WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Co-Chair of the Senate Cyber Caucus, joined Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to protect the data privacy of women seeking reproductive health care, following the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision overturning Roe v. Wade. The senators expressed their concern over reports that data brokers are selling location data that allow purchasers to see how many people sought abortion services and other family planning care.

“We write to express serious concerns regarding recent reports identifying data brokers buying and selling location data that includes personal data related to family planning and abortion services,” the senators wrote. “Recent reports highlight data brokers selling location data that allows the buyer to see how many people visit a certain location and when, including how many people are seeking care at reproductive health clinics such as Planned Parenthood.”

“In light of reports that the Supreme Court is set to overrule Roe vs. Wade, we are concerned about the privacy of women making decisions that should be between them, their families, and their doctors, as they have for more than five decades. We appreciate your efforts to highlight the critical need for increased consumer privacy and danger of open data to further victimization. However additional measures need to be taken to protect personal data and ensure the privacy of women as they make decisions that should be between them and their doctors,” they continued.

In addition to Sens. Warner, Klobuchar, and Baldwin, the letter was also signed by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Sen. Warner has been a strong supporter of a woman’s right to choose. He recently cosponsored the Women's Health Protection Act, which failed to advance in the Senate last week. As Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Sen. Warner has worked to address problematic data collection practices, sending a letter in 2020 to the FTC urging the agency to take action to address the troubling data collection and sharing practices of the mobile app Premom, which helps users track their fertility cycles to determine the best time to get pregnant.

Sen. Warner has also introduced numerous bills demanding increased data accountability and transparency, such as the Designing Accounting Safeguards to Help Broaden Oversight and Regulations on Data (DASHBOARD) Act, bipartisan legislation that would require data harvesting companies to tell consumers and financial regulators exactly what data they are collecting from consumers and how it is being leveraged by the platform for profit, and the Deceptive Experiences to Online Users Reduction (DETOUR) Act, bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would prohibit large online platforms from using deceptive user interfaces, known as “dark patterns,” to trick consumers into handing over their personal data and would prohibit these platforms from using features that result in compulsive usage by children.

A copy of the letter is available here and below. 

Dear Chair Khan,

We write to express serious concerns regarding recent reports identifying data brokers buying and selling location data that includes personal data related to family planning and abortion services. We respectfully request additional information on what steps the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is taking to ensure data brokers are not collecting, buying, or selling sensitive location data that put people, particularly those seeking medical attention, at risk.

We are concerned about online markets that sell and trade mobile phone location data. This data is often collected and sold by ordinary apps installed on a person’s smartphone, such as weather apps. The data is then bought and resold by data brokers. All of this information has historically been used to identify individuals. The estimated value of the location data market has been estimated at approximately $14 billion in 2021.

Recent reports highlight data brokers selling location data that allows the buyer to see how many people visit a certain location and when, including how many people are seeking care at reproductive health clinics such as Planned Parenthood. One report identified the purchase of data showing the number of people that visited over 600 Planned Parenthood locations in a week for just over $160

In light of reports that the Supreme Court is set to overrule Roe vs. Wade, we are concerned about the privacy of women making decisions that should be between them, their families, and their doctors, as they have for more than five decades. Should the Court’s final decision match the leaked opinion, thirteen states could immediately ban abortion and over a dozen others are likely to criminalize it. Banning and criminalizing abortion in parts of our country could create added risks to those seeking family planning services in states where abortions remain legal.

We appreciate your efforts to highlight the critical need for increased consumer privacy and danger of open data to further victimization. However additional measures need to be taken to protect personal data and ensure the privacy of women as they make decisions that should be between them and their doctors. 

We respectfully request that you respond to the following questions by June 1:

• What measures is the FTC taking to ensure individuals have the right to review and remove their information online, and assist them should their data be sold or they become victim to a breach? If so, please describe these measures.
• How does the FTC plan to address mobile phone apps that are developed to collect and sell the location data? How is the FTC educating individuals about how to identify apps 

that collect and sell their location data?

• What is the FTC doing to coordinate with the Department of Justice, states and localities, health care providers and private stakeholders to prevent data brokers and others from gaining access to the personal information of women and their healthcare decisions? 
• Does the FTC need additional resources to better protect women from having their personal location data bought and disseminated by data brokers? 

Thank you for your attention to this important matter. We look forward to working with you to address this threat to privacy and safety.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, was joined by U.S. Sens. Steve Daines (R-MT) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) in urging Senate Committee on Appropriations leadership to include significant funding to modernize federal information technology (IT) systems for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023. This request includes at least $300 million in funding for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF), created through a Warner-led bill in 2017.

“It is widely acknowledged that our federal government needs to make significant and urgent investments in replacing outdated and insecure legacy IT systems,” the senators wrote. “Each year, the federal government spends roughly $90 billion on IT systems. Significant portions of this funding go toward the maintenance of older, legacy systems, which over time grow increasingly costly, and often present concerning cybersecurity vulnerabilities.”

“In addition to the urgent security concerns, ignoring these needed modernization efforts hinders the public’s ability to interact with the government in an efficient and responsive way. We saw this issue magnified during the course of the pandemic, as added demands at times overwhelmed our government’s ability to continue providing effective customer service and critical benefits to Americans. We have heard repeatedly from constituents how these strains have slowed the processing of benefits and claims, in many cases hindering their ability to access critical resources and needed assistance that Congress has put in place,” they continued.

Sen. Warner has long pushed for the federal government to improve IT infrastructure. Last year, Sen. Warner applauded the Biden Administration for taking steps to more quickly and effectively help agencies address technology-related issues, after having previously called for them to do so. In 2020, Sen. Warner joined colleagues in calling on the Appropriations Committee to include funding for IT modernization in future COVID-19 relief packages.

A copy of this year’s bipartisan letter is available here and below.

Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chairman Van Hollen, and Ranking Member HydeSmith: 

As your committee begins consideration of appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2023, we write to urge you to include significant and critically needed funding to modernize federal information technology (IT) systems. In particular, we request that you provide funding of at least $300 million for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF).

Congress created the TMF as part of the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act, in response to pressing needs for federal agencies to modernize outdated IT systems and address critical vulnerabilities. The TMF – a revolving fund governed by a board of experts with backgrounds in IT, cybersecurity, financial management, and federal acquisition – is unique in its ability to rapidly evaluate agencies’ technology modernization proposals, assign funding in an agile manner that prioritizes high-need and cost-saving projects, and do all of this in a transparent and accountable manner.

In the roughly four years since it was established, the TMF has delivered approximately $400 million in funding to 20 modernization projects across the government, funding projects that the TMF Board identified as having significant impact on agencies’ security, program operability, and ability to efficiently and effectively deliver results for taxpayers. As the TMF is a revolving fund, agencies that receive funding are given repayment terms that vary based on the project, which allows the TMF to recover a portion of the funds – often through direct cost savings.

It is widely acknowledged that our federal government needs to make significant and urgent investments in replacing outdated and insecure legacy IT systems. Each year, the federal government spends roughly $90 billion on IT systems. Significant portions of this funding go toward the maintenance of older, legacy systems, which over time grow increasingly costly, and often present concerning cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

In addition to the urgent security concerns, ignoring these needed modernization efforts hinders the public’s ability to interact with the government in an efficient and responsive way. We saw this issue magnified during the course of the pandemic, as added demands at times overwhelmed our government’s ability to continue providing effective customer service and critical benefits to Americans. We have heard repeatedly from constituents how these strains have slowed the processing of benefits and claims, in many cases hindering their ability to access critical resources and needed assistance that Congress has put in place.

In 2021 Congress appropriated $1 billion to the TMF to address government IT challenges. While this served as a sizable investment towards these efforts, the demand for these funds was more than double their availability, and the Administration confirms that the TMF will allocate the majority of these funds by the end of this current fiscal year.

By necessity, efforts to modernize and improve the security of IT systems require ongoing and sustained effort by agencies. Congress has a similar responsibility to continue to fund modernization efforts, so that legacy systems aren’t left to grow increasingly costly and insecure over time. The TMF presents agencies with a funding vehicle that is agile and allows them to amortize modernization costs, and that makes technical experts available to agencies throughout the proposal and implementation phases. It also provides Congress a tool with additional accountability and oversight, in the form of board-review of proposals, incremental funding based on outcome-based milestones, and regular follow-up with funding recipients during funding implementation.

We appreciate your consideration of our request for at least $300 million for the Technology Modernization Fund – the level requested by the Administration – and we look forward to continuing to work with you, and with our other colleagues here in the Senate, to ensure that we are providing necessary investment in our federal government’s IT systems.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a pair of bills that would cement and build on the important progress that has been made to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s costs our nation an astonishing $321 billion per year, including $206 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid. If we continue along this trajectory, Alzheimer’s is projected to claim the minds of 12.7 million seniors and nearly surpass $1 trillion in annual costs by 2050.  In 2021, family caregivers provided 16 billion hours of unpaid care for loved ones with dementia.  Nearly half of baby boomers reaching age 85 will either be afflicted with Alzheimer’s or caring for someone who has it.

The NAPA Reauthorization Act—authored by Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), and Bob Menendez (D-NJ)—would reauthorize NAPA through 2035 and modernize the legislation to reflect strides that have been made to understand the disease, such as including a new focus on promoting healthy aging and reducing risk factors.

The Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act—authored by Sens. Warner, Collins, Markey, Capito, Moran, and Menendez—would continue through 2035 a requirement that the Director of the National Institutes of Health submit an annual budget to Congress estimating the funding necessary for NIH to fully implement NAPA’s research goals. Only two other areas of biomedical research – cancer and HIV/AIDs – have been the subject of special budget development aimed at speeding discovery.

“Consistent research and investment into Alzheimer’s disease is crucial to better understand and treat this illness and help patients, their families, and their caregivers,” said Senator Warner.  “I know all too well the pain and suffering associated with Alzheimer’s disease, as my own mother battled the illness for close to 10 years.  As co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease, I am proud to introduce these two pieces of legislation that will continue the transformative work being done to find effective ways to mitigate, treat and ultimately cure Alzheimer’s.”

“We have made tremendous progress in recent years to boost funding for Alzheimer’s research, which holds great promise to ending this disease that has had a devastating effect on millions of Americans and their families,” said Senator Collins, a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s disease.  “The two bills we have introducing today will maintain our momentum and make sure that we do not take our foot of the pedal just as our investments in basic research are beginning to translate into potential new treatments. We must not let Alzheimer’s define our children’s generation as it has ours.”

“More than a decade ago, I cosponsored, and Congress passed, the National Alzheimer's Project Act, which has since played an important role in ensuring Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are a priority at NIH and other federal agencies,” Senator Capito said. “Now, more than ever, as more Americans and their families are living with the effects of Alzheimer’s, we must keep up this momentum, continue to make critical research investments, and fight for all those impacted by this disease. Both of these bipartisan bills work toward our shared goals, and I’m proud to introduce them today with my colleagues.”

“More than a decade has passed since I first introduced the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) to create a federal framework to prioritize Alzheimer’s patients and direct billions of dollars in funding for medical research. More than seven years have gone by since my Alzheimer’s Accountability Act mandated the National Institutes of Health hold itself accountable to fulfilling the promises set forth in NAPA by submitting its research budget directly to Congress. While these landmark pieces of legislation have increased funding for Alzheimer’s research more than five-fold, the fight to prevent, treat, and cure this disease continues. Today, I am proud to partner with Senator Collins on legislation to reauthorize NAPA and extend the Alzheimer’s Accountability Act so that we can redouble our commitment to Alzheimer’s patients and their families and ensure that disproportionally impacted populations aren’t left behind in the groundbreaking research that will ultimately lead to a cure,” said Senator Markey.

“Our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and the development of new treatments has made significant progress since the National Alzheimer’s Project Act was first signed into law in 2011,” said Senator Moran. “In my role on both the HELP and Appropriations Committee, I remain committed to providing necessary resources so we not only maintain NAPA’s progress but expand it to help end this horrible disease.”

“In the years since I lost my mother to this devastating disease, I have only increased my commitment to fighting for other Alzheimer’s patients and their families by securing important programs and funding,” said Senator Menendez. “These bills are a bipartisan commitment to continuing our important and critical work to ensure we emerge victorious in this fight.”

“Thanks to the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA), we’ve made tremendous progress in the fight against Alzheimer’s. The passage of the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act is the next important step to continue the work of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease and ensure that the nation continues to prioritize addressing Alzheimer’s and all other dementia,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer's Association chief public policy officer and AIM executive director. “On behalf of the Alzheimer’s Association, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to the sponsors for introducing this important bipartisan legislation to help improve the lives of those impacted by Alzheimer’s throughout the country. The Alzheimer’s Association looks forward to working with our tireless advocates and these congressional champions to advance this bipartisan legislation.”

“The passage of the National Alzheimer’s Project Act more than a decade ago was a turning point in our nation’s fight against Alzheimer’s, fundamentally changing the trajectory of disease research for the better,” said George Vradenburg, chair and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “UsAgainstAlzheimer’s is thankful to Sen. Collins for her leadership on behalf of patients living with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones. We look forward to working with her and other members of Congress to reauthorize NAPA and continue driving toward an end to Alzheimer’s disease.”

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $114,700,190 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to increase affordable housing across the Commonwealth.

“All Virginians deserve access to safe and affordable housing, but rents and home prices have skyrocketed across Virginia in recent years,” the senators said. “We’re glad that this funding will go to supporting the construction of new affordable housing units and help Virginians access more housing options.”

The funding was awarded through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), HOME Investment Partnership (HOME), Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG), Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA), and Housing Trust Fund (HTF).

Warner and Kaine, a former fair housing attorney, have long supported efforts to increase affordable housing. Warner and Kaine strongly advocated for increases in federal funding for these programs. Warner and Kaine have also introduced legislation that would address rising home prices, assist first-generation homebuyers, and close the widening wealth and homeownership gaps.

A breakdown of the funding based on program is below.

Community Development Block Grant (CDBG): The CDBG program provides flexible funding to states, cities, and counties to support community development, including infrastructure, economic development projects, housing construction or rehabilitation, public facilities upgrades, homeowner assistance, and more. 

HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME): The HOME program partners with nonprofits to build, buy, or rehabilitate affordable housing and provides direct rental assistance to low-income individuals. The Fiscal Year 2022 appropriations bill included $1.5 billion for the HOME program and was the highest level of funding in the past decade.

Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG): The ESG program provides funding for emergency shelter for people in crisis, outreach and essential services to those living on the streets, re-housing services, and homeless prevention programs.

Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA): The HOPWA program provides housing assistance and support services to low-income individuals living with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

Housing Trust Fund (HTF): The HTF provides funding for construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of affordable housing for low- and very low-income households and requires HTF units to have a minimum affordability period of 30 years.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, issued the following statement after voting to confirm Jerome H. Powell to be Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a term of four years:

“Chair Powell is respected on both sides of the aisle for his steady leadership during the pandemic – a difficult time for our economy. I am proud to have voted this week to bring new diversity and perspectives to the Fed Board, and I am glad to see Chair Powell re-confirmed today. I look forward to having a full Board of Governors soon, and to working with all of them to maintain our economic recovery, curb inflation, and ensure that our economic growth lifts up all of our communities.”

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“We’ve seen America’s supply of semiconductors fall from about 33 percent of manufacturing down to single digits. We’ve almost seen the exact converse take place in terms of China’s investments,” Chairman Warner said in his opening statement. “My fear is that what we are seeing in semiconductors and the need for us to make investments, we may need similar types of approaches in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, synthetic biology. We need to maintain America and the West’s leadership in cutting-edge technologies.”

In April, Chairman Warner was selected to serve on the conference committee of Senators and House members working to reconcile differences between the House and Senate versions of the jobs and competitiveness bill. This bill has been known variously as the Bipartisan Innovation Act, America COMPETES Act, the United States Innovation and Competition Act, and the Endless Frontier Act.

Once the conference committee comes to an agreement on a final version of the bill, the House and Senate will each vote on whether to send that bill to President Biden’s desk to be signed into law.  

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (Both D-VA) and Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (Both D-MD) issued the following joint statement in response to the announcement that the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (Metro) Board of Directors has selected Randy Clarke as its new General Manager and CEO. Clarke currently serves as President and CEO of Capital Metro in Austin, Texas.

 “Safe and reliable Metrobus and Metrorail service is essential for our constituents in the National Capital Region, for millions of visitors each year and for the employees who make the federal government function every day. For this reason, we are encouraged that the WMATA Board of Directors has selected a new General Manager and CEO who brings experience in safety oversight.

“As stalwart advocates for supporting and improving transit in the National Capital Region and continuing Metro’s strong federal partnership, we look forward to meeting with Mr. Clarke as soon as possible to learn more about his experience managing transit in major and rapidly-growing cities, and to discuss Metro’s urgent needs and our shared priorities for the future. We are ready to work with Mr. Clarke as he takes on the challenges Metro faces as our region moves forward from the pandemic.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the supplemental aid package that will deliver more than $40 billion in additional aid to support Ukraine: 

“The Ukrainian people are facing horrific violence inflicted by Russia. In the face of significant tragedy and loss of life, so many are fighting to repel Putin’s authoritarian campaign and preserve the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted. I’m glad that the House voted to advance this critical legislation, which will provide Ukraine with critically needed humanitarian and military assistance. I’m proud to have successfully pushed for $5 billion in food aid to help support the remarkable work of non-governmental organizations that are responding to this crisis on the ground by providing hot meals, food supplies, and other desperately-needed aid.”

Behind the scenes and in public, Sen. Warner has been a strong advocate for increasing available funding for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that have been on the ground since day one, working to address the dire humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

This package will now head to the Senate, which will vote on whether to send the bill to President Biden for his signature.  

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, released the following statement after the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency announced a proposed change to regulations surrounding the Community Reinvestment Act:

“I am pleased that federal banking agencies worked together to produce this joint notice of proposed rulemaking to modernize and strengthen their regulations implementing the Community Reinvestment Act. The CRA is one of the best tools we have to drive investments in underserved and underbanked communities, but it needs to be updated to reflect the fundamental changes we have seen in the banking sector since 1995, the last time there were significant revisions to the rules. As a former entrepreneur, I understand how important access to capital is to start a business and build wealth. Ensuring broader access to affordable credit, whether it’s to buy a house, start a business, or pay for emergency expenses, is vital to address inequalities and close the racial wealth gap. I look forward to reviewing the proposed rule in coordination with all stakeholders to ensure we end up with a strengthened, 21st-century CRA that can continue to drive meaningful change in low- and moderate-income communities.”

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(WASHINGTON) – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA), and Representative Don Beyer (D-VA), joined by Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Representatives Jennifer Wexton (D-VA) and Gerry Connolly (D-VA), and House Natural Resources Committee Chair Raúl M. Grijalva (D-AZ) today wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland urging that the U.S. Department of Justice reconsider the case of two U.S. Park Police officers who shot and killed Northern Virginian Bijan Ghaisar in 2017. Their request followed the recent decision by Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to drop an appeal in the case.

They wrote:

“We write today regarding the 2017 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar by two United States Park Police (USPP) officers. Nearly five years after the fatal shooting of Bijan, it remains unclear to the Ghaisar family, to us, and to the broader community of the National Capital Region, how a traffic stop escalated to a fatal shooting. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to pursue federal charges under the previous administration, we believe another look is warranted. Therefore, we respectfully request that DOJ reopen its investigation, pursue a vigorous analysis of the facts and law, and determine whether federal charges are merited.”

…

“As you know, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated this shooting in detail, interviewing more than 150 individuals (including law enforcement, civilian, and medical witnesses), analyzing evidence at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, and amassing an investigative file of some 10,000 documents. The focus of the Department’s investigation was to determine whether the officers had violated federal laws, in particular federal criminal civil rights statute 18 U.S.C. § 242. There is precedent for charges in a case like this, as DOJ’s Civil Rights Division pursued similar charges in the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery cases.

“What’s more, we understand that Bijan Ghaisar’s family, through counsel, has requested that the Civil Rights Division revisit its decision declining to prosecute the officers who shot and killed him. We further understand that the Department is now in possession of sworn deposition testimony taken from briefs submitted in a civil action, which includes testimony from a senior U.S. Park Police officer and a Fairfax County Police officer that may cast new light on the events of that tragic evening.

…

“The decision to escalate to deadly force must be explained – it is unconscionable to think such a low-level offense could justify being shot to death by police. Bijan’s family, and the public, are entitled to due process and an explanation of why their son is dead that reflects full scrutiny of this situation at all levels of the justice system. We hope you will use all resources and personnel at your disposal to give this case a fair, honest look and decide what the proper form of justice for this tragedy should be.”

Text of their letter follows below.

Dear Attorney General Garland:

We write today regarding the 2017 fatal shooting of 25-year-old Bijan Ghaisar by two United States Park Police (USPP) officers. Nearly five years after the fatal shooting of Bijan, it remains unclear to the Ghaisar family, to us, and to the broader community of the National Capital Region, how a traffic stop escalated to a fatal shooting. While the Department of Justice (DOJ) declined to pursue federal charges under the previous administration, we believe another look is warranted. Therefore, we respectfully request that DOJ reopen its investigation, pursue a vigorous analysis of the facts and law, and determine whether federal charges are merited.

In November 2019, DOJ’s Civil Rights Division informed the Ghaisar family that the Department would not pursue a federal indictment against the officers under 18 U.S.C. § 242. In October 2020, a grand jury convened in the Fairfax County Circuit Court returned criminal indictments against the USPP officers on state charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless use of a firearm. The officers’ attorneys asked for a change of venue from the Fairfax County Circuit Court to the Alexandria Division of the Eastern District of Virginia. The request was granted by a federal district judge, and then, in October 2021, the same judge granted a motion to dismiss the case. The dismissal was made on the grounds of Supremacy Clause immunity, meaning the district court did not engage in fact finding or an analysis of whether Bijan’s rights under the U.S. Constitution were violated. Then-Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring and Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano appealed the decision to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Unfortunately, Virginia’s new Attorney General has chosen to drop the Commonwealth’s appeal, leaving this question unsettled.

As Attorney General, you have rescinded memos that hampered the ability of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division to investigate police departments accused of misconduct, and, where appropriate, hold them accountable. You have worked to restore public trust after reports of political interference with investigations during the previous administration, which reportedly included cases under investigation by the Civil Rights Division. You authorized Justice Department and FBI personnel to cooperate with the Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney investigation, which returned state criminal indictments against the USPP officers, after such cooperation was denied by the previous administration. These actions are commendable, and we hope you will extend this improved oversight to the Ghaisar case.

To summarize, the following major decisions were made without sufficient explanation: DOJ declining to file federal charges in 2019; DOJ declining to share physical evidence or the conclusions of its personnel with local attorneys; the federal district court’s dismissal of the case; and the Virginia Attorney General’s withdrawal from the appeal of the dismissal. Taken together, these decisions mean that Ghaisar’s family cannot be confident that the circumstances of Bijan’s death have received the rigorous legal scrutiny they deserve.

As you know, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated this shooting in detail, interviewing more than 150 individuals (including law enforcement, civilian, and medical witnesses), analyzing evidence at the FBI Laboratory in Quantico, and amassing an investigative file of some 10,000 documents. The focus of the Department’s investigation was to determine whether the officers had violated federal laws, in particular federal criminal civil rights statute 18 U.S.C. § 242. There is precedent for charges in a case like this, as DOJ’s Civil Rights Division pursued similar charges in the George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery cases.

What’s more, we understand that Bijan Ghaisar’s family, through counsel, has requested that the Civil Rights Division revisit its decision declining to prosecute the officers who shot and killed him. We further understand that the Department is now in possession of sworn deposition testimony taken from briefs submitted in a civil action, which includes testimony from a senior U.S. Park Police officer and a Fairfax County Police officer that may cast new light on the events of that tragic evening.

We want to be clear that we do not seek to pressure you to arrive at a decision that the evidence does not support. Rather, we simply seek an impartial review of the facts, including the newly adduced evidence from the civil proceeding. This case was only dismissed at the district level because of Supremacy Clause immunity, an issue that does not apply if the case is brought by the federal government. Supremacy Clause immunity would also not apply in other cases involving state, not federal, officers, which makes this case unique and not a pathway to reopen every case the DOJ may have declined to consider under prior administrations. 

The decision to escalate to deadly force must be explained – it is unconscionable to think such a low-level offense could justify being shot to death by police. Bijan’s family, and the public, are entitled to due process and an explanation of why their son is dead that reflects full scrutiny of this situation at all levels of the justice system. We hope you will use all resources and personnel at your disposal to give this case a fair, honest look and decide what the proper form of justice for this tragedy should be.

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

Sincerely,

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 WASHINGTON —Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement applauding President Biden’s nomination of U.S. Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Hanes to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District (EDVA):

“Judge Hanes has worked in consumer litigation, as a federal public defender, and with AmeriCorps, where she helped create and operate a nonprofit for abused children and crime victims. These experiences demonstrate her commitment to service and have prepared her for the rigor and responsibility of this role. We are eager to vote for her confirmation.”

Last year, Warner and Kaine sent a letter to President Biden recommending Judge Hanes, who has served as a Federal Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District since 2020, for the position. Her nomination is subject to confirmation by the full Senate.

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