Press Releases
Sen. Warner Praises Pentagon Decision to Cancel DoD School Furloughs
~ Good news for DoD schools serving military children at Va.’s Dahlgren and Quantico bases ~
Aug 07 2013
Sen. Warner today praised a Pentagon decision to cancel the scheduled furloughs of teachers at Department of Defense (DoD) on-base schools located in Virginia, seven other states and at U.S. bases around the world.
Sen. Warner Brings Voices of Furloughed Virginians to Senate Floor
Reads messages from constituents who are impacted, calls on Congressional colleagues to compromise
Jul 25 2013
U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner (D-VA) read messages on the Senate floor today from several Virginia constituents impacted by sequester cuts and federal employee furloughs, and urged his colleagues to work together to resolve a budget impasse before the fiscal year ends on September 30th.
Sen. Warner: "The Sequester is Stupidity on Steroids"
Va. Senator chairs Budget Committee hearing on impact of sequester cuts
Jul 23 2013
U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today chaired a Senate Budget Committee hearing on the impact of sequester spending cuts on national security and the U.S. economy. Sen. Warner, who describes sequestration as “stupidity on steroids,” sought to highlight the disruptive and inefficient impact sequestration is having on small businesses that work with the Department of Defense.
Sens. Warner & Kaine Introduce Virginian Patricia Millett at Judicial Confirmation Hearing
Alexandrian nominated for D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals
Jul 10 2013
Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine today introduced Alexandria resident Patricia Millett at a confirmation hearing in support of her nomination to the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. In their remarks, both Senators noted Millett’s extensive legal experience and public and community service.
Sen. Warner Urges Presidential Election Commission to Take Steps to Reduce Voting Wait Times
Senators call for public hearings in Virginia, Florida, and other states where voters endured hours-long delays
Jun 11 2013
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-VA), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Bill Nelson (D-FL) today sent a letter to the chairmen of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration, Robert F. Bauer and Benjamin L. Ginsberg, urging them to take strong steps to address the hours-long election lines that too many voters endured during the 2012 election. The Commission, a non-partisan panel created by the President earlier this year to promote more efficient elections, is set to have its first public meeting in Washington on June 21.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) today issued a statement welcoming the announcement of Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, or VOICE, on a neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing strategy that will help restore communities in Prince William County that were hardest-hit by the 2008 housing foreclosure crisis.
Senator Warner: Pentagon Should Rethink Furloughs of Teachers at DoD Schools
~ Planned five-day teacher furloughs will negatively impact children, disrupt families ~
May 16 2013
Senator Warner today urged Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to reconsider his decision to furlough almost 11,000 teachers at Defense Department-operated schools for up to five days as part of the Pentagon’s plan to comply with budget cuts required due to the sequester.
Sen. Warner Honors CIA Legends in Senate Floor Speech
~ Will reintroduce resolution designating Intelligence Professionals Day ~
Jan 23 2013
Sen. Warner, a member of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, today honored two Central Intelligence Agency veterans who played key roles in the 1994 arrest and espionage conviction of CIA spy Aldrich Ames on charges of spying for the Russians. Jeanne Vertefeuille of McLean, VA served at the CIA for more than 40 years and died on Dec. 29, 2012.
Virginia Representatives Jim Moran (VA-08), Frank Wolf (VA-10), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), and Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner sent a letter to the administrator of the General Services Administration urging consideration of Northern Virginia for the new FBI Headquarters location.
Bipartisan FAA bill improves service & safety for passengers
~ Senator Warner successfully worked for compromise to limit additional West Coast-DC slots ~
Feb 06 2012
Sen. Warner praised today’s passage of a bipartisan, four-year reauthorization for the Federal Aviation Administration that will improve airline service and safety for travelers. The compromise legislation, H.R. 658, allows airports to move forward on critical improvement projects, gives FAA tools to modernize the nation’s outdated air traffic control system, and authorizes eight additional daily round trip flights from Reagan National Airport to the West Coast.
Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner today announced $20 million for Northern Virginia’s Interstate 95 High Occupancy-Toll (HOT) lanes project from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) competitive Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.
Sens. Webb & Warner Urge Senate Not to Sacrifice Federal Workers to Pay for Tax Extenders
Dec 08 2011
Senators Warner and Webb are urging Majority Leader Harry Reid to ”reject any proposals that call for pay freezes or other forms of compensation reduction for federal workers, or significant reductions in the federal workforce” to offset the tax extenders that need to be passed by the end of this year.
DoD Inspector General Releases Damning Report on BRAC #133
Moran, Warner, Connolly renew call for parking cap, new transportation plan
Dec 01 2011
Following today’s release of a Department of Defense Inspector General report revealing serious flaws in the Army’s Transportation Management Plan, Senator Warner, Rep. Jim Moran, and Rep. Gerry Connolly renewed their call to limit the number of parking spaces used at the building until sufficient transportation infrastructure is put in place and pressed for enactment of the IG’s recommendations.
Senator Warner joined a bipartisan group of 11 senators today in a letter to new U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta calling for improvements to military base school facilities across the country. Many are old and in poor repair, and some have serious safety issues.
Today, Representatives Jim Moran, Gerry Connolly, and Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner wrote Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta expressing their concern with the recently released occupancy plan for the implementation of BRAC Recommendation #133. The plan moves nearly 5,000 employees to the Mark Center facility by December 2011 – before vital transportation infrastructure improvements are put in place.
Today the full Virginia delegation applauded the announcement by Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus that the USS Arlington will be commissioned at the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia. The announcement follows a letter sent by the delegation last week to Secretary Mabus over concerns the USS Arlington would be commissioned outside the Commonwealth.
Senator Warner is urging the Pentagon to delay the transfer of 6,400 defense workers to Alexandria’s Mark Center until traffic issues can be sorted-out. The DoD employees are being relocated from a region served by Metro to an already-congested area that has limited access to mass transit, and the additional traffic is likely to simply add to the frustrations of 200,000 daily commuters in the I395/Seminary Road area.
Moran, Connolly, Webb, Warner Urge Secretary Gates for Year Delay in Mark Center Plan
Lawmakers cite flawed Army study of transportation impacts
Jun 01 2011
Representatives Jim Moran, Gerry Connolly and Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner wrote Secretary of Defense Robert Gates expressing concern with the recently submitted Army Transportation Plan for the implementation of BRAC Recommendation #133 at Fort Belvoir-Mark Center, Virginia.
Senator Warner today announced that the U.S. Department of Defense has approved $20 million for transportation improvements around Mark Center in Alexandria, which will see an influx of an additional 6,400 civilian and military personnel as a result of the 2005 BRAC round.
Senator Warner today filed legislation that would end the improper and unofficial system of "reserved" gravesites for VIPs at Arlington National Cemetery. In addition, Senator Warner's legislation directs the U.S. Army to fully investigate -- and report back to Congress within 180 days -- on the number of plots that may have been set aside in violation of a 1962 Army policy which clearly states that Arlington National Cemetery plots must be provided to any qualified military veteran, without regard to rank or status.
Webb, Warner announce $148 million in public safety funds for Virginia
Federal grants help fund state, local law enforcement as well as public safety organizations
Oct 15 2010
Washington, D.C. -- U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark Warner today announced $148 million in federal grants to Virginia agencies, municipalities, and public safety organizations. The 296 U.S. Department of Justice grants support public safety projects across the Commonwealth of Virginia.
U.S. Sen Warner: Army accepts pro-bono I-T assistance for Arlington National Cemetery from Northern Va. Technology Council
NVTC to assess I-T challenges at Arlington, digitize and protect paper records
Aug 06 2010
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner announced today that the Army has accepted an offer from the Northern Virginia Technology Council to assess the information technology challenges at Arlington National Cemetery, where the continued use of paper records has been tied to the recent disclosure of misidentified and misplaced remains. In addition, NVTC members will immediately work to digitize the paper records and maps to protect these fragile records from damage or loss.
Webb and Warner Recommend Arenda L. Wright Allen of Norfolk for Eastern District Federal Judgeship
Jun 29 2010
Washington, DC- U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner today recommended that President Obama nominate Arenda L. Wright Allen of Norfolk to serve as a U.S. District Judge for the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Warner, Webb Announce $75 Million to Upgrade Va. Passenger Rail Capacity
~ Project will help facilitate high-speed passenger rail between Richmond & D.C. ~
Jan 28 2010
U.S. Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner today announced that Virginia has been awarded nearly $75 million in stimulus funds to upgrade passenger rail capacity between Richmond and Washington, D.C. These funds were included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.
Warner, Webb Announce Committee Approval of Chesapeake Bay Clean-Up Bill
~ Legislation strengthens NOAA’s data collection, resource management & public outreach ~
Nov 25 2009
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Jim Webb today announced approval by the Senate's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee of the Chesapeake Bay Science, Education and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2009, which the Virginia lawmakers introduced earlier this year with Maryland Senators Barbara Mikulski and Ben Cardin to strengthen and enhance the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) role in the multi-state Chesapeake Bay clean-up effort.
