WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) led a letter with U.S. Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) to President Trump urging him to meet with federal workers suffering from the impacts of the shutdown. 

The Senators write, “We are writing to ask that you meet with some of the federal civil servants who are either working without pay or locked out of their job as a result of the government shutdown. We believe that you would benefit from listening to their stories.”

They continue, “When asked about the situation facing federal workers, you said, ‘I can relate. I'm sure the people that are on the receiving end will make adjustments. They always do.’ Some federal workers – like millions of Americans – live paycheck-to-paycheck. According to the Federal Reserve, 40% of Americans cannot pull together $400 for an emergency, without going into debt or selling something. Speaking with some of the workers who cannot afford to miss a paycheck may help you better relate to the adjustments you expect them to make for your shutdown.”

The Senators closed the letter stating, “You already met a few carefully handpicked federal workers who support your position of shutting down the government to demand taxpayer dollars for a border wall. But the vast majority of federal workers oppose your shutdown, and we hope you will listen to them as well. Most of all, we hope that you will swiftly end this unnecessary and damaging shutdown.”

The full text of the letter is available here and below. 

Dear President Trump: 

We are writing to ask that you meet with some of the federal civil servants who are either working without pay or locked out of their job as a result of the government shutdown. We believe that you would benefit from listening to their stories. 

You have said that you are, “proud to shut down the government.” Earlier, you tweeted about the need for a “good shutdown.” We have spoken to federal workers who will not be able to afford to keep their home, purchase their medication, or put money in their child’s school lunch account if this shutdown continues. These civil servants are proud of their jobs, and this government shutdown is preventing them from doing important work for the American people. If you heard directly from them, it would be clear that there is no such thing as a good government shutdown.

When asked about the situation facing federal workers, you said, “I can relate. I'm sure the people that are on the receiving end will make adjustments. They always do.” Some federal workers – like millions of Americans – live paycheck-to-paycheck. According to the Federal Reserve, 40% of Americans cannot pull together $400 for an emergency, without going into debt or selling something. Speaking with some of the workers who cannot afford to miss a paycheck may help you better relate to the adjustments you expect them to make for your shutdown.

You already met a few carefully handpicked federal workers who support your position of shutting down the government to demand taxpayer dollars for a border wall. But the vast majority of federal workers oppose your shutdown, and we hope you will listen to them as well. Most of all, we hope that you will swiftly end this unnecessary and damaging shutdown.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Today Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), along with Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (both D-MD), wrote a letter to Paul J. Wiedefeld, General Manager and CEO of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), seeking information on the impact that the partial government shutdown has had on WMATA’s transit system, ridership, operational services, staffing, financial position, and infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.  

WMATA “serves a unique national security role, providing transportation for federal employees traveling to and from the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security and ensuring continuity of federal operations during an emergency,” wrote the Senators. “Thus, it is critical that WMATA systems and services continue to serve riders in the nation’s capital.” 

In recent years, Metro’s investments to reverse declining ridership numbers have highlighted the extent to which transit systems depend on robust ridership to succeed. Federal employees currently make up about 40 percent of WMATA’s peak hour ridership. However, a government shutdown can adversely affect the transit system’s ridership and overall financial stance.

“During the October 2013 shutdown, the Metro system experienced a 22 percent decrease in ridership, or a decline of 1.7 million trips.  According to a 2015 report, ridership during that shutdown dropped nearly 50% at stations near federal facilities.  The shutdown not only affected ridership, but also put the WMATA long-term operations at risk,” continued the Senators.“The 16-day shutdown, according to the agency, resulted in a loss of $5.5 million in revenue and funding was delayed as the federal appropriation process was halted.”  

To gauge the impact of the shutdown’s effects, the lawmakers requested data on changes in ridership and asked how a decline could affect the WMATA’s financial situation in the long-term and short-term. They also solicited information on any lapses in federal funding and possible contingency plans. Additionally, the lawmakers asked for the details of any halted infrastructure or capital improvement projects, as well as specifics on how the WMATA’s credit rating could be weakened if the shutdown continues. According to recent reports, large and mid-sized transit agencies across the country have already tapped into their lines of credit to make payment obligations to their vendors and Moody’s has warned that a prolonged shutdown could negatively impact the credit ratings of mass transit systems.

The four lawmakers reassured Wiedefeld that they are actively working to reopen the government. Earlier today, Sens. Warner and Kaine met in Alexandria with federal workers and families who have been hurt by the ongoing government shutdown.  

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

January 11, 2019

Mr. Paul J. Wiedefeld

General Manager & CEO

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority

600 5th Street NW

Washington, D.C. 20001

Dear Mr. Wiedefeld, 

We write seeking information about the effects the current partial government shutdown has had – and the effects a prolonged shutdown could have – on the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) transit system, ridership, operational services, staffing, and infrastructure upgrades and maintenance.

In recent years, WMATA has undertaken actions to prioritize safety, often through substantial rehabilitative projects that have caused significant disruption to the system. Metro’s recent investments to reverse declining ridership underscore the extent to which a functional and sustainable transit system depends upon robust ridership to succeed.

We have also seen that events outside the control of WMATA, such as a federal government shutdown, can adversely impact ridership and a transit system’s overall financial outlook. During the October 2013 shutdown, the Metro system experienced a 22 percent decrease in ridership, or a decline of 1.7 million trips.  According to a 2015 report, ridership during that shutdown dropped nearly 50% at stations near federal facilities.  The shutdown not only affected ridership, but also put the WMATA long-term operations at risk. The 16-day shutdown, according to the agency, resulted in a loss of $5.5 million in revenue and funding was delayed as the federal appropriation process was halted. 

Federal employees comprise approximately 40 percent of WMATA’s peak hour ridership, and during the current shutdown, many government employees continue to carry out their duties and rely on WMATA to do so. WMATA also serves a unique national security role, providing transportation for federal employees traveling to and from the Pentagon and Department of Homeland Security and ensuring continuity of federal operations during an emergency. Thus, it is critical that WMATA systems and services continue to serve riders in the nation’s capital.

To understand how WMATA and its transit systems have been affected by the government shutdown and to prevent the negative impacts displayed during the 2013 shutdown, please provide us with the following information by January 15, 2019:

1.      Data on changes in ridership, both rail and bus operations, during the government shutdown. Has there been a decline in ridership from the same period in prior years, or from the period immediately preceding the shutdown? 

2.      Assuming there has been a decline in ridership during the shutdown, can you provide information on how that decline will affect WMATA’s financial situation, both in the short-term and the long-term? For example, what is the current (or estimated) loss in revenue? What would be the estimated revenue losses if the shutdown lasts a full month, or if it lasts two months? What other financial, safety or operational impacts would result from a prolonged and substantial decline in ridership brought on by the government shutdown? 

3.      Given that WMATA receives federal funding to help run its transportation network, can you detail any lapses in funding that have occurred due to the U.S. Department of Transportation and Federal Transit Administration being shut down? Can you provide information on what funding may be at risk if the shutdown continues for a full month or even two? What contingency plans does WMATA have in place to address a lapse in expected funding?

4.      Please confirm if any planned infrastructure and capital improvement projects have been stalled or halted during the shutdown. What are the expected effects of the delay in starting and finishing these projects? 

5.      It has recently been reported that Moody’s believes a prolonged shutdown could negatively impact the credit ratings of the nation’s public transit systems, noting that the shutdown has already “interrupted an important source of operating, capital and debt-service funding.”  These interruptions, in turn, could lead to higher debt service costs and delays in numerous capital improvement projects. Can you provide information on how WMATA’s credit rating could be impacted if the government shutdown continues for a prolonged period of time? What effects would a credit downgrade have on WMATA’s overall financial position, capital construction plans and operational capacity? 

Please trust that all four of us are doing everything we can to support the federal workforce, re-open the government, and get back to working towards improving the lives of all Americans. We ask for answers to the above questions as soon as possible so that we better understand the impacts of the shutdown on the vital transportation networks that serve our constituents, and so we can continue to highlight all of the numerous reasons that the federal government should be re-opened. 

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined 32 colleagues in writing to the Trump Administration urging them to direct federal agencies to work with contractors to pay low- and middle-income employees for the wages they have lost during the shutdown. The Senators point out that federal contracting officers typically have existing authority that allows them to modify the terms of contracts, and they are encouraging them to do so.  

The Senators write, “Contract workers and their families should not suffer the consequences of a shutdown that they did not cause. Low-wage service contract workers perform jobs that are absolutely vital to the government, such as food service, security, and custodial work. Many of these workers live paycheck-to-paycheck, and cannot afford to pay their rent and other bills if the shutdown continues.”

They continue, “After past shutdowns, contractor employees have generally not received back pay. In addition to our fight to protect federal workers who are being hurt by this shutdown, we are committed to righting this wrong for contractor employees.”

The Senators close the letter, writing, “We urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that contractor employees get the back pay that they deserve by providing clear directions for agencies and contractors to do so.”

In addition to Warner and Kaine, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Doug Jones (D-AL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Tom Udall (D-NM), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Thomas R. Carper (D-DE), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), and Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT).

The text of the letter is available below and here.

Dear Mr. Vought:

We are writing to urge you to direct federal agencies to work with contractors to provide back pay to compensate low- and middle-income contractor employees for the wages they have lost as a result of not being able to report to work during this government shutdown.

Contract workers and their families should not suffer the consequences of a shutdown that they did not cause. Low-wage service contract workers perform jobs that are absolutely vital to the government, such as food service, security, and custodial work. Many of these workers live paycheck-to-paycheck, and cannot afford to pay their rent and other bills if the shutdown continues.

After past shutdowns, contractor employees have generally not received back pay. In addition to our fight to protect federal workers who are being hurt by this shutdown, we are committed to righting this wrong for contractor employees. Government contracts typically have provisions to modify the terms of the contract. Federal contracting officers should use these provisions to work with contractors to provide back pay for employees who lost wages as a result of the government shutdown.

Providing back pay to these low- and middle-income contractor employees who are furloughed by their employers is the right thing to do, and it is in the federal government's best interest to provide funding to the extent necessary to ensure that contractors deliver back pay to their workers. Contractor employees cannot afford the chaos and uncertainty of government shutdowns, and some of these workers may seek other jobs if back pay is not provided to compensate for shutdown-related losses. 

Most of all, this wasteful and destructive government shutdown must come to an end. We all support the legislation passed by the House of Representatives to reopen the government, which mirrors legislation that previously passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support. 

We urge you to take immediate steps to ensure that contractor employees get the back pay that they deserve by providing clear directions for agencies and contractors to do so.

Thank you for your consideration, and we look forward to your reply.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON D.C. – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and 29 other Senators in reintroducing legislation today to allow Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs—a move that would cut costs for nearly 43 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D.

“Medicare Part D enrolls over 43 million seniors nationwide, meaning that they have enormous bargaining power. However, seniors cannot utilize this power without a seat at the negotiating table,” said Sen. Warner. “This bill takes a commonsense step that will finally allow the government to use its purchasing power to negotiate lower drug prices for seniors on Medicare.”

“For years I have pushed to make prescription drugs more affordable for seniors, many of whom are on fixed incomes,” Sen. Kaine said. “In the wealthiest nation in the world, our seniors should not have to choose between paying for their medication and putting food on the table or heating their homes.”

Currently, the law forbids Medicare from using its purchasing power to negotiate lower prices from prescription drug companies. The Empowering Medicare Seniors to Negotiate Drug Prices Act would authorize the Secretary of Health and Human Services to directly negotiate price discounts with drug companies for the Medicare Prescription Drug Program. The bill would do this by eliminating the “non-interference” clause in the Social Security Act that expressly bans Medicare from negotiating better prices.

A bipartisan version of this bill is being led in the House of Representatives by Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Francis Rooney (R-FL).

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ASHINGTON – Twenty days into the federal government shutdown, the Senate has passed by unanimous consent a bill sponsored by U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and three dozen senators to ensure federal and other government workers who have been impacted by the current federal government shutdown will receive their back pay. The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act stipulates that all employees shall be paid as soon as possible after the lapse in appropriations ends – this includes those forced to work without pay and those locked out of their jobs during the shutdown. The bill also clarifies that excepted employees who have scheduled previously approved leave occurring during an appropriations lapse may indeed take that leave without undue penalty.  It also clarifies that its provisions also apply to employees of the District of Columbia (DC) Government, D.C. Courts, and D.C. Public Defenders Service, who are also affected by federal government shutdowns. 

“On the eve of the first missed payday, the Senate has acted to make sure that federal employees get paid just as soon as the government reopens for business,” said Senator Warner. “I expect that the Democratic House will take up and pass this legislation in short order. Our federal workforce – Americans who dedicate their lives to serving this country – shouldn’t have to bear the brunt of this unnecessary shutdown. The President must allow the government to re-open for business immediately.”

“Yesterday I alerted both caucuses that I would object to Senators leaving for the weekend while 800,000 federal employees were on the cusp of losing out on pay Friday,” Senator Kaine said. “I am thankful that as a result we were able to engage in a discussion that will give those employees some measure of comfort that they will receive their paychecks when the shutdown is over. This is not the same thing as knowing when the shutdown will be over, or receiving their paychecks on time, but it is the right thing to do for us to show these hard working Americans we’re there for them.” 

“Federal workers are dedicated public servants who shouldn’t continue to suffer – working dangerous jobs without knowing when their next paycheck may come, or being forcibly furloughed and unable to carry out their mission – because of the government shutdown. Passage of our bill may not answer the question of when a paycheck will come, but it will guarantee that a paycheck will come when this shutdown finally ends,” said Senator Cardin. “We need to reopen the government immediately. Until we do, passage of our bill should be a sign of good faith and respect for federal workers, as well as a sign to creditors that our public servants will be made financially whole again. The House of Representatives should pass this legislation quickly and send it to the president, who has said he would sign it into law.”

“For three weeks, I’ve heard from the federal workers that I represent who are worried about how they will make ends meet if this shutdown continues. These hardworking men and women have nothing to do with the political gamesmanship that led to the Trump Shutdown, but they’ve had to pay the price,” said Senator Chris Van Hollen. “Today, the Senate has passed our legislation on a bipartisan basis to provide our federal workforce with the much-needed certainty that they will receive their paycheck when the shutdown ends. But they shouldn’t be without a paycheck at all – they should be at work. Now, we must work together to end this crisis and reopen the government without delay.”

“The partial government shutdown represents a failure to govern and harms not only those who need to interact with the closed agencies, but also hundreds of thousands of federal employees and their families who don’t know when they will receive their next paycheck,” said Senator Collins.  “Civil servants bring dedication, competence, and experience to their work, and I appreciate all that they do for our government and our nation.  Our legislation would guarantee that they are paid retroactively as soon as appropriations are restored.  I am also continuing to discuss with the White House and my colleagues on both sides of the aisle ways to bring an end to the shutdown as quickly as possible so that furloughed federal employees can return to work.” 

Additional cosponsors of the Government Employee Fair Treatment Act are: Senators Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Richard Durbin (D-Ill.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Robert Casey (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.).

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WASHINGTON — Today U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in calling for the Senate to vote on House-passed spending bills that would reopen the government immediately and allow hundreds of thousands of federal employees and contractors to go back to work.

In his floor remarks, Sen. Warner noted that federal workers are bearing the brunt of the government shutdown. Already into its 18^th day, the shutdown has furloughed more than 380,000 federal workers and more than 450,000 are working without pay.

While President Trump continues to hold federal workers hostage to secure $5.7 billion in border wall funding, Sen. Warner warned that many federal employees tasked with protecting the nation’s borders and vulnerable points of entry – which includes TSA agents and the U.S. Coast Guard – continue to work without pay. 

Sen. Warner continues to be outspoken against President Trump’s use of a government shutdown as a negotiating tactic. To reduce the financial hardships caused by the shutdown, Sen. Warner introduced legislation to secure back pay for federal workers and pledged to introduce legislation to reimburse low-wage federal contractors who have gone without pay during the shutdown.

Below is a transcript of his floor remarks:

Mr. President, I want to join my colleagues from Maryland and my friend, the Senator from Virginia as well, to speak out on this manufactured crisis.

This President is holding 800,000 federal workers hostage. Folks who are going to work, some of them without pay, others who are furloughed, as has been mentioned, this is not just affecting federal workers. Senator Kaine and I have been talking to a number of contractors and small business owners, a couple of them who are closing their doors this week because they have now gone for weeks without being paid. You can't put a business back together after you've closed your doors. So the 800,000 federal employees, the contractors and there are a slew of other folks who are already immediately affected.

The complete lack of thought this administration had in the shutdown, where they said ‘we're going to make it seem not like a shutdown so we are going to leave the parks open.’ Now we see destruction going on in our parks. We see in our state where Shenandoah National Park has trash overfilling, we have the battlefields where people have also had inappropriate activities, and we've seen as well a whole slew of businesses that depend upon a high volume of tourist travel during the holidays. None of that should have taken place. 

Mr. President, I also wonder whether Donald Trump, who says this is about security, well if this is about security we ought to make sure that our Coast Guard is paid. We ought to make sure our TSA agents are paid. We are seeing dramatic numbers of folks calling in sick, dramatically reducing the ability to maintain security at our airports where frankly, most of our vulnerability on the border takes place. 

That is going to get exponentially worse after Friday when these employees go without a paycheck. The fact of the matter is these workers don't work for Donald Trump, they work for America. And we, echoing what my colleagues said, our first order of business should be making sure we get the government open. 

The final point I want to make it is this: the heartlessness of this President and his comments about our federal workforce, that somehow they can manage through without a paycheck, that somehow they can negotiate with their landlord if they cannot pay the rent. Rather than Donald Trump putting on a political show tonight on TV and a political trip to the border tomorrow, I invite the President to come anywhere in Virginia, Maryland, or the District and sit down with federal employees an explain this crisis and why they are not getting paid. 

So my hope is that, echoing what our Senators from Maryland said, the Senate should not be complicit in this. We need to reopen the government. We need to negotiate additional border security, I am all for it. But not holding hostage, literally, our federal employees and countless others 

With that I yield to Senator from Virginia, Tim Kaine.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement after the House of Representatives passed a bill to reopen the government last night and sent it over to the Senate to consider: 

“Yesterday, the House passed funding bills that the Senate already supported in the last Congress. Leader McConnell should let us take a vote on those bills to reopen government and force President Trump to decide whether to sign them. Virginia is home to more than 170,000 federal employees and tens of thousands of government contractors. If we first end President Trump’s shutdown and stop the pain he is putting on them and their families, then we can focus from now until February 8^th on agreeing to a reasonable approach on border security.”

Warner and Kaine have been outspoken against President Trump’s use of a government shutdown as a negotiating tactic. Virginia is home to more than 170,000 federal employees. The bills that passed through the House would fund the Department of Homeland Security through February 8^th and remaining departments through September 30^th.

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WASHINGTON— Today, the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Committee member Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced bipartisan legislation to help combat tech-specific threats to national security posed by foreign actors like China and ensure U.S. technological supremacy by improving interagency coordination across the U.S. government. To do this, the bill creates an Office of Critical Technologies & Security at the White House responsible for coordinating across agencies and developing a long-term, whole-of-government strategy to protect against state-sponsored technology theft and risks to critical supply chains. 

“It is clear that China is determined to use every tool in its arsenal to surpass the United States technologically and dominate us economically. We need a whole-of-government technology strategy to protect U.S. competitiveness in emerging and dual-use technologies and address the Chinese threat by combating technology transfer from the United States, ” said Sen. Warner, a former technology and telecommunications executive. “We look forward to working with the Executive Branch and others to coordinate and respond to this threat.”

“China continues to conduct a coordinated assault on U.S. intellectual property, U.S. businesses, and our government networks and information with the full backing of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Sen. Rubio. “The United States needs a more coordinated approach to directly counter this critical threat and ensure we better protect U.S. technology. We must continue to do everything possible to prevent foreign theft of our technology, and interference in our networks and critical infrastructure. By establishing the Office of Critical Technologies and Security, this bill will help protect the United States by streamlining efforts across the government. I look forward to working with my colleagues and the Administration to enact this legislation and guard against these national security threats.”

China and other nations are currently attempting to achieve technological and economic superiority over the United States through the aggressive use of state-directed or -supported technology transfers. At the same time, the U.S. is also facing major challenges to the integrity of key supply chains as a result of reliance on foreign products that have been identified as national security risks. A national response to combat these threats and ensure our national security has, to date, been hampered by insufficient coordination at the federal level.

The Warner-Rubio bill would guarantee that there is a federal entity responsible for proactively coordinating interagency efforts and developing a national strategy to deal with these challenges to our national security and long-term technological competitiveness. Under the bill, the Office of Critical Technologies & Security would be directed to coordinate and consult with federal and state tech and telecom regulators, the private sector, nongovernmental experts and academic stakeholders, and key international partners and U.S. allies to ensure that every available tool is being utilized to safeguard the supply chain and protect emerging, foundational and dual-use technologies. The Office would also be responsible for raising awareness of these threats and improving the overall education of the American public and business leaders in key sectors about the threats to U.S. national security posed by the improper acquisition and transfer of critical technologies by foreign countries and reliance on foreign products – such as those manufactured by Chinese telecom companies ZTE and Huawei – that jeopardize the overall security of private sector supply chains. 

Sen. Warner, a former telecommunications executive and entrepreneur, has long expressed concerns about the risks to our national security posed by Chinese-controlled telecom companies. On October 12, 2018, Sen. Warner and Sen. Rubio sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging his country to reconsider Huawei’s inclusion in any aspect of Canada’s 5G development, introduction, and maintenance. Warner has also urged the Administration to work with our allies to combat these technology threats. Sens. Warner and Rubio are also the authors of bipartisan legislation to enforce full compliance by ZTE with all probationary conditions of a U.S. Commerce Department’s deal struck with the company last year that ended U.S. imposed sanctions.

For a copy of the bill text, click here. 

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WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) sent a letter to President Donald Trump, urging him in the strongest possible terms to back off a planned pay freeze for civilian federal employees in 2019.

"We write to urge you in the strongest possible terms to reverse your decision to freeze pay rates for non-military federal workers in 2019. After months of indecisiveness and mixed signals, your decision further penalizes hard-working federal employees already straining under the impact of the unnecessary government shutdown that began on December 22nd," the Senators told Trump. "Freezing pay for federal workers adds insult to injury for dedicated public servants already subject to political attacks and gamesmanship."

While the White House's FY19 budget proposed an across-the-board pay freeze for non-military federal workers, in August, the Senate approved appropriations legislation providing for a 1.9 percent pay increase for federal workers. However, the House's failure to take up the bill allowed President Trump to sign an executive order on December 28 -- day six of the partial government shutdown -- unilaterally freezing pay for civilian federal employees.

In today's letter, the Senators pushed Trump to change course, highlighting bipartisan support for the Senate-passed 1.9 percent pay raise. They also underscored how freezing pay hinders the federal government's hiring competitiveness with the private sector, and called out the President for not doing more to prioritize human capital investments. The Senators also committed to working towards a pay adjustment for FY19 if President Trump fails to reverse his decision.

"There should be a particular sense of urgency in bolstering, rather than undermining, the competitiveness of the federal workforce considering that the share of federal employees eligible for retirement is expected to jump to 30 percent in five years," the Senators wrote. "As a businessman, we would expect you to understand the importance of human capital investments in recruiting and retaining talented employees. We are deeply troubled that you would abdicate your responsibility to ensure the sustainability of the federal workforce—particularly while so many federal employees are actively working without pay during a shutdown triggered by your own equivocation?"

The full text of today's letter is available here and below.

Dear Mr. President:

We write to urge you in the strongest possible terms to reverse your decision to freeze pay rates for non-military federal workers in 2019. After months of indecisiveness and mixed signals, your decision further penalizes hard-working federal employees already straining under the impact of the unnecessary government shutdown that began on December 22nd.

Freezing pay for federal workers adds insult to injury for dedicated public servants already subject to political attacks and gamesmanship. In February 2018, your administration’s budget proposed freezing federal civilian pay for 2019. In August 2018, the United States Senate included a 1.9 percent pay raise for civilian federal employees in the appropriations bill that passed with overwhelming bipartisan support. This action recognized the many contributions of federal workers and rebuked your unsubstantiated proposal to further hinder their economic security and our collective ability to compete with the private sector. There should be a particular sense of urgency in bolstering, rather than undermining, the competitiveness of the federal workforce considering that the share of federal employees eligible for retirement is expected to jump to 30 percent in five years.

As a businessman, we would expect you to understand the importance of human capital investments in recruiting and retaining talented employees. We are deeply troubled that you would abdicate your responsibility to ensure the sustainability of the federal workforce—particularly while so many federal employees are actively working without pay during a shutdown triggered by your own equivocation.

We strongly encourage you to take immediate action to reverse your ill-advised pay freeze and lift federal workers from this added layer of financial insecurity. Should you choose not to change course, we will continue working on a bipartisan basis to ensure federal workers receive a pay adjustment for Fiscal Year 2019.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the below statement after the Director of National Intelligence concluded that Russia and other foreign countries used social media and additional means of influence to target Americans during the 2018 midterm elections:

“As the Director of National Intelligence reminds us, the Russians did not go away after the 2016 election. Now that the Russian playbook is out in the open, we’re going to see more and more adversaries trying to take advantage of the openness of our society to sow division and attempt to manipulate Americans. Congress has to step up and enact some much-needed guardrails on social media, and companies need to work with us so that we can update our laws to better protect against attacks on our democracy.”

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WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) led a group of 38 Senators in calling on the Trump Administration to withdraw recent changes that makes it easier for states to promote “junk” plans. These health care plans typically lack protections for people with pre-existing conditions and would increase costs for millions of Americans. Under the Administration’s new guidance, states can use federal subsidies to pay for these subpar plans by utilizing a section of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) intended to give states additional flexibility to implement targeted improvements that expand coverage, reduce costs and provide more comprehensive benefits. The Senators argue that the Administration is improperly using Section 1332 to allow states to do the exact opposite. 

“We have serious concerns they will increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. In light of substantive concerns that we have with the impact on patients, and procedural concerns that we have with the manner in which these significant policy changes have been promulgated, we ask that you immediately withdraw this guidance and re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress,” said the Senators in a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma, and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. 

The Senators made it clear these actions did not reflect Congress’ intent in creating the 1332 waiver program, stating “the Administration’s recent guidance significantly changes enforcement of these four important guardrails, undermining Congressional intent and posing a significant risk to consumers that now have affordable and comprehensive health coverage.”

Additionally the proposed changes, which were outlined in guidance provided by the Administration and a discussion paper released a few months back, will allow states to increase out-of-pocket maximums and reduce the value of coverage, weaken essential health benefits, and implement changes that increase health care costs for the majority of beneficiaries if a state can demonstrate costs will be lower for some.

“We ask that you immediately withdraw this guidance and work with us and other stakeholders on policies that maintain protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions and improve affordability,” concluded the Senators.

In October, Senators forced a vote in the Senate on a discharge petition that would have blocked the Trump Administration’s rule to expand “junk insurance” plans. The measure was supported by 50 Senators, including one Republican. Ultimately, the petition did not receive the simple majority needed to pass the Senate and send it to the U.S. House of Representatives.

In addition to Sens. Warner, Cardin, Shaheen, and Baldwin, the letter was signed by Sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Gary Peters (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ed Markey (D-MA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NV), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).

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

The Honorable Seema Verma

Administrator                                                                

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services          

7500 Security Boulevard                                      

Baltimore, MD 21244                                                      

The Honorable Alex Azar                                                    

Secretary                                                                            

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services                

200 Independence Avenue, SW                                          

Washington, DC 20201                                                       

The Honorable Steven Mnuchin

Secretary

U.S. Department of the Treasury

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20220

Dear Secretary Azar, Administrator Verma and Secretary Mnuchin:

We write to express concern with the Administration’s October 22 guidance and November 29 discussion paper on new options for states pursuing a Section 1332 waiver under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). The new guidance and discussion paper promote health plans that lack protections for people with pre-existing conditions and low-income families enshrined in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) guidance released in 2015 and adopt new principles that were not envisioned by Congress. We have serious concerns they will increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions. In light of substantive concerns that we have with the impact on patients, and procedural concerns that we have with the manner in which these significant policy changes have been promulgated, we ask that you immediately withdraw this guidance and re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress.

Section 1332 of the ACA gives states additional flexibility to implement state-specific improvements that expand coverage, reduce costs and provide more comprehensive benefits. In fact, Congress enacted so-called “guardrails” that waiver proposals must meet in order for the Secretary to approve them. Specifically, waivers must ensure 1) health coverage is at least as comprehensive as it would be under the ACA, 2) cost-sharing and premiums are as affordable as they would be under the ACA, 3) the number of individuals with coverage remains comparable to the number of individuals covered under the ACA, and 4) the waiver does not increase the Federal deficit.

The Administration’s recent guidance significantly changes enforcement of these four important guardrails, undermining Congressional intent and posing a significant risk to consumers that now have affordable and comprehensive health coverage. The “waiver concepts,” published after the release of the recent guidance, suggests that the Secretary will permit states to use Federal subsidies for the purchase of short-term, limited-duration (STLDI) “junk plans” that do not meet Federal patient protections. The new guidance will also allow states to count junk plans as health insurance when determining how many individuals are enrolled in coverage.

This change will allow states to enroll more individuals in subpar plans that do not offer essential health benefits such as mental health care, maternity care, prescription drug coverage or substance use disorder treatment. Additionally, these subpar plans can discriminate against individuals with pre-existing conditions, older Americans and women by excluding these essential benefits. These plans may also charge certain customers more for their coverage, deny coverage entirely, impose annual and lifetime limits on care, and other anti-consumer practices. This use of federal tax dollars for subpar, often deceptively-marketed insurance that barely provides coverage at all is completely unacceptable.

It is important to note that hospitals, insurers, patient groups and independent health experts have all agreed that the increased use of these junk plans will increase the cost of health care coverage for many Americans, undercut protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions and erode stability in the health insurance markets.

In addition to the increased use of junk plans, the discussion paper makes clear that the Secretary will also give states more flexibility to increase out-of-pocket maximums and reduce the value of coverage, weaken essential health benefits, and implement changes that increase health care costs for those who need it most if a state can demonstrate costs will be lower in the aggregate. We have serious concerns about how these changes will impact the quality and affordability of coverage, especially for vulnerable sub-populations.

Furthermore, we are concerned that this guidance may exceed the Secretary’s legal authority by not requiring Congressional approval to change existing law and by subverting the full notice and comment rule-making process. The guidance violates the statute by allowing states to provide “access to” instead of “provision of” affordable and comprehensive coverage to at least the same number of residents. It also redefines “health insurance” to include plans that lack the ACA’s consumer protections. In addition, by forgoing Congressional approval and the rule-making process the Administration has excluded an opportunity for public comment from millions of Americans and other stakeholders that will be impacted by these changes. In contrast, the Department finalized the 2015 guidance only after taking into account feedback from stakeholders and experts. The Department finalized this new guidance immediately, without getting any vital input from affected stakeholders.

For these reasons, we ask that you immediately withdraw this guidance and work with us and other stakeholders on policies that maintain protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions and improve affordability. Thank you for your consideration of our letter and we look forward to your response.                      

Sincerely,

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