WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine sent a letter to Senate Leadership urging them to provide critical relief to restaurants, bars, and other small businesses in the food and beverage industries severely impacted by the pandemic. In their letter, the Senators point to the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), established by the American Rescue Plan, and the help it provided to tens of thousands of establishments across the nation before funding ran out. The Senators call on Senate Leadership to bring up legislation that provides the RRF with additional funding to meet the outstanding demand for the program. In July, the Small Business Administration announced the RRF program received over 278,000 eligible applications requesting over $72 billion in funds – exceeding the $28.6 billion included in the American Rescue Plan.

“We write to you regarding the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), which was established by the American Rescue Plan to provide critical relief to restaurants, bars, and other small businesses in the food and beverage services sector. In light of the extraordinary demand for the program, we urge you to replenish the Fund to meet the current need among eligible applicants,” wrote the Senators.

“We urge you to bring up legislation that provides the RRF with additional funding to meet the outstanding demand for the program. Virginia’s restaurants play a major role in the Commonwealth’s economy, employing over 300,000 people prior to the pandemic. Ensuring that restaurants and similar small businesses in Virginia and across the country have the resources they need to stay solvent will facilitate a speedy economic recovery,” concluded the Senators.

Senators Kaine and Warner were both co-sponsors of the bipartisan Real Economic Support That Acknowledges Unique Restaurant Assistance Needed to Survive (RESTAURANTS) Act of 2020, legislation that led to the creation of the RRF but would have included $120 billion in funding to help independent restaurants deal with the long-term structural challenges facing the industry because of COVID-19.

A copy of the letter text can be found here and below:

Dear Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell:

We write to you regarding the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), which was established by the American Rescue Plan to provide critical relief to restaurants, bars, and other small businesses in the food and beverage services sector. In light of the extraordinary demand for the program, we urge you to replenish the Fund to meet the current need among eligible applicants.

The food and beverage industries have been among the hardest-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, with restaurant and food service sales down $280 billion from expected levels and restaurant jobs down 1.7 million from pre-pandemic levels. Even as restrictions are being lifted and the economy slowly rebounds, restaurants are only just beginning to recover from the devastating economic impact of the pandemic. In Virginia and across the country, restaurants continue to experience decreased sales, crippling staffing shortages, and significant debt burdens. Hundreds of Virginia restaurant owners have told us that they may have to close their doors permanently if they do not receive additional federal relief.

The $28.6 billion RRF has already started working to keep tens of thousands of these establishments across the nation open. However, demand has far outstripped the available funding. On July 2, 2021, Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Isabel Guzman announced the closure of the RRF program. SBA reported that they had received more than 278,000 eligible applications requesting a total of $72.2 billion in funding. As of June 30, 2021, approximately 101,000 of those applications had been approved.

We urge you to bring up legislation that provides the RRF with additional funding to meet the outstanding demand for the program. Virginia’s restaurants play a major role in the Commonwealth’s economy, employing over 300,000 people prior to the pandemic. Ensuring that restaurants and similar small businesses in Virginia and across the country have the resources they need to stay solvent will facilitate a speedy economic recovery. 

Thank you in advance for your attention to this urgent matter.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine announced $4,123,765 in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education for five of the Commonwealth’s higher education institutions to help them prepare and respond to COVID-19.  The grants can be used in various ways, including resuming operations, supporting students, reducing disease transmission, and developing more agile instructional delivery models for students who can’t attend in-person class. 

“We are pleased to see these federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan go toward helping the Commonwealth’s higher education institutions recover from the effects of the past year,” said the Senators. “We will continue working to ensure Virginia institutions have the resources they need to continue serving their students.” 

This funding was awarded through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which Senators Warner and Kaine voted to pass in March. The legislation included significant funding to help Virginia’s colleges and universities respond to COVID-19.

A breakdown of the funding is below:

• Norfolk State University in Norfolk will receive $1,952,775
• Ferrum College in Ferrum will receive $390,542
• Institute for Psychological Sciences (Divine Mercy University) in Sterling will receive $180,966
• Rappahannock Community College will receive $1,536,345
• Appalachian School of Law in Grundy will receive $63,137

As a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Kaine has been a strong advocate for students amid the pandemic. Last year, Kaine introduced the Coronavirus Relief Flexibility for Students and Institutions Act to fix several implementation issues with the higher education emergency relief fund in the CARES Act by providing institutions of higher education and students with the increased flexibility Congress intended.  

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) took to the Senate floor today to highlight how communities throughout Virginia stand to benefit from the bipartisan infrastructure legislation that will soon face a vote on the Senate floor. The legislation – authored and negotiated by Sen. Warner and nine other senators from both sides of the aisle – will make once-in-a-generation investments in infrastructure that will be felt throughout Virginia.

For the Hampton Roads region, Sen. Warner highlighted: “Hampton Roads, Southeast Virginia, and the Peninsula [are] most at risk from sea level rise and questions about resiliency. More than any other region in the whole country, with the exception of New Orleans. In Hampton roads, local leaders, our Navy, nonprofits, and businesses have all come together and said, ‘We need to make sure that we grapple with sea level rise.’ It is ranked by most in those communities as the number one issue. Well, if we pass this legislation, $47 billion will go into sea level rise prevention and resiliency. That will mean a whole host of projects in Norfolk, in Portsmouth, in Virginia Beach, in Chesapeake will be finally addressed. We've got to make sure that Hampton Roads is not subject to this kind of devastating effect of sea level rise.”

Sen. Warner also detailed how the funding could help expand rail into South Hampton Roads, upgrade the Port of Virginia, and repair roads and bridges, and finish the I-64 widening project.  

For the Richmond area, Sen. Warner highlighted: “Richmond has got one of the most aggressive bus transit systems – not only in Virginia but in the whole country. We have made huge investments, close to $40 billion in transit in this legislation, and some of the Richmond bus transit needs will be addressed. We also know in the Richmond area, and across the Commonwealth, we have a lot of airports. One of the things we need to continue to do is invest in our airports. Richmond International Airport is always in need of additional expansion. $25 billion to improve our airports across the country – the Richmond airport, the Norfolk airport, the Newport News airport, obviously, the Roanoke airport and others, Dulles, National, will be improved as well as the host of smaller regional airports across the Commonwealth if we make this investment.”

For Northern Virginia, Sen. Warner highlighted: “I’m very proud, that in working with Tim Kaine and the senators from Maryland, we made sure this legislation included a full eight-year reauthorization of our Metro system. We made sure that we’re making record investments in transit so that we can get Metro back up operating again on a full schedule and we can make the needed safety improvements that have been plaguing Metro for a number of years. We also know that we’ve got to continue to build out additional Metro stations in Northern Virginia. The one at Potomac Yards will be extraordinarily important to the innovation center and Amazon’s second headquarters.

“We've got to make sure as well because Metro is moving to zero-emission buses. That's good news for our climate and for our community. The question is where are those zero-emission buses going to be built? This legislation as well makes record investment in electric and other low-carbon and no-carbon buses so they can be built here, not in China.” 

Sen. Warner also detailed how the funding could help advance the Longbridge project, make dramatic improvements to the VRE, and reduce traffic on Route 1. 

For Roanoke, the Valley, and Southside Virginia, Sen. Warner highlighted: “For years, we have been talking about the danger on I-81. Literally, there have been prayer groups formed to pray for people who would travel on I-81 because there is so much truck traffic there that it has frankly impeded the safety of the traveling public. We have been talking about making improvements and expansions to I-81 capacity for 20 years. We have been talking about ‘how do we get the trucks off of I-81? How do we bring more rail down to Southwest and Southside?’ Well, if we pass this legislation, we will see those I-81 corridor improvements that we have all been waiting for. We will see rail not only go to Lynchburg and Roanoke but extend on down to Blacksburg and Christiansburg and hopefully all the way down to Bristol. This is terribly important to make sure that those communities have a multimodal form of transportation opportunities. Making sure we get those trucks off of I-81 – something we have been talking about for a long time. We increase the rail capacity, both freight and passenger, we'll be able to do that.  

“We also know in Southside and Southwest post-COVID, that high-speed internet connectivity is not a nice-to-have, but an absolute necessity. A top priority of mine as somebody who spent more years in the telecommunications industry than I have in politics, is to make sure that we make those connections. This historic legislation will invest $65 billion for broadband. That investment, building on governor Northam's $700 million investment from Virginia’s American Rescue Plan funds, will make sure that every household across the Commonwealth has access to high-speed internet connectivity, not five years from now or ten years from now, but in the next couple of years.”

For Southwest Virginia, Sen. Warner highlighted: “Across Southwest Virginia, and for that matter, across all of Virginia, we still have families in far Southwest that don't have access to clean drinking water on a regular basis, that still have to sometimes haul their water in the back of a pickup truck up to some cistern; they don't have access to clean drinking water in 2021. Well, $55 billion will go to water projects in this legislation, and whether they be accessed through clean drinking water on a regular basis, or whether it be taking out the lead pipes that haunt too many of our urban communities, or the storm and sewer systems that are frankly, in some cases, 60, 70, 80 years old and simply wearing out, we can make that investment as well.

“Now, there are a series of other areas in this legislation that are equally important, but at the end of the day, I can't think of a bill that I have worked on that will have more direct effect on the lives of every Virginian over the next five years – in terms of how you get to work, how you get to school, how you manage to take the kids out on the weekends, how our commerce moves, how we get our water, how we get our internet – than this record-setting $550 billion bipartisan investment in infrastructure.”

Concluded Sen. Warner, “We have talked about this for 30 years. We are literally days away from this passing the United States Senate. We've got to finish the job and get it done.”

The floor speech in its entirety is available here.

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WASHINGTON—United States Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Bill Hagerty’s (R-TN) Communist China’s Digital Currency – National Security Risks Act has been included in the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 as marked-up by the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 

The bill requires the Biden Administration to report on the potential short-, medium-, and long-term national security risks to the United States associated with Communist China’s creation and use of an official digital currency. The bill requires reporting specifically on risks arising from the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) potential surveillance of financial transactions; risks related to security and illicit finance; and risks related to economic coercion and social control by the CCP.

“A Chinese digital currency could have significant national security implications for the U.S.,” said Senator Warner, Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. “This bill will ensure the intelligence community is monitoring and reporting on the risks posed by China’s digital currency, including its potential to be used as a way to evade U.S. sanctions or increase the Chinese government’s surveillance and ability to exert social or economic control. We cannot be caught flat-footed on these developments, which is why I fought to include this bill in the Intelligence Authorization Act.”

“I am pleased the Intelligence Committee has included this requirement for a report in its Intelligence Authorization Act,” said Senator Hagerty, a member of the Senate Banking Committee. “Since 2014, the Chinese Communist Party has been developing a digital version of its currency and may have the most advanced state-sponsored digital currency among major economies in the world. CCP officials are now ramping up for wider-spread deployment of its digital currency by the 2022 Winter Olympics. This will provide the CCP with additional information about financial transactions and economic activity, and could be used to evade U.S. sanctions. Now is the time for the U.S. intelligence community to act and inform us of their assessment of the different national security risks to America so that Congress may act appropriately and protect the U.S. Dollar’s position as the world’s reserve currency—a key ingredient of America’s global leadership.”

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WASHINGTON – The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence passed the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 (IAA) today on a bipartisan 16-0 vote. The bill authorizes funding, provides legal authorities, and enhances congressional oversight for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC).

“The Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2022 authorizes the funding for America’s intelligence agencies, and ensures they have the resources, personnel and authorities they need to keep our country safe, while operating under vigorous supervision and oversight,”said Committee Chairman Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA). “The funding and authorities provided in this bill will increase the Intelligence Community’s ability to detect and counter cyber threats, ransomware attacks, and other emerging threats, including those from near-peer adversaries such as China and Russia. This IAA will also reinforce oversight of the IC by strengthening protections for whistleblowers, reforming the security clearance process, and mandating a robust response to reported cases of ‘Havana Syndrome.’”

“Today the Senate Intelligence Committee voted to report legislation that rightly increases Intelligence Community resourcing focused on the threat posed by the People’s Republic of China and the Chinese Communist Party,” said Vice Chairman Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL). “The bill also reaffirms the Committee’s critical role in overseeing of the Intelligence Community through provisions that protect Americans’ First Amendment rights, ensure expenditures are made judiciously, and hold the intelligence agencies accountable for their activities.  In addition, the bill prioritizes the Committee’s ongoing oversight of China’s malign influence operations, unidentified aerial phenomena, and importantly, the safety of the men and women of the Intelligence Community, by expressly addressing the likely directed energy attacks that have inflicted brain injuries and the associated symptomology known as the ‘Havana Syndrome,’ as well as other physical harms, on American personnel around the world.” 

Background:

• The IAA for Fiscal Year 2022 ensures that the Intelligence Community can perform its critical mission to protect our country and inform decisionmakers, while under robust Congressional oversight, including in the following key areas:

• Ensuring strong congressional oversight of and protections for IC whistleblowers who come forward to report waste, fraud or abuse, including the ability of whistleblowers to directly contact the congressional intelligence committees, and prohibiting the disclosure of whistleblower identities as a form of reprisal;

• Improving the IC’s response to the anomalous health incidents (AHI), known as “Havana Syndrome,” including by establishing a joint task force to address AHI, establishing a panel to assess the CIA’s response to AHI, requiring reporting on interagency AHI efforts, and providing affected IC employees and family members with access to expert medical advice and health facilities, including Walter Reed Medical Center;

• Increasing investments to address the growing national security threats and challenges posed by the Chinese Communist Party and its related influence operations, including in technology, infrastructure, and digital currencies;

•  Improving the IC’s ability to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies;

• Continuing the Committee’s commitment to reform and improve the security clearance process, including mandating a performance management framework to assess the adoption and effectiveness of the Executive Branch’s “Trusted Workforce 2.0” initiative; more accurately measuring how long it takes to transfer clearances between Federal agencies so it can be shortened; creating IC-wide policies to share information on cleared contractors to enhance the effectiveness of insider threat programs, and codifying the appeals process to increase its transparency and accountability; 

• Codifying the National Counterintelligence and Security Center’s role and authorities regarding counterintelligence programs;

• Addressing intelligence requirements in key locations worldwide, including in Latin America and Africa to confront foreign adversaries’ efforts to undermine the U.S. abroad;

• Bolstering investments in commercial imagery and analytic services to utilize the increasing capabilities offered in the commercial space sector, including through theestablishment of a GEOINT data innovation fund;

• Strengthening the IC’s ability to conduct financial intelligence; and

•  Supporting the IC’s efforts to assess unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), following up on the work of the UAP Task Force.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine released the following statement applauding the Senate vote to advance the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, the largest investment in America’s infrastructure needs in generations:

“The success of our recovery and long-term economic stability will depend on our ability to invest in our nation’s infrastructure needs and put Americans back to work in good-paying jobs,” said the Senators. “This Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework makes strategic investments in our nation’s crumbling infrastructure, which will spur economic growth, create in-demand jobs, and ensure the United States continues to lead the world in innovation. As our country continues to recover from the widespread job losses we’ve seen over the past year, we will continue working in Congress to provide Virginians with the resources they need to build back better for generations to come.” 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework is a comprehensive infrastructure package that delivers wins to communities across the Commonwealth and the nation to maintain our roads, bridges, rail systems, and other critical infrastructure needs, including:

• A historic investment in broadband infrastructure to ensure every American has access to reliable high-speed internet;
• $17 billion in port infrastructure and $25 billion in airports;
• The largest federal investment in public transit ever;
• The largest federal investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak;
• The single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system;
• The largest investment in clean drinking water and waste water infrastructure in American history to deliver clean water to millions of families; and
• The largest investment in clean energy transmission and EV infrastructure in history; electrifying thousands of school and transit buses across the country; and creating a new Grid Development Authority to build a clean, 21st century electric grid and help tackle the climate crisis.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following after the Biden administration unveiled its National Security Memorandum to safeguard U.S. critical infrastructure from cyberattacks:

“I applaud the Biden administration for taking additional steps to secure our critical infrastructure and bolster our cybersecurity standards after a wave of cyberattacks. As the administration noted, we know that in order to mitigate the aftermath of these cyberattacks, we need open communication and transparency from affected entities to better anticipate and respond to these national security threats. Unfortunately, for too long we’ve relied heavily on voluntary reporting of these cyber intrusions which has limited our ability to effectively respond. In order to better anticipate and respond to future cyber incidents, Congress must swiftly pass the Cyber Incident Notification Act of 2021, which will work in concert with the steps the administration has put forth today to safeguard our critical infrastructure.” 

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NEWPORT NEWS, VA - Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA), as well as Congressman Rob Wittman (VA-01), Congresswoman Elaine Luria (VA-02), and Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), announced the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) has been awarded a $847,646 grant from the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) through the U.S. Department of Transportation. Specifically, this grant will provide funding to expand service at PHF with a new United flight to Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD).  

“We are glad to see this vital funding go toward supporting travel throughout the Commonwealth, while also promoting greater economic opportunities for the surrounding areas,” said Senators Mark Warner and Tim Kaine.  

“This grant will not only provide vital air service between the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) and Washington Dulles Airport (IAD), but benefit the entire Greater Peninsula area,” said Congressman Rob Wittman. “By returning United Airlines to PHF with regular service for the first time since the early 1980’s, this grant allows PHF to meet the regions’ growing business demands through vital connections to overseas destinations. I am proud to have advocated on behalf of this funding for the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, and look forward to watching as this project improves the economy and quality of life across coastal Virginia.” 

“Providing an additional direct flight from Newport News/Williamsburg to Washington Dulles Airport is critical to meeting the transit and economic needs of the over 500,000 residents of the Peninsula,” said Congresswoman Elaine Luria. "Time after time, I have voiced the importance of investing in our regional infrastructure, and I am proud to have helped secure this victory alongside the Virginia delegation on behalf of Peninsula residents.”

“This grant will greatly benefit the Commonwealth by providing regular air service between Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport (PHF) and Washington Dulles Airport (IAD),” said Congressman Bobby Scott. “This will help reduce congestion on our roadways, boost our economy, and provide more connection to overseas destinations. I am thankful for the bipartisan effort to secure this grant funding and look forward to seeing its implementation.” 

“The Peninsula Airport Commission and its staff are grateful for the tremendous amount of public and private support our community provided us during the application process,” said Michael Giardino, Executive Director of the Peninsula Airport Commission. “We are committed to bringing reliable commercial air service to the Virginia Peninsula.” 

This grant announcement follows a series of letters sent by Representatives Wittman, Luria, and Scott, as well as Senators Warner and Kaine, to the United States Department of Transportation recommending the Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport be awarded this grant from SCASDP. You can find these letters attached to this release.  

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) joined Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) and 13 of their colleagues in calling on Senate Leadership to address the needs of Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories in ongoing infrastructure efforts. The network of 17 National Laboratories across the United States advance critical missions for the Department and additional investments in restoring and modernizing National Lab infrastructure will support scientific and economic competitiveness while creating thousands of new, good-paying jobs.  

Joining Senator Luján in the letter are Senators Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J).

“As we turn to infrastructure we respectfully request that you include investments in the nation’s scientific infrastructure, including the Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories. Funding for maintenance, repairs, and the modernization of National Lab infrastructure will ensure our nation's continued scientific and economic competitiveness; create thousands of high-quality, well-paying construction jobs; and attract the best and brightest scientists to national service.” the Senators wrote. 

“Modern, reliable infrastructure at the National Laboratories is critical to support world-class science that provides a strong foundation for the nation’s economic competitiveness, prosperity, and security,” the Senators continued. “Unfortunately, our National Lab network suffers from a maintenance backlog from decades of underfunding that puts the labs’ successful and efficient execution of this mission at risk.”  

Full text of the letter is available HERE and below: 

Majority Leader Schumer and Minority Leader McConnell,

We appreciate your efforts to advance our nation’s competitiveness, address pressing infrastructure needs, and jumpstart the economy and put people back to work in the aftermath of the current COVID-19 pandemic. As we turn to infrastructure we respectfully request that you include investments in the nation’s scientific infrastructure, including the Department of Energy (DOE) National Laboratories. Funding for maintenance, repairs, and the modernization of National Lab infrastructure will ensure our nation's continued scientific and economic competitiveness; create thousands of high-quality, well-paying construction jobs; and attract the best and brightest scientists to national service. As part of DOE National Laboratory modernization efforts, we also urge you to fund the construction and upgrades of DOE-approved, shovel-ready world-class scientific, advanced energy, and national security facilities at our National Labs.

The DOE maintains a network of 17 National Laboratories that advance the science, technology, energy, environmental, and national security missions of the Department. Although the labs are managed by the DOE, they help find solutions to a broad set of challenges of national importance, ranging from the use of artificial intelligence to improve health services and outcomes for our nation’s veterans to advancing quantum information science that will lead to next-generation communications networks and computers.

Located at National Laboratories and universities across the country are world-class research facilities, including particle accelerators, experimental reactors, isotope reactor, X-ray synchrotron and free-electron laser light sources, fusion and pulsed power facilities, multi-axis X-ray machines that create 3D images of high density explosions, leadership-class supercomputers, and other high precision instrumentation. Modern infrastructure is also needed to support advanced nuclear demonstration projects; the modernization of the electric grid, including energy storage; and nonproliferation, counter proliferation, and counter terrorism missions.

More than 40,000 researchers from academia, industry, and other federal agencies use these unique, world-leading facilities to support their scientific pursuits. During the COVID-19 crisis, our National Labs have provided their expertise and facilities to help overcome the COVID-19 challenge, including the use of DOE’s supercomputers to search for treatments and vaccine therapies, X-ray light sources to understand the virus and identify potential vulnerabilities, unique characterization methods to develop more effective N95 mask filter media, and advanced manufacturing expertise to address the shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators.

Modern, reliable infrastructure at the National Laboratories is critical to support world-class science that provides a strong foundation for the nation’s economic competitiveness, prosperity, and security. General-purpose infrastructure, such as office space, laboratory space, storage space, and utilities, forms the backbone of the National Laboratory enterprise and enables DOE’s mission. Unfortunately, our National Lab network suffers from a maintenance backlog from decades of underfunding that puts the labs’ successful and efficient execution of this mission at risk. The average age of DOE facilities is currently 37 years and the average age of the systems that support these facilities (e.g., water, sewage, electrical, roads) is 40 years. 

Across the DOE National Laboratory complex, there are shovel-ready infrastructure projects – from utility upgrades to new state-of-the-art research facilities – that could be dramatically accelerated through investment aimed at stimulating the economy and restoring critical infrastructure. As an example, utility systems across several laboratories are failing and require frequent, often costly, repairs. Many utilities and support buildings are rated substandard or inadequate. When necessary maintenance on a facility or utility system that is scheduled or should be performed is postponed, it is referred to as deferred maintenance. DOE’s deferred maintenance backlog has continued to grow. A dedicated, focused investment would go a long way toward recapitalizing and modernizing National Lab infrastructure and would immediately support thousands of high-quality, well-paying jobs. Maintaining, repairing, upgrading, and replacing general-purpose infrastructure would foster safe, efficient, reliable, and Environmentally responsible operations; boost morale of the scientific and engineering workforce at the National Laboratories; and demonstrate our nation’s continued commitment to maintaining the world’s best scientific infrastructure. 

Equally important, the U.S. faces increasing competition from our counterparts in Europe and Asia, as they race to build their own state-of-the-art facilities to attract the best minds and lead the world in science and technology. This does not just pose an economic threat to the United States, but also a national security threat. An infrastructure investment would accelerate the construction of world-class facilities and scientific instruments to stay ahead of this competition and make sure the U.S. remains the most secure and most attractive country in the world for scientific discovery and innovation. Thank you for considering these important investments. We look forward to working with you to invest in our nation’s competitiveness and put people back to work by addressing these critical infrastructure needs.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Vice Chairman of the Committee, and U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), a senior member of the Committee, today led several colleagues in introducing bipartisan legislation requiring federal agencies, government contractors, and critical infrastructure owners and operators to report cyber intrusions within 24 hours of their discovery. The legislation is in part a response to the hack of IT management firm SolarWinds, which resulted in the compromise of hundreds of federal agencies and private companies, and the May 2021 ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline, which halted pipeline operations temporarily and resulted in fuel shortages along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States, as well as a recent onslaught of ransomware attacks affecting thousands of public and private entities.

Under existing law, there is currently no federal requirement that individual companies disclose when they have been breached, which experts have noted leaves the nation vulnerable to criminal and state-sponsored hacking activity. The bipartisan Cyber Incident Notification Act of 2021 would require federal government agencies, federal contractors, and critical infrastructure operators to notify the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) when a breach is detected so that the U.S. government can mobilize to protect critical industries across the country. To incentivize this information sharing, the bill would grant limited immunity to companies that come forward to report a breach, and instruct CISA to implement data protection procedures to anonymize personally identifiable information and safeguard privacy.

“It seems like every day Americans wake up to the news of another ransomware attack or cyber intrusion. The SolarWinds breach demonstrated how broad the ripple effects of these attacks can be, affecting hundreds or even thousands of entities connected to the initial target,” said Sen. Warner. “We shouldn’t be relying on voluntary reporting to protect our critical infrastructure. We need a routine federal standard so that when vital sectors of our economy are affected by a breach, the full resources of the federal government can be mobilized to respond to and stave off its impact.” 

“Cyberattacks against American businesses, infrastructure, and government institutions are out of control. The U.S. government must take decisive action against cybercriminals and the state actors who harbor them. It is also critical that American organizations act immediately once an attack occurs. The longer an attack goes unreported, the more damage can be done. Ensuring prompt notification will help protect the health and safety of countless Americans and will help our government track down those responsible,” Sen. Rubio said. 

“Having a clear view of the dangers the nation faces from cyberattacks is necessary to prioritizing and acting to mitigate and reduce the threat,” said Sen. Collins. “My 2012 bill would have led to improved information sharing with the federal government that likely would have reduced the impact of cyber incidents on both the government and the private sector.  Failure to enact a robust cyber incident notification requirement will only give our adversaries more opportunity to gather intelligence on our government, steal intellectual property from our companies, and harm our critical infrastructure.  I urge my colleagues to pass the Cyber Incident Notification Act of 2021, which is common sense and long overdue.” 

In addition to Sens. Warner, Rubio and Collins, the legislation is co-sponsored by Senate Intelligence Committee members Sens. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Richard Burr (R-NC), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), James Risch (R-ID), Angus King (I-ME), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Bob Casey (D-PA), Ben Sasse (R-NE), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), along with Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, and Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.

“After years of talk about how our nation needs a real public-private partnership for better cybersecurity, we finally have concrete and critical action -- the introduction of the bipartisan Cyber Incident Notification Act of 2021. We can't track, or have any hope of stopping, foreign or domestic sources of cyber maliciousness unless we can find out about cyber problems quickly. This bill goes a long way in starting to solve the problem,” said Glenn Gerstell, former National Security Agency (NSA) General Counsel. 

“It's encouraging to see continued bipartisan Congressional recognition of CISA’s critical role as the front door for industry to engage with the U.S. government on cybersecurity,”said Chris Krebs, former Director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

“This bill significantly advances the discussion around the need for mandatory notification of significant cyber activity to provide greater common situational awareness, better defend networks, and deepen our understanding about the scale and scope of the threat,” said Suzanne Spaulding, former Department of Homeland Security Under Secretary for Cyber and Infrastructure Protection.

A copy of the legislation is available here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Mark Warner (D-Va.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Angus King (I-Maine), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Mitt Romney (R-Utah), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) issued the following statement:

“We have made significant progress and are close to a final agreement. We will continue working hard to ensure we get this critical legislation right—and are optimistic that we will finalize, and be prepared to advance, this historic bipartisan proposal to strengthen America’s infrastructure and create good-paying jobs in the coming days. We appreciate our colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and the administration, working with us to get this done for the American people.”

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, released the following after the U.S., European Union, and NATO allies and partners publicly attributed the Microsoft hack to Chinese state-sponsored actors: 

“Today’s news makes clear: state-sponsored cyberattacks that threaten our national security and economic stability will be traced and found. Cyberattacks aren’t a uniquely American problem; our allies are also grappling with a barrage of cyberattacks coming from our foreign adversaries. It’s why I have long called for building international cyber norms to confront our shared cyber vulnerabilities and why I’m pleased to see joint recognition from our NATO and EU allies about this threat. I applaud the Biden administration for publicly exposing the actions of these Chinese state-sponsored actors, pursuing diplomatic cooperation on these threats and for taking additional steps to bolster our cyber defenses. As we take these first steps in an international effort to confront these challenges, there’s still more work to do to address our cyber vulnerabilities.” 

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