisan RESTRICT Act to improve the federal government’s capabilities to address growing technology threats to our national security.”

“Beyond the piecemeal attempts we have seen in the past, the RESTRICT Act provides a holistic approach to dealing with current and emerging technologies emanating from our foreign adversaries that pose an undue risk to the national security of our country. I was proud to join my colleagues on Day One of this legislation, which establishes a clear plan to address these risks and threats,” Sen. Capito said.

“As a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations Committees, America’s national security is one of my top priorities,” said Sen. Kaine. “That’s why I’m proud to cosponsor the RESTRICT Act. This comprehensive legislation would help address 21st century technological threats posed by foreign adversaries, who may seek to manipulate Americans’ personal data, or track U.S. military personnel, assets, or their families, among other dangerous steps. There is bipartisan agreement on the need to counter these threats and it’s time to turn that agreement into action.”

“Digital security is national security, and much like foreign purchases of land in the U.S., we ought to carefully scrutinize the technology products we use daily and store our personal data. This bill will establish a process to quickly identify and respond to foreign technology while making the public aware of the real threats they face,” said Sen. Cramer.

“The risks are unacceptable—foreign powers exploiting tech platforms like TikTok and Huawei to undercut our national security must be stopped,” said Sen. Blumenthal. “The reasons for passing the RESTRICT Act are real and urgent—preventing espionage and privacy invasion. This bipartisan measure should command broad support.”

A two-page summary of the bill is available here. A copy of the bill text is available here.

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