WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced a $2.5 million dollar loan for Eastern Shore Rural Health System, Inc. to open a new health care facility in Eastville, Virginia offering affordable medical and dental care. The new center will replace the aging Bayview and Franktown Community Health Center with a facility that offers expanded operating hours, more lab services, increased access to dental care, and opportunity to incorporate telemedicine in their practice. 

“We are pleased to support efforts to launch a new health care facility on the Eastern Shore to help meet the shortage of medical and dental care in the area and encourage more health care providers to expand coverage to the region,” the Senators said.

The funding is awarded through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Office of Rural Development. Additional funding for the health care facility comes from Eastern Shore Rural Health System Inc., as well as private corporations and foundations.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that Virginia has received $9,807,162 in AmeriCorps funding from the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency responsible for AmeriCorps and other national service programs. 

These grants will ensure 1,448 AmeriCorps members can continue to volunteer their service to communities across the Commonwealth through nonprofits, schools, public agencies, and faith-based groups.

Since 2017, the Trump Administration advocated for drastic cuts to critical national service programs, including CNCS. Earlier this year, Sens. Warner and Kaine supported the omnibus spending bill that included more than $1 billion in funding for CNCS.

“AmeriCorps members across Virginia help create positive change for the communities they serve,” said the Senators.  “From helping to tackle the opioid crisis, to protecting our historic public lands, their volunteer work goes a long way to building a better, stronger Commonwealth. We are pleased to announce continued funding for this important work.”

The projects funded by the AmeriCorps grants are:

• American National Red Cross DC, Red Cross Corps—Fairfax, Va.—$1,066,400 AmeriCorps Funding; $473,600 Education Awards: members will install and test smoke detectors in neighborhoods vulnerable to natural disasters, especially wildfires.
• City of Richmond-Human Services Commission, Richmond Area Healthy Futures Project—Richmond, Va.—$138,186 AmeriCorps Funding; $59,200 Education Awards: members will help expand services geared towards the prevention of opioid and heroin addiction and assist in recovery efforts.  
• CARITAS, CARITAS AmeriCorps—Richmond, Va.—$235,106 AmeriCorps Funding; $100,640 Education Awards: members will help provide services to individuals and families who are homeless achieve affordable housing, assist with job placement efforts, and mentorship programs to help substance abuse recovery.
• Institute for Advanced Learning & Research, Dan River Year AmeriCorps—Danville, Va.—$235,444 AmeriCorps Funding; $93,655 Education Awards: members will assist with STEM literacy among children and adults.
• Catholic Charities USA, CCUSA AmeriCorps Peer Navigators—Alexandria, Va.—$118,400 Education Awards: members will help veterans and military families with accessing their benefits and ensuring their educational, social services, and physical/emotional needs.
• Catholic Charities USA, Catholic Charities USA Refugee Resettlement—Alexandria, Va.—$271,491 AmeriCorps Funding; $142,080 Education Awards: members will assist with the resettlement of 3,000 refugees and other eligible populations, by helping them to assimilate in the U.S. 
• Student Conservation Association, Inc., SCA AmeriCorps—Arlington, Va.—$321,602 AmeriCorps Funding; $2,505,102 Education Awards: members will engage in a number of projects that aim to protect, restore, and enhance public lands and waterways.
• Student Conservation Association, Inc., SCA AmeriCorps Stewardship Teams—Arlington, Va.—$177,600 Education Awards: members will help inspire future leaders to become good stewards of the environment.
• The Nature Conservancy, The Nature Conservancy National AmeriCorps—Arlington, Va.—$328,504 AmeriCorps Funding; $130,240 Education Awards: members will engage in local, state, and national environmental conservation work.

CNCS will also provide an additional $3,800,517 in Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards, a post-service benefit that can be used to cover the costs of post-secondary education or help pay off student loans. In addition, the federal investment announced today will help generate an additional $18,211,236 from the private sector, foundations, and other sources – further increasing the return on the federal investment.

The federal investment today also includes $3,409,912 for the Virginia Office of Volunteerism and Community Service, the Governor-appointed state service commission, to support additional AmeriCorps programs in the state.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced that Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will receive $823,698 in federal funding to conduct research that aims to promote the emotional and behavioral well-being for early elementary students (children ages six through eight) in the classroom.

“We are pleased to announce funding to support Virginia Commonwealth University’s research to ensure all children have the ability to thrive in the classroom,” said the Senators. “Their work will be critical in breaking down barriers that prevent many children from achieving academic success.” 

The funding was awarded under the Education Research Program of the National Center for Education Research (NCER). NCER supports rigorous research aimed at improving the quality of education for all students. NCER’s federal funding will allow VCU to test the effectiveness of a pre-existing classroom-based intervention, known as BEST in CLASS, with students in early elementary school. The BEST in CLASS intervention has demonstrated effectiveness with preschool-age children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD), yet remains untested for early elementary school-age children at risk for EBD.

The research will occur across eight elementary schools in Virginia and eight elementary schools in Florida, and will include 576 students and families, and 192 kindergarten to second-grade teachers.

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Rob Portman (R-OH), Angus King (I-ME), and Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced the Restore Our Parks Act, bipartisan legislation to address the $12 billion maintenance backlog at the National Park Service (NPS). The consensus proposal is the product of bipartisan discussions among the senators who had previously introduced bills to address the Park Service’s deferred maintenance backlog. The legislation has been praised by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke, the National Parks Conservation Association, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ restore America’s parks campaign, and the Outdoor Industry Association. 

Due to years of chronic underfunding, NPS has deferred maintenance for a year or more on visitor centers, rest stops, trails and campgrounds in Virginia, as well as transportation infrastructure operated by NPS such as Blue Ridge and George Washington Memorial Parkways. In the last year, the maintenance backlog at Park Service sites in Virginia grew by $250 million, to over a billion dollars. That figure includes roughly $80 million of overdue maintenance at Shenandoah National Park, one of the crown jewels of our nation’s park system.

“In the last year, the maintenance backlog at Park Service sites in Virginia grew by $250 million, to over a billion dollars. Virginia now ranks third among all states in total deferred maintenance, trailing only California and the District of Columbia. The longer we wait to address the crumbling infrastructure in our national parks, the worse the problem gets. Today’s introduction marks a step forward in the process of finally fixing the $12 billion maintenance backlog at our national parks. I will continue to work with my colleagues to get this bill passed so that we can make much-needed investments in national treasures like Shenandoah National Park, which has nearly $80 million in overdue maintenance needs,” said Sen. Warner. 

“For more than a century, the National Park Service has been inspiring Americans to explore the natural beauty of our country,” Sen. Portman said. “But in order to keep that work going, we need to ensure that they have the right resources to maintain our national parks. This bill will create the Legacy Restoration Fund to provide the National Park Service with funds for deferred maintenance projects. This legislation will help tackle the nearly $75 million in maintenance backlog at Ohio’s eight national parks and will ensure the National Park Service can continue preserving American treasures like Cuyahoga Valley National Park.”

“Senators Portman and Warner deserve great credit for their leadership in developing this compromise legislation, which could do more to restore our 417 national parks than anything that has happened in the last half century. The bipartisan legislation that I developed with Senator King and other senators is now part of the Portman-Warner compromise legislation, which should have near unanimous support. The end result is $6.5 billion toward eliminating the national park maintenance backlog, $215 million of which is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park,” said Sen. Alexander.

“Our national parks amaze, astound, and awe millions of Americans each year – but in order to accommodate so many visitors, the parks need to be well-maintained,”Sen. King said. “The existing $12 billion maintenance backlog threatens to prevent future generations from accessing these beautiful public lands, which is simply unacceptable. This bipartisan legislation would help address this backlog, and ensure that parks from Acadia to Zion will remain open and available for years to come.”

“Since my confirmation hearing, I’ve been adamant that we must address the nearly $12 billion maintenance backlog in our National Parks. I’m happy to see Senators Portman, Warner, King and Alexander teamed up to craft a very strong and historic bill to rebuild our national parks,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke.“Park infrastructure is about access for all Americans. In order for families, children, elderly grandparents, or persons with disabilities to enjoy the parks, we need to rebuild basic infrastructure like roads, trails, lodges, restrooms and visitors centers. This is not a Republican or Democrat issue, this is an American issue, and I think that the bipartisan body of lawmakers who put this bill forward is proof. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the Administration and Congress to see this come to fruition.” 

NPS maintains more than 75,000 assets across the country, including campgrounds, natural lands, historic trails, irrigation and electrical systems, as well as thousands of miles of roads. More than half of these are in need of repairs. In Virginia, NPS operates 34 parks, trails and battlefields and historic sites, including Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, Assateague Island, Booker T. Washington National Monument, Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park, Colonial National Historical Park, Cumberland Gap National Historical Park, Fort Monroe National Monument, Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania Battlefields Memorial National Military Park, George Washington Birthplace National Monument, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Petersburg National Battlefield, Prince William Forest Park, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Shenandoah National Park, and Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts.  

Over the past decade, Congressional financial support for park maintenance has decreased by 40 percent, and the last time Congress directly addressed the infrastructure needs of the park system was in 1956. The Restore Our Parks Act would establish the “National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund” to reduce the maintenance backlog by allocating existing revenues the government receives from on and offshore energy development. This funding would come from 50 percent of all revenues that are not otherwise allocated and deposited into the General Treasury, providing up to $6.5 billion over the next five years specifically to address deferred maintenance needs of the National Park Service. 

Last year, Sens. Warner and Portman introduced the National Park Service Legacy Act, which would have eliminated the NPS maintenance backlog by creating a thirty-year designated fund that would address NPS maintenance needs. Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Interior announced its own proposal, which bore substantial similarities to the Warner-Portman bill. However, the Administration proposal – which was introduced in the Senate as the National Park Restoration Actby Sens. Alexander and King – would not have established a dedicated funding stream for NPS maintenance, instead relying upon a massive expansion of offshore drilling or a significant increase in the price of oil in order to provide additional funding to the NPS. Prior to that, the Administration had pressed – unsuccessfully – to dramatically increase entrance fees at national parks as a way of funding overdue maintenance. 

The Restore Our Parks Act, introduced in the Senate late Thursday, is the result of months of negotiations among Sens. Warner, Portman, Alexander, King, and the Trump Administration to find a consensus proposal to address the NPS backlog.   

“National parks bring people together and help bridge political party lines. Under the leadership of Senators Warner and Portman, this compromise legislation will put a significant investment into the National Park Service’s maintenance backlog needs. We commend the leadership of these two park champions for their bill that makes a strong investment in our parks that they desperately need and deserve. America’s national parks include our most treasured landscapes and historic and cultural sites that must be protected and maintained so that future generations have the opportunity to learn about the people and places that have shaped our nation’s legacy,” said Theresa Pierno, President and CEO, National Parks Conservation Association. 

“Pew has been committed to ensuring that the best provisions of the various deferred maintenance measures are incorporated into a final proposal that can be enacted and will provide a significant reduction to the national parks backlog,” said Marcia Argust, project director for The Pew Charitable Trusts’ restore America’s parks campaign. “The compromise bill introduced today by Sens. Portman, Warner, Alexander, and King meets that goal.”

“OIA applauds this bipartisan effort to solve the National Park Service backlog issue and appreciates the dedication of Senators Portman, Warner, Alexander and King to this important issue. The backlog impacts the recreation economy and Americans’ ability to explore and enjoy their public lands. As we know, and the support for bills like National Park Service Legacy Restoration Fund shows, the health and vitality of America’s public lands system is a bipartisan issue that unites us. We look forward to progress on the issue and appreciate the Senate Bill Sponsors’ attention to this critical infrastructure issue that supports the growing $887 billion outdoor recreation economy,” said Amy Roberts, Executive Director, Outdoor Industry Association.

A list of Virginia organizations supportive of addressing the NPS backlog can be found here. 

Full text of the bill can be found here.

VA National Park Deferred Maintenance as of 2017*

*Due to the continuously changing nature of facilities data, only final, year-end data is reported by the National Park Service. The last year for which data is available is FY 2017.

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WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate passed, on a bipartisan 86-11 vote, legislation that includes Virginia priorities championed by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA). Specifically, the 2018 Senate Farm Bill includes a Warner-Kaine sponsored measure to legalize industrial hemp production, a crop which is already cultivated for research purposes in Virginia but which the agriculture industry cannot currently grow for commercial use.

“This bipartisan bill would finally end an outdated ban that has held farmers back from participating in the industrial hemp market, allow states to decide the best way to regulate this emerging industry, and give farmers access to critical federal support to protect their investment. Legalizing industrial hemp production will bring new businesses to Virginia and create jobs,” said the Senators. “In addition, this legislation includes measures to continue successful Chesapeake Bay clean-up efforts, expand farm conservation, and preserve some of our most cherished public lands.”

The 2014 Farm Bill authorized industrial hemp to be made available for agricultural research purposes. Virginia Tech, Virginia State University, the University of Virginia, and James Madison University have been active in hemp research in recent years. However, Congress must act in order to legalize hemp production for commercial purposes. Hemp is distinct from marijuana in that it has a miniscule concentration of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), and thus no narcotic capability. The plant is estimated to be used in more than 25,000 products spanning agriculture, textiles, recycling, automotive, furniture, food, nutrition, beverages, paper, construction materials, and personal care.

Warner and Kaine’s priorities for Virginia in the 2018 Farm Bill include:

·         Hemp Farming Act: a bill that would remove hemp from the federal list of controlled substances, allowing Virginia farmers to grow and sell the plant as an agricultural commodity. States would be given authority to regulate hemp, and hemp researchers will be able to apply for USDA grants. Hemp farmers would also be eligible to collect crop insurance under this provision.

·         Chesapeake Bay Farm Bill Enhancements Act: a bill which makes technical changes to the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP) intended to bring more federal funding into the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Farm Bill doubles funding for RCPP from $100 million to $200 million providing farmers with the tools they need to implement effective conservation practices within the Bay watershed. These changes will improve sustainability across the region and result in a cleaner, healthier Chesapeake Bay.

·         Virginia Wilderness Additions Act: a bill that designates specified lands in George Washington National Forest in Bath County, Virginia as part of the Rough Mountain Wilderness area and the Rich Hole Wilderness area, adding those lands to the National Wilderness Preservation System. This provision adds a total of 5,600 acres of wilderness area within the George Washington National Forest in Bath County.

·        Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI): includes a technical change to the HFFI program that would allow both retailers and enterprises to be eligible for loans and grants under HFFI. Currently, only brick-and-mortar operations are able to receive funding through the HFFI program. This technical change could allow more non-traditional food access projects – such as mobile markets, farmers markets, and food banks to access HFFI funds. These changes closely follow Sen. Warner’s efforts in the Senate to eradicate food deserts.  

In the wake of President Trump’s ongoing trade war, the Farm Bill also includes a measure that will revamp existing trade promotion programs and authorize $6 million in new funding for trade promotion activities. Trade Promotion is a technique used by the United States to pursue trade agreements that support and create U.S. jobs while helping American manufacturers, service providers, farmers and ranchers increase U.S. exports and compete in a highly competitive, globalized economy.

In addition, the bill includes measures to protect the U.S. dairy and cotton industry. It streamlines a program that allows dairy producers to insure margins—the difference between the prices of milk and feed—and increases its funding. The bill also makes cotton once again eligible to participate in federal crop insurance programs, which are used by farmers to protect themselves against either the loss of their crops due to natural disasters, or the loss of revenue due to declines in the prices of agricultural commodities. Livestock producers also receive assistance through a new program authorized by this bill that will give USDA the authority tooperate a disease and disaster prevention program and a vaccine bank, including for foot and mouth disease. And the bill reauthorizes full funding to help vulnerable Virginia families put food on the table through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

The bill now moves to the House for consideration. For more information on the 2018 Farm Bill, click here.

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Washington, DC — Late yesterday, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) sent a letter to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray expressing deep concern that the Department of Justice and the FBI are bowing to pressure from President Trump’s congressional allies to disclose sensitive information and material that is not usually shared with Congress and that relate directly to the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation into President Trump, his own campaign, and his associates. 

The letter underscores that the recent provision of certain documents to a wider group in Congress violates assurances made to them that particular information would remain, properly, confined to the “Gang of 8.” It also cautions that DOJ and FBI’s departure in this matter from longstanding policy and precedent governing the agencies’ relationship with Congress risks a repeat of similar mistakes that the DOJ Office of the Inspector General recently identified in his review of the Clinton “Midyear” investigation.  

In the letter, the Members write: “With every disclosure, DOJ and FBI are reinforcing a precedent it will have to uphold, whether the Congress is in Republican or Democratic hands, of providing materials in pending or closed cases to the legislative branch upon request. As the attacks on the Special Counsel intensify, it is imperative that you withstand pressure on DOJ and FBI to violate established procedures and norms. Your role in preserving the integrity of the Special Counsel’s investigation and, most importantly, our justice system has become even more vital.”

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The full letter is below:

June 27, 2018

The Honorable Rod J. Rosenstein

Deputy Attorney General of the United States

United States Department of Justice

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20530

The Honorable Christopher Wray

Director

Federal Bureau of Investigation

935 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20535

Dear Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein and Director Wray:

Earlier this month, you provided important verbal assurances in response to our June 5, 2018 letter to you. In that letter, we expressed deep and ongoing concern about President Donald Trump and his legal team’s persistent efforts to interfere with the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation and undermine your agencies’ lawful and appropriate activities. In particular, we underscored that, if fulfilled, demands by the President’s personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, that the White House and the President’s lawyers be given access to classified information and investigatory material of the utmost sensitivity – including information related to the Special Counsel’s ongoing investigation that implicates the President’s own campaign and his associates – would grossly violate our system of checks and balances, long-standing, well-founded, and established procedure, and fundamental norms.

You confirmed that the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will not provide the White House or any of the President’s attorneys with access to such sensitive information. You also assured that briefings and materials related to this matter would not be shared with others in Congress beyond the “Gang of 8.”

Unfortunately, it appears that part of this assurance has already been breached. As of June 20, 2018, the Department has made available to a wider group of Members and staff materials directly related, and similar in kind, to the information that was supposed to be restricted to the “Gang of 8.” This followed recent pressure from House and Senate Republicans on DOJ and FBI not to adhere to “Gang of 8” restrictions on access to and dissemination of information that can implicate sources and methods and/or ongoing investigations.

The Department and Bureau’s departure in this matter from longstanding policy and precedent governing your agencies’ relationship with Congress risks a repeat of similar mistakes that the DOJ Office of the Inspector General recently identified in his review of the Clinton “Midyear” investigation.

In 2016, DOJ broke with past practice by making investigative files in the Clinton investigation available to Congress, while the Bureau, in the name of “maximal transparency,” publicly disclosed information related to the investigation at key junctures. In his June 2018 report, the DOJ Inspector General correctly criticized this sharp deviation from DOJ and FBI guidelines:  

“The Department and the FBI do not practice “maximal transparency” in criminal investigations. It is not a value reflected in the regulations, policies, or customs guiding FBI actions in pending criminal investigations. To the contrary, the guidance to agents and prosecutors is precisely the opposite—no transparency except in rare and exceptional circumstances due to the potential harm to both the investigation and to the reputation of anyone under investigation.” 

This harmful cycle is now repeating itself with respect to the criminal and counterintelligence investigation into Russia’s 2016 election interference and any links and/or coordination between the Russian government and individuals associated with the campaign of President Trump. The President’s congressional allies are applying growing pressure on your agencies, in line with the President’s improper demand for “total transparency,”  to disclose sensitive information and material that is not usually shared with Congress and that relate directly to the ongoing investigation into President Trump, his own campaign, and his associates.

Unfortunately, DOJ and FBI are increasingly bowing to this pressure, despite the corrosive implications. Unlike the Clinton investigation, your agencies are disclosing sensitive material to Congress even though the Russia investigation is ongoing under the leadership of the Special Counsel and your oversight. And given the pending nature of the Special Counsel’s investigation, these persistent and unrelenting document requests are not for legitimate oversight purposes. Rather, time and again, sensitive information shared with Congress has been selectively and misleadingly seeded into the public domain to advance the President and his legal team’s strategy of undermining public trust in DOJ and the FBI and attacking the legitimacy of the Special Counsel and his ongoing investigation. Every such disclosure to Congress, moreover, has and will continue to result in demands for more information about the ongoing investigation, which the Department and the Bureau will be unable to satisfy without further contravening its own policies and norms.

With every disclosure, DOJ and FBI are reinforcing a precedent it will have to uphold, whether the Congress is in Republican or Democratic hands, of providing materials in pending or closed cases to the legislative branch upon request.

As the attacks on the Special Counsel intensify, it is imperative that you withstand pressure on DOJ and FBI to violate established procedures and norms. Your role in preserving the integrity of the Special Counsel’s investigation and, most importantly, our justice system has become even more vital.

We would appreciate your written reply and your confirmation of this understanding.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment, released a statement after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) today voted to adopt amendments to eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) requirements for operating companies and funds: 

“This is a long-overdue move that will improve the quality and accessibility of XBRL data, lowering costs for filers and investors. This is just one of several steps that the SEC should take to modernize existing reporting requirements.” 

In July 2015, Sen. Warner and Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) sent a letter calling on the SEC to implement in-line XBRL.

Sen. Warner has been a longtime advocate for improving data access and transparency. The Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act, bipartisan federal financial management and transparency legislation authored by Sen. Warner, was signed into law in May 2014, requiring the development of government-wide financial data standards to make it easier to compare federal spending across federal agencies.

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WASHINTON- U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, and Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, urged the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to implement the strongest possible transparency and accountability requirements for online advertisements in response to the proposed rulemaking. The letter comes as the FEC begins public hearings today on online advertisements. 

“During the 2016 election cycle, Russians took advantage of weak online disclaimer and disclosure rules to purchase online political advertisements. As we rapidly approach the 2018 election, intelligence officials have warned that Russia is currently working to disrupt our elections again,” the senators wrote.

“People have a right to know who is behind the information they receive, and in particular who is trying to influence their vote. This necessitates new disclaimer and disclosure requirements for all online advertisements. Primary elections are already upon us and the general election is only 131 days away. Therefore, we encourage you to quickly adopt the strongest possible rule to increase transparency and accountability for online advertisements.” 

Klobuchar, Warner and Senator John McCain (R-AZ) are the authors of the bipartisan Honest Ads Act, legislation to help prevent foreign interference in future elections and improve the transparency of online political advertisements. The Honest Ads Act would prevent foreign actors from influencing our elections by ensuring that political ads sold online are covered by the same rules as ads sold on TV, radio, and satellite.

The full text of the letter can be found below:

Dear Commissioners:

As you conduct hearings this week on “Internet Disclaimers and Definition of Public Communication”, we encourage you to issue the strongest possible rule that will increase transparency and accountability for online advertisements.

During the 2016 election cycle, Russians took advantage of weak online disclaimer and disclosure rules to purchase online political advertisements. As part of a wide social media exploitation effort, Russia spent at least $100,000 dollars—in rubles—on Facebook ads to influence the 2016 election. According to Facebook responses to investigations by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and Senate Judiciary Committee, Russian disinformation reached more than 126 million Americans online.

As we rapidly approach the 2018 election, intelligence officials have warned that Russia is currently working to disrupt our elections again. As Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats stated earlier this year, “[t]he 2018 U.S. midterm elections are a potential target for Russian influence operations” and Russia will conduct “bolder and more disruptive cyber operations.”   Senate Intelligence Committee members determined that foreign actors illegally influenced the 2016 presidential election and that something has to be done to stop this from occurring in the future.

Online platforms dwarf broadcast, satellite, and cable providers. The largest internet platform has over 210 million American users. The largest cable provider only has 22 million subscribers – nearly an order of magnitude greater. That is why we introduced the Honest Ads Act earlier this year. Our legislation would apply the same rules to online political advertisements that already exist for traditional media and require digital advertisers to maintain a public record of political ads purchased. By requiring the same rules across all advertising platforms, we can limit foreign attempts to influence our elections, increase transparency in political advertising, and promote greater accountability.

People have a right to know who is behind the information they receive, and in particular who is trying to influence their vote. This necessitates new disclaimer and disclosure requirements for all online advertisements. Primary elections are already upon us and the general election is only 131 days away. Therefore, we encourage you to quickly adopt the strongest possible rule to increase transparency and accountability for online advertisements.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Richard Burr (R-NC) and Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) announced the Committee approved the Matthew Young Pollard Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019 by a unanimous bipartisan vote of 15-0. The bill authorizes funding, provides appropriate legal authorities and enhances Congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community. It is named after Matt Pollard, a dedicated Committee staffer who passed away in April.

“The 2019 Intelligence Authorization Act represents a bipartisan effort to enhance America’s national security and increase government efficiency,” saidChairman Burr. “With ever-increasing threats from China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, we recognize that the Intelligence Community (IC) must have the resources, authorities and personnel necessary to keep America safe, while still remaining accountable to Congress for their efforts and expenditures. New security clearance reforms included in this bill will help deter insider threats, protect classified information and ensure the IC has a capable, agile workforce. Lastly, in the wake of foreign efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. elections, which this Committee continues to investigate, I am pleased to see this bill contains comprehensive measures to enhance our election security. It is vital that we ensure our voting process remains fair and free from undue influence.” 

“It is important that the full Senate take up and pass this bipartisan legislation, so that the men and women of the Intelligence Community (IC) have the resources they need to do their jobs and keep us safe,” said Vice Chairman Warner. “This legislation includes a number of important provisions to modernize our antiquated security clearance process and reduce the 700,000-person security clearance backlog. It also includes my provision requiring the Director of National Intelligence to report on the IC’s outreach to U.S. businesses and other nongovernment entities on efforts by adversaries such as China to acquire technology, intellectual property and R&D. The bill continues initiatives this Committee has undertaken on a bipartisan basis to push the IC to foster innovation in its approach to overhead satellite systems. Finally, as we approach the 2018 elections, the bill includes important measures to protect U.S. federal and state election systems – including from Russian threats – and to improve information sharing with states to ensure the integrity of the election process.”

Background:

The 2019 IAA includes provisions that will help:

• Deter and counter aggression from foreign state actors, such as Russia and China, both at home and abroad;
• Protect the U.S. government’s supply chain from sabotage and counterintelligence threats;
• Improve our security clearance process to make the Intelligence Community more robust, skilled, and agile;
• Institute reforms for science, technology, engineering or mathematic (STEM) recruitment and retention in Intelligence Community positions, such as cybersecurity experts; and
• Enhance election security to protect our voting process from foreign intelligence threats and efforts to influence the election process.

In May 2018, the Committee released the first installment in its Russia report, which provided recommendations to improve U.S. election security in the face of interference from foreign actors. Among the Committee’s recommendations to address ongoing vulnerabilities were creating effective deterrence, improving information sharing on threats and securing election-related systems. A summary of the Committee’s findings can be found here.

Last week, the Committee held a hearing to examine the policy response to Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. elections. Michael Daniel, former Special Assistant to the President and Cyber Security Coordinator under President Obama, testified that it is “highly likely” Russian actors scanned election systems in all 50 states for vulnerabilities. He also told the Committee that the U.S. should expect and be prepared to combat continued attempts at election interference. You can watch the hearing here.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) sent a letter to President Trump, urging him to re-consider the deal lifting the ZTE ban, and to support the Senate-passed ban on government purchases of ZTE and Huawei equipment. Sen. Warner is the Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and a member of the Finance and Banking committees. Sen. Rubio is a member of Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees.  

In the letter to President Trump, the Senators wrote, “The Senate and the U.S. Intelligence Community are in agreement that ZTE poses a significant threat to our national security.  The Senate recently voted 85-10 to reimpose the April sanctions order and the ban on ZTE buying U.S. components, and to prohibit the U.S. federal government from purchasing ZTE or Huawei equipment and contracting with any entity that purchases such equipment.  We urge you to heed the leaders of the U.S. Intelligence Community, supported by a strong bipartisan consensus in the Senate, that we must pursue policies that prevent the widespread use of ZTE products in the U.S.”

The Senators noted that at a February 13, 2018 hearing in the Intelligence Committee, six of the nation’s top intelligence leaders – the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and the heads of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), National Security Agency (NSA), Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) – testified about the risks posed to U.S. national security by ZTE and Huawei. Additionally, the nation’s top counterintelligence officer, Director of the National Counterintelligence Security Center Bill Evanina, testified at his May 15, 2018, confirmation hearing that Chinese telecom companies such as ZTE and Huawei pose a significant threat to American security.   

“As you know, this is not a new threat. Congressionally documented concerns date back to a 2012 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report on the serious counterintelligence concerns associated with ZTE equipment, the ties between the company and government, and the risks to American national security,” the Senators added. “ZTE, though publicly traded, is a state-backed enterprise that is ultimately loyal not to its shareholders, but to the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government.  This patronage relationship poses unacceptable risks to American sovereignty; risks that will only increase if the company is permitted to establish itself deeply in America’s telecommunications infrastructure.”

The full letter is available here and below. 

June 26, 2018

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC  20500

Dear Mr. President:

We urge you to reconsider your decision to amend the April ZTE sanctions order and lift the ban the Commerce Department imposed this year that prohibited ZTE from buying U.S. components, and we ask for your support for the Senate-passed ban on the government buying ZTE and Huawei equipment.  We strongly believe that the April sanctions order—which would have threatened ZTE’s survival—should not be used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with China on unrelated matters.  

The Senate and the U.S. Intelligence Community are in agreement that ZTE poses a significant threat to our national security.  The Senate recently voted 85-10 to reimpose the April sanctions order and the ban on ZTE buying U.S. components,  and to prohibit the U.S. federal government from purchasing ZTE or Huawei equipment and contracting with any entity that purchases such equipment.  We urge you to heed the leaders of the U.S. Intelligence Community, supported by a strong bipartisan consensus in the Senate, that we must pursue policies that prevent the widespread use of ZTE products in the U.S.

At the Senate Intelligence Committee’s hearing on February 13, 2018, six top intelligence leaders testified about the risk of ZTE and Huawei to American national security: 

·         FBI Director Wray stated: “We’re deeply concerned about the risks of allowing any company or entity that is beholden to foreign governments that don’t share our values to gain positions of power inside our telecommunications networks that provides the capacity to exert pressure or control over our telecommunications infrastructure.  It provides the capacity to maliciously modify or steal information, and it provides the capacity to conduct undetected espionage.”  

·         Then-NSA Director Rogers warned:  “I would agree with Director Wray’s characterization here.  This is a challenge I think that's only going to increase, not lessen, over time for us.” To mayors, county judges, university presidents, and state legislatures, “I would say you need to look long and hard at companies like this.”

·         The Director of National Intelligence, and the heads of the CIA, FBI, NSA, DIA, and NGA all indicated they would not use products or services from ZTE or Huawei; nor would they recommend private American citizens do so. 

Additionally, the nation’s top counterintelligence officer, Director of the National Counterintelligence Security Center Bill Evanina, testified at his May 15, 2018, confirmation hearing that “the Intelligence Community and law enforcement is clearly on the record, both in the public and in classified settings, with the threat from Chinese telecommunications companies.”

As you know, this is not a new threat. Congressionally documented concerns date back to a 2012 House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence report on the serious counterintelligence concerns associated with ZTE equipment, the ties between the company and government, and the risks to American national security. 

ZTE, though publicly traded, is a state-backed enterprise that is ultimately loyal not to its shareholders, but to the Chinese Communist Party and Chinese government.  This patronage relationship poses unacceptable risks to American sovereignty; risks that will only increase if the company is permitted to establish itself deeply in America’s telecommunications infrastructure.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for your assistance in ensuring we protect our nation’s future from authoritarian influence.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Warner

United States Senator

Marco Rubio

United States Senator

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WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence unanimously approved the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) for Fiscal Years 2018 and 2019, which includes measures introduced by the Committee’s Vice Chairman, Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), to modernize our antiquated security clearance process, reduce the background investigation inventory of more than 700,000 cases, and bring greater accountability to the system. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO)announced earlier this year that it added the government-wide Personnel Security Clearance Process to their High-Risk List of federal areas in need of either broad-based transformation or specific reform to prevent waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. 

“It has long been clear that the 70-year-old process that grants security clearances to government personnel and contractors is in desperate need of reform,” said Sen. Warner.  “I am pleased this bill provides a fix for this broken process and begins to ease the growing security clearance backlog that undermines the government’s ability to deploy the right people to address some of our greatest national security challenges.” 

Every year, Congress authorizes intelligence funding through the Intelligence Authorization Act to counter terrorist threats, prevent proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, enhance counterintelligence, conduct covert actions and collect and analyze intelligence around the world. The bill reflects the intelligence committee’s oversight over the past year and its consideration of the president’s budgetary and legislative requests.

The legislation includes several provisions from Senator Warner to revamp the security clearance system, including:

• Holding the Executive Branch accountable for making progress on much-needed reform;
• Promoting information sharing between and among government agencies and industry to prevent personnel with security risks from being inadvertently passed around;
• Requiring swift reciprocity for recognizing clearances among agencies;
• Switching to a responsive Continuous Evaluation model instead of standard periodic re-investigations for 90 percent of clearance holders;
• Requiring consistent treatment of government and contract personnel in the clearance system and setting a government-wide policy for interim clearances;
• Expediting background investigations by taking advantage of innovative techniques and technologies for verifying information.

In addition, the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) included a provision supported by Vice Chairman Warner to require the Director of National Intelligence to report on the Intelligence Community’s outreach to U.S. businesses and other non-government entities on efforts by adversaries such as China to acquire technology, intellectual property, and R&D.

The bill also continues initiatives the Senate Intelligence Committee has undertaken on a bipartisan basis to push the Intelligence Community to foster innovation in its approach to overhead satellite systems. And as we approach the 2018 elections, the bill includes important measures to protect U.S. federal and state election systems – including from Russian threats – and to improve information sharing with states to ensure the integrity of the election process.

Sen. Warner has been a strong voice on security clearance reform, urging the White House to prioritize reforms to the clearance process. 

For the full list of the security clearance measures included in the IAA, click here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today responded to a letter from members of the House of Delegates that asked Virginia’s congressional delegation to oppose the Trump Administration’s policy of separating immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

On June 20, 47 members of the Virginia House of Delegates wrote to all 13 members of Virginia’s bipartisan congressional delegation to express outrage at the cruel and systematic separation of immigrant children and their families at the U.S. border with Mexico, saying, “As Virginians and Americans, we are appalled at the suffering that has been caused. President Trump initiated this shameful Administration policy. It is within his power to stop it. Once again, if you have not already done so, we ask you to act swiftly and call upon the President to end this brutal policy and reunite these children with their families without delay.”

The Senators’ response to that letter is here and below:

Dear Delegate:

Thank you for your letter urging the Virginia congressional delegation to support the end of the Trump Administration’s family separation policy at the U.S. border with Mexico.  We appreciate your leadership on this issue and share your outrage over this policy.

Migrants who arrive at the southern border have the right to claim asylum and refuge from persecution in their home countries as specified under U.S. and international law.  However, in April 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced that the Trump Administration would implement a so-called “zero-tolerance” policy that subjects migrants who enter the country unlawfully to criminal prosecution.  This policy separates families by sending parents to federal detention and their children to facilities run by the Office of Refugee Resettlement, effectively leading to large increases in the number of unaccompanied children detained at the border.               

We believe this heartless treatment of migrants and asylum seekers does not reflect the values of this nation.  Immigrants bring a diversity of experience, culture and backgrounds but also a common vision of living the American Dream and creating a better life in the United States.  We are a nation of immigrants, and they are part of what makes this country great.  That’s why we are grateful that so many Virginians have joined us and people all across the country in speaking out against the cruel and pointless policy of separating children from their parents at the southern border.  

On June 7, we joined 38 of our Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter strongly condemning the Administration’s family separation policy and urging President Trump to reverse it.  That same day, we joined Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and a number of our Senate colleagues in introducing the Keep Families Together Act of 2018 (S.3036). This legislation prohibits the separation of families at the border or at ports of entry except under extraordinary circumstances, increases child welfare training for Customs and Border Protection officers, establishes a policy preference for family unity, and develops procedures to allow families to relocate and reunite with their separated loved ones.  We also joined 46 other Senators in calling on the Senate Judiciary Committee to hold a hearing on the Trump Administration’s treatment of children along the southern border. 

Additionally, on June 19, we wrote a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar requesting details about the policy’s rationale, the condition of facilities used by their agencies to house children, the availability and quality of resources for separated children, the conditions for girls and toddlers, and the process in place for family reunification. 

Seeking to address the crisis he created, President Trump signed an executive order on June 20, directing DHS to detain immigrant families together.  However, this executive order did not outline a process for reuniting previously separated children with their families, nor did the order change the Administration’s zero tolerance prosecution policy that will result in lengthy detention for families.  Furthermore, because a court order prohibits the detention of migrant children beyond 20 days, the legality of the executive order remains questionable.  These inadequacies make a response from Secretaries Nielsen and Azar to our letter all the more urgent.  The Trump Administration must provide full transparency about its plans to ensure the safety, well-being and reunification of every single child in custody.  Until the day that happens, we will continue to demand answers.

We hope there will be a swift resolution to this entirely preventable crisis that has caused pain to so many immigrant families.  But the truth is, until Congress enacts comprehensive, long-term immigration reform, immigrant families and young people will continue to suffer from the effects of a broken system that forces far too many of our friends and neighbors into the shadows.  Under our current President, the urgency of this problem has grown exponentially.  We are proud to have been a part of every bipartisan effort in the Senate to reform our immigration process, and we have not given up hope that someday soon, enough of our colleagues in the House and Senate will understand the importance of fixing our immigration system once and for all.  

Thank you again for contacting us.  We look forward to our continued collaboration in promoting the wellbeing of immigrant families entering our country.

Sincerely,

Mark R. Warner

United States Senator

Tim Kaine

United States Senator

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