WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded unanimous Senate passage of bipartisan legislation Kaine helped craft to honor the public service of police officers, firefighters, and emergency responders by supporting the families of public safety officers lost to trauma-linked suicides, such as the families of Virginia Officers Jeffrey Smith and Howard Liebengood. The bill passed the Senate this week and now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

“Our public safety officers deserve a tremendous debt of gratitude for their sacrifice to our nation,” said the senators. “Especially after the tragic January 6^th attack on the Capitol, where we lost officers to trauma-linked suicide, it is even more critical to pass this legislation to help families of officers access benefits. We urge President Biden to sign this legislation as quickly as possible.”

The Public Safety Officers’ Benefits (PSOB) program provides financial support to the families of firefighters, police officers, chaplains and emergency medical technicians who die in the line of duty or who have been permanently disabled as a result of a physical injury.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act, of which Kaine is an original cosponsor and was led by Senators Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and John Cornyn (R-TX), was introduced in February to improve the PSOB program to reflect the reality that law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency responders face a heightened risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorders that may lead to trauma-induced suicides, and that surviving family members of public safety officers that end their lives also face an elevated risk of self-harm as a result of a loved one’s loss being compounded by severe financial harm and significant emotional distress.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act would:

• Create an avenue for officers to seek disability benefits for PTSD by directing the PSOB program to designate work-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder as a line of duty injury for eligible officers as well as those who are permanently disabled as a result of attempted suicide.
• Allow families of officers who die by trauma-linked suicide to apply for death benefits by directing the PSOB program to presume that suicides are a result of job duties in certain traumatic circumstances where there is evidence that PTSD or acute stress disorder would be the cause of the injury.

Kaine and Warner have long advocated for the granting of benefits to the families of officers who died by suicide after defending the Capitol on January 6.

The Public Safety Officer Support Act has been endorsed by a wide range of leading law enforcement and mental health agencies and organizations: U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ); National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG); National District Attorneys Association; Fraternal Order of Police (FOP); National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO); Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA); Sergeants Benevolent Association; National Sheriffs Association; Major County Sheriffs of America; National Border Patrol Council; United States Capitol Police Labor Committee; Blue H.E.L.P.; The Wounded Blue; National Narcotics Officers Associations’ Coalition; National Prison Council; International Association of Police Chiefs (IACP); AFSCME; International Union of Police Associations; American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP); American Psychological Association (APA); National Association for Children’s Behavioral Health; International Society for Psychiatric Nurses; Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute; Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, SMART Recovery; Kennedy Forum; Inseparable; National Council for Mental Wellbeing; National Association for Rural Mental Health; American Mental Health Counselors Association; National Association of Social Workers; Postpartum Support International; National Association of State and Mental Health Program Directors; American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work; Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) cosponsored bipartisan legislation led by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), and a number of their Senate colleagues to address hazing incidents on college campuses. Since 2000, there have been more than 50 hazing-related deaths on America’s college campuses, including that of Adam Oakes, a Virginia Commonwealth University student who died in a fraternity hazing incident.

“Parents who send their kids off to college never imagine that their child may be injured, seriously impaired, or killed by the actions of their friends or peers. Unfortunately, this has been the reality for too many families, including the family of 19-year-old Adam Oakes, who died in a hazing incident at VCU last year,” said the Senators. “We owe it to parents and students to pass this legislation to provide transparency and accountability around these incidents, as well as education on the dangers and life-long consequences of hazing.”

The Report and Educate About Campus Hazing (REACH) Act would require hazing incidents to be reported as part of a college’s annual crime report and establish a definition of hazing to clarify what constitutes a reportable offense. The legislation would also require institutions to establish a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students about the dangers of hazing.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement after the Senate voted 95-1 to approve adding Finland and Sweden to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO):

“The NATO alliance has formed the foundation of the peace in Europe since the end of the second World War. With Vladimir Putin’s brazen and illegal invasion of Ukraine, strengthening NATO is more important than ever and today’s vote in the Senate sends a strong message that democracies across the globe will continue to stand up to Russian aggression.

“Three-quarters of NATO allies have now ratified Finland and Sweden’s applications, and it is essential that all remaining countries do so expeditiously to ensure that Finland and Sweden become full NATO members as soon as possible.”

In June, Chairman Warner led a bipartisan congressional delegation from the Senate Intelligence Committee on official visits to Finland and Turkey, where the senators met with intelligence and security officials in both countries and discussed Finland’s bid to join NATO. Following those meetings, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dropped his country’s public opposition to Finland and Sweden joining the alliance.

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine celebrated Senate passage of the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022 following obstruction efforts by Senate Republicans last week. This legislation will expand health care and benefits for toxic-exposed veterans under the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and authorize a new community-based outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads:

“Our nation’s veterans have sacrificed so much while serving in the Armed Forces, and we must honor that sacrifice by ensuring they have access to the benefits they’ve earned and deserve. We’re glad the Senate has finally done the right thing by passing this bipartisan legislation to expand much-needed health care benefits for veterans who were exposed to toxins and burn pits while serving our country,” the senators said.

Sens. Warner and Kaine voted to pass the Honoring Our PACT Act on June 16 and again on July 27.

The bill is named in honor of Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson, who died in 2020 from toxic exposure as a result of his military service in Kosovo and Iraq with the Ohio National Guard.

 Specifically, the Honoring Our PACT Act will:

• Expand VA health care to more than 3.5 million toxic-exposed post-9/11 combat veterans;
• Authorize 31 major medical facility leases and allocate $5.5 billion to fund those facilities—including a new outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads;
• Improve VA’s resources and training for toxic-exposed veterans;
• Create a framework for the establishment of future presumptions of service connection related to toxic exposure;
• Add 23 burn pit and toxic exposure-related conditions to VA’s list of service presumptions, including hypertension;
• Expand presumptions related to Agent Orange exposure and include Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Guam, American Samoa, and Johnston Atoll as locations for Agent Orange exposure;
• Strengthen federal research on toxic exposure; and
• Set VA and veterans up for success by investing in VA claims processing, the VA’s workforce, and VA health care facilities.

The bill will now head to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.

Virginia is home to more than 700,000 veterans. Sens. Warner and Kaine have long supported expanding health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxins and burn pits during their service. The Fiscal Year 2021 National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA), which Sens. Warner and Kaine voted to pass, included provisions to expand the VA’s list of medical conditions associated with Agent Orange exposure. Warner and Kaine also cosponsored legislation that was signed into law in 2019 to extend VA coverage to veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange while stationed off the coast of Vietnam during the Vietnam War. The bill also extended these benefits to servicemembers exposed to herbicides while serving in the Korean Demilitarized Zone and to children of servicemembers stationed in Thailand who were born with spina bifida.

In 2015, confronted with wait times in Hampton Roads that were three times the national average, Sen. Warner successfully urged the VA to send down a team of experts to address the problem. He also succeeded in getting the Northern Virginia Technology Council to issue a free report detailing how to reduce wait times. Most recently, in October 2020, Warner successfully saw through the signing of his legislation to expand veterans’ access to mental health services and reduce the alarming rate of veteran suicide. He’s also previously met with senior leadership at the Hunter Holmes McGuire VA Medical Center and Hampton VA Medical Center to discuss wait time reduction at their facilities and suicide prevention efforts. 

As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), Kaine has introduced the bipartisan Vet Support Act to provide better identification, intervention, and care to veterans coping with mental health issues in underserved areas. He also cosponsored legislation to allow doctors at the VA to prescribe medical marijuana to veterans in states like Virginia that have established medical marijuana programs.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner today joined Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and 27 of their Senate Democratic colleagues in calling on the Biden Administration to work urgently to increase the rate of refugee admissions for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. In a letter to President Joe Biden, the Senators further urge the President to maintain or increase the target of 125,000 refugee admissions in FY 2023 and take meaningful steps to meet this target.

“According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a record high of more than 89.3 million people, 42 percent of whom are children, were displaced at the end of 2021. The displaced population includes 27.1 million refugees,” the senators wrote. “UNHCR estimates that in 2023 over two million refugees will need to be resettled. In our own region, Central America faces a growing refugee crisis, with more than 800,000 people who have sought refuge in neighboring nations or have been internally displaced… We urge your Administration to ensure that the United States scales up capacity to process refugees in these regions and across all nationalities with protection needs, particularly those who have been languishing in precarious situations awaiting resettlement, such as family reunification cases.”

Since the enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980, the United States resettled an average of more than 80,000 refugees per year, until the Trump Administration slashed the refugee admissions ceiling each year it was in office, ending at an historic low of just 15,000 for FY 2021. These drastic cuts have hobbled the resettlement infrastructure in this nation and made it difficult to quickly rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). The U.S. resettled 11,411 refugees last fiscal year, the lowest figure since the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980.

The senators continued, “We commend you for recommitting the United States to its historic role as a global leader in refugee resettlement by setting a ceiling of 125,000 for FY 2022. However, we are deeply concerned that as of June 30, 2022, the United States has only resettled 15,100 refugees this fiscal year. Despite the challenges of rebuilding the USRAP that your Administration inherited, we can and must do better. The dismantling of programs by the Trump Administration has hindered our efforts to resettle more refugees, and as such, your Administration must take the necessary steps to promptly ensure the United States has a robust, functioning, durable refugee resettlement system.”

The senators concluded, “The success of [Operation Allies Welcome] and Uniting for Ukraine have proven that, under your leadership, our country is fully capable of bringing vulnerable displaced people to safety in the United States when you commit the government to doing so. We urge you to expeditiously and safely admit all qualified refugees who are waiting to be resettled. Additionally, we urge you to set a robust target for USRAP in FY2023 as soon as possible and devote sufficient resources to meet this target.”

In addition to Warner, Durbin and Warnock, the letter was signed by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Angus King (I-ME), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tom Carper (D-DE), Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Coons (D-DE), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

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

Dear President Biden:

We respectfully ask that you work urgently to increase the rate of refugee admissions for the remainder of Fiscal Year (FY) 2022. Furthermore, we urge you to maintain or increase the target of 125,000 refugee admissions in FY 2023 and take meaningful steps to meet this target.

We applaud your Administration’s work to expeditiously bring to the United States 85,000 Afghan nationals, U.S. citizens, and lawful permanent residents through Operation Allies Welcome (OAW). Similarly, we commend your support for those displaced by Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine through the Uniting for Ukraine parole program, which has allowed Americans to welcome and support more than 20,000 people in just the first three months of its operation. The success of these initiatives demonstrates our government’s capacity to swiftly offer protection to vulnerable people fleeing war and persecution.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), a record high of more than 89.3 million people, 42 percent of whom are children, were displaced at the end of 2021. The displaced population includes 27.1 million refugees. UNHCR estimates that in 2023 over two million refugees will need to be resettled. In our own region, Central America faces a growing refugee crisis, with more than 800,000 people who have sought refuge in neighboring nations or have been internally displaced. Haiti is also facing a rapid decline in internal security and a compounding political, environmental, and humanitarian emergency. In West Africa, amidst an ongoing civil war, Cameroon is facing high levels of internal displacement, as well as receiving thousands of foreign refugees. These are just a few examples of the current refugee challenges around the world. We urge your Administration to ensure that the United States scales up capacity to process refugees in these regions and across all nationalities with protection needs, particularly those who have been languishing in precarious situations awaiting resettlement, such as family reunification cases.

Since the enactment of the Refugee Act of 1980, the United States resettled an average of more than 80,000 refugees per year, until the Trump Administration slashed the refugee admissions ceiling each year it was in office, ending at an historic low of just 15,000 for FY 2021. We understand that the Trump Administration’s drastic cuts to refugee admissions also hobbled the resettlement infrastructure in United States, with many refugee resettlement organizations closing offices and laying off employees.

Combined with the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and staffing vacancies resulting from a yearlong hiring freeze at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services imposed by the previous Administration, these cuts have made it difficult to quickly rebuild the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Although you raised the refugee ceiling to 65,000 for FY 2021, the United States only resettled 11,411 refugees last fiscal year, the lowest figure since the passage of the Refugee Act of 1980.

We commend you for recommitting the United States to its historic role as a global leader in refugee resettlement by setting a ceiling of 125,000 for FY 2022. However, we are deeply concerned that as of June 30, 2022, the United States has only resettled 15,100 refugees this fiscal year. Despite the challenges of rebuilding the USRAP that your Administration inherited, we can and must do better. The dismantling of programs by the Trump Administration has hindered our efforts to resettle more refugees, and as such, your Administration must take the necessary steps to promptly ensure the United States has a robust, functioning, durable refugee resettlement system.

It is imperative that your Administration continue to invest in the sustainability of the refugee resettlement program. We appreciate the steps that your Administration has taken this fiscal year to rebuild the overseas and domestic infrastructure to ready the USRAP for higher arrival numbers. However, more work needs to be done so that we can restore and expand our nation’s capacity to welcome the most vulnerable refugees from around the world.

The success of OAW and Uniting for Ukraine have proven that, under your leadership, our country is fully capable of bringing vulnerable displaced people to safety in the United States when you commit the government to doing so. We urge you to expeditiously and safely admit all qualified refugees who are waiting to be resettled. Additionally, we urge you to set a robust target for USRAP in FY2023 as soon as possible and devote sufficient resources to meet this target.

Thank you for your time and consideration. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner released the following statement applauding the Senate passage of the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) of 2022, which includes key provisions to deepen and widen channels in and around Norfolk Harbor, improve Virginia’s coastal resiliency, and strengthen Virginia’s wastewater treatment infrastructure:

“High-quality water infrastructure—from easy access to clean drinking water to protection from rising sea levels—plays a vital role in the health, well-being, and future of Virginia communities. That’s why we always fight to include funding and support for the Commonwealth in the annual bipartisan water infrastructure bill, and this year was no exception. Today’s legislation will help us plan for much-needed dredging in the Norfolk Harbor, protect drinking water, and safeguard communities from rising sea levels. We’re going to keep working to get it signed into law as quickly as possible.”

The legislation will help repair aging drinking water, wastewater, and irrigation systems across America, and Warner and Kaine successfully fought to include the following priorities for Virginia:

• An increase in the authorization of the Western Lee County Sewer Project from $20 million to $52 million. This project—which will create new opportunities for economic growth—is needed to serve residents of Western Lee County who currently do not have access to a public wastewater collection or treatment system, which poses a threat to public health and the area’s surface water and groundwater quality. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act included $281,295 to complete design of the Western Lee County Sewer Project and $2.2 million to initiate construction of this project. Increasing this authorization will allow the Army Corps to fully budget and carry out this project—pending Congressional appropriations.
• A study to support needed modifications to Anchorage F of the Norfolk Harbor and Channels Deepening and Widening project for improved safety and navigation; and
• A change in policy to give the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers flexibility to incorporate federal installations of other federal agencies as part of a flood or Coastal Storm Risk Management (CSRM) project sponsored by the Army Corps. This addresses longstanding challenges encountered during the Norfolk CSRM study phase, where Naval Station Norfolk and the NOAA Maritime Operations Center were excluded from the plan. Hampton Roads is home to at least 7 federal agencies and 17 installations that could benefit from this provision. The change comes after the passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which resulted in $399.3 million in construction funding for Norfolk’s CSRM, and $1.5 million for Virginia Beach’s CSRM to cover the costs of a planning study. Senators Warner and Kaine have requested funding for a similar study for the City of Hampton and the surrounding area as a Congressional Directed Spending request to the Senate Committee on Appropriations for the Fiscal Year 2023 spending bill.

The next step for the legislation is a conference committee between the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, before returning to each body for final votes.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued a statement after the House of Representatives voted 243-187-1 to approve the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, a historic bill to incentivize domestic manufacturing of semiconductors and improve U.S. technological competitiveness:

“I first began sounding the alarm about the need to reduce our reliance on other nations and safeguard our national security by bringing semiconductor production back to the U.S. more than two years ago. Since then, we’ve seen the consequences of semiconductor shortages all the way up the supply chain and down to consumers, who have faced rising costs on a variety of goods both large and small.

“This bipartisan bill will lower costs for families, strengthen our national security, and create good-paying manufacturing jobs here in the United States. I am glad that after years of unnecessary delay, it is finally being sent to the President’s desk.”

On Tuesday, Sen. Warner spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate, urging his colleagues to pass the chips bill. Video of that speech is available for download here.

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $789,913 in federal funding to help Virginians with disabilities access housing. The funding was awarded through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Mainstream Voucher program, which is similar to other Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) but specifically assists non-elderly persons with disabilities between ages 18 to 62.

“Rents and home prices have skyrocketed, making it harder and harder for Virginians to find affordable housing,” said the senators. “We need to make sure all Virginians, especially those from vulnerable populations, have a safe place to live, and this funding is critical to doing that.”

A breakdown of the funding is below:

• $441,684 for the Fairfax County Redevelopment & Housing Authority
• $266,670 for the Chesapeake Redevelopment & Housing Authority
• $81,559 for the County of Albemarle/Office of Housing

Sen. Kaine began his career as a lawyer specializing in the representation of people who had been denied housing due to their race, disability, or family status, and has long worked alongside Sen. Warner to increase affordable housing in Virginia. Earlier this year, the senators announced nearly $115 million for affordable housing in Virginia. They’ve also introduced legislation  that would address rising home prices, assist first-generation homebuyers, and close widening wealth and homeownership gaps.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced a total of $5,511,125 in federal funding from the Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration for regional airports in Virginia.

“This funding will support a series of important projects in different stages at regional airports throughout the Commonwealth,” the senators said. “These airports serve the transportation needs of thousands of Virginians every year and we are happy to see this funding go towards critical improvements.”

The funding is distributed as follows:

• $4,555,463 for Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise, VA for the final phase of rehabilitating runway lighting.
• $450,090 for Chesapeake Regional Airport in Chesapeake, VA for the removal of non-hazard obstructions in order to comply with FAA standards.
• $216,688 for Blue Ridge Airport in Martinsville, VA for the final phase of expanding the existing terminal apron to accommodate increased use.
• $178,200 for Freeman Field in Louisa County, VA for the construction of new taxiways.
• $110,684 for William M Tuck Airport in Halifax County, VA for replacing path indicators, end identifier lights, and runway lighting systems.

Last week, Sens. Warner and Kaine announced nearly $6 million for airports across the Commonwealth in addition to $50 million to Virginia airports apportioned earlier this month. The senators also announced nearly $400 million for Virginia airports secured through the bipartisan infrastructure law in November of last year. 

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“A few name changes later, and unfortunately more than a year later, I rise before this body again to express my strong support for this revised CHIPS+ legislation – which we just cleared an important hurdle for, over the last hour – and urge my colleagues to pass this bill as quickly as possible so we can get it out of the Senate, get it over to the House, and get it to the President’s desk. We cannot afford to waste any more time,” said Sen. Warner on the floor of the U.S. Senate. “This funding sends a message that the United States is putting a strong down-payment on maintaining our edge in the global technology race – and preventing global supply chains from being weaponized against the United States or for that matter, against our allies.”

“Semiconductors – often called ‘chips’ – are the backbone of our modern lives. They can be found in literally anything with an ‘on’ and ‘off’ switch, from cars and trucks… to washers and dryers... to smartphones and laptops… chips are an essential component in so many of the devices we use today, and the growth in chips is going to be exponential,” he continued.

“As Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I see examples every day of how China is doubling down on its pursuit of advanced technologies that I think will define the 21st century. And, in many ways, the United States has started to fall behind,” he said. “Fortunately, it’s not too late to change that narrative or to change that result. With the right investments – like the ones that have been provided in this legislation – we can unleash the ingenuity of the American people, we can reinvigorate American innovation and improve our national security while setting the country up to lead the way on the technologies that will define our future.”

Sen. Warner’s remarks as prepared for delivery are available below:

Last June, I rose before this body to speak about the critical need to pass the United States Innovation and Competition Act, as it was known back then, in order to shore up U.S. investment in research, development, and manufacturing of critical technologies.

A few name changes and more than a year later, I rise before this body again to express my strong support for this revised CHIPS+ legislation and urge my colleagues to pass this bill as quickly as possible. We can’t afford to waste any more time.

This funding sends a message that the U.S. is putting a strong down-payment on maintaining our edge in the global technology race – and preventing global supply chains from being weaponized against us or our allies.

Over the past few years, China has continued to increase investments in its domestic industries – and particularly in areas that confer long-term strategic influence. This includes the semiconductor industry, which I have been particularly focused on over the past few years.

Semiconductors – often called “chips” – are the backbone of our modern lives. They can be found in anything with an “on” switch from cars and trucks… to washers and dryers... to smartphones and laptops… chips are an essential component in so many of the devices we use every single day.

For years, American semiconductor companies led the world in both design and manufacturing of this critical technology.

But our leadership has languished in recent years, and we continue to lose ground, particularly to East Asian markets. As a country we’ve gone from a 37% share of semiconductors and microelectronics production in 1990… to just 12% today.

On the other hand, China has ramped up its investment in chips… providing an estimated $200 billion in financial support between 2015 and 2025. Chinese orders for semiconductor manufacturing equipment rose 58% in 2021, and China has a goal to produce at least 70% of the semiconductors it consumes by 2030.

And this is a global competition.

Japan has passed a $6.8 billion investment package that will fund innovative chip manufacturing as well as research and development.

India has passed legislation investing $30 billion in their domestic electronics manufacturing industry, with $10 billion dedicated to chips and display manufacturing.

And our friends over in Europe – not known for moving with particular alacrity – have surged passed us. They started considering their investments after we passed the CHIPS Act, and Germany, for example, has already selected 32 semiconductor projects that will receive a combined $12 billion in investment.

The lack of investment by the U.S. has had a clear impact. From 2010 to 2020, only 17 major semiconductor fabs were built in the U.S. – while we’ve seen over 122 built elsewhere.

And the handful of major projects announced in the last year as a direct result of our initial efforts to authorize this funding – major facilities in Ohio, Arizona and elsewhere – are at risk due to sustained inaction by this body.

Right now, the cost of new fabs is 25-50% higher in the U.S. – and that’s partly due to the significantly lower financial incentives government provides for new construction compared to competing locales.

Many ask why it’s so vital for the U.S. to invest in new semiconductor production when the PRC is, by all accounts, still several generations behind.

US semiconductor firms – and firms in the adjacent areas of lithography, packaging, and metrology – still lead the world.

As Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, I can tell you unequivocally that the PRC is acutely aware of that gap – and aggressively working not just to close it, but to eventually leapfrog the U.S. and other major countries to lead in chip production and design.

Last year, President Xi Jinping announced a $1.4 trillion commitment through 2025 to develop advanced technologies like next-generation wireless networks and artificial intelligence. Technologies that will undergird entire ecosystems of innovation, commerce, and communications.

And the focus on semiconductors – which enable advances in AI, high-performance computing, hypersonics, and more – is arguably the centerpiece of this effort to ultimately control innovation ecosystems.

Meanwhile, many of the key ingredients to the U.S.’s historical success… including federal support for R&D, investment in basic research, and support for advanced manufacturing… have declined over the last 20 years.

Simply put, we are just not keeping up.

That’s why the $52 billion in funding for the CHIPS for America Act –  a bipartisan effort that Senator Cornyn, Senator Schumer, Senator Cotton, and I led a couple of years ago – is so important. And why a parallel effort in this bill – to catalyze U.S. and allied innovation in a more diverse and resilient telecommunications ecosystem – is similarly vital.

I also would note that this isn’t simply an economic competitiveness issue.

The ability to project influence and control over global supply chains has been dramatically illustrated – on both sides – by the present conflict in Ukraine.

Simply put, ensuring that the United States has an assured supply of critical semiconductors that cannot be held hostage by a hostile power is critically important to our national security.

In addition to the funding provided in this legislation for semiconductors, the bill also makes important investments in future of our wireless telecommunications.

It includes funding for the bipartisan Utilizing Strategic Allied (USA) Telecommunications Act, which fosters U.S. innovation in the race for 5G by providing $1.5 billion to invest in Western-based alternatives to Chinese equipment providers like Huawei and ZTE.

This is a bill I was proud to work on with my colleagues, Senator Burr and Senator Rubio.

It would also stand up a new Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund – to spur movement towards open-architecture, software-based wireless technologies, funding innovative, “leap-ahead” technologies in the domestic mobile broadband market.

That approach plays to U.S. strengths like software and network virtualization. And it means we have a wider set of firms – including American firms with healthier balance sheets – competing against state-sponsored Chinese vendors.

Because one thing that’s been clear over the past two Administrations: Our anti-Huawei message won’t work unless the U.S. proposes lower-cost Western alternatives.

As Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, I see examples every day of how China is doubling down on its pursuit of advanced technologies that will define the 21st century. I also see that the United States is falling behind.

Fortunately, it’s not too late to change that narrative. With the right investments – like the ones this bill provides – we can unleash the ingenuity of the American people… we can reinvigorate American innovation and improve our national security while setting the country up to lead the way on the technologies that will define our future.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation, the House to pass it, and President Biden to sign it into law as soon as possible.

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 WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $5,958,173 in federal funding for two Virginia airports. The funding was awarded through the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) Airport Improvement Program.  

“We are continuing to see investments in the Commonwealth’s airports that will make travel through Virginia safer, more convenient, and more accessible,” the senators said. “This funding will allow both facilities to start important maintenance projects on runways that will help meet their communities’ needs for years to come.”

The funding is distributed as follows:

• $4,208,173 for Lonesome Pine Airport in Wise, VA for the rehabilitation of a runway.
• $1,750,000 for Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport in Arlington, VA for the reconstruction of a runway.

This funding comes on the heels of an announcement earlier this month apportioning $50 million to Virginia airports. In addition, the senators announced nearly $400 million for Virginia airports secured through the bipartisan infrastructure law in November of last year. 

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Tina Smith (D-MN), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in introducing the Expanding Access to Family Planning Act. The bill would protect access to critical reproductive health care services—like birth control, cancer screenings, and more—by providing a consistent and strong source of funding for the Title X Family Planning Program.

“For over 50 years, Title X has provided Americans with critical family planning and preventive health services, empowering them to make decisions that are best for their health and financial well-being,” said the senators. “This legislation will help ensure that women can continue to access the reproductive health care services they need.”

The Title X Family Planning Program is the only federal program dedicated to providing comprehensive family planning and preventive health services. It provides a range of services, including wellness exams, cervical and breast cancer screenings, education on contraception and birth control, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, and basic infertility services. In 2020, over 1.5 million patients received family planning services through Title X.

The Expanding Access to Family Planning Act would:

• Provide $500 million in mandatory funding for Title X services for each of the next 10 fiscal years. Title X is currently funded through the annual appropriations process, which subjects the program to an unpredictable funding stream that is insufficient to meet the national need;
• Deliver $50 million in mandatory funding for clinic construction, renovation, and related infrastructure enhancements for each of the next 10 fiscal years;
• Reinstate regulations prohibiting discrimination of providers who deliver Title X services; and
• Require that pregnancy counseling include information about prenatal care and delivery, infant care, foster care, adoption, and pregnancy termination, unless a patient does not have any interest in receiving such information. 

Following the Dobbs decision overturning the right to choose, Warner and Kaine have strongly advocated for legislation to protect Americans’ access to reproductive health care. They are cosponsors of legislation to protect the right of women to travel across state lines for abortion services and help protect medical providers from being punished for providing patients with this care. Kaine is a cosponsor of legislation to expand access to affordable over-the-counter birth control and legislation to protect access to medication abortions.

In addition to Warner, Kaine, Smith, Murray, and Warren, the legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Angus King (I-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The bill is endorsed by Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Catholics for Choice, the National Partnership for Women & Families, Power to Decide, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Council of Jewish Women, URGE: Unite for Reproductive & Gender Equity, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, ACLU, Advocates for Youth, National Women’s Law Center, and the Center for Reproductive Rights.

Full text of the bill is available here. A summary is available here.

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