WASHINGTON– Today, members of Virginia’s congressional delegation wrote to the General Services Administration (GSA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) to request an investigation into concerns raised by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) regarding the site selection process for a new FBI headquarters. The letter was signed by US Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), and Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Don Beyer (D-VA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), and Morgan Griffith (R-VA).

“We write to request an immediate investigation into the serious concerns raised by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Wray, regarding the site selection process for a new FBI headquarters,” wrote the Members. “There is overwhelming evidence suggesting that the General Services Administration (GSA) administered a site selection process fouled by political considerations and alleged impropriety – one that was repeatedly curated to arrive at a predetermined outcome.”

“In summary, GSA changed the original site selection criteria – which had been developed by GSA experts, in accordance with the agency’s own best practices for site selection – in a way that favored the Greenbelt site, and did so over the objections of the FBI Director,” the Members continued. “Then GSA changed the person tasked with confirming the final site selection from a career official to a political appointee. As identified by the FBI, there existed a potential conflict of interest with that political appointee, tied to the Greenbelt site. The political appointee then overturned the decision of a panel of career officials who unanimously selected Springfield, in part by changing how certain criteria were calculated and how certain factors were considered, contrary to what had been previously outlined to the public and to Congress by GSA. Almost immediately after directing the final site selection to Greenbelt, the political appointee promptly left the federal government, implicating Congress’s ability to engage with this individual in an oversight capacity. In defending the indefensible, GSA has decided to proceed with the selection of Greenbelt over the objections of its client agency, the FBI.”

“These facts, when taken together, paint an ugly picture of a fatally flawed procurement that demands further investigation,” the Members concluded. “We request that your office initiate an immediate investigation into the site selection process for the FBI headquarters.”

Full text of the letter is available here and below. 

Dear Acting Inspector General Erickson,

We write to request an immediate investigation into the serious concerns raised by the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Christopher Wray, regarding the site selection process for a new FBI headquarters. There is overwhelming evidence suggesting that the General Services Administration (GSA) administered a site selection process fouled by political considerations and alleged impropriety – one that was repeatedly curated to arrive at a predetermined outcome.

Throughout the site selection deliberations, GSA suppressed, dismissed, and overrode the judgement and recommendations of career officials from GSA and the FBI. This has led the Director of the FBI to take the extraordinary step of calling into question the “fairness and transparency in the process and GSA’s failure to adhere to its own site selection plan.”

In July 2023, the agency executed a series of changes to significantly alter long-established site selection criteria and scoring rules. The changes made to the criteria were almost exclusively responsive to perceived concerns and direct requests from representatives of the Greenbelt site, meant to tilt the selection process in favor of Greenbelt. GSA made these changes over the objections of the FBI, which wrote to GSA in a June 26, 2023 memo that the original scoring criteria “best balanced the many wide-ranging elements considered for optimal site selection.”

That same month, the agency finalized a plan to unilaterally remove a career official from the position of Site Selection Authority, the person tasked with confirming the recommendation of the site selection panel and certifying a final site selection. The agency, instead, installed a political appointee as the Site Selection Authority. Director Wray, once again, raised serious objections to the change. Additionally, the FBI identified potential conflicts of interest that the appointee had related to the Greenbelt site, and raised concerns about potential impartiality. These concerns were never fully addressed by GSA.

In August 2023, the site selection panel, comprised of two career GSA officials and one career FBI official, reached a unanimous decision to select Springfield, Virginia as the home for the new FBI headquarters. The new Site Selection Authority unilaterally overturned the decision of the panel, including by making changes to the scoring – contrary to GSA’s own site selection plan – which benefited consideration of the Greenbelt site, and hurt the Springfield site. According to the FBI, “the justification offered for those changes have been both varied and insufficient.”

In summary, GSA changed the original site selection criteria – which had been developed by GSA experts, in accordance with the agency’s own best practices for site selection – in a way that favored the Greenbelt site, and did so over the objections of the FBI Director. Then GSA changed the person tasked with confirming the final site selection from a career official to a political appointee. As identified by the FBI, there existed a potential conflict of interest with that political appointee, tied to the Greenbelt site. The political appointee then overturned the decision of a panel of career officials who unanimously selected Springfield, in part by changing how certain criteria were calculated and how certain factors were considered, contrary to what had been previously outlined to the public and to Congress by GSA. Almost immediately after directing the final site selection to Greenbelt, the political appointee promptly left the federal government, implicating Congress’s ability to engage with this individual in an oversight capacity. In defending the indefensible, GSA has decided to proceed with the selection of Greenbelt over the objections of its client agency, the FBI. 

These facts, when taken together, paint an ugly picture of a fatally flawed procurement that demands further investigation. We request that your office initiate an immediate investigation into the site selection process for the FBI headquarters.  

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), Governor Glenn Youngkin, and Reps. Don Beyer (D-VA), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Jennifer McClellan (D-VA), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Abigail Spanberger (D-VA), Jennifer Wexton (D-VA), and Rob Wittman (R-VA) issued a statement following new reports regarding the selection process run by the General Services Administration (GSA) to determine a location for the new headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):

“We are deeply disturbed to learn that a political appointee at the General Services Administration overruled the unanimous recommendation of a three-person panel comprised of career experts from the GSA and the Federal Bureau of Investigation concluding that Springfield, Virginia is the site best suited for the new FBI headquarters. We have repeatedly condemned political interference in the independent, agency-run site selection process for a new FBI headquarters. Any fair weighing of the criteria points to a selection of Virginia. It is clear that this process has been irrevocably undermined and tainted, and this decision must now be reversed.” 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, wrote to Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Jennifer Granholm detailing the need for the United States to establish its leadership in the research, development, production and manufacturing of new battery technologies. Currently, the People’s Republic of China dominates end-to-end supply chains, including the mining and refining of critical mineral inputs for lithium-ion batteries, which are used in the U.S. energy grid, electric vehicles, and military weapons and platforms, among other industries.

In October 2023, China restricted exports of raw and synthetic graphite, critical to manufacturing battery anodes. The move followed July 2023 export controls on gallium and germanium, two components used in the manufacturing of semiconductors and other critical technologies.

“The PRC near-monopoly over battery production, and the upstream materials they require, poses substantial defense and economic security vulnerabilities,” the senators wrote.

In recent years, the U.S. has taken steps through the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act to establish and re-shore capabilities related to advanced batteries. However, the U.S. currently lacks the infrastructure needed to test and scale up next-generation battery technologies to reach commercial, “gigafactory” scale. Private sector companies then turn to China for up-scaling facilities – posing significant supply chain risks to the United States.

They continued, “We commend the Department of Energy for continuing to be at the forefront of innovation, but the U.S. must become a leader in manufacturing batteries and battery components, while securing our supply chains for the materials that make up those components. In addition, it is critical that the U.S. lead in next-generation battery technology and alternative chemistries, including by supporting domestic companies developing and producing solid-state electrolytes, sodium-ion, lithium-sulfur, and iron-oxide among others.”

In order to ensure that the federal government is adequately investing in domestic battery developments, the senators requested that the Department:

• Ensure consideration of innovative technologies beyond conventional lithium-ion batteries in the next round of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing & Recycling Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA);

• Consider support for public-private pilot-line manufacturing facilities, focusing on innovative technologies;
• Coordinate with the Department of Defense and other national security agencies to support procurement of innovative, U.S.-developed energy storage technologies; and
• Coordinate with federal, state, and tribal permitting agencies to accelerate reviews for domestic mining and processing facilities to secure our supply chains for next-generation battery manufacturing. 

In his capacity as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, Sen. Warner has been an active advocate on the need for the U.S. to counter China’s dominance of this growing industry. Last month, Sen. Warner hosted government officials and domestic industry leaders for a roundtable discussion on securing access to critical minerals, including those used in the manufacturing of advanced batteries.

A copy of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Granholm:

We write to emphasize the national security imperative in outcompeting our adversaries in the next generation of battery technologies. Experts assess the United States to be ten to twenty years behind Asia in commercialization of battery technology, with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) accounting for over three quarters of battery cell production, maintaining a near monopoly on the mining and refining of critical mineral inputs for most batteries.  We provide specific recommendations below to ensure U.S. leadership in this space.

Last year, demand for lithium-ion batteries exceeded 700 GWh globally, and demand is expected to grow over seven times by 2035. These batteries are critical inputs for our electric vehicles, our power grid storage, and our military equipment. As Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks cautioned in 2021, batteries are “essential to thousands of military systems from handheld radios, to unmanned submersibles and to future capabilities like lasers, directed energy weapons and hybrid electric tactical vehicles.” And that “when it comes to batteries, America needs to lead the world.”  

Yet, the U.S. produced less than 10 percent of these batteries last year. By contrast, the PRC accounted for 70 percent of the global production of lithium-ion batteries. Of the five critical minerals required for most lithium-ion batteries, the PRC controls between 60-100 percent of the mining or refining for these minerals.

The PRC near-monopoly over battery production, and the upstream materials they require, poses substantial defense and economic security vulnerabilities. In October 2023, China restricted exports of graphite, critical to manufacturing battery anodes. This follows China’s proposed export controls on gallium and germanium in July 2023.

We commend the Department of Energy for continuing to be at the forefront of innovation, but the U.S. must become a leader in manufacturing batteries and battery components, while securing our supply chains for the materials that make up those components. In addition, it is critical that the U.S. lead in next-generation battery technology and alternative chemistries, including by supporting domestic companies developing and producing solid-state electrolytes, sodium-ion, lithium-sulfur, and iron-oxide among others.

In order to ensure that the U.S. reduces its dependence on adversary-dominated supply chains and capitalizes on innovative domestic battery development, we ask that the Department:

• Ensure consideration of innovative technologies beyond conventional lithium-ion batteries in the next round of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) Battery Materials Processing and Battery Manufacturing & Recycling Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA). Alternative technologies developed and manufactured in the U.S. can help to ensure a more resilient domestic battery market and foster alternatives to supply chains China currently dominates.

• Consider support for public-private pilot-line manufacturing facilities, focusing on innovative technologies. Such facilities could play a key role in allowing our domestic companies to scale up and compete internationally. Currently, no such shared pilot-scale battery and battery component manufacturing facilities exist in the U.S. forcing many of our innovative companies to seek out such facilities abroad exposing firms to IP theft.

• Coordinate with the Department of Defense and other national security agencies to support procurement of innovative, U.S.-developed energy storage technologies. The U.S. government must lead in procuring new technologies, which can enhance mission capability while sending an important signal to domestic industry that the government will reward innovative technology produced domestically.

• Coordinate with federal, state, and tribal permitting agencies to accelerate reviews for domestic mining and processing facilities to secure our supply chains for next-generation battery manufacturing.  For example, several years have passed since the last approval of a major new critical minerals mine on federal lands while at the same time smelters and processing facilities have been closing across the country. This is occurring despite the strong bipartisan consensus that additional mining and processing in the United States is necessary to secure the supply chain for batteries and compete with our adversaries. The Department must ensure that federal, state, and tribal permitting agencies are aware of the urgent nature of this issue.

We ask that your Department within 30 days of receiving this letter brief the Senate Intelligence and Energy and Natural Resources Committees on the initiatives outlined above, and on ongoing research and development of next-generation battery technologies. We also welcome your consideration of how the Intelligence Community can best contribute to, collaborate on, and support these efforts.

With the right support, we are confident that our domestic industry can lead the next generation of battery technology, as it has done in so many of the world’s greatest innovative technologies. We stand ready to assist in that effort.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Senate today passed a measure led by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) that prohibits the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from operating or providing federal funds for drones produced in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba. 

This amendment will now be included in the Appropriations Minibus package to fund Military Construction/Veterans Affairs; Agriculture; Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; and agencies related.

“Drones have tremendous potential to transform our society,” said Sen. Warner. “But we have a responsibility to ensure that as the adoption of this technology continues to grow, we are not advancing the goals of our adversaries. I’m thrilled to see this measure pass to ensure that taxpayer dollars are not being used to purchase or import products that go against U.S. interests.”

“Taxpayer dollars should never fund drones manufactured in regions that are hostile toward our nation, including Communist China,” said Sen. Blackburn. “As the world rapidly becomes more technologically advanced, it’s vital that we protect critical U.S. sectors from the increasingly aggressive New Axis of Evil and their partners. My amendment will help curb the importation of drones produced by our adversaries, keeping our nation safer and encouraging manufacturing here at home.” 

Sen. Warner's amendment will withhold funding included in this appropriations package for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that could be used to benefit drone companies:

1. Located in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, or Cuba;

2. Owned or subject to the influence or control of any government listed above; or

3. Included in the Consolidated Screening List, which the United States Government uses to maintain restrictions on certain exports, reexports, or transfers of items.

The amendment also will prohibit the FAA or its contractors from procuring or operating drones produced in China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela, or Cuba.

In June 2023, Sens. Warner and Blackburn introduced a version of this amendment as standalone legislation, the Stemming The Operation of Pernicious and Illicit (STOP Illicit) Drones Act.

WASHINGTON – As conflict in the Middle East continues as a direct result of the violent and horrific terrorist attacks by Hamas, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is pushing the Biden Administration to ensure that the U.S. response includes efforts to address emergency needs in Gaza, curb crypto-financed terrorism, and continue supporting the release of American hostages.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of State, Sen. Warner and a number of his colleagues stressed the dire situation of more than one million people who have fled the violence and are in need of lifesaving humanitarian assistance as Gaza is predicted to run out of food and water within days.

Sen. Warner and his colleagues wrote, “The United Nations estimates that Gaza will run out of food and water within days. Healthcare facilities are overwhelmed, running desperately short on supplies and impacted by the lack of electricity. The humanitarian needs on the ground have dramatically increased over the past week, and conditions will likely continue to deteriorate in the days and weeks ahead.”

Urging Secretary of State Blinken to provide strong U.S. funding towards the United Nation’s request for $294 million in needed assistance, they continued, “Displaced people around the world depend on lifesaving humanitarian assistance from the UN and its partners to feed their families, receive medical treatment, and secure shelter. The United States should continue its steadfast support for Israel while also doing our part to help the UN assist innocent civilians as they flee the violence.”

In a separate letter to the White House and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Sen. Warner and a group of colleagues highlighted alarming reports that Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) skirted U.S. sanctions and funded their operations through the use of cryptocurrency. Specifically, they noted that the two groups raised over $130 million in crypto and moved millions of dollars among each other. They also requested answers to a number of questions pertaining to the Administration’s plan to prevent the use of crypto for the financing of terrorism.

Sen. Warner and his colleagues wrote, “That the deadly attack by Hamas on Israeli civilians comes as the group has become ‘one of the most sophisticated crypto users in the terror-finance domain’ clarifies the national security threat crypto poses to the U.S., and our allies. Congress and this Administration must take strong action to thoroughly address crypto illicit finance risks before it can be used to finance another tragedy. As Congress considers legislative proposals designed to mitigate crypto money laundering and illicit finance risks, we urge you to swiftly and categorically act to meaningfully curtail illicit crypto activity and protect our national security and that of our allies.”

In a third letter, Sen. Warner joined a group of colleagues in urging President Biden to build on steps he has already taken, and do everything possible to support the safe release of the Americans currently held hostage by Hamas.

Sen. Warner and his colleagues wrote, “Hamas has already killed 30 Americans and likely injured many more. We agree with your labeling of Hamas’s immoral attacks as an ‘act of sheer evil,’ and a ‘violation of every code of human morality.’ The terrorists responsible for these atrocities hide behind human shields while they threaten to livestream the execution of hostages.”

They continued, “As a result, we urge the United States to continue supporting Israel’s urgent efforts to dismantle the threat of Hamas, provide the necessary resources for Israel’s defense, and continue offering whatever support necessary to immediately and safely rescue kidnapped Americans, with particular attention to those who require urgent medical care. Lastly, many families are painfully waiting for any update on the health of their loved ones who have been taken hostage. We urge you to encourage our allies and partners in the region to place pressure on Hamas to allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to have access to the hostages while the United States and Israel work to secure their release.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, released a statement following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s private meeting with senators:

“There has never been a more important time for the United States to stand with our allies in support of Ukraine, and President Zelenskyy’s meeting with senators today bolstered the bipartisan momentum to continue our efforts. We’ve spent years rebuilding NATO after the former president launched it into chaos – we absolutely cannot undo that work and weaken this critical alliance by reneging on our commitments now. President Xi and autocrats around the world are watching.

“Russian military capabilities have been decimated for years to come by its ill-considered and illegal invasion of Ukraine.  Walking away now would undermine the progress in securing Ukrainian independence, undercut NATO, and embolden authoritarian regimes around the world.” 

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U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), applauded today’s Senate passage of the nation’s annual defense bill, which includes top priorities for Virginia, as well as a number of measures championed by Sen. Warner. 

“I’m pleased to see the Senate move forward on a defense bill that provides our military and Department of Defense with the resources needed to preserve our national security. This legislation includes critical measures to improve quality-of-life for servicemembers, advance critical military construction projects, strengthen Virginia’s shipbuilding industry, and support Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression,” said Sen. Warner. “I was proud to vote in favor of this legislation and hope that my colleagues in the House of Representatives will work in good faith to reach a final compromise between the two chambers.” 

The legislation supports $886.3 billion in funding for our nation’s defense, and includes crucial measures supported by Sen. Warner.

Servicemembers and the civilian defense workforce:

• Authorizes a 5.2 percent pay raise for military servicemembers and Department of Defense (DoD) civilian workforce.
• Improves living conditions for enlisted servicemembers by greenlighting improvements to the quality and oversight of barracks. This provision specifically authorizes the replacement of substandard barracks and establishes new requirements that enlisted housing meet the same basic standards as all other military housing.
• Improves living conditions for junior Navy Sailors whose vessels are undergoing an extended maintenance overhaul. This legislation authorizes basic allowance for housing (BAH) payments that allow these servicemembers to live in commercial housing, rather than aboard the ship.
• Supports more equitable housing rates in markets with limited housing inventory by modifying the calculation of basic allowance for housing (BAH) rates.
• Allows for additional financial support for servicemembers, by reducing the threshold used to determine high cost-of-living areas for the purpose of providing a cost-of-living allowance to servicemembers assigned to locations in the continental United States.
• Requires a pilot program to assess the effectiveness of increased compensation for DoD childcare employees, in improving the ability to recruit and retain providers. To help address the overwhelming demand for childcare, last year Sen. Warner was able to secure $3.5 million in planning & design funding to support two new child development centers at Hampton Roads installations. This year’s Senate-passed NDAA would authorize $78 million in construction funding for additional facilities.
• Encourages a comprehensive review of the Navy’s efforts to prevent and respond to incidents of death by suicide, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation in commands and organizations within the Navy that have not been reviewed by other studies.

Strengthening our nation’s defense and cyber defense capabilities:

• Authorizes $16.7 billion for military construction projects, including $625 million for 19 military construction projects in Virginia.
• Authorizes the Navy to enter into one or more contracts for the multiyear procurement of the next block of 10 Virginia-class submarines.
• Directs the Navy to schedule maintenance and repair activities for amphibious ships in order to ensure that 24 such warships are available for worldwide deployment at any given time.
• Requires the development of a regional cybersecurity strategy to support the operations of each geographic combatant command.
• Requires the establishment of a dedicated cyber intelligence capability to support information-sharing on technology developments, capabilities, operations, and intentions of actors who pose cyber threats.
• Directs DoD to support institutions of higher education on cyber workforce education and development efforts in the fields of cybersecurity, intelligence, data science, information security management, and quantum information science.
• Increases transparency surrounding the DoD’s investments in Artificial Intelligence by requiring DoD to provide an annual report to Congress detailing the categories of AI technologies and their respective investment amounts, and an analysis of how these investments support broader AI direction and strategies at the Department. This provision stems from an amendment by Sen. Warner.
• Strengthens the security of U.S. elections infrastructure by requiring that voting systems undergo simulated attacks as part of their standard certification process. This provision, written by Warner, would direct the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to require that systems seeking certification undergo penetration testing, a practice that allows researchers to search for vulnerabilities by attempting to attack a system with the same tools and techniques used by cybercriminals.

Countering aggression by adversaries like Russia and China:

• Prohibits the purchase of drones from countries like China that pose a national security threat. This provision, championed in part by Warner, prohibits federal dollars from being used to procure commercial off-the-shelf drone or covered unmanned aircraft systems from countries identified as posing a national security threat. 
• Authorizes the full budget request for the European Deterrence Initiative (EDI) and the Pacific Deterrence Initiative (PDI).
• Establishes the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative, a defense initiative with allies and partners of the United States, including Australia, Japan, and India.
• Underscores the United States’ commitment to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and emphasizes the importance of maintaining a unified response to the Russian Federation’s unjust war in Ukraine. Sen. Warner has been a strong supporter of NATO, which conducts crucial work in Virginia at NATO Allied Command Transformation in Hampton Roads.
• Supports Ukraine in its fight against Russian attacks and aggression byextending the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) through fiscal year 2027 and authorizing the full budget request of $300 million in fiscal year 2024.The USAI is one of the main tools used by the U.S. in support of Ukraine’s defensive needs. This legislation also extends waivers for the streamlined acquisition of defense stocks related to Ukraine and authorizes additional munitions eligible for multiyear procurement contracts.
• Limits or prohibits Department of Defense funding for institutions or researchers that contract with Chinese or Russian institutions that engage in intellectual property theft or are linked to the Chinese or Russian military, or intelligence services.
• Provides support to Taiwan by establishing a comprehensive training, advising, and institutional capacity-building program for the military forces of Taiwan.

Now that both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed their versions of the annual defense bill, negotiators from both chambers will have to participate in a conference process to negotiate a final bill to send to the President’s desk.  

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WASHINGTON– Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement regarding the General Services Administration’s (GSA) announcement of adjusted selection criteria for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) new headquarters:

“The GSA didn’t pluck its initial criteria out of thin air—it spent years talking to experts and carefully deliberating on what is best for the mission of the FBI. While we are concerned that these changes to the criteria will further delay what has already been a drawn-out, decade-long process to select a new site to replace the dilapidated headquarters downtown, we remain confident that Virginia continues to be a home run in every category, and encourage the GSA to draw this process to a close sooner rather than later.”

High-Quality Photo Available for Download Here 

WASHINGTON — Today U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus and Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement following Prime Minister Modi’s address to a joint session of Congress:

“Prime Minister Modi’s address to Congress today emphasized the strong friendship that has been built between our two countries, fostered by a range of close economic ties and shared opportunities. I’m pleased to see President Biden and Prime Minister Modi utilize this visit to continue to deepen the bonds between our countries and expand our cooperation on defense, trade, technology, and innovation. It’s also more important than ever – in the face of rising global authoritarianism – that we respect and reaffirm the shared values that form the foundations of our respective nations, such as democracy, universal human rights, tolerance and pluralism, and equal opportunity for all citizens. As the Co-Chair of the Senate India Caucus, I look forward to this continued partnership because I know that the U.S.-India relationship is one that’s worth investing in.”

Earlier this week, Sen. Warner introduced legislation to streamline the United States’ ability to consider defensive military sales to India under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act (AECA). This legislation would support ongoing security cooperation between the two nations by adding India to a list of counties outlined under the AECA – like Australia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea – that have access to an expedited 15-day consideration and a higher financial threshold for deals that trigger Congressional review. He also joined his colleagues in introducing a resolution celebrating the relationship between the U.S. and India.

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WASHINGTON – Today, ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and John Cornyn (R-TX), co-chairs of the Senate India Caucus, introduced legislation that would streamline consideration of defensive military sales to India under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act (AECA), supporting ongoing security cooperation between the two nations.

The AECA outlines requirements for Congress to be notified prior to the finalization of foreign military sales. Under standard consideration, a presidential administration is required to notify Congress 30 calendar days before any deal for defense articles, services, or training above a certain financial threshold becomes final. However, for certain countries outlined under the AECA – like Australia, Japan, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea – the law provides an expedited 15-day consideration period for Congress, and raises the financial threshold for deals that trigger that review. Sens. Warner and Cornyn’s legislation would list India as one of the countries that receives expedited consideration, reflecting the importance of this security relationship, and ultimately supporting more resilient defense supply chains. This legislation does not intend to address membership in any formal alliances, and instead addresses domestic U.S. arms export regulation.

“The relationship between the United States and India is a crucial one,” said Sen. Warner. “Streamlining our nation’s ability to consider defense sales to India will strengthen our defense partnership as well as our supply chains – both of which are crucial as we grapple with threats to a free and open Indo-Pacific region.”

“India’s transition from Russian-made weapons to military equipment made in the U.S. and India is a step towards ensuring this critical ally has the defense capabilities it needs without enriching one of our adversaries,” said Sen. Cornyn. “By increasing investment by U.S. companies and expediting the process of purchasing military equipment, we can remove barriers to U.S.-India cooperation and increase our own national security at the same time. ” 

As co-chairs of the India Caucus, protecting and advancing the partnership between the United States and India is a priority for Sens. Warner and Cornyn. The Senators have introduced a version of the legislation as an amendment to the annual National Defense Authorization Act every year since 2019.

A copy of the bill text is available here. 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) today announced bipartisan legislation to reform the security classification system in order to reduce overclassification, prevent mishandling of classified information, promote better use of intelligence, and enhance public trust.

“The government systematically overclassifies too much information, at a dangerous cost to both the nation’s security and the public trust.  At the same time, we too often fail to protect the nation’s most important secrets.  As chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I think it is clear that our security classification system is badly in need of change,” said Sen. Warner. “Given the explosion in digital records, the status quo is no longer tenable.  We’ve got too many people with access to a system that is devoid of accountability and has grown increasingly byzantine, bureaucratic, and outmoded. We need to protect our national security secrets, and then declassify those secrets when protections are no longer necessary.  It’s time for Congress to take action and establish accountability.”

“Controlling access to sensitive information enables the U.S. to remain at least one step ahead of its adversaries, but declassification gives us the opportunity to work with our allies around the world and show the American people what their government is doing,” said Sen. Cornyn. “These bills would modernize the process for classification, ensure the safety and security of what should be classified, and make the declassification process more efficient as we seek to strike the delicate balance between transparency and secrecy.”

“Public access to government information is vital to a democratic society. Yet, as has been the case for many years, far too many records are classified. And, because of obsolete technology, far too few of those records ever see the light of day, even after they no longer meet the requirements for classification. One necessary step in addressing this crisis is to put someone in charge of modernizing the system so that records are tracked and then declassified and released when appropriate,” Sen. Wyden said. “This legislation accomplishes that goal by designating the DNI as the Executive Agent for Classification and Declassification, a reform that Senator Moran and I have been pushing for years.  It is also critical that the rules that govern declassification of records be updated and strengthened and that the entities responsible for oversight of the system be empowered.”

“In the digital age, our classification system is absorbing a flood of new, critical information,” said Sen. Moran. “When it comes to declassifying documents, our current analog declassification process is about as effective as using an eye dropper to drain a flood. These deficiencies undermine our national security, and a backlog of unnecessary classified material is harming our ability to protect what should be secret from our enemies. We are long overdue for an overhaul that begins with an up-to-date declassification system in order to better secure our national secrets, and it begins with the legislation introduced today.”

The Classification Reform Act of 2023 will undertake significant reforms to the classification process. Among other steps, it will establish a new system of governance and accountability for the security classification system. It also provides that information may only be or remain classified where the harm to national security reasonably expected from disclosure outweighs the public interest. The legislation sets the maximum period for classification at 25 years, allowing only agency heads or the president to extend classification protections beyond that duration. In addition, the legislation also takes several other substantive steps to improve security while expanding transparency, including by establishing minimum standards for executive branch insider threat programs and mandating a security review of presidential and vice presidential records to ensure that records bearing classification markings are not improperly categorized as personal records and removed from secure facilities. In addition to Sens. Warner, Cornyn, Wyden and Moran, the legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Angus King (I-ME), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Bob Casey (D-PA).

In addition, the Sensible Classification Act of 2023 will codify classification authority, streamline the processes for declassification, dedicate additional resources to the issue of declassification, invest in new technology to assist with classification reviews, and undertake an evaluation of existing security clearances and their justifications to identify potential areas for additional reforms. In addition to Sens. Warner, Cornyn, Wyden and Moran, the legislation is co-sponsored by Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Angus King (I-ME), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Bob Casey (D-PA).

A one-pager is available here.

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WASHINGTON – With violence erupting across the country, resulting in hundreds of civilian deaths and forcing hundreds of thousands to flee in search of safety, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today formally requested that the Biden administration issue a new Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Sudan.

In a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the senators expressed their concern with the worsening humanitarian conditions in Sudan as intense fighting continues across the country despite multiple attempted ceasefires.

“In recent weeks, violence in Sudan has claimed hundreds of lives, injured thousands, forcibly displaced tens of thousands, and terrorized many more,” the senators wrote. “Despite multiple attempted ceasefires between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), intense and indiscriminate fighting continues across the country, including within the densely populated capital of Khartoum, and in the continuously conflict-stricken region of Darfur. Ongoing hostilities have led to the near collapse of the healthcare system, significantly disrupted the flow of humanitarian aid into the country, and in many cases made access to basic resources like food, water, and medication impossible.”

Established by the U.S. Congress through the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS is a temporary, renewable program that provides relief from deportation and access to a work permit for foreign nationals from certain countries who are unable to return safely to their home country due to natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary conditions. There are more than 54,000 immigrants from Sudan in the United States as of 2021, according to data, with the highest concentration located in Fairfax County, VA.

The senators continued, “Given the extremely violent clashes, deteriorating conditions, and the posture of the Department of State, it is clear that Sudan meets the standards for TPS. To that end, it is critical that a new designation be issued for Sudan that reflects the ongoing armed conflict and the continued extraordinary and temporary conditions on the ground.”

Last week Sen. Warner expressed his support for the steps the Biden administration has taken to deliver humanitarian assistance to the region and push for an end to the violence through diplomatic efforts. Sen. Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), has been pushing for the administration to ensure the safety and security of U.S. citizens in Sudan and urging both sides to commit to a permanent ceasefire. Last week, he held an event in Richmond with members of Virginia’s Sudanese American community to hear their perspectives on the conflict and discuss ways he can be helpful. Sens. Warner and Kaine have been longtime supporters of the TPS program for regions facing instability, most recently joining 116 of their colleagues in a letter, led by Sen. Kaine and Rep. Castro, to the Biden administration requesting the redesignation of TPS for El Salvador and Honduras and celebrating the Biden administration’s decision to issue a Temporary Protected Status designation for Cameroon during a period of unrelenting violence.

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

Dear Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken:

We urge you to issue a new Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Sudan, as the current armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has led to a mass exodus of individuals fleeing violence, scarcity of essential goods, and rapidly deteriorating health services. A new designation would protect current Sudanese TPS holders from returning to Sudan in the midst of this violence and would offer protected status to Sudanese nationals who arrived after March 1, 2022.

In recent weeks, violence in Sudan has claimed hundreds of lives, injured thousands, forcibly displaced tens of thousands, and terrorized many more. Despite multiple attempted ceasefires between the SAF and the RSF, intense and indiscriminate fighting continues across the country, including within the densely populated capital of Khartoum, and in the continuously conflict-stricken region of Darfur. Ongoing hostilities have led to the near collapse of the healthcare system, significantly disrupted the flow of humanitarian aid into the country, and in many cases made access to basic resources like food, water, and medication impossible.

Due to the continued threat of armed conflict, on April 22, 2023, the U.S Department of State issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory and ordered the departure of Embassy employees. This is part of a broader effort by the U.S., in coordination with regional and international partners, to evacuate U.S. nationals from Khartoum and allow for a safe path into neighboring countries. Given the extremely violent clashes, deteriorating conditions, and the posture of the Department of State, it is clear that Sudan meets the standards for TPS. To that end, it is critical that a new designation be issued for Sudan that reflects the ongoing armed conflict and the continued extraordinary and temporary conditions on the ground.

It is important to note that, while the situation is rapidly changing, the threat will not subside immediately once the conflict stops. Lasting damage has been done to Sudan’s telecommunications networks, electrical infrastructure, and transportation systems, including to Khartoum International Airport, making international travel extremely difficult. 

Redesignating Sudan’s TPS status would also provide much needed clarity for current Sudanese TPS holders and would offer protection for Sudanese individuals who entered the U.S. more recently. As you know, Sudanese nationals living in the United States can currently apply for TPS under the April 2022 designation, which expires on October 19, 2023. TPS holders under the 2013 designation are facing an uncertain future due to ongoing litigation. The expiration date of TPS documentation under the 2013 designation is contingent on the outcome of the Ramos v. Nielsen case – a lawsuit determining the legality of the Trump Administration’s termination of Sudan’s 2013 designation – which could potentially remove status for TPS holders who have not applied under the 2022 designation.

Additionally, while TPS holders registered under the 2022 designation are exempt from the ongoing litigation, their protection expires in October. Further, there is currently no recourse for Sudanese nationals who have arrived in the U.S. after March 2022. This uncertainty and the continued dangerous circumstances in Sudan have created considerable hardship for TPS recipients and their families, including American-born children.

A new TPS designation for Sudan would protect eligible beneficiaries from the dangers they face if they were removed and would provide protection for newer arrivals. In light of these considerations, we strongly urge you to redesignate TPS for Sudan to ensure that Sudanese nationals already living in the U.S. are not forced to return to a nation facing violence and instability.

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

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