WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the below statement on Afghanistan:

“The images from Afghanistan that we’ve seen in recent days are devastating. 

“We went into Afghanistan to defeat al-Qa‘ida and eliminate their safe harbor after September 11, 2001. Two decades later, the price of our longest war has been tremendous. We’re on track to spend $2 trillion on a conflict that has cost 6,000 U.S. servicemembers and contractors their lives and returned tens of thousands of our fellow Americans from the battlefield with wounds both visible and invisible. We owe a debt of gratitude to all those brave men and women who have served in Afghanistan, many of whom are experiencing renewed pain and grief today as they grapple with traumatic images out of Kabul, thoughts of their fellow servicemembers, and fears for those alongside whom they fought. 

“At this moment, our top priorities must be the safety of American diplomats and other citizens in Afghanistan, and the extraction of Afghans who are at greatest risk, including those who bravely fought alongside our forces since 2001. The world must know that the United States stands by her friends in times of need, and this is one of those times. We must do everything we can to secure the airport in Kabul, restore evacuation flights, and allow our trusted Afghan partners to find safe haven in the United States or elsewhere before it is too late. We also cannot lose sight of the reason we were there in the first place and must continue to stay focused on potential threats to the United States posed by terror groups like the Haqqani network, al-Qa‘ida, and ISIS.

“Intelligence officials have anticipated for years that in the absence of the U.S. military the Taliban would continue to make gains in Afghanistan. That is exactly what has happened as the Afghan National Security Forces proved unable or unwilling to defend against Taliban advances in Kabul and across the country. As the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I hope to work with the other committees of jurisdiction to ask tough but necessary questions about why we weren’t better prepared for a worst-case scenario involving such a swift and total collapse of the Afghan government and security forces. We owe those answers to the American people and to all those who served and sacrificed so much.”  

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WASHINGTON — Today U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, members of the Senate Budget Committee, released the following statement after Senate passage of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget resolution they cosponsored that will set the stage for historic legislation to lower costs and cut taxes for American families:

“As members of the Senate Budget Committee, we were thrilled to play a pivotal role in crafting a transformative budget blueprint to improve the lives of families in Virginia and across the nation for years to come. We believe this bill will not only help us recover from the impacts of COVID-19, but it will also help our economy rebuild even stronger than before. By investing in American families, we are investing in our nation’s future. As negotiations continue in the coming weeks, we will continue advocating for the needs of families across the Commonwealth.”

The FY2022 budget resolution proposes to extend the American Rescue Plan’s expansions of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), Earned Income Tax Credit, and Child and Dependent Care Tax Credits. The framework also includes affordable health care and childcare, expanded family and medical leave, universal pre-K, affordable higher education, affordable housing, green energy projects, climate resiliency, workforce development, and support for small businesses—all while cutting taxes for middle-class families. Following the passage of this resolution, Senate Committees will work on shaping the bill before final Senate passage.    

FY2022 Budget Resolution Proposals Include:

Families: 

·       Establishes Universal Pre-K for 3 and 4 year olds and a new child care benefit for working families 

·       Makes Community College tuition-free for 2 years 

·       Extends the largest tax cut ever for families with children

·       Increases the Pell Grant award and makes investments in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Alaskan Native- or Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHIs) 

·       Creates the first ever federal Paid Family and Medical Leave benefit 

Infrastructure and Jobs: 

·       Invests in workforce development and job training programs to connect workers to good-paying jobs 

·       Invests in research and development and strengthens U.S. manufacturing supply chains  

·       Expands access to capital and markets for small businesses 

·       Makes the largest ever one-time investment in Native American infrastructure projects 

·       Rehabilitates aging Veterans Administration buildings and hospitals 

·       Makes historic investments in public housing, green and sustainable housing, and housing production and affordability  

Health Care: 

·       Reduces prescription drug costs for patients and saves taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars

·       Adds a new Dental, Vision, and Hearing Benefit to the Medicare program 

·       Extends the recent expansion of the Affordable Care Act in the American Rescue Plan

·       Invests in home and community-based services to help seniors, persons with disabilities and home care workers 

·       Creates a new federal health program for Americans in the “Medicaid gap,” helping more people get health coverage  

Climate: 

·       Provides clean energy, manufacturing, and transportation tax incentives and grants 

·       Invests in climate smart agriculture and forest management for farmers and rural communities 

·       Creates coastal and ocean resiliency programs 

·       Makes investments to address droughts and wildfires

·       Provides funding to create environmental justice and climate resilience programs

For more information on the resolution, click here. For text of the resolution, click here. 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement applauding Senate passage of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the largest investment in America’s infrastructure needs in generations: 

“We’re thrilled to have voted today to bring this legislation one step closer to becoming law,” said the Senators. “This bill will make important investments in our nation’s recovery and long-term economic stability. By putting Americans back to work in good-paying jobs and working to fix our crumbling infrastructure, we will help spur economic growth and ensure the U.S. leads the world in innovation. We’ll continue working to help Virginia recover from the widespread job losses we’ve seen over the past year and build back better for generations to come.”  

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is a comprehensive infrastructure package that delivers wins to communities across the Commonwealth and the nation to maintain our roads, bridges, rail systems, and other critical infrastructure needs, including:

Roads, Bridges, and Major Projects: 

• $110 billion to repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on equity, safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians, and first of its kind attention to climate change mitigation and resilience. This includes:
  • $40 billion for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, which is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. 
  • $7 billion for Virginia highways and $537 million for Virginia bridge replacement and repairs over five years.
  • In Virginia, there are 577 bridges and over 2,124 miles of highway in poor condition.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) and Public Transit:

• Reauthorizes federal funding for WMATA through fiscal year 2030 at current annual levels. The WMATA reauthorization is based on legislation previously introduced by Senators Warner and Kaine. 
• An estimated $1.2 billion over five years to improve public transportation in Virginia.
• $39 billion over five years for public transit systems across the nation.

Rail: 

• $66 billion in passenger rail to upgrade speed, accessibility, efficiency, and resilience, including $22 billion in grants to Amtrak, $24 billion as federal-state partnership grants for Northeast Corridor modernization, $12 billion for partnership grants for intercity rail service including high-speed rail, $5 billion for rail improvement and safety grants, and $3 billion for grade crossing safety improvements.
• These dollars will help Virginia fund current projects announced with CSX, Norfolk Southern, Amtrak, and VRE — such as the $1.9 billion Long Bridge project that both Senators Warner and Kaine supported by successfully passing their Long Bridge Act of 2020 as part of the FY21 Omnibus. The legislation allowed for the construction of a new Long Bridge across the Potomac River to double the capacity of rail crossing between Virginia and DC, but still required federal funding to move forward.          
  • This funding will improve reliability and travel options not just in Virginia, but along the East Coast.

Airports, Ports, and Waterways:

• $25 billion to improve our nation’s airports including runways, gates, terminals, and concessions.
• $17 billion for port infrastructure to fund waterway and coastal infrastructure, inland waterway improvements, and land ports of entry.

Army Corps of Engineers:  

• $9.55 billion for Army Corps of Engineers infrastructure priorities like harbor dredging, coastal resiliency, and repairing damages to Corps Projects caused by natural disasters. 

Broadband: 

• $65 billion for broadband deployment to increase access and decrease costs associated with connecting to the internet.
• Virginia will receive a minimum allocation of $100 million to expand broadband across the Commonwealth, including providing access to the at least 473,000 Virginians who currently lack it. 
• 1,908,000 or 23% of people in Virginia will be eligible for the Affordability Connectivity Benefit, which will help low-income families afford internet access.

Resilience: 

• $47 billion for climate resilience measures that will help our communities weather increasingly severe storms, droughts, floods, fires, heat waves, and sea level rise, including funding for FEMA flood mitigation grants, making infrastructure investments to increase coastal resilience, and improving mapping and data so that households and businesses can better protect themselves from future flood events.
• $238 million for the Chesapeake Bay Program for ecosystem resiliency and restoration.

Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging: 

• $7.5 billion to build electric vehicle charging stations across the country along highway corridors to facilitate long-distance travel and within communities to provide convenient charging where people live, work, and shop. 
• $2.5 billion for electric, zero-emission school buses.
• An estimated $106 million for Virginia over five years to support the expansion of an EV charging network in the Commonwealth. Virginia will also have the opportunity to apply for the $2.5 billion in grant funding dedicated to EV charging in the bill.

Support for Minority Businesses:

• The legislation includes a provision based on Senator Kaine and Senator Wicker’s Reaching America’s Rural Minority Businesses Act, introduced in May 2021. 
• The provision will enable the Minority Business Development Agency to partner with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and other Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) to establish business centers to support minority-owned small businesses in rural areas to provide education, training, and technical assistance to help them grow and thrive.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence; Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chairwoman of the Senate Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights; and Senator Chris Coons (D-DE), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg asking about Facebook’s decision to terminate the ability of researchers at New York University’s Ad Observatory Project’s to access its platform.  

The independent researchers were studying political advertising on Facebook. Their research has produced several key discoveries including highlighting a lack of transparency in how advertisers target political ads online on Facebook. 

“We were surprised to learn that Facebook has terminated access to its platform for researchers connected with the NYU Ad Observatory project. The opaque and unregulated online advertising platforms that social media companies maintain have allowed a hotbed of disinformation and consumer scams to proliferate, and we need to find solutions to those problems,” the senators wrote.

The senators continued later in the letter: “...independent researchers are a critical part of the solution. While we agree that Facebook must safeguard user privacy, it is similarly imperative that Facebook allow credible academic researchers and journalists like those involved in the Ad Observatory project to conduct independent research that will help illuminate how the company can better tackle misinformation, disinformation, and other harmful activity that is proliferating on its platforms.”

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

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,  

As you know, we are committed to protecting privacy for all Americans while eliminating the scourge that is disinformation and misinformation, particularly with regard to elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were surprised to learn that Facebook has terminated access to its platform for researchers connected with the NYU Ad Observatory project. The opaque and unregulated online advertising platforms that social media companies maintain have allowed a hotbed of disinformation and consumer scams to proliferate, and we need to find solutions to those problems. The Ad Observatory project describes itself as “nonpartisan [and] independent…focused on improving the transparency of online political advertising.” Research efforts studying online advertising have helped inform consumers and policymakers about the extent to which your ad platform has been a vector for consumer scams and frauds, enabled hiring discrimination and discriminatory ads for financial services, and circumvented accessibility laws. Such work to improve the integrity of online advertising is critical to strengthening American democracy.

We appreciate Facebook’s ongoing efforts to address misinformation and disinformation on its platforms. But there is much more to do, and independent researchers are a critical part of the solution. While we agree that Facebook must safeguard user privacy, it is similarly imperative that Facebook allow credible academic researchers and journalists like those involved in the Ad Observatory project to conduct independent research that will help illuminate how the company can better tackle misinformation, disinformation, and other harmful activity that is proliferating on its platforms.

We therefore ask that you provide written answers to the following questions by August 20, 2021:

1. How many accounts of researchers and journalists were terminated or otherwise disabled during 2021, including but not limited to researchers from the NYU Ad Observatory?
2. Please explain why you terminated those accounts referenced in question 1. If you believe that the researchers violated Facebook’s terms of service, please describe how, in detail.
3. If the researchers’ access violated Facebook’s terms of service, what steps are you taking to revise these terms to better accommodate research that improves the security and integrity of your platform?
4. Facebook’s public statement about its decision to terminate the Ad Observatory researchers’ access said that research should not “compromis[e] people’s privacy.” Please explain how the researchers’ work compromised privacy of end-users.
5. The Ad Observatory project asked Facebook users to voluntarily install a browser extension that would provide information available to that user about the ads that the user was shown. Facebook’s public statement says that the extension “collected data about Facebook users who did not install it or consent to the collection.” Were these non-consenting “users” advertisers whose advertising information was being collected and analyzed, other individual Facebook users, or both?
6. Facebook has suggested that the NYU researchers potentially violated user privacy because the browser extension could have exposed the identity of users who liked or commented on an advertisement.  However, both researchers at NYU and other independent researchers have confirmed that the extension did not collect information beyond the frame of the ad, and that the program could not collect personal posts.  Given these technical constraints, what evidence does Facebook have to suggest that this research exposed personal information of non-consenting individuals?
7. Facebook’s public statement explaining its decision to revoke access for the NYU researchers states that Facebook made this decision “in line with our privacy program under the FTC Order.” FTC Acting Bureau Director Samuel Levine sent you a letter dated August 5, 2021 in which he noted that “Had you honored your commitment to contact us in advance, we would have pointed out that the consent decree does not bar Facebook from creating exceptions for good-faith research in the public interest. Indeed, the FTC supports efforts to shed light on opaque business practices.”
   1. Why didn’t Facebook contact the FTC about its plans to disable researchers’ accounts?
   2. Does Facebook maintain that the FTC consent decree or other orders required it to disable access for the Ad Observatory researchers? If so, please explain with specificity which sections of which decree(s) compel that response.
   3. Are there measures Facebook could take to authorize the Ad Observatory research while remaining in compliance with FTC requirements?
   4. In light of Mr. Levine’s statement that the FTC Order does not require Facebook to disable the access of the Ad Observatory researchers, does Facebook intend to restore the Ad Observatory researchers’ access?
8. In its public statement, Facebook highlighted tools that it offers to the academic community, including its Facebook Open Research and Transparency (FORT) initiative.  However, public reporting suggests that tool only includes data from the three month period before the November 2020 election, and further that it does not include ads seen by fewer than 100 people.
   1. Why does Facebook limit this data set to the three months prior to the November 2020 election?
   2. Why does Facebook limit this data set to ads seen by more than 100 people?
   3. What percentage of unique ads on Facebook are seen by more than 100 people?

 We look forward to your prompt responses.

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Alexandria, Va. (August 5, 2021) — Today, the National Home Infusion Association (NHIA) applauded the introduction of bipartisan legislation in the U.S. Senate that will ensure Medicare patients maintain access to home infusion therapies that require the use of an infusion pump. The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act — introduced by Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) — would ensure patients with serious viral and fungal infections, heart failure, immune diseases, cancer, and other conditions can receive the intravenous (IV) medications they need while at home.

“Medicare’s home infusion therapy benefit provides increased access to care for patients with immune diseases, cancer, serious infections, heart failure and other conditions that might otherwise force them to receive their care in a more expensive and less convenient hospital or nursing home setting,” said Sen. Warner. “This legislation will ensure that patients in need of home infusion therapy can get the care they need in a more affordable and commonsense way.”

“Americans deserve the flexibility needed to seek medical treatment from the comfort of their own home,” said Sen. Scott. “As we progress through the pandemic, high-risk patients who are more susceptible to contracting the coronavirus and other diseases should not be limited to hospital visits that could further risk their health. With the introduction of this bill, millions of Americans will be one step closer to having peace of mind as they seek life-saving treatment in their own homes.”

Home infusion pharmacies have been safely and effectively providing a wide range of IV medications to patients in their homes for over 40 years. This proven model of care is overwhelmingly preferred by patients while also being cost-effective compared to other sites of care. Research shows that up to 95% of patientswho are dependent on IV medications prefer to be treated at home, and nearly 98% of patients recently indicated they are highly satisfied with their home infusion services.

LEGISLATIVE BACKGROUND

Congress included provisions in the 21st Century Cures Act and the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018 to create a professional services benefit for Medicare Part B home infusion drugs. The intent in establishing this benefit was to maintain patient access to home infusion by covering professional services including assessments, education on administration and access device care, monitoring and remote monitoring, coordination with the patient, caregivers and other health care providers, and nursing visits.

Despite Congress’ intent — as detailed in multiple letters to the agency — the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) improperly implemented the benefit by requiring a nurse to be physically present in the patient’s home in order for providers to be reimbursed. As a practical matter, the current home infusion therapy benefit only acknowledges face-to-face visits from a nurse and fails to account for the extensive clinical and administrative services that are provided remotely by home infusion clinicians. As a result, provider participation in Medicare’s home infusion benefit has dropped sharply and beneficiaries have experienced reduced access to home infusion over the last several years.

The Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act provides technical clarifications that will remove the physical presence requirement, ensuring payment regardless of whether a health care professional is present in the patient’s home. The legislation also acknowledges the full scope of professional services provided in home infusion — including essential pharmacist services — into the reimbursement structure.

“Home-based health care services stand out as high-value resources that can improve patient quality of life and add capacity to the health care system while keeping vulnerable patients away from the threat of infectious disease,” said NHIA President & CEO Connie Sullivan, BSPharm. “Passage of the Preserving Patient Access to Home Infusion Act is critical to ensuring the Medicare program maintains access to home infusion, allowing beneficiaries to safely receive treatment in the setting they overwhelmingly prefer: their homes.”

Preliminary analysis of the legislation from The Moran Company suggests that the measure will create savings for patients and taxpayers by moving care into more cost-effective home settings. “Our model estimates on balance that the legislation would produce more savings than costs—with an estimated savings over 10 years of $93 million,” the report concludes.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the statement below, following a report that Facebook disabled the accounts of researchers studying political ads on the social network: 

“This latest action by Facebook to cut off an outside group’s transparency efforts – efforts that have repeatedly facilitated revelations of ads violating Facebook’s Terms of Service, ads for frauds and predatory financial schemes, and political ads that were improperly omitted from Facebook’s lackluster Ad Library – is deeply concerning. For several years now, I have called on social media platforms like Facebook to work with, and better empower, independent researchers, whose efforts consistently improve the integrity and safety of social media platforms by exposing harmful and exploitative activity. Instead, Facebook has seemingly done the opposite. It’s past time for Congress to act to bring greater transparency to the shadowy world of online advertising, which continues to be a major vector for fraud and misconduct.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $4,123,765 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education for five of the Commonwealth’s higher education institutions to help them prepare and respond to COVID-19.  The grants can be used in various ways, including resuming operations, supporting students, reducing disease transmission, and developing more agile instructional delivery models for students who can’t attend in-person class. 

“We are pleased to see these federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan go toward helping the Commonwealth’s higher education institutions recover from the effects of the past year,” said the Senators. “We will continue working to ensure Virginia institutions have the resources they need to continue serving their students.” 

This funding was awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which Senators Warner and Kaine voted to pass in March. The legislation included significant funding to help Virginia’s colleges and universities respond to COVID-19.

A breakdown of the funding is below:

• Norfolk State University in Norfolk will receive $1,952,775
• Ferrum College in Ferrum will receive $390,542
• Institute for Psychological Sciences (Divine Mercy University) in Sterling will receive $180,966
• Rappahannock Community College will receive $1,536,345
• Appalachian School of Law in Grundy will receive $63,137

As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Kaine has been a strong advocate for students amid the pandemic. Last year, Kaine introduced the Coronavirus Relief Flexibility for Students and Institutions Act to fix several implementation issues with the higher education emergency relief fund in the CARES Act by providing institutions of higher education and students with the increased flexibility Congress intended.  

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) took to the Senate floor today to highlight how communities throughout Virginia stand to benefit from the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that will soon face a vote on the Senate floor. The legislation – authored and negotiated by Sen. Warner and nine other senators from both sides of the aisle – will make once-in-a-generation investments in infrastructure that will be felt throughout Virginia.

For the Hampton Roads region, Sen. Warner highlighted: “Hampton Roads, Southeast Virginia, and the Peninsula [are] most at risk from sea level rise and questions about resiliency. More than any other region in the whole country, with the exception of New Orleans. In Hampton roads, local leaders, our Navy, nonprofits, and businesses have all come together and said, ‘We need to make sure that we grapple with sea level rise.’ It is ranked by most in those communities as the number one issue. Well, if we pass this legislation, $47 billion will go into sea level rise prevention and resiliency. That will mean a whole host of projects in Norfolk, in Portsmouth, in Virginia Beach, in Chesapeake will be finally addressed. We've got to make sure that Hampton Roads is not subject to this kind of devastating effect of sea level rise.”

Sen. Warner also detailed how the funding could help expand rail into South Hampton Roads, upgrade the Port of Virginia, and repair roads and bridges, and finish the I-64 widening project.  

For the Richmond area, Sen. Warner highlighted: “Richmond has got one of the most aggressive bus transit systems – not only in Virginia but in the whole country. We have made huge investments, close to $40 billion in transit in this legislation, and some of the Richmond bus transit needs will be addressed. We also know in the Richmond area, and across the Commonwealth, we have a lot of airports. One of the things we need to continue to do is invest in our airports. Richmond International Airport is always in need of additional expansion. $25 billion to improve our airports across the country – the Richmond airport, the Norfolk airport, the Newport News airport, obviously, the Roanoke airport and others, Dulles, National, will be improved as well as the host of smaller regional airports across the Commonwealth if we make this investment.”

For Northern Virginia, Sen. Warner highlighted: “I’m very proud, that in working with Tim Kaine and the senators from Maryland, we made sure this legislation included a full eight-year reauthorization of our Metro system. We made sure that we’re making record investments in transit so that we can get Metro back up operating again on a full schedule and we can make the needed safety improvements that have been plaguing Metro for a number of years. We also know that we’ve got to continue to build out additional Metro stations in Northern Virginia. The one at Potomac Yards will be extraordinarily important to the innovation center and Amazon’s second headquarters.

“We've got to make sure as well because Metro is moving to zero-emission buses. That's good news for our climate and for our community. The question is where are those zero-emission buses going to be built? This legislation as well makes record investment in electric and other low-carbon and no-carbon buses so they can be built here, not in China.” 

Sen. Warner also detailed how the funding could help advance the Longbridge project, make dramatic improvements to the VRE, and reduce traffic on Route 1. 

For Roanoke, the Valley, and Southside Virginia, Sen. Warner highlighted: “For years, we have been talking about the danger on I-81. Literally, there have been prayer groups formed to pray for people who would travel on I-81 because there is so much truck traffic there that it has frankly impeded the safety of the traveling public. We have been talking about making improvements and expansions to I-81 capacity for 20 years. We have been talking about ‘how do we get the trucks off of I-81? How do we bring more rail down to Southwest and Southside?’ Well, if we pass this legislation, we will see those I-81 corridor improvements that we have all been waiting for. We will see rail not only go to Lynchburg and Roanoke but extend on down to Blacksburg and Christiansburg and hopefully all the way down to Bristol. This is terribly important to make sure that those communities have a multimodal form of transportation opportunities. Making sure we get those trucks off of I-81 – something we have been talking about for a long time. We increase the rail capacity, both freight and passenger, we'll be able to do that.  

“We also know in Southside and Southwest post-COVID, that high-speed internet connectivity is not a nice-to-have, but an absolute necessity. A top priority of mine as somebody who spent more years in the telecommunications industry than I have in politics, is to make sure that we make those connections. This historic legislation will invest $65 billion for broadband. That investment, building on governor Northam's $700 million investment from Virginia’s American Rescue Plan funds, will make sure that every household across the Commonwealth has access to high-speed internet connectivity, not five years from now or ten years from now, but in the next couple of years.”

For Southwest Virginia, Sen. Warner highlighted: “Across Southwest Virginia, and for that matter, across all of Virginia, we still have families in far Southwest that don't have access to clean drinking water on a regular basis, that still have to sometimes haul their water in the back of a pickup truck up to some cistern; they don't have access to clean drinking water in 2021. Well, $55 billion will go to water projects in this legislation, and whether they be accessed through clean drinking water on a regular basis, or whether it be taking out the lead pipes that haunt too many of our urban communities, or the storm and sewer systems that are frankly, in some cases, 60, 70, 80 years old and simply wearing out, we can make that investment as well.

“Now, there are a series of other areas in this legislation that are equally important, but at the end of the day, I can't think of a bill that I have worked on that will have more direct effect on the lives of every Virginian over the next five years – in terms of how you get to work, how you get to school, how you manage to take the kids out on the weekends, how our commerce moves, how we get our water, how we get our internet – than this record-setting $550 billion bipartisan investment in infrastructure.”

Concluded Sen. Warner, “We have talked about this for 30 years. We are literally days away from this passing the United States Senate. We've got to finish the job and get it done.”

The floor speech in its entirety is available here.

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WASHINGTON—United States Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Bill Hagerty’s (R-TN) Communist China’s Digital Currency – National Security Risks Act has been included in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 as marked-up by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 

The bill requires the Biden Administration to report on the potential short-, medium-, and long-term national security risks to the United States associated with Communist China’s creation and use of an official digital currency. The bill requires reporting specifically on risks arising from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) potential surveillance of financial transactions; risks related to security and illicit finance; and risks related to economic coercion and social control by the CCP.

“A Chinese digital currency could have significant national security implications for the U.S.,” said Senator Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “This bill will ensure the intelligence community is monitoring and reporting on the risks posed by China’s digital currency, including its potential to be used as a way to evade U.S. sanctions or increase the Chinese government’s surveillance and ability to exert social or economic control. We cannot be caught flat-footed on these developments, which is why I fought to include this bill in the Intelligence Authorization Act.”

“I am pleased the Intelligence Committee has included this requirement for a report in its Intelligence Authorization Act,” said Senator Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee. “Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has been developing a digital version of its currency and may have the most advanced state-sponsored digital currency among major economies in the world. CCP officials are now ramping up for wider-spread deployment of its digital currency by the 2022 Winter Olympics. This will provide the CCP with additional information about financial transactions and economic activity, and could be used to evade U.S. sanctions. Now is the time for the U.S. intelligence community to act and inform us of their assessment of the different national security risks to America so that Congress may act appropriately and protect the U.S. Dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency—a key ingredient of America’s global leadership.”

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WASHINGTON — Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) introduced the American Telecommunications Security Act to prohibit federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act from being used to purchase Chinese telecommunications equipment, including from Huawei and ZTE. 

Text of the bill may be found here.

“With states across the country mapping out their plans for quality and affordable high-speed internet as a result of historic funding from the American Rescue Plan, we’ve got to make sure no community is sacrificing network security,” said Warner. “That’s why I’m joining Sen. Cotton on a bipartisan bill to ensure states do not purchase equipment or services from companies that pose national security risks – such as Huawei and ZTE.” 

"American tax dollars should not be sent to Chinese spy companies like Huawei that undermine our national security. The U.S government must take strong action to cut the Chinese Communist Party out of our networks. Americans deserve both reliable and secure telecommunications technologies," said Cotton.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.)issued the following statement:

“We are proud to announce we have reached a bipartisan agreement on our proposal to make the strongest investment in America’s critical infrastructure in a generation. Our plan will create good-paying jobs in communities across our country without raising taxes. Reaching this agreement was no easy task—but our constituents expect us to put in the hard work and show that two parties can still work together to address the needs of the American people. We appreciate our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and the administration, working with us to get this done and we look forward to earning broad, bipartisan support among our Senate colleagues for this historic legislation.”

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