Press Releases

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced $1,627,377 in federal funding for public transportation in the City of Radford. The funding was authorized by the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Sens. Warner and Kaine.

“We’re glad to announce that this funding will allow the City of Radford to continue providing safe and reliable public transportation during this ongoing health and economic crisis,” said the Senators. 

Through the CARES Act, Congress provided $25 billion for transit agencies to help prevent, prepare, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The City of Radford received this funding under the FTA’s Urbanized Area Formula Program, which makes federal resources available to urbanized areas and to governors for transit capital and operating assistance in urbanized areas and for transportation-related planning. 

The funds will support operating, administrative, and preventive maintenance costs to maintain service in order to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Acting Director Russell T. Vought and Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Acting Director Michael J. Rigas, urging them to reverse course on plans by several agencies to bring federal employees back to their worksites prematurely, by issuing clear guidance to extend maximum telework throughout the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. 

The Senators begin, “We write to express our opposition to plans to require many federal employees in the National Capital Region to return to their worksites. The current guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is encouraging these unsafe actions, and we urge you to issue new guidance to better protect the federal workforce and surrounding communities from the increasing spread of COVID-19.”

They continue, “As we are seeing around the nation, premature reopenings are leading to new waves of COVID-19 cases. It is especially important for federal agencies to have clear guidance that sets a positive example. As of July 8th, more than 3,000,000 Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 131,700 Americans have died.”

The Senators note that current OPM/OMB guidance conflicts with direction from other members of the Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionand that of state and local governments. For example, “In the National Capital Region, many federal agencies are bringing employees back to the office instead of teleworking, even though the reopening guidelines for Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia all urge employers to continue telework as much as possible. Unlike these federal agencies, governments in Maryland, Virginia, and the District continue to utilize liberal telework policies and limited office capacity for public sector workers.”

They go on to underscore that prior to the pandemic, 40% of rush hour Metro commuters were federal workers, so dismantling maximum telework could endanger the health and safety of the entire region. “And since 85 percent of federal employees work outside of our region, it endangers the entire country. We urge you to issue clearer guidance directing agencies to continue maximizing telework throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Senators conclude. 

The Senators have urged maximum telework and protections for federal employees and contractors throughout the pandemic. In April, they joined a letter to OPM and OMB seeking answers on inconsistent and confusing guidance, and raising concerns about ending maximum telework prematurely. In March, Van Hollen led a letter with the other National Capital Region Senators to President Trump, pressing him to sign an executive order maximizing telework for federal workers. Additionally in March, the Senators signed a letter to OPM urging that federal employees who follow recommended public health guidance to limit the spread of the coronavirus not be penalized.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

 

Dear Mr. Rigas and Mr. Vought:

We write to express our opposition to plans to require many federal employees in the National Capital Region to return to their worksites. The current guidance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is encouraging these unsafe actions, and we urge you to issue new guidance to better protect the federal workforce and surrounding communities from the increasing spread of COVID-19.

As we are seeing around the nation, premature reopenings are leading to new waves of COVID-19 cases. It is especially important for federal agencies to have clear guidance that sets a positive example. As of July 8th, more than 3,000,000 Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and at least 131,700 Americans have died. 

Federal employees and contractors have been teleworking successfully throughout the COVID-19 public health emergency, keeping vital services running and implementing economic relief programs and measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. Many workers in our area still lack access to regular child care due to COVID-19, and ordering these workers back into the office makes it needlessly harder for them to balance work and family obligations during the pandemic.

The current guidance is encouraging agencies to end maximum telework prematurely. COVID-19 is a deadly threat to anyone – and anyone can carry the virus and transmit it to others – but the current OPM/OMB guidance only supports sustained maximum telework throughout the pandemic for certain workers deemed to be high risk. Further, the guidance sometimes conflicts with direction from other members of the Trump Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and local governments. Reopening too quickly by ending maximum telework threatens to erase the progress made against the virus and endanger the health and safety of federal employees and everyone else in an agency’s region through increased community spread.

In the National Capital Region, many federal agencies are bringing employees back to the office instead of teleworking, even though the reopening guidelines for Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia all urge employers to continue telework as much as possible. Unlike these federal agencies, governments in Maryland, Virginia, and the District continue to utilize liberal telework policies and limited office capacity for public sector workers. 

Prior to the pandemic, 40 percent of Metro commuters during rush hour in the National Capitol Region were federal employees. Any increased crowding on trains and buses in the National Capital Region will only further increase the risk of spreading COVID-19. 

Your current guidance is endangering the health and safety of federal workers and everyone in our region. And since 85 percent of federal employees work outside of our region, it endangers the entire country. We urge you to issue clearer guidance directing agencies to continue maximizing telework throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate Rules Committee responsible for election legislation, spoke on the Senate floor and warned of a rise in voter suppression tied to the coronavirus pandemic. He highlighted specific steps that states and the federal government should take to protect the right to vote, including implementing no-excuse absentee ballots, curbside voting, and expanded early voting opportunities.  

In a speech on the floor of the U.S. Senate, Sen. Warner said in part, “Americans must be able to exercise their right to vote in a way that is safe and secure this November. From Wisconsin to Georgia to Kentucky, we are already seeing a dangerous trend of making voters choose between their safety and their right to vote. And I fear that if we head into November without a plan… without a strategy for protecting the right to vote and ensuring equal access to the ballot box… we could see levels of voter suppression not seen since the Jim Crow era.”

He continued, If we are going to preserve the integrity of our elections and the trust of the American people, it is essential that states and the federal government adapt to the challenge of this pandemic and expand access to the ballot box. In short, we need to make it easier and safer for Americans to exercise their right to vote.”

In his remarks, Sen. Warner highlighted the ways that voter suppression efforts disproportionately harm the most vulnerable Americans—particularly voters in communities of color. According to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice, Black voters, on average, wait 45 minutes longer to vote than white voters, and Latino voters wait 46 minutes longer.

Speaking about voter restrictions that have been implemented in the name of COVID-19 safety this year, Sen. Warner said: “We know who these restrictions disenfranchise: it’s the poor… it’s the elderly… it’s workers just getting off their shift. And disproportionately, it is Black and Latino voters who face the brunt of these restrictions.”

Last week, Sen. Warner led all Democrats on the Senate Rules Committee in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Association of State Election Directors, and the National Association of Secretaries of State to work proactively to counter any attempts to suppress vulnerable and historically-disenfranchised voters during the COVID-19 crisis. The letter included a series of recommendations to prevent voter suppression.

 

The full text of Sen. Warner’s remarks as prepared for delivery appears below:

Mr./Madam President, I rise today because Americans must be able to exercise their right to vote in a way that is safe and secure this November.

From Wisconsin to Georgia to Kentucky, we are already seeing a dangerous trend of making voters choose between their safety and their right to vote.

And I fear that if we head into November without a plan… without a strategy for protecting the right to vote and ensuring equal access to the ballot box… we could see levels of voter suppression not seen since the Jim Crow era.

It is true, we are in uncharted territory due to COVID-19. Of course, we must make sure that voters and poll workers are protected. We must make sure that polling places do not become another vector for spreading the virus.

But the way we do that is not by restricting access to the ballot box. Not in the United States of America. That is not how the world’s greatest democracy should meet this challenge.

Mr. President, if we are going to preserve the integrity of our elections… and the trust of the American people… it is essential that states and the federal government adapt to the challenge of this pandemic and expand access to the ballot box.

In short, we need to make it easier and safer for Americans to exercise their right to vote.

The good news is, we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. A number of states—red, blue, purple—have adopted a range of ‘convenience voting’ procedures that work quite well. Some of those procedures including ample early voting opportunities and no-excuse absentee ballots… both of which reduce the risk that voters will be forced to break social distancing guidance in order to vote. 

In my home state of Virginia, we have curb-side voting for seniors and people with disabilities.

This has greatly expanded access to the ballot for Virginians with health issues that prevent them from going into a polling place. 

Every single state already has some form of convenience voting… to support voters who can’t make it to the polls on Election Day. And every election cycle, Americans securely cast millions of votes using these programs. 

We need to build on the success of these programs to ensure that every voter, regardless of circumstance, can safely and easily vote in our elections.

Unfortunately, despite these effective and secure tools at our disposal, we have also seen states implement restrictions in the name of safety that have disenfranchised far too many Americans.

In Wisconsin’s April primary, for example, Milwaukee reduced its number of polling places from 180 to just 5 locations. We saw similar moves this month in Georgia and Kentucky.

We know who these restrictions disenfranchise: it’s the poor… it’s the elderly… it’s workers just getting off their shift. And disproportionately, it is Black and Latino voters who face the brunt of these restrictions.

According to a new report from the Brennan Center, Black voters, on average, wait 45 minutes longer to vote than white voters. And Latino voters wait 46 minutes longer.

This is not right, Mr. President. We have a moral obligation to make sure that our tools to counter COVID-19 are not used to intimidate and suppress voters.

Just last week, Senator Klobuchar and I sent letters raising the warning that bad actors could use testing, immunity and protective equipment as a pretense to turn away voters or increase the difficulty of reaching the ballot box on Election Day.

Ideally, our elections officials could come together around a national strategy… of preparing every polling place and precinct… for administering our elections during a pandemic.

Unfortunately, there are those, including the President, who have tried to politicize this issue. In fact, we’ve seen the President spreading utter misinformation about mail-in voting.

The President seems to have forgotten that he has voted by mail in the last three elections. But what he fundamentally fails to understand is that the right to vote belongs to the voters, not to the politicians. It is our job to make sure Americans can exercise their rights in a way that is safe and secure.

Mr. President, that’s why Congress must rise to the occasion and ensure Americans can vote safely and securely.

The time is now to start serious preparations on contingencies to protect our elections from both the pandemic and those who would take advantage of it. I am a sponsor of the bill Sen. Klobuchar has tried to UC tonight, and I am disappointed it was blocked from passing.

I look forward to continuing with this group and the rest of our colleagues to do so. Thank you. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) and 44 Senate colleagues in introducing a resolution officially condemning the Trump Administration’s “reckless” effort to dismantle the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which provides coverage for millions of Americans. The Senate resolution also demands that the Department of Justice (DOJ) defend existing law in court and halt its efforts to repeal the health care protections for millions – including 133 million Americans with pre-existing conditions— in the middle of a public health emergency.

“The Trump Administration has made it clear that it will not stop its assault on our nation’s health care law until millions of Americans have lost the protections and coverage they desperately need,” said Sen. Warner. “This resolution affirms what we have said for years – that this Administration’s efforts to dismantle the Affordable Care Act are despicable and put too many vulnerable Virginians at risk. The Department of Justice must immediately put a stop to these efforts and fight to increase access to health care during the largest public health crisis in a generation.” 

“To rip health care away from millions of people during a pandemic would be like dousing a fire with gasoline,” said Kaine. “For the sake of the more than 431,000 Virginians benefiting from Medicaid expansion, more than 3 million Virginians with pre-existing conditions, and all else who rely on the ACA for affordable coverage and consumer protections, I oppose this administration’s latest display of inept cruelty.” 

Last week, the DOJ and a group of Republican Attorneys General submitted a brief to the U.S. Supreme Court urging it to invalidate the ACA and pull the rug out from underneath the millions of Americans with preexisting conditions who depend on the law for health care coverage. This move would take away health care coverage for more than 23 million Americans who receive health care coverage through the ACA marketplaces.

Additionally, if the Supreme Court agrees to overturn the ACA, it could sabotage protections for more than 3 million Virginians living with a preexisting condition such as COVID-19, diabetes, asthma, or cancer, potentially exposing them to annual or lifetime caps, medical underwriting for their insurance coverage, or denials for the care they need. Across the board, the Commonwealth could lose needed federal funds, causing significant job losses and jeopardizing the viability of Virginia’s rural hospitals in the midst of a global health crisis.

The resolution urges DOJ to reverse its position and instead protect the millions of people who rely on the ACA for health care coverage amid the COVID-19 pandemic that has infected more than 2.4 million Americans.

In addition to Sens. Warner, Kaine and Tester, the resolution is also backed by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tina Smith (D-MN), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Tom Carper (D-DE), Dick Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Gary Peters (D-MI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Tom Udall (D-NM), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

In the Senate, Sens. Warner and Kaine have fought for expanded access to health care and have spoken out against the Trump Administration’s attempts to overturn the ACA. Last year, Sen. Warner led and Sen. Kaine joined a legislative maneuver to protect health coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions. The Senators have also demanded that the Trump Administration stop the health care sabotage that has undermined our preparedness and ability to respond to COVID-19. Recently, Sen. Warner penned an op-ed sounding the alarm of the devastating effects the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 has had on record high uninsured rates across the country.  

The full text of the resolution is available here.

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine cosponsored an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 (NDAA) that would require President Trump to unlock the full authority and power of the Defense Production Act to scale up nationwide production of the testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and medical equipment needed at the local level to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“As coronavirus cases continue to rise throughout Virginia and the country, it’s vital that we continue pushing for more testing and personal protective equipment,”  the Senators said. “Several months into this crisis, the Administration has failed to protect Americans. This amendment will help ensurewe have the resources needed to save American lives."   

The amendment includes the Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act, legislation the Senators cosponsored to require the president to utilize all available authorities under the Defense Production Act to mobilize a federal response to the pandemic through an equitable and transparent process. Key parts of the legislation are included in the House-passed HEROES Act, but the Republican majority in the Senate has failed to take action on the legislation.

The amendment, led by U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin, is also cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The NDAA is being considered on the Senate floor this week. 

The full amendment is available here.

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va) joined Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) in an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021 (NDAA) that would require President Trump to unlock the full authority and power of the Defense Production Act to scale up nation-wide production of the testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and medical equipment needed at the local level to address the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“New coronavirus cases are rising in states across the country, which means we need more testing supplies, more testing, and more personal protective equipment for workers on the frontlines of this pandemic,” said Senator Baldwin. “President Trump’s response to this pandemic has been a failure of leadership, so this amendment will force action to increase national production of testing supplies, personal protective equipment, and medical equipment needed to save lives.”

The amendment includes legislation she introduced in April with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT). The Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act requires the president to utilize all available authorities under the Defense Production Act to mobilize a federal response to the pandemic through an equitable and transparent process. Key parts of Baldwin’s legislation are included in the House-passed HEROES Act, but the Republican majority in the Senate has failed to take action on the legislation.

In addition to Sen. Warner, the amendment is cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Chris Murphy (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Doug Jones (D-AL), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA). 

The NDAA is being considered on the Senate floor this week.

The full amendment is available here.

 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) joined Sens. Bob Menendez and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in introduced the Coronavirus Housing Counseling Improvement Act to expand access to critical information, assistance programs and services for millions of families struggling to remain in their homes because of the COVID-19 pandemic and economic fallout. The bill is also co-sponsored by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.),Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.),  Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).

“Millions of families across our country – already suffering through job and income loss -- are now living in fear that in a matter of weeks or months, they will be facing down foreclosure, eviction and even homelessness,” said Sen. Menendez. “Knowledge is power. Along with fighting for more federal assistance and protections – we’ve got to expand access to housing counseling so that these individuals and families can get help in finding affordable ways to stay in their homes.”

“Losing a home to foreclosure or eviction turns a family’s life upside down,” said Sen. Brown. “During a pandemic, it also puts their health at risk. Providing vital funding to housing counselors will ensure that homeowners and renters – especially Black and brown homeowners and renters who have been hardest hit by this pandemic – have the tools and support they need to navigate our nation’s complex housing system.”

“Millions of Americans continue to face financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Sen. Van Hollen. “The Congress must do everything in its power to not only extend financial relief, but also to give families the information they need to access these relief options and keep a roof over their head. This legislation provides Americans with crucial resources to stay in their homes – especially those in communities of color who have been hit hardest – so that they can weather the COVID-19 storm.”

“Arizona families are facing tough times through no fault of their own. Increasing access to housing counseling resources helps ensure Arizona families can stay in their homes during this economic and public health crisis,” said Sen. Sinema

“COVID-19 has exacerbated our national housing crisis, putting thousands of families at risk of losing their home,” said Sen. Blumenthal.  “Foreclosure, eviction, and homelessness are traumatic experiences without the added risks associated with a contagious pandemic. Better access to housing counseling means that families facing foreclosure and eviction will know their rights and how to access resources.”

“The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the barriers to accessing affordable housing in Nevada,” said Senator Rosen. “Nevada families now face an even greater challenge as they work to keep their homes during this public health crisis. Our legislation would help NeighborWorks America in supporting housing counseling services across the country so Nevada families have resources to help them navigate their housing options during the pandemic and afterwards. I will continue fighting in Congress to ensure that Nevadans, and all Americans have the resources they need in these challenging times.” 

“We must do everything that we can to support homeowners and renters during this worldwide health crisis – and housing counseling is a critical tool for people to access and maintain stable, healthy, and affordable housing. I’m glad to join Senator Menendez and Senator Brown on a bill to increase access to housing counseling services during this crisis," said Senator Warren. 

“COVID-19 is forcing families in Oregon and across the country to make tough decisions – balancing how to get food on the table and keep a roof over their heads, all while protecting themselves against a global pandemic,” said Sen. Wyden. “Congress must step up to the plate in order to give homeowners and renters the resources they desperately need to stay in their homes.”  

“Expanding housing counseling and support services will keep more Delawareans in their homes, period,” said Sen. Coons. “Amid the economic struggles many families are facing due to COVID-19, Congress needs to lay the groundwork to prevent foreclosures, evictions, or other disruptive housing events. Our bill – in tandem with the housing relief provided by the CARES Act in March – will help Delawareans learn about the housing protections and resources available to them as we weather this crisis. I will work with my colleagues in Congress to ensure this information is broadly accessible in our communities.”

According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, more than 4.2 million homeowners have entered foreclosure prevention plans since the end of March.

Low-income and minority households have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and economic fallout. According to a Census Household Survey taken between June 4 June 9, 12.43% of Hispanic households and 12.74% of Black households were not able to pay their mortgage, compared to 5.71% of white households. Additionally, 23.27% of Hispanic households and 25.77% of Black households were unable to pay their rent, compared to 11.78% of white households.

HUD-approved housing counseling agencies provide individual counseling and education services to help consumers avoid foreclosure, avoid eviction, purchase homes, secure affordable rental housing, and develop sustainable budgets. They can be especially important during an economic crisis.  According to a 2018 report from NeighborWorks America, households that utilized the National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program through a housing counseling agency during the Great Recession were three times more likely to receive loan modifications and less likely to go into foreclosure or re-default on their home loans compared to those who did not.

“We applaud U.S. Senator Bob Menendez for advancing this critical legislation that will help millions of families to keep a roof over their heads during these uncertain times,”said Melissa Stegman, Senior Policy Counsel at the Center for Responsible Lending. “Robust funding for housing counseling is crucial during a time that so many are suffering economic pain as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, particularly families of color, low-income homeowners, renters, and people at risk of homelessness. The funding will ensure that economically vulnerable families receive access to quality housing counseling that they so urgently need. Therefore, helping them to significantly prevent delinquencies, foreclosures, and financial devastation.”  

“We are surging into homeowner and renter crises with record unemployment and unpredictable COVID-19 infection rates,” said Bruce Dorpalen, Executive Director for the National Housing Resource Center.  “As we saw in the foreclosure crisis, working with a housing counselor can make the difference on who can stay in their home.  This bill provides the funding and support to double the capacity of housing counseling agencies to work with housing consumers and find the most sustainable solutions for America's stressed households.”

“Having a safe, affordable place to call home is an essential pillar of the National Urban League’s mission,” said Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League. “In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, too many of our minority communities and families of color are facing an unprecedented eviction and foreclosure crisis that we must address. We are so thankful that Senator Menendez has introduced this legislation to expand access to professional housing counseling and keep these families in their homes.”

“HUD certified housing counselors are bracing for a tidal wave of homeowners and renters in need of assistance when moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures expire,” said Staci Berger, President and CEO, Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. “Housing counseling should be a key component of pandemic relief efforts and we applaud Senator Menendez for introducing a bill that invests in this valuable resource.”

The legislation is also endorsed by the Mortgage Bankers Association.

The Coronavirus Housing Counseling Improvement Act would:

  • Provide $700 million for NeighborWorks to support housing counseling services to help homeowners, renters, people experiencing homelessness, and people at risk of homelessness navigate their housing options and rights during the COVID-19 crisis, including protections and resources provided through COVID-19 relief legislation.
  • Requires that no less than 40 percent of the $700 million fund is targeted to counseling organizations that serve minority and low-income homeowners and renters. 

The CARES Act included housing provisions to help homeowners and renters financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Homeowners with Federal Housing Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture or Veterans Affairs mortgages and those with mortgages backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can request forbearance on their payments for up to 6 months, with a possible extension for another 6 months without fees, penalties, or extra interest.  While it also included a temporary moratorium on eviction filings for tenants in properties with federal assistance or federally related financing, Senator Menendez is fighting to ensure the next federal stimulus package includes an extension of this vital protection. 

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WASHINGTON – After the Trump Administration filed its brief in the Texas v US lawsuit to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) released the following statement blasting the Trump Administration for its efforts to take away health care coverage for more than 23 million Americans who receive health care coverage through the ACA marketplaces and sabotage protections for more than 3 million Virginians living with a preexisting condition in the middle of a health pandemic: 

“The President has completely failed to contain the virus, and now he is asking the Supreme Court to make the consequences as painful as possible for millions of Americans.  

“The Trump Administration's lawsuit would kick millions of Americans off their insurance and end protections for preexisting conditions in the middle of a pandemic. This deadly mixture of cruelty and Presidential incompetence puts the lives of countless Americans at risk.

Since taking office, President Trump has sought to undermine the success of the Affordable Care Act, which protects more than 3 million Virginians with preexisting conditions like COVID-19, diabetes, asthma, or cancer from discrimination or being kicked off of their insurance. In the Senate, Sen. Warner has been a longtime champion of access to health care, and has been outspoken about the Trump Administration’s efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act in court. Last year, Sen. Warner led the entire Senate Democratic Caucus in a legislative maneuver to protect health coverage for Americans with preexisting conditions from the Trump Administration’s attempts to undermine those safeguards. Amid the coronavirus health crisis, Sen. Warner has been a fierce advocate in demanding that the Trump Administration stop its health care sabotage that has undermined our preparedness for and ability to respond to COVID-19. Recently, Sen. Warner penned an op-ed sounding the alarm of the devastating effects the health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19 has had on record high uninsured rates across the country. 

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to stop the transfer of individuals in ICE custody – such as the ones that recently resulted in a spike of more than 50 COVID-19 cases at the ICE detention facility in Farmville, Va. 

In a letter to Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf, the Senators urged the Secretary to prioritize the health of detainees and workers at ICE detention centers and to work with the Virginia Department of Health to increase COVID-19 testing at these facilities.

“In early June, ICE transferred over 70 detainees from Arizona and Florida to the Immigration Centers of America Farmville (Farmville ICA) detention facility. While Farmville ICA appears to have followed appropriate quarantine measures, it seems the decision to transfer detainees between facilities has instead resulted in over 50 positive COVID-19 cases at Farmville ICA. Additionally, at least two staff members at Farmville ICA have tested positive for COVID-19,” wrote the Senators. “The situation in Virginia highlights the inherent danger of such interstate transfers at this time. We believe further transfers between local, state, and federal jails and detention centers would risk accelerating COVID-19 cases in facilities nationwide, along with putting surrounding communities at heightened risk and must be ceased at this time.” 

In the letter, the Senators called for widespread testing in the facilities in order to reduce further spread of the virus. Specifically, they pushed ICE to work with the Virginia Department of Health following a May offer by Virginia Governor Ralph Northam,  to provide testing support to the federally-controlled ICE detention facilities in both Farmville and Bowling Green.

Sens. Warner and Kaine have previously pushed ICE to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in its facilities. In May, the Senators joined a letter calling on the DHS Inspector General to examine ICE detention facilities nationwide to evaluate whether the facilities’ operations, management, standards, and conditions have adapted to address the threat of COVID-19 to both the staff and detainees. 

 

Full text of the letter is available here or below.

Dear Acting Secretary Wolf:

We write to seek immediate review of the conditions at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facilities in Farmville, Virginia and Bowling Green, Virginia. It is our understanding that despite the ongoing 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, ICE is continuing its practice of interstate detainee transfer among facilities.  Not unsurprisingly, as a result of such transfers, the facility in Farmville, Virginia recently took in detainees and then found a spike in positive cases of COVID-19 at the facility. The health and well-being of detainees and the workers should be the priority of ICE.  We urge ICE to immediately halt transferring individuals in ICE custody, and in the case of the two facilities in the Commonwealth, work quickly with the Virginia Department of Health to increase testing at each facility. 

In early June, ICE transferred over 70 detainees from Arizona and Florida to the Immigration Centers of America Farmville (Farmville ICA) detention facility. While Farmville ICA appears to have followed appropriate quarantine measures, it seems the decision to transfer detainees between facilities has instead resulted in over 50 positive COVID-19 cases at Farmville ICA. Additionally, at least two staff members at Farmville ICA have tested positive for COVID-19. The situation in Virginia highlights the inherent danger of such interstate transfers at this time. We believe further transfers between local, state, and federal jails and detention centers would risk accelerating COVID-19 cases in facilities nationwide, along with putting surrounding communities at heightened risk and must be ceased at this time.

Further, it is important that there be more widespread testing at the facilities in the Commonwealth now to stop any further spread of the virus. Virginia Governor Ralph Northam, in a May 14, 2020, letter to the Virginia Congressional Delegation offered to provide testing support to the federally-controlled ICE detention facilities in both Farmville and Bowling Green. We encourage ICE to take the offer from the Governor and allow the State Health Commissioner and the Virginia Department of Health access to these facilities. Increased screening and testing within these detention centers will undoubtedly help curb the outbreaks that have resulted from transfers. 

Until ICE discontinues the practice of transfers and expands testing accessibility and resources, ICE will only continue to exacerbate conditions for individuals in its custody as well as staff members. We appreciate your attention to these issues, and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), and Jack Reed (D-RI) led a group of 14 senators in calling for answers from the Treasury Department about ongoing difficulties facing Americans who received their CARES Act stimulus payments as debit cards.

The Treasury Department did not alert Americans who would receive their payment through a debit card, and many Americans missed or threw out the debit cards because they looked like a scam. Now, these individuals can face fees to get the card replaced quickly. Discussing this issue, the Senators wrote, “We are seriously concerned about imposing these fees on individuals who urgently need the direct cash assistance to which they are entitled under the CARES Act.”

The Senators also addressed fees that individuals may incur when they try to access their payments, as well as difficulties individuals may face transferring funds from the card to a bank account. “These burdens are all the more concerning given that these individuals did not request a prepaid debit card and are unable to request a preferred method of receiving their stimulus payment with the IRS,” wrote the Senators.

In addition, the Senators shared concerns about Americans needing to submit personal information in order to use the cards, and whether this information can be shared with third parties for commercial purposes. The Senators are calling for answers on how Americans were chosen to receive debit cards instead of paper checks, fees associated with the cards, and the potential use of individuals’ personal information. 

The letter today follows successful efforts from Senators Hassan, Brown, and colleagues to ensure that more than 18 million Americans who are Social SecuritySupplemental Security Income, and VA beneficiaries and are not normally required to file taxes would receive their stimulus payments automatically. 

In addition to Sens. Warner, Hassan, Brown, and Reed, today’s letter was sent by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

Read the Senators’ letter below:

 

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Commissioner Rettig: 

We write to urge you to clarify outstanding questions about the Treasury Department’s decision to distribute the direct cash assistance for individuals provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act through prepaid debit cards. We are concerned that this decision has imposed unnecessary burdens - including fees - on individuals who would have preferred to receive their stimulus payments by check, and that the process of activating these prepaid debit cards requires individuals to provide personal information that could be shared with third parties for marketing and other commercial purposes.

On May 18, 2020, the Treasury announced that 4 million Americans would receive their stimulus payments by prepaid debit card, instead of by paper check. However, Treasury’s announcement did not indicate which Americans would receive their stimulus payments by debit card. Further, these debit cards were mailed to individuals in plain envelopes from “Money Network Cardholder Services.” As a result, individuals who were not expecting prepaid debit cards from the Treasury mistook their stimulus payments for junk or scam mail. Although the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced that it would waive the $7.50 replacement fee for an individual’s first reissued card, replacement cards take seven to 10 business days to arrive. To receive a reissued card within four to seven business days, individuals must pay a $17.00 fee. We are seriously concerned about imposing these fees on individuals who urgently need the direct cash assistance to which they are entitled under the CARES Act. 

Further, many individuals who received their stimulus payments by prepaid debit card have bank accounts. For these individuals, receiving their stimulus payments by debit card, rather than by check, can make it more difficult to access this important cash assistance. Debit card recipients with limited computer or internet access who visit ATMs or banks in-person are restricted by daily limits on ATM withdrawals and bank transfers, potentially requiring multiple trips to fully access their stimulus payments. Moreover, the fee schedule for these debit cards includes a $2.00 fee per out-of-network ATM withdrawal and $5.00 per over-the-counter bank withdrawal. Individuals who are able to successfully transfer debit card funds to their bank accounts on EIPCard.com must navigate a complicated registration process and provide substantial personal information. These burdens are all the more concerning given that these individuals did not request a prepaid debit card and are unable to request a preferred method of receiving their stimulus payment with the IRS. 

We are also concerned that the cardholder agreement for the stimulus payment debit cards allows our constituents’ personal information to be shared with third parties for marketing and other commercial purposes. The prepaid debit cards are managed by Money Network Financial, LLC and issued by Treasury’s financial agent, MetaBank, N.A. In order to activate or transfer stimulus payments off these cards, individuals must provide Money Network Financial with significant personally identifiable information. The cardholder agreement states that Money Network Financial “may disclose information to third parties about your Card account or the transactions you make” to “affiliates” and to “service providers.” This ambiguous language raises serious questions about whether Money Network Financial is permitted to sell personal information of individuals who activated stimulus payment debit cards 

In order to respond to the concerns outlined above, please answer the following questions: 

1.      How did Treasury determine which individuals would receive their stimulus payments by prepaid debit card? In making this determination, did Treasury take into account how receiving stimulus payments by debit card rather than check would economically affect individuals with bank accounts?

2.      How did Treasury set the fee schedule for stimulus payment debit cards, including the $17.00 fee to receive a replacement card within four to seven business days? In setting the fee for out-of-network ATM withdrawal, did Treasury take into account the geographical reach of the debit card ATM network? 

3.      Does the cardholder agreement for stimulus payment debit cards permit Money Network Financial to provide individuals’ personally identifiable information to third-party “affiliates” and to “service providers” for marketing or any other commercial purposes not necessary for the activation or use of the debit card? If so, is Money Network Financial required to disclose this information sharing, either publicly or to the Treasury?

4.      How is Money Network Financial retaining and using the account information of individuals who provided personally identifiable information in order to activate their stimulus payment debit cards? Is the Treasury performing oversight on how Money Network Financial is retaining and using individuals’ account information? What measures is Treasury requiring Money Network Financial to take to secure individuals’ personally identifiable information?

5.      Is Money Network Financial permitted to send individuals who activated their stimulus payment debit cards marketing or any other commercial correspondence? If so, are individuals required to opt-out of receiving this correspondence, and how is Money Network Financial informing individuals of the process by which they may opt-out?

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) applauded $767,139 in federal funding from the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to support telehealth services at the University of Virginia Health System in Charlottesville, Va. The funding was made possible through the COVID-19 Telehealth Program established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, to help health care providers provide telehealth services to patients at home or in mobile locations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During this health crisis, telehealth services have been instrumental in making sure Virginians can continue to receive the health care they need without having to travel,” said the Senators. “We’re pleased that these federal dollars will help support the work of our health care providers as they treat individuals in our communities.” 

These funds will go towards telemedicine carts, tablets, video monitors, a telehealth platform, remote patient monitoring equipment, and network upgrades to support clinical videoconferencing with remote patient examination tools; to help build a virtual urgent care platform; and to expand remote patient monitoring program as patients are diagnosed with COVID-19 or are discharged from the hospital. 

Sens. Warner and Kaine have been longtime advocates for increased access to health care through telehealth. The first emergency bipartisan bill to combat COVID-19 included language from Sen. Warner’s CONNECT for Health Act of 2019, a bill co-sponsored by Sen. Kaine, to reduce restrictions on the use of telehealth for public health emergency response, as well as $500 million to facilitate its implementation. Earlier this month, the Senators sent a letter to congressional leadership urging Congress to ensure that access to telehealth services that were made available during the COVID-19 pandemic be madepermanent.

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WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) led all Democrats on the Senate Rules Committee in calling for the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the National Association of State Election Directors, and the National Association of Secretaries of State to work proactively to counter any attempts to suppress vulnerable and historically-disenfranchised voters during the COVID-19 crisis.

In letters to Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband, head of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, and to the presidents of the National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State, the Senators affirmed that no American should have to choose between their franchise and their health, and stressed the importance of ensuring that any public health measures do not discourage voter participation or limit access to the polls for vulnerable groups, including communities of color and people with disabilities. To best ensure the safety of voters, the Senators encouraged the adoption of convenience voting measures such as vote-by-mail and curbside voting.

“While precincts nationwide can and should actively encourage measures like the use of PPE, substantial sanitation and social distancing in-line with recommendations from the CDC, reasonable modifications must be made to ensure equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities,” wrote the Senators. “For example, persons with autism are often unable to wear a mask for any extended period. In cases like this, it is critical that guidance interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act be issued to clarify that reasonable modifications must be made to ensure that social distancing measures do not serve as a barrier to the polls for individuals with disabilities.”

“The risk that novel procedures may deter voters is further complicated by the disturbing racial disparities in Coronavirus cases. In almost every state, evidence suggests that African Americans have been disproportionately affected by the virus,” they continued. “Communities of color have frequently faced active efforts to inhibit their franchise – unfortunately, it is likely that there are those who will attempt to use COVID-19 safety procedures as a pretext to suppress voters and undermine the political voice of these communities. We must proactively take steps to safeguard these communities and other vulnerable groups from voter suppression and intimidation.”

In their letters, the Senators noted the increased vulnerabilities facing the 2020 general election in light of the COVID-19 crisis. They highlighted delays and dangerous voting conditions reported in places like Wisconsin, where an in-person election with inadequate procedures resulted in at least 50 cases of COVID-19 during the spring primary season.

The Senators also issued a series of recommendations to prevent voter suppression. These include announcing any safety procedures months ahead of the November election, communicating voting and safety procedures in a variety of languages and formats, issuing strong privacy and security testing months ahead of the deployment of any screening tools, evaluating policies for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, ensuring that any polling places with accessibility problems are made accessible and that reasonable modifications are made to meet the needs of voters with disabilities, training poll workers on how to operate accessible voting machines and on how to interact with voters with disabilities, providing the opportunity for voters with a suspected illness to cast their ballots swiftly and securely, and conducting meaningful engagement with community leaders when determining the impact of any measures on historically disenfranchised communities.

In addition to Sen. Warner, the letters were signed by Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Angus King (I-ME), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tom Udall (D-NM), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA). 

A copy of the letter to the National Association of State Election Directors and the National Association of Secretaries of State is available here.

A copy of the letter to the DOJ Assistant Attorney General is available here

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) joined Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto in a letter joined by 34 other Senate colleagues to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig urging them to take action to ensure that survivors of domestic violence can access their Economic Impact Payment. Domestic violence survivors face unique barriers that can keep them from being able to access their economy recovery rebates they are legally entitled to under the law.

“The recovery rebate authorized by the CARES Act has been an essential lifeline for Americans suffering economic hardship during the pandemic, but unfortunately, victims of domestic violence face significant barriers in accessing their rebate,” the Senators wrote.“Research has shown that 99 percent of victims experience economic abuse as part of domestic violence. In our current environment, stimulus payments are a crucial mechanism of support for these victims. Some survivors have lost income or lost their jobs due to COVID-19, and may be trapped with or feel forced to return to an abusive partner to avoid homelessness. Access to domestic violence services, from shelters to protection orders, has also been limited by COVID-19, making it even harder for domestic violence survivors to maintain safety.” 

The Senators continued, “The barriers keeping domestic violence victims from accessing their rebates are varied and significant. Victims of domestic violence may be unbanked, have no permanent address, or have no access to the resources needed to file a tax return, making it difficult, if not impossible, for them to obtain their stimulus payment through the methods currently prescribed.” 

In order to ensure that survivors can access their payments, U.S. Treasury Department and the IRS should, among other things, dedicate a telephone line for survivors to call and report a change of address or misdirected rebate, create a process with an online PIN to verify a victim’s identity, take proactive steps to ascertain the proper address and banking information for taxpayers if a pending “innocent spouse claim” or “Victim of Domestic Violence” indicator is on a taxpayer’s account and issue specific guidance for divorced and separated parents regarding qualified children who are shared between custodial and non-custodial parents. In addition to addressing the above reforms, the IRS and the Treasury should work closely with advocacy groups that specialize in the financial and other issues facing survivors, as well as relevant federal offices including the Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women and Office for Victims of Crime, and the Department of Health and Human Services’ Family Violence Prevention and Services Program, to ensure that solutions are survivor-informed. 

In addition to Sens. Warner and Cortez Masto, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tom Cardin (D-Md.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Az.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) also signed the letter.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

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WASHINGTON, DC – As health and education officials develop novel coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines, precautions, and restrictions for reopening schools this fall, Senate Democrats are urging Congress and the Trump Administration to act with the same sense of urgency and provide additional federal funding to help students safely return to the classroom.

Without swift, comprehensive Congressional action, it will be impossible for America’s 100,000 K-12 public schools -- which are already facing severe budget cuts -- to adequately prepare to protect students, teachers, staff, families, and the community from the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the coming academic year.

Today, U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI) and a group of Senate Democrats in calling for at least $175 billion for the Elementary and Secondary Education Relief Fund in any future coronavirus relief package. 

“There can be no economic recovery in either the short term or the long term unless we make the investments necessary to safely reopen schools and ensure continuity of education during the ongoing pandemic,” the 41 Senators wrote.  “If schools are unable to reopen safely, it will be nearly impossible for many parents and caregivers to return to work.  Moreover, the long-term consequences of sustained educational disruption could also hold this generation back, affecting students’ quality of life and weakening our nation.   We must take urgent action to ensure that schools are ready and able to educate children this fall and redouble our efforts to close opportunity gaps that are far too prevalent in the communities suffering the greatest health and economic harm from the impact of COVID-19.  As such, we ask that you include at least an additional $175 billion in dedicated funding for the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund that was established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.”

The CARES Act (Public Law No. 116-136) provided a much-needed $30.75 billion down payment on education funding, but not nearly enough to help cover the additional costs from this school year while also ensuring that schools nationwide will be ready to safely reopen in the fall.  Under the law, $13.5 billion went to K-12 emergency relief grants, while $13.95 billion was made available for a Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund for colleges and universities, with the remaining $2.95 billion directed to an Education Stabilization Fund for disbursement to governors.

Senate Democrats note K-12 schools are facing added expenses this year amidst budget cuts and declining state and local revenue.  The 41 Senators are urging Congress to prioritize the health and education of America’s children and provide at least $175 billion for K-12 education in the next COVID-19 relief package. 

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans have instead opted to focus on partisan nominations instead of safely reopening schools.  This Republican blocking creates needless budget uncertainty and place the reopening of schools around the country -- especially in school districts hit hardest by COVID-19 – in peril. 

Senate Democrats say it is important for communities and school leaders to be able to adequately prepare for the school year and urge Republicans to work on a bipartisan education package in the next coronavirus relief bill.

“This upcoming school year will be like no other.” the Senators wrote.  “School districts will need to redesign the school day and be prepared to switch to distance learning as necessary.  There will be new protocols for sanitation, transportation, and staffing.  Schools will have to reengineer the use of space in and around the school building and reconfigure classrooms to ensure that social distancing can be maintained.  More critically, they will also need to increase their capacity to support children’s well-being – including nutrition, health screenings, and mental health supports – whether in person or at a distance.   One thing is certain, school is a lifeline for children in the communities hit hardest by the pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout.  School must be there for them.”

In addition to Sens. Warner and Reed, the letter is signed by U.S. Senators: Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) Tim Kaine, (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Edward Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) Tom Udall (D-NM), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Kyrsten Sinema (D-NV) Mark Warner (D-VA) Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Angus S. King (I-ME), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Carper (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Chris Murphy (D-CT).

Full text of the letter follows:

June 18, 2020

Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer:

There can be no economic recovery in either the short term or the long term unless we make the investments necessary to safely reopen schools and ensure continuity of education during the ongoing pandemic.  If schools are unable to reopen safely, it will be nearly impossible for many parents and caregivers to return to work.  Moreover, the long-term consequences of sustained educational disruption could also hold this generation back, affecting students’ quality of life and weakening our nation.   We must take urgent action to ensure that schools are ready and able to educate children this fall and redouble our efforts to close opportunity gaps that are far too prevalent in the communities suffering the greatest health and economic harm from the impact of COVID-19.  As such, we ask that you include at least an additional $175 billion in dedicated funding for the Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief Fund that was established under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.

This upcoming school year will be like no other.  School districts will need to redesign the school day and be prepared to switch to distance learning as necessary.  There will be new protocols for sanitation, transportation, and staffing.  Schools will have to reengineer the use of space in and around the school building and reconfigure classrooms to ensure that social distancing can be maintained.  More critically, they will also need to increase their capacity to support children’s well-being – including nutrition, health screenings, and mental health supports – whether in person or at a distance.   One thing is certain, school is a lifeline for children in the communities hit hardest by the pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout.  School must be there for them.

We are counting on schools being able to deliver these services.  Yet we know the resources are not there.  State and local governments are reeling from the loss of revenue due to the economic shutdown caused by the pandemic.  A recent report from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities estimates $765 billion in state budget shortfalls over the next three years.  School districts across the country are issuing layoff notices in anticipation of budget cuts.  Even if schools were able to maintain current levels of staffing and financial resources, it would not be enough to meet the challenges of the upcoming academic year.  AASA, The School Superintendents Association, estimates that the average additional COVID-related cost per student will be $490, which for the average school district of 3,700 students amounts to $1.8 million.  A recent analysis from the Learning Policy Institute estimates that the national financial impact of increased costs and decreased state and local education revenues could be nearly $230 billion.  

The federal government must step in with a comprehensive plan to support the reopening of schools and continuity of education for our children.  Such a plan would stabilize state and local budgets, ensure equity in access to technology and broadband, enhance nutrition services, ensure sufficient testing and contact tracing to control the spread of the virus, and expand the reach of our cultural agencies such as the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities to enhance school offerings and support continued learning in the community.  However, the central feature of the plan must be substantial dedicated resources for our public schools to meet the additional costs and to address the additional needs of students during this time of public health, economic, and social crises.  As such, we urge you to provide at least an additional $175 billion for the Elementary and Secondary Education Relief Fund in any future coronavirus relief package.

Thank you for your consideration of this critical request. 

Sincerely,

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine applauded $11,297,535 in federal funding for public transportation in Williamsburg and Blacksburg. The funding, for the Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA) and the town of Blacksburg, was authorized by the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Senators Warner and Kaine.

“As more Virginians begin to go back to work and engage in their communities, it’s vital that our transportation systems meet the necessary requirements to protect workers and passengers,” the Senators said. “We’re pleased to see federal dollars go directly towards helping Williamsburg and Blacksburg transit systems safely serve their communities.” 

  • The town of Blacksburg will receive $6,122,038
  • Williamsburg Area Transit Authority (WATA) will receive $5,175,497

Through the CARES Act, Congress provided $25 billion for transit agencies to help prevent, prepare, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Williamsburg Area Transit Authority and the town of Blacksburg received their funding under the FTA’s Urbanized Area Formula Program, which makes federal resources available to urbanized areas and to governors for transit capital and operating assistance in urbanized areas and for transportation-related planning.

The funds will support operating, administrative, and preventive maintenance costs for Williamsburg Area Transit Authority and the town of Blacksburg in order to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency. The funds can be used to cover salaries, wages, benefits, maintenance, personal protective barriers, and cleaning supplies.

 

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) joined Senators Brian Schatz (D-HI) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) in calling for the expansion of access to telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic to be made permanent. Provisions from the CONNECT for Health Act, legislation cosponsored by Senators Warner and Kaine, that have allowed Medicare beneficiaries in all areas of the country to utilize telehealth services from home, as well as more types of health care providers to provide telehealth, were included in previous COVID-19 legislation. However, without urgent congressional action to make these measures permanent, these telehealth services are at risk of expiring when the pandemic ends.  

“Americans have benefited significantly from this expansion of telehealth and have come to rely on its availability,” the Senators wrote in a letter to Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). “Congress should expand access to telehealth services on a permanent basis so that telehealth remains an option for all Medicare beneficiaries both now and after the pandemic. Doing so would assure patients that their care will not be interrupted when the pandemic ends. It would also provide certainty to health care providers that the costs to prepare for and use telehealth would be a sound long-term investment.” 

In their letter, the Senators highlight the growing use and benefits of telehealth during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as patients seek to avoid traveling to hospitals and other providers and instead receive care at home. New data shows that the number of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth services increased by 11,718 percent in just a month and a half during the pandemic.

The full text of the letter is below and available here. 

Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer:

As you continue your work on critical legislation to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, we write to ask that you make permanent the provisions from our bipartisan CONNECT for Health Act that were included in previous COVID-19 legislation.  These provisions have resulted in an important expansion of access to telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries during the pandemic. 

We have long advocated for increasing access to telehealth because of its potential to expand access to health care, reduce costs, and improve health outcomes.  Telehealth has proven to be pivotal for many patients during the current pandemic, ensuring they receive the care they need while reducing the risk of infection and the further spread of COVID-19.  We have all heard from our constituents about how effective and convenient it is.  Expanded Medicare coverage of telehealth services on a permanent basis—where clinically appropriate and with appropriate guardrails and beneficiary protections in place—would ensure that telehealth continues to be an option for all Medicare beneficiaries after the pandemic ends.

As you know, the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020 and the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act included provisions from the CONNECT for Health Act to increase access to telehealth services for Medicare beneficiaries during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Specifically, these laws provide the Secretary of Health and Human Services the authority to waive telehealth requirements under Section 1834(m) of the Social Security Act, allow Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and Rural Health Clinics (RHCs) to provide distant site telehealth services, and allow for the use of telehealth to conduct the face-to-face visit required to recertify a patient’s eligibility for hospice care. 

Because of these new authorities provided by Congress, Medicare has expanded coverage of telehealth services for the duration of the pandemic to include all areas of the country—as well as allowing a patient’s home to serve as an originating site for telehealth.  In addition, more types of health care providers—including FQHCs and RHCs that provide primary care in rural and underserved areas—are able to furnish and bill Medicare for telehealth services.  These changes have already contributed to a dramatic increase in the use of telehealth services in Medicare.  Available data show that the number of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth services during the pandemic increased 11,718 percent in just a month and a half.

Americans have benefited significantly from this expansion of telehealth and have come to rely on its availability.  Congress should expand access to telehealth services on a permanent basis so that telehealth remains an option for all Medicare beneficiaries both now and after the pandemic.  Doing so would assure patients that their care will not be interrupted when the pandemic ends.  It would also provide certainty to health care providers that the costs to prepare for and use telehealth would be a sound long-term investment. 

In addition, given the recent flexibilities provided by both Congress and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the increased use of telehealth during the pandemic, we believe now is an important time to measure the impact of telehealth on Medicare.  Specifically, the federal government should collect and analyze data on the impact of telehealth on utilization, quality, health outcomes, and spending during the COVID-19 pandemic.  There is currently a scarcity of data available regarding the impact of telehealth on the Medicare program.  This data would assist Congress in crafting additional policies to improve health outcomes and use resources more effectively.

Thank you for your continued leadership during the present crisis.  We look forward to continuing to work together to increase access to telehealth.

Sincerely, 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded $61,731,853 in federal funding for public transportation in Hampton Roads. The funding, for Hampton Roads Transit, was authorized by the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Sens. Warner and Kaine.

“Throughout this crisis, our community’s transportation systems have been forced to deal with extraordinary challenges to meet the needs of their passengers while protecting their workers,” said the Senators. “We’re pleased to know that these federal dollars will help provide the necessary equipment and resources to protect Virginians as we continue to navigate through this crisis." 

Through the CARES Act, Congress provided $25 billion for transit agencies to help prevent, prepare, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Hampton Roads Transit received its funding under the FTA’s Urbanized Area Formula Program, which makes federal resources available to urbanized areas and to governors for transit capital and operating assistance in urbanized areas and for transportation-related planning.

The funds will support operating, administrative, and preventive maintenance costs for Hampton Roads Transit in order to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency. The funds can be used to cover salaries, wages, benefits, maintenance, personal protective barriers, and cleaning supplies.

 

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Ranking Member Ben Cardin (D-MD), Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and all 47 Senate Democrats in a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza calling for urgently needed improvements to streamline and simplify the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiveness application process to ensure the smallest and most underserved businesses are able to fully take advantage of the program.

Senate Democrats write that small businesses and lenders alike have voiced concerns about the complexity and high cost-burden of the forgiveness application process for PPP loans, particularly for very small and underserved businesses, including microbusinesses, sole proprietorships, rural, and minority-owned small businesses. In addition, the complex process contributes to barriers to entry for new borrowers and could heighten existing hurdles to inclusion, with recent survey data indicating that close to a fifth of minority business owners did not apply for assistance from programs like PPP because they saw the application process to be overly cumbersome and long.

To avoid the chaos that borrowers and lenders experienced in the early weeks of the PPP program, Senate Democrats request that the Administration streamline the forgiveness application now, especially for smaller loans, as many borrowers near the time to apply for forgiveness, and provide adequate resources to ensure a smooth and reliable process.

Senate Democrats’ letter to Secretary and Mnuchin and Administrator Carranza can be found here and below: 

June 12, 2020

The Honorable Steven Mnuchin

Secretary of the Treasury

U.S. Department of the Treasury

1500 Pennsylvania Avenue NW

Washington, D.C. 20220         

The Honorable Jovita Carranza

Administrator

U.S. Small Business Administration

409 3rd Street SW

Washington, D.C. 20416

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Administrator Carranza:

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) represents the largest small business relief effort in our nation’s history. We were pleased to have passed into law the Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act, which builds upon and improves this vital program. While these fixes are an important step forward in making PPP work better for small businesses and nonprofits, much work remains to see the program work more efficiently and fairly, particularly for small dollar borrowers. As the program enters its next phase and borrowers begin to seek forgiveness of their loans, there is an immediate need for significant improvements to the forgiveness application process, which is tremendously cumbersome and overly complex, especially for very small businesses, sole proprietors, and underserved borrowers. 

We appreciate your acknowledgment in the recent Senate Small Business Committee hearing that the Administration will be updating the forgiveness form to reflect the critical changes required by the recently passed bill, and that this rewrite is an opportunity to improve the forgiveness process. We want to encourage the Small Business Administration and the Department of Treasury to significantly streamline and simplify the forgiveness process to ensure the smallest and most underserved businesses are able to fully take advantage of the program without having to make inordinate investments of time or limited resources.   

Since the release of the forgiveness form and instructions a few weeks ago, we have heard significant concerns from small businesses and lenders alike about the complexity of the process especially for the smallest businesses. The 11-page form that must be completed to secure forgiveness is especially burdensome, time-consuming, and costly for very small and underserved businesses, including microbusinesses, sole proprietorships, rural, and minority-owned small businesses. We are especially concerned that so many of these very small and underserved businesses will feel compelled to hire accountants and attorneys to complete the forgiveness form in a manner that provides comfort that the loans will be forgiven. This is not just an issue for existing borrowers. It contributes to already existing barriers to entry for new borrowers. For example, recent survey data indicated that close to a fifth of minority business owners did not even try to apply for assistance from programs like PPP that they could have greatly benefited from because they saw the application process to be too difficult and long.  The lengthy and complicated forgiveness form only adds to the already significant hurdles for inclusion of all small businesses in the program.  

While we understand clearly the need to uphold accountability and ensure taxpayer money is properly spent, this process should not be so complex so as to require already struggling small businesses to spend significant resources on services to complete a government form or worry that if they do not, their application will be rejected. To avoid the chaos that borrowers and lenders experienced in the early weeks of this program, we request that the Administration consider streamlining the forgiveness application, especially for smaller loans, and provide adequate resources to ensure a smooth and reliable process that small businesses and nonprofits can have faith in. We also request that before the Administration releases a final, updated form that you engage directly with Congress for input to ensure the form upholds Congressional intent within the CARES Act and follows through on the requests within this letter. 

To achieve these results, we request the Administration consider the following:

  • Create a process for streamlined forgiveness for low-dollar loan amounts. This should include an easy-to-use form that requires a simple attestation on fund use and minimal documentation. This would significantly reduce burdens and provide as much flexibility as possible for very small businesses seeking to access forgiveness. 
  • Issue guidance providing lenders with some form of reasonable safe harbor protection when certifications are made by borrowers in the forgiveness process for low-dollar loan amounts. 
  • Develop a comprehensive suite of approved online tools and resources to help small businesses and nonprofits navigate the forgiveness process, including “how to” videos, online reporting calculators that have the validation of the government, and easy-to-use materials to empower resource partners like the Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, and Minority Business Development Agency’s Business Centers in assisting with the completion of the forgiveness form.  
  • Stand up a well-staffed help line for borrowers or lenders to easily reach someone to talk through any challenges they encounter with the forgiveness forms or process.  

The need for the Administration to update and revise the forgiveness form to reflect the changes included in the recently passed bill and create a more simplified process also presents an opportunity to collect additional information from program participants that complete the forgiveness process. We were pleased that the initial form includes an option for applicants to provide demographic data, for example. An updated, streamlined forgiveness form should continue to collect this information, ideally including a demographic reporting section on the first page to ensure as much information as possible is gathered to provide much more clarity on whether PPP assistance has reached communities of color. 

In this public health and economic emergency, we must do all we can to make sure our small businesses have the support and assistance they need to weather the crisis. Small businesses should not need to spend precious resources on an accountant or attorneys to finalize their forgiveness application. The government should simplify the process such that these experts are not necessary or assist in providing this much-needed support. That must be especially the case for our very small and underserved businesses, including in communities of color, that oftentimes lack the resources of other businesses and in many cases, have faced long-standing economic and process fairness challenges even before COVID-19. We have a chance to improve the PPP forgiveness process now for these small businesses to ensure the program works as intended. 

We appreciate your immediate attention to this request and thank you for your continued work to mitigate the impact that this public health crisis is having on the backbone of our economy, our American small businesses. 

Sincerely,

###

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), led 35 of their Senate colleagues in urging House and Senate leaders to ensure that any upcoming COVID-19 relief bill include strong provisions to expand access to quality and affordable health care coverage in the wake of this public health crisis. In their letter, the Senators called for a bipartisan effort to increase the federal government’s share of Medicaid dollars as well as reduce premiums for individuals who are eligible for coverage in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. 

This letter follows the May 15th House passage of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, which creates critical pathways to health care coverage by ensuring newly unemployed Americans can remain in their previously elected employer-sponsored plans, and strengthens states’ ability to provide Medicaid coverage and other key provisions.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has had an extraordinary impact on every facet of our society and resulted in tremendous job loss, financial uncertainty and reduced access to health care coverage at a time when Americans can least afford it,” wrote the Senators. “We strongly believe that an unprecedented global health crisis of this nature deserves equally unprecedented action from Congress to ensure that Americans have continued access to the health care services they need.”

“We strongly encourage Republicans and Democrats to work together to build upon efforts in the HEROES Act by further enhancing the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) to ensure continued and comprehensive coverage for enrollees, sustain Medicaid programs in states that have expanded their program, incentivize additional states to expand their Medicaid programs and provide payment to states that have already expanded their Medicaid programs, but have not received their full share of enhanced payments in the past,” they continued. “Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.3 million Americans were without health care coverage because their states had not expanded Medicaid – a number that is sure to grow in the coming months. Targeting additional funding to the Medicaid expansion population could ensure health care insurance for millions of additional Americans that might otherwise not have access to it.”

According to a Kaiser Family Foundation study, nearly 27 million people could lose their employer-sponsored health insurance as a result of losing their job – adding to the existing 27 million Americans who were already uninsured prior to the COVID-19 crisis.

In their letter, the Senators also called for House and Senate leaders to secure provisions that reduce premium payments for individuals who are eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges – a move that would help middle-income Americans find a quality insurance plan on the exchange and increase health care enrollment by more than 1 million Americans, according to the Commonwealth Fund

Sens. Warner, Jones, Durbin and Shaheen were joined in this letter by Sens. Thomas R. Carper (D-DE), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Christopher S. Murphy (D-CT),  Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Kamala D. Harris (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Jon Tester (D-MT), Christopher A. Coons (D-DE), Tom Udall (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Tammy Duckworth (D-WI), Cory A. Booker (D-NY), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Joe Manchin III (D-WV), Gary C.  Peters (D-MI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI). 

Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, Sen. Warner has remained a strong advocate for health coverage. In April, he led his colleagues in pressing congressional leaders to ensure that that those who have lost their employer-based benefits do not have to face this health crisis without access to health insurance. In addition, that April letter similarly urged Congressional leaders to take swift action to strengthen Medicaid coverage and reduce premium costs on the Affordable Care Act exchange. Sen. Warner has also previously joined his colleagues in releasing a plan to expand health care coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic and has introduced legislation to allow any state that expanded Medicaid after 2014 to receive the same full federal matching funds as states that expanded earlier under the terms of the Affordable Care Act.   

A copy of today’s letter is available here and below. 

 

Dear Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer and Leader McCarthy:

We write to reiterate the importance of ensuring that any future COVID-19 related legislation passed by Congress include strong provisions to ensure Americans have access to quality and affordable health care coverage. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an extraordinary impact on every facet of our society and resulted in tremendous job loss, financial uncertainty and reduced access to health care coverage at a time when Americans can least afford it. A recent report estimates that nearly 27 million people have lost their employer-sponsored health care insurance and have to find another way to get health insurance due to their job loss . This is an astounding number on its own and is even more concerning given an additional 27 million Americans were already uninsured before the COVID-19 pandemic .

We strongly believe that an unprecedented global health crisis of this nature deserves equally unprecedented action from Congress to ensure that Americans have continued access to the health care services they need. 

On Friday, May 15, 2020, the U.S. House of Representatives took an important step by passing H.R. 6800, the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act. This legislation creates critical pathways to health care coverage by providing premium reimbursement to help newly unemployed Americans continue coverage in their previously elected employer-sponsored plans. In addition, the legislation provides critical support to state Medicaid programs to ensure states can afford to cover additional individuals. We welcome these significant and much needed provisions, and hope there will be bipartisan work done to ensure that millions of additional Americans will be provided with a pathway to health care coverage. 

We strongly encourage Republicans and Democrats to work together to build upon efforts in the HEROES Act by further enhancing the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentages (FMAP) to ensure continued and comprehensive coverage for enrollees, sustain Medicaid programs in states that have expanded their program, incentivize additional states to expand their Medicaid programs and provide payment to states that have already expanded their Medicaid programs, but have not received their full share of enhanced payments in the past. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an estimated 2.3 million Americans were without health care coverage because their states had not expanded Medicaid – a number that is sure to grow in the coming months . Targeting additional funding to the Medicaid expansion population could ensure health care insurance for millions of additional Americans that might otherwise not have access to it.

In addition, we ask that you add provisions to reduce premium payments for Americans eligible for coverage in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. As you know, current law caps ACA advance premium tax credits (APTCs) at approximately 10 percent of household income for individuals earning up to 400 percent of the federal poverty line (FPL). Removing this cap and increasing subsidies will help millions more middle-income Americans to find a comprehensive and affordable plan on the health care exchange. A 2017 study found that improving the ACA’s premium assistance payments could increase health care enrollment by more than 1 million Americans.  It will also be important to bolster support from APTCs for working families and individuals who are already eligible, but will need more financial support for the cost of coverage during this public health and economic crisis.

As Americans traverse this extremely uncertain and unprecedented time – the last thing they should worry about is them or their family members going without health care coverage. We ask that you strongly consider the recommendations we have listed above and work with us to develop solutions that meet the true scope and scale of the public health emergency we face. Thank you for your consideration of this request and we look forward to working with you on these issues. 

Sincerely, 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) in a bipartisan letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Jovita Carranza urging the administration to ease paperwork requirements for small businesses seeking loan forgiveness under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The letter, signed by 44 senators, specifically requests that the loan forgiveness application for loans under $250,000 to be no longer than one page in length.

The letter can be found HERE or below: 

 

Dear Secretary Mnuchin and Administrator Carranza:

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has been critical for helping small businesses remain viable and keeping Americans employed during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, we would like to make you aware of a serious problem with the PPP Loan Forgiveness Application. We have received feedback from a number of businesses and lenders that the forgiveness application is difficult to understand and to complete. We ask that the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) urgently revise the application so that it is no longer than one page for any loan under $250,000.

When Congress created the PPP, its purpose was clear: get immediate funding into the hands of small business owners impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic so their employees could stay on the payroll and maintain benefits and so that businesses could resume normal operations as soon as it was safe to do so. Given the innumerable challenges that small business owners face, PPP loans were designed to be forgiven to prevent small business owners from incurring additional debt, provided employees were kept on payroll.

The text of the CARES Act, which was approved unanimously by the Senate, specified three criteria that the PPP forgiveness application was required to include:

1.     Documentation verifying the number of full-time employees on payroll and their respective pay rates;

2.     Documentation verifying payment of mortgage, lease, and utility payments for which the business owner sought PPP funds; and

3.     A certification that the information presented in the forgiveness application is true and correct.

While the Small Business Administrator was also given the ability to require additional documentation necessary to verify proper use of PPP funds, we believe it is beyond the program’s intent to require the information solicited in the 11-page forgiveness application that the SBA recently released. We appreciate the interest in appropriately auditing the use of government money. However, the loan forgiveness application – which understandably needs more information for loans worth significantly more than $250,000 – is three times longer than the original application for the PPP. Many of our constituents and the financial institutions who processed their PPP loan applications have reported that the existing forgiveness application will be difficult to complete and could cost business owners several thousand dollars in professional tax advice.

The Administration’s intentions to scrutinize PPP loans above $2 million is an appropriate oversight of taxpayer resources. Failing to streamline the loan forgiveness application for loans that are worth a mere fraction of that will not only leave millions of small business owners without the relief that they were promised by Congress, but it will also introduce a needless complication to our nation’s economic recovery.

We look forward to continuing to work with you and the Administration in supporting our country’s small businesses and their employees during this difficult time. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.

Sincerely, 

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Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and a group of senators in urging Senate leadership to include $47 billion in financial support for students and institutions of higher learning in the upcoming coronavirus relief package.

"Higher education provides a ladder of economic opportunity to our nation’s students while also building a globally competitive workforce. Colleges and universities are also pillars of communities,” the senators wrote in their letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “Across the entire higher education sector, institutions last year directly employed 3.6 million individuals. Additionally, research universities are at the forefront in searching for scientific solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges, including COVID-19. These immense contributions to society are at grave risk without additional support.”

“Students are facing complex financial emergencies that threaten their ability to remain on their path to degree completion,” the senators continued. “The needs are particularly pronounced for students of color, low-income students, veterans, and first generation college students. Colleges and universities have taken immediate steps to protect individual health by shifting to remote learning platforms so students can maintain academic progress during the disruption, but face massive increases in expenses combined with a precipitous decline in revenue.”

In their letter, the senators also emphasized the substantial costs and losses already faced by institutions of higher education as enrollment declines and state cuts jeopardize the financial vitality of schools. To meet the needs of these schools and their students during this tumultuous time, the senators requested that significant additional emergency relief be provided by Congress, and that schools receive the flexibility they need to use the funding most effectively within their communities.

Sens. Merkley and Warner were joined in sending the letter by U.S. Senators Tom Carper (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jack Reed (D-RI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mark Warner (D-VA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tom Udall (D-NM), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).

The full text of the letter is available here and can be found below.

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Dear Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer:

Thank you for your swift and robust action to alleviate the health and economic impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). As you prepare for a fourth economic relief package, we respectfully urge you to provide $47 billion in financial support for students and institutions of higher learning.

Higher education provides a ladder of economic opportunity to our nation’s students while also building a globally competitive workforce. Colleges and universities are also pillars of communities. Across the entire higher education sector, institutions last year directly employed 3.6 million individuals. Additionally, research universities are at the forefront in searching for scientific solutions to some of society’s greatest challenges, including COVID-19. These immense contributions to society are at grave risk without additional support.

Congress responded in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act to the emergency financial needs of students, colleges, and universities by providing $14 billion in support through the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. However, students and institutions are experiencing vastly greater need. Students are facing complex financial emergencies that threaten their ability to remain on their path to degree completion. The needs are particularly pronounced for students of color, low-income students, veterans, and first generation college students. Colleges and universities have taken immediate steps to protect individual health by shifting to remote learning platforms so students can maintain academic progress during the disruption, but face massive increases in expenses combined with a precipitous decline in revenue.

In addition to the substantial costs and losses already faced by institutions, the threat of ongoing financial uncertainty stemming from enrollment declines and state cuts threaten the financial stability of schools. The situation requires significant additional emergency relief from Congress. Congress should also provide more flexibility in the use of funds to ensure that federal investment can be effectively targeted by colleges and universities to meet the needs of students and communities.

We thank you for your support of these critical investments in our nation’s students and institutions of higher learning.

Sincerely,

WASHINGTON — U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA) joined Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and 17 colleagues in a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue to express concerns about how a lack of access to healthy, affordable food is hurting low-income communities and communities of color during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To help address the disproportionate impact of the virus on these communities, the senators are urging Secretary Perdue to identify and prioritize programs at the Department of Agriculture intended to minimize food deserts — areas where people have limited access to a variety of healthy and affordable food — and support local and regional food development projects.

Approximately 23.5 million Americans live in a food desert where the absence of a grocery store within one mile of their home makes it more difficult to purchase fresh, healthy, and nutritious food. Additionally, in some of the more rural regions of the country, individuals may have to travel further than 10 miles to the nearest grocer. Low-income Americans and people of color are more likely to live in neighborhoods with few healthy food options, and studies have shown that a significant barrier to the consumption of healthy foods in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods is limited access to a grocery store. Consequently, many in these communities are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. In addition, many people in these neighborhoods do not have access to food or meal delivery services and must rely on public transportation or shared rides to purchase healthy food, increasing their potential exposure to the virus,”the lawmakers wrote. 

“As part of a comprehensive response to the coronavirus pandemic, we urge you to identify and prioritize programs intended to minimize food deserts and support local and regional food development projects.” 

Warner, Klobuchar and Brown were joined on the letter by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bob Casey (D-PA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chris Coons (D-DE), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Joe Manchin (D-WV).

As a senior member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Klobuchar successfully pushed for key provisions in the 2018 Farm Bill that provided support for local food systems, farmers’ markets, urban agriculture, and loan financing for food-related projects in rural and urban areas. These included provisions that created an urban agriculture program at the Department of Agriculture, strengthened local food economies by securing permanent funding for farmers’ markets, local food systems, and value-added production, and ensured adequate and equitable access to credit and training opportunities for new, beginning, and minority farmers.  

Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below:

 

Dear Secretary Perdue:

We write to express concerns about how a lack of access to healthy, affordable food is hurting low-income communities and communities of color during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. To help address the disproportionate impact of the virus on these communities, we urge you to identify and prioritize programs at the Department of Agriculture intended to minimize food deserts and support local and regional food development projects.

Initial research has identified several factors contributing to the disproportionate adverse health outcomes for low-income and communities of color during the pandemic, including a lack of access to health care services, a higher incidence of pre-existing conditions, and a greater likelihood of working in a front line job.Several of these factors are exacerbated by lack of access to healthy, affordable food.

Approximately 23.5 million Americans live in a food desert where the absence of a grocery store within one mile of their home makes it more difficult to purchase fresh, healthy, and nutritious food. Additionally, in some of the more rural regions of the country, individuals may have to travel further than 10 miles to the nearest grocer. Low-income Americans and people of color are more likely to live in neighborhoods with few healthy food options, and studies have shown that a significant barrier to the consumption of healthy foods in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods is limited access to a grocery store. Consequently, many in these communities are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19 due to underlying health conditions like heart disease, obesity, and diabetes. In addition, many people in these neighborhoods do not have access to food or meal delivery services and must rely on public transportation or shared rides to purchase healthy food, increasing their potential exposure to the virus.

To combat this public health crisis, we need a proactive approach that emphasizes the prevention of underlying health conditions and minimizes potential exposure to the virus while traveling to purchase food by expanding healthy food options in low-income communities and communities of color. Congress has provided the Department of Agriculture authority and funding to address the prevalence of food deserts and to support local food systems through such programs as the Healthy Food Financing Initiative, the Local Agriculture Market Program, and the Urban Agriculture Program. Additionally, Rural Development has several business and industry loan guarantee and community facilities grant programs that can be applied to food development projects in underserved food desert areas.

As part of a comprehensive response to the coronavirus pandemic, we urge you to identify and prioritize programs intended to minimize food deserts and support local and regional food development projects.

Sincerely,

###

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) expressed concern with the disproportionately small share of food that Virginia has received under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Farmers to Families Food Box program and the lack of approved distributors able to meet the needs of food banks in rural areas. In a letter to USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue, the Senators raised a series of questions regarding the implementation of the food purchasing and distribution program, which was authorized by Congress to assist those in need during the COVID-19 crisis. 

“As of today, we understand food banks in the Feeding America network in Virginia are expected to receive approximately 2.3 million pounds of food out of the 264 million pounds of product that are expected to be distributed during the first phase of the Farmers to Families Food Box program,” the Senators wrote. “If this program were allocated in the same manner as The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), we would expect Virginia to receive about 5.3 million pounds of product – more than double the current amount anticipated.”

The Senators also raised issue with the lack of contracts awarded to Virginia-based distributors, and noted the trouble that food banks throughout the Commonwealth have had in finding approved distributors able to reach more rural areas.

“Only one Virginia-based distributor – DeLune Corp in Springfield, Virginia – was awarded a contract in the first round of approval. This has made it difficult to get food boxes to all of Virginia’s food banks – especially in Southwest Virginia,” the Senators continued. “We have heard from a number of our food banks that have had difficulty finding approved distributors in the Mid-Atlantic region willing to provide food boxes. As you can imagine, this has put many of our food banks in a difficult position as they continue to experience record demand due to the ongoing public health crisis.”

In the letter, Sens. Warner and Kaine posed the following series of questions for Sec. Perdue regarding the program’s recent implementation:

  1. In awarding the first round of contracts, did USDA require awardees to demonstrate that they could service certain geographic areas to ensure each state in a region would receive coverage proportional to population and need? In future contract awards, will USDA examine a distributor’s capability to service large and diverse geographic areas?
  1. How does USDA intend to award subsequent contracts under this program in a way that ensures a fair distribution of the national allotment? What information will USDA consider as it makes future contract awards to ensure each state and region is treated equitably?
  1. According to press reports, at least one company that received a contract, Ben Holtz Consulting DBA California Avocados Direct, has had their contract terminated. How will this funding be re-allocated? Have any other contracts been revoked?
  1. Did USDA solicit information from food banks to assess their current needs before the first round of contracts were awarded? Does USDA plan to offer food banks the opportunity to provide information on the type and amount of food they need to feed their respective service areas as the agency considers future rounds of funding?

Sens. Warner and Kaine have been strong advocates of expanded access to food assistance for families in the Commonwealth amid the COVID-19 outbreak. Last month, following pressure by Sens. Warner and Kaine, the U.S. Department of Agriculture formally authorized Virginia’s request to participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Online Purchasing Pilot Program, which allows SNAP recipients to order their groceries online amid the current health crisis. In March, the Senators also successfully pushed USDA to waive a requirement that needlessly forced children to physically accompany their parent or guardian to a school lunch distribution site in order to receive USDA-reimbursable meals. Additionally, the Senators previously secured Virginia’s USDA Disaster Household Distribution Program designation, which allows food banks to distribute USDA foods directly to Virginia families in need while limiting interactions between food bank staff, volunteers, and recipients.

 

A copy of today’s letter is available here and below. 

The Honorable Sonny Perdue

Secretary

United States Department of Agriculture

1400 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20250

Secretary Perdue:

We write today concerning the recent implementation of the United Stated Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Farmers to Families Food Box program. We understand the enormous challenges you and your team are facing in combatting the effects of COVID-19, and we appreciate your efforts to assist farmers, food banks, and address food insecurity during this difficult time. However, we are deeply concerned that the Commonwealth of Virginia has received a disproportionately small share of food under this program to date. 

As of today, we understand food banks in the Feeding America network in Virginia are expected to receive approximately 2.3 million pounds of food out of the 264 million pounds of product that are expected to be distributed during the first phase of the Farmers to Families Food Box program. If this program were allocated in the same manner as The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), we would expect Virginia to receive about 5.3 million pounds of product – more than double the current amount anticipated.

In addition, only one Virginia-based distributor – DeLune Corp in Springfield, Virginia – was awarded a contract in the first round of approval. This has made it difficult to get food boxes to all of Virginia’s food banks – especially in Southwest Virginia. We have heard from a number of our food banks that have had difficulty finding approved distributors in the Mid-Atlantic region willing to provide food boxes. As you can imagine, this has put many of our food banks in a difficult position as they continue to experience record demand due to the ongoing public health crisis.

In order to better understand this program and how allocations were made, we ask that you please respond to the following questions:

In awarding the first round of contracts, did USDA require awardees to demonstrate that they could service certain geographic areas to ensure each state in a region would receive coverage proportional to population and need? In future contract awards, will USDA examine a distributor’s capability to service large and diverse geographic areas?

How does USDA intend to award subsequent contracts under this program in a way that ensures a fair distribution of the national allotment? What information will USDA consider as it makes future contract awards to ensure each state and region is treated equitably?

According to press reports, at least one company that received a contract, Ben Holtz Consulting DBA California Avocados Direct, has had their contract terminated. How will this funding be re-allocated? Have any other contracts been revoked?

Did USDA solicit information from food banks to assess their current needs before the first round of contracts were awarded? Does USDA plan to offer food banks the opportunity to provide information on the type and amount of food they need to feed their respective service areas as the agency considers future rounds of funding?

Again, we sincerely appreciate your commitment to helping keep families fed during this difficult time. We all want to ensure this program and other USDA programs designed to combat hunger work as effectively and efficiently as possible to maximize the benefits for all Americans. We look forward to continuing to work with you on ways to increase access to healthy and nutritious foods to all Americans.

Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (VA) joined Sens. Debbie Stabenow (MI), Roger Wicker (MS), and 38 of their colleagues in urging Congress to support community health centers that provide Americans with critical health care, including testing and treatment of COVID-19. 

“We write to express our support for additional emergency funding for community health centers in the next COVID-19 relief package. Community health centers are vital to our response to the coronavirus pandemic and need appropriate funding to continue their front-line health care work,” wrote the Senators. “Community health centers provide affordable care to more than 29 million patients, including 385,000 veterans and 8.7 million children nationwide. These centers play a critical role in responding to the pandemic, offering coronavirus testing, primary care, dental care, behavioral health care, and other services to our nation’s most vulnerable patients.” 

In the letter, the Senators asked Senator Roy Blunt (MO) and Senator Patty Murray (WA), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education, to support additional emergency funding for community health centers across the country. Over 2,000 centers have already had to close their doors, and many more remain concerned about how long they will be able to stay open. 

Full text of the letter can be found here and below:  

Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Murray: 

We write to express our support for additional emergency funding for community health centers in the next COVID-19 relief package. Community health centers are vital to our response to the coronavirus pandemic and need appropriate funding to continue their front-line health care work. 

 Community health centers provide affordable care to more than 29 million patients, including 385,000 veterans and 8.7 million children nationwide.  These centers play a critical role in responding to the pandemic, offering coronavirus testing, primary care, dental care, behavioral health care, and other services to our nation’s most vulnerable patients.  This care helps keep individuals out of emergency rooms, where beds are currently in particularly high need.  It also helps manage chronic conditions that may exacerbate the symptoms of COVID-19.

Over the next six months, community health centers will see 34 million fewer appointments as Americans cancel primary and preventive care appointments or delay non-essential care.  Health centers are anticipating $7.6 billion in lost revenue and 105,000 lost jobs.  Over 2,000 centers have already had to close their doors and many more remain concerned about how long they will be able to stay open. 

We appreciate the additional $2 billion in emergency funding provided to community health centers in recent COVID-19 response and relief packages, including $600 million dedicated to testing.  However, despite this funding, health centers are still worried about how to keep their doors open to serve their patients.  These valuable providers will continue to lose more revenue as the pandemic continues.  Additional funding is critical for these centers to continue providing quality, affordable health care and front-line response efforts.  

We look forward to working with you to reach a bipartisan agreement to enact legislation and ensure community health centers can continue to provide high quality and affordable care to those in need. 

Sincerely,

 

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WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today applauded $32,236,074 in federal funding for public transportation in Richmond. The funding, for the Greater Richmond Transit Company, was authorized by the Federal Transit Authority (FTA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act supported by Sens. Warner and Kaine.

“Amid this public health crisis, we’re glad to know that these federal dollars will be used to keep public transportation in Richmond safe and operational for the individuals who rely on these systems every day, including essential workers and those who depend on these systems to get to the grocery store or pharmacy,” said the Senators.

Through the CARES Act, Congress provided $25 billion for transit agencies to help prevent, prepare, and respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Greater Richmond Transit Company received its funding under the FTA’s Urbanized Area Formula Program, which makes federal resources available to urbanized areas and to governors for transit capital and operating assistance in urbanized areas and for transportation-related planning.

The funds will provide assistance to maintain existing services in order to respond to and recover from the COVID-19 public health emergency. This includes expenses needed to operate, maintain, and manage the public transportation system, including driver salaries, fuel, and items having a useful life of less than one year, including personal protective equipment and cleaning supplies. 

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