Press Releases
Sens. Warner & Ayotte Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Eliminate Unecessary Gov't Reports
~ Legislation would eliminate, modify or consolidate more than 300 reports identified as outdated or duplicative ~
Mar 11 2014
Sens. Warner and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) introduced bipartisan legislation today that would eliminate or consolidate more than 300 reports produced by more than two-dozen federal agencies that have been found to be unnecessary, duplicative or outdated.
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner raised concerns today about the Obama Administration’s proposed changes to the bipartisan Digital Accountability and Transparency (DATA) Act.
Sen. Warner, a member of the House-Senate Budget Conference Committee, made the following comments in a floor speech prior to this afternoon’s Senate passage of the Bipartisan Budget Agreement, which the Senator supported.
Sen. Warner Applauds House Passage of DATA Act
Bipartisan legislation would expand transparency and accountability for federal spending; allow taxpayers to track spending
Nov 18 2013
“Transparency is critical to our democracy – especially for a federal government that spends more than $3.7 trillion each year,” Sen. Warner said. “And in this tough economic climate, we should be doing all we can to ensure that taxpayers and policymakers can follow the money to hold our government more accountable.
Sens. Warner, Blunt Introduce Legislation to Reduce Underutilized Federal Property
Civilian Property Realignment Act could save taxpayers $9 billion over ten years
Nov 15 2013
U.S. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Roy Blunt (R- MO) introduced legislation to reduce the number of underutilized and excess federal properties and could save taxpayers $9 billion over the next 10 years.
Warner Statement on Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Profit Announcements
on today’s quarterly profit statements by Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
Nov 07 2013
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, released the following statement today after Fannie Mae reported earnings of $8.7 billion and Freddie Mac reported $30.4 billion in profits in the third quarter.
Senate Committee Unanimously Passes Sen. Warner's Bipartisan DATA Act
Expands transparency and accountability for federal spending, allows taxpayers and policymakers to follow the money
Nov 06 2013
The U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs today passed Sen. Mark R. Warner’s (D-VA) legislation to improve and expand federal fiscal accountability by unanimous voice vote.
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) to produce a report assessing the overall fiscal impacts of the recent 16-day federal government shutdown.
"It is disappointing that the House majority is prepared to shut down the federal government in its continuing ideological opposition to the Affordable Care Act. This is not a responsible way to conduct our nation’s business.
Statement on Vote to Avoid a Government Shutdown
Sep 27 2013
"We’ve wasted a week on political shenanigans while every minute we wait brings us closer to a government shutdown, which will hurt the economy and unfairly punish Virginia workers and families. We cannot allow ideological issues to stop us from funding the basic operations of the government, and we should be working to get the nation’s fiscal house in order."
Sens. Warner, Toomey Lead Bipartisan Letter Urging Protections for Community Banks
~ Letter Signed by 53 Senators~
Sep 27 2012
Senators Warner (D-Va.) and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) today led a bipartisan letter to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Acting Chairman Marty Gruenberg and Comptroller of the Currency Tom Curry urging financial regulators to consider the impact new Basel III capital standards would have on community banks.
Sen. Warner successfully amends farm bill to increase rural broadband access & accountability
~ Targets loans & grants to underserved regions, enacts metrics to track progress~
Jun 20 2012
Senator Warner today successfully amended the 2012 Farm Bill to provide new tools to extend high-speed Internet service to rural America. The amendment effectively targets loans and grants to unserved and underserved rural communities, and it also creates new metrics to improve accountability for taxpayers.
Postal reform bill includes Warner amendment to fix fed. pension backlog
~ Amendment speeds cumbersome process with more technology, transparency, accountability ~
Apr 25 2012
Postal reform legislation adopted by the Senate today included an amendment written by Senator Warner that aims to accelerate and improve a federal benefits processing system that still relies on the hand-processing of paper records. Virginia is home to an estimated 250,000 federal retirees, and hundreds of them have contacted Senator Warner about delays, sometimes as long as 12-18 months.
“Today, the House passed the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act – an important piece of legislation that will establish a new era of transparency for the federal government. I want to thank Chairman Darrell Issa and Ranking Member Elijah Cummings for their bipartisan work on this legislation."
New GAO report makes the case for reducing fed. overlap & duplication - AGAIN
~ GAO’s 2012 Report Also Shows Little Progress on 2011 Recommendations ~
Feb 28 2012
"We are reaching a point where GAO reports on government duplication and redundancy are becoming duplicative and redundant. The 2011 report made more than 80 specific recommendations to reduce overlap and duplication, but we have implemented only four of those recommendations so far."
Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman, ID-Conn., and Senator Mark Warner, D-Va., issued the following statement after the Committee received the Administration’s formal request for authority to reorganize government agencies.
Senator Warner announced today in a speech on the Senate floor that he will be voting against the payroll tax cut deal conference report.
Va., Md. Senators urge selection of region as test range for unmanned aircraft
~ “Mid-Atlantic provides existing test ranges, personnel and expertise” ~
Feb 08 2012
U.S. Sens. Jim Webb (D-VA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) today sent a joint letter to the Secretaries of Defense, Transportation and the NASA Administrator urging them to select the Virginia/Maryland region to host an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) test range.
A coalition of 45 Senators and 100 members of the U.S. House of Representatives gathered today to urge the debt supercommittee to “go big” in addressing America’s $14.5 trillion national debt. Senator Warner, a cofounder of the original “Gang of Six” deficit reduction effort, helped to organize the bipartisan, bicameral group.
Senator Warner and several other members of the Hampton Roads congressional delegation today released a letter to the new Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Jonathan W. Greenert, asking that he take a fresh look at the proposed homeporting of a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier in Mayport, Florida.
Senator Warner embeds U.S. debt clock on website
Jun 06 2011
Senator Warner, a leader in bipartisan Senate efforts to craft a comprehensive plan to reduce budget deficits and the national debt, added a clock to the homepage of his Senate website today that allows constituents to view the escalating national debt in real time.
Senator Warner (D-VA), a member of a group of six Senators who have been working toward a bipartisan solution to the nation’s deficits and debt, released this statement following the President’s speech today: “The only way we will move past partisanship and gridlock to solve our nation’s fiscal challenges is to leave our partisan hats behind and work in good faith to craft a responsible agreement.
Senate adopts Warner, Coburn amendment to cut $5 billion in program overlap and waste
~Today’s 64-36 vote will trigger action on savings identified in recent GAO report ~
Apr 07 2011
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) successfully amended Senate legislation today directing the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to find at least $5 billion in savings identified in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on reducing government duplication.
Senators Warner (D-VA) and Tom Coburn (R-OK) have introduced bipartisan legislation directing the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to find at least $5 billion in savings identified in a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on reducing government duplication.
Senate Budget Task Force holds hearing on government duplication & inefficiency
Task force hears from GAO's Dodaro, former White House Chief of Staff Podesta
Mar 16 2011
Senator Warner, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee's bipartisan Task Force on Government Performance, convened a hearing today on duplicative and inefficient federal programs that included testimony from GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro, Center for American Progress president and former Clinton White House chief of staff John Podesta, and former Bush Administration Associate OMB Director Robert Shea.
