Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Last week, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Rick Scott (R-FL) introduced the American Security Drone Act of 2023, legislation to prohibit the purchase of drones from countries identified as national security threats, such as China.

“I am a staunch supporter of unmanned systems and drone investment here in the United States, and I wholeheartedly believe that we must continue to invest in domestic production of drones,” said Sen. Warner. “But the purchase of drones from foreign countries, especially those that have been deemed a national security threat, is dangerous. I am glad to introduce legislation that takes logical steps to protect our data from foreign adversaries and meanwhile supports American manufacturers.”

“I’ve been clear for years: the United States should never spend taxpayer dollars on anything made in Communist China, especially drones which pose a significant threat to our national security,” said Sen. Scott. “Xi and the Communist Party of China are on a quest for global domination and whether it’s with spy balloons, TikTok or drones, they will stop at nothing to infiltrate our society and steal our data. I’m proud to join my colleagues to reintroduce the bipartisan American Security Drone Act to STOP the U.S. from buying drones manufactured in nations identified as national security threats. This important bill is critical to our national security and should be passed by the Senate, House and signed into law IMMEDIATELY.”

Specifically, The American Security Drone Act:

Prohibits federal departments and agencies from procuring certain foreign commercial off-the-shelf drone or covered unmanned aircraft system manufactured or assembled in countries identified as national security threats, and provides a timeline to end current use of these drones.
Prohibits the use of federal funds awarded through certain contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements to state or local governments from being used to purchase foreign commercial off-the-shelf drones or covered unmanned aircraft systems manufactured or assembled in a country identified as a national security threat.
Requires the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress detailing the amount of foreign commercial off-the-shelf drones and covered unmanned aircraft systems procured by federal departments and agencies from countries identified as national security threats.

In addition to Sens. Warner and Scott, the legislation is cosponsored by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Josh Hawley (R-MO).

Sen. Warner is a strong supporter of the domestic production of unmanned systems, including driverless cars, drones, and unmanned maritime vehicles. Earlier this month, Sen. Warner introduced the Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act, legislation that will clear the way for drones to be used for commercial transport of goods across the country.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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ON THE COMMONWEALTH’S POLICY CHANGES

ON THE IMPORTANCE OF AN EFFECTIVE ASHANTI ALERT SYSTEM

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) is applauding crucial changes to the deployment of the Ashanti Alert, which provides rapid dissemination of information to law enforcement agencies, media, and the public about adults who have been reported missing. This revised policy follows relentless advocacy by the Senator, who has worked publicly and behind the scenes to ensure that the Ashanti Alert is utilized effectively and able to save lives.

“I’m pleased to see the Commonwealth approach this issue in a thoughtful manner and act to ensure that the Ashanti Alert is able to achieve its intended purpose of saving lives. While it’s impossible to design a perfect system that prevents every tragedy, it’s my hope that Virginia’s revised missing person report form will increase transparency and clarity, and that the Commonwealth’s commitment to proactively contact local police to see if an Ashanti Alert is necessary will prevent urgent cases from slipping through the cracks. I look forward to seeing the Virginia State Police work to inform local law enforcement about the Ashanti Alert process and ensure that it is closely followed,” said Sen. Warner.

The revised policy – detailed in a letter from the Commonwealth of Virginia – comes in response to a formal inquiry by Sen. Warner, who wrote to the Youngkin administration in December expressing concern with the Ashanti Alert’s deployment. In the letter, the Senator underscored the case of Marie Covington, whose Ashanti Alert was issued two days after she was reported missing and two hours before she was found murdered. In the letter, the Senator posed a number of questions about the alert’s deployment, and urged the Youngkin administration to re-examine the criteria used to decide when and whether to issue an alert.

A champion for the Ashanti Alert, Sen. Warner secured unanimous passage of the Ashanti Alert Act through the Senate on December 6, 2018 and the bill was signed into law on December 31, 2018. Since its implementation, Sen. Warner has consistently secured $1 million annually in government spending to support states who chose to implement an Ashanti Alert system. That funding was included in the Fiscal Year 2023 government spending bill.

The Ashanti Alert Act is named after Ashanti Billie, the 19-year-old who was abducted in Norfolk, Va. on September 18, 2017. Her body was discovered in North Carolina 11 days after she was first reported missing. At the time of Ashanti’s abduction, she was too old for an Amber Alert and too young for a Silver Alert. The Ashanti Alert, like the other alert systems, would notify the public about missing or endangered adults through radio and television broadcast systems to assist law enforcement in the search.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $54,074,769 in federal funding to improve affordable housing across the Commonwealth. The funding is awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Capital Improvements’ Capital Fund, which annually provides funds to Public Housing Agencies (PHAs) for the development, financing, and modernization of public housing developments and for management improvements.

“Affordable housing should be accessible to all Virginians,” said the Senators. “We’re glad this funding will help make improvements to affordable housing units and ensure more Virginians have a safe place to call home.”

The funding is distributed as follows:

$14,273,592 for the Richmond Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$10,336,316 for the Norfolk Housing & Redevelopment Authority
$4,824,916 for the Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$3,639,100 for the Newport News Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$2,129,956 for the Portsmouth Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$2,021,944 for the Alexandria Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,679,717 for the Chesapeake Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,539,679 for the Danville Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,528,841 for the Suffolk Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,273,668 for the Charlottesville Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,210,188 for the Petersburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,189,457 for the Lynchburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,154,475 for the Hopewell Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$1,144,523 for the Bristol Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$998,220 for the Hampton Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$802,959 for the Cumberland Plateau Regional Housing Authority
$783,482 for the Marion Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$729,287 for the Wytheville Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$672,297 for the Norton Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$598,157 for the Wise County Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$597,603 for the Waynesboro Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$374,675 for the Williamsburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$285,899 for the Scott County Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$186,660 for the Lee County Redevelopment & Housing Authority
$92,323 for the Abingdon Redevelopment and Housing Authority
$6,835 for the Franklin Redevelopment & Housing Authority

Capital grants can be used to address maintenance needs, reduce vacancies, relocate residents, fund programs supporting economic self-sufficiency, support resident security, safety, and homeownership activities, integrate utility management and energy saving measures, and make other improvements.

Sens. Warner and Kaine, a former fair housing attorney, have long supported efforts to increase access to affordable housing. In December, they announced $842,000 in federal funding to help veterans access affordable housing and $940,000 to help Virginians with disabilities access affordable housing. They’ve introduced legislation that would address rising home prices, assist first-generation homebuyers, and close widening wealth and homeownership gaps. Kaine has also introduced legislation that would protect veterans and low-income families from housing discrimination.

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) Chairman Mark R. Warner and Sen. Tim Kaine, a member of the Senate Armed Services (SASC) and Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), joined Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) in a bipartisan push to fully fund the Department of Defense (DOD) office that addresses unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) and airborne national security risks. The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) was created following a UAP amendment in the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to focus the DOD on resolving UAP sightings, improve data sharing between the DOD and intelligence community on UAP sightings, address national security concerns, and report health effects people may experience in relation to UAP events. AARO has access to DOD and intelligence community UAP data and is required to provide Congress with briefings and reports on UAPs. The Fiscal Year 2023 funding falls short of what AARO needs to fulfill its mission and maintain U.S. air supremacy.

“AARO provides the opportunity to integrate and resolve threats and hazards to the U.S., while also offering increased transparency to the American people and reducing the stigma around this issue of high public interest,” wrote the senators. “AARO’s success will depend on robust funding for its activities and cooperation between the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. As such, we respectfully request your assistance in securing the necessary funding and organizational support for AARO’s success and longevity.”

In addition to Warner, Kaine, Gillibrand, and Rubio, the letter is signed by Senators Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Deputy Secretary Hicks and Deputy Director Dixon,

We write today regarding implementation of Section 1683 of the Fiscal Year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the development of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). AARO provides the opportunity to integrate and resolve threats and hazards to the U.S., while also offering increased transparency to the American people and reducing the stigma. AARO’s success will depend on robust funding for its activities and cooperation between the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. As such, we respectfully request your assistance in securing the necessary funding and organizational support for AARO’s success and longevity.

While we recognize there was an Administration request for funds in Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) to fund basic operating expenses for AARO, it is facing a funding shortfall that will impede its ability to fulfill its mission. The amount outlined in the classified attachment is crucial to AARO’s scientific plan, and the lack of funding for these capabilities presents a serious impediment to AARO’s mission. We believe it is imperative for the Department of Defense to reprogram funds to cover this serious funding gap and it is for these reasons that we ask that the Department of Defense reprogram funds to prevent disruption to AARO’s work. Without FY23 funding, AARO’s ability to deliver integrated collection and analysis will fall behind schedule and be sub-optimized.

Additionally, while we understand that the Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) Presidential Budget Request is all but finalized, we anticipate that the request will not include necessary Research, Development, Test, and Evaluations funding for FY24. While we appreciate that the Department of Defense has been vocal in expressing its support for the resolution of unidentified anomalous phenomena, this commitment must also be reflected in funding requests provided to Congress. Accordingly, we urge you to work with Congress to ensure that AARO is funded appropriately in FY24 and that robust funding is requested for FY25.

In addition to securing necessary funding, we request a briefing from your offices on your agencies’ plan to implement the dual reporting of AARO to the leadership of the Department of Defense and the Intelligence Community. The FY23 Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) requires that the Director of AARO report directly to the Deputy Secretary of Defense and the Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, with administrative support provided by the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. The briefing should cover the balance between Intelligence Community and Department of Defense involvement, including how Title 10 and Title 50 authorities will be delegated to, and exercised by, the Director of AARO. We see it as essential that AARO’s activities are not viewed or managed as solely an intelligence activity.

The FY22 and FY23 IAAs and NDAAs provided broad authorities for the resolution of unidentified anomalous phenomena across domains, demonstrating significant support for its mission from Congress. It is critical that the aspirations of AARO’s mission are met with the resources necessary to succeed.

Thank you for your consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Today elected officials and community leaders held a press conference in Springfield to lay out why Northern Virginia is the ideal location for the new Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) headquarters, as the FBI and the General Services Administration (GSA) work to finalize a location after years of work on the project spanning multiple presidential administrations.

“Virginia is the best place to live, work, and raise a family for law enforcement. The Commonwealth has a diverse workforce, hosts a well positioned transportation network with close proximity to public and private sector partners, and is home to major federal agencies from the Pentagon to the FBI academy in Quantico,” Gov. Glenn Youngkin said. “The Springfield site is ideal for the next FBI headquarters because it saves the most money for U.S. taxpayers. Virginia stands ready to ensure that the FBI is well-positioned to continue to serve all Americans.”

“As Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I know the kind of threats facing our nation. These threats are dramatically different than they were even a couple of decades ago, and we won’t be able to meet these increasingly complex challenges without a workforce that looks like the face of America,” said Sen. Mark Warner. “With the Springfield site, the Biden administration has an exciting opportunity to make good on its promise to invest in diverse and underserved communities, and in doing so can deliver a world-class HQ that best helps the men and women of the FBI meet their mission day-in and day-out.”

“Virginia is good for the FBI mission and good for the FBI workers. Between the fantastic transportation network, schools, business climate, national security network, diverse communities, commitment to affordable housing, and site readiness, there's no better place for the FBI headquarters than Springfield, Virginia,” Sen. Tim Kaine said.

“The merits and ability to meet the FBI’s mission must drive the GSA’s decision for the new FBI headquarters. The Springfield site is the clear leader in nexus to FBI partner facilities, access to transit, equity, and cost effectiveness. Those criteria, not political gamesmanship, should drive this process,” said Rep. Gerry Connolly.

“Northern Virginia is a vibrant and diverse community, and a great place to live and work – which the many FBI employees who already live here know very well,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “Bringing the FBI to Virginia and this area would be a huge boon to our region, and would bring opportunity to so many who need it. I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue making the case that Virginia is the best place to put the new FBI headquarters.”

“As the Representative for Virginia’s Seventh District — home of the FBI Academy at Quantico, I’m proud to unite with Virginia’s elected officials to make the clear case for why the FBI Headquarters should come to our Commonwealth,” said Rep. Abigail Spanberger. “As a former federal agent and CIA case officer who worked joint cases with the FBI, I know their commitment to keeping our country safe. This region has a strong respect for the FBI’s employees and its mission, particularly because so many of these public servants already call Virginia home. I’m deeply proud to represent these extraordinary law enforcement professionals and their families, and I know that the FBI’s mission will be strengthened by its long-term presence here in Northern Virginia.”

“Through my work as a delegate and pastor at First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries, Virginia, I speak with Virginians of different backgrounds every single day. From my constituents, I know that the Springfield community is an ideal location for the FBI to pursue its mission,” said Del. Luke Torian, Chair, Virginia’s Minority Business Commission. “Our vibrant, talented, and diverse workforce is ready to offer the FBI a steady stream of future career officers and law enforcement personnel for years to come.”

“I want to restate the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ unequivocal support for Springfield as the choice location for the FBI headquarters,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey C. McKay. “Our universal backing is based on multiple factors, all of which lead us to definitively state that the Springfield site is head and shoulders above the competition and makes the most sense for residents, taxpayers and FBI employees alike. The extraordinary economic opportunity that this investment would bring to the historically underserved, majority-minority community of Greater Springfield cannot be overstated.”

“There are still pockets of great need that persist in our community, and it is hard to imagine a larger investment, either in our community or its residents, than the relocation of the FBI headquarters to Fairfax County and the Franconia District,” said Franconia District Supervisor Rodney Lusk. “I am proud to be standing here this morning as part of this coalition of leaders who are stepping forward to commit the full faith and partnership of our region to supporting that investment.”

“Our area is uniquely well-equipped to provide transportation solutions that will benefit the bureau for decades to come. Through Virginia’s more than $15 billion investment in multimodal transportation improvements, the Springfield site provides more travel choices and public transportation options than any other site being considered, whether it’s FBI workers commuting to the new headquarters or traveling between FBI offices, Department of Justice or private entities,” said Loudoun Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall, Chair, Northern Virginia Transportation Authority. “I look forward to welcoming the FBI to Springfield, and being a trusted partner with the agency as it continues to grow.”

“Northern Virginia’s diversity is its strength,” said Susana Marino, President & CEO, NOVA Hispanic American Chamber. “Bringing the new FBI headquarters here would showcase the federal government’s commitment to furthering equity and diversity.”

Earlier this month, the Commonwealth’s congressional delegation and Gov. Youngkin sent a letter to the GSA and FBI detailing the ways in which Springfield best meets the five selection criteria set forth by the GSA and FBI, which are: support for the FBI mission requirement; transportation access; site development flexibility; promoting sustainable siting and advancing equity; and cost.

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WASHINGTON – As the General Services Administration (GSA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) work to finalize a location for the new FBI headquarters, Virginia’s leaders are joining together to make the case that Springfield is the superior site.

In a letter, the Commonwealth’s bipartisan congressional delegation and Gov. Glenn Youngkin detailed the ways in which Springfield best meets the five selection criteria set forth by the GSA and FBI, which are: support for the FBI mission requirement; transportation access; site development flexibility; promoting sustainable siting and advancing equity; and cost.

“The Springfield site presents the government with a comprehensive and holistic candidate location to house the FBI, as it performs strongly across all criteria. Springfield would provide the men and women of the FBI with a location that best enables them to meet their critical law enforcement and national security missions, allow GSA to execute that according to best practices in public real estate acquisitions, and provide the government with a strong and exciting opportunity to meet its community investment goals,” they wrote.

The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine, Gov. Glenn Youngkin, and U.S. Reps. Bobby Scott, Rob Wittman, Gerry Connolly, Don Beyer, Abigail Spanberger, Jennifer Wexton, and Jen Kiggans. A full copy of the letter is available here.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) along with Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09) urged the Army Corps of Engineers to act quickly to finalize the Buchanan County Consolidated School Relocation Project, a project that would relocate and consolidate the existing Hurley High School and Buchanan County Career, Technology & Higher Learning Center from their existing locations in a floodplain onto one campus in Grundy, Virginia.

“The relocation of Hurley High School and the Buchanan County Career Center will provide a safe and reliable facility for the communities of Grundy and Hurley, Virginia,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter. “Recent significant rainfall events in Buchanan County have showed that time is of the essence to complete this critical consolidation and relocation project. We urge USACE to prioritize finalizing the Buchanan County School Relocation Contract as quickly as possible so this critical project can get underway.”

Due to consistent, severe flooding in Buchanan County – including two recent flooding events in 2021 and 2022 – USACE has implemented flood risk management measures in the county since the early 2000s. In August 2003, USACE approved a conceptual level Detailed Project Report package for the Buchanan County Nonstructural Project that identified Hurley High School and Buchanan County Career Center as “feasible for floodproofing by means of a ‘ringwall.’”

In 2019, the Buchanan County Nonstructural Project received significant supplemental appropriations to complete flood risk management activities pursuant to the Disaster Relief Act of 2019. Given the lapse in time, a USACE review determined that a ringwall for the high school was no longer feasible and relocation was the most viable solution. The Buchanan County Board of Education then submitted plans to relocate the career center to the same location as the high school, which was supported by a 2021 Supplemental Environmental Assessment produced by USACE.

In their letter, the lawmakers highlighted the elongated approval process, and requested quick action finalizing a project that is vital for Southwest Virginia.

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Assistant Secretary Connor:

We write today concerning the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Consolidated School Relocation Project, which is part of the Buchanan County Section 202 Nonstructural Flood Damage Reduction Project. The purpose of this project is to relocate and consolidate the existing Hurley High School and Buchanan County Career, Technology & Higher Learning Center from their existing locations in a floodplain onto one campus in Grundy, Virginia. We respectfully request that USACE act swiftly to finalize the Buchanan County Consolidated School Relocation Project, which is essential for our constituents in Southwest Virginia.

Over the decades, the community of Buchanan County has faced a number of severe flooding events – including two recent significant rainfall events in 2021 and 2022 that resulted in Major Disaster Declarations. As a result of these recurring flooding events, USACE has implemented flood risk management measures in Buchanan County since the early 2000s. In August 2003, USACE approved a conceptual/feasibility level Detailed Project Report package for the Buchanan County Nonstructural Project that identified Hurley High School and Buchanan County Career Center as “feasible for floodproofing by means of a ‘ringwall.’”

In 2019, the Buchanan County Nonstructural Project received significant supplemental appropriations to complete flood risk management activities pursuant to the Disaster Relief Act of 2019. Given the lapse of time, USACE was able to examine the feasibility of onsite nonstructural flood protection for Hurley High School and the Buchanan County Career Center. Following this review, USACE determined that the nonstructural floodproofing options for the high school were not feasible and converting to the nonstructural measure of acquisition by relocation was the most viable solution for providing flood protection. Although the ringwall was confirmed feasible for the career center, the Buchanan County Board of Education submitted alternative plans to relocate the career center to the same location as the high school, which was supported by a 2021 Supplemental Environmental Assessment produced by USACE.

It is our understanding that the Great Lakes & Ohio River Division transmitted the Draft Consolidated School Relocation Agreement Contract to USACE headquarters on October 26, 2022 for review and comment. At the request of USACE headquarters, we understand the Huntington District Office drafted a Letter Report and detailed responses to comments and questions posed by USACE headquarters intended to supplement the 2003 Detailed Project Report and document the considerations leading to the updated decision to achieve the most cost effective and implementable plan. We understand the Letter Report and additional materials were transmitted to the Great Lakes & Ohio River Division for review on January 13, 2023, approved, and then transmitted to USACE headquarters on January 23, 2023 for final review. It is now our understanding that USACE headquarters is in the final stages of reviewing the Buchanan County Consolidated School Relocation Contract.

The relocation of Hurley High School and the Buchanan County Career Center will provide a safe and reliable facility for the communities of Grundy and Hurley, Virginia. Recent significant rainfall events in Buchanan County have showed that time is of the essence to complete this critical consolidation and relocation project. We urge USACE to prioritize finalizing the Buchanan County School Relocation Contract as quickly as possible so this critical project can get underway.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with USACE to advance this important project for Buchanan County, Virginia.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) along with U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA-16) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA-19) reintroduced the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act (BGTTA) — legislation that would amend the Internal Revenue Code to ensure that funding for broadband deployment from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP) will not be considered taxable income. This legislation was first introduced last Congress in both the Senate and the House of Representatives with bipartisan support.

Grants awarded for the purposes of broadband deployment are currently factored into a company’s income and are subject to taxation. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation moves to exclude broadband deployment grants awarded through the IIJA, ARP, and Tribal Broadband Connectivity Fund from an organization’s income, ensuring the entirety of federal dollars awarded to companies for the purpose of deploying broadband around the country can be used wholly for that purpose, rather than making their way back to the government through taxes.

“We have made significant strides to ensure that access to high-speed internet is available to more Americans than ever,” said Sen. Warner, a member of the Finance Committee that oversees the nation’s tax code and a primary author of the broadband provisions in the IIJA and ARP. “But taxing broadband investment awards diminishes our efforts. This legislation ensures that individuals and businesses are able to reap the benefits of every dollar set aside for broadband expansion and deployment so that we can accomplish our goal of bringing reliable broadband to every corner of Virginia.”

“Reliable, high-speed internet is more crucial than ever for Kansans to run their businesses, access telehealth or pursue an education,” said Sen. Moran. “This commonsense legislation would make certain federal grants provided for broadband deployment are not counted as taxable income to maximize the impact and success of these resources.”

“More than 800,000 Pennsylvanians, including 520,000 rural Pennsylvanians, lack quality broadband internet access,” said Rep. Kelly, Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Tax. “This bill will not only help to change to that, but it will also work to make that access more affordable. It also ensures federal grant dollars, especially those made available to local governments through pandemic relief funding, will give constituents the best return on their investment. Internet connectivity brings together all Americans; it strengthens small businesses and E-Commerce; and it expands educational opportunities for our children. This legislation allows for existing grant funding to be spent as effectively as possible to help all American families from farm communities in California to the shores of the Great Lakes in Pennsylvania.”

“Although we were able to pass legislation last Congress providing major investments in our nation’s broadband, many small businesses who get that federal funding, to construct networks and connect our homes, may face steep taxes,” said Rep. Panetta. “The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act would exempt those grants from federal taxation and ensure that the funding is allocated for universal broadband. We will continue to work across the aisle in the House and across the U.S. Capitol with Senators to close the digital divide with investment and incentives that will bolster connectivity for every American.”

Joining Sens. Warner and Moran as co-sponsors are Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Rev. Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Angus King (I-ME), James Risch (R-ID), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Original co-sponsors in the House of Representatives are U.S. Reps. Terri Sewell (D-AL-07), Drew Ferguson (R-GA-03), Buddy Carter (R-GA-01), and Dan Kildee (D-MI-08).

“Access to high-speed internet is essential for telehealth, remote work, virtual learning, and more. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and American Rescue Plan made important investments to expand high-speed internet to more households in Virginia and across the country,” said Sen. Kaine. “Protecting these investments from being taxed will help ensure Virginians are getting the most out of these federal dollars.”

“The federal government should be lowering barriers to high speed internet access, not raising them,” said Sen. Wicker. “Taxing grants for broadband expansion only reduces their impact and penalizes providers who are working to close the digital divide.”

“High-speed broadband in North Dakota increases access to telehealth services, enhances learning pathways for students, and expands e-commerce opportunities for local businesses,” said Sen. Cramer. “We secured robust rural broadband grant funding in the infrastructure law, and this bill will help us maximize every dollar allocated.”

“Access to affordable, reliable broadband is vital to the success and growth of our communities across West Virginia,” said Sen. Manchin. “That’s why I helped author both the $65 billion broadband provisions in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the $48 billion broadband provisions in the American Rescue Plan to provide historic funding to expand Internet access for all West Virginians, regardless of where they live across our great state. I’m proud to cosponsor this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to ensure the full amount of these critical grants are invested in expanding broadband access and I will continue fighting to promote the full participation of all West Virginians in today’s digital economy.”

“When Congress funded grant programs to help deploy broadband in underserved states like West Virginia, it was intended for all of those funds to be used for exactly that purpose – for broadband deployment,” said Sen. Capito. “Taxing federal broadband grants as gross income undermines our intent for these programs and would further delay efforts to close the digital divide in areas that need broadband connectivity the most. I’m proud to join my colleagues to reintroduce this legislation, and will continue to work toward solutions that help us close the digital divide in West Virginia and rural America.”

“Rural communities are the backbone of our nation, and we want to ensure that Americans living in these communities have access to high-speed internet,” said Sen. Tuberville. “Taxing broadband grants would undermine federal efforts to prioritize rural broadband expansion. I am proud to support this legislation so that those living in rural America have internet needed to run their businesses, access healthcare, and pursue educational opportunities.”

“Access to the internet is not a luxury, it is a fundamental necessity. However, too many families remain on the wrong side of the digital divide. Students, workers, families, innovators, and businesses of all sizes depend on reliable, affordable broadband more than ever, and that’s why we made historic investments in broadband deployment and digital equity during the last Congress,” said Sen. Menendez. “This commonsense bipartisan legislation will maximize the impact and success of these investments by ensuring these dollars support expanding access to broadband.”

“Coloradans rely on affordable, high-speed internet to stay in touch with family, discuss health concerns with their doctors, and enjoy the economic opportunities presented by the digital era,” said Sen. Bennet. “This bipartisan legislation will update our tax code to ensure that grants to connect our communities—including a program based off my BRIDGE Act that makes the single largest broadband investment in American history—are spent bridging the digital divide and building infrastructure for the 21^st century.”

“As the COVID-19 has shown, access to reliable high-speed internet remains critical to the success of our communities,” said Rep. Sewell. “I am proud to support this rational bill ensuring that such resources can be utilized to the fullest extent without the tax code hindering growth in my district and across the state.”

“Broadband is essential 21st century infrastructure and every community – regardless of zip code – should have access to this critical tool and the growing opportunities it provides,” said Rep. Ferguson. “These federal grant funds must strictly be used for the intended purpose of building out broadband in rural and underserved communities, and not redirected back to the federal government. This important legislative fix ensures every federal dollar allocated is maximized and goes towards closing the digital divide.”

“The internet is no longer optional. From remote work to online learning, bill payments and more, we must ensure that federal dollars intended to help Georgians improve their digital access, particularly in rural areas, is not clawed back by the IRS,” said Rep. Carter.

“Reliable and affordable internet access is essential for Michiganders in today’s economy,” said Rep. Kildee. “The last Congress passed a new law, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to expand high-speed broadband to every Michigan household. Our new bipartisan legislation would exempt broadband infrastructure grants from federal taxation for local governments and small businesses, to ensure we are maximizing this investment.”

As Senator, and during his tenure as the 69th Governor of Virginia, Sen. Warner has been a staunch advocate for expanded access to broadband. With more Virginia families relying on the internet for telework and telehealth following the COVID-19 crisis, Sen. Warner secured $65 billion in funding within the bipartisan infrastructure law to help deploy broadband, increase access, and decrease costs associated with connecting to the internet. Sen. Warner was also a key supporter of the American Rescue Plan, which delivered $17 billion in funding for broadband expansion across the country, including a $10 billion Capital Projects Fund that Sen. Warner authored and secured in the bill specifically for infrastructure projects to help rural and low- and moderate-income communities gain access to high-quality internet.

“CCA supports the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act, and I thank Senators Warner and Moran for reintroducing the legislation. Grant funding should be free from taxation to ensure all broadband grants awarded can be used to reach Americans with connectivity needs. Many rural and underserved communities will see great benefit from enhanced wireless broadband services, and every dollar granted should be used for that purpose,” said Competitive Carriers Association President & CEO Tim Donovan.

“We applaud Senators Warner and Moran's ongoing efforts to repeal the tax on broadband grants,” said USTelecom Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Brandon Heiner. “To achieve universal connectivity, Congress must eliminate this unnecessary tax to ensure that federal resources remain in the communities they seek to serve. If Congress is serious about achieving universal connectivity, they should ensure that 100 percent of broadband grants go toward that goal.”

“CTIA commends Senators Warner and Moran for reintroducing the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act. This bipartisan effort encourages investments that reinforce and accelerate broadband deployment needed to close the digital divide in unserved and underserved communities. We must ensure that all grant funds can be optimally spent as intended to help build out equitable digital access that connects Americans across the country,” said CTIA Senior Vice President for Government Affairs Kelly Cole.

“The once-in-a-lifetime resources in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the American Rescue Plan have provided our members with an amazing opportunity to build networks of the future,” said INCOMPAS CEO Chip Pickering. “While this investment will help spur competition and radically upgrade our broadband infrastructure, there are still too many barriers to deployment. Onerous taxes should not be one of them. I am pleased to see Senator Warner and Senator Moran reintroduce this vital piece of legislation and wholeheartedly support their efforts to get this signed into law and deliver on our promise to truly have Internet for All.”

“WTA applauds the historic federal investment in rural broadband, but the tax code needs to be amended so that the more than 370 small, locally-based broadband providers we represent don’t have to divert money received from grant funding to build broadband networks to paying taxes on that funding,” said Derrick B. Owens, Senior Vice President for Government and Industry Affairs for WTA - Advocates for Rural Broadband. “We support the bipartisan efforts of Senators Warner, Moran, and others to streamline the tax code so as much broadband funding goes toward building networks, and connecting all Americans to broadband, as quickly as possible. We hope to see the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act passed by Congress.”

“We are grateful that Congress committed tens of billions of dollars to broadband deployment grants through recent bills seeking to help close the digital divide in our country. But taxing broadband grants – requiring recipients to pay back to the government a portion of what they receive from the government – will dramatically reduce the impact of these programs and likely leave the hardest-to-reach communities without essential connectivity for even longer,” said NTCA Chief Executive Officer Shirley Bloomfield. “It is critical that all broadband grant funds go toward their intended purpose of network deployment. NTCA is proud to support the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act, and on behalf of our members, I want to thank Senators Warner and Moran for reintroducing the bill. This legislation will maximize the impact of every dollar granted for broadband deployment and further the mission of getting every American connected.”

“Congress has made tremendous investments in recent years to ensure universal access to broadband for all Americans with the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the American Rescue Plan (ARP). However, a significant percentage of the funds needed to accomplish this goal could be returned to the Treasury in the form of taxes, ultimately undermining the deployment of needed broadband infrastructure. This would significantly restrain efforts by America’s frontline providers in the digital divide – the small ISPs working in rural, under-resourced and Tribal areas of our country – who need every dollar they can obtain to ensure the goal of universal broadband connectivity is properly met,” said Eric Slee, VP of Government Affairs, WISPA – Broadband Without Boundaries. “WISPA commends Senators Warner and Moran for introducing the Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act, a common sense and necessary solution, which would eliminate the tax on broadband grants. WISPA wholeheartedly supports their efforts in exempting IIJA and ARPA dollars from taxation and we are hopeful that similar treatment will eventually also apply to grants awarded through other federal programs. We know this will make federal broadband deployment programs more effective and ubiquitous.”

"The Broadband Grant Tax Treatment Act is a common sense, bipartisan solution and a swift passage will ensure that the BEAD Program funding Congress appropriated via the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will be used for its intended purpose," said Melissa Newman, vice president of government affairs at TIA. "Bridging the digital divide and delivering reliable, high-speed broadband is what the BEAD Program is designed to do, and taxing the grant funds would be counterproductive to the objective of this investment in America's infrastructure."

“I appreciate Senators Warner and Kaine introducing legislation to prevent the taxation of broadband grants,” said Bill Franklin, CEO, Scott County Telephone Cooperative. “One of the requirements for these grants is financial sustainability. This tax burden would make many rural unserved and underserved areas ineligible due to their inability to meet the financial sustainability requirement. I appreciate Senator Warner’s business knowledge and experience to recognize that fact. This legislation will ensure many rural Virginians and rural households across the US get access to reliable and robust broadband!”

Full text of legislation is available here.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and John Thune (R-SD) introduced the Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act of 2023, comprehensive legislation to streamline the approvals process for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) drone flights and clear the way for drones to be used for commercial transport of goods across the country – making sure that the U.S. remains competitive globally in a growing industry increasingly dominated by competitors like China.

Currently, each aircraft and each BVLOS operation that takes flight requires unmanned aerial system (UAS) operators to seek waivers from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), but the FAA has not laid out any consistent set of criteria for the granting of waivers, making the process for approving drone flights slow and unpredictable. The bipartisan Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act will require the FAA to issue a new rule allowing BVLOS operations under certain circumstances.

“Drones have the ability to transform so much of the way we do business. Beyond package delivery, drones can change the way we grow crops, manage disasters, maintain our infrastructure, and administer medicine,” said Sen. Warner. “If we want the drones of tomorrow to be manufactured in the U.S. and not in China, we have to start working today to integrate them into our airspace. Revamping the process for approving commercial drone flight will catapult the United States into the 21^st century, allowing us to finally start competing at the global level as technological advancements make drone usage ever more common.”

“Drones have the potential to transform the economy, with innovative opportunities for transportation and agriculture that would benefit rural states like South Dakota,” said Sen. Thune. “I’m proud to support this legislation that provides a clear framework for the approval of complex drone operations, furthering the integration of these aircraft into the National Airspace System.”

Specifically, the bill requires the FAA to establish a “risk methodology,” which will be used to determine what level of regulatory scrutiny is required:

Operators of small UAS under 55lbs simply have to declare that they conducted a risk assessment and meet the standard, subject to audit compliance by the FAA.
Operators of UAS between 55lbs and 1320lbs must submit materials based on the risk assessment to the FAA to seek a “Special Airworthiness Certificate.” UAS in this category may be limited to operating no more than 400 feet above ground level.
Finally, operators of UAS over 1320lbs must undergo the full “type certification” process—the standard approval process for crewed aircraft.

In addition, the Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act would create the position of “Associate Administrator of UAS Integration” as well as a UAS Certification Unit that would have the sole authority to issue all rulemakings, certifications, and waivers. This new organizational structure would create central rulemaking body for UAS, allowing for a more uniform process.

“Commercial drone operations provide valuable services to the American public and workforce – but significant regulatory hurdles are hampering these benefits from reaching their fullest potential and jeopardize U.S. global leadership in aviation. The regulatory challenges are not driven by safety, they are hampered by bureaucracy. We accordingly have urged Congress to prioritize drone integration, and we are grateful for the support of Senators Warner and Thune in this cause. AUVSI is proud to endorse this legislation, and we urge Congress to include it as part of their critical work this year to pass a multi-year FAA Reauthorization,” Michael Robbins, Chief Advocacy Officer of the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), said.

“The Coalition is grateful for the leadership of Senators Thune and Warner, and this bill comes at a pivotal time for the drone industry. Since 2012, Congress has worked to progress the law and regulation around commercial drone use, but now, in 2023, this progress has slowed as regulations and approvals continue to be delayed. With reauthorization of Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs required by September 30, this year is a critical time for the drone industry,” said The Small UAV Coalition.

“The Commercial Drone Alliance applauds the introduction of the Increasing Competitiveness for American Drones Act of 2023, and we commend and thank Senator Warner and Senator Thune for their leadership on these important issues. While the U.S. has lagged behind other countries in developing and deploying uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), this legislation provides the U.S. with the opportunity to reestablish its prominence as a global leader in advanced aviation and compete more effectively in the global economy,” said The Commercial Drone Alliance.

Sen. Warner has been a strong supporter of research and investment in unmanned systems, including driverless cars, drones, and unmanned maritime vehicles. He previously introduced legislation designed to advance the development of UAS and build on the FAA’s efforts to safely integrate them into the National Airspace System. Virginia is home to one of seven FAA-approved sites across the country where researchers are testing the safest and most effective ways to incorporate UAS into the existing airspace – including the first-ever package delivery by drone to take place in the United States. Last October, Sen. Warner visited the headquarters of DroneUp, a leader in independent drone delivery contracting, in Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner joined Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and a bipartisan group of colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, urging the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) to take swift action to address the ongoing outbreak of avian influenza by quickly disseminating funds provided by Congress in the Fiscal Year 2023 Agriculture Appropriations bill, which was signed into law by President Biden in December.

“This unprecedented outbreak, which has been on-going since February 2022, is devastating poultry flocks across the country and contributing to an increase in poultry and egg prices for consumers,” the Senators wrote. “We acknowledge APHIS’s current efforts to address the spread of the disease. However, it is imperative the agency quickly deploy additional resources and work with the states in improving biosecurity measures within the avian supply chain, including the disinfection of sites and the testing and quarantining of affected flocks.”

As of January 31, 2023, APHIS confirmed avian flu had been found in 745 flocks in 47 states including Virginia, and affected over 58 million birds, directly contributing to rising egg prices. In the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Act signed into law late last year, Congress provided an increase in annual funding to address the avian influenza outbreak, including over $64 million for improving avian health, and updated guidance on proactively mitigating the spread of disease. Additionally, Congress directed APHIS to increase outreach and engagement with poultry producers to educate them on how to proactively halt further spread.

“We request the agency expeditiously utilize the increase in annual funding provided by Congress for activities to prevent further spread of the avian influenza and to mitigate the impact this historic wave of disease has had on our states’ farmers and consumers,” the Senators continued.

In addition to Sens. Warner and Baldwin, the letter was signed by Sens. John Boozman (R-AR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Roger Wicker (R-MS).

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Vilsack,

We are writing to request the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) swiftly take further action to address the ongoing outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). This unprecedented outbreak, which has been on-going since February 2022, is devastating poultry flocks across the country and contributing to an increase in poultry and egg prices for consumers.

As of January 31, 2023, APHIS has confirmed HPAI in 745 flocks in 47 states that is affecting over 58 million birds. As a direct result, retail egg prices have more than doubled and contributed to the highest grocery price inflation in nearly 5 decades. We acknowledge APHIS’s current efforts to address the spread of the disease. However, it is imperative the agency quickly deploy additional resources and work with the states in improving biosecurity measures within the avian supply chain, including the disinfection of sites and the testing and quarantining of affected flocks.

In the Fiscal Year 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Act, Congress provided over $64 million for improving avian health and included guidance directing APHIS to coordinate proactively with state animal health officials to mitigate the spread of HPAI. In addition, Congress directed APHIS to increase outreach and engagement with poultry producers to educate on proactive measures they can take to mitigate the spread of the virus.

We request the agency expeditiously utilize the increase in annual funding provided by Congress for activities to prevent further spread of the avian influenza and to mitigate the impact this historic wave of disease has had on our states’ farmers and consumers. In addition, we request an update on recent HPAI detections, geographic regions where HPAI is most highly concentrated, and an update on depopulation efforts and indemnity payments. Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following statement after President Biden’s State of the Union address:

“Since President Biden came into office, Congress has passed a slew of bipartisan bills to help our economy recover from the pandemic, address inflation, rebuild our infrastructure, support our vets, make our communities safer, and our country more competitive against China. We’ve also worked across the aisle to support the Ukrainians in their fight against Putin’s brutal invasion of their country.

“I agree with the President: what we have accomplished over these last two years demonstrates what can be done when both parties put aside their red and their blue jerseys, and focus on getting stuff done for the American people. I hope we’ll see more of that in the new Congress.”

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WASHINGTON – This evening, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) is welcoming Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young to his Washington, D.C. office ahead of the President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Mrs. Young, a 94-year-old widow and retired school system administrator from Fredericksburg, is joining Sen. Warner as he highlights how seniors all across Virginia have begun to benefit from historic measures enacted under President Biden to lower the price of insulin and other prescription drugs.

“As a Senator and former Governor, I’ve met countless seniors over the years who have pleaded for the government to do something about the out-of-control costs of prescription drugs. This includes basic and lifesaving medicines like insulin, which has skyrocketed in price despite having been around for a century. It’s an incredible honor to welcome Mrs. Young to the U.S. Capitol and get to hear how the Inflation Reduction Act has made her health care more accessible and her insulin more affordable,” said Sen. Warner

“I’m 94 years young, and I don’t know anything that needs to be affordable more urgently than health care. During my years working in health care, there were many people I knew who had to ask for a fourth of a prescription so that they could get the medicine they needed and still afford to stay in their homes and feed their families,” said Mrs. Young. “As a diabetic and someone living on a fixed income, and as someone who didn’t make a whole lot of money back in the day as a teacher, I’m delighted to be saving close to two thousand dollars a year on my medicines, especially insulin.”

Mrs. Young, an Accomack County native who lives independently and on a fixed income, relies on several daily medicines, including two types of insulin. Like many seniors across the country, Mrs. Young has seen the cost of her insulin drop dramatically thanks to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that caps insulin at $35 per month for Medicare recipients.

Mrs. Young has been an active advocate for access to health care for underserved persons in her region. She previously served as a board member of Central Virginia Health Services, a federally qualified health center with more than 15 practice sites throughout Central Virginia. She spent more than 30 years championing healthcare access and equity within her own community, first as a Board Trustees on the Mary Washington Healthcare Board, then as a citizen member on the health system’s board-level committees before retiring just last year.

The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic piece of legislation supported by Sen. Warner, passed by Congress, and signed into law in August of 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act will continue lowering the cost of prescription drugs and health care by capping out-of-pocket costs for seniors, allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and extending the expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, among a number of other key provisions.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) announced that he will bring Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young of Fredericksburg, Virginia as his guest for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. Mrs. Young – a 94 year-old widow and retired school system administrator – relies on several daily medicines, including two types of insulin. Like many seniors across the country, Mrs. Young has seen the cost of her insulin drop dramatically thanks to a provision in the Inflation Reduction Act that caps insulin at $35 per month for Medicare recipients.

“Congress has spent years talking about lowering the price of prescription drugs, and last August, under President Biden, we did just that. This State of the Union, it’s an honor to be joined by Mrs. Marguerite Bailey Young – one of millions of Americans who no longer have to worry about rationing or having to forgo their insulin due to the disproportionate, skyrocketing costs,” said Sen. Warner.

The Inflation Reduction Act is a historic piece of legislation that was supported by Sen. Warner, passed by Congress, and signed into law in August of 2022. The Inflation Reduction Act is expected to lower the cost of prescription drugs costs and health care by allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, capping out-of-pocket costs for seniors, and extending the expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years, among a number of other key provisions.

Mrs. Young, an Accomack County native who lives independently and on a fixed income, has been an active advocate for access to health care for underserved persons in her region. She previously served as a board member of Central Virginia Health Services, a federally qualified health center with more than 15 practice sites throughout Central Virginia. She spent more than 30 years championing healthcare access and equity within her own community, first as a Board Trustees on the Mary Washington Healthcare Board, then continuing to serve as a citizen member on the health system’s board-level committees before retiring just last year.

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WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark Warner (D-VA) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) wrote to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, questioning the company about recently released documents revealing that the company knew, as early as 2018, that hundreds of thousands of developers in what Facebook classified as “high-risk jurisdictions” including the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and Russia had access to user data that could have been used to facilitate espionage. The documents were released as part of ongoing litigation against the company related to its lax handling of personal data after revelations regarding Cambridge Analytica.

Under pressure from Congress, Facebook revealed in 2018 that it provided access to key application programming interfaces (APIs) to device-makers based in the PRC, including Huawei, OPPO, TCL, and others. In the wake of those disclosures, Facebook met repeatedly with the staffs of both senators and the Senate Intelligence Committee to discuss access to this data and what controls Facebook was putting in place to protect user data in the future.

Wrote the bipartisan leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee in today’s letter, “Given those discussions, we were startled to learn recently, as a result of this ongoing litigation and discovery, that Facebook had concluded that a much wider range of foreign-based developers, in addition to the PRC-based device-makers, also had access to this data. According to at least one internal document, this included nearly 90,000 separate developers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is especially remarkable given that Facebook has never been permitted to operate in the PRC. The document also refers to discovery of more than 42,000 developers in Russia, and thousands of developers in other ‘high-risk jurisdictions,’ including Iran and North Korea, that had access to this user information.”

The newly available documents reveal that Facebook internally acknowledged in 2018 that this access could be used for espionage purposes.

“As the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, we have grave concerns about the extent to which this access could have enabled foreign intelligence service activity, ranging from foreign malign influence to targeting and counter-intelligence activity,” wrote Warner and Rubio, posing a series of questions to the company about the implications of the access, including:

1) The unsealed document notes that Facebook conducted separate reviews on developers based in the PRC and Russia “given the risk associated with those countries.” What additional reviews were conducted on these developers? When was this additional review completed and what were the primary conclusions? What percentage of the developers located in the PRC and Russia was Facebook able to definitively identify? What communications, if any, has Facebook had with these developers since its initial identification? What criteria does Facebook use to evaluate the “risk associated with” operation in the PRC and Russia?

2) For the developers identified as being located within the PRC and Russia, please provide a full list of the types of information to which these developers had access, as well as the timeframes associated with such access.

3) Does Facebook have comprehensive logs on the frequency with which developers from high-risk jurisdictions accessed its APIs and the forms of data accessed?

4) Please provide an estimate of the number of discrete Facebook users in the United States whose data was shared with a developer located in the each country identified as a “high-risk jurisdiction” (broken out by country).

5) The internal document indicates that Facebook would establish a framework to identify the “developers and apps determined to be most potentially risky[.]” How did Facebook establish this rubric? How many developers and apps based in the PRC and Russia met this threshold? How many developers and apps in other high-risk jurisdictions met this threshold? What were the specific characteristics of these developers that gave rise to this determination? Did Facebook identify any developers as too risky to safely operate with? If so, which?

6) The internal document references your public commitment to “conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity.” How does Facebook characterize “suspicious activity” and how many apps triggered this full audit process?

7) Does Facebook have any indication that any developers’ access enabled coordinated inauthentic activity, targeting activity, or any other malign behavior by foreign governments?

8) Does Facebook have any indication that developers’ access enabled malicious advertising or other fraudulent activity by foreign actors, as revealed in public reporting?

The full of today’s letter is available here and below.

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg,

We write you with regard to recently unsealed documents in connection with pending litigation your company, Meta, is engaged in. It appears from these documents that Facebook has known, since at least September 2018, that hundreds of thousands of developers in countries Facebook characterized as “high-risk,” including the People’s Republic of China (PRC), had access to significant amounts of sensitive user data. As leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, we write today with a number of questions regarding these documents and the extent to which developers in these countries were granted access to American user data.

In 2018, the New York Times revealed that Facebook had provided privileged access to key application programming interfaces (APIs) to Huawei, OPPO, TCL, and other device-makers based in the PRC. Under the terms of agreements with Facebook dating back to at least 2010, these device manufacturers were permitted to access a wealth of information on Facebook’s users, including profile data, user IDs, photos, as well as contact information and even private messages. In the wake of these revelations, as well as broader revelations concerning Facebook’s lax data security policies related to third-party applications, our staffs held numerous meetings with representatives from your company, including with senior executives, to discuss who had access to this data and what controls Facebook was putting in place to protect user data in the future.

Given those discussions, we were startled to learn recently, as a result of this ongoing litigation and discovery, that Facebook had concluded that a much wider range of foreign-based developers, in addition to the PRC-based device-makers, also had access to this data. According to at least one internal document, this included nearly 90,000 separate developers in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), which is especially remarkable given that Facebook has never been permitted to operate in the PRC. The document also refers to discovery of more than 42,000 developers in Russia, and thousands of developers in other “high-risk jurisdictions,” including Iran and North Korea, that had access to this user information.

As Facebook’s own internal materials note, those jurisdictions “may be governed by potentially risky data storage and disclosure rules or be more likely to house malicious actors,” including “states known to collect data for intelligence targeting and cyber espionage.” As the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, we have grave concerns about the extent to which this access could have enabled foreign intelligence service activity, ranging from foreign malign influence to targeting and counter-intelligence activity.

In light of these revelations, we request answers to the following questions on the findings of Facebook’s internal investigation:

1) The unsealed document notes that Facebook conducted separate reviews on developers based in the PRC and Russia “given the risk associated with those countries.”

What additional reviews were conducted on these developers?
When was this additional review completed and what were the primary conclusions?
What percentage of the developers located in the PRC and Russia was Facebook able to definitively identify?
What communications, if any, has Facebook had with these developers since its initial identification?
What criteria does Facebook use to evaluate the “risk associated with” operation in the PRC and Russia?

3) Does Facebook have comprehensive logs on the frequency with which developers from high-risk jurisdictions accessed its APIs and the forms of data accessed?

5) The internal document indicates that Facebook would establish a framework to identify the “developers and apps determined to be most potentially risky[.]”

How did Facebook establish this rubric?
How many developers and apps based in the PRC and Russia met this threshold? How many developers and apps in other high-risk jurisdictions met this threshold?
What were the specific characteristics of these developers that gave rise to this determination?
Did Facebook identify any developers as too risky to safely operate with? If so, which?

6) The internal document references your public commitment to “conduct a full audit of any app with suspicious activity.”

How does Facebook characterize “suspicious activity” and how many apps triggered this full audit process?

7) Does Facebook have any indication that any developers’ access enabled coordinated inauthentic activity, targeting activity, or any other malign behavior by foreign governments?

8) Does Facebook have any indication that developers’ access enabled malicious advertising or other fraudulent activity by foreign actors, as revealed in public reporting?

Thank you for your prompt attention.

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WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine urged the Virginia General Assembly to protect marriage equality by repealing the ban on same-sex marriage that remains in Virginia’s constitution. In 2006, over then-Governor Kaine’s strong objection, Virginia passed a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, but the Supreme Court’s decision in Obergefell v. Hodges overrides Virginia’s ban by requiring all states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. While Sens. Warner and Kaine helped pass legislation last year to ensure same-sex marriages are recognized by every state, the right of same-sex couples to marry in Virginia would be jeopardized by the state ban if Obergefell is overturned.

“We write today to urge you to take action to protect marriage equality. The General Assembly should act now to repeal the shameful ban on same-sex marriage that remains in the state constitution,” the senators wrote in a letter to General Assembly leadership.

The senators continued, “It is long past time that Virginia’s governing document conveys to same-sex marriages the same freedoms, rights, and responsibilities that are afforded to all other constitutional marriages. We urge you to work with your colleagues to advance legislation for a referendum that would fully protect Virginia’s LGBTQ couples.”

Amendments to Virginia’s constitution must pass both chambers of the General Assembly in two consecutive sessions and then be passed on the ballot by voters. Constitutional amendments cannot be vetoed by a Governor. The Virginia Senate passed a bill to repeal the state constitutional ban in the 2022 session, but that bill failed in the Virginia House of Delegates, restarting the amendment process. On January 31, 2023, the Virginia Senate Privileges and Elections Committee favorably reported a similar bill to repeal the ban.

In the U.S. Senate, Warner and Kaine were among the 212 members of Congress who signed an amicus brief arguing before the U.S. Supreme Court that same-sex married couples should have the same legal security, rights, and responsibilities that federal law provides all other married couples. Warner and Kaine have also cosponsored the Equality Act, which would amend federal civil rights laws to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in education, employment, housing, credit, and federal jury service.

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Leaders Saslaw, Norment, Kilgore, and Scott:

We write today to urge you to take action to protect marriage equality. The General Assembly should act now to repeal the shameful ban on same-sex marriage that remains in the state constitution.

Marriage is a sacred and fundamental right in our society. In a long-overdue victory for the LGBTQ community, the Supreme Court concluded in Obergefell v. Hodges that the 14th Amendment requires states to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, bringing the country one step closer to the fundamental ideal of equality for all. We were proud to cosponsor and support the passage of the Respect for Marriage Act in the Senate. On December 13, 2022, President Biden signed the Respect for Marriage Act into law, ensuring that same-sex and interracial couples lawfully married in any state will have their marriages recognized across the country even if Obergefell is overturned. Although the Respect for Marriage Act provides full faith and credit for state-issued marriage licenses, the legislation does not require a state to issue a marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

While the Obergefell decision supersedes Virginia’s constitutional ban, the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health makes same-sex couples feel that their marriages are in jeopardy. In fact, Justice Clarence Thomas stated in his concurring opinion that “in future cases, we should reconsider all of this Court’s substantive due process precedents, including Griswold, Lawrence, and Obergefell.” If Obergefell is overturned, then LGBTQ Virginians will likely lose the right to marry the person they love unless the General Assembly repeals the ban in Virginia’s constitution. Virginia’s circuit courts would be prohibited from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples due to the prohibition in the Commonwealth’s constitution.

We are encouraged by proposals in both the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate to repeal the constitutional provision. It is long past time that Virginia’s governing document conveys to same-sex marriages the same freedoms, rights, and responsibilities that are afforded to all other constitutional marriages. We urge you to work with your colleagues to advance legislation for a referendum that would fully protect Virginia’s LGBTQ couples.

Thank you for your continued leadership and service to the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – On the 20^th anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Ted Cruz (R-TX), incoming Ranking Member of the Commerce Committee, in introducing a Senate resolution honoring the seven crewmembers who lost their lives on February 1, 2003. The resolution is co-sponsored by Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI.), John Cornyn (R-TX), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Ron Johnson (R-WI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).

“On February 1^st, 2003, seven brave astronauts lost their lives as the Space Shuttle Columbia was lost on its return home, including Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael Anderson, a beloved son of the Spokane community and Navy Commander Willie McCool, who grew to love the Pacific Northwest while stationed on Whidbey Island,” Sen. Cantwell said. “Twenty years later, we continue to honor their sacrifice and courage in a new era of space exploration. As we enter the new Congress, let’s recommit to creating a culture of safety and innovation within all agencies and companies pursuing the exploration of space, and doing all that we can to protect the astronauts of today and tomorrow.”

“Twenty years after the Space Shuttle Columbia tragedy, we pause to remember the lost heroes and honor their contributions to space exploration and discovery,” Sen. Cruz said. “On the anniversary of that dark day, we not only pay our respects to the crew and first responders who perished — including Amarillo, Texas’ own United States Air Force Colonel Rick Husband — but we also send our thoughts and prayers to the loved ones they left behind. The service and sacrifice of the Columbia astronauts remain an inspiration to all those involved in our nation’s space program.”

Seven NASA astronauts lost their lives aboard Space Shuttle Columbia: U.S. Air Force Colonel Rick D. Husband, Mission Commander; U.S. Navy Commander William C. “Willie” McCool, Pilot; U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael P. Anderson, Payload Commander and Mission Specialist; U.S. Navy Captain David M. Brown, M.D., Mission Specialist; U.S. Navy Captain Laurel B. Clark, Mission Specialist; Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., Mission Specialist; and Israeli Air Force Colonel Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist.

NASA had six space shuttle missions planned in 2003. Five were to continue construction of the International Space Station, while the Columbia would conduct microgravity research during its 16-day solo mission.

Read the text of the Resolution Commemorating the 20-year Anniversary of the Loss of Space Shuttle Columbia here and below:

Whereas space remains at the frontier of science, as expressed in 1962 by President John F. Kennedy at Rice University in Houston, Texas;

Whereas space exploration has been integral to the global technological leadership of the United States and to inspiring a STEM workforce for more than 60 years;

Whereas astronauts of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have bravely given their lives in pursuit of exploration;

Whereas, on February 1, 2003, the United States and the global space community joined together in mourning the loss of Space Shuttle Columbia and the 7 astronauts of the STS–107 mission, who perished on their return home;

Whereas United States Air Force Colonel Rick D. Husband, Mission Commander, of Amarillo, Texas, died in service to his nation;

Whereas United States Navy Commander William “Willie” C. McCool, Pilot, of San Diego, California, died in service to his nation;

Whereas United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael P. Anderson, Payload Commander and Mission Specialist, of Spokane, Washington, died in service to his nation;

Whereas United States Navy Captain David M. Brown M.D., Mission Specialist, of Arlington, Virginia, died in service to his nation;

Whereas United States Navy Captain Laurel B. Clark, Mission Specialist, of Racine, Wisconsin, died in service to her nation;

Whereas Kalpana Chawla, Ph.D., Mission Specialist, of Karnal, India, became a United States citizen and the first woman of Indian origin in space and died in service her nation;

Whereas Israeli Air Force Colonel Ilan Ramon, Payload Specialist, of Tel Aviv, Israel, became the first Israeli in space and died in service to his nation;

Whereas the people of the United States will not forget the sacrifice of the crew of STS–107 aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, as well as others who perished in the exploration of space; and

Whereas National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronauts continue to make tremendous personal sacrifices and risk their lives in service to their nation and to all of humanity: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Senate—

(1) remembers and honors the 7 astronauts who lost their lives on February 1, 2003, on Space Shuttle Columbia;

(2) expresses deep condolences and gratitude to the families, friends, and colleagues of—

(A) United States Air Force Colonel Rick D. Husband;

(B) United States Navy Commander William “Willie” C. McCool;

(C) United States Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Michael P. Anderson;

(D) United States Navy Captain David M. Brown;

(E) United States Navy Captain Laurel B. Clark;

(F) Dr. Kalpana Chawla; and

(G) Israeli Air Force Colonel Ilan Ramon;

(3) commends all those who assisted in the debris recovery and accident investigation process, including helicopter pilot Jules “Buzz” F. Mier Jr. and Texas Forest Service Aviation Specialist Charles G. Krenek, who both died during debris search, and dedicated staff across the National Aeronautics and Space Administration; and

(4) reaffirms the commitment of the United States Government to create a culture of safety and innovation within all agencies and companies pursuing the exploration of space, including in the pursuit of the United States’ return to the Moon and first visit to Mars through the Artemis missions and Moon to Mars efforts.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined their colleagues in introducing a bicameral and bipartisan resolution to immediately remove the ratification deadline for the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and take a critical step toward enshrining equality for women in the United States Constitution. The introduction of this resolution follows the 2020 passage of an amendment by the Virginia General Assembly, which made Virginia the 38th and final state needed to ratify the ERA.

“In 2020, Virginia carried this important issue across the finish line by becoming the final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. It’s time to remove this trivial deadline, recognize the will of the states, and ensure that women’s equality is fully and expressly recognized in our Constitution,” said Sen. Warner.

“In 2020, Virginia took action to enshrine equality for women into the Constitution by becoming the 38^th and final state needed to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment,” said Sen. Kaine. “Now, it’s time for Congress to act to remove the arbitrary time limit for ratification and finally guarantee women equal protection under the Constitution.”

The Equal Rights Amendment was first introduced 100 years ago to codify gender equality. Since 1923, the constitutional amendment was introduced in every session of Congress until it passed through both the House and Senate in 1972. Congress then placed a seven-year deadline on the ratification process before extending the deadline to 1982. During this period of time only 35 states ratified the ERA, failing to meet the 38 state threshold before the arbitrary deadline.

With the recent ratifications of the ERA by Nevada in 2017, Illinois in 2018 and Virginia in 2020, all that remains is a resolution from Congress to remove the arbitrary deadline, recognize these recent ratifications, and certify the ERA as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Ratifying the ERA, which states, “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex”, would affirm women’s equality in our Constitution, enshrining the principle of women’s equality and an explicit prohibition against sex discrimination in the nation’s foundational document.

As the 28th Amendment, the ERA would serve as a new tool – for Congress, for federal agencies, and in the courts – to advance equality in the fields of workforce and pay, pregnancy discrimination, sexual harassment and violence, reproductive autonomy, and protections for LGBTQ+ individuals. Enshrining this protection in our Constitution would ensure enduring protections for all Americans across the country. It would also signal to the courts that they should apply a more rigorous level of review to laws and government policies that discriminate on the basis of sex, making it more likely for them to be struck down.

In addition to Sens. Warner and Kaine, this legislation was sponsored by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), as well as Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Joe Manchin (D-W.V.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).

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WASHINGTON—A bipartisan group of Senators introduced a pair of bills that would cement and build on the important progress that has been made to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease.

Alzheimer’s costs our nation an astonishing $321 billion per year, including $206 billion in costs to Medicare and Medicaid. If we continue along this trajectory, Alzheimer’s is projected to claim the minds of 12.7 million seniors and nearly surpass $1 trillion in annual costs by 2050. In 2021, family caregivers provided 16 billion hours of unpaid care for loved ones with dementia. Nearly half of baby boomers reaching age 85 will either be afflicted with Alzheimer’s or caring for someone who has it.

In 2011, Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) authored the National Alzheimer's Project Act (NAPA) with then-Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN). NAPA convened a panel of experts, who created a coordinated strategic national plan to prevent and effectively treat Alzheimer’s disease by 2025. The law is set to expire soon and must be reauthorized to ensure that research investments remain coordinated and their impact is maximized.

The NAPA Reauthorization Act—authored by Senator Collins and co-led by Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI)—would reauthorize NAPA through 2035 and modernize the legislation to reflect strides that have been made to understand the disease, such as including a new focus on promoting healthy aging and reducing risk factors.

The Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act—authored by Senators Collins, Markey, Capito, Warner, Moran, Menendez, Murkowski, and Stabenow—would continue through 2035 a requirement that the Director of the National Institutes of Health submit an annual budget to Congress estimating the funding necessary to fully implement NAPA’s research goals. Only two other areas of biomedical research – cancer and HIV/AIDS – have been the subject of special budget development aimed at speeding discovery.

“We have made tremendous progress in recent years to boost funding for Alzheimer’s research, which holds great promise to end this disease that has had a devastating effect on millions of Americans and their families,” said Senator Collins, a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “The two bills we are introducing will maintain our momentum and make sure that we do not take our foot off the pedal just as our investments in basic research are beginning to translate into potential new treatments. We must not let Alzheimer’s define our children’s generation as it has ours.”

“I lost my mother to Alzheimer's after a 10-year battle with the illness, and I saw firsthand the challenges of this terrible disease,” said Senator Warner, co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “While we have made great strides in research, this legislation seeks to build on that progress as we continue to seek new ways to prevent and treat Alzheimer’s. On behalf of the millions of American families who have been touched by Alzheimer’s, we will continue to fight for a cure.”

“More than a decade ago, I cosponsored the National Alzheimer's Project Act, and since becoming law, it has played a major role in ensuring Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias are a priority at NIH and other federal agencies,” Senator Capito said. “More than ever before, Americans and their families are living with the effects of Alzheimer’s, something that I have personally experienced. We must build on this momentum, continue to make critical research investments, and fight for all those impacted by this disease. Both of these bipartisan bills work toward our shared goals, and I’m proud to reintroduce them with my colleagues.”

“I am proud to have worked across chambers and across the aisle throughout my time in Congress to create a whole of government strategy for curing Alzheimer’s Disease and supporting families living with this disease. We’ve made significant progress in prevention, treatment, and supporting caregivers,” said Senator Markey, a founder and co-chair of the Congressional Task Force on Alzheimer’s Disease. “We’ve delivered resources and breakthroughs that I wish my family had when my mother was living with Alzheimer’s. But the work is not done until we’ve ended Alzheimer’s for good. I will continue to fight for major investments to advance research for a cure.”

“Our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease and the development of new treatments have made significant progress since the National Alzheimer’s Project Act was first signed into law in 2011,” said Senator Moran. “As our senior population expands, more research and treatment will be required to treat patients with Alzheimer’s disease. It’s important that we continue the work of NAPA and invest in further research of this horrible disease.”

“No family deserves to go through the pain of watching their loved ones fade away to this awful disease as I experienced with my mother,” said Senator Menendez. “Congress must do more to make sure the U.S. is leading the way in understanding Alzheimer’s and reducing risk factors, as well as expanding early diagnosis and providing assistance to patients and their families. I’m proud to continue fighting for this cause in my mother’s name by cosponsoring and advancing these bills to ensure one day we have a world without Alzheimer’s.”

“Alzheimer’s is unforgiving and devastating for families. And the impacts of this disease, both emotional and financial, require continued efforts,” said Senator Murkowski. “We’ve made progress by providing support and hope to those affected by this condition, but we must expand upon previous legislation to invest further in Alzheimer’s research. These bipartisan efforts will aid in the goal of developing better treatments and eventually finding a cure.”

“Receiving an Alzheimer’s diagnosis is heartbreaking for patients and their families. Yet we’ve taken major steps toward understanding and fighting Alzheimer’s thanks to increased research investments,” said Senator Stabenow. “This legislation will help ensure that we keep making progress toward the goal we all share: being able to prevent, treat, and cure Alzheimer’s disease.”

“With the National Alzheimer’s Project Act (NAPA) set to expire by 2025, passing the NAPA Reauthorization Act and the Alzheimer’s Accountability and Investment Act is urgently needed. These bipartisan pieces of legislation would continue the critical work of the National Plan to Address Alzheimer’s Disease to support Alzheimer’s research and improve the delivery of clinical care and services for people living with Alzheimer’s and their families,” said Robert Egge, Alzheimer's Association chief public policy officer and AIM executive director. “The Alzheimer’s Association and AIM are deeply grateful to the sponsors for reintroducing this important legislation to help improve the lives of those impacted by Alzheimer’s throughout the nation. We look forward to working with these bipartisan congressional champions to swiftly pass these bills.”

“By making these her first two bills of the new Congress, Senator Collins has once again demonstrated her unwavering commitment to ending Alzheimer’s. The National Alzheimer’s Project Act has played a major role in the advancements we are seeing today but the fight is far from over, which makes these two bills so important” said George Vradenburg chair and co-founder of UsAgainstAlzheimer’s. “Research is key to understanding, preventing, treating, and ultimately curing Alzheimer’s. People living with Alzheimer’s and their loved ones are grateful for champions like Senator Collins and her colleagues who stand with us in our fight to end this terrible disease.”

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WASHINGTON –– Today, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) were joined by Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Chris Coons (D-DE) in reintroducing the ISA Student Protection Act to support an innovative financing tool for students pursuing postsecondary education. The bipartisan bill would protect students by applying strong consumer protections to Income Share Agreements (ISAs).

ISAs provide opportunities for students to make plans for financing higher education based on their future income and job success. Under an ISA, a student agrees to pay a percentage of their income over a given time period in exchange for tuition payments from nongovernmental sources. When the agreed timeframe ends, the student stops payments regardless of whether the full amount has been paid back.

“Income-Share Agreements are a promising way to finance postsecondary education and an attractive alternative to high-interest student loans,” said Sen. Warner. “There are students across the country who are already benefitting from ISAs and deserve the safeguards and certainty the ISA Student Protection Act of 2022 would provide.”

“Hoosiers should not be forced to make a choice between a quality education and an affordable one. In the midst of record-high inflation, many students and families continue to face financial hardship and an increase in student loan debt,” said Sen. Young. “With the appropriate safeguards, ISAs can be an innovative, debt-free financing option for Hoosier students. Our bipartisan bill works to strengthen the framework for ISAs, enabling both colleges and career and technical schools to prepare students for success in the workforce without burdening taxpayers.”

“Everything is more expensive these days, especially the cost of a college degree. This common sense bill creates a debt-free financing option for students,” said Sen. Rubio.

“Income Share Agreements are a useful alternative for some students who need financing for postsecondary education and training, especially when federal student aid is not available. The ISA Student Protection Act of 2023 would establish guardrails to protect these students as they begin their careers while creating legal certainty for providers who develop these innovative financial offerings,” said Sen. Coons. “With trillions of dollars in U.S. student loan debt burdening the country’s workforce, I’m glad to move forward on bipartisan legislation to strengthen additional financing options for students who are preparing for success.”

Specifically, The ISA Student Protection Act of 2023 would:

Prohibit ISA providers from entering into agreements with students that require payments higher than 20 percent of income.
Exempt individuals from making payments towards their ISA when their income falls below an affordability threshold.
Set a maximum number of payments and limits payment obligation to the end of a fixed window.
Set a minimum number of voluntary payment relief pauses, during which payment obligations may be suspended.
Require detailed disclosures to students who are considering entering into an ISA, including the amount financed, the payment calculation method, the number of payments expected, the length of the agreement, and how their payments under the ISA would compare to payments under a comparable loan.
Provide strong bankruptcy protection for ISA recipients by omitting the higher “undue hardship” standard for discharge required under private loans.
Prevents funders from accelerating an ISA in default.
Ensure that ISA obligations cease in the event of death or total and permanent disability.
Apply federal consumer protection laws (e.g., Fair Credit Reporting Act, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Military Lending Act, Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, Equal Credit Opportunity Act) to ISAs.
Give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regulatory authority over ISAs.
Clarify the tax treatment of ISA contributions for both funders and recipients.

“Without legislative and regulatory certainty, Income Share Agreements will not be widely available at scale as an alternative to high interest rate parent plus or personal loans,” said Mung Chiang, President of Purdue University. “We commend Sen. Young and the bipartisan Senate sponsors introducing legislation today and encourage prompt consideration to provide the framework necessary to expand this student-friendly option as soon as possible."

“The cost of higher education and workforce training has skyrocketed and has become a significant obstacle to economic advancement,” said Maria Flynn, CEO of Jobs for the Future. “JFF applauds Senators Warner and Young for introducing the ISA Student Protection Act, which would support the exploration of income share agreements (ISAs) as an alternative model for financing higher education and training. JFF recognizes the need to protect against any possible risks with ISAs, which is why we are pleased to see that this legislation would provide clear definitions, parameters, and consumer protections for students.”

“Student Freedom Initiative has issued 176 Income Contingent Alternatives to Parent PLUS and private loans to junior and senior STEM students at Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and over 300 students have applied,” said Mark Brown, Executive Director of Student Freedom Initiative. “Disbursements total just over $1.75M with an average disbursement of $13,672 per student. Sixty-three percent of HBCU students use Parent PLUS loans which default at five times the rate as similar instruments and the debt is held twice as long. We must invest in these students and not strap their parents with debt they cannot reasonably pay. Issuing conventional loans to families of limited means, some already in poverty, is unethical. Student Freedom Initiative strongly supports providing students, especially those living at or below the poverty level, with innovative solutions to financing their higher education, and we hope Congress will provide sensible regulations and legal certainty to those engaged in this effort.”

“The ISA Student Protection Act is a significant step forward in shaping the promising ISA model into a safe, sustainable, student-centric source of funding for workforce training,” said Peter Callstrom, President and CEO of the San Diego Workforce Partnership. “This legislation will empower entrepreneurial and innovative agencies like ours to continue exploring how ISAs can expand the reach and impact of talent development strategies.”

“The ISA Student Protection Act of 2023, introduced by Senators Warner and Young, will help create more accessible, affordable and accountable financing options for postsecondary education and training,” said Taylor Maag, Director of Workforce Development Policy for Progressive Policy Institute. “PPI has long supported Income-Share Agreements as a bold and innovative model for higher education financing and we applaud this effort to expand postsecondary opportunities for today’s students, while ensuring the necessary protections for their success.”

“Well-designed ISA programs open up support for student underserved in the current system, and they do so in a way that is affordable and aligned to students' educational and career success,” said Kevin James, Founder and CEO of Better Future Forward. “To ensure all students are protected and can benefit from these options, we need a strong, well-designed consumer protection framework built around the risk-sharing nature of ISAs. This bipartisan legislation is a strong step forward in that regard, and we commend Sens. Young, Warner, Coons, and Rubio for their work on it.”

“Stride Funding was built to improve educational access, career success, and economic mobility for all Americans. As tuition costs continue to rise, the cost of the American Dream has become inaccessible for millions of students, with economically disadvantaged students particularly handicapped due to standard student loan borrowing requirements tied to family economic status and credit background,” said Tess Michaels, Founder and CEP of Stride Funding. “Without innovation, all students have been left with limited access to affordable and flexible education funding and our most vulnerable students have been altogether denied pathways to educational programs that deliver real career value. We congratulate and thank Senators Young, Warner, Coons, and Rubio for their leadership in crossing party lines to sponsor the ISA Student Protection Act of 2023 – ensuring that future generations gain access to more transparent, equitable, and accessible education funding through Income Share Agreements.”

Full text of the legislation is available here.

WASHINGTON— Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) and U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) met with Department of Labor (DOL) Secretary Marty Walsh to discuss workforce challenges for Virginia’s seafood industry. During the meeting, they urged DOL to consider reforms to the H-2B lottery that would make the process easier to use for small family businesses like seafood processors to meet their seasonal labor needs. Many of Virginia’s seafood processors, as well as other seasonal businesses, rely on additional workers from the H-2B visa program to meet their seasonal labor needs, but they annually struggle to get enough visas.

“We’ve been hearing from Virginia’s seafood processors and seasonal businesses about persistent workforce challenges, which is why we met with Labor Secretary Walsh today to share what we’ve been hearing and urge him to make common sense reforms to the H-2B visa lottery,” said Warner, Kaine, and Wittman. “We had a productive meeting and look forward to working together to help our local businesses obtain the seasonal workers they need to operate.”

Today’s meeting follows Sens. Warner and Kaine’s meeting last week with Virginia seafood processors, where they heard about persistent workforce challenges. Virginia’s seafood processors tend to be small, multi-generational family-run businesses in rural areas that don’t have access to a sufficient pool of labor, which is why they rely on H-2B workers for shucking oysters and picking crabs.

The H-2B Temporary Non-Agricultural Visa Program allows U.S. employers to hire seasonal, non-immigrant workers during peak seasons to supplement the existing American workforce. In order to be eligible for the program, employers are required to declare that there are not enough U.S. workers available to do the temporary and seasonal work. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there are over 10 million job openings but only 5.7 million unemployed workers.

Sens. Warner, Kaine, and Rep. Wittman have consistently supported expanding the H-2B visa program. In February 2022, Warner and Kaine urged the Biden Administration to make additional H-2B visas available, resulting in the successful release of additional visas in 2022 and 2023.

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WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) was joined by Committee Vice Chair Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for a joint interview on CBS’s Face the Nation, where the Senators discussed the Committee’s bipartisan oversight efforts and how the U.S. needs to tackle the rising threats posed by the Communist Party of China.

On the need for access to classified material found in the residences of Presidents Trump and Biden:

“This committee has had a long bipartisan history of doing its job. And our job here is intelligence oversight. The Justice Department has had the Trump documents about six months, the Biden documents about three months, our job is not to figure out if somebody mishandled those, our job is to make sure there's not an intelligence compromise. And while the Director of National Intelligence had been willing to brief us earlier, now that you've got the special counsel, the notion that we're going to be left in limbo, and we can't do our job, that just cannot stand. And every member of the committee who spoke yesterday and I wanted the director to hear this, regardless of party said, we are united in we have to find a way to do our job. That means we need these documents, we need that assessment.”—U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner

On the Intelligence Committee’s priorities:

“I actually think if there's one issue that still is extraordinarily bipartisan, it is a growing concern about China, and a recognition that in this technology race, second place is not good enough for us.” —U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner

On TikTok:

“I want to have an approach that says, we need to look at foreign technology investments, foreign technology development, regardless of country, if it poses a national security threat and have some place that can evaluate this. We need a frame to systemically look at this… 138 million users in America use TikTok on a regular basis. Average about 90 minutes a day. The fact is, the algorithms that determine what you see on TikTok is determined out of Beijing by China. And the proof is, if you look at what Chinese kids are seeing on their version of TikTok, which emphasizes science and engineering, versus what our kids and the kids around the world are seeing, it is dramatically different. So, both from a data collection and from, frankly, a propaganda tool, it is of huge concern.” —U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner

On social media regulation:

“I've been saying for years, and we may not fully agree on this, but on all these social media companies, a lot of good, but there is a dark under belly. And the fact that the United States historically, we would have set some rules of the road for these entities in terms of standards, in terms of protocols, in terms of appropriate behavior, in terms of questions like even like basic privacy. But our failure to do so has mean we have ceded that leadership, oftentimes to the Europeans, or to individual states, and I think that's, frankly, a loss of American leadership.” —U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner

Video of Sen. Warner and Sen. Rubio’s full interview on Face the Nation can be found here. A transcript follows.

CBS’s Face the Nation

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do you have any timeline in terms of when you will get visibility into the documents of classified material that both President Biden and President Trump had in their residences?

SENATOR MARK WARNER: Margaret, unfortunately, no. And this committee has had a long bipartisan history of doing its job. And our job here is intelligence oversight. The Justice Department has had the Trump documents about six months, the Biden documents about three months. Our job is not to figure out if somebody mishandled those, but our job is to make sure there's not an intelligence compromise.

And while the director of national intelligence had been willing to brief us earlier, now that you've got the special counsel, the notion that we're going to be left in limbo, and we can't do our job, that just cannot stand.

BRENNAN: But the intelligence community would say their hands are tied, because this is an ongoing, active Justice Department investigation.

So what would meet the level of -- of addressing your concerns without compromising that?

SENATOR MARCO RUBIO: Well, I don't know how congressional oversight on the documents, actually knowing what they are in any way impedes an investigation.

These are probably materials we already have access to. We just don't know which ones they are. And it's not about being nosy. You know, the -- here's the bottom line. If, in fact, those documents were very sensitive, materials were sensitive, and they pose a counterintelligence or national security threat to the United States, then the intelligence agencies are tasked with the job of coming up with ways to mitigate that.

BRENNAN: Does the director even know what the materials were?

SEN. WARNER: Well, we got a bit of vagueness on that, because, again, I believe you want to make sure the intelligence professionals and not political appointees were making some of that.

That makes sense to me. But I would even think that, if the -- President Trump and President Biden would probably want to have this known, if they say there's no there there. Well, there may still be violations on handling.

SEN. RUBIO: Let me tell you how absurd this is.

There isn't a day that goes by that there isn't some media report about what was found where, what -- some sort of characterization of the material in the press. So, somehow, the only people who are not allowed to know what was in there are congressional oversight committees.

So, it's an untenable situation that I think has to be resolved.

BRENNAN: The idea that some of these documents go all the way back to when President Biden was a senator, does that suggest that there's something more than a problem in the executive branch?

SEN. WARNER: Agreed. That's why the notion of, we're not going to give the Oversight Committee the ability to do its job until the special prosecutor somehow says it's OK doesn't -- doesn't hold water. We have a right, as not only members of the Intelligence Committee, but as part of the leadership, to read virtually every classified document. We got a problem in terms of both classification levels, how senior elected officials, when they leave government, how they handle documents. We've had too many examples of this.

And, again, I think we've got the bipartisan bona fides to say, let's put them in place on a going-forward basis, a better process.

BRENNAN: So, you -- you threatened to withhold some funding to some of the agencies yesterday.

SEN. RUBIO: I'm not in the threat business right now.

But we certainly are -- there are things we need to do as a committee every year to authorize the moving around of funds. I think the director of national intelligence and other heads of intelligence agencies are aware of that.

You know, at some point, I would prefer for them just to call us this morning or tomorrow or whenever and say, look, this is the arrangement that we think we can reach, so that the overseers can get access to this. I would prefer not to go down that road. But it's one of the pieces of leverage we have as Congress.

SEN. WARNER: We're going to figure out a way to make sure that we get that access, so that we can not only tell the American people, but we've got another 85 U.S. senators who are not on the Intelligence Committee who look to us to get those assurances.

BRENNAN: What is it that you, as lawmakers, can do? Is it new regulations when it comes to transitions?

SEN. WARNER: The director of national intelligence is the individual that's the chief officer for intelligence classification.

I think -- and there's been a number of other members of the Senate, both parties, have been working for years on the notion that we overclassify.

BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. WARNER: The number of things that we read in a SCIF that somehow then appear in the newspaper begs the question.It's kind of been an issue that's been bubbling for a long time.

BRENNAN: Overclassification.

SEN. WARNER: I think that this -- I think this series of events pushes it to the forefront.

And, again, we have the power to write legislation, which then executive agencies have to follow.

BRENNAN: In terms of record-keeping.

SEN. WARNER: In terms of record-keeping, in terms, literally, of at least guidance on classification issues. I mean, there has been -- and again, this director of national intelligence, I'm going to give her credit. She has been at least acknowledging and, long before this issue came up, said, we need to work on this issue of declassification, overclassification. Every director says it, and then it kind of gets pushed -- pushed back. I think one good thing that may come out of this is that we're going to find a way to resolve this issue on a going-forward basis.

BRENNAN: Welcome back to FACE THE NATION. For all the division on Capitol Hill, one subject that invites at least some bipartisan unity is the threat posed by China. For more, we return to our interview with the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Mark Warner and Marco Rubio.

BRENNAN: President Biden is reportedly close to issuing an executive order when it comes to restrictions on U.S. investments in - in China. But there's concern about risking further escalation. What's your view on how far that action should go?

SEN. RUBIO: The Chinese have found a way to use capitalism against us and a - and what I mean by that is the ability to attract investment into entities that are deeply linked to the state. The military commercial fusion that exists in China is a concept that we don't have in this country. We have contractors that do defense work, but there is no distinction in China between advancements in technology, biomedicine, whatever it might be, and the interest of the state.

And then the second is, obviously, the access to our capital markets.

And the third is the risk posed. We don't, up to this point, have not had levels of transparency in terms of auditing and the like on these investments of the -- into these companies. When you invest in these companies and U.S. exchanges, you don't have nearly as much information about the bookkeeping of those companies as you would an American company or a European company because they refuse to comply with those restrictions. So, there's systemic risk to our investments and then there's also the geopolitical reality that American capital flows are helping to fund activities that are ultimately designed to undermine our national security.

SEN. WARNER: Beginning of the 20th century, I was a believer that, you know, the more you bring China into the world order, the more things will all be copacetic.

BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. WARNER: We were just wrong on that. The communist party, under President Xi's leadership, and my beef is, to be clear, with the communist party, it's not with the Chinese people or the Chinese (INAUDIBLE), wherever it is in the world, but they basically changed the rules of the road. They made clear, in Chinese law, that every company in China's ultimate responsibility is to the communist party. Not that their customers. Not to their shareholders.

We have actually, in a bipartisan way, did over -- didn't get a lot of attention, over the last seven years, have been out and we've done 20 classified briefings for industry sector after industry sector about these risks. Frankly, pre-Covid, we kind of got nods.

BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. WARNER: But, you know, some pushback because a lot of companies were making - were making –

BRENNAN: Because companies just wanted access to the market regardless of the risk.

SEN. WARNER: Were making a lot of money off Chinese tech companies.

BRENNAN: Exactly. Exactly.

SEN. WARNER: Now, post-Covid, I think there is an awakening that this is a real challenge. And I think the good news is that not only is there an awakening, you know, in America, but a lot of our allies around the world are seeing this threat as well.

SEN. RUBIO: I - I think there was a -

BRENNAN: So you want restrictions on biotech, battery technologies, semiconductors, artificial intelligence?

SEN. WARNER: I want to have an approach that says, we need to look at foreign technology investments, foreign technology development, regardless of country, if it poses a national security threat and have some place that can evaluate this. We need a frame to systemically look at this. And, frankly, if it goes just beyond the so-called CFIUS legislation about inbound or outbound investment.

BRENNAN: That's a committee looks at the national security risk.

SEN. RUBIO: But understanding that for, you know, 20 years ago everybody thought capitalism was going to change China. And we woke up to the realization that capitalism didn't change China, China changed capitalism. And they've used it to their advantage and to our disadvantage. And not simply from an old Soviet perspective to take us on from a geopolitical or military perspective, they've done so from a technological and industrial perspective. And so you have seen the largest theft and transfer of intellectual property in the history of humanity occur over the last 15 years. Some of it funded by American taxpayers.

BRENNAN: They have the biggest hacking ability program than any other nation. The intelligence community says they're the world leader in surveillance, in censorship. How restricted should their ability to access this market be?

SEN. RUBIO: I think it is nearly impossible for any Chinese company to comply with both Chinese law and our expectations in this country. Chinese law is very clear, if you're a Chinese company and we ask you for your data, we ask you for your information, we ask you for what you have or we ask you to do something, you either do it or you won't be around.

BRENNAN: You want to ban Chinese companies from investing in America?

SEN. RUBIO: Well, I think there are certain investments where there's no way we can protect the country from doing it. Do you - you know, we go back to TikTok, people say, who - you know, why do we care about what some 16- year-olds are doing.

BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. RUBIO: I don't think the threat is that some 16-year-old likes these cool videos that are on there, which I admit are - are attractive, obviously, because of the artificial intelligence makes it so. It's the massive amount of data that they're collecting, not on one 16-year-old, not on 1,000 16-year-olds, but on millions and millions of Americans that give them commercial advantage, potentially the advantage of being able to shape American public opinion in a time of crisis, that - that just give them extraordinary insights that allow them to steer the conversation in this country in any direction they want.

BRENNAN: But this has been talked about for three years now.

SEN. WARNER: But - but let's -

BRENNAN: The Trump administration tried to ban it. The Biden administration still hasn't pulled the trigger.

SEN. WARNER: Maybe we were all a little bit slow to recognize the challenge here. You know, it is both a data collection entity. Now, it may not collect as much data as some of our American platforms, but it is very much, at the end of the day, still responsible to the communist party.

But think about this, Margaret, 138 million users in America use TikTok on a regular basis. Average about 90 minutes a day. The fact is, the algorithms that determine what you see on TikTok is determined out of Beijing by China.

And the proof is, if you look at what Chinese kids are seeing on their version of TikTok, which emphasizes science and engineering, versus what our kids and the kids around the world are seeing, it is dramatically different. So, both from a data collection and from, frankly, a propaganda tool, it is of huge concern.

BRENNAN: Yes. CBS spoke to TikTok about their plans and the company said they had come to an agreement over the summer in terms of how they could structure things to separate and create a wall to protect against some of these concerns. They said they can continue operating in the U.S. by offering data protections.

Do you both know what they are offering. And you're laughing so I'm guessing this isn't sufficient?

SEN. RUBIO: I don't know what the data protections are. And there's a technical aspect to it. But it's beyond the data protections. I filed a bill to ban it last year.

BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. RUBIO: We're going to re-file it again this year.

BRENNAN: You are?

SEN. RUBIO: It's bipartisan. It's bicameral. Some people are not willing to go that far, but I certainly think it's the right place to be. But, in the end, we've got to do something about it, whether it's a ban or something else.

I - I honestly don't know - I -- as I sit here with you today, I don't know how our national security interests and the operation of TikTok in this country, as long as it's owned by ByteDance, can coexist.

SEN. WARNER: And I'm - and - and --

BRENNAN: You want to force the sale?

SEN. RUBIO: I - I want -- I've been wanting to do that for three years.

SEN. WARNER: I may have a slightly different approach. I'm going to sit down and see how we can work through this. But I've been hearing - and I've been trying to give the Biden administration now more than two years to see, is there a technical solution here? And I'd be willing to take a look at it.

The Biden administration has not announced that. And I think the problem is, this is technically extraordinarily hard to do. TikTok has repeatedly said, oh, America's data, not being seen in China. And repeatedly we've seen Chinese engineers having access to American data.

BRENNAN: But it's already been downloaded 200 million times.

SEN. WARNER: This is -

BRENNAN: How do you convince a 16-year-old to delete the app and get rid of the phone? I mean is -- isn't this very hard to put the toothpaste back in the tube?

SEN. WARNER: This is - this - this -- absolutely. But this is one of the reasons why I think Congress has been horribly unsuccessful at this. I've been saying for years, and we may not fully agree on this, but on all these social media companies, a lot of good, but there is a dark under belly. And the fact that the United States historically, we would have set some rules of the road for these - for these entities in terms of standards, in terms of protocols, in terms of appropriate behavior, in terms of questions like even like basic privacy.

SEN. BRENNAN: Right.

SEN. WARNER: But our failure to do so has mean we have ceded that leadership, oftentimes to the Europeans, or to individual states, and I think that's, frankly, a loss of American leadership.

You know, for most of my lifetime we led virtually in every innovation area. We suddenly woke up with, you know, 5G or wireless communication where China was, you know, setting the standards. We - we woke up an industry like semiconductor chips and woke up -

BRENNAN: Yes.

SEN. WARNER: We used to own this and we've lost it. We've seen now the solar industry where it's all migrated to China.

If -- think about, you know, this notion around quantum computing, the ability to break any kind of encryption, or artificial intelligence, those technologies are driven by an authoritarian regime out of China. You know, I don't care where you fall on the political spectrum in America, that's not good news or for free people anywhere in the world.

BRENNAN: Aren't you - aren't you going to run head long into business interests here in the United States? I mean just look at Elon Musk. The U.S. government relies on his company SpaceX. He has a majority in car company Tesla. He has control over the internet connection in Ukraine via Starlink. And he now owns Twitter.

You said there's no one in the world more dependent on the communist party than Elon Musk.

SEN. WARNER: Exactly (ph). My concern is, you know, if you look at Mr. Musk's public statements, they're almost all supportive of the oversight regime in China, and they're almost all derogatory about the oversight regime in America and in Europe.

And part of that, I think, whether it's knowingly or not, is, where does he get all his batteries that go into all these Teslas? They are, you know, built in China, mostly, frankly, with a lot of Uyghur labor. And Senator Rubio has been the leader on trying to make sure that the Chinese communist party's treatment of the Uyghur people is prohibited. And, you know, I've yet to hear from Mr. Musk how that kind of contradiction about comments about the CCP in China and what he's dealing with Uyghur labor, how that's not going to influence some of his decisions.

SEN. RUBIO: It goes beyond Elon Musk. I mean business interests have invested, both in access to the Chinese market, but also in the means of production. And it's allowed them, in many cases, historically, to be deputized, include - and that includes the finance and investment world -- to come to Washington and argue for things that are against the national interest but in favor of their short and midterm profit line for their investors for their company.

BRENNAN: Senator Rubio, as a conservative you have to feel a little bit uncomfortable with talking about government intervention in private industry. But that has been the U.S. solution in some ways to the semiconductor issues you were raising, the subsidy, to try to bring chip making back to America.

SEN. RUBIO: Well, I would argue this, that I don't believe in government intervention in the private sector, but I do believe in government intervention in our national security. So, capitalism --

BRENNAN: These are subsidies.

SEN. RUBIO: Well, so capitalism is going to give you the most efficient outcome. But sometimes what do you do when the most efficient outcome is not in our national interest, because it's more efficient to buy rare earth minerals from the Chinese, it's more efficient to have things built over there in many cases, but is it in our national interest to depend on them for 80 something percent of the active ingredients in our pharmaceuticals? I could argue it was not. And in those instances, where the market efficient outcome is not in our national interest, it is my opinion that we default to the national interests because without our national interests and our national security, the other things won't matter.

We are not a market. We're a nation. And the market exists to serve the market, not the nation to serve the market.

BRENNAN: The $50 billion that taxpayers just pumped into to the chips bill and semiconductors, that's just the start. That you think other legislation is coming like that?

SEN. WARNER: I'm saying - what I'm saying is we need - you know, one of the reasons that it took us $52 billion and that was for most semiconductors and next generation wireless, was because candidly I think we went asleep at the switch for a long time and we had to suddenly play catch-up because we'd seen China advance and we had also seen Taiwan, our friend and one of the reasons why we need to be supportive, where, frankly, every advanced chip in all of our satellites and - and sea craft are made in Taiwan.

We were chasing after the fact. If we can get ahead on - on some of these key areas, I don't think we will need that kind of investment. But we are going to need to make sure that we've got a plan in place to make sure that these new technology domains don't all end up in China.

SEN. RUBIO: We need to identify, what are the critical industries and capacities that our country needs to be able to have without being leveraged or having to go through the Chinese to get it. And then we need to figure out what government's role is.

Now, I want to make sure that we're not turning this into a lobbyist trial where every industry comes here and gets money. And we have to make sure that if we're going to invest in research, that that research is protected, that there's sufficient safeguards, because what's the point of putting billions of dollars to innovate something they're going to steal anyway?

But I do think, again, this is not about government running or owning these companies. We're not going to rely on the Chinese or someone else to make it for us because we'll be denied that capability in a time of conflict.

BRENNAN: Can you get that through a divided Congress?

SEN. WARNER: I actually think if there's one issue that still is extraordinarily bipartisan, it is a growing concern about China and a recognition that in this technology race, second place is not good enough for us.

BRENNAN: We actually haven't had a bipartisan interview like this in about three years. So, to see a Democrat and a Republican sit down and talk about issues of substance is great to see.

SEN. WARNER: Thank you.

BRENNAN: Thank you both.

BRENNAN: We'll be right back.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) reintroduced legislation to formally designate the Blue Ridge Music Center’s outdoor amphitheater the “Rick Boucher Amphitheater” after former Congressman Rick Boucher.

“We are deeply appreciative of Congressman Boucher’s commitment to public service, and his continued work for Southwest Virginia,” the Senators said. “We can think of no better way to honor his years of public service than by dedicating this treasured music center, which he championed during his years in office, after him.”

Former Rep. Boucher, an Abingdon native, represented Southwest Virginia’s ninth congressional district in the House of Representatives from 1983 to 2011. Rep. Boucher was an early supporter of the development of the Blue Ridge Music Center and continued to advocate for the project throughout his tenure. He also served as the Chairman of the U.S. House Energy Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet as well as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality while in Congress.

Located in Galax, VA, the Blue Ridge Music Center is home to a visitor center, outdoor amphitheater, indoor interpretive center, and museum that highlights the historical significance of the region’s musical culture. Last August, Sen. Kaine toured the center and performed at Midday Mountain Music.

The legislation passed the Senate on December 23, 2022 but did not pass the House of Representatives before the end of the 117^th Congress. The legislation would need to pass both the Senate and the House of Representatives this Congress (118^th Congress) to be enacted.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner joined Sens. Jon Tester (D-MT), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) in reintroducing the Build, Utilize, Invest, Learn, and Deliver (BUILD) for Veterans Act of 2023. This legislation would modernize and streamline the delivery of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities and other infrastructure projects, bolster its workforce, and save taxpayer dollars by expediting the disposal or repurposing of unused and vacant buildings owned by the Department.

Currently, the VA lacks a strategic plan, sufficient infrastructure workforce, and consistent funding to initiate the building or remodeling of facilities identified by the Department. The BUILD for Veterans Act would strengthen the Department’s ability to initiate critical projects to better meet the need of current and future veterans—including women veterans, veterans in need of long-term care services, and veterans with spinal cord injuries and diseases. Among its many provisions, the bill would require the VA to implement a more concrete schedule to eliminate or repurpose unused and vacant buildings, develop and execute a plan to hire construction personnel, examine infrastructure budgeting strategies and identify required reforms, and provide annual budget requirements over a 10-year period.

“Cumbersome bureaucratic processes have long stood in the way of critical VA projects such as the opening and remodeling of hospitals, clinics, and benefits offices. As a result, we’ve seen unnecessary challenges in meeting the needs of veterans seeking care and support through the VA,” said Sen. Warner, who successfully spearheaded congressional efforts to approve new VA health care projects across the country, including outpatient clinics in Hampton Roads and Fredericksburg. “This legislation builds on recent efforts, and will allow us to better serve veterans and cut down on some of these pointless delays by pushing the VA to more strategically plan and budget for projected demand, and to improve its capacity to manage current and future infrastructure projects.”

The bill is endorsed by a range of veteran service organizations, including Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, The American Legion, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

This effort builds upon the Sergeant First Class Heath Robinson Honoring Our Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act of 2022, legislation supported by Sen. Warner and signed into law by President Biden to expand health care and resources for toxic-exposed veterans. The law provided $5.5 billion in funding for 31 new facilities across the country – including another outpatient clinic in Hampton Roads – and streamlines the process for the VA to execute on new leases, removing bureaucratic hurdles and cutting down on some of the frustrating delays to these facilities’ completion.

In addition to the PACT Act, Sen. Warner spearheaded a bipartisan effort to approve long-overdue leases for more than two dozen VA medical facilities across the country, including two in Virginia. In October 2022, Sen. Warner joined with VA officials to break ground on a new VA facility in Chesapeake that will provide primary care, mental health, and eye clinic services and will reduce drive times for Hampton Roads’ fast-growing veteran population.

###

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), co-chairs of the bipartisan Senate Community Development Finance Caucus (CDFC), released the following statement after the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund announced that it would update its timeline for rolling out the new CDFI Certification Application and likely revise the version that was released for public comment in the Federal Register on November 4, 2022:

“We are pleased to see the CDFI Fund postpone the launch of the new CDFI Certification Application beyond the previously anticipated April timeline in order to carefully review and weigh all public comments. As we indicated in our letter to Treasury, it is critical that the CDFI Fund provide adequate time to receive and consider comments on the proposed changes to avoid unintended consequences and ensure that its programs reflect the perspectives, and meet the needs of the low-income, underserved and rural communities the Fund was created to serve.”

###

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) and other colleagues in introducing legislation to make Washington, D.C. the 51^st state. The Washington, D.C. Admission Act would grant D.C. citizens full congressional representation. The bill would also ensure that the citizens and elected leaders of the District of Columbia have full authority over local affairs, including over the selection of judges to fill vacancies on D.C. courts, including the D.C. Court of Appeals, which has had one seat remain vacant for over nine years. Additionally, the legislation would designate the areas surrounding the White House, the Capitol, the Supreme Court, and the National Mall as the seat of the federal government. That area would be the “Capital” and remain under the control of Congress, as mandated by the Constitution.

“Virginia’s neighbors in D.C. have been denied the right to representation for far too long,” said the Senators. “We’re glad to cosponsor this legislation recognizing D.C. as the 51^st state and finally ending D.C.’s long history of taxation without representation.”

Last year, companion legislation introduced in the House of Representatives by Del. Eleanor Norton Holmes (D-DC) passed by a vote of 216-208. District of Columbia residents have also voted overwhelmingly to petition the federal government to grant D.C. statehood. A November 2016 referendum approved a name, constitution, and boundaries for a new state which would be called Washington, Douglass Commonwealth (D.C.).

Also joining Sens. Warner, Kaine and Carper as original cosponsors on the Washington, D.C. Admission Act are Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Full text of the bill is available here.

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