WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the below statement following Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s (R-VA) announcement that he will retire at the end of 2018: 

“Bob Goodlatte has served the people of Virginia in Congress for more than two decades. I have appreciated the opportunity to work with Congressman Goodlatte on a variety of issues important to our constituents in the Roanoke Valley. I thank him for a lifetime of public service, and extend him and Maryellen my very best wishes for the future.”

 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), co-chair of the bipartisan Senate India Caucus and Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed Kenneth I. Juster as the next U.S. Ambassador to India: 

“I was proud to support Ken’s nomination to be our country’s representative in India, one of our most important defense partners in the region,” said Sen. Warner. “I have known Ken since we were in law school in the 1970s. As Ambassador, I trust his decades of work on critical issues like trade, cybersecurity and defense will helpadvance the U.S.-India relationship in a positive direction.”

Kenneth I. Juster was nominated to be the Ambassador to India on September 5, 2017. He has over 35 years of experience as a senior business executive, senior law partner, and senior government official, including serving as U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce from 2001 to 2005. Juster founded and served as the U.S. Chair of the U.S.-India High Technology Cooperation Group, and was one of the key architects of the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership initiative between the United States and India. His work related to India played an important role in the transformation of the U.S.-India relationship and helped provide the foundation for the historic civil nuclear agreement between the two countries. 

 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Bob Casey (D-PA), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), members of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced legislation today that encourages employers to invest more in quality skills training for their workers, creating a tax credit for increased training expenses directed at lower- and moderate-income workers. The Investing in American Workers Act proposal is aimed at encouraging new investments in qualified training that will help more employees advance their careers by staying on top of changing technology and skills requirements.
 
“To be in the middle class now requires lifelong learning not just to get a job but to hold on to one. Yet in an era when people change jobs frequently and no longer work at one company for their entire careers, the incentive for businesses to invest in their workers—especially their lower- and middle-income workers—has declined,” said Sen. Warner. “This proposal takes positive steps towards helping American workers climb the economic ladder by encouraging more training opportunities for workers while also incentivizing employers to increase both the amount and the quality of the training they’re currently providing.”

“This bill is about helping workers access the kind of job training that leads to increased wages,” said Sen. Casey. “Under this bill, businesses across Pennsylvania will be able to invest in their workforce and build a foundation for growth. In order to rebuild the middle class, we must spur investments in workers, and that’s what this bill will do.”
“The number one issue I hear about from businesses in Michigan is the need for more skilled workers,” said Sen. Stabenow. “This legislation will cut taxes for businesses who are investing in high-quality training for employees and help workers attain the skills they need for good-paying jobs.” 

The Investing in American Workers Act legislation encourages high-quality training programs by:

• Establishing a tax credit for employers who increase their spending on training lower- and moderate-income workers. The credit would be equal to 20% of the increased spending on qualified training beyond the average spent over the previous three years. 

• Incentivizing high-quality training by specifying a wide range of allowable providers and programs, including training provided through apprenticeship programs, community colleges, accredited career and technical schools or labor organizations.  

• Encouraging small businesses to upskill their workers by providing a simplified filing process and allowing them to apply the credit against payroll and alternative minimum taxes. 

The legislation’s focus on high-quality training has been endorsed by a wide variety of organizations and employers:

• “U.S. businesses – including small and medium sized employers – are investing every day in the skills of their workforce, helping their employees advance their careers and creating new job opportunities in our communities. But today’s tax code doesn’t adequately reward those companies that are willing to make these critical investments, making it harder for businesses to compete in a global economy,” said Kermit Kaleba, federal policy director for the National Skills Coalition. “Sen. Warner’s legislation is an important step in the right direction, and will help expand high quality training that leads to better results for companies and workers alike. We look forward to working with Senator Warner to advance this legislation and we applaud his leadership and vision on this vital issue.”

• "As the leader of a company that is deeply committed to creating opportunities for youth, I want to commend Sen. Warner on the big step he has taken today to accelerate a much-needed focus on apprenticeships in the U.S.,” said CEO Chris Nassetta of Virginia-based Hilton. “At Hilton, we have seen tremendous results from this model, with thousands of with thousands of opportunities offered to young people to-date and counting. I look forward to seeing apprenticeships become a real pathway to success in America for years to come." 

• “Workforce development is the single most important investment we make at Newport News Shipbuilding,” said Jennifer Boykin, President of Newport News Shipbuilding. “Our skilled workforce is the backbone of our success, and we are committed to being an employer that puts our people first by supporting their development, providing the tools and technology needed to do their jobs, and providing a positive and modern work environment. Senator Warner’s efforts will help other companies make this important investment.” 

• “Many employers, including retailers and domestic manufacturers, want to run their own workplace training programs or partner with external career and technical education offerings, but lack the resources and capacity to do so,” said Bruce Harris, Vice President of Federal Government Affairs for Walmart. “One of the best ways to address this need is to incentivize employers to create and expand skill-building programs – including apprenticeships and other work-based learning opportunities – for new and seasoned workers.” 

• “As artificial intelligence and automation continue to impact and disrupt the economy, having an educated and well-trained workforce is increasingly important for workers and companies to remain competitive and succeed,” said Al Fitzpayne, Executive Director of the nonpartisan Aspen Institute’s Future of Work initiative.“Workers will need to become lifelong learners and access opportunities to acquire new skills or sharpen their existing skills. A worker training tax credit would provide a meaningful incentive for companies to boost competitiveness by investing in the skills of their workforce, while helping employees succeed through access to education and skills development through their work.”

• “Every day I see the impact of training on the thousands of workers employed by Managed by Q and the service providers on its marketplace,” said Dan Teran, CEO of Managed by Q, which maintains and manages workspaces. “We see training as a driver of customer satisfaction and employee retention, as well as a pathway for workers to enhance their earning potential. I am excited to see Senator Warner making it easier for employers to do the right thing by investing in their workers.”

 
Since 2015, Sen. Warner has served as honorary co-chairman of the nonpartisan Aspen Institute’s Future of Work initiative, which is researching proposals to strengthen the workforce and the national economy. Earlier this year, Sen. Warner introduced the first federal legislation to experiment with different models for portable benefits for independent workers.  He also has sponsored bipartisan legislation to make it easier for startups and privately-held firms to give employees an ownership stake by providing profit-sharingamong a broader range of employees.
 
The proposal at the center of the Investing in American Workers Act, a tax credit for qualified training, was included in the Democratic Party’s ‘A Better Deal’ package unveiled this summer.
 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement on a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report titled “DOL Can Better Share Information on Services for On-Demand, or Gig, Workers” that identifies areas where the public workforce system can better serve workers engaged in on-demand work:

“As we continue to assess the scope and policy implications of the growing independent workforce, it is vital that we rely on sound data to inform our decisions,” said Sen. Warner. “This report details several areas where our public workforce system could improve to be more responsive to this dynamic segment of the economy. I’m hopeful that we can work together to make these improvements and identify others that will make our federal training and employment resources better suited to the 21^st century.”

The report is the culmination of a request that Sen. Warner made in 2015 asking GAO to assess: what types of workers are participating in the gig economy, what skills they need to be successful, what challenges they face in navigating employment and training opportunities, and to what extent federal workforce and education programs provide resources and tools that help workers acquire necessary skills. GAO’s report sheds light on these areas and will help inform federal policymaking, including Sen. Warner’s ongoing efforts to identify legislative solutions necessary to support people engaging in the contingent workforce:

“Today’s GAO report provides important insights into how the workforce development system fails to consistently retrain workers for the growing number of non-traditional work opportunities and fails to help the tens of millions of independent workers further develop their skills,” said Alastair Fitzpayne, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute's Future of Work Initiative. “Policymakers should read this report and develop ideas that help modernize the workforce development system so that it accounts for all forms of work.”

Sen. Warner also wrote Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta requesting that he take action on a number of recommendations and observations identified in GAO’s report, including: making resources relevant to independent workers more easily accessible, clarifying to state and local workforce officials that there are no federal prohibitions against posting gig work opportunities in job centers, and working to better measure the impact of contingent work and integrate this information with traditional labor market data.

The full text of the GAO report is available here. The full text of Sen. Warner’s letter to Sec. Acosta is available here.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Tim Kaine and Mark R. Warner introduced the Virginia Wilderness Additions Act, a bill to add a total of 5,600 acres to two existing wilderness areas within the George Washington National Forest in Bath County, Virginia. A wilderness designation is the highest level of protection for public land under federal law. These additions were recommended by the U.S. Forest Service in 2014 and endorsed by members of the GW National Forest Stakeholder Collaborative, a group of forest users that has worked together for seven years to agree on acceptable locations in the GW for wilderness, timber harvest, trails, and other uses.  

“The George Washington National Forest is one of Virginia’s most precious assets. We enjoy its wildlife; its scenery; its trails; and the benefits of responsible development of its resources,” Kaine said.  “Taking care of our nation’s outdoor resources is good for our economy and good for our environment. I applaud all stakeholders who came to the table – from local officials to conservationists to the timber industry – to work together on a plan that sets an example of how collaboration in public lands decisions can benefit everyone.” 

“I am proud to partner with Senator Kaine to introduce legislation that will add 5,600 acres to the George Washington National Forest in Bath County, Va. Our public lands are some of our most cherished resources, and it is essential that we take the necessary steps to conserve these lands for future generations to enjoy. This legislation is the result of seven years of collaboration among a diverse group of stakeholders and provides an example of what can be accomplished when everyone is willing to invest the necessary time and effort to find common ground on contentious land management issues,” said Warner.

 “The introduction of this bill is the direct result of years of hard work by the George Washington National Forest Stakeholder Collaborative, which includes representatives from diverse interests including the timber industry, wildlife managers, and recreational groups, to work together to meet very different goals. This added Wilderness area will result in ecological, economic and recreational benefits and is a win-win for all those stakeholders involved,” Mark Miller, Executive Director, Virginia Wilderness Committee, said.

“As an advocate of active management of the GW National Forest, I support the proposed Wilderness additions in this bill as part of a collaborative agreement among many groups and individuals. The GW is large enough to support a variety of ecological conditions as identified in the Forest Plan.  These goals can be met through increased timber harvesting and wildlife management while setting aside remote areas that are valuable for wildlife and recreation.  This proposal reinforces several year’s-worth of work and demonstrates the ability to accomplish this balance,” John Hancock, President, Virginia Forestry Association, said.

“More than half of Bath County is National Forest land.  This proposal to add thousands of acres of protected land to Rich Hole and Rough Mountain will mean an increase in visitation to the National Forest, and increased tourism in Bath County.  County leadership wholeheartedly supports this expansion and encourages Congress to act swiftly on this important bill that comes after years of important compromise among stakeholders,” Ashton Harrison, Bath County Administrator, said.  

“As a lifelong resident, fisherman, hunter and hiker of the George Washington National Forest, I believe our forests thrive when there is a combination of young growth and old growth. We can accomplish this with a combination of timber harvesting, wildlife management, and protecting special areas. Expanding the Rich Hole and Rough Mountain Wilderness areas adds to this diverse environment and ensures that there is an area where bear and large Red squirrels can thrive in the winter months,” Steve Nicely, Alleghany County resident and long-time hunter, said. 

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WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), Vice Chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services today introduced the Honest Ads Act to help prevent foreign interference in future elections and improve the transparency of online political advertisements.

 “Online political advertising represents an enormous marketplace, and today there is almost no transparency. The Russians realized this, and took advantage in 2016 to spread disinformation and misinformation in an organized effort to divide and distract us,” Senator Warner said. “Our bipartisan Honest Ads Act extends transparency and disclosure to political ads in the digital space. At the end of the day, it is not too much to ask that our most innovative digital companies work with us by exercising additional judgment and providing some transparency.” 

 “First and foremost this is an issue of national security – Russia attacked us and will continue to use different tactics to undermine our democracy and divide our country, including by purchasing disruptive online political ads. We have to secure our election systems and we have to do it now – the next election is only 383 days away,” Senator Klobuchar said. “This bipartisan legislation would help protect our democracy by updating our laws to ensure that political ads sold online are covered by the same rules as TV or radio stations – and make them public so Americans can see who is trying to influence them.”

 “In the wake of Russia’s attack on the 2016 election, it is more important than ever to strengthen our defenses against foreign interference in our elections,” said Senator McCain.“Unfortunately, U.S. laws requiring transparency in political campaigns have not kept pace with rapid advances in technology, allowing our adversaries to take advantage of these loopholes to influence millions of American voters with impunity. Our bipartisan legislation would address this serious challenge by expanding landmark campaign finance law to apply to internet and digital communications platforms that command a significant audience. I have long fought to increase transparency and end the corrupting influence of special interests in political campaigns, and I am confident this legislation will modernize existing law to safeguard the integrity of our election system.”

Russia attempted to influence the 2016 presidential election by buying and placing political ads on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Google. The content and purchaser(s) of those online advertisements are a mystery to the public because of outdated laws that have failed to keep up with evolving technology. 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 Honest Ads Act enhances the integrity of our democracy by improving disclosure requirements for online political advertisements by:

• Amending the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002’s definition of electioneering communication to include paid Internet and digital advertisements.
• Requiring digital platforms with at least 50,000,000 monthly viewers to maintain a public file of all electioneering communications purchased by a person or group who spends more than $500.00 total on ads published on their platform. The file would contain a digital copy of the advertisement, a description of the audience the advertisement targets, the number of views generated, the dates and times of publication, the rates charged, and the contact information of the purchaser.
• Requiring online platforms to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that foreign individuals and entities are not purchasing political advertisements in order to influence the American electorate. 

Companion legislation to the Honest Ads Act is being introduced today in the House of Representatives by Reps. Derek Kilmer (D-WA), Mike Coffman (R-CO).

“The 2016 elections exposed glaring holes in our ability to police foreign intervention in US elections, and this bill is an appropriate, bipartisan disclosure remedy,” said Trevor Potter, president of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and a former Republican Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. “Voters have a right to be fully informed about who is trying to influence their vote, particularly foreign powers whose motives are contrary to American interests. The Honest Ads Act gives voters, journalists, and law enforcement officers important tools to help root out illegal foreign activity. The transparency this bill aims to provide in the 2018 elections and beyond will protect and enhance the integrity of our elections, which are the most fundamental component of American self-governance.”

“Ensuring transparency and accountability remain encoded into our democracy in the 21st century has taken on new importance and relevance in the wake of the 2016 election. We hope this bill, which merits serious consideration, catalyzes an overdue public debate and substantive action in Congress and the Federal Election Commission to create platform parity for political ad disclosure across TV, radio, print and Internet companies. Opacity by design is not an acceptable status quo for the technology giants that shape public knowledge and discourse with limited accountability,” said Alexander B. Howard, Deputy Director of the Sunlight Foundation.

“The bipartisan introduction of the Honest Ads Act is an important step toward bringing American campaign finance law into the internet age, by ensuring that online political advertisements are subject to the same kind of disclosure rules that already exist for ads on television and radio,” said Lawrence Norden, Deputy Director of the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program. “At a time when hostile foreign powers are trying to exploit loopholes in our campaign laws to manipulate American elections, it is especially important for Congress to come together across partisan lines to strengthen our democracy.  The Brennan Center applauds Senators Klobuchar, Warner and McCain for reaching across partisan lines to introduce this significant bill.”

“Americans have a right to know who is using political advertising to influence their votes and their views. As technology changes and political advertising shifts to online platforms, our transparency laws should keep pace. The recent revelations of Kremlin-connected influence operations on Facebook and Twitter underscore how important it is for Congress to take meaningful action. The HONEST Act is a critical step forward in enhancing the transparency of online political advertising. Common Cause commends Senators Klobuchar, Warner and McCain for their strong bipartisan leadership in introducing this important bill to bolster the integrity of our democracy,” said Karen Hobert Flynn, President of Common Cause.

As Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with oversight jurisdiction over federal elections, Klobuchar has introduced legislation to improve the security of U.S. election systems and make commonsense improvements to election administration. She and Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) introduced the bipartisan Stop Foreign Donations Affecting Our Elections Act to strengthen disclosure by requiring federal campaigns to use existing credit card verification protocols to help verify that online credit card donations come from U.S. sources. Klobuchar and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) also introduced bipartisan legislation to help states block cyber-attacks, secure voter registration logs and voter data, upgrade election auditing procedures, and create secure and useful information sharing about threats. In June, Klobuchar introduced the Helping State and Local Governments Prevent Cyber Attacks Act to help combat foreign interference by providing state and local governments with the information and resources they need to keep our elections secure and improve voter confidence. 

As vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Sen. Warner has been at the forefront of the Committee’s ongoing bipartisan counterintelligence investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Warner also is the co-founder of the Senate’s bipartisan Cybersecurity Caucus. In addition, Sen. Warner is working to finalize bipartisan legislation to create a comprehensive, nationwide and uniform data breach standard, requiring timelier consumer notification for breaches of financial data and other sensitive information, and setting national data-protection standards for companies handling sensitive personal information.  

Senator McCain has been a champion of campaign finance reform for decades. As a lead author of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, he has long advocated of transparency in the American electoral process.  

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WASHINGTON – Senator Mark Warner joined with the entire Virginia Delegation to send a letter to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA), Dr. David Shulkin, regarding the VA’s late payment to Veterans Choice Program (VCP) providers.

In August of 2014, Congress authorized veterans to access private health providers to assist the overwhelmed VA Health Care system. Congress continues to fund the program; however, the VA has repeatedly struggled to make prompt payments to outside health providers as required by the law. Throughout the Commonwealth, health providers such as Riverside Health, Carilion Clinic, Wellmont Health System, and many more have experienced late payments for their services to our veterans through the VA Choice Program. In many cases, the payments from the VA come as late 120 days, or longer, past the date services were provided.

“VA related claims have taken an average of 177 days to be paid, or 3.5 times longer than the average of all third party payers,” said Mark Duncan, Director of Government Relations at Riverside Health System. “In one of the most egregious examples, a veteran was discharged on October 16, 2014. Reimbursement for that patient’s services was received from the VA on June 12, 2017—961 days following discharge.”

Exacerbating the late payment problem is the fact that VA employees are making duplicate payments to certain providers, as highlighted by a recent memorandum released by the VA’s Inspector General (IG). The IG noted that some third-party administrators are receiving overpayments due to improper training and administration on the VA side, which results in the delayed payments to providers who are still waiting to be reimbursed.

“We want the Department of Veterans Affairs and VCP to succeed. We have done our part to continue to fund VCP, now we need you to properly administer the program,” the delegation wrote. “Our health providers who have stood up and answered the call to provide services to veterans and, most importantly, our veterans deserve a health care system that works. Do not jeopardize the care our veterans receive due to poor processes.”

The Members requested the VA fix this problem and immediately develop a long-term solution aimed at ensuring that payments are made within 30 days of receiving an invoice. They also request clarification on the future of third party administrators involved with the Veterans Choice Program.

Virginia Delegation members signing the letter include, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, and U.S. Reps. Rob Wittman (VA-1), Scott Taylor (VA-2), Bobby Scott (VA-3), A. Donald McEachin (VA-4), Tom Garrett, Jr. (VA-5), Bob Goodlatte (VA-6), Dave Brat (VA-7), Don Beyer (VA-8), H. Morgan Griffith (VA-9), Barbara Comstock (VA-10), and Gerald E. Connolly (VA-11).

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WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner, a member of the Senate Budget, Finance and Banking Committees, and Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Budget andHealth, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committees, praised a new Senate Democratic proposal to invest $40 billion to build the broadband infrastructure necessary to connect over 34 million Americans, including 23 million rural Americans, to high-speed internet. The plan would bring broadband to rural communities across Virginia. 

“Access to high speed internet is critical for success in the 21^st century economy, but rural communities continue to be left behind.  This means less access to telemedicine, educational tools, and business opportunities. When students can’t do their homework because they lack access to broadband, something has to be done,” the Senators said.“We believe this Democratic proposal to invest in the broadband infrastructure necessary to connect rural communities to high-speed internet is crucial for economic growth, and it would empower Virginians with the tools to improve their livelihoods. We must make broadband a priority as we begin discussions on infrastructure and the budget.”

The proposal would connect communities that have been left behind by big internet service providers. The plan focuses on investing $40 billion in federal funding using four principles:

1. Provide federal support for a universal grant program to bring high-speed internet to areas in need of quality, affordable service.
2. Create accurate maps of areas that lack adequate internet access in order to determine how to best allocate resources and make improvements.
3. Empower rural communities by giving them access to high-speed internet so they can compete economically with other cities and ensure they have the tools to compete.
4. Provide grants to states and localities to upgrade their critical safety infrastructure, including modernizing aging 9-1-1 systems.

Warner and Kaine have both long pushed to expand broadband access in Virginia. In February, Warner & Kaine joined a bipartisan group of colleagues to urge President Trump to include broadband in any infrastructure initiative.

As Governor, Warner worked with federal, state, local and private-sector partners to leverage Virginia’s tobacco settlement dollars to invest in building out over 800 miles of fiber-optic broadband in Southwest and Southside, which helped to attract 2,200 jobs and $300 million of investment. In the Senate, he successfully amended the Farm Bill to provide new tools to extend high-speed Internet service to rural America, and he has pressed the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to enact policies that encourage expanded wireless broadband deployment in underserved and unserved areas of the country, increase quality and service, and improve cost competition in rural and urban areas alike.

As Governor, Kaine created the Office of Telework Promotion and Broadband Assistance, which expands broadband access and work opportunities on broadband projects in rural areas, thereby helping increase economic activity. Governor Kaine also signed legislation establishing the Broadband Advisory Council, which recommends policy and funding priorities to expand broadband access in the Commonwealth. As a Senator, Kaine has advocated for federal investments from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to help expand broadband access in Southwest Virginia.   

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tim Scott (R-SC) introduced the Protecting Access to Diabetes Supplies Act of 2017 to strengthen patient protections included in the Medicare National Mail Order program for Diabetic Testing Supplies (DTS). The legislation reinforces existing protections that ensure Medicare beneficiaries are able to continue accessing familiar diabetes supplies and test systems through DTS.

The legislation directs the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to establish new surveillance programs and requirements for mail order suppliers to better guard consumer access.

“We want to ensure seniors can access the life-saving supplies and technologies that work best for them,” said Sen. Warner. “This bill will allow Medicare to continue employing innovative, cost-saving payment models while also guaranteeing patients’ access to necessary medical supplies. This legislation builds on existing consumer protections and aims to strengthen these safeguards in a pointed and data-driven manner.” 

“About a quarter of all Medicare beneficiaries suffer from diabetes, and we should be finding ways to ensure they are able to use medical supplies that provide life-saving results,” said Sen. Scott. “I am glad to work with my colleague Senator Warner on this bipartisan, no-cost legislation to help make sure Medicare beneficiaries living with diabetes have the ability to access state-of-the-art diabetes testing supplies.”

Under the Medicare Competitive Bidding Program (CBP) for Durable Medical Equipment and Supplies, suppliers are paid the same amount by Medicare for DTS regardless of what they supply to a beneficiary. To ensure that beneficiaries continue to have access to familiar test systems, Congress enacted the 50 Percent Rule, which required that mail order suppliers make available at least 50 percent of all types of diabetes test supplies on the market before implementation of the CBP.  However, feedback data has indicated these protections may not be adequate.

This legislation seeks to strengthen the 50 Percent Rule protection by establishing a surveillance program and additional safeguards to ensure suppliers are compliant. CMS also established the Anti-Switching Rule to protect beneficiary and physician choice of glucose meters. This rule requires suppliers to furnish the test system requested by the beneficiary, and prohibits suppliers from influencing beneficiaries to switch their current glucose monitor and testing supplies brand to another brand. Recent reports show this rule may not be adequately protecting beneficiaries. This legislation would strengthen the Anti-Switching Rule by both codifying the rule and requiring suppliers to provide beneficiaries with an explanation of the beneficiary’s rights. 

The Protecting Access to Diabetes Supplies Act of 2017 has been endorsed by The American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists and the American Association of Diabetes Educators. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) in introducing the bipartisan American Miners Pension Act (AMP Act).

Currently, the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan is on the road to insolvency. The American Miners Pension Act will shore up the 1974 UMWA Pension Plan to make sure that nearly 87,000 retired miners receiving pensions, as well as another 20,000 who are vested, won’t lose the pensions they have paid into for decades. In Virginia alone, there are more than 7,300 pensioners who are at risk.  

“Congress made a promise in 1946 to protect coal miners after a lifetime of arduous and dangerous work to help power this nation,” said Sen. Warner. “Earlier this year, we fulfilled part of that promise by making sure healthcare benefits for them and their widows were protected. We need to finish the deal and pass this bipartisan legislation that will ensure retired coal miners in Virginia and across the country get to keep their hard-earned pensions.”

“I am proud to join Senator Warner and our colleagues in introducing this bill to support Virginia’s retired miners who have undoubtedly earned their pensions through difficult and dangerous work,” said Sen. Kaine. “When I met with Castlewood miners a few months ago I reassured them I’d fight for their health care and I’d fight for their pensions. Now that we have secured a permanent health care fix, passage of this legislation would give our miners the peace of mind to know they are protected and their pensions are secure, allowing them to retire with confidence.”

The AMP Act would: 

• Uses the provision from the Miners Protection Act to allow transfers of excess funds in the Abandoned Mine Land program to the 1974 UMWA pension plan.
• Direct the Treasury Department to loan the Pension Plan funds annually.
• Cap the annual loan amount at $600 million and set the interest rate at 1%.
• Require the fund to pay interest for the first 10 years and then pay back the principal plus interest over a 30-year term.
• Require the fund to certify each year that the pension plan is solvent and able to pay back the principal and interest.

In May, part of legislation introduced by Sens. Warner & Kaine was passed by Congress as part of a government spending bill which secured healthcare benefits for 22,600 of our nation’s miners.

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), along with Sens. Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), reintroduced today the Start Up Act, bipartisan jobs legislation to encourage the creation and growth of new business. The legislation was previously introduced in the last Congress.  

The Startup Act, S.1877, would accelerate the commercialization of university research that can lead to new ventures, review and improve the regulatory processes at the federal, state and local levels, and modernize a critical Economic Development Administration (EDA) program to promote innovation and spur economic growth. The legislation also creates both Entrepreneur and STEM visas for highly-educated individuals so they can remain in the United States legally to promote new ideas, fuel economic growth and create good-paying American jobs.

“For years, we have pushed in Congress for commonsense legislation to encourage entrepreneurship and help startup companies grow and thrive,” said Sen. Warner. “This bipartisan bill seeks to attract and retain the talented innovators and entrepreneurs that will help our country and Virginia promote capital investment and achieve economic growth.”

“New business formation and the rate of entrepreneurship have reached historic lows,” said Sen. Moran. “Simply put, America is falling behind and losing talent and jobs to countries overseas. Congress must work to reverse these trends and support policies that allow better opportunities for someone to take an idea, bring it to market, and in the process of pursuing that success, create jobs for other Americans. I am proud to introduce the latest version of the Startup Act and help make certain America remains the land of opportunity for innovators and job creators. This bipartisan legislation would reduce barriers to growth, encourage investment in new businesses, improve the regulatory process, keep talent here in the United States and accelerate the commercialization of university research that can lead to new ventures and the creation of good-paying jobs in Kansas and nationwide. With a new administration and a renewed focus on achieving American economic competitiveness, I urge my colleagues to support the Startup Act so that it can be debated and considered in the Senate.”

Many of the principles included in the Startup Act are based on the research and analysis by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. According to the 2017 Kauffman Foundation Startup Activity Index, the rate of new entrepreneurs in the U.S. decreased in 2016 to 0.31 percent (from 0.33 percent), or 310 out of every 100,000 adults starting new businesses each month. 

Kauffman research shows that immigrants to the United States are nearly twice as likely as native-born Americans to start businesses, and first-generation immigrants now make up nearly 30 percent of all new U.S. entrepreneurs.

Data also shows that international students studying in the U.S. on temporary visas accounted for nearly two-fifths of all Ph.D.s in STEM fields – that number has doubled over the past three decades. Further, international doctoral students were significantly more likely than domestic students to major and earn degrees in STEM disciplines in the U.S. 

“Too many have been left out of our economy. There’s a connection between the long-term decline in entrepreneurship and the effect on productivity, growth and wages,” said Jason Wiens, director of policy, Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. “Put simply, fewer startups means a lower quality of life for all Americans. We need more startups, fast. Based on research, we know that skilled immigrants are more likely than native-born to start new business that hire Americans. Job creation, innovation and overall quality of life for all Americans would receive a boost by increasing the numbers of entrepreneurs in our nation, whether American or foreign-born.”

The provisions in the Startup Act have been endorsed by Information Technology Industry Council, National Venture Capital Association, CCIA, Center for American Entrepreneurship, Sprint, SSTI, Engine, CTA, Kansas State University’s Institute for Commercialization, Internet Association, Enterprise Center of Johnson County, and Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

Summary of the Startup Act:

• Uses existing federal R&D funding to support university initiatives designed to bring cutting-edge research to the marketplace more quickly where it can propel economic growth;

• Requires all government agencies to conduct a cost-benefit analysis of all proposed “significant rules” with an economic impact of $100 million or more. This new requirement will help determine the efficacy of regulations and their potential impact on the formation and growth of new businesses; 

• Directs the U.S. Department of Commerce to assess state and local policies that aid in the development of new businesses. Through the publication of reports on new business formation and the entrepreneurial environment, lawmakers will be better equipped to encourage entrepreneurship with the most successful policies; 

• Accelerates commercialization of taxpayer-funded research to bolster regional commercialization strategies in converting research into new products and services; and 

• Expands and refines the EDA’s Regional Innovation (RI) program, including restoration to its originally authorized $100 million level under the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980. The proposed funding increase would support more innovation systems throughout the country and make awards to pilot a wider variety of outcome-based approaches toward addressing regional innovation needs. 

• Establishes a limited entrepreneurial visa for 75,000 legal immigrants, so they can remain in the United States, launch businesses and create jobs;

• Creates a new limited STEM visa so 50,000 U.S.-educated foreign students, who graduate with a master’s or Ph.D. in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, can receive a green card and stay in this country where their talent and ideas can fuel growth and create American jobs;

• Eliminates the per-country caps for employment-based immigrant visas, which hinder U.S. employers from recruiting the top-tier talent they need to grow.

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