WASHINGTON –  Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $17.5 million in federal funding for restoration and resiliency projects that benefit coastal communities and tribes across the Commonwealth. The funding was awarded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience grant program and made possible by the bipartisan infrastructure law and Inflation Reduction Act, which Sens. Warner and Kaine helped pass.

“We are fortunate to have such bountiful natural resources in Virginia, which is why we have championed efforts to protect and support Virginia’s great outdoors,” the Senators said. “This funding will help us continue combating climate change and preserve our beautiful Commonwealth.”

This funding is broken down as follows:

• Ducks Unlimited will receive $9.5 million in funding to restore Swan Cove, the southernmost impoundment at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge on Assateague Island.
• The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources will receive $8 million in funding to protect eroding marshes at Ragged Island Wildlife Management Area in Isle of Wight County.

NOAA Fisheries’ announcement comes as a part of $286 million soon to be deployed across the nation to support critical ecosystems that will be affected by climate change and extreme weather over the coming decades. Sens. Warner and Kaine are strong advocates for Virginia’s environment. In May, they announced another $14 million in funding for conservation projects across the Commonwealth.

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $1,574,898 in federal funding for Seven Hills Food Company in Lynchburg to expand processing, address capacity limitations, add new value-added products to the plant, and support the addition of a farmer liaison to coordinate expanded production. The funding is possible thanks to the American Rescue Plan, which both senators voted for and passed in the Senate by one vote.

“By investing in local farmers and producers, we can strengthen our food supply chains, lower food costs for Virginians, and create a more sustainable local economy,“ said the Senators. “We’re glad to help secure this funding to enable Seven Hills to increase their processing capacity and help connect local producers to consumers.”

The investment is part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Local Meat Capacity Grant program, which supports independently owned meat and poultry processing businesses with grant funds to provide more and better processing options for local livestock producers by modernizing, increasing, diversifying, and decentralizing meat and poultry processing capacity.  

Last year, Kaine met with farmers in Unionville, Verona, and Fishersville to discuss challenges they’re facing. He also met, alongside USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Jewel Bronaugh, with underserved farmers and producers in Harrisonburg who benefited from USDA’s distressed borrowers program, which was created through the American Rescue Plan and Inflation Reduction Act, which both senators voted for and also passed in the Senate by one vote.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) wrote to Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra and Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger to quickly develop and release mandatory minimum cyber standards for the health care sector. This letter comes as cyberattackers continue to exploit vulnerabilities in many current systems.

“I write today to urge you to prioritize the development of mandatory minimum cyber standards and to propose them as soon as possible, given the increasing severity, frequency, and sophistication of cybersecurity threats and attacks. Health care is one of the largest sectors in the U.S. economy, with health expenditures accounting for 17 percent of the United States’ gross domestic product in 2022, and expected to grow to nearly 20 percent by 2032. More important than the economic risks cyberattacks pose to the health care sector are the vulnerabilities to patients’ access to care and private health information. Simply put, inadequate cybersecurity practices put people’s lives at risk,” Sen. Warner wrote. 

This letter comes months after a major cybersecurity incident at Change Healthcare affected billing and care authorization portals and led to prescription backlogs and missed revenue for providers. This attack, and other similar attempts, pose a serious risk not only to regular business operations, but also to patient care. In his letter, Sen. Warner highlighted that without basic security measures, these attacks are relatively easy to carry out and will happen with more frequency.  

Sen. Warner continued, “Due to some entities failing to implement basic cybersecurity best practices, such as the lack of multi-factor authentication resulting in the successful attack on Change Healthcare, the capability required of a threat actor to carry out an operation in the sector can be quite low.”

Sen. Warner has been a leader in the cybersecurity realm throughout his time in the Senate, crafting numerous pieces of legislation aimed at addressing these threats facing our nation. Recognizing that cybersecurity is an increasingly complex issue that affects the health, economic prosperity, national security, and democratic institutions of the United States, Sen. Warner cofounded the bipartisan Senate Cybersecurity Caucus in 2016.  A year later, in 2017, he authored the Internet of Things (IoT) Cybersecurity Improvement Act. This legislation, signed into law by President Donald Trump in December 2020, requires that any IoT device purchased with federal funds meet minimum security standards. As Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Sen. Warner co-authored legislation that requires companies responsible for U.S. critical infrastructure report cybersecurity incidents to the government. This legislation was signed into law by President Joe Biden as part of the Consolidated Appropriations Act in March 2022.

Sen. Warner has also examined cybersecurity in the health care sector specifically. In 2022, Sen. Warner authored “Cybersecurity is Patient Safety,” a policy options paper, outlining current cybersecurity threats facing health care providers and systems and offering for discussion a series of policy solutions to improve cybersecurity across the industry.  Since publishing, Sen. Warner has launched the Health Care Cybersecurity Working Group with a bipartisan group of colleagues to examine and propose potential legislative solutions to strengthen cybersecurity in the health care and public health sector.

A copy of the letter can be found here are below. 

Dear Secretary Becerra and Ms. Neuberger:

Thank you for your continued commitment to improving cybersecurity in America’s health care system. I write today to urge you to prioritize the development of mandatory minimum cyber standards and to propose them as soon as possible, given the increasing severity, frequency, and sophistication of cybersecurity threats and attacks. Health care is one of the largest sectors in the U.S. economy, with health expenditures accounting for 17 percent of the United States’ gross domestic product in 2022, and expected to grow to nearly 20 percent by 2032. More important than the economic risks cyberattacks pose to the health care sector are the vulnerabilities to patients’ access to care and private health information. Simply put, inadequate cybersecurity practices put people’s lives at risk.

Financially-motivated threat actors realize that the sector has both highly valuable data in its possession and also faces tremendous pressure to respond quickly to a ransomware demand. Health records are more valuable than credit card records on the dark market and disruptions to operations of health care providers have direct impact on the life and well-being of their patients. Due to some entities failing to implement basic cybersecurity best practices, such as the lack of multi-factor authentication resulting in the successful attack on Change Healthcare, the capability required of a threat actor to carry out an operation in the sector can be quite low.

Further, both the size and increasingly interconnected nature of the sector create a vulnerable attack surface. Not only do attacks against the sector often result in the loss of highly personal and sensitive data, those attacks have also affected the ability of providers to maintain the availability and quality of their care. We have seen devastating incidents, including the recent cyberattack on Change Healthcare, that ultimately took down the ability of providers to pay their workers and prevented pharmacists from looking up patient insurance and co-pay information. The recent cyberattack on the nationwide provider, Ascension, has also resulted in delays in care. And we have a growing body of evidence that clearly demonstrates that cybersecurity is, above all else, a patient safety issue.

The health care sector must be fully engaged in developing, implementing, and maintaining a coherent and effective cybersecurity regime; accepting cyberattacks due to lack of preparedness cannot and should not be a cost of doing business. The stakes are too high, and the voluntary nature of the status quo is not working, especially regarding health care stakeholders that are systemically important nationally or regionally. Mandatory minimum cyber standards would ensure that all health care stakeholders prioritize cybersecurity in their work. 

Policymakers, cybersecurity professionals, and patients alike have long been raising the alarm that the voluntary nature of cybersecurity in health care is insufficient and dangerous. It’s critical that the Administration expeditiously act to create mandatory, enforceable policies in the health care sector.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) applauded an announcement from the Department of Energy that Mack and Volvo Trucks will be awarded over $208 million in federal funding through the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program. The funding was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, which the senators voted to pass. The funding will upgrade operations, sustain 7,900 union jobs, and create 295 new jobs in Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. In Virginia, it will support electric heavy-duty vehicle production at Volvo’s New River Valley (NRV) truck manufacturing facility by creating a mixed model assembly line. Warner and Kaine wrote a letter in support of Mack and Volvo Trucks’ application earlier this year.

“I am thrilled to see today’s announcement investing in the domestic manufacturing of clean vehicles. This funding, courtesy of the Inflation Reduction Act I was proud to help pass, will help transform Volvo’s work in the New River Valley, bringing jobs to the region and boosting the local economy,” said Sen. Warner. “This funding will also continue to bring American manufacturing into the 21st century by boosting the production of electric heavy-duty vehicles and the necessary infrastructure to support these vehicles.”

“The Inflation Reduction Act, which we passed in the Senate by one vote, made historic investments to increase domestic manufacturing of electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help ensure clean air for generations to come,” said Sen. Kaine. “And now those investments are coming to Volvo Trucks to expand its operations in the New River Valley. I was glad to visit Volvo’s Dublin plant last year to see the hard work of the facility’s employees and test drive an electric truck. I’m thrilled to see how this investment will create jobs, expand the facility’s capacity and production, and boost economic growth in the region.”

NRV is the largest Volvo Trucks manufacturing facility in the world. Volvo Trucks is the second largest employer in the New River Valley, sustaining 3,600 jobs in Dublin, including 3,200 United Automobile Workers (UAW) jobs. In April 2023, Kaine toured the Volvo Trucks NRV facility in Dublin, met with employees, and drove a Volvo VNR Electric truck.

The Inflation Reduction Act provided $2 billion in grants for the Domestic Manufacturing Conversion Grant Program to increase domestic production of efficient hybrid, plug-in electric hybrid, plug-in electric drive, and hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles.

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WASHINGTON – Today, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement on the Senate’s failure to advance the Reproductive Freedom for Women Act, Warner-cosponsored legislation that would affirm the Senate’s support for protecting and restoring access to abortion and reproductive health care across the country:

“In the two years since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, we have seen unprecedented attacks on women’s reproductive health care in Virginia and across the country. This legislation posed a simple question – do you support protecting access to abortion and reproductive care? I am disappointed by how many of my colleagues answered ‘no’ today, but I will continue working to ensure that women have the right to make their own decisions about their health care.”

Following the Dobbs decision, Sen. Warner has strongly advocated for legislation to protect Americans’ access to reproductive health care. Earlier this year, Sen. Warner cosponsored and voted to pass the Right to IVF Act, legislation that would have protected and expanded access to in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and other assisted reproductive technology (ART) services nationwide, as well as the Right to Contraception Act, legislation to codify a right to birth control. Both of these efforts were blocked by Republicans. Last year, Sen. Warner also cosponsored the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), federal legislation to guarantee access to abortion care across the country.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, (both D-VA) announced $1,935,757 in Public Health funding from AmeriCorps — the federal agency for national service and volunteerism — and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This funding for Virginia will go towards building the capacity of the public health workforce and bolstering efforts relating to mental health, chronic disease prevention, and public health readiness. Through this funding, Public Health AmeriCorps members will continue to gain experience in the public health field while supporting local health efforts and community-based organizations.

“AmeriCorps members across Virginia work hard to create positive change for the communities they serve,” said the Senators. “This federal funding will allow volunteers to continue their important work of addressing some of the Commonwealth’s biggest health care needs.”

The funding, which was made possible through the annual federal budget that Sens. Warner and Kaine helped pass, is broken down as follows:

• Volunteers of America, Inc. in Alexandria, VA will receive $432,000 in funding to continue supporting 16 AmeriCorps members;
• The City of Richmond will receive $431,317 in in funding to continue supporting 16 AmeriCorps members;
• Catholic Charities USA in Alexandria, VA will receive $314,306 in funding to continue supporting 14 AmeriCorps members;
• Blue Ridge Medical Center in Nelson County, VA will receive $312,659 in funding to continue supporting 34 AmeriCorps members;
• Boat People SOS, Inc. in Falls Church, VA will receive $226,797 in funding to continue supporting 12 AmeriCorps members;
• The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville, VA will receive $218,678 in funding to continue supporting 15 AmeriCorps members.

Since the launch of Public Health AmeriCorps in 2021, more than 4,700 AmeriCorps members have added much-needed capacity to health departments, community-based organizations, schools and more. This partnership has capitalized on AmeriCorps’ people power and infrastructure and leveraged the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s technical expertise as the country’s leading public health agency to address communities’ most pressing public health challenges and create new pathways to public-health related careers.  

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WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) issued the statement below, following a press briefing from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency on the foreign threat landscape ahead of the election.

“I have long pushed the Intelligence Community to be more open with the public about the complex and serious foreign influence threats targeting the United States – particularly in the context of U.S. elections. Today’s press briefing is a strong step in that direction. I applaud the ODNI, FBI, and CISA for commencing these regular public updates on foreign efforts to manipulate our democratic processes and undermine our election. There is no doubt that these updates – in addition to efforts by civil society and the private sector – will serve to better inform and prepare the public.
 
“As the Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I would encourage all Americans to stay informed and alert. Social media, in particular, continues to be a popular vector for foreign covert influence attempts, and our adversaries remain focused on stoking social, racial, and political tensions among Americans. The best thing Americans can do to help safeguard our election is avoid succumbing to nefarious foreign efforts to create division and sow chaos. I am committed to working with the Intelligence Community to declassify more information and further increase transparency.”

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WASHINGTON – Today, ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner  and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) are urging the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) to work with American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, a nonprofit that recently released safety standards to address hazards posed by detached and flyaway beach umbrellas, to evaluate and finalize these new standards.

CPSC estimates that nearly 3,000 individuals across the country are sent to the emergency room each year due to umbrella-related accidents. This includes last week’s incident in Cocoa Beach, Florida, as well as the tragic 2016 death of Lottie Michelle Belk of Chester, Va. who was struck in the torso and killed while vacationing in Virginia Beach with her family.

“As we enter the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with millions of Americans enjoying our country’s beaches, lakes, and rivers, it is vital that beachgoers are safe from dislodged beach umbrellas. Improperly secured umbrellas can result in death or serious injury. We believe that recent actions by CPSC and the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), including the release earlier this year of the ASTM F3681-24 safety standard, are good steps forward. We urge CPSC and industry to work together quickly to finish any outstanding suggested improvements or other modifications to this standard,” the Senators wrote.

They continued, “As the Beach Umbrellas Task Group continues to consider additional guidance and safety improvements to the ASTM F3681-24 standard, it is important that the group move swiftly and with thoroughness. We encourage the group to evaluate the full scope and harm of unsecured beach umbrellas to maximize safety for beachgoers.”

This letter is the latest push by Sens. Warner and Kaine to ensure the safety and wellbeing of beachgoers. In 2019 letter to CPSC, they drew attention to the unexpected danger of flying beach umbrellas to beachgoers, and in 2021 the Senators pushed ASTM International for increased safety measures. These efforts culminated in ASTM’s release of new safety standards earlier this year.

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Chair Hoen-Saric:

We write today requesting swift action by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to ensure that beach umbrellas sold in the United States are safe for consumers and the public. To achieve this goal, we urge the Beach Umbrella Task Group within CPSC to finalize strong and clear consumer safety guidance for the design, manufacture, and use of beach umbrellas and anchor devices.

As we enter the Fourth of July holiday weekend, with millions of Americans enjoying our country’s beaches, lakes, and rivers, it is vital that beachgoers are safe from dislodged beach umbrellas. Improperly secured umbrellas can result in death^[3] or serious injury.^[4] We believe that recent actions by CPSC and the American Society of Testing Materials (ASTM), including the release earlier this year of the ASTM F3681-24 safety standard, are good steps forward. We urge CPSC and industry to work together quickly to finish any outstanding suggested improvements or other modifications to this standard.

Following our sustained engagement on this issue over the last several years, the CPSC has worked with ASTM and other industry stakeholders to develop the ASTM F3681-24 safety standard and released it in April 2024. ASTM F3681-24 establishes minimum requirements for the safe anchoring of beach umbrellas, which should protect beachgoers from dislodged and airborne umbrellas.

As the Beach Umbrellas Task Group continues to consider additional guidance and safety improvements to the ASTM F3681-24 standard, it is important that the group move swiftly and with thoroughness. We encourage the group to evaluate the full scope and harm of unsecured beach umbrellas to maximize safety for beachgoers.

We appreciate your attention to this critical and timely matter and urge CPSC to work with industry stakeholders to strengthen protections for consumers across the Commonwealth and nation.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and 14 of his Democratic colleagues in releasing draft legislation to address the rising trend of labor and delivery unit closures in rural and underserved hospitals.

“Rural hospitals across the country and the Commonwealth of Virginia are struggling to keep their doors open, and expectant mothers are bearing the brunt of the impact,” said Sen. Warner. “This draft legislation aims to ensure that all hospitals are able to continue delivering obstetrics care to people in need.” 

The Keep Obstetrics Local Act (KOLA) would increase Medicaid payment rates for labor and delivery services at eligible hospitals in rural and high-need urban areas, provide “standby” payments to cover the costs of staffing and maintaining an obstetrics unit at low-volume hospitals, create low-volume payment adjustments for labor and delivery services at hospitals with low birth volumes, and require all states to provide postpartum coverage for women in Medicaid for 12 months, among other steps. The proposal makes sure that hospitals are required to use these additional resources to invest in the maternal health care needs of the local communities they serve.

Virginia has experienced a scourge of closures and challenges to obstetrics care in recent years:

• In April 2024, HCA LewisGale Hospital Montgomery in Blacksburg, VA temporarily ceased obstetrics services, citing the continuing challenge of recruiting full-time OB-GYNs;
• In August 2023, Sentara Halifax Regional Hospital in South Boston, VA ended obstetric services, citing the significant decrease in births in recent years;
• In 2022, Sovah Health Martinsville in Martinsville, VA temporarily paused Labor & Delivery services, citing a 60 percent decline in deliveries since 2015;
• In 2019, Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth, VA closed its maternity unit, citing insufficient demand;
• In 2018, Valley Health Warren Memorial Hospital in Front Royal, VA closed its maternity unit.

Between 2012 and 2022, approximately one quarter of all rural hospitals stopped providing obstetrics services, impacting 267 communities. This trend of closures is caused by several overlapping challenges, including the high fixed operating costs of these units, low volumes of births, and difficulties in attracting and retaining OB-trained clinical staff, all of which is made worse by inadequate federal reimbursement for labor and delivery services.

Sen. Warner has led efforts in the Senate to help curb the trend of hospital closures in rural communities. Last year, he introduced the Save Rural Hospitals Act, legislation to help curb the trend of hospital closures in rural communities by making sure hospitals are fairly reimbursed for their services by the federal government.

A summary and section by section of the draft legislation can be found here. A copy of the draft bill text is available here.

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WASHINGTON – Following significant problems with the rollout of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) this year, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) are urging the Department of Education Office of Inspector General (OIG) to issue a quick review of problems with the form’s rollout and provide a course for corrective action. This move by Sens. Warner and Kaine comes as incoming high school seniors across the country prepare to fill out the FAFSA form as part of the college application process that typically begins in the late summer and early fall.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) is currently investigating a broader and full-scale review of the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout. While GAO and the IG are working together on this review, it is on a longer timeline and likely will not be complete when the FAFSA reopens this fall. The faster “management alert” review being requested by the Senators would focus on the immediate problems that need to be resolved ahead of relaunching the application.

In highlighting the need for a faster review to address urgent problems ahead of next school year, the Senators pointed to the cost that these problems had on students.

“In particular, issues with the form leading to long periods of uncertainty have had a major ripple effect on students and colleges alike,” the Senators wrote. “Students experienced delayed access to the application, technical glitches impacting timely submission, and processing errors. As a result of these setbacks, higher education institutions received student financial data months later than expected, causing slowdowns in the process of providing prospective students with complete financial aid packages ahead of college enrollment deadlines. Many colleges and universities pushed their enrollment deadlines, leading to fragmentation in the college decision timeline.”

And while significant progress has been made to address these issues, the Senators highlighted that lingering issues are still plaguing many who rely on financial aid to make their college decision.

They continued, “And, while most problems have been fully resolved or provided temporary fixes, we remain concerned about continuing challenges, including that students from a mixed immigration status family and whose contributors do not have a Social Security Number are still unable to successfully submit the FAFSA form. Such FAFSA hurdles particularly impact individuals who need financial aid the most, including low-income, first-generation, and traditionally underserved students. For many of these students, the biggest consideration in committing to a college is deciding how to finance it.”

In their letter the Senators also specifically asked that the OIG, in working with GAO, ensure that the broader FAFSA review includes a full assessment of the following:

• A detailed chronology of the development, implementation, and management of the form;
• Contributing factors to the form delay, technical malfunctions and backend complications, formula miscalculations, data and processing errors, and other issues;
• The role of contractors in the launch of the FAFSA form;
• The Department’s oversight, performance standards, and review of contractors;
• The Department’s communication and information sharing with impacted communities, including students and higher education institutions;
• The impact of funding and other competing priorities on implementation;
• The deadline for implementation, which was pushed from July 1, 2023 to July, 1, 2024;[10]
• Potential challenges that the Department will need to anticipate ahead of the coming academic year and beyond; and
• Recommendations for corrective action.

This letter comes after Sen. Warner met with Virginia students to discuss the problems with this year’s rollout of the new FAFSA form and hear how the botched process impacted their college decision process. Earlier this year, the Senators also pushed the Department of Education to quickly address the problems for current students.

A copy of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Inspector General Bruce:

We write to you regarding the launch of the new Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which was unveiled on December 31, 2023. In 2020, Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act1 , intending to streamline and demystify the federal financial aid process, redesign the FAFSA, and increase access to grants, student loans, and work-study opportunities. 

The “Better FAFSA” form impressively simplified the federal financial aid application from over 100 questions to as few as 18, allowing many students to retrieve income data directly from the Internal Revenue Service and apply for aid in less than thirty minutes. According to the Department of Education, the updated student aid determination formula, as part of the FAFSA Simplification Act, is expected to provide an additional 665,000 students from low-income backgrounds with access to federal grants and more than 1.7 million students with the maximum grant amount. This includes 16,626 Virginia students who will have new access to the Pell Grant and an additional 37,916 Virginians who will go from partial Pell Grant funding to full, expanding affordability and paving paths towards higher education.

Despite this progress, we are disappointed to report that we have heard from countless students, parents, educators, high school counselors, financial aid administrators, and higher education institutions sharing their experiences and expressing great worry with the implications of the 2024-2025 FAFSA rollout.

In particular, issues with the form leading to long periods of uncertainty have had a major ripple effect on students and colleges alike. Students experienced delayed access to the application, technical glitches impacting timely submission, and processing errors. As a result of these setbacks, higher education institutions received student financial data months later than expected, causing slowdowns in the process of providing prospective students with complete financial aid packages ahead of college enrollment deadlines. Many colleges and universities pushed their enrollment deadlines, leading to fragmentation in the college decision timeline.

We welcomed the Department’s efforts over the last few months to provide workarounds to some of aforementioned issues and new steps to support schools and students,6 which has resulted in the successful submission of 8.95 million forms.7 However, the FAFSA impediments and other persisting obstacles have, unfortunately, left prospective students with inadequate time to consider financial aid packages prior to college decision day. In some cases, students have had to commit to a school without a complete understanding of their aid or forgo enrolling in school altogether – the exact opposite of what the new form was intended to achieve.

And, while most problems have been fully resolved or provided temporary fixes, we remain concerned about continuing challenges, including that students from a mixed immigration status family and whose contributors do not have a Social Security Number are still unable to successfully submit the FAFSA form. Such FAFSA hurdles particularly impact individuals who need financial aid the most, including low-income, first-generation, and traditionally underserved students. For many of these students, the biggest consideration in committing to a college is deciding how to finance it.

Further, recent data demonstrates that current national and state-level FAFSA completion rates are lower than last year. According to the National College Attainment Network, as of May 17, only 41.5% of the high school class of 2024 completed the FAFSA – a 15.5% drop from the previous class.8 We are greatly concerned that, as a result of FAFSA related issues and the continuation of such issues, more students will consider opting out of pursuing higher education in the coming years.

We recognize that the Department of Education, and in particular, the Office of Federal Student Aid, was under a difficult implementation timeline while managing limited funding and resources for an extensive financial aid portfolio. We also want to highlight that the contractors responsible for overseeing the implementation played a leading role in the deployment of the form and ensuing complications.

As such, we express great concern with the deployment of the 2024-2025 FAFSA form and the potential consequences it will have on students seeking federal financial aid and pursuing higher education in the fall and the academic years after. We also are concerned about the potential for continued disruptions for the 2025-2026 FAFSA. That is why, we respectfully request that the Office of the Inspector General review and assess the development, implementation, and management of the “Better FAFSA” and swiftly provide direction for corrective action to ensure a smooth and uninterrupted application process for the upcoming academic year and beyond.

We are cognizant of the existing investigations currently open by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). We ask the Office of the Investigative General (OIG) work to ensure that both entities are working in coordination and that investigative efforts are not duplicative. We also understand that GAO investigations operate on a long-term scale and that the current issues regarding the 2024-2025 FAFSA are time sensitive because of the expected to roll out on October 1, 2024. Notwithstanding the GAO investigations, we ask that the OIG consider issuing a separate “management alert” that identifies that current issues with the FAFSA form, potential issues that may arise ahead of October 1, and recommendations to ensure a smooth application period.

Additionally, we ask that your larger and full review of the “Better FAFSA” form and the implementation of the FAFSA Simplification Act include, along with any other topics you find appropriate, include a full assessment of the following:

• A detailed chronology of the development, implementation, and management of the form;
• Contributing factors to the form delay, technical malfunctions and backend complications, formula miscalculations, data and processing errors, and other issues;
• The role of contractors in the launch of the FAFSA form;
• The Department’s oversight, performance standards, and review of contractors;
• The Department’s communication and information sharing with impacted communities, including students and higher education institutions;
• The impact of funding and other competing priorities on implementation;
• The deadline for implementation, which was pushed from July 1, 2023 to July, 1, 2024;[10]
• Potential challenges that the Department will need to anticipate ahead of the coming academic year and beyond; and
• Recommendations for corrective action.

The FAFSA form is a gateway to college accessibility and affordability and through this review and recommendations for improvement, we aim to ensure that doors to postsecondary institutions remain open to interested students.

We appreciate your prompt attention to this request.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) sent a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg raising concerns about the near collision of two planes at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on May 29 and the airport’s capacity for more flights. They asked Secretary Buttigieg about how DOT and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plan to implement a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, which Warner and Kaine strongly opposed, that adds ten additional flights in and out of DCA and ensure there are no additional risks to passengers, airport personnel, and facilities.

“These recent near misses underscore the critical importance of ensuring the highest safety standards at our nation's airports, particularly for an airport as busy and nationally significant as DCA,” wrote the senators. “Recent near-miss incidents raise serious questions about the current capacity of DCA to handle additional flights without compromising safety of air traffic control operations.”

“We urge you to implement these changes at DCA with the utmost caution and concern for public safety, and without adding undue and unsustainable stress to its already overburdened infrastructure and personnel. At minimum, we owe this enhanced level of scrutiny to the passengers, airline staff, and airport workers who utilize this airport every day and rely on federal government regulations to keep them safe,” they continued.

The senators asked DOT to “… please provide information on any actions that the Department is taking in light of these two near misses, including the rationale behind those actions and any potential future actions under consideration. We also request that the Department share its plans for minimizing added risk to DCA’s facilities and personnel as these additional flights are forced in to the daily schedule.”

For months, Warner and Kaine sounded the alarm about adding more flights at DCA as part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act. They filed an amendment to remove the ten additional flights in and out of DCA from the bill. Prior to the Senate vote, Kaine spoke on the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to strike the additional flights. Warner and Kaine ultimately voted against the bill because of this dangerous provision.

Full text of the letter is available below:

Dear Secretary Buttigieg:

We write to express our serious concern following the alarming near miss between two aircraft at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on May 29, 2024. We understand the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to investigate this incident, which follows another near miss that occurred on April 18, 2024. These recent near misses underscore the critical importance of ensuring the highest safety standards at our nation's airports, particularly for an airport as busy and nationally significant as DCA.

As you are aware, DCA operates under unique landside size constraints and, with flights taking off and landing at the airport nearly every minute of every day, the airport’s slot and perimeter rules are in place to manage the high volume of air traffic and ensure the safety and efficiency of operations. DCA, originally designed to accommodate 15 million passengers, now serves over 25 million annually. This situation that has led to significant stress on the airport’s facilities and infrastructure.

Despite the public objections of the regional Congressional delegations, a provision in the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 tacks on ten additional flights in and out of DCA that are exempt from perimeter rules. It is now up to the Department and FAA to implement these changes within 60 days of enactment of this legislation. However, recent near-miss incidents raise serious questions about the current capacity of DCA to handle additional flights without compromising safety of air traffic control operations.

Ensuring that the National Airspace System is the safest and most reliable in the world must always be our top shared priority as senators and as Secretary. Therefore, we urge you to implement these changes at DCA with the utmost caution and concern for public safety, and without adding undue and unsustainable stress to its already overburdened infrastructure and personnel. At minimum, we owe this enhanced level of scrutiny to the passengers, airline staff, and airport workers who utilize this airport every day and rely on federal government regulations to keep them safe.

We ask that you please provide information on any actions that the Department is taking in light of these two near misses, including the rationale behind those actions and any potential future actions under consideration. We also request that the Department share its plans for minimizing added risk to DCA’s facilities and personnel as these additional flights are forced in to the daily schedule. That information should include discussions with DCA, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, affected carriers, and communications with other stakeholders responsive to this request.

We look forward to your prompt response and to working together to ensure that DCA remains a safe and efficient hub for air travel.

Sincerely,

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