WASHINGTON – Today U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) announced new cosponsors of bipartisan Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER) Act: Senators Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa).

The legislation sends a powerful message to Russia and any other foreign actor seeking to disrupt our elections:  if you attack American candidates, campaigns, or voting infrastructure, you will face severe consequences. The DETER Act uses the threat of powerful sanctions to dissuade hostile foreign powers from meddling in our elections by ensuring that they know well in advance that the costs will outweigh the benefits.

“In the face of unequivocal evidence that Russia worked to undermine our elections in 2016 and continued aggression from the Kremlin just four months until our next federal elections, we must take action,” said Senator Van Hollen. “The DETER Act would send a clear signal that attacks on our democracy will not be tolerated. We’re proud to announce this new support from our colleagues, and we hope the Senate will take up this bipartisan legislation without delay.” 

“The most meaningful measure that we can take right now to protect our democracy is to pass the bipartisan DETER Act, which imposes specific and serious sanctions against foreign countries that meddle in our future elections. We must make sure Putin understands that we will not overlook his hostilities, and he will face punishing consequences if he tries to interfere in our elections again,” said Senator Rubio. 

“We have to do everything we can to protect our elections from foreign interference. The 2018 midterm elections are just around the corner, and Director National Intelligence Dan Coats just recently cautioned that the ‘warning lights are blinking red again.’ On the heels of the President’s weak performance in Helsinki, it’s critical that we make clear to Putin that interference in our democratic process will not be tolerated. I thank Senator Van Hollen and Senator Rubio for their leadership on this issue,” said Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Warner.

“As the U.S. intelligence services have reported, it is an incontrovertible fact that Russia sought to influence the 2016 elections in the United States – a fact that President Putin openly confirmed during the recent U.S.-Russia summit in Helsinki,” Senator Gardner said. “We know Russia will try again, so we must also be forward thinking to prevent this assault on our democracy from ever happening again. As we get closer to our next elections, we should be making it clear to the KGB thug Vladimir Putin, and anyone else who dares meddle in our elections, that this type of behavior will never be tolerated and will be met with severe and immediate consequences.”

“Russia’s interference in our elections cannot be dismissed or ignored. Congress has a responsibility to take action and impose costs on those who would attack American democracy,” said Senator Baldwin. “This bipartisan effort puts country over party, stands up for our democracy and will send a powerful message to bad actors like Putin’s Russia and other adversarial nations that future attacks on our elections will be met with severe consequences.” 

“Our Intelligence Community has made it clear that Russia interfered in our 2016 elections and will do so again -  unless we take actions to prevent it,” said Senator Coons. “The DETER Act will impose penalties on Russia – or any other adversary – that seeks to undermine our democratic processes and traditions.  I commend Senator Rubio and Senator Van Hollen for introducing this bill and I look forward to working with them to pass it into law.”

“Vladimir Putin wants to make the Soviet Union great again and he hates the very stuff that makes America great – our First Amendment freedoms and our free and fair elections,” said Senator Sasse. “Russia is coming back in 2018, 2020, and 2022 to sow chaos and distrust. We cannot fall asleep on the watch. These attacks deserve consequences -- and sanctions send a strong message. 

“The conclusion of American intelligence agencies is crystal clear: Russian interference in our elections is a fact. We must take immediate action to protect and secure our elections from future meddling by Russia or anyone else. Deterring foreign enemies from attacking our election systems and other critical infrastructure is just the first step we must take to protect our national security and democratic institutions,” said Senator Cantwell. 

Senator Grassley said, “While no vote tallies were changed in the 2016 presidential election, Russian cyberattacks and propaganda efforts undermined confidence in our democratic process. Vladimir Putin would like nothing more than to continue sowing discord and meddling in Western democracies without consequence. Passing this legislation would help improve Americans’ faith in their system of government and send an unmistakable signal to the Kremlin that it’s not worth trying it again.”

BACKGROUND

Reporting Requirements

·         The Director of National Intelligence (DNI) must issue to Congress a determination on whether any foreign government has interfered in that election within one month after every federal election.

Actions That Will Elicit Retaliation

·         A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot purchase advertisements to influence an election, including online ads.

·         A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot use social and traditional media to spread significant amounts of false information to Americans.

·         A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot hack and release or modify election and campaign infrastructure, including voter registration databases and campaign emails

·         A foreign government, or an agent acting on its behalf, cannot block or otherwise hinder access to elections infrastructure, such as websites providing information on polling locations.

Russia-Specific Sanctions

·         If the DNI determines that the Kremlin has once again interfered in an American federal election, the bill mandates a set of severe sanctions that must be implement within ten days of the DNI's determination.

·         This includes sanctions on major sectors of the Russian economy, including finance, energy, defense, and metals and mining.

·         Every senior Russian political figure or oligarch, identified in the report required by the Countering America's Adversaries Act of 2017, will be blacklisted from entering the United States and will have their assets blocked.

·         The Administration is also required to work with the European Union to enlist their support in adopting a sanctions regime to broaden the impact.

Preparing for Other Potential Attacks

·         The DNI has identified China, Iran, and North Korea as our other major foreign government cyber threats, and they may also seek to exploit American vulnerabilities in the next election cycle.

·         The Administration should present Congress with a plan for preventing interference in our elections for each of these countries, and any other foreign state of significant concern.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced bipartisan legislation to provide financial relief to certain civilian federal employees who move for work. TheRelocation Expense Parity Act would close a loophole that prevents certain federal workers from having additional taxes on their moving expenses fully reimbursed.

The tax bill passed last year eliminated the deduction for job-related moving costs, as well as the exclusion for reimbursements or in-kind contributions made by employers to defray the cost of moving. As a result, employer reimbursements for moving costs – which were previously excluded – are now generally taxed at the same rate as ordinary income. This situation is causing a particular burden for civilian federal employees who, after being assigned to a new duty station, have discovered that hundreds or even thousands of dollars have been withheld from their paychecks, often with little advance notice, in order to cover the cost of taxes associated with moving reimbursements from the federal government. While the law excluded active-duty service members, the approximately 25,000 civilian federal workers — from military civilian employees to law enforcement and teachers — who move each year would have extra money withheld to cover the taxes on this “income” following the changes in the law. 

After receiving a letter from Sens. Warner and Kaine on this issue, the U.S. General Service Administration (GAO) clarified their rulesso that agencies can now reimburse roughly 95 percent of the affected federal workers for this additional cost. However, a small slice of workers who receive moving reimbursements, generally new and retiring employees, are still not eligible. These federal workers owe taxes on their moving costs, and the government cannot cover the costs. The Relocation Expense Parity Act closes this gap by making any federal employee eligible for having moving costs paid also eligible for reimbursement for the additional taxes.

“Civilian federal workers uproot their entire lives and move to distant locations in service to their country. They shouldn’t have to pay a price for their commitment to public service,” said Sen. Warner. “This bipartisan legislation closes a remaining gap that prevents all federal employees from being fairly compensated for their willingness to serve our country.”

“Some hardworking families from Virginia are being stuck with a surprise tax bill when they begin or end their public service,” Sen. Kaine said. “We need to do something to fix this mistake. Additionally, this burden has made it harder for federal agencies to recruit and retain a talented workforce. Families shouldn’t be forced to foot the bill for these moves, and I’m proud we have a bipartisan effort to fix it.” 

“When federal employees are required to relocate to continue their public service in a different part of the country or the world, they should not have to pay additional federal taxes due to reimbursement for moving costs,” said Sen. Collins. “Although the vast majority of federal workers are fully reimbursed for this additional cost, our bipartisan bill would ensure that the remaining five percent of affected workers are fairly compensated for their moving expenses.” 

“Federal workers are tasked with the fundamental responsibility of serving to protect, promote, and preserve the rights and interests of the people of the United States. Employees ranging from FBI agents to teachers on our military bases can face a significant cost burden when moving to their duty stations or returning home,” said Sen. Van Hollen. “This legislation makes an important fix to ensure our federal employees are not doubly burdened through the new tax law. I was proud to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation, and I will continue working to support our federal workforce with the resources they need to best serve the American people.”

“Hawaii’s civilian federal workforce plays a critical role in serving our veterans, protecting our environment, and keeping our country safe,” Sen. Hirono said. “Moving to Hawaii to assume a new role is often expensive, but our country is better off when our Federal workers are able to relocate for public service. At a time when Hawaii faces an overall provider shortage in our veterans’ health care system, this legislation helps to ensure that the cost of moving does not impede the important work federal employees do across the country every day.”

“The FBIAA supports the Relocations Expense Parity Act because it protects FBI Special Agents from new financial penalties resulting from mandatory relocation and the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As part of our work to protect the Nation, Special Agents sign mobility agreements that subject them to transfer to meet the needs of the FBI. These moves are often expensive for Special Agents and their families. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act eliminates the moving expense deduction, which historically offset this financial burden. Now, Special Agents who relocate to serve the FBI will face thousands of dollars unnecessarily withheld from their pay because moving reimbursement is considered ordinary income. Special Agents make sacrifices for the nation every day and should not confront financial penalties as result of being willing to serve anywhere they are needed,” said Thomas O’Connor, President of the FBI Agents Association.

“Taxing moving allowances and benefits for new hires into the Department of Defense Education Activity will create a huge financial burden for these individuals and make the task of recruiting and hiring qualified employees for overseas locations much harder. Why would anyone agree to uproot themselves – and, in many cases, their families – in order to move halfway around the world if doing so will cause them to incur thousands of dollars in tax liability? And that’s on top of the enormous expenses and stresses anyone agreeing to relocate overseas for government work already faces. The fact is, DoDEA will find it increasingly difficult to find top-tier educators to come work in its schools and the military dependents who have come to rely on such excellent educators staffing DoDEA schools will the ones who suffer as a result,” said H.T. Nguyen, Executive Director of the Federal Education Association. 

“I worked for DoDEA schools for decades, ensuring military dependents received a great education, and it was always with the understanding that the government would pay to move my family and our possessions back home when my DoDEA career ended. Suddenly, just months before I was set to retire, I learned the new tax law would make such moving assistance taxable, causing my tax liability for this year to increase by thousands of dollars. Being saddled with this tax debt is a huge unforeseen cost to retirees like myself. It deals a severe blow to my financial situation for retirement and I believe it will cause other current employees to delay their retirements because they cannot afford the tax bill they would incur by moving back home. We’ve been told throughout our careers that the government would pay to ship our stuff home when we left DoDEA. To suddenly make those moving services taxable to us is unfair and hurtful!” said Alex Veto, recently retired teacher from Vilseck High School in Germany, a Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) school.

“NTEU appreciates Senators Warner, Kaine, Collins, Van Hollen, and Hirono’s bipartisan recognition that the recent tax code changes penalize federal employees who are required to move for work purposes risking their ability to continue to afford to perform their duties on behalf of the US government,” said Tony Reardon, President of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

“NARFE appreciates the hard work of Sen. Warner and his colleagues to correct an unintended consequence of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The legislation inadvertently eliminated the tax deduction for work-related relocation expenses for federal employees. This saddled civil servants with heavy expenses as they were called upon to relocate in order to fulfill the American public’s needs. Although most of the burden has been alleviated, some public servants were not afforded relief by an administrative change and require a legislative fix. To that end, NARFE supports the Relocation Expense Parity Act, sponsored by Sens. Mark Warner, Tim Kaine, Susan Collins, Mazie Hirono and Chris Van Hollen, to provide relief to federal employees who are still not made whole from the increased tax expenses resulting from their work-related relocations. Federal employees should not have to foot the bill when they relocate in service to our nation,” said Richard Thissen, President of the National Active and Retired Federal Employees Association (NARFE).

More information about this bill can be found here. For the text of the bill, click here. 

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WASHINGTON – Congressman A. Donald McEachin (VA-04) led a letter signed by seven members of the Virginia Delegation to United States International Trade Commission Chairman Johanson expressing serious concerns about tariffs that are impacting Virginia newspapers. This letter was signed by Senators Kaine and Warner as well as Representatives Beyer, Comstock, Connolly, Goodlatte, and Scott:

“We support efforts to fight illegal trade practices and guarantee a level playing field for American companies. However, we are concerned the tariffs on uncoated groundwood paper from Canada will cause long-term harm to domestic newsprint manufacturers and consumers. There are nearly 200 daily and weekly newspapers in Virginia. An increase of up to 35 percent in costs due to these tariffs cannot be absorbed by newspapers and printers; current tariffs are already reducing the frequency and size of publication for many newspapers. This leads to higher prices for readers, businesses and advertisers and is already causing a loss of jobs in the printing and publishing industry at the local level. If these tariffs become permanent, these harmful trends will become ever more pronounced,” wrote the Members of Congress. “Local newsgathering is also jeopardized by these tariffs, which is where so many small Virginia communities will be affected: they rely heavily on their local papers for coverage, and those papers are already struggling to operate on razor-thin margins. Our democracy cannot function unless citizens are informed and engaged; without strong community newspapers, that kind of engagement would be vastly more difficult.”

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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 today following President Trump’s comments during a joint press conference at the Trump-Putin summit:

“For the President of the United States to stand next to Vladimir Putin — who personally ordered one of the largest state-sponsored cyber-attacks in our history — and side with Putin over America’s military and intelligence leaders is a breach of his duty to defend our country against its adversaries.

“If the President cannot defend the United States and its interests in public, how can we trust him to stand up for our country in private?” 

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Washington, D.C. — Late yesterday, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats expressing deep concern that classified and highly sensitive documents have been made broadly accessible to all members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, rather than a select group of designated Members.  As the Democratic Leaders write, Director Coats’s decision to widely release these classified documents could put sources and methods at risk.

In the letter, the Members write: “While we understand the need for congressional oversight, this action - which we understand was taken at your direction - contravenes your representation to us and our colleagues that this information would not be shared outside that group. … All of the meeting's attendees agreed that the information discussed was among the most sensitive type of information and should be protected accordingly.  We believe your decision could put sources and methods at risk.”

* * *

The full letter is below:

July 12, 2018

Honorable Daniel Coats

Director

Office of the Director of National Intelligence

Washington, DC 20511

Dear Director Coats:

In recent days, we learned that certain classified documents that were originally made available to a small group of designated members have been made more broadly available to all members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees.  While we understand the need for congressional oversight, this action - which we understand was taken at your direction - contravenes your representation to us and our colleagues that this information would not be shared outside that group.  

As you know, during our meetings on this sensitive matter we discussed at great length the importance of protecting sources and methods and ongoing investigations.  All of the meeting's attendees agreed that the information discussed was among the most sensitive type of information and should be protected accordingly.  We believe your decision could put sources and methods at risk.

Further, we are concerned that your action was in direct contravention of our verbal and written requests (letters on June 5, 2018 and June 27, 2018) to Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Wray.  

This is a matter of serious importance and we believe a follow-on meeting of the Gang of Eight is needed as soon as possible.

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 today after the U.S. Department of Justice announced the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence officers for criminally interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election:

“Today’s indictment by the Department of Justice of 12 Russian spies for hacking our election is another testament to the quality and professionalism of the investigation being run by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The President and his allies must cease and desist their baseless, inflammatory attacks on an investigation that, even before today, had already produced multiple indictments and secured guilty pleas from two Trump campaign aides as well as the President’s former national security adviser.    

“Just this morning in the United Kingdom, President Trump blamed the poor state of U.S.-Russia relations on ‘the rigged witch hunt,’ claiming that it ‘really hurts our country and it really hurts our relationship with Russia.’ The President is wrong. As today’s indictment makes crystal clear, tensions between our two nations exist because Russia attacked our democracy. 

“That’s all the more reason why he must not meet one-on-one with Vladimir Putin, who, in the absence of U.S. experts or advisers, will undoubtedly take full advantage of an ill-prepared President. And if the Administration is unwilling to make the facts laid out in today’s indictment a top priority for that discussion, then that meeting shouldn’t happen.”

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WASHINGTON – In response to President Trump’s abuse of Section 232 to unilaterally impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from our closest allies, the Senate today voted 88-11 to re-assert Congress’ constitutional role in U.S. trade policy. U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), who is a leading sponsor of bipartisan legislation requiring the White House to seek Congressional approval before issuing tariffs designated in the interest of national security, applauded today’s move.

“President Trump’s ill-considered steel and aluminum tariffs will make it more expensive for Virginians to buy something as big as a new car or as small as a can of beer. They’re also causing unnecessary pain and uncertainty for Virginia’s ag producers as our allies impose retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports of soybeans, pork, and more,” said Sen. Warner. “I believe that we should hold China accountable for unfair trade practices, and I support strong trade enforcement rules that protect American workers. But the President should not be relying on a law intended to uphold national security in order to impose tariffs on our strongest allies.” 

Added Senator Warner, “A majority of Senators from both parties have sent a message to President Trump that using ‘national security’ as a pretext to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum from our closest allies is unacceptable. While today’s vote was non-binding, it’s a good first step in re-asserting Congress’ constitutional responsibility on trade policy. We must act in order to make sure that Americans can keep buying affordable products and selling our goods abroad.”

Today’s vote was a procedural motion on what’s known as a “motion to instruct,” directing Senators working to reconcile differences between separate funding packages passed by the House and the Senate to push for the inclusion of language that would give Congress a say in the White House’s national security tariffs. One way lawmakers could comply with the motion to instruct would be to adopt language closely mirroring legislation introduced by Sen. Warner along with Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) that would require the president to submit to Congress any proposal to adjust imports in the interest of national security under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. President Trump has used this provision to impose steel and aluminum tariffs that target imports from some of the United States’ closest allies like Canada, Mexico, and the European Union. As a result, businesses that make products containing these materials, such as Virginia craft beer producers, expect to see increased production costs that will likely mean higher prices for Virginia consumers. 

In addition, several countries have announced they plan to impose retaliatory tariffs on key Virginia agricultural exports in response to the Administration’s trade policy. Just last week, as retaliation for the President’s trade moves, Beijing slapped a 25 percent tariff increase on imports of several U.S. products, including soybeans and pork. Given that the Chinese are the world’s leading consumers of pork, and the country purchases nearly one-third of all U.S. soybean production, the maneuver is expected to further hurt pork producers and soybean growers in Virginia who were already reeling as a result of President Trump’s trade policies.

The bill, which has 16 bipartisan Senate co-sponsors, has been endorsed by more than 270 business and agricultural groups, including the Virginia Chamber of Commerce. A longer list of organizations supporting the bill is available here. 

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WASHINGTON – Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today sent a letter to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Dan Coats asking whether assessments by our nation’s Intelligence Community (IC) align with the Trump Administration’s public pronouncements regarding North Korean denuclearization. 

On July 8, 2018, following talks with North Korean officials, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said, “We had detailed, substantive conversations about the next steps toward a fully verified and complete denuclearization… There will be verification connected to the complete denuclearization. That’s what President Trump and Chairman Kim both agreed to.”

A joint statement issued by the President and the North Korean leader on June 12, 2018, similarly stated that “Kim Jong Un reaffirmed his firm and unwavering commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”  

Additionally, on June 13, 2018, the President declared via tweet that “everybody can now feel much safer than the day I took office. There is no longer a Nuclear Threat [sic] from North Korea.”

In light of those statements, Sen. Warner asked DNI Coats to produce and deliver to the congressional intelligence committees a definitive IC assessment regarding:

• The willingness of Kim Jong Un to take concrete measures that would significantly reduce North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile or nuclear production capability in a way that would match his supposed commitment to “complete denuclearization”;
• The willingness of Kim Jong Un to accept the kind of intrusive inspections that would verifiably demonstrate that North Korea has abandoned and dismantled its nuclear program;
• What a complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization process would look like from the IC’s perspective; and
• A description of how North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program presents a persistent threat to the United States, U.S. territories, and our allies.

A copy of Sen. Warner’s letter to DNI Coats is available here. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that three Virginia organizations will receive $891,303 in federal funds from the U.S. Department of Labor to help homeless veterans re-enter the workforce. 

The funds – in the form of three competitive Homeless Veterans’ Reintegration Program (HVRP) grants – include $227,263 for Total Action Against Poverty in Roanoke Valley, Inc.; $355,050 for STOP Inc., in Hampton Roads; and $308,990 for River City Comprehensive Counseling Services in Glen Allen, Va. 

“Virginia’s veterans have made tremendous sacrifices to fight for our nation. Now, we need to fight for them and help ensure that they have the resources they need to succeed and thrive after completing their service,” said the Senators. “These grants will provide homeless veterans with counseling and a variety of career services in order to help them re-integrate into the workforce.” 

HVRP funds are awarded on a competitive basis to state and local workforce investment boards; local public agencies and nonprofit organizations; tribal governments; and faith-based and community organizations. Homeless veterans may receive occupational skills training, apprenticeship opportunities, and on-the-job training, as well as job search and placement assistance. Grantees under the HVRP program will coordinate their efforts with other federal programs, such as the Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for Veteran Families program and the Department of Housing and Urban Development Continuum of Care program.

Sens. Warner and Kaine both have long records of advocating for the nation’s veterans through the appropriations process and legislation they have championed to reduce veteran homelessness, improve job training opportunities for veterans, and expand access to veterans’ health care.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine and Congressman Bob Goodlatte announced $750,000 in federal funding to help the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission bring new non-stop service from Roanoke Regional Airport to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas, Denver, Colorado, and/or Detroit, Michigan. The Commission can use the funds for a revenue guarantee, a marketing program, and fee waivers. This effort was a community collaboration where the Roanoke Regional Chamber and the Botetourt Chamber of Commerce worked with local businesses, who are frequent users of Roanoke Regional Airport, to secure pledges to match these funds. The Roanoke Regional Airport Commission led the process to secure the public sector funding. This funding will be formally announced at the Roanoke Regional Chamber today at 10:00 AM.

“Roanoke Regional Airport is vital to the economic health of the entire region and Virginia as a whole. We are proud to announce these grant dollars that will ensure the airport continues to offer flights that attract tourism and business and offer Virginians more travel options,” the Senators and Congressman said. “Congratulations to the Airport Commission and the local Chambers that worked so hard together to secure these funds.”    

“The Roanoke Regional Airport Commission is thrilled to have been awarded a Small Community Air Service Development Grant. We sincerely appreciate the support from the community and our stakeholders, including Sens. Kaine and Warner and Rep. Goodlatte. We are hopeful that given two and a half’s years of passenger growth, these funds will help secure additional service to Dallas/Ft. Worth, Denver and/or Detroit. Air service is a critical component for economic development and we feel this is a significant step in the right direction,” Tim Bradshaw, Executive Director of the Roanoke Blacksburg Regional Airport, said.

“Better connectivity from ROA will open new markets throughout the country for existing businesses and help attract new investment in the Roanoke region. We are excited to see how this grant will improve service from ROA, and we appreciate the Roanoke Regional Airport Commission’s commitment to supporting our community’s needs and economic growth,” Joyce Waugh, Roanoke Regional Chamber President & CEO, said. 

“Collaborative efforts such as this support existing business travel needs, ensure our region remains attractive to new business, and create new economic opportunities.  We look forward to continuing to work with our regional partners and our elected representatives to bring more opportunity to rural areas in Virginia’s Blue Ridge,” Sheri Winesett, Botetourt Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, said. 

The funding was awarded through the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) under the Department of Transportation. These funds help smaller communities address air service access and high fares. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced more than $2.05 million to preserve six historic battlefields in Virginia. These grants were awarded through the National Park Service’s American Battlefield Protection Program, funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which is one of more than a dozen programs operated by NPS that provide states and local communities with technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve their own history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities.

“Virginia is home to some of our nation’s most significant history,” said the Senators. “These funds will help local conservation groups and localities protect these important sites for future generations.”

Earlier this year, President Trump’s FY 2019 budget proposed to significantly cut funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), reducing the program by more than 95 percent from the $400 million level previously appropriated by Congress. The budget also proposed eliminating American Battlefield Protection Program acquisition grants, which are funded from LWCF—a cut of $10 million. The LWCF has long served as the primary tool for acquiring key sites or otherwise expanding historic and cultural parks managed by the NPS. In total, the proposed budget requested just $8.1 million for federal land acquisition programs across the Department of the Interior.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have worked to preserve and protect Virginia’s historic battlefield sites. They successfully passed legislation to add more than 7,000 acres to the Petersburg National Battlefield through the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. Last week, Sen. Warner worked with colleagues and the Trump Administration to introduce bipartisan, consensus legislation to address the $12 billion maintenance backlog at NPS operated sites, including more than a $1 billion in Virginia alone. When Kaine first joined the Senate, he introduced bipartisan legislation with Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) that was signed into law in 2014 to reauthorize and expand the American Battlefield Protection Program. As Governor, Kaine worked across the aisle to preserve more than 400,000 acres of open space in Virginia. 

The following historic battlefields will receive funding from the Department of the Interior:

• Second Manassas Battlefield will receive $519,515 in federal funding.
• Opequon Battlefield will receive $910,500 in federal funding.
• New Market Battlefield will receive $143,248 in federal funding.
• New Market Heights Battlefield will receive $193,722 in federal funding.
• Rappahannock Station II will receive $240,306.25 in federal funding.
• Trevilian Station Battlefield will receive $47,751 in federal funding.

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