WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) led a letter to Mr. Gene L. Dodaro, Comptroller General of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), asking for a study on supporting the technology modernization needs of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs). This study – part of a suite of efforts by the Senator to support CDFIs and MDIs – would help lay the groundwork for additional measures related to CDFI and MDI technology modernization. Sen. Warner was joined in sending the letter by House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman Maxine Waters (D-CA).

“In the Federal Reserve’s annual survey of CDFIs, more than 75% of CDFIs indicated they were unable to provide all the products or services they would like to offer on a sustained basis. In addition to further federal capital support, increasing access to technology tools will play a critical role as CDFIs and MDIs begin to leverage the historic funding provided by Congress. Technology resources can further empower community-based lenders with deep expertise and an understanding of their communities’ needs,” wrote the lawmakers. “There have been several private-sector and philanthropic efforts and partnerships to support technology investments in CDFIs and MDIs. In addition, several think tanks and policy organizations have highlighted these investments as a critical need for supporting CDFIs, MDIs, and the communities they serve. We are requesting GAO examine the scope of CDFIs and MDIs’ needs in technology and what else the federal government could do to support those needs.”

Beyond capital and staffing constraints, another significant barrier for CDFIs and MDIs is access to technology, because the cost to implement new systems is expensive and difficult to prioritize against the more immediate challenges of raising capital, staffing, and delivering for their communities. However, CDFIs and MDIs’ experience with the Paycheck Protection Program showed that technology investments can increase efficiency, support more lending, and improve the ability of these institutions to serve their communities.

To combat the hemorrhaging of jobs and economic opportunities during the pandemic, Sen. Warner has been a leader in Congress for CDFIs and MDIs. Most recently, Sen. Warner introduced legislation with Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) to deliver more long-term patient capital for CDFIs.

Sen. Warner also led successful efforts to secure a historic, $12 billion investment in CDFIs and MDIs in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, which was signed into law on December 27, 2020. Of that $12 billion, $9 billion was used to create the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP) to make tier one capital investments in depository CDFIs and MDIs. The Department of Treasury began to close on ECIP investments earlier this year and is expected to be finished closing its investments in the coming months. The remaining $3 billion in grant funding is also in the process of being fully distributed. On June 15, 2021, Treasury awarded the first tranche of $1.25 billion through the Rapid Response Program to 863 CDFIs. In addition, this week, Treasury opened the Equitable Recovery Program, the remaining $1.75 billion, up for applications.

A copy of the letter is available here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today applauded the Senate passage of the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act of 2021, legislation to provide much-needed relief for individuals who previously consolidated their student loan debt with a spouse. Although Congress eliminated the program on July 1, 2006, it did not provide a means of severing existing loans, even in the event of domestic violence, economic abuse, or an unresponsive partner. As a result, there are borrowers across the country who remain liable for their abusive or uncommunicative spouse’s portion of their consolidated debts. This legislation provides relief to these individuals by allowing borrowers to split this debt.

“The Senate passage of this commonsense legislation is a huge step for survivors of domestic violence and financial abuse who have spent decades fighting for their financial freedom. By finally allowing individuals to sever their joint consolidation loans, this bill will provide needed respite to vulnerable individuals who are being unfairly held responsible for the debt of a former partner. I urge my House colleagues to act with urgency and send this bill to the President’s desk as soon as possible.”

The Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act would allow borrowers to submit an application to the Department of Education to split the joint consolidation loan into two separate federal direct loans. The joint consolidation loan remainder – the unpaid loan and accrued unpaid interest – would be split proportionally based on the percentages that each borrower originally brought into the loan. The two new federal direct loans would have the same interest rates as the joint consolidation loan. Additionally, the bill would enable borrowers to access student loan relief programs, such as the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program and income-driven repayment programs for which they were previously ineligible due to their joint consolidation loans.  

Sen. Warner authored the original version of the Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act in 2017 after a constituent of his, Sara from McLean, Virginia, contacted him to communicate her struggles with a joint consolidation loan. Sara was raising two children on a public school teacher’s salary in Northern Virginia and trying to keep up with payments on her student loans. Unfortunately, her ex-spouse, whom she had divorced and moved thousands of miles away from to start fresh, refused to pay his share of their joint loan. Because joint consolidation loans create joint and several liability for borrowers, Sara faced the threat of having her wages as a public school teacher garnished if she did not pay both her and her ex-husband’s portions of their debt. Sen. Warner did not think this was fair and sought to create a solution, so that constituents like Sara could control their own financial futures. You can hear Sen. Warner tell Sara’s story here.

The Joint Consolidation Loan Separation Act has been supported by a number of organizations, including the National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Consumer Law Center, North Carolina Coalition against Domestic Violence, and the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance.

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WASHINGTON—U.S Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, and Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today introduced legislation that provides an additional $10.3 million to the U.S. Marshals Service and $9.1 million to the U.S. Supreme Court to address the unprecedented security threats to the justices, their families, and court employees. 

The U.S. Marshals Service has already been providing around-the-clock security for the nine Justices at their homes and needs $10.3 million in additional funding for costs that have and will be incurred to provide this protection for the remainder of Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22). Similarly, the Supreme Court needs $9.1 million to cover its unexpected, increased security costs.

“Our government institutions are dealing with a record number of threats,” said Sen. Warner. “We saw on January 6 what can happen when we are unprepared for those threats. This legislation will provide the level of funding the Supreme Court needs to protect the justices and court employees.”

“An assassination attempt on one of our Supreme Court Justices is unthinkable, but sadly has become reality,” said Sen. Hagerty. “We must protect our most sacred American institutions, which is why my updated legislation provides the specific amounts requested by the Supreme Court and the U.S. Marshals Service to cover their current security needs. If we, as a Congress, are willing to send tens of billions of dollars for security needs overseas, then surely we can provide a tiny fraction of that amount to protect the men and women of one of the three branches of our federal government. The cost of failing to act is incalculable, as last week’s news made chillingly clear.”

Officials at the Court and the Marshals Service recently provided specific security funding needs to the Appropriations Committee.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighting the skyrocketing rates of motor vehicle fatalities and the need for swift action to reverse this trend.

The United States ranked first among 34 countries for the largest percentage increase in traffic fatalities in 2020. In the letter, the lawmakers note that nearly half of fatal crashes in 2021 can be linked to speeding, alcohol-impaired driving, or failure to use a seat belt. Additionally, the senators point out that dangerous roads also impact those outside the vehicle, with motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists accounting for 34 percent of all traffic fatalities in the past year.

“In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 42,915 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2021, up 10.5 percent since 2020 and a shocking 32 percent since 2011,” wrote the senators. “Despite new technology and safety features, roads are becoming more dangerous for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other roadway users. We urge the Department of Transportation to continue to prioritize roadway safety and promptly employ new regulatory authorities Congress provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reverse this disturbing trend.”

In addition to Sens. Warner and Markey, the letter was also signed by Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The lawmakers requested Secretary Buttigieg respond to the letter, specifically to provide:

1. Clarification on the plan to implement the National Roadway Safety Strategy;

2. Explanation of the Department’s use of existing resources and authorities to meet or beat deadlines for issuing auto safety rules;

3. Explanation of lessons the Department has taken from other countries to reduce traffic fatalities.

Sen. Warner has been a national leader on transportation issues as one of the chief authors of the landmark bipartisan infrastructure legislation signed into law by President Biden last year.

A copy of the letter is available here and below. 

Dear Secretary Buttigieg,

We write with grave concerns about the skyrocketing number of motor vehicle fatalities in the United States. In May, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reported that 42,915 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2021, up 10.5 percent since 2020 and a shocking 32 percent since 2011. Despite new technology and safety features, roads are becoming more dangerous for drivers, pedestrians, bicyclists, and other roadway users. We urge the Department of Transportation to continue to prioritize roadway safety and promptly employ new regulatory authorities Congress provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reverse this disturbing trend.

Motor vehicle crashes remain one of the most common causes of death in the United States. Faced with an epidemic of traffic fatalities during the mid-twentieth century, Congress directed regulators to impose new safety requirements on automakers, including mandating that new cars include seatbelts and airbags, among other commonsense changes. Subsequently, motor vehicle fatalities declined, both in absolute figures and relative to total miles driven. Traffic fatalities dropped from more than 50,000 annually during the early 1970s to under 40,000 each year by 2008, and the fatality rate fell from 5 deaths per 100 million miles driven to 1.15 in 2009.

Unfortunately, during the 2010s, this decades-long progress in improving road safety came to a screeching halt and now has gone into reverse. As NHTSA’s data shows, absolute motor vehicle fatalities soared to nearly 43,000 in 2021, and the fatality rate hit 1.33. These trends are even worse for members of minority and low-income communities, who are disproportionately likely to be killed in a motor vehicle crash. Moreover, while traffic fatalities have risen in the United States, they have fallen in other countries. In fact, the United States ranked first among 34 countries for the largest percentage increase in traffic fatalities in 2020, compared with averages from 2017 to 2019. As you have rightfully declared, this is a national crisis.

This crisis has multiple causes. According to NHTSA’s recent report on traffic fatalities, in 2020, 45 percent of passenger vehicles in a fatal crash involved at least one of three behavioral factors: speeding, alcohol-impaired driving, and seat belt non-use. While the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have increased these reckless behaviors, our efforts to reduce them stalled even before COVID struck. For example, the absolute number of fatalities and fatality rate of alcohol-impaired driving stayed roughly flat over the past decade, before rising in 2020. Similarly, the percentage of front-seat passengers using seat belts rose steadily until 2016 — when it finally hit 90 percent — but has flat-lined since then. DOT data on speeding-related fatalities shows similar trends.

This stagnation in reducing risky behaviors masks important shifts in the affected populations. Individuals outside the vehicle — motorcyclists, pedestrians, and bicyclists, among others — now make up 34 percent of traffic fatalities, up from 20 percent in the mid-1990s.

This increase is particularly notable in urban locations, where traffic fatalities have risen by 48 percent over the past 10 years while they have declined by 6.2 percent in rural areas. Pedestrian fatalities are up a whopping 61 percent in urban areas during that period. The conclusion is clear: Roads remain extremely dangerous — for those inside and outside the vehicle.

The Department of Transportation took an important first step to address this problem by issuing its National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS) in January. In the NRSS, DOT, for the first time, set a goal of zero traffic fatalities or serious injuries and adopted a five-pronged “Safe System Approach.” This document is a laudable effort to recognize the traffic safety crisis and set achievable goals for implementing new safety regulations. Unfortunately, NHTSA’s record in issuing congressionally mandated rules — going back multiple administrations — raises concern that it may not meet the deadlines in the infrastructure law and the NRSS. While many of those deadlines remain over a year away, given last year’s fatality data, we urge DOT to move swiftly to implement these new rules ahead of schedule. There is no time to waste, and proven solutions — including congressionally mandated regulations requiring advanced driver assistance systems, advanced drunk and impaired driving prevention systems, and other safety improvements on new vehicles — are readily available.

Given the urgency of this problem, we ask that you please respond in writing to the following questions by June 29, 2022:

1.         What steps has the Department of Transportation taken since January 2022 to implement the National Roadway Safety Strategy? What processes are in place to ensure all target completion dates are met?

2.         How is the Department of Transportation utilizing existing resources and authorities to meet or even beat the deadlines for issuing auto safety rules as required under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act? How can Congress further support these efforts?

3.         What lessons has the Department taken from efforts by other countries to reduce traffic fatalities and accelerate safety improvements?

We applaud your tenacity in approaching this problem. As you declared on the first page of the NRSS, “We face a crisis on our roadways; it is both unacceptable and solvable.” We agree, and we stand ready to assist DOT and NHTSA as they undertake this critical mission to restart the regulatory engine that delivered such immense improvements in roadway safety during the latter half of the 20th century.

Thank you for your efforts on this important issue.

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WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA), and committee members Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Ben Sasse (R-NE), unveiled the American Technology Leadership Act, legislation to establish an Office of Global Competition Analysis to assess how the United States fares in key emerging  technologies relative to other countries to inform policy and strengthen U.S. competitiveness. Bennet plans to advocate for the bill’s inclusion in the Fiscal Year 2023 Intelligence Authorization Act.

“As we compete to supply the world with cutting-edge technologies, we don’t have a meaningful way to track how our progress stacks up against China’s in advancing the technologies of the future. Establishing an Office of Global Competition Analysis will help fill this knowledge gap and allow us to better compete on the world stage,” said Warner. 

“To compete with countries like China, we have to secure U.S. leadership in critical emerging technologies, such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence,” said Bennet. “Today, we have no idea where the United States stands in these growing sectors compared to our competitors and adversaries. Our bipartisan legislation would fuse information across the federal government, including classified sources, to help us better understand U.S. competitiveness in technologies critical to our national security and economic prosperity and inform responses that will boost U.S. leadership.”

“We are currently in a tech war with China, and the urgency to keep the upper hand is growing,” said Sasse. “Staying technologically competitive needs to be our top priority, which is why we need to assess how we compare with other countries technologically and which technologies matter most to our economic and national security. We’re going to need to stay sharp and creating an office to focus on global competition is just one step that helps us stay ahead of our competition.” 

Today, there is no federal entity responsible for assessing U.S. leadership in key technologies relative to strategic competitors like China. Although the Department of Defense evaluates how our battleships, tanks, and aircraft compare to other nations, there is no equivalent process for critical technologies like artificial intelligence and quantum computing, despite their far-reaching consequences for America’s national security and economic prosperity. 

The Office of Global Competition Analysis would be staffed by experts from the Departments of Commerce, Treasury, and Defense, along with the Intelligence Community, and other relevant agencies. The new Office could also draw on experts from the private sector and academia on a project basis, and the legislation allows it to leverage the capability of an existing Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). The Office would support both economic and national security policy makers. The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), National Economic Council, and the National Security Council (NSC) would jointly manage the office and set priorities and project requirements.

Specifically, a technology net assessment capability will enable the U.S. government to:

• Identify which technologies will matter most to America’s economic and national security;
• Evaluate America’s technology leadership relative to other countries; and
• Determine the appropriate policy response to ensure U.S. leadership. 

The bill text is available here. A one-page summary of the bill is available here.

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BROADCAST-QUALITY B-ROLL AVAILABLE HERE

HIGH-QUALITY PHOTOS AVAILABLE HERE

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was joined by the White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sperling in announcing $219.8 million in broadband funding for Virginia, which comes from the $10 billion Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund authored by Sen. Warner and included in the American Rescue Plan.

As part of the announcement, Sen. Warner and Sperling were joined by NOVA President Anne M. Kress, PhD and NOVA Medical Education Provost Shelly L.S. Powers, DMSc, MA, PA-C in a demonstration of a hybrid Radiation Oncology course, during which they got a first-hand look at the invaluable role of broadband in expanding access to opportunity through quality higher education. The course also serves students in Roanoke, as it is taught by faculty from Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) and Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) through specialized instructional equipment only available at NOVA’s Medical Education Campus.

“In Virginia, broadband is absolutely critical to the economic prosperity, education, and health of every family. Today we saw a partnership between two institutions on either side of the Commonwealth who are able to reach more students and expand access to high-quality higher education thanks to the power of high-speed internet,” said Sen. Warner. “I was proud to negotiate this historic investment as part of last year’s emergency COVID-19 relief bill, and am thrilled to know that Virginia is among the first four states to receive its slice of the pie. I look forward to seeing Virginia achieve universal broadband coverage in the very near future.”

“There were a lot of people involved in the American Rescue Plan negotiations, folks like Senators Manchin, King, Hassan, Tester, Sinema, Hickenlooper, and many others, and of course, a lot of people at the White House were involved. But if you lined them all up and asked who was the leader and who was responsible for this $10 billion for broadband and connectivity, the verdict would be unanimous: we would not be here giving $220 million to Virginia if it wasn’t for Senator Mark Warner," said White House American Rescue Plan Coordinator Gene Sperling at the event today. 

“Expanding access to healthcare education programs will help our region address critical nursing and staffing shortages, especially in rural communities,” said NOVA President Anne M. Kress, PhD. “As the only Virginia community college with a dedicated medical education campus, NOVA is proud to share its knowledge and state-of-the art equipment with peer institutions and their students across the Commonwealth. With expanded access to affordable and reliable broadband, more students will have the opportunity to choose and succeed in rewarding career pathways like healthcare, earning degrees and certificates that advance their families and our communities.”

“The pandemic exposed longstanding challenges that workers and families face when they don’t have adequate access to the internet, especially those living in rural areas and other unconnected communities. That is why these broadband investments are so urgently needed across the cuntry,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “This funding through the American Rescue Plan will help connect thousands of communities in Virginia with affordable, high-speed broadband service. Treasury commends Virginia for targeting this funding to places where it is most urgently needed across the state.”

Virginia’s $219.8 million represents 100 percent of its available CPF funding and will expand last-mile broadband access to an estimated 76,873 locations. Through a competitive grant-making program overseen by the Virginia Telecommunication Initiative (VATI), local governments in partnership with internet service providers will apply for funds with the goal of deploying universal coverage solutions in the localities involved. 

As approved by the Department of Treasury, VATI’s plan is designed, upon project completion, to deliver reliable internet service that meets or exceeds symmetrical download and upload speeds of 100 megabits per second (Mbps), speeds that are needed for a household with multiple users to simultaneously access the internet to telework and access education and health monitoring. In accordance with Treasury’s guidance, each state’s plan requires all service providers to participate in the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) new Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). The ACP helps ensure that households can afford the broadband they need for work, school, healthcare, and more by providing a discount of up to $30 per month.  The FCC estimates that about 48 million families are eligible for the program—nearly 40 percent of households. 

The CPF provides $10 billion to states, territories, freely associated states, and Tribal governments to fund critical capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to the public health emergency. A key priority of the program is to make funding available for reliable, affordable broadband infrastructure and other digital connectivity technology projects.

As Senator, and during his tenure as the 69^th Governor of Virginia, Sen. Warner has been a staunch advocate for expanded access to broadband. With more Virginia families forced to rely on the internet for telework and telehealth as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, Sen. Warner secured $65 billion in funding within the bipartisan infrastructure law to help deploy broadband, increase access, and decrease costs associated with connecting to the internet.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced a Rural Development investment of $1,932,000 from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). In addition to the grant, a matching 40-year loan has been approved by the USDA to supplement the costs, bringing the project total to $3,864,000.

This funding will go towards the construction and installation of approximately eight miles of water line, a pump station, 92 water meters, 28 fire hydrants, and related accessories.

“It is essential that Virginians have access to safe, clean water,” the senators said. “This project will provide the Wythe County community with the infrastructure to support a safe water system for its residents.”

Currently, residents in the area are served by private wells with both quality and quantity problems. According to water samples, over 60 percent of the wells have tested positive for Coliform and E. coli, posing a health hazard to community members. This project will correct these health hazards and reduce iron and manganese levels in the water for 214 residents.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) released the statement below, celebrating the rescue of hundreds of dogs in acute distress from the Envigo breeding facility in Cumberland, Virginia. According to a joint motion filed by Envigo and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia, Envigo has relinquished 446 beagles following their seizure by federal agents. The joint motion also extends the Temporary Restraining Order against Envigo for 14 days to prevent the breeding, sale, or otherwise dealing of beagles at the Cumberland facility until Envigo demonstrates compliance with the Animal Welfare Act.

“We’re thrilled to report that nearly 450 innocent dogs are finally free from abuse and neglect after being seized by federal officials and surrendered by Envigo. We’ve spent months pressing the Department of Agriculture to take action against Envigo following its persistent and egregious abuses of animal welfare laws, and are glad to see enforcement efforts come to fruition. We will continue to follow this case closely and do everything in our power to prevent Envigo from causing further harm to innocent animals.”

In March, Sens. Warner and Kaine expressed horror and demanded immediate and aggressive action by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) following more than 70 animal welfare violations at the Envigo breeding and research facility in Cumberland. In a letter to APHIS Administrator Kevin Shea, the Senators urged APHIS to immediately suspend Envigo’s Cumberland facility license, condemning “persistent and egregious” abuses that led to distress, injury, and death in dogs and puppies.

Sen. Warner, a dog owner, has been an advocate for dogs in Virginia and throughout the country, earning a 100% on the Humane Society of the United States’ Humane Scorecard for 2021. In March, Sen. Warner secured the passage of new language requiring the Department of State to report on the status of dogs in the Explosive Detection Canine Program (EDCP). This program came under scrutiny in 2019 after an Inspector General (IG) report found that the Department failed to conduct proper follow-up after sending highly-trained dogs to foreign partner nations, resulting in the death of at least ten dogs from largely preventable illnesses.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have been consistent cosponsors of the Puppy Protection Act, which would amend the Animal Welfare Act to include additional care and safety standards for dog breeders like Envigo. Under the bill, breeders would be required to house dogs in appropriately sized enclosures with solid ground and keep them on a regular diet and exercise routine. As Governor of Virginia, Kaine signed a law that imposed stricter legal penalties for dogfighting offenses.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and fellow Chesapeake Bay State-sens. Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Kirstin Gillibrand (D-NY), and Chris Coons (D-DE) today announced that they urged Senate leaders to support across-the-board funding sufficient to answer the many threats facing the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“Our states are heavily invested in implementing a Chesapeake Clean Water Blueprint designed to restore this national treasure. Continued federal partnership to support this complex, regional effort is key to their success,” the senators wrote. “To maintain the trust and collaboration of state and local partners, we have identified essential programs across the federal agency partners in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23).”

Notably, the senators advocate funding levels of $15 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chesapeake WILD program; $10.7 million for the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office; $5.6 million for National Park Service Chesapeake Bay Office programs; and more than $17 million for scientific and monitoring services of the U.S. Geological Survey.

“As a testament to the value of this federal-state partnership, all watershed states signed the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement. Under the Agreement, the jurisdictions and federal agencies have voluntarily committed to work together to restore water quality in the Chesapeake Bay by 2025,” wrote the senators. “We must maintain federal investment in the programs below to support state-led efforts and ensure their continued success.” 

Full text of the letter is available here.   

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine and U.S. Congressman A. Donald McEachin announced $6,355,829 in federal funding for the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority to make improvements to Ettrick Station. The improved station will attract additional train service and approximately 10,050 new riders annually.

“We’re excited the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is receiving these federal dollars to upgrade the Ettrick Station and improve public transportation in the region,” said the lawmakers. “This funding will help enhance safety, increase ridership, and reduce emissions by taking cars off the road.”

The funding was awarded through the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant program. Specifically, this funding will be used to make improvements to the existing station building and upgrade its parking and lighting. It will also go towards the construction of a new 850 feet long platform in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

The funding announced today is in addition to $1 million for the station that Warner, Kaine, and McEachin secured in the FY 2022 government funding bill.

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 WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), John Thune (R-SD), and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced legislation to allow retired first responders to withdraw from their retirement without being penalized. The senators’ legislation would improve and reform the Healthcare Enhancement for Local Public Safety Act (HELPS), by changing state and local direct payment requirements from mandatory to optional, and creating an alternative to the current method, allowing the retirement system to make the distribution to the retired public safety officer. The retiree can then make the premium payment to the provider and remain eligible for the tax exclusion.

“Virginia’s first responders put themselves at risk every day to protect our communities – the least we can do is ensure that they are taken care of in retirement,” said Sen. Warner. “I’m proud to introduce the bipartisan Police and Fire Health Care Protection Act of 2022, which will make it easier for tens of thousands of retired officers – like Mr. Wally Bunker, a stalwart advocate and retired police officer from Culpepper – to claim the benefits that they have earned.”

“Ohio firefighters and other first responders wear their bodies out protecting our families and communities, and they shouldn’t have to worry about being penalized for withdrawing from retirement that they’ve earned,” said Sen. Brown. “This is a simple solution that allows first responders to keep their own money and alleviate pressure on state and local governments.”

“We owe a great debt of gratitude to our retired police officers, firefighters, and other first responders who dedicated their lives to protecting our communities and keeping our friends, families, and neighbors across South Dakota safe,” said Sen. Thune. “Currently, it is extremely difficult for retired first responders to utilize an existing benefit that helps cover certain health care expenses, which is why I introduced this legislation that would ensure these retirees can make tax-free withdrawals from their pension and direct those amounts to qualifying insurance premiums.

“First responders play a vital role in our communities, addressing a variety of high-stress emergency situations throughout their careers. All first responders ought to be able to take advantage of a tax benefit that is intended to help them access health coverage in retirement,” said Sen. Grassley.

In order to implement the direct payment requirement under current law, state and local retirement systems are now responsible for directly paying often numerous health and long-term care providers and keeping track of changes to premium amounts and payment deadlines for thousands and sometimes tens of thousands of retirees. This already challenging task is made even more difficult because providers will often communicate only with the retiree policyholder and not with the retirement system. Information does not flow seamlessly, and inadvertent errors are made. In addition, due to the complexity, some retirement systems have made the decision to not implement HELPS, thereby resulting in retired public safety officers covered by these pension plans being ineligible for the tax benefit.

“Too often fire fighters are forced to retire early and have no access to affordable health insurance. We owe it to our fire fighters and EMS providers to help them access quality healthcare after making a career’s worth of physical and mental sacrifices for our communities,” said Edward Kelly, General President, International Association of Fire Fighters. “This legislation ensures our retired fire fighters can access their hard-earned retirement income to pay for health insurance costs. The IAFF thanks Senators Brown, Thune, Warner, and Grassley for their commitment to supporting our retirees and helping them to maintain a healthy and secure retirement.”

“In 2006, Congress enacted the HELPS Retirees Act, which provided a modest tax benefit to help retired public safety officers afford health insurance by allowing the use, on a pre-tax basis, of up to $3,000 annually from their pension funds health care and long-term care insurance,” said Patrick Yoes, National President, Fraternal Order of Police. “However, too many public safety officers were ineligible or lost their eligibility for this benefit because of the law’s ‘direct pay’ requirement. This means that the public pension system must pay the health or long-term care insurance company directly in order to exclude these payments from the employee’s gross income.  Officers whose pensions are or came to be administered by third parties could not take advantage of this tax break. We are very grateful to Senators Brown and Thune for introducing legislation which repeals this direct pay requirement and provides a modest increase to the benefit.”

“On behalf of Ohio’s and the nation’s public safety personnel we are grateful to Senator Brown for his leadership on this issue. The new legislation will ensure that first responders receive the assistance Congress intended them to receive with their health care expenses in retirement,” said Mary Beth Foley, Executive Director, Ohio Police & Fire Pension Fund (OP&F).

Under the senators’ bill, plans that are able to implement HELPS through the current direct payment method, possibly because they have only one or two providers to pay and a small number of retirees, may continue to do so. However, for the many retirement systems that are experiencing administrative problems with the current requirement or have refused to implement HELPS because of the burdens, the senator’s legislation will allow them to make distributions to their retirees without rendering the retiree ineligible for the tax exclusion.

In cases where the distribution is made to the retiree, the legislation would require the retiree to include with their tax return an attestation that the amount sought to be excluded from the pension distribution does not exceed the amount paid by the employee for qualified health insurance premiums for the taxable year. The tax exclusion is capped under current law at $3,000 per year.

The bill has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, National Association of Police Organizations, and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) led a bipartisan group of colleagues in reintroducing the Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act, legislation that will encourage market-based competition to dominant social media platforms by requiring the largest companies to make user data portable – and their services interoperable – with other platforms, and to allow users to designate a trusted third-party service to manage their privacy and account settings, if they so choose. Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) joined Sen. Warner in introducing the legislation.

“The tremendous dominance of a handful of large social media platforms has major downsides – including few options for consumers who face a marketplace with just a few major players and little in the way of real competition,” the senators said. “As we learned in the Microsoft antitrust case, interoperability and portability are powerful tools to restrain anti-competitive behaviors and promote innovative new companies. By making it easier for social media users to easily move their data or to continue to communicate with their friends after switching platforms, startups will be able to compete on equal terms with the biggest social media companies. Additionally, empowering trusted custodial companies to step in on behalf of users to better manage their accounts across different platforms will help balance the playing field between consumers and companies. In other words – by enabling portability, interoperability, and delegatability, this bill will create long-overdue requirements that will boost competition and give consumers the power to move their data from one service to another.”

Online communications platforms have become vital to the economic and social fabric of the nation, but network effects and consumer lock-in have entrenched a select number of companies’ dominance in the digital market and enhanced their control over consumer data. 

The Augmenting Compatibility and Competition by Enabling Service Switching (ACCESS) Act would increase market competition, encourage innovation, and increase consumer choice by requiring large communications platforms (products or services with over 100 million monthly active users in the U.S.) to:

• Make their services interoperable with competing communications platforms.
• Permit users to easily port their personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format.
• Allow users to delegate trusted custodial services, which are required to act in a user’s best interests through a strong duty of care, with the task of managing their account settings, content, and online interactions.  

“Markets work when consumers have a choice and know what's going on. The ACCESS Act is an important step toward reestablishing this dynamic in the market for tech services. We must get back to the conditions that make markets work: when consumers know what they give a firm and what they get in return; and if they don't like the deal, they can take their business elsewhere. By giving consumers the ability to delegate decisions to organizations working on their behalf, the ACCESS Act gives consumers some hope that they can understand what they are giving up and getting in the opaque world that the tech firms have created. By mandating portability, it also gives them a realistic option of switching to another provider,” Paul Romer, New York University Professor of Economics and Nobel Prize winner in Economics, said.

“Interoperability is a key tool for promoting competition on and against dominant digital platforms. For social networks in particular, interoperability is needed to make it easy for users to switch to a new social network. Until we have clear and effective interoperability requirements, it will be hard for users to leave a social network that fails to reflect their values, protect their privacy, or offer the best experience. Whatever our reasons for switching to a new social network, the ACCESS Act can make it easier by requiring the largest platforms to offer interoperability with competitors. We all stand to benefit from the greater competition that an interoperable world can create,” Charlotte Slaiman, Competition Policy Director at Public Knowledge, said.

"We now understand that the dominant tech platforms' exclusive control over the data we create as we interact with them is the source of extraordinary market power. That power distorts markets, reduces innovation and limits consumer choice. By requiring interoperability, the ACCESS Act empowers consumers, levels the playing field and opens the market to competition. Anyone who believes that markets work best when consumers are able to make informed choices should support this Act,” Brad Burnham, Partner and Co-Founder at Union Square Ventures, said.

“The reintroduction of the ACCESS Act in the Senate is a critically important step forward for empowering consumers with the freedom to control their own data and enable consumers to leave the various walled gardens of the today’s social media platforms. The ACCESS Act literally does what it says—it would give consumers the option to choose better services without having to balance the unfair choice of abandoning their personal network of family and friends in order to seek better products in the market.  The Senate needs to move forward as soon as possible to vote on the ACCESS Act.” Eric Migicovsky, Founder and CEO of Beeper, said.

Sen. Warner first introduced the ACCESS Act in 2019 and has been raising concerns about the implications of the lack of competition in social for years.

Sen. Warner is one of Congress’ leading voices in demanding accountability and user protections from social media companies. In addition to the ACCESS Act, Sen. Warner has introduced and written numerous bills designed to improve transparency, privacy, and accountability on social media. These include the Safeguarding Against Fraud, Exploitation, Threats, Extremism and Consumer Harms (SAFE TECH) Act – legislation that would allow social media companies to be held accountable for enabling cyber-stalking, targeted harassment, and discrimination across platforms; 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.

Full text of the bill is available here. One-pager of the legislation is available here.

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