WASHINGTON – Today, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) released the following statement:

“We are deeply disturbed by reports that Havana and Beijing are working together to target the United States and our people.  The United States must respond to China’s ongoing and brazen attacks on our nation’s security.  We must be clear that it would be unacceptable for China to establish an intelligence facility within 100 miles of Florida and the United States, in an area also populated with key military installations and extensive maritime traffic.  We urge the Biden administration to take steps to prevent this serious threat to our national security and sovereignty.”

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, today issued the following statement:

“The United States faces a dramatically different threat landscape today than it did just a couple of decades ago, with new threats and new technology that mean we must make substantial adjustments to our counterintelligence posture if we are going to successfully safeguard our national and economic security. I have worked closely alongside Mike Casey ever since he became staff director of the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2016, and I can think of no one more qualified to lead these efforts as head of the National Counterintelligence and Security Center. I congratulate him on this nomination, and I look forward to a thorough and swift confirmation process before the Senate Intelligence Committee.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and 13 of their Senate colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to help streamline health insurance enrollment for low-income families. In their letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary (HHS) Xavier Becerra and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, the senators urged the Administration to support state-level “Easy Enrollment” initiatives, which make it easier for uninsured, low-income families to sign up for health insurance by allowing them to sign up when filing their state income tax returns. Nearly 30 million Americans do not have health insurance and, as of this year, about 18 million who are eligible for programs like Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), and Advanced Premium Tax Credits still aren’t covered. State-based Easy Enrollment programs aim to close this gap. The senators called on HHS and CMS to address administrative barriers that reduce the efficiency of states’ Easy Enrollment programs, in order to make it easier for low-income families to access health care.

In 2020, the Virginia General Assembly passed legislation establishing an Easy Enrollment program. The first phase of Virginia’s Easy Enrollment program started this year and checks for Medicaid and CHIP eligibility.

“Easy Enrollment efforts ultimately aim to let uninsured tax filers request automatic enrollment in Medicaid, CHIP, or zero-premium Marketplace coverage, but these initiatives are facing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. To reach as many eligible uninsured as possible, these states seek to limit the need for people who have already filed their tax returns to complete further paperwork before obtaining health care coverage,” they wrote.

To help states streamline their Easy Enrollment initiatives, the senators urge the Administration to allow states to:

• Verify filers’ financial eligibility for programs like Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).
• Confirm their citizenship status using existing electronic records.
• Waive tax reconciliation penalties for consumers who choose to automatically enroll in zero-premium Marketplace plans after they have enrolled in health care coverage.

The senators note, “With these three flexibilities, States could strengthen Easy Enrollment programs so that numerous uninsured people who are already known to be U.S. citizens could choose to be enrolled automatically into Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace plans, based on qualifying income shown on their state income tax returns.”

“Given the large and growing number of states pursuing Easy Enrollment initiatives, we recommend that CMS develop one or more templates making it easy for states to obtain federal approvals needed to maximize coverage gains from this promising approach. In the meantime, we urge the Administration to work proactively with states and to quickly approve state proposals to take the above steps. Easy Enrollment requires coordinating policy and operations between state health and tax agencies, so planning for 2024 Easy Enrollment has already begun. Clear and early guidance showing federal support for automating enrollment, as outlined in this letter, would give our states and others the confidence to innovate boldly and effectively in closing America’s large, persistent, and inequitable enrollment gap,” the senators concluded.

Sens. Warner, Kaine, and Van Hollen were joined in sending this letter by Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Alex Padilla (D-CA), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), John Fetterman (D-PA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), and Ed Markey (D-MA).

A copy of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Becerra and Administrator Brooks-LaSure:

We are writing to urge the Biden-Harris Administration to strengthen its efforts to support state initiatives to automate the enrollment of eligible, uninsured families into health programs for which they qualify.

Such initiatives address a serious problem: America’s enrollment gap. Roughly two-thirds of our country’s uninsured residents – more than 18 million people -- qualify for but are not enrolled in Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), or low-cost Marketplace plans bought with advance premium tax credits (APTCs). Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, most people in the enrollment gap qualify for zero-premium insurance but are not enrolled, often because of administrative barriers or because they do not know about available health programs. People of color and workers without college degrees make up a disproportionate share of uninsured families caught in the enrollment gap.

To close that gap, ten states that, together, include one-third of America’s Medicaid-eligible uninsured population—California, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, and Virginia—have enacted “Easy Enrollment” programs that let families use state income tax returns to jumpstart health care enrollment. Uninsured tax filers can check a box asking to have their return information forwarded to state health agencies to see if their families qualify for free or low-cost insurance. Easy Enrollment efforts ultimately aim to let uninsured tax filers request automatic enrollment in Medicaid, CHIP, or zero-premium Marketplace coverage, but these initiatives are facing unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. To reach as many eligible uninsured as possible, these states seek to limit the need for people who have already filed their tax returns to complete further paperwork before obtaining health care coverage.

President Biden signed an Executive Order on his first day in office calling on federal agencies to overcome “potential barriers that underserved communities and individuals may face to enrollment.” In its effort to implement this executive order, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) highlighted the importance of lightening the administrative burdens families face. OMB also reported that “administrative burdens…do not fall equally on all…, leading to disproportionate underutilization of critical services…often by the people and communities who need them the most.” The President thus signed an additional Executive Order calling on federal agencies “to the maximum extent permitted by law… to ensure eligible individuals are automatically enrolled in…critical benefit programs.”

By leveraging income-tax filing to streamline and automate enrollment, Easy Enrollment programs could reach most of America’s uninsured families. In 2021, 94% of uninsured adults filed federal income tax returns, including 90% of uninsured adults with incomes below 150% of the federal poverty level, 93% of uninsured people of color, and 93% of uninsured adults who never graduated high school.

The Administration has compiled a remarkable track record bringing health insurance to an ever-widening circle of families in America. To build on that record, we urge the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Treasury Department to issue guidance allowing three flexibilities for state Easy Enrollment programs, all of which are well within current statutory and regulatory authority:

• States should be allowed to verify citizenship through electronic records, without requiring families to submit redundant paperwork. Applicants for health programs must complete forms attesting, under penalty of perjury, to U.S. citizenship or satisfactory immigration status. To facilitate auto-enrollment efforts, CMS should waive that requirement under Social Security Act §1115 and Affordable Care Act §1411(c)(4)(B) when a state has already confirmed that an uninsured applicant is a U.S. citizen, based on matches between identifying information on the tax return and federally approved sources of citizenship data.

• States should be allowed to base financial eligibility for Medicaid on state income tax records. Financial eligibility for Medicaid reflects current income. A state implementing the option for “Express Lane Eligibility,” or ELE, can qualify children as financially eligible based entirely on information from other income-based programs or the family’s state income tax return. CMS should make clear that it is willing to grant §1115 waivers permitting states to use ELE’s tax return option to establish financial eligibility, not just for children, but for adults as well.

• States should be allowed to have tax reconciliation penalties waived for consumers they automatically enroll into zero-premium Marketplace plans. Someone enrolled into a zero-premium plan may owe federal tax reconciliation payments if their annual income turns out to exceed expected levels. For states to reliably promise that zero-premium plans will truly cost enrollees nothing, CMS and the Treasury Department should make clear that ACA §1332 allows waivers of tax reconciliation for people the state auto-enrolls into such plans.

With these three flexibilities, States could strengthen Easy Enrollment programs so that numerous uninsured people who are already known to be U.S. citizens could choose to be enrolled automatically into Medicaid, CHIP, and Marketplace plans, based on qualifying income shown on their state income tax returns.

Given the large and growing number of states pursuing Easy Enrollment initiatives, we recommend that CMS develop one or more templates making it easy for states to obtain federal approvals needed to maximize coverage gains from this promising approach. In the meantime, we urge the Administration to work proactively with states and to quickly approve state proposals to take the above steps. Easy Enrollment requires coordinating policy and operations between state health and tax agencies, so planning for 2024 Easy Enrollment has already begun. Clear and early guidance showing federal support for automating enrollment, as outlined in this letter, would give our states and others the confidence to innovate boldly and effectively in closing America’s large, persistent, and inequitable enrollment gap.

Sincerely, 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Todd Young (R-IN) joined by U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA-01) today introduced legislation to test innovative portable benefits designs for the growing independent workforce. The Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act seeks to provide workers with access to insurance protections typically provided through traditional full-time employment. This legislation would establish a $20 million grant fund within the U.S. Department of Labor to incentivize states, localities and nonprofit organizations to experiment with portable benefits models.

“Each year more and more Americans engage in part-time, contract or other alternative work arrangements to support themselves and their families. But despite these shifts, our retirement and savings programs aren’t keeping up to help these workers,” said Sen. Warner. “This program will encourage experimentation at the state and local levels to support the realities of a 21^st century workforce.”

“Job opportunities in the gig economy provide workers with utmost flexibility,” said Sen. Young. “Supporting portable benefit options helps uncover creative solutions to addressing the needs of our rapidly changing workforce. I am pleased to reintroduce this bill to make it easier for Hoosiers find the job opportunity that best suits their family situation.”

“The way we work is rapidly evolving, and it is time our laws caught up. Today, millions of workers lack access to benefits like workers’ compensation and paid time off. We must act to ensure our economy works for everyone,” said Rep. Suzan DelBene. “This legislation is an important step toward ensuring benefits are accessible to all workers, regardless of their work arrangement. Whether you are a rideshare driver or an online artisan, you should have the same benefits opportunities as other workers.” 

The legislation is co-sponsored in the Senate by U.S. Sens. Angus King (I-ME), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Michael Bennet (D-CO), and John Hoeven (R-ND). 

“Independent workers make up a growing percentage of our workforce, yet they are often not eligible for many benefits typically offered by employers. North Dakotans in non-traditional work arrangements deserve access to the same benefits as the rest of the working public,” said Sen. Cramer. “These pilot programs encourage state and local governments to provide portable benefits and give independent contractors additional financial stability.”

“Information technology, analytics and the ‘gig’ economy are changing the complexion of the 21st century economy, so it’s vital that our federal policies evolve to stay in step with the reality faced by everyday workers,” said Sen. King. “Today, more and more Americans work as independent contractors, or are more regularly switching jobs to address new opportunities in the workforce – and they should have flexible benefit options for them and their families. This bipartisan bill would lay the groundwork for more portable benefits so we can effectively support independent workers as they help change and expand the modern economy.”

“As we experience a workforce shortage across the nation, offering more flexible benefits and support will help make it easier for workers across the country and in North Dakota to find the right job opportunity for them and their families,” said Sen. Hoeven.

In the past decade, the composition of the U.S. workforce has changed significantly, and those who earn all or some of their income as independent contractors, part-time workers, temporary workers or contingent workers have found it difficult and expensive to access benefits and protections that are commonly provided to full-time employees. These benefits include paid leave, workers’ compensation, skills training, unemployment insurance, tax withholding and tax-advantaged retirement savings. As the workforce changes, employers and policymakers need to consider a system that allows workers to carry these benefits with them from job to job across a lifetime in the workforce.

The Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act would establish a portable benefits pilot program at the U.S. Department of Labor. It authorizes a total of $20 million for competitive grants to states, local governments and nonprofits for pilot projects to design, implement and evaluate new models ($15 million) or assess and improve existing models ($5 million) for portable benefits for independent workers such as contractors, temporary workers and self-employed workers.

Eligible models will provide a number of work-related benefits and protections – such as retirement savings, workers compensation, life or disability insurance, sick leave, training and educational benefits, health care, and more. In order to encourage innovative thinking on these challenging issues, programs focused solely on retirement-related benefits will not be eligible. In awarding grants, the Secretary of Labor is directed to prioritize models that can be replicated on a large scale or at the national level.

Sen. Warner and Rep. DelBene originally introduced this legislation in 2017, and have continued to lead the push for policy solutions to address shifts across our economy that have changed the workforce. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sen. Warner doubled down on efforts to include expanded benefits eligibility in relief packages.

“Grantmakers in the Arts sees firsthand the negative impact on independent workers that their lack of access to workplace benefits has on their health, their stability, their families,” said Eddie Torres, President and CEO, Grantmakers in the Arts. “We see these negative impacts because so many artists are independent workers. Health insurance, disability insurance, retirement savings, and other benefits provide essential protections for traditional workers that independent workers simply do without. With the number of independent workers growing, the introduction of the Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act comes at a crucial time. The bill will begin to lay the policy foundation to make workplace benefits available to independent workers, including artists. Grantmakers in the Arts strongly supports this legislation, and stands ready to work with Senators Warner and Young and Representative DelBene to have it signed into law this Congress.”

“The Association of Language Companies applauds Senator Warner and his colleagues for introducing the Portable Benefits for Independent Workers Pilot Program Act,” said Susan Amarino, President, Association of Language Companies. “The language industry works in every industry in the US. We support national security, economic growth, and the provision of vital language access to health care, education, and social services. The translators, interpreters, captioners, and other skilled language professionals deserve the ability to choose independent contractor status and receive the benefits necessary to take care of their families and plan for their futures. The pilot program for portable benefits would go a long way toward supporting the 21st-century knowledge-based workforce.”

A copy of the bill text is available here.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $6,710,000 in federal funding for three Virginia airports. The funding was awarded through the Department of Transportation Federal Aviation Administration’s Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) Airport Improvement Program (AIP).  

“Virginia’s airports serve thousands of flyers every day and we are thrilled to deliver funding that will make travel through Virginia safer, more convenient, and more accessible for all,” the Senators said. “This funding will allow our Commonwealth’s airports to start important maintenance and planning projects that will help meet their communities’ needs for years to come.”

The funding is distributed as follows:

• $5,000,000 for Ronald Reagan Washington International Airport in Arlington, VA for the construction of a taxiway.
• $1,350,000 for Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport in Newport News, VA for to fund an update to the Airport Master Plan.
• $360,000 for Winchester Regional Airport in Winchester, VA for the construction of a taxiway.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have championed continued investment in Virginia’s airports in order to make travel easier across the Commonwealth. Last month, the Senators announced over $1 million in funding for Luray Caverns Airport in Luray, Virginia courtesy of the AIP. Earlier this year, Sens. Warner and Kaine announced over $29 million in federal funding for improvements to three Virginia airports, Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), Norfolk International Airport (ORF), and Richmond International Airport (RIC). Additionally, the Senators have announced nearly $400 million in funding for various Virginia airports secured through the bipartisan Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act.

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WASHINGTON – Today, during Brain Cancer Awareness Month, U.S. Sens. Mark Warner, Tim Kaine (both D-VA), and Jerry Moran (R-KS) introduced the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act 2.0. This legislation would provide a new source of funding for the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Gabriella Miller Kids First Pediatric Research Program (Kids First)—which Kaine helped create—by redirecting penalties collected from pharmaceutical, cosmetic, supplement, and medical device companies that break the law to pediatric and childhood cancer research. Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-VA-10) introduced a version of the legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.  

The bill is named in honor of Gabriella Miller, a Leesburg, Virginia resident who died from a rare form of brain cancer at the age of 10. Miller was an activist and worked to raise support for research into childhood diseases like cancer until her death in October of 2013. In 2014, Kaine honored her by championing the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act, which established a Ten-Year Pediatric Research Initiative at the NIH and authorized $12.6 million per fiscal year through FY23 for pediatric disease research. Since President Barack Obama signed the original bill in 2014, $126 million has been directed to pediatric cancer research at the NIH through the Gabriella Miller Kids First Research program.

“I can think of no better way to honor the memory of Gabriella and other children who have lost their lives to rare pediatric cancers than by passing this legislation, which would provide crucial, sustainable funding for research to advance lifesaving treatments,” said Sen. Warner.

“Gabriella Miller was a Virginian and a passionate activist, and it’s my mission to honor her by working to make sure pediatric disease research is a priority in Congress,” said Sen. Kaine, who serves on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. “I’m proud to join together with colleagues from both sides of the aisle in introducing this legislation, which would provide a crucial source of funding for the pediatric cancer and disease research that can support treatments and save lives in the years to come.”

“Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children, and we must better understand this horrific disease,” said Sen. Moran. “By directing new resources to NIH to research cures and treatments for cancer in children, we can help save lives and honor the memory of Gabriella Miller.”

 “It is unacceptable that less than 8% of the federal cancer research funding goes towards childhood cancer while tens of thousands of children are diagnosed each year in the U.S. – and cancer is taking more children’s lives than any other disease right now,” said Rep. Wexton. “I’m proud to lead this bipartisan, bicameral legislation to build on the remarkable work of the Kids First research programs and boost funding for treatments and cures that can save kids’ lives. It’s been an honor to work with Ellyn Miller, a constituent and Gabriella’s mother, as well as my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to deliver real change so no family has to go through what the Millers have faced.”

While cancer is the leading cause of death by disease among children past infancy, childhood cancer and other rare pediatric diseases remain poorly understood. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 9,910 children under the age of 14 will be diagnosed with cancer, and about 1,040 will die of the disease in the United States in 2023. 

The Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Program has supported critical research into pediatric cancer and structural birth defects and has focused on building a pediatric data resource combining genetic sequencing data with clinical data from multiple pediatric cohorts. The Gabriella Miller Kids First Data Resource Center is helping to advance scientific understanding and discoveries around pediatric cancer and structural birth defects and has sequenced nearly 20,000 samples thus far.

The legislation is also cosponsored by U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Steve Daines (R-MT), Peter Welch (D-VT), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

You can view the full bill text here. 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the statement below on the official end of the nation’s Public Health Emergency (PHE) for COVID-19:

“When COVID-19 hit, Congress acted with force and urgency to save lives and livelihoods, taking actions that were made possible by the Public Health Emergency declaration, which opened the door to a wealth of additional tools and flexibilities. More than three years later, I’m proud to know that our nation has reached a point where we can move beyond the emergency stage of COVID-19 and the corresponding PHE declaration. Now, it’s up to Congress to adopt more permanent policies that reflect the valuable lessons we learned during this crisis, and that allow us to move forward rather than backwards. We must continue to strengthen our public health response capabilities, ensure that health care is affordable and easy to access through robust telehealth options, and improve the security of our southwest border while creating a better functioning asylum process and a reasonable path towards legal status for those who are undocumented. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress on these issues.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Susan Collins (R-ME) introduced legislation to strengthen the security of U.S. election infrastructure by requiring that voting systems undergo simulated attacks as part of their standard certification process. Specifically, the Strengthening Election Cybersecurity to Uphold Respect for Elections through Independent Testing (SECURE IT) Act would direct the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to require that systems seeking certification undergo penetration testing, a practice that allows researchers to search for vulnerabilities by attempting to attack a system with the same tools and techniques used by cybercriminals.

“If we’re going to defeat our adversaries, we have to be able to think like they do. The SECURE IT Act would allow researchers to step into the shoes of cybercriminals and uncover vulnerabilities and weaknesses that might not be found otherwise,” said Sen. Warner. “As foreign and domestic adversaries continue to target U.S. democracy, I’m proud to introduce legislation to harness a critical cybersecurity practice that will help safeguard our elections infrastructure.”  

“This bipartisan legislation will strengthen the integrity of our election process by ensuring that voting systems are safe and secure,” said Sen. Collins. “It will help protect and bolster public confidence in our elections.”

Current regulations under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) require the EAC to provide for the testing and certification, decertification, and recertification of voting system hardware and software by accredited laboratories. However, HAVA does not explicitly require penetration testing of voting systems. 

This legislation would direct the EAC to require that a voting system undergo cybersecurity penetration testing in order to be certified. It would also direct the EAC and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to accredit entities that can perform penetration testing to fulfill the aforementioned requirement. Additionally, the legislation would direct the EAC to create a voluntary Coordinated Vulnerability Disclosure Program for election systems. Under this program, vetted researchers would be given access to voting systems voluntarily provided by manufacturers in order to discover vulnerabilities and disclose them to the manufacturer and EAC.

“This bill will allow independent election system researchers like myself to contribute more fully to the maintaining public confidence in our elections. The SECURE IT Act will create a space where researchers and election systems manufacturers can work together to find—and fix—any cybersecurity vulnerability that may exist in our election infrastructure,” said Dr. Juan E. Gilbert, Chair of the Computer & Information Science & Engineering Department at the University of Florida.

“ES&S has long supported and taken part in independent testing of its elections equipment,” said Tom Burt, CEO and president of Election Systems & Software, the largest manufacturer of voting systems in the United States. “Programmatic testing performed by independent security experts helps ensure equipment stays ahead of threats, and it helps increase voter confidence in the overall security of elections.  I appreciate Senator Warner’s and Senator Collins’ work to further secure our nation’s elections.”

A copy of the bill is available here and a one-page summary is available here. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A one-pager is available here.

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WASHINGTON – As violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues for a third week, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), joined by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Michael Bennet (D-CO), have formally requested that the Biden administration offer all available support for humanitarian efforts in the region. The worsening conditions in Sudan have resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and have forced hundreds of thousands to flee in search of safety.

In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power, the senators highlighted the continued and indiscriminate violence, which has significantly worsened the humanitarian situation, and disrupted aid operations on the ground. According to the United Nations, even prior to the recent outbreak in violence nearly 16 million people in Sudan were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance.

“As the violence has escalated, its impact has been far reaching across all sectors of society. Damage to critical civilian infrastructure, including transportation and communication infrastructure, has limited the ability of people and basic goods to move throughout the country; damage to hospitals, depleted resources, and broken medical supply chains have largely degraded the nation’s health care capacity; and continued conflict has left significant portions of the population sheltering in their homes, with dwindling or exhausted supplies of food, water, and medicine,” the senators wrote. “As the UN’s top humanitarian affairs official said this week, ‘the humanitarian situation is reaching [a] breaking point.’ Unfortunately, this conflict has also deteriorated the flow and delivery of humanitarian assistance into Sudan, and aid groups’ ability to operate on the ground.”

Noting the indiscriminate violence and reported gross violations of international humanitarian law, the senators echoed calls for the parties to the conflict to ensure safe access and movement for humanitarian workers and medical personnel. They requested that the U.S. designate a senior diplomat or envoy to ensure that securing these humanitarian assurances remains a priority in direct negotiations, and that we engage with neighboring countries to help address the cross-border challenges seen from mass movement out of Sudan. Additionally, they voiced support for USAID and State Department efforts to support aid organizations in returning to Sudan quickly and safely, leverage local humanitarian organizations as part of the ongoing response to the violence, and engage with international partners as part of the U.S. response strategy.

The senators continued, “[A]s aid organizations work to reestablish operations, it is vital that the U.S. State Department and USAID provide all available support to facilitate ongoing aid operations on the ground, and support a resumption of efforts – whether in Sudan or in neighboring countries – that have been suspended due to the violence. In response to the significant need, and in part to fill in as international organizations have been forced to suspend their operations, a range of local and national Sudanese organizations have stepped forward to provide capacity. We encourage you to use flexibility in supporting these local efforts, in order to best leverage them alongside international efforts.”

Sens. Warner and Kaine, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), have been vocal about their support for aid efforts in Sudan and for the Sudanese diaspora in the United States, which in 2021 totaled more than 54,000 immigrants from Sudan, with the highest concentration located in Fairfax County, VA. Earlier this week, the senators called on the Biden administration to issue a new Temporary Protected Status (TPS) designation for Sudan, which would provide relief from deportation and access to a work permit for foreign nationals from the country currently in the United States.

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

Dear Secretary Blinken and Administrator Power,

We write with deep concern regarding the horrific violence in Sudan, and its impact on the rapidly declining humanitarian situation on the ground. Now in its third week, the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left hundreds dead, thousands more injured, and has forced hundreds of thousands of individuals to flee to neighboring regions and countries.

As the violence has severely disrupted humanitarian assistance on the ground – including by forcing some organizations to withdraw or suspend their efforts – we urge that you offer all available support to resume aid operations, take steps to reposition aid resources to reflect the current security environment, leverage local organizations as part of an ongoing response strategy, and continue efforts to marshal an international response.

Direct negotiations facilitated by the United States are critical to the reestablishment of a robust international aid response, and we urge that assurances for immediate and safe aid operations be made a primary focus of those negotiations.

We are deeply grateful for the U.S. Government’s efforts in evacuating U.S. Embassy personnel, and American citizens from Sudan. However, the recent conflict has hit areas like Khartoum and Darfur particularly hard, and it tragically exacerbates the existing crisis and humanitarian need across the country. According to the United Nations (UN), even prior to the recent outbreak in violence nearly 16 million people were estimated to be in need of humanitarian assistance – a figure that represents close to a third of the total population in Sudan. Even prior to the start of the conflict, the crisis was already acute – more than 4 million children and pregnant and lactating women are counted as being “severely malnourished.”

As the violence has escalated, its impact has been far reaching across all sectors of society. Damage to critical civilian infrastructure, including transportation and communication infrastructure, has limited the ability of people and basic goods to move throughout the country; damage to hospitals, depleted resources, and broken medical supply chains have largely degraded the nation’s health care capacity; and continued conflict has left significant portions of the population sheltering in their homes, with dwindling or exhausted supplies of food, water, and medicine. As the UN’s top humanitarian affairs official said this week, “the humanitarian situation is reaching [a] breaking point.”

Unfortunately, this conflict has also deteriorated the flow and delivery of humanitarian assistance into Sudan, and aid groups’ ability to operate on the ground. The men and women who work for the U.S. State Department and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as well as those employed by international relief organizations, have committed themselves to careers seeking to alleviate suffering around the world, oftentimes carrying out this mission in harm’s way. Tragically, in the first two weeks of fighting at least five international aid workers had been killed, and there have been broader threats targeting aid personnel and supplies.

To be clear, the blame for the disruptions to aid and casualties lie with the warring parties. Reported gross violations of international humanitarian law have greatly impacted the safety of aid personnel, and directly contribute to the suffering of the Sudanese people. We echo international calls for the parties to the conflict to ensure safe access and movement for humanitarian workers and medical personnel, and to allow for steady streams of aid into and throughout the country.

In response to the dire humanitarian need, the reestablishment of these aid flows is critical. We understand that organizations are looking at how to best reposition and recalibrate support in light of the serious security risks. We appreciate the direct efforts that the U.S. Government has initiated to support humanitarian assistance, including USAID’s activation of a Disaster Assistance Response Team (DART) on April 23, and we urge you to take steps to safely reposition and pre-position resources so that they can best be utilized on the ground as soon as possible.

Additionally, as aid organizations work to reestablish operations, it is vital that the U.S. State Department and USAID provide all available support to facilitate ongoing aid operations on the ground, and support a resumption of efforts – whether in Sudan or in neighboring countries – that have been suspended due to the violence. In response to the significant need, and in part to fill in as international organizations have been forced to suspend their operations, a range of local and national Sudanese organizations have stepped forward to provide capacity. We encourage you to use flexibility in supporting these local efforts, in order to best leverage them alongside international efforts.

In an alarming estimate earlier this week, the UN projected that the ongoing conflict may drive more than 860,000 individuals to flee from Sudan into neighboring countries. We have already seen significant levels of migration out of Sudan over the past three weeks, which at many points has overwhelmed border capacity, thereby creating additional humanitarian concerns at these crossings. We welcome U.S. efforts to engage these neighboring countries and the UN to increase border capacity, ensure UN and international non-governmental organizations (INGO) access to these border crossings, provide additional aid along these routes, and scale up planning efforts to account for significant anticipated volume.

It is critical that negotiations involving a ceasefire between the warring parties prioritize the immediate creation of safe and durable humanitarian access to those in need. Additionally, we urge the deployment of an appointed special envoy or other senior diplomat to the region to engage directly with neighboring countries to ensure the free movement of individuals seeking safety out of Sudan, and that UN and INGOs are able to provide needed assistance in these border efforts.

It is vital that the U.S. continue its diplomatic engagement to push for a durable cessation of violence, in partnership with the African Union, and other regional and international partners. This cessation ultimately is the only path towards ensuring that urgent humanitarian needs on the ground are met. It must, however, also be accompanied by a concerted international effort, which fully resources the work done by aid organizations.

We have listened to concerns about what this ongoing violence means for individuals’ loved ones in Sudan, and for the country’s future. We support and encourage all efforts by the U.S. Government to be a forward-leaning and strong partner in the international aid response to this crisis in Sudan. Finally, we request regular updates and briefings from the State Department and USAID on the delivery of humanitarian aid for civilians in Sudan, and from the State Department on the evacuation of American citizens.                                                                                

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Mike Crapo (R-ID), Co-Chairs of the Senate Community Development Finance Caucus, reintroduced the Scaling Community Lenders Act, bipartisan legislation to unlock more sources of liquidity and support for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The legislation would allow CDFIs to scale their activities and fuel more lending in low- and moderate-income (LMI) communities.

CDFIs play a critical role in providing responsible and affordable credit to underserved communities. While Congress has taken significant steps to support community-based lenders since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, CDFIs continue to require more long-term patient capital, operating capital, and resources to modernize their systems and compete in an era of rapid financial innovation. The Scaling Community Lenders Act would authorize new resources to activate and fund the long-dormant Section 113 of the Riegle Act of 1994 – the CDFI liquidity enhancement program –allowing the CDFI Fund to finance projects within the industry, selected on a competitive basis, to provide liquidity to CDFIs.

“CDFIs can play a crucial role in driving economic growth and providing access to capital to underserved communities,” said Sen. Warner. “I’m pleased to reintroduce this legislation to that supports new and innovative approaches in the industry and lays the groundwork for new ways to meet the needs in LMI communities.”

“I am proud to support the Scaling Community Lenders Act, which will help provide access to capital in low-income, rural and underserved communities,” said Sen. Crapo. “CDFIs play an important role in our state and nationwide, and this bill will help them expand their lending activities.”

CDFIs lend across a variety of categories, including business loans, consumer loans, commercial real estate, residential real estate, home improvement, and home purchases. However, for many of these products there is no secondary market that can unlock capacity and take loans of CDFI balance sheets. The development of a secondary market or facility that would buy loans from CDFIs would allow the industry to prove the performance of their assets in the long-term. The Scaling Community Lenders Act would encourage innovation and help determine the best routes for unlocking secondary markets for CDFIs.

Sens. Warner and Crapo have long been supporters of CDFIs and MDIs. Last year, the senators launched the bipartisan Senate Community Development Finance Caucus to serve as a platform where policymakers can coordinate and expand on public and private-sector efforts in support of the missions of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs).

Bill text is available here.

“During the Paycheck Protection Program, CDFI loan funds – for the first time – gained access to a Federal Reserve liquidity facility which allowed CDFIs to expand their lending to the small businesses in low-wealth communities hit hard by the Covid crisis. Opportunity Finance Network welcomes the piloting of other models for enhancing liquidity as outlined in the Scaling Community Lenders Act. Senator Warner, once again, is leading on initiatives to support and scale the CDFI industry,” said Jennifer A. Vasiloff, Chief External Affairs Officer, Opportunity Finance Network.

“The CDFI industry has proven its ability to expand access to financial services responsibly for unbanked communities, rural communities, and communities of color over the last few decades. It is time to bring new liquidity tools to the market to enable community lenders to scale to meet the enormous need for affordable credit. Without these tools, millions of Americans will not have access to income and wealth generating activities like small business and home ownership that expand opportunity and reduce the racial and gender wealth gaps,” said Beth Bafford, Vice President for Strategy, Calvert Impact.

“CRF strongly endorses the Scaling Community Lenders Act of 2023 introduced by Senators Warner and Crapo. We applaud their leadership and foresight to develop liquidity resources for CDFIs. As a pioneer of community development secondary markets and securitization, we understand the importance and power of providing liquidity to CDFIs. We were early supporters of section 113 of the Riegle Act and are delighted to see this section of the bill come to life. We are confident that these critical resources will enable CDFIs to deliver more impact in underestimated communities,” said Matthew Roth, CEO, Community Reinvestment Fund, USA.

“CDBA strongly supports the Scaling Community Lenders Act. Access to liquidity is an important tool for community development lenders to manage their portfolios and balance sheets, which in, turn gives them more capacity to serve their communities. The SCL Act will help build CDFI industry infrastructure that will expand access to capital in low income and minority communities,” said Jeannine Jacokes, CDBA.

“CDFIs consistently demonstrate an ability to support and reach historically marginalized and under-resourced communities. These community-centered organizations, built to promote economic inclusion and capital access, need their own capital tools to scale and break through barriers to their growth,” said Leah Fremouw, Board President, VA CDFI Coalition. “Facilitating the development of a reliable secondary market for CDFIs will provide these lenders opportunities to leverage their existing portfolio as a financing tool, freeing up assets for additional community investment. Activating and capitalizing the dormant Section 113 of the Riegle Act is critical to building a secondary market for CDFI lending, ultimately giving them the liquidity to originate more high-impact loans and capital tools. The VA CDFI Coalition is excited by the possibilities these investments could create across Virginia and hope to see this pass.”

“CDFIs play a critical role in reaching business owners, families and communities that our capital markets have left behind. Our decades of work with CDFIs have clearly identified the challenges they face in accessing the capital they need to scale their lending. Building secondary markets for CDFI loans is an essential complement to the CDFI Fund’s direct support for these critical institutions.  We’re pleased to see this movement toward activating an important part of the original CDFI Fund statute,” said Joyce Klein, Director, Aspen Institute Business Ownership Initiative.

“The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) thanks Senators Warner and Crapo for introducing the Scaling Community Lenders Act,” said Matt Josephs, Senior Vice President for Policy, LISC. “Research has shown that Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) loans are high performing, although in most cases they are nontraditional and do not meet the underwriting and collateralization standards required by conventional banks. As a result, there is not a vibrant secondary market where CDFIs can sell these loans to investors. This legislation will kickstart a CDFI secondary market so CDFIs have access to loan purchasers to obtain the capital needed to finance additional community and economic development activities for underserved people and communities.”

“CDFIs are always in need of new approaches to help deliver on the promise of increased scale. In the current interest rate environment, finding new ways to add liquidity is more important than ever. Supporting the Scaling Community Lenders Act is a critical step to leverage the CDFI Fund and drive innovation,” said Brett Simmons, Managing Director of the EBA Fund.

“The CDFI Coalition is pleased to add its voice in strong support for the legislation sponsored by Sens. Warner and Crapo to establish a pilot program aimed at establishing a secondary market for loans made by Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs). The Scaling Community Lenders Act of 2022 amends the Community Development Banking and Financial Institutions Act of 1994 to authorize $100 million for funding up to 6 pilot programs, selected on a competitive basis, which would purchase CDFI loans and loan participations, provide guarantees, loan loss reserves and lines of credit and other measure necessary to enhance CDFI liquidity. CDFIs emerged to provide financial services in urban neighborhoods and rural areas underserved by traditional financial institutions, particularly those with high rates of poverty and unemployment,” said Ceyl Prinster, President and CEO, Colorado Enterprise Fund and Chair of the CDFI Coalition. “By leveraging over $12 in private capital to every $1 in federal support, CDFIs are filling the widening credit gap encountered in many communities, creating jobs improving housing and community facilities and creating economic opportunity. Throughout the last economic downturn, CDFIs provided flexible and patient capital, rigorous risk management, and commitment to the projects in their communities and the sustainability of their borrowers. While traditional borrowers fled economically distressed communities, CDFIs stepped in and filled the void. Since the advent of the economic crisis prompted by the pandemic, CDFIs have been on the frontlines of providing technical and financial assistance to small and minority-owned businesses. CDFIs fill a vital niche in the nation's financial services delivery system by serving communities and market sectors that conventional lenders cannot - with the ultimate goal of bringing CDFI customers into the mainstream economy as bank customers, home owners and/or entrepreneurs. We believe that the Scaling Community Lenders Act will enhance the ability of CDFIs to support economic revitalization in economic distressed rural, urban, minority and tribal communities.  Establishing a secondary market for CDFI loans will be increase the availability of capital to CDFIs that will put it to good use in financing affordable housing, small businesses, and community facilities.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined 27 colleagues in introducing the Kids Online Safety Act, comprehensive bipartisan legislation to protect children online.

The Kids Online Safety Act provides young people and parents with the tools, safeguards, and transparency they need to protect against online harms. The bill requires social media platforms to by default enable a range of protections against addictive design and algorithmic recommendations. It also requires privacy protections, dedicated channels to report harm, and independent audits by experts and academic researchers to ensure that social media platforms are taking meaningful steps to address risks to kids. 

“Experts are clear: kids and teens are growing up in a toxic and unregulated social media landscape that promotes bullying, eating disorders, and mental health struggles,” said Sen. Warner. “The Kids Online Safety Act would give kids and parents the long-overdue ability to control some of the least transparent and most damaging aspects of social media, creating a safer and more humane online environment.”

Reporting has shown that social media companies have proof that their platforms contribute to mental health issues in children and teens, and that young people have demonstrated a precipitous rise in mental health crises over the last decade. 

Specifically, the Kids Online Safety Act would: 

·         Require that social media platforms provide minors with options to protect their information, disable addictive product features, and opt out of algorithmic recommendations. Platforms would be required to enable the strongest settings by default.

·         Give parents new controls to help support their children and identify harmful behaviors, and provides parents and children with a dedicated channel to report harms to kids to the platform. 

·         Create a responsibility for social media platforms to prevent and mitigate harms to minors, such as promotion of suicide, eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual exploitation, and unlawful products for minors (e.g. gambling and alcohol).

·         Require social media platforms to perform an annual independent audit that assesses the risks to minors, their compliance with this legislation, and whether the platform is taking meaningful steps to prevent those harms. 

·         Provide academic and public interest organizations with access to critical datasets from social media platforms to foster research regarding harms to the safety and well-being of minors. 

Sen. Warner, a former tech entrepreneur, has been a vocal advocate for Big Tech accountability and building a safer online environment. He has introduced several pieces of legislation aimed at addressing these issues, including the RESTRICT Act, which would comprehensively address the ongoing threat posed by technology and social media platforms from foreign adversaries; the SAFE TECH Act, which would reform Section 230 and allow social media companies to be held accountable for enabling cyber-stalking, online harassment, and discrimination on social media platforms; and the Honest Ads Act, which would require online political advertisements to adhere to the same disclaimer requirements as TV, radio, and print ads.

The one-page summary of the bill can be found here, the section-by-section summary can be found here, and the full text of the Senate bill can be found here.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dear Secretary Mayorkas and Secretary Blinken:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for your consideration of this important matter.

Sincerely,

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