Source: United States Senator for Idaho Mike Crapo
Washington, D.C.–U.S. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) delivered the following remarks at a hearing to consider the nomination of Jamieson Greer to be United States Trade Representative (USTR), with the rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
As prepared for delivery:
“Mr. Greer, welcome and congratulations on your nomination.
“By traditional timelines, this is one of the earliest dates the Finance Committee has held a nomination hearing for the United States Trade Representative, or USTR.
“Your cooperation and timely responses to questions from both sides of the aisle expedited this Committee’s very demanding process.
“Mr. Greer has been nominated by the President for an incredibly important job: America’s chief trade negotiator. By statute—and frankly, in accordance with our Constitution—our negotiator must report to Congress, which means he reports to the Finance Committee.
“This week, attention fell on President Trump’s executive orders to help secure our borders from illegal immigration and fentanyl smuggling. I strongly support securing our borders and fighting fentanyl trafficking.
“The executive orders rely on the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, and concern drug policy and border security. The President, not USTR, invokes IEEPA, and the Department of Homeland Security, not USTR, is responsible for securing our borders. Nonetheless, I am securing briefings on these orders and, in fact, Customs and Border Protection will brief Committee staff on this matter today.
“What the President has done that is different, though, is bringing tariffs into the discussions about border security. USTR is, as I said, America’s chief trade negotiator.
“Any time the U.S. government is considering tariffs or something that implicates trade policy, he should be part of those conversations, and report to us about those conversations and solicit our input.
“Right now, Mr. Greer is not in government and not privy to various discussions.
“Confirming him will allow him to be part of the conversation and work with this Committee, ensuring Congress fulfills its constitutional responsibilities over international trade.
“When we look at whether Jamieson Greer will be a good negotiator for America’s trade interests and a partner to this committee, his experience and skillset indicate the answer is yes.
“He understands USTR’s policymaking since he served as its Chief of Staff. At USTR, he distinguished himself as an effective negotiator in his work on the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, which overwhelmingly passed Congress. As many of my Democrat colleagues know firsthand, he worked closely with them on their priorities for USMCA.
“As an accomplished international trade attorney, he is an expert on our trade agreements and trade laws, including the requirements to report to Congress promptly and thoroughly.
“We need an effective USTR now more than ever. The last USTR did not negotiate any agreements and we lost ground to foreign competitors. The Biden Administration walked away even from its own limited initiatives, such as the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. Rather than forge new rules to combat China’s trade practices, the prior administration turned its back on existing rules and positions, such as our intellectual property rights under the WTO TRIPS Agreement, and support for open data flows and non-discrimination against our technology companies.
“The Biden Administration also dawdled on enforcement of our existing trade agreements, including by failing to act against protectionist measures on our U.S. agriculture and energy producers.
“Finally, there was one other major USTR failure during the last Administration: failing to report and to consult with this Committee. Both sides of the aisle expressed serious concern about the last USTR’s repeated failures to consult with the Committee—and her position that she did not need to improve consultation with the Committee or the agency’s transparency with the public.
“We should not hold Mr. Greer responsible for those failings. Mr. Greer has been crystal clear that he will consult with this Committee and respect Congress’s constitutional prerogatives over trade. I expect that some members may disagree from time to time with the Administration, but, if so, Mr. Greer has committed to make its case before us, rather than ignore us. If confirmed, I will hold him to that commitment.
“Mr. Greer, thank you for your willingness to serve, and I look forward to hearing more from you about your perspectives on international trade policy and how you plan to work with this Committee to achieve our shared priorities.
“With that, I recognize Ranking Member Wyden for his opening remarks.”
Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
WASHINGTON, DC — Why did the Senator cross the road? To help drive down ‘eggflation.’
U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) is urging President Donald Trump – who pledged to “immediately bring prices down, starting on day one” — to finally take action to help reduce egg prices and crack down on anti-competitive price gouging.
Today, Reed sent a letter to the president and CEO of the America First Policy Institute, Brooke Rollins, who President Trump nominated to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), asking for her plan to help lower egg prices.
Reed says Trump is causing consumers to shell out more for eggs: In the weeks since Trump took office for his second term, wholesale prices for a dozen Grade A large white eggs in cartons already increased about 15 percent and the Trump Administration has taken zero substantive steps to address the situation. In fact, Trump’s initial moves in office, such as blocking the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal health agencies from publishing scientific reports on the bird flu or issuing health advisories, or his decision to withdraw from the World Health Organization (WHO), which coordinates global efforts to combat disease outbreaks, may be contributing to the problem and increasing the likelihood of future avian flu cases.
This week, Rhode Island consumers are being charged anywhere from $4.55 a dozen to $6.99 a dozen for large eggs at local chain retailers and some restaurants have instituted a 50-cent surcharge per egg on all menu items.
“In order to combat these price spikes, we must have a strong response from the USDA to get avian influenza under control. In addition, the USDA, in conjunction with other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, must carefully police the market and crack down on any price gouging by large egg producers, who in the past have demonstrated a propensity to hike prices on consumers to levels that far exceed any increase in the cost of production,” Reed wrote the USDA nominee.
Reed noted that during her hearing, Ms. Rollins “did not provide a comprehensive plan, and instead stated “there is a lot that I have to learn” about avian influenza and animal disease.”
His letter concluded: “As Agriculture Secretary, you would be tasked with spearheading and implementing the Trump Administration’s plan to combat this costly disease in our nation’s animals. I understand that it may be difficult to outline a comprehensive plan during the time allotted in a confirmation hearing. To that end, I would like to provide you the opportunity to outline your plan in writing to address avian influenza and bring egg prices down for Americans across the country.
“To allow me to fully evaluate your nomination, I ask that you respond promptly before your final confirmation vote.”
Reed says he hopes to be able to share the plan with other U.S. Senators on both sides of the aisle to help inform their votes.
Full text of the letter follows:
February 5, 2025
The Honorable Brooke Rollins
President & CEO
America First Policy Institute
1777 N Kent Street Suite 1400
Arlington, VA 22209
Dear Ms. Rollins:
As the full Senate prepares to consider your nomination for Secretary of Agriculture, I write to inquire about your plan to address the ongoing H5N1 avian influenza (“bird flu”) outbreak, which is contributing to high egg prices for consumers across the country. I am well aware that avian influenza has been a problem for multiple administrations – including the Obama Administration, the first Trump Administration, and the Biden Administration. Regardless, I am interested to hear how you, if confirmed, plan to end the current outbreak and lower prices.
According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), wholesale prices for a dozen Grade A large white eggs in cartons increased 14.5% since President Trump took office. In order to combat these price spikes, we must have a strong response from the USDA to get avian influenza under control. In addition, the USDA, in conjunction with other federal agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice, must carefully police the market and crack down on any price gouging by large egg producers, who in the past have demonstrated a propensity to hike prices on consumers to levels that far exceed any increase in the cost of production.
In your written testimony for your January 23rd nomination hearing, you shared that one of your “key priorities for Day One,” if confirmed as Secretary would be to “immediately and comprehensively get a handle on the state of animal-disease outbreaks, including H5N1.” However, when asked for your plan to address this issue by Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar, you did not provide a comprehensive plan, and instead stated “there is a lot that I have to learn” about avian influenza and animal disease.
As Agriculture Secretary, you would be tasked with spearheading and implementing the Trump Administration’s plan to combat this costly disease in our nation’s animals. I understand that it may be difficult to outline a comprehensive plan during the time allotted in a confirmation hearing. To that end, I would like to provide you the opportunity to outline your plan in writing to address avian influenza and bring egg prices down for Americans across the country.
To allow me to fully evaluate your nomination, I ask that you respond promptly before your final confirmation vote.
I appreciate in advance your attention to this important matter.
Source: United States Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn) released the following statement after five bills that she sponsored or co-sponsored passed out of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. This includes the American Music Tourism Act, the Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act, the Strengthening Support for American Manufacturing Act, the She DRIVES Act, and the TORNADO Act.
“The 119th Congress is already off to a productive start, and I am pleased that five of my bills have moved forward out of the Commerce Committee to the full Senate for a vote,” said Senator Blackburn. “I urge my Senate colleagues to support this legislation, which will promote American music tourism, strengthen U.S. supply chains for emerging technologies, boost domestic manufacturing, enhance vehicle safety standards, and improve the forecasting of hazardous weather.”
BACKGROUND:
See below for more information on each piece of legislation.
The American Music Tourism Act, sponsored by Senator Blackburn, would leverage the existing framework within the Department of Commerce to highlight and promote music tourism in the United States. It would require the Department of Commerce’s Assistant Secretary for Travel and Tourism to implement a plan to support and increase music tourism for both domestic and international visitors as well as a report to Congress on the successes and vulnerabilities of the Assistant Secretary’s goals to increase travel and tourism.
The Promoting Resilient Supply Chains Act, co-led by Senator Blackburn, would authorize the Department of Commerce to strengthen American supply chains for critical industries and emerging technologies by working with the private sector and U.S. government partners to anticipate and prevent future supply chain disruptions before they happen.
The Strengthening Support for American Manufacturing Act, co-led by Senator Blackburn, would streamline federal efforts to boost domestic manufacturers and support workers. It would also assess the Department of Commerce’s efforts to support manufacturers and suggest solutions to improve the Department’s manufacturing programs to better serve manufacturers – many of which are small businesses.
The She Develops Regulations in Vehicle Equality and Safety (She DRIVES) Act, co-led by Senator Blackburn, would enhance passenger vehicle safety by updating U.S. crashworthiness testing procedures. It would require the use of the most advanced testing devices available, including a female crash test dummy.
The Tornado Observation Research Notification and Deployment to Operations (TORNADO) Act, co-sponsored by Senator Blackburn, would improve the forecasting of tornadoes and other hazardous weather by requiring the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to prepare and submit an action plan for the national implementation of high-resolution probabilistic guidance for tornado forecasting and prediction.
Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, joined Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) in reintroducing the Fair Access to Banking Act to prevent banks from denying services to law-abiding businesses for political purposes.
“Banks shouldn’t stop customers from accessing accounts or services based on political affiliation or industry. I’m proud to help introduce the Fair Access to Banking Act to make sure financial institutions aren’t working as political activists against law-abiding Americans,” said Kennedy.
“When progressives failed at banning these entire industries, what they did instead is they turned to weaponizing banks as sort of a backdoor to carry out their activist goals. Financial institutions are backed by taxpayers, for crying out loud! They should be obligated to provide services in an unbiased, risk-based manner. The Fair Access to Banking Act ensures that banks provide fair access to services and enacts strict penalties for categorically discriminating against legal industries and individuals,” said Cramer.
In 2021, the Trump administration finalized its Fair Access Rule to require banks to make individual risk assessments and stop broad discrimination against customers. However, the Biden administration paused the rule’s implementation.
The Fair Access to Banking Act would penalize banks and credit unions with more than $10 billion in assets for refusing services to law-abiding companies or people. The bill also requires banks to give a written explanation for denying services to a customer.
Background:
The Fair Access to Banking Act would protect Americans in the wake of major banks’ move to discriminate against legal businesses. Some of the largest U.S. banks have blocked businesses and consumers from accessing financial services based on political ideology.
In 2020, five of the country’s largest banks announced they will not provide loans or credit to support oil and gas drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge even though Congress explicitly authorized it.
In 2021, JPMorgan Chase declared it would refuse financial services to coal producers. Bank of America also began a politically motivated effort to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its financing activities by 2050, an effort directly targeting producers of reliable American energy. Earlier this year, however, Bank of America quietly withdrew from a climate alliance seeking net-zero emissions.
Payment services like Apple Pay and PayPal have denied their services for transactions involving firearms or ammunition.
Sens. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), John Curtis (R-Utah), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Jim Justice (R-W.Va.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.), Jim Risch (R-Idaho), Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) also cosponsored the bill.
Source: United States Senator John Kennedy (Louisiana)
WASHINGTON – Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) today penned this op-ed in National Review arguing that adding a work requirement to Medicaid would save taxpayers money and improve the health of those on the program.
Key excerpts of the op-ed are below:
“Medicaid is supposed to be an investment in our country’s health and well-being. So why doesn’t the program encourage more Americans to enter the workforce and improve their physical, mental, and financial health?
“Numerous studies have shown that human beings are happier and healthier when they are employed. Long-term joblessness is associated with higher rates of cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety. One study even recommended employment as a ‘critical mental health intervention.’
“Still, taxpayers today are footing the bill for an estimated 15 million able-bodied adults without children or other dependents to receive health-care coverage under Medicaid without any obligation to get a job. Many of them are simply choosing not to work. Both the taxpayer and the Medicaid recipients themselves would be better off if the program had a work requirement.”
. . .
“Nearly one in four Americans is on Medicaid today. Federal and state spending on the program has nearly doubled since 2020. COVID-19 was responsible for some of the spending surge, but there has been no effort to return Medicaid spending back to pre-pandemic levels.
“This is unsustainable. Medicaid is well on its way to costing taxpayers $1 trillion per year. Congress must find a way to get able-bodied Americans back on their feet and off Medicaid. With the right incentives in place, these Americans can leave this life of poverty and dependency to set out on a pathway toward success.
“A person without a job is not healthy. He’s not happy. He’s not free. Who really wants to be a slave to some government entitlement program?”
. . .
“Medicaid is an investment in our public health. Congress should treat it that way. Adding a work requirement to Medicaid will make the United States a stronger, healthier country and remind the world that America respects the dignity of hard work.”
Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) introduced the Credit Incentives for Resilient Critical Utility Infrastructure and Transformers(CIRCUIT) Act to encourage the production of electric distribution transformers – devices that take high-voltage electricity from power lines and reduce it to lower voltage levels suitable for homes, businesses, and other end-users.
The U.S. is in the middle of unprecedented demand for power transformers, which has left the energy sector uncertain about the stability of the future grid. Current production is unable to keep up with demand from new housing, data centers and more. This legislation would expand the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (45X) passed as part of the Inflation Reduction Act to include distribution transformers to bolster the domestic energy economy.
“Nevada is leading the way in 21st Century energy technologies and manufacturing, and we need more distribution transformers to connect new sources of energy and power to the grid,” said Sen. Cortez Masto. “Our bipartisan legislation to boost the production of distribution transformers is critical for lowering energy costs, supporting energy resiliency, and strengthening our national security.”
“Demand for energy and power is continuing to grow in Kansas and across the country as housing, businesses and transportation needs expand,” said Sen. Moran. “Creating a tax credit to incentivize domestic production and manufacturing of distribution transformers will help the United States move closer to energy independence, provide jobs and keep up with rising demands.”
“Distribution transformers are essential to a reliable electrical grid that supports our nation’s critical infrastructure,” said Debra Phillips, President and CEO of National Electric Manufacturers Association (NEMA). “NEMA thanks Senators Moran (KS) and Cortez Masto (NV) for their leadership on the bipartisan CIRCUIT Act that will ensure domestic manufacturers of distribution transformers qualify for the 45X tax credit, intended for advanced manufacturing of critical energy components. The CIRCUIT Act will also help mitigate supply chain issues that distribution transformers have faced while encouraging continued on-shoring and domestic production. We look forward to continuing to work with our bipartisan partners in Congress to create solutions that boost the resilience of our nation’s electrical grid and expand U.S. manufacturing in critical supply chains.”
“For years, public power utilities across the country have faced a severe and ongoing shortage of distribution transformers,” said Scott Corwin, President & CEO, American Public Power Association. “This critical shortage threatens grid reliability, delays storm recovery, and dampens economic development. The American Public Power Association applauds Senators Moran and Cortez Masto for introducing the CIRCUIT Act to incentivize domestic manufacturing of distribution transformers, and we urge its swift enactment.”
“Expanding the manufacturing credit to include distribution transformers will help give domestic manufacturers needed certainty as they work to ensure a resilient national supply chain for electric cooperatives and other utilities,” said Jim Matheson, CEO of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. “We thank Sens. Moran and Cortez Masto for introducing this legislation, which is critical to strengthening the domestic energy economy and assisting co-ops in their mission to provide safe, reliable and affordable power to their members.”
The full text of the bill can be found here.
As part of her Innovation State Initiative, Senator Cortez Masto has led efforts in Congress to support Nevada’s energy industries and cut through red tape, while lowering costs for families. At a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing last March, she discussed the need to speed up interconnection processes with FERC nominees.
Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Cory Booker
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and John Kennedy (R-LA), a member of the Senate Appropriations and Banking Committees, introduced the Small Business Disaster Damage Fairness Act of 2025. The bill would allow borrowers to get a Small Business Administration (SBA) disaster assistance loan for up to $50,000, rather than the current $14,000, without pledging collateral.
Despite rising costs, the collateral threshold has remained stagnant for over a decade. The collateral threshold for major disasters has been at $14,000 since 2008 for SBA-declared disasters. In 2015, Congress passed Booker and Kennedy’s Rebuilding Small Businesses After Disasters Act, which temporarily increased the SBA collateral threshold to $25,000 in 2015.
“New Jerseyans are unfortunately too familiar with the impacts of extreme weather, from hurricanes to major flooding events. The last thing homeowners and small businesses should need to worry about is how they will access the funding they need to rebuild after a storm. This bill will help ensure small businesses everywhere have the support they need to recover in the wake of a disaster,” said Senator Booker.
“Too many small business owners can’t put up collateral for a loan when disaster strikes. As a result, they can’t re-open their doors. My bill would make sure small businesses can get back to serving their communities after disasters hit,” said Senator Kennedy.
The SBA’s Disaster Loan Program is designed to help homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits repair, rebuild and recover from disaster-related losses. In 2024, there were 27 weather-related disasters that caused at least $1 billion in damage.
The bill also codifies the Government Accountability Office (GAO)’s recommendation to distinguish between rural and urban communities for outreach and instructs the GAO to further report the Disaster Loan Program’s default rate.
U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-HI) cosponsored the bill.
The read the full text of the bill, click here.
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) sent a letter to Ford CEO Jim Farley, demanding an explanation behind his company’s abrupt decision to terminate its long-standing labor partnership with Jack Cooper, a Kansas City-based company. Ford’s decision now leaves 400 Kansas City-area employees without a job.
The Senators call out Ford for prematurely ending its contract with Jack Cooper before the deadline and without explanation.
“For over four decades, Jack Cooper has been a reliable partner to Ford, fulfilling all performance standards and playing an important role in Ford’s success. To end such a relationship without a clear and justified cause strikes us as a profound betrayal of American workers, who have buoyed Ford for nearly half a century,” the lawmakers wrote.
“At this point, one must question whether Ford is abandoning its historical commitment to American workers and sacrificing quality and reliability in favor of cost-cutting. . . . The workers at Jack Cooper and their families are still waiting for answers,” the senators concluded.
Full text of the letter is here or below.
February 4, 2025
James Farley, Jr. P.O Box 6248 Dearborn, MI 48126
Dear Mr. Farley,
We write today in response to Ford’s recent decision to terminate its long-standing contract with a great Kansas City company, Jack Cooper. This abrupt decision threatens the livelihoods of nearly 2000 dedicated union workers and their families, casting a dark shadow over Ford’s claimed commitment to “serving all of our stakeholder groups.”
For over four decades, Jack Cooper has been a reliable partner to Ford, fulfilling all performance standards and playing an important role in Ford’s success. To end such a relationship without a clear and justified cause strikes us as a profound betrayal of American workers, who have buoyed Ford for nearly half a century.
With this decision, Ford has undermined the job security and economic stability of hard-working union members and contradicted the ethos of economic loyalty and family values that the company purports to uphold. At this point, one must question whether Ford is abandoning its historical commitment to American workers and sacrificing quality and reliability in favor of cost-cutting.
To that end, we request, at a minimum, that you confirm Ford Motor Company intends to fulfill its legal obligations with respect to termination costs, pursuant to all applicable laws, resulting from Ford’s termination of its Jack Cooper contract. More importantly, we expect Ford to address this matter with the seriousness it warrants and provide a detailed explanation for its actions, not only to the affected workers but also to their families and communities who are now burdened with uncertainty and hardship. Not providing a substantive explanation for terminating the aforementioned contract adds significant insult to injury. This decision disrupts lives and erodes the community’s trust in what is supposed to be a paradigmatic American company. Yet, the workers at Jack Cooper and their families are still waiting for answers.
We hope that Ford can bring light to this situation and explain its plan for not hanging the Jack Cooper community out to dry. Please do so by responding to this letter, in writing, not later than February 11, 2025, with your explanation for suddenly terminating such a longstanding partnership. We look forward to your prompt response.
U.S. Senators Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) today reintroduced the Supporting and Treating Officers in Crisis (STOIC) Act to expand support resources for law enforcement officers. The bill is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Christopher Coons (D-Del.), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
The bipartisan legislation would reauthorize grant funding for law enforcement family-support services and establish suicide-prevention programs and mental health services within law enforcement communities.
“Congress should have the backs of those who have ours,” said Senator Hawley. “Since it’s initial passage, the STOIC Act has delivered life-saving resources to law enforcement officers who combat not only crime, but also mental health challenges, in the line of duty. I invite my colleagues to join me in reauthorizing this critical legislation, so we can continue standing with our men and women in blue.”
“Law enforcement are often the first on the scene at the most difficult moments in people’s lives. Their service comes with a heavy emotional toll, and we must help officers deal with the stress and trauma they bear to keep their communities safe,” said Senator Whitehouse. “We first passed our bipartisan STOIC Act into law in 2019 to provide more mental health resources for law enforcement, and I’m glad to renew the effort today with Senator Hawley to reauthorize this important law.”
Senators Hawley and Whitehouse first introduced the STOIC Act in 2019, and it was signed into law later that year.
Last year, the STOIC Act unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and went on to pass a Senate-wide vote, clearing hurdles for the bill’s reauthorization. Today, the senators have reintroduced the legislation to pave the way for its updated passage in the 119th Congress.
Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders
WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 — Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, alongside Sens. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services, and Education, and Reps. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, sent a letter warning against the Trump administration’s reported plans to unilaterally dismantle the Department of Education. The lawmakers asked the acting Secretary of Education for answers on recent actions taken by the Trump administration to put federal workers on administrative leave, coerce employees into leaving their jobs, provide access to students’ sensitive data, and illegally freeze vital funding.
“Over the course of two weeks, the Trump Administration issued sweeping executive orders and sought to broadly and illegally freeze federal financial assistance,” wrote Sanders and the lawmakers. “Federal employees have been targeted, in some cases for simply following the law. Elon Musk is attempting to shut down the work of entire agencies while gaining access to some of the federal government’s most far reaching and sensitive data systems. Media reports indicate a similar effort may be underway at the Department of Education.”
“We will not stand by and allow this to happen to the nation’s students, parents, borrowers, educators, and communities. Congress created the Department to ensure all students in America have equal access to a high-quality education and that their civil rights are protected no matter their zip code,” continued the lawmakers. “We urge you to provide information on the steps the Department is taking to ensure the continuity of programs that Americans depend on, the ability of the Department to effectively administer programs for their intended purposes without waste, fraud and abuse, and the safeguards in place to protect student data privacy.”
The lawmakers note that Trump and Elon Musk have not shared any plans regarding intended changes to the Department of Education with the Congressional committees responsible for its oversight and funding. In their letter, they request information about access to the Department’s sensitive data and steps taken to safeguard it, communications and details regarding Department employees who have been placed on leave and confirmation that no awards have been blocked or terminated.
Source: United States Senator Peter Welch (D-Vermont)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Wednesday afternoon, U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Senate Finance Committee, convened Vermont businesses for a virtual roundtable to hear about the chaos caused by President Trump’s misguided tariff policies and his Trade War. Earlier this week, the president agreed to pause new 25% tariffs on imports from Canada and Mexico for 30 days, as well as 10% tariffs on imports of oil from Canada—which he had announced days prior, prompting immediate retaliation by Canada and Mexico. President Trump did not pause new 10% tariffs on imports from China. He has also threatened tariffs on imports from the European Union.
“These Trump Tariffs are of enormous concern because of their real practical impacts on enterprises, your companies, on your ability to do your work,” said Senator Welch during the event. “The concerns that I’ve seen and expressed to me by Vermonters are concerns that are being expressed to my Republican colleagues…I think that helps put us in a position to push back and be successful.
“Every single day, I’m going to be thinking about how this impacts you, and on Vermont, because each of you represent a significant part of the Vermont economy, and you certainly represent the Vermont spirit….I want to do everything I can to allow you to continue being successful doing what you’re doing.”
After President Trump’s decision to pause tariffs Canada and Mexico on Monday for 30 days, Senator Welch released the following statement:
“President Trump temporarily backtracking on his Trade War does nothing to give Vermont families, businesses, and farms the economic stability they deserve. Tariffs are taxes, and Trump just made it clear he’s fine with raising taxes on American families,” said Sen. Welch.
Senator Welch was joined by Vermont business owners, dairy and vegetable farmers, maple sugar makers, manufacturers, craft brewers, home heating and energy importers, home construction manufacturing, retailers, bankers, technology leaders, health care experts, transportation industry experts, local and state leaders, and others impacted by tariffs and the president’s reckless economic policies.
During the virtual roundtable, he heard clear concerns from Vermonters, including:
“It feels like death by a thousand cuts.” – Stoni Tomson, a small-scale vegetable farmer in Huntington, VT
“Adding a tariff will either lead to drug shortages in the short term, or long-term significant price increases.” – Jason Williams, University of Vermont Health Network
“If the 25% tariff was applied in full, it would be about a $130,000 – $150,000 unbudgeted hit to our food procurement efforts. And as a charitable organization, we don’t have a consumer to pass along that cost to.” – Jason Maring, Vermont Foodbank
“The ripple-effects that this could have on energy markets, and of course manufacturing, is very heavy.” – Catherine de Ronde, Agri-Mark
“We’re grateful for the pause, and hopeful you can do what you can do to make sure it never comes back.” – Matt Cota, Meadow Hill Consulting
“I’m just concerned in general that it’s going to further stagnate the ability for some of these much-needed construction projects to move forward.” – Matt Cook, PC Construction
“We would be strongly affected by the tariffs in terms of equipment costs for U.S. producers… I’m very concerned with the possible effects of this.” – Dave Folino, Vermont maple producer
“I can foresee this making homes unaffordable—which they already are.” – Denis Bourbeau, Bourbeau Custom Homes
“Our industry has grown in production almost 500% over the last 20 years, and these tariffs would go a long way towards potentially slowing that production.” – Alison Hope, Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association
“That kind of jolt to our budget—there’s just not room.” – Peter Kahn, Sienna Construction
“There’s just so much unknown, and I’m concerned about the impact on our customers—I’m worried that we’ll lose customers…All of this hurts everyone. It makes everything more expensive.” – Ashley Adams, P.G. Adams
“That would basically squeeze us out of the marketplace.” – Melanie Harrison, a small organic dairy farmer in Addison, VT
“Even though the tariffs aren’t in effect, we’re definitely already feeling the effects.” – Elise Magnant, small organic vegetable farmer in Plainfield, VT
“We’re all working on a very slim margin.” – Steve Parkes, Drop In Brewing
Today, Senator Welch will take these stories and the voices of Vermonters to the confirmation hearing for President Trump’s pick for U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Greer, who will lead the President’s tariff strategy.
On Tuesday, Senator Welch took to the Senate floor to blast the proposed tariffs, which would be a tax on Vermonters. Attendees and constituents are invited to share how President Trump’s economic policies will impact their family, farm, or community by sharing their story on Senator Welch’s website.
This event follows a roundtable Senator Welch held in St. Albans on Monday, January 27th, where he heard from businesses and state and local leaders about the President’s threats to reignite a trade war with Canada, Mexico, and China.
In many cases, Vermont manufacturers buy imports from Canada to manufacture into products. However, the ability of Vermont’s small manufacturing businesses to absorb a 25% increase in costs on parts or raw materials is limited. Tariffs on Canada and Mexico could result in layoffs or higher homebuilding costs, increased costs of grain for farmers, and more expensive equipment for maple producers, among other costs that will get passed on to the consumer.
Source: United States Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
Padilla, Sheehy, Hickenlooper, Daines Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Establish Unified National Wildfire Intelligence Center
Modeled after National Weather Service and NOAA Water Center, would coordinate fire response amongst various federal, state, and academic institutions
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As Southern California rebuilds from devastating fires, U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) announced bipartisan legislation to create a national Wildfire Intelligence Center to streamline federal response and create a whole-of-government approach to combat wildfires. The joint office, created between the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Commerce, and the Department of the Interior, would facilitate coordination and information sharing across federal and state departments and agencies, tribal entities, academia, and the private sector on wildland fires.
At the federal level, various departments and agencies have their own fire management goals, firefighters, and jurisdictions on which they respond to fires. The current division of responsibilities leaves gaps for cross-department collaboration and is unnecessarily burdensome. A national Wildfire Intelligence Center would compile comprehensive information on wildfires to better inform and streamline wildfire responses and recovery by providing states with a central command within the federal government. This center would also increase monitoring and imaging capabilities that land management agencies currently cannot achieve.
“The devastating Southern California fires are the latest example of increasingly intense and frequent fires ravaging communities within both local jurisdictions and on federal land,” said Senator Padilla. “Wildfires don’t distinguish between our boundaries, and we can’t afford to be siloed in our response. The scale of the wildfire crisis demands a singular, whole-of-government wildfire intelligence center to foster cross-agency collaboration and save lives.”
“We can all agree that the federal government must do a better job protecting our people, property, public lands, and communities from wildfires, and this bill will go a long way in streamlining our wildland firefighting efforts and best leveraging all available resources to accomplish our shared mission. As the only aerial firefighter in the Senate, I’m proud to be working with folks on both sides of the aisle to deliver commonsense solutions to more effectively fight the devastating threat of wildfires and protect the American people,” said Senator Sheehy.
“Wildfires don’t care about state lines or forest service boundaries,” said Senator Hickenlooper. “A centralized wildfire intelligence center will speed our response to fires and promote cross-agency collaboration to tackle them.”
“As fire season rapidly approaches for Montana, we need all hands on deck to prevent catastrophic disasters. Sharing information and resources between agencies will undoubtedly help Montana communities take preventive measures and better combat fires and coordinate response efforts,” said Senator Daines.
“The Wildfire Intelligence Center established by this bill will harness cutting-edge technology to give decision-makers real-time insights across jurisdictions and landscapes, enhancing coordination at every stage of a fire. The tools to tackle the megafire crisis already exist — this bill brings us closer to putting them in the hands of firefighters and land managers where they can make a real impact,” said Matt Weiner, CEO of Megafire Action. “Senators Padilla and Sheehy understand the urgent need to modernize our wildfire management system, and we look forward to working with them to get this bill signed into law and turn that vision into reality.”
“FAS applauds Senators Padilla and Sheehy for introducing this bill, which would take a crucial step forward in protecting our communities from increasingly severe wildfires. The Wildfire Intelligence Center would bring together expertise at all levels of government to give our firefighters and first responders access to cutting-edge tools and the decision support they need to confront this growing crisis,” said James Campbell, Wildfire Policy Specialist at the Federation of American Scientists.
“APCIA supports the Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act introduced by Senator Padilla (D-CA) and Senator Sheehy (R-MT). This bill reflects the bipartisan recommendations of the Wildland Fire Mitigation and Management Commission to create a joint interagency center to improve fire assessment and prediction in the wildland and built environment. With the risk of catastrophic wildfires increasing, Congress must take action to pass bills like this one that will lead to better land and fuels management, reduce risk to communities, and improve fire management and response,” said David A. Sampson, APCIA’s President and CEO.
Advances in wildfire technology hold great promise, however available technological services are highly fragmented across more than 50 federal programs. Simply put, the technology is available, but the government currently lacks the ability to get these tools in the hands of those who desperately need it, when they need it. The Wildfire Intelligence Center will leverage cutting-edge technology and improve the effectiveness of the many entities engaged in wildfire work.
Specifically, the Wildfire Intelligence Center would study, coordinate, and implement fire suppression and mitigation strategies among the Agriculture, Commerce, and Interior departments, including providing comprehensive assessment and modeling of wildfires to inform response, risk reduction, land and fuels management, post-wildfire recovery, and rehabilitation. This center would be modeled after similar information sharing centers like the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Water Center, which coordinate information sharing to educate people, improve understanding, and foster collaboration amongst various federal, state, and academic units.
The Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act is endorsed by Megafire Action, Federation of American Scientists, Association of FireTech Innovation, Alliance for Wildfire Resilience, Climate and Wildfire Institute, Rural Voices for Conservation Coalition, The Stewardship Project, Tall Timbers, Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, American Forests, Environmental Defense Fund, and American Property Casualty Insurance Association.
Senator Padilla has long been a leader in strengthening the federal and state response to wildfires. Earlier this week, Padilla announced a package of three bipartisan bills to bolster fire resilience and proactive mitigation efforts, including the Wildfire Emergency Act, the Fire-Safe Electrical Corridors Act, and the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act. Last month, he introduced another suite of three bipartisan bills to strengthen wildfire resilience and rebuilding efforts through legislation including the Wildland Firefighter Paycheck Protection Act, the Fire Suppression and Response Funding Assurance Act, and the Disaster Housing Reform for American Families Act. Padilla’s legislation to strengthen FEMA’s wildfire preparedness and response efforts, the FIRE Act, became law in 2022.
A one-pager on the Wildfire Intelligence Collaboration and Coordination Act is available here.
Source: United States Senator for Oklahoma James Lankford
February 6, 2025
Washington, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK), Republican Conference Vice Chair, delivered a floor speech applauding the record-breaking speed of Senate confirmations for President Donald Trump’s nominees. Lankford also pointed to the important work the Secretaries are doing as soon as they are sworn in.
Excerpts
“We have confirmed more people now in the Senate than were confirmed in the first three weeks of the Biden Administration and in the first three weeks of the first Trump Administration combined. That’s because we’ve been willing to be able to run the clock and to be able to press this.”
….
“We started the hearings before the President was even sworn in, to be able to make sure that we’re ready and we’re literally doing hearings in committees, queuing up the next people, even as we’re dealing with the folks that are on the floor, to be able to make sure that we can move as rapidly as possible. This is not just about President Trump. It’s about the United States and about us having a good operation for our government.”
Source: United States Senator Ted Budd (R-North Carolina)
Washington, D.C. — Senators Ted Budd (R-NC) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) have introduced the Incentivizing REPI Sales Act of 2025. The bipartisan, bicameral bill promotes military readiness by encouraging the land around military installations to be preserved for the military to train, test, and operate.
The House companion is led by Reps. Greg Murphy (R-NC) and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA).
Senator Budd said in a statement:
“As the United States confronts new and dangerous global threats, our military must maintain its readiness and lethality through realistic training at home installations. I’m proud to partner with Senator Kaine to encourage additional REPI participation in order to strengthen military readiness.”
Senator Kaine said:
“Our Armed Forces need resilient, modern bases so they can undergo the most realistic and high-quality training. I am a longtime supporter of the DOD’s Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program, which helps meet that goal while simultaneously conserving public lands. This legislation will incentivize participation in this program by creating a tax incentive for property owners who sell land or property for the military to use for training, resilience, and other important purposes. I am proud to work with Senator Budd on this legislation, and I will continue to do everything I can as a Senator representing one of the most military-connected states in the country to support our military installations.”
Dr. Murphy said:
“The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Readiness and Environment Protection Integration (REPI) is essential to our national security and invaluable ecosystems. Avoiding land use conflicts in areas used by our military is imperative to their ability to conduct critical training and maintain readiness. The Incentivizing Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Sales Act supports this successful initiative by incentivizing landowners to participate in this important program when considering the sale of property near military installations.”
Rep. Panetta said:
“Rising land costs are making it more difficult for the military and conservation partners to protect the land around bases. Our bipartisan bill would make it easier to preserve those critical buffers by waiving the capital gains tax for landowners who sell to conservation organizations for Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) projects. By strengthening the REPI Program, we can ensure military installations remain mission-ready while safeguarding the surrounding environment.”
Background:
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration (REPI) Program supports cost-sharing agreements between the Military Services, other federal agencies, state and local governments, and private conservation organizations to avoid land use conflicts near military installations, address environmental restrictions that limit military activities, and increase resilience to weather events and other environmental concerns.
REPI is a key tool used by DOD and its partners to protect the military’s ability to train, test, and operate. Development of lands and loss of habitat near military installations, ranges, and airspace can lead to restrictions or costly and inadequate training and testing alternatives.
Preserving natural areas is vital for keeping skies dark, which is necessary for night training, protecting habitats off-base for endangered species, and facilitating nature-based approaches to mitigate flooding and severe weather.
REPI successfully protected 27,000 acres around Fort Liberty, NC in order to provide a flight corridor for Grey Eagle drone training and conduct Robin Sage, the final training exercise of Special Forces qualification. This action also helped recover the local population of red-cockaded woodpeckers.
The Incentivizing REPI Sales Act excludes the appreciated land value from federal capital gains tax for landowners who sell land or easements near military installations specifically for REPI purposes.
Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $540,000 in federal funding for Floyd County to expand high-speed broadband in the region. The funding was awarded by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments that innovates and invests to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in 423 counties across the Appalachian region.
“This project perfectly highlights the good that federal funding does for our communities,” said the senators. “This funding will bring broadband to Floyd County, expanding job opportunities, boosting the local economy, and supporting individual households. Despite illegal attempts from the Trump administration to sabotage federal funding, including for broadband, public safety, roads and bridges, and more, we will continue to fight for projects like this.”
Specifically, the funding will go towards the Citizens Telephone Cooperative for the Citizens Industrial Park Broadband Expansion Project. As a result of this project, 26,400 linear feet of middle mile broadband network will be constructed to serve 285 businesses with 10Gbps speeds.
Sens. Warner and Kaine have been outspoken about the harm that President Trump’s funding freeze would have had on Virginians and Virginia businesses. Last week, the senators called out President Trump’s order as illegal and costly, less than 48 hours after it was originally issued, the order was blocked by federal courts, and rescinded by the administration.
Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
ICYMI: Senator Murray Stands Up For Federal Workers As Trump and Musk Try To Push Them Out – More HERE; VIDEO HERE
Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, penned the following open letter to all federal workers in Washington state, outlining her serious concerns regarding the so-called “Fork in the Road offer” ahead of the final deadline of February 6, 2025. Murray sent an earlier letter to constituents over the weekend that can be read HERE.
As I’ve expressed previously, I am seriously alarmed by the rhetoric and actions targeting federal workers coming from the Trump administration. At the time of this letter, my colleagues and I are holding the Senate floor in an effort to at least delay the confirmation of Russell Vought to serve as Director of the Office of Management and Budget, someone who has said he wanted to inflict “trauma” on federal workers. You should know that I am firmly committed to standing up for and protecting the workers who have taken an oath to serve the American people.
So, with the deadline fast approaching for this so-called “Fork in the Road” offer, I want to once again reiterate my concerns and share just some of the correspondence I’ve received—because the public should hear these stories.
Here’s why I am skeptical of this likely scam and so-called “buyout”: First, there is no guarantee workers who accept this offer will get paid through September 30th as promised. Not only is there no funding for that time frame right now, but I personally am deeply skeptical of any offer from a President like Donald Trump, who has so consistently shown he will try to stiff workers at every opportunity. Being given only nine days to decide something like this should already be setting off alarm bells. That is a short amount of time to consider all of the financial impacts of potentially accepting the offer—including if and where you’d be able to find a new job, how this would impact benefits like health insurance and retirement, and a lot more. And we all know scammers often pressure people to act immediately.
Additionally, the information being provided continues to change, and includes a lot of caveats. It claims you can rescind your resignation if you change your mind—but that your job may no longer exist. It claims that you aren’t expected to work if you accept the offer—except in cases determined by each individual agency. It claims that you can stay in your current role—however, there is no guarantee your position will be needed. The lack of clear information and resources about exactly what will be allowed is rightfully creating confusion for the more than 56,000 federal civilian workers in Washington state alone.
Here’s what I’m hearing from federal workers in Washington state:
One federal worker told me: “In two days time, I have a choice to make. I can choose to take the buyout offer and hopefully get paid for eight months or stay at my job with hopes that I don’t get fired (and not get paid). Each choice comes with big risk. Risk of losing my career, not finding a job in eight months or being let go when I hoped I wouldn’t… The biggest risk I face is being without a paycheck to provide for my daughters.”
A Hanford worker, who had been recognized repeatedly for their work, wrote to me: “I am a union-protected… hire, yet I am being forced out, along with countless others. I am being pressured to take a ‘buyout’ when I should not have to choose between my career and an arbitrary workforce reduction. I am exactly the kind of employee this agency needs—driven, innovative, and action-oriented… This is not just about me. It is about the gutting of a critical workforce that serves this nation. Federal employees at Hanford dedicate themselves to a mission of national importance. We do not deserve to be discarded.”
Another worker wrote to me: “As a proud military spouse… I am grateful for the opportunity to build a career in civil service while remaining in Washington. Being a remote federal employee has allowed me to stay in my home state, contribute to the local economy, buy a home, and even start a small business with my husband…. However, the last few weeks have tested my hope in our future. The attacks on the civilian federal workforce have left me—and many of my colleagues—deeply concerned about the stability of our jobs and the critical programs we support. I fear waking up one day to find my position eliminated, my role reassigned… These threats are not just personal; they jeopardize the essential services that keep Americans healthy, housed, fed, and safe.”
Another wrote in to say: “As a federal employee who has been through [X] performance appraisals and earned ‘significantly exceeds expectations’ [X] times, I am struggling with being on what feels like the chopping block. I love my job, I work hard and I don’t want to walk away… I’m being forced to roll the dice on continued employment or take the buyout. How is this fair to do to civil servants? […] We need our voices to be heard. We are real people with families to feed and mortgages to pay.”
Here’s from another federal employee: “I purchased my house with the understanding I would be able to telework more often than not. I am [X] years into my public service student loan forgiveness, and it seems unlikely I will receive a discharge at ten years. My coworkers, who I respect and treasure, are being terrified and maligned for doing necessary jobs no one else wants to do.”
And my office has just been inundated with calls from federal workers, lifelong Washingtonians who are deeply concerned about the future of their jobs, deeply confused about what to do, and unsure what information they can trust—or where to go for help.
With that in mind, some resources for federal workers on the “Fork in the Road” letter that may be helpful include:
Finally, here is my message to federal workers in Washington state and all over the country: You do so much for our communities. And you all deserve so much better than to have a billionaire with no real understanding of what you do come in, belittle your work, suggest he can do it better, and push you out the door. I want to express my sincere gratitude for all you do—I hope you all will keep up the good work for the American people, and I want you to know, I will keep fighting for you as well.
Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and James Lankford (R-Okla.) introduced a bipartisan resolution to express support for international religious freedom as a fundamental right and a cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy amid concern over increased attacks on religious freedom worldwide. This effort is cosponsored by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.). This bill was previously introduced in the 118th Congress.
In just the past two years, there have been thousands of incidents where religious freedom was violated around the world, including violence against Rohingya Muslims in Burma, attacks on Uyghurs in China, and persecution of clergy by Russians in Ukraine, according to the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF). In 2023, USCIRF identified more than 2,200 individuals—Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, and Sikhs alike—targeted by 27 different countries and entities for their religious beliefs. As of 2024, there are 96 countries with legislation criminalizing blasphemy used to enforce arbitrary limitations on religious freedoms.
The resolution urges the State Department to expand its support for religious freedom around the world as threats and violence worsen. This effort would leverage all diplomatic and sanctions tools available to hold violators of religious freedom accountable and would encourage the State Department to promote religious freedom as a central tenet of U.S. foreign policy implementation.
“As Co-Chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, I have fiercely defended the religious freedom of all Americans, but our work can’t stop at home,” said Senator Coons. “Whether you’re a member of a religious minority or a non-believer, far too many people around the world are unfairly targeted and even persecuted for their beliefs and practices. I’m proud to once again lead this bipartisan effort to highlight the importance of promoting religious freedom for our nation’s foreign policy and standing.”
“The fundamental right of every person to have a faith, live your faith, change your faith, or have no faith at all must be recognized throughout the world. Countries like China, Russia, and Iran continue to target and persecute citizens for living this most basic freedom. The United States must continue its international leadership to defend religious freedom, which is why we are reaffirming our commitment to fight for religious freedom around the world,” said Senator Lankford.
“In 1786, the Virginia General Assembly passed a statute instituting religious freedom in the Commonwealth, establishing the basis of religious freedom for the whole of the United States. Today, individuals throughout the world who live in countries where religious freedom is threatened or non-existent see the U.S. as a beacon of hope that people of all beliefs can live in the same neighborhoods, attend the same schools, and work side by side,” said Senator Kaine. “Amid the horrifying rise in attacks on faith-based communities, I’m joining my colleagues in sending a clear message that we must work together to protect religious freedom in every corner of the globe.”
“The United States must maintain our steadfast commitment to standing up for religious liberty,” said Senator Tillis. “This resolution expresses our unwavering support for victims of religious persecution and reaffirms our support for safeguarding religious freedom worldwide.”
The full text of this resolution is available here.
Senator Coons and Senator Tillis are Co-Chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus.
Source: United States Senator for Kansas Roger Marshall
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. and Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the Silencers Helping Us Save Hearing (SHUSH) Act, a bill to eliminate the excessive regulation of firearm suppressors. The bill seeks to simplify the purchase process for law-abiding citizens and reduce unnecessary bureaucratic obstacles. The SHUSH Act has garnered the support of the National Association for Gun Rights, Gun Owners of America, the National Rifle Association, and the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
“The misinformation around silencers has led many to fear and misunderstand this valuable tool,” said Senator Marshall. “Silencers help gun owners across America protect their hearing and safely exercise their Second Amendment Right – restricting access to a safety tool for gun owners just doesn’t make sense. By treating silencers the same as any other firearm accessory, this bill will protect Americans’ Second Amendment rights and encourage safe firearm usage.”
“Despite what Hollywood may lead you to believe, silencers aren’t silent, and they aren’t just for secret agents,” said Senator Lee. “They are a vital tool for hearing protection for countless marksmen and gun enthusiasts across America, and making them prohibitively difficult to obtain is an assault on the 2nd Amendment. The SHUSH Act eliminates federal regulation of silencers and treats them as the non-lethal accessory that they are.”
Background
Suppressors, commonly known as silencers, are non-lethal firearm accessories widely used by hunters, sportsmen, and marksmen. These devices enhance safety by reducing noise, recoil, and muzzle blast. Contrary to popular belief, they do not completely silence firearms.
Currently, the process to legally acquire a suppressor involves an extensive and burdensome procedure through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), including:
Completing two copies of ATF Form 4
Filling out ATF Form 5330.20 Certification of Compliance
Obtaining certification from a local chief law enforcement officer and two copies of fingerprints
Submitting two passport photos and a $200 check to the ATF
This approval process can take 9-12 months, making the purchase of a suppressor prohibitively complex and costly for many consumers
The SHUSH Act aims to:
Eliminate federal regulation of suppressors as firearms under the National Firearms Act (NFA) and the Gun Control Act (GCA).
Remove existing taxes, fees, and registration requirements associated with suppressors.
Allow current or retired law enforcement officers to carry concealed firearms with suppressors.
Preempt state regulations on the manufacture, transfer, transport, or possession of suppressors.
Strike provisions requiring mandatory minimum sentences for suppressor possession in certain cases.
Exempt suppressors from regulation by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Provide a provision for a refund of the $200 transfer tax for anyone who purchased a suppressor within two years prior to the enactment of the bill.
If passed, the SHUSH Act will work alongside the Hearing Protection Act to further deregulate suppressors and remove them from the Gun Control Act of 1968.
Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
Legislation Now Moves To Full Senate For Consideration
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee approved the Illegal Red Snapper and Tuna Enforcement Act. The bipartisan bill, authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to develop a standard methodology for identifying the country of origin of red snapper and certain species of tuna imported into the United States. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) co-leads the bill.
“Seafood that’s caught illegally or intentionally mislabeled rips off consumers and makes it harder for law-abiding U.S. fishermen to compete. Our bill will help fight against anyone who tries to pass off cheap foreign tuna for high-quality ahi from local Hawai‘i fishermen,” said Senator Schatz.
“The Hawai‘i fishing and seafood industries support Senator Schatz and the Commerce Committee’s legislation to prevent IUU products from entering US seafood markets. US fisheries, including the Hawai‘i Longline fishery, are among the most regulated in the world and we appreciate Congress taking steps to protect domestic fishermen and our markets. Hawai‘i-landed tuna is known for its sustainability and quality and the ability to detect tuna origin to deter seafood fraud is important and we are very appreciative of this effort,” said Mike Goto, Director of the United Fishing Agency.
Technology exists to chemically test and find the geographic origin of many foods, but not for tuna and red snapper. The legislation aims to develop a field test kit that can be used to accurately ascertain whether fish were caught in U.S. or foreign waters, thus allowing federal and state law enforcement officers to identify the origin of the fish and intercept illegally caught or falsely labelled red snapper and tuna before it enters the U.S. market.
WASHINGTON – Today, the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, led by Chair Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), advanced the nomination of the Honorable Kelly Loeffler to serve as the Small Business Administration (SBA) administrator by a vote of 12-7.
“For the last four years, small businesses were failed by an ever-growing and burdensome bureaucracy,” said Chair Ernst. “As a successful business leader, Kelly Loeffler is the perfect person to increase transparency and accountability at the SBA and prioritize the needs of small businesses. She will unshackle and unleash Main Street!”
Last week, Ernst discussed fixing the broken SBA with Loeffler and refocusing the agency on its mission to empower entrepreneurs and unleash the small business economy.
Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation unanimously passed the bipartisan Hotel Fees Transparency Act by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Jerry Moran (R-KS), co-chairs of the Senate Travel and Tourism Caucus and members of the Senate Commerce Committee. This legislation will lower costs and improve transparency by requiring anyone advertising a hotel room or short-term rental to clearly show the final price a customer will pay to book lodging, including any fees.
“Traveling is expensive, and hidden fees make it difficult to compare prices and understand the true cost of a reservation,” said Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan bill will lower costs for hotel rooms and short-term rentals by increasing transparency and banning hidden fees.”
“High prices are forcing Kansans to account for all their expenses, and many cannot afford to pay hidden fees at hotels or short-term lodging,” said Moran. “This commonsense legislation requires hotels to be straightforward about all their fees so consumers aren’t burdened with unexpected costs on their check.”
The Hotel Fees Transparency Act is co-sponsored by Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV). It is endorsed by the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Consumer Reports, the National Consumers League, and the Travel Technology Association.
Klobuchar has long led efforts to protect consumers and support the travel and tourism industry. In May 2024, a number of Klobuchar-backed provisions passed the Senate and were signed into law as part of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Reauthorization Act, including the Families Fly Together Act, a bill with Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) to require airlines to allow children to sit together with their family members on flights at no additional charge.
Source: United States Senator for Alabama Tommy Tuberville
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) celebrated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by participating in several events and interviews to promote his bill, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. Sen. Tuberville reintroduced his hallmark Title IX legislation—which is cosponsored by 37 of his colleagues—in the Senate last month. Companion legislation passed the House on a bipartisan basis in January.
Sen. Tuberville also praised President Trump for his leadership in signing an Executive Order today to protect women’s sports and restore Title IX protections for women and girls everywhere. While Senator Tuberville is grateful for President Trump’s commonsense leadership, he insists Congress has to pass his bill to ensure Title IX protections are made permanent. Sen. Tuberville discussed this earlier this week on “The Megyn Kelly Show” when he said, “A lot of people don’t realize that an Executive Order […] only lasts as long as that president’s there. So, we got some work to do. […] As you said—we’ve got to get it to the floor. John Thune told me he’s going to get it to the floor. […] If it’s not going to pass, we’ll do it again, but we’ve got to get people on the record because this is something that’s very dear to the heart of all parents across the country—and it’s dead wrong.”
When White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about this earlier today, she said, “It’s incredibly important that Congress immediately act on this priority. I think the President is really setting the tone—making this an immediate priority for this administration, just as he promised to do on the campaign trail.”
Sen. Tuberville also commemorated National Girls and Women in Sports Day by reintroducing the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act to prohibit any governing body recognized by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) from allowing men to participate in any women’s Olympic athletic events.
Tuberville Joins “The Faulkner Focus”
Sen. Tuberville joined Harris Faulkner on “The Faulkner Focus” to discuss the latest with the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, as well as his efforts to protect women’s Olympic sports.
Read an excerpt from the interview below or watch here.
FAULKNER: “This Executive Order that Trump is getting ready to put in play comes as today we recognize National Girls and Women in Sports Day. Also on this day, Senator, you are reintroducing that bill called the Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act. This is an effort to ensure that Trump’s protections are permanent. Tell us about it, Senator.”
TUBERVILLE: “Exactly, and you know I started coaching 40 years ago—right when Title IX started. And, Harris, let me tell you something. This is the best thing that this place has ever done. It gave young girls and women a different opportunity to build on leadership and have a future. And, so, this past four years—gender has been under attack. Parents have been under attack. Education has been under attack, and it all goes back to trying to not define what a woman is, and they can’t even define that. They’re telling us right now that men can have babies. So, at the end of the day, I’m giving a speech on the floor today. Leader Thune has promised he’s gonna put this bill on the floor sooner or later. This is my third time that I’ve had this up for a vote. The Democrats don’t want anything to do with it, but I gotta feeling a lot of them are gonna change their mind. And then at three o’clock, President Trump’s going to sign the Executive Order. But as you said, if when he goes out of office, if we don’t get a Republican back in there, this will change back into the gender nonsense that these Democrats have been pushing for the last four years. We have to protect women and girls in sports. And we also have to protect women and girls in Olympic sports because we have the Olympics coming here soon. And if we don’t do that, we’re gonna see men boxing against women like we did this past summer.”
Tuberville Speaks on Senate Floor
Senator Tuberville also delivered a floor speech where he called out Democrats’ out-of-touch, woke ideology that says men can get pregnant and boys should compete in women’s sports.
Read excerpts from the speech below or watch the full speech here.
“I’m here to call for a vote on my legislation, S.9, the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act, that would save Title IX and save women’s sports. Today is National Girls and Women in Sports Day—that’s today. To celebrate, President Trump will sign an Executive Order this afternoon in the White House ending Democrats’ intentional destruction of Title IX and saving women’s sports.
I’m very thankful for his leadership on this. President Trump’s Executive Order will make sure women’s sports are protected for at least the next four years. But unfortunately, Executive Orders can be reversed. Congress needs to act on this to make sure the next Democrat administration, whenever it is, can’t take the same steps to destroy Title IX that the Biden administration took. For the past four years, the Biden administration waged an all-out assault on gender. Since the beginning of time, people have agreed that sex is assigned at birth and determined by God. But under the Biden administration, you had people claiming that men can get pregnant. Here on this floor, I heard that. Pure insanity.
But it didn’t stop there. They weren’t content to just erase gender norms that have been accepted for thousands and thousands of years. No. They wanted to allow transgender men to participate against women and girls in sports. This has been happening at schools all across the country. Young women have been forced to compete against men and even share locker rooms and showers. And on top of that, your taxpayer dollars are paying for this nonsense. Over the past several years under the Joe Biden administration, 900 women’s medals have gone to men. 900. That is absolutely wrong.
This one is personal for me. My first coaching job was in women’s basketball—years ago. Title IX was just starting to be implemented when I took that first job. I saw firsthand the immediate difference it made. Before Title IX, at a lot of schools, college women’s athletics didn’t really exist. Back then, there were more than 10x as many male athletes in college as female athletes. After Title IX, that quickly changed. For the first time, the young women I coached had equal access to facilities, resources, and competition. I saw these hardworking young women go on to earn college scholarships, start careers, and become leaders of our country. I still keep in touch with many of these young women today, and I’m deeply proud of them.
Looking back on it now, I wonder if they would have had the same opportunities without Title IX. Would they have had the same successes if they had had to compete against males 40 years ago? This really shouldn’t be controversial. It’s just common sense. A recent poll from the New York Times of all publications showed 79% of all Americans believe men should not compete in women’s sports. 79%.
President Trump campaigned largely on this issue. If you remember, his campaign spent nearly $20 million dollars on TV ads about the importance of keeping men out of women’s sports. So, on November 5, 2024 the American people didn’t just elect President Trump. They also decisively rejected this ridiculous notion that men can get pregnant and boys should compete against women in sports. Ridiculous. And they definitely didn’t want their tax dollars funding schools that allow boys to share locker rooms with girls.
My bill would prevent a school from receiving any federal funding if they let boys compete in women’s sports. It also defines gender [as] male and female for this purpose. I was glad to see President Trump sign an Executive Order defining gender during his first few days in office. The President also made it clear in the Executive Order that he wants Congress to take action on this as well because he understands it can go away with the sign [of] an ink pen.
That’s why today I’m also reintroducing a bill to prohibit men from competing in women’s Olympic sports because men competing against women at any level is dangerous. We are all deeply disturbed—all of us were deeply disturbed this past summer to see videos of boys and men boxing against women. You know, when I was growing up, we were taught never to hit a girl, but I guess that’s over now because of the Democrats. One study found out that males can punch up to 162% harder than females. Somebody is going to get killed or seriously injured if we don’t stop this absolute nonsense. It’s unsafe, it’s unfair, and it’s just plain wrong.
The Protection of Women in Olympic and Amateur Sports Act will make sure men aren’t allowed to compete against women in any sport, but especially not in a violent sport like boxing. This bill will restore fairness for the American women who train their whole lives to represent our country on the world stage. Their entire lives, they train. I know we’re all looking forward to the United States hosting the Summer Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles. I hope our bill [has] been passed and signed in law long before that so we can all enjoy some healthy, safe women-against-women or men-against-men competition during those Olympics.
But this huge issue goes way beyond politics. I’ve heard from parents, student, teachers, and coaches all over the country about this. These are people who have personally seen the benefits of Title IX and are very concerned about Democrats’ attempts to take these opportunities away from women and girls.
There are countless stories of girls who have benefited from Title IX in my state of Alabama.
This includes athletes like Rachel Argent of Thorsby High School in Chilton County, Alabama. Rachel’s athletic ability and good grades drew the attention of college coaches across Alabama. […] Because of her talent and work ethic, Rachel received basketball scholarships to Faulkner State Community College in Bay Minette, Alabama. After [getting] her degree, she got a softball scholarship at Samford University. That scholarship […] put her on the right direction. […] She didn’t have to worry about landing a full-time job while she went to school and participated in sports. […]
After college, Rachel returned to Thorsby High School as a teacher and a coach. She wanted to give back to the school what she had gotten from Title IX. She taught Health and Physical Education for grades kindergarten to twelve. She coached girls’ softball, basketball, track, and volleyball. She made an impact on hundreds of girls across our state of Alabama. It was all made possible again by Title IX.
Rachel’s daughter, Addie, played softball, tennis, golf, and basketball at Chilton County High School. She got a gold scholarship to the University of Mobile where she graduated with a degree in Nursing. Her athletics scholarship was part of her getting a degree and becoming a nurse. There are countless other young women like Addie and Rachel across Alabama and every other state across the country. More than 50,000 young women in Alabama alone competed in high school sports this past year, 50,000. Every single one of them deserves the full benefit of fair competition.
And I’m grateful that every member of the Senate Republican leadership is a cosponsor of my Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act. They’ve been very supportive. Leader Thune is a proud cosponsor of my bill, and I’m glad to have his support. Leader Thune is committed to scheduling a vote on this bill and putting every Democrat on the record on whether or not they support men competing in women’s sports. We brought this bill to the floor for a vote during the last Congress. Really, we brought it twice, and every single Democrat always voted against it. What does that tell you?
Leader Thune has not rescheduled it for a vote yet this congress. Right now, we’ve obviously got a lot of things to do with [confirming] President Trump’s cabinet. Then we get started on the reconciliation process and getting the American economy jumpstarted again. We have a lot to accomplish in the first 100 days of the Trump administration, and I hope this bill is part of that 100 days.
President Trump will sign an Executive Order again today banning men from competing in women’s sports. Let’s lock that commitment in. Let’s lock it in for young girls and women all across this country. Let’s bring this bill to the floor for a vote very soon so the Senate can send it to the President’s desk and make this permanent.
To my Senate colleagues who are on the fence about this, I would ask—do you have daughters? Do you have granddaughters? Do you have nieces? Would you want them competing against men in sports? Would you feel comfortable with them sharing a locker room with a biological male?
I’m excited to welcome my first granddaughter in a couple weeks, Rosie Grace. I would raise hell if she was forced to compete, dress, or use the same showers as men. And American taxpayers should not be forced to foot the bill for any schools that are allowing this to happen. The days of woke, swamp politicians running our government are over. Common sense has been restored to the White House, and Congress needs to get back to work and let President Trump work on this bill.
This isn’t about politics. This is about right and wrong. The American people have delivered a verdict. They want men out of women’s sports and women’s locker rooms.
President Trump is 100% with us on this. The time to act is now. It’s time to restore Title IX protections and save women’s sports.”
Tuberville Attends White House Executive Order Signing
Sen. Tuberville went to the White House for President Trump’s signing of an Executive Order restoring Title IX protections for women and girls everywhere. During his speech, President Trump shouted out Sen. Tuberville for all of the work he has done to champion women’s sports in Congress and throughout his coaching career.
The President also shouted out 3x Superbowl Champion Patrick Mahomes, whom Coach Tuberville recruited when he was at Texas Tech University.
“And Tommy Tuberville [is here], a great coach,” said President Trump. “You know, his quarterback was named ‘Mahomes.’ He was a great college coach and I said ‘How good was he?’ and he said, ‘You don’t wanna know how good—he made me into a great coach.’”
Tuberville Joins Kudlow from White House
Following the Executive Order signing, Sen. Tuberville joined “Kudlow” on Fox Business live from Pebble Beach at the White House.
Read excerpts from the interview below or watch here.
KUDLOW: “No more biological men in women’s sports. Wow. Big signing today by President Trump. Joining us now to talk about it is Alabama Senator, Tommy Tuberville. Senator Tuberville, good to see you, sir. Tell us about the signing. Tell us what was in the signing, if you would.”
TUBERVILLE: “Well, it’s been too long happening, Larry. It’s just unfortunate—for the last four years we’ve had to put up with this nonsense of biological boys and men participating in women’s sports. Not just in sports here, but also in the Olympics. It was a great day. Had a lot of people there [for the] Executive Order putting a stop to it, but we’ve gotta permanently do it. I’ve got a bill that’s the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act that we’ve got. Hopefully, we get it on the floor soon where we can make it permanent. There’s no reason in the world why men and boys should be able to participate in women’s [sports]. It’s just wrong, it’s dangerous. And, you know, it’s just a great day that we finally got this done.”
KUDLOW: “Senator Tuberville, you mentioned the Olympics. So, good question—how will the Olympic Committee look at this resolution? Will they abide by it? Will they fight it? What do you anticipate, sir?”
TUBERVILLE: “Well, you got to remember, Larry. This is gonna be in L.A. the next time they have it. President Trump mentioned that. The Olympic Committee, two years ago, decided to let each sport decide what they wanted to do and how they wanted to handle it. Unfortunately, boxing let men participate against the women and it was terrible—it really was. Somebody’s gonna get hurt. And so, hopefully, they come to their senses. President Trump will probably get involved in this—with the Olympic Committee, knowing him. And hopefully, we can get all men and boys banned from any kind of [women’s] sports in the Olympics. It’s just not fair.”
KUDLOW: “You know, it’s so ironic to me, Senator, politically. For all these years, going back to, I’m gonna say, Gloria Steinem in the 1970s—over 50 years. The Democratic Party said it was the party to defend women. Okay? But in recent years, as you well know, with the trans movement and so forth and biological men now being allowed to play in women’s sports, etcetera, etcetera. All of a sudden, the Democrats are in favor of that and are wrecking women’s sports and treating women athletes, female athletes incredibly unjustly? I mean, how do you figure that? Do they see the stupidity of this whole story or not?”
TUBERVILLE: “Yeah. They see it. They just won’t admit it. The problem they have, Larry, is they’ve lost the middle class. They have no support anymore. […] They’ve lost their base. They’re not going back. They’ve really gotten so far out there, Larry. You know, even the Democrats [think men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports]. A lot of Democrats voted for President Trump because of this one issue that the Democrats kept pushing.”
Senator Tommy Tuberville represents Alabama in the United States Senate and is a member of the Senate Armed Services, Agriculture, Veterans’ Affairs, HELP, and Aging Committees.
Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
February 05, 2025
Durbin releases new report that highlights the health harms from federal freeze of the MMWR, a critical scientific update which has been released by the CDC every week since 1961 until now
WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) released a staff report that examines the impact of the Trump Administration’s federal communications freeze on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). The report reveals new findings about information that has been stifled by the cessation of the MMWR, including timely bird flu updates, and provides important assessments from public health leaders about the consequences of the Trump Administration’s freeze.
Since January 13, 1961, CDC has—without fail—published weekly issues of the MMWR, the agency’s routine update to doctors, health departments, researchers, and the public about infectious disease outbreaks, emerging health findings, and urgent new health care updates. Information from the MMWR provides timely research and analyses of public health threats, including the latest reports from the CDC’s disease detectives. For decades, the weekly report published every Thursday, and provided unbiased, science-based information to identify critical new information for the health care community.
On the report’s release, Durbin released the following statement:
“Viruses do not take a break because the President slaps a gag order on our public health agencies. Outbreaks are not contained because scientists are ordered to stop talking about them. Doctors, health care providers, and the public all benefit from the release of critical and timely health information. Without it, we will see preventable suffering and death,” said Durbin. “The Trump Administration must immediately resume the timely, objective, and scientific publication of the CDC’s MMWR reports, without any political meddling, by releasing the next MMWR issue tomorrow.”
Key findings and takeaways from Durbin’s report include:
Critical quotes and testimonials from public health practitioners in local communities who were co-authors on two separate studies that had been slated to be published in the January 23, 2025, issue of the MMWR before it was blocked;
Analyses from former CDC officials, leading epidemiologists, and disease prevention experts about the impact of the MMWR moratorium, including impacts for the historic ongoing tuberculosis outbreak underway in Kansas, the avian influenza, and fentanyl crisis.
Halting the publication of MMWRs has occurred in tandem with an unprecedented purge of public health data from the CDC’s website, which occurred within the last week and removed extensive collections of datasets used by researchers and public health officials to address vaccinations, HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, tuberculosis, suicide, tobacco use, violence, and other health threats. The tampering of this data was ostensibly to comply with President Trump’s Executive Order to remove mentions of gender, accessibility, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. These actions could have profound consequences for public health interventions.
On February 4, 2025, a federal lawsuit was filed by a group of physicians seeking to restore the websites and data removed from the CDC’s website, among other sources, arguing that the purge creates a “dangerous gap” in information available to track diseases and diagnose their patients.
For a PDF copy of Durbin’s report, click here.
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Source: United States Senator for Illinois Dick Durbin
February 05, 2025
Durbin: Placing Mr. Vought in charge of OMB would be irresponsible
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today joined Senate Democrats in speaking out against President Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), Russell Vought. In a speech on the Senate floor, Durbin outlined why Mr. Vought is unfit for the job, including his actions as Director of OMB during the first Trump administration and his part in crafting Project 2025— a policy proposal written by a conservative think tank outlining a sweeping, extreme vision forAmerica.
“Mr. Vought has been nominated by President Trump to run this agency… its job is to oversee federal agencies and administer the federal budget. Most of the time, when we are called on to evaluate nominations, we do our best to take a look and review the nominee’s qualifications and experience,” Durbin said. “But for Mr. Vought, there is no need for imagination. He already has served as Director of OMB during the last half of President Trump’s first term in office, and I believe he proved who he was in that period of time.”
Durbin continued, “When he served as Director of OMB during President Trump’s first term, Mr. Vought illegally refused to release hundreds of millions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine and delayed $20 billion in disaster aid for Puerto Rico… And when he left that role, Mr. Vought went on to become a key architect of ‘Project 2025’—a policy proposal written by a conservative a think tank outlining a sweeping, extreme vision for America’s future. Project 2025 included policies to consolidate power in the executive branch and undermine critical services that the federal government provides to the American families.”
During his speech, Durbin also slammed the Trump Administration for their decision to issue an OMB memo last week to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligation or disbursement” of trillions of dollars of Federal financial assistance, which caused mass confusion about the funding and operations of hundreds of government-funded programs ranging from Medicaid, to Head Start, to Violence Against Women Act grants.
Shortly before the federal funding freeze was set to begin, U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. Alikhan, who was confirmed under Durbin’s tenure as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, temporarily blocked the move by the Trump Administration. Another judge issued a temporary restraining order blocking President Trump’s measure. The Trump Administration rescinded the memo but claimed that the federal funding freeze would still take place.
“This latest attempt to put a sweeping freeze on federal funds is far from the first time Mr. Vought has broken the law and undermined Congress’s power of the purse that is set forth in the Constitution. It is clear from Mr. Vought’s comments and actions that he has contempt for Congress as a co-equal branch of government,” Durbin said. “It is appalling that so many of my Republican Senate friends voted to advance his nomination as he actively attempts to strip Congress of our Congressional authorities.”
Durbin continued, “We [Democrats] are not opposing Mr. Vought solely because he poses a threat to our ability to do our jobs in Congress. Mr. Vought has made it clear that he is targeting working families across the country. Both in his previous tenure as OMB Director and in policy proposals, Mr. Vought has proposed budget cuts that slash the social safety net for resources for tax cuts for the wealthy.”
Durbin concluded, “To my Republican colleagues—for the sake of the institution in which we work, the constituents we were elected to serve, and the constitutional foundations of our nation, please don’t vote for Mr. Vought. Maya Angelou once said: ‘When someone shows you who they are…believe them the first time.’ Well, from his tenure running OMB to his authorship of Project 2025, Mr. Vought has shown us exactly who he is and what he believes. He is a man with little respect for the Constitution and limited understanding of the plight of real working Americans. Giving Mr. Vought the reins of OMB is an invitation to a policy battle at the expense of our Constitution.”
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.
Source: United States Senator for Virginia Tim Kaine
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA), a member of the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, alongside Tom Cotton (R-AR) introduced the Focus on Learning Act, legislation that would require the Surgeon General to complete a study on the effects of cellphone use in K-12 classrooms on students’ mental health, educational outcomes, and academic performance.
The senators first introduced the legislation in 2023. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order for cellphone-free education in Virginia, which went into effect on January 1, 2025.
“We need to do more to ensure students can excel in the classroom, and part of this means digging into how cellphone use in schools is impacting students’ mental health and their ability to learn and form relationships with their peers. I’m glad to join my colleagues in introducing this bipartisan legislation to provide us with more information on cellphone use, so schools and parents can make the best decisions to set kids up for success. I’m also glad that our work on this issue has already generated interest at the state and local level around the nation,” said Kaine.
The Focus on Learning Act would authorize $5 million annually to fund a pilot program over the next five years. Schools participating in the pilot program would be required to have a communication system in place that allows teachers, administrators, and staff to communicate with local emergency responders. The legislation would require a report on the findings of the pilot program to be submitted to Congress and made publicly available. The legislation would allow exceptions for students who have a disability, need mobile devices to monitor or treat health conditions, or are learning English as second language for translation purposes.
The bill is cosponsored by Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).
Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee unanimously passed the Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025, legislation to reauthorize the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Brownfields program, and the Strategies to Eliminate Waste and Accelerate Recycling Development (STEWARD) Act, legislation to improve our nation’s recycling and composting systems.
The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025 wasintroduced by U.S. Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Chairman of the EPW Committee, and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), andthe STEWARD Act was introduced by Chairman Capito, and U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the EPW Committee, and John Boozman (R-Ark.).
The Brownfields Reauthorization Act of 2025:
“Rural and underserved communities lack the resources needed to compete with larger entities, putting them in an unfair position. Our bill streamlines the application process to level the playing field. The legislation also modernizes the program’s grant amounts to match current construction costs and project sizes, aligning them with the reality of doing business today,” Chairman Capito said.
“Cleaning up brownfield sites can be costly and burden our local communities,”Senator Blunt Rochester said. “The Brownfield Reauthorization Act will help us reduce environmental hazards, spur economic development, and support the health and safety of our people. I’m proud to lead this bill alongside Chair Capito, and I’m also honored to carry on the work previously championed by my predecessor, former Senator Carper. Delaware will benefit from this legislation, and I hope to see it signed into law.”
A one-pager of the legislation is available here.
The STEWARD Act:
“For too many Americans, recycling remains out of reach – either because facilities don’t exist in their communities or because the infrastructure to make recycling economically viable is not in place. The STEWARD Act aims to close these gaps by ensuring that recycling services are accessible to all communities. The bill also recognizes that, to solve a problem, you need to measure and understand it first. The data provisions in the STEWARD Act will empower decision-makers to track progress, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions that will drive real change in our nation’s recycling systems,” Chairman Capito said.
“We are living through a plastic pollution crisis: it’s accumulating in our food, in our water, and in our bodies, and it’s threatening people’s health,” Ranking Member Whitehouse said. “I’m proud to join Chairman Capito and Senator Boozman to lead the STEWARD Act, which is an essential preliminary step in reducing the amount of plastics seeping into our bodies and environment. Recycling is a stopgap in the rising flood of plastic waste, and I look forward to working with my colleagues—on both sides of the aisle—to tackle this issue on all fronts.”
“Strengthening our commitment to recycling in order to preserve the resources we are blessed with, as well as spur economic growth and encourage industry innovation, benefits all Americans,” Senator Boozman said. “I am proud to see the STEWARD Act advance with bipartisan support as we continue our efforts to encourage sustainable recycling infrastructure systems and practices.”
A one-pager of the legislation is available here.
BACKGROUND:
The Brownfields Reauthorization Act unanimously passed the EPW Committee last Congress in September 2023. The STEWARD Act is the combination of the Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act of 2023 and the Recycling and Composting Accountability Act, which both unanimously passed the EPW Committee last Congress in April 2023 and passed the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent in March 2024.
Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
02.05.25
Cantwell Votes NO On Advancing Trump’s Pick to Lead Commerce Department
Lutnick supports Trump’s tariffs & waffled on his commitment to allocate chips funding & preserve NOAA; In WA state, every 2 in 5 jobs are tied to trade
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, voted against advancing Howard Lutnick, President Trump’s nominee to be Secretary of the Department of Commerce, to the full Senate for consideration.
In a committee markup today, Sen. Cantwell expressed her concerns with Lutnick’s support for President Trump’s proposed tariffs. She also pointed to Lutnick’s failure to commit to fully allocating the funds approved by Congress under the Cantwell-led CHIPS & Science Act, as well as his waffling on whether he’d protect NOAA – including NOAA’s crucial missions and functions, and the workforce delivering those services to the American people.
Sen. Cantwell had previously questioned Lutnick on these topics in a committee hearing last week – video of that hearing is HERE.
ON TRADE & TARIFFS
“Tariffs and trade wars are a major problem for my state, where two out of every five jobs are tied to trade-related industries,” Sen. Cantwell said in today’s committee meeting. “The Commerce [nominee] has said he’s advocating for the president’s policy [that] would cost my constituents $5 billion or more. We need a secretary that understands that these products and these issues need coalition building, not throwing down gauntlets that will lose jobs for my farmers.”
Yesterday, Sen. Cantwell delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling for the United States to repudiate the trade philosophy of Trump — whose proposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico and 10% tariff on goods from China would spark a trade war, drive up costs for American consumers, harm domestic businesses across hundreds of industries, and compromise the United States’ global leadership in the free trade ecosystem. A video of that speech is HERE; a transcript is HERE.
In Washington state, two out of every five jobs are tied to trade and related industries. In 2023, the state imported $19.9 billion of goods from Canada – primarily oil, gas, lumber, and electrical power — making our northern neighbors Washington state’s largest trade partner. Also in 2023, the state imported $1.7 billion in goods from Mexico, including motor vehicles, vehicle parts, and household appliances. More information about how President Trump’s proposed tariffs will impact businesses and consumers in the State of Washington is HERE.
ON CHIPS & SCIENCE FUNDING
“Over the last four years, there has been much investment in infrastructure [for] manufacturing that this committee has supported. Semiconductor expansion — $450 billion right here in the United States, thanks to the CHIPS & Science Act — and Mr. Lutnick, in various answers to various members of the committee, did not give a full commitment to making sure this money continues to go out the door,” Sen. Cantwell said in today’s committee meeting.
Sen. Cantwell was the main architect and key negotiator of the CHIPS & Science Act. In her position as Commerce chair, she was instrumental in securing the science R&D funding authorizations in the 11th hour of negotiations. A key component of the legislation is the Regional Technology and Innovation Hubs (Tech Hubs) program that was authored by Sen. Cantwell to strengthen U.S. economic and national security with investments in regions across the country. Earlier this month, the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Center (AAMMC) in Spokane was awarded $48 million from the program to establish the first-of-its-kind testbed facility in the United States focused on developing advanced thermoplastic materials – new types of lightweight, heat-moldable, and recyclable materials that can replace metal in aircraft parts. The AAMMC will serve as the nation’s hub for creating and testing these innovative materials that are essential for more rapidly building fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly aircraft.
ON DISMANTLING NOAA
“[NOAA] makes up more than 60% of the Commerce budget. When asked for the record if NOAA should be dismantled, as called for in [Project 2025], Mr. Lutnick would only say, if confirmed, he would figure it out. Given how central NOAA is for providing accurate weather forecasting, managing our fisheries, protecting our fishermen from Russian and Chinese illegal fishing, I was looking for a stronger commitment,” Sen. Cantwell said today.
Project 2025 calls for NOAA to be “dismantled and many of its functions eliminated,” calling it part of the “climate change alarm industry.” NOAA provides critical services to the Nation including weather forecasts, extreme storm tracking and monitoring, tools to enable communities to adapt to sea level rise and climate change, supporting fisheries management, and conserving marine mammals and other protected species.
Sen. Cantwell is a champion of NOAA and helped secure $3.3 billion in NOAA investments in the Inflation Reduction Act to help communities prepare for and adapt to climate change, boost science needed to understand changing weather and climate patterns, and invest in advanced computer technologies that are critical for extreme weather prediction and emergency response. Her Fire Ready Nation Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen NOAA’s ability to help forecast, prevent, and fight wildfires, passed the Commerce committee unanimously today and now heads to the full Senate for consideration.
Video of Sen. Cantwell’s remarks on her Lutnick vote is HERE; audio is HERE; and a transcript is HERE.
Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell
02.05.25
Cantwell Calls For Immediate Hearings on DOGE Treasury Access
Joins letter from 19 Senators to Republican leaders of Senate Finance, Senate Banking committees
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Finance and ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, joined fellow members of the Senate Committee on Finance and of the Senate Banking Committee in sending a letter to Finance Chair Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID) and Banking Chair Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), requesting immediate hearings about reports that officials associated with Elon Musk gained access to sensitive U.S. Treasury payment systems.
“The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion in annual payments to households, businesses and other entities nationwide,” the lawmakers write. “Putting this system in the hands of unaccountable political actors raises significant economic and national security risks.”
“We ask that the Finance Committee and Banking Committee swiftly schedule hearings to allow Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to answer critical questions about the risks posed by Musk and DOGE’s access to the Bureau of Fiscal Service’s payment systems,” the lawmakers conclude.
On Sunday, Sen. Cantwell released a statement regarding reports that Musk and his DOGE team had accessed these systems: “This threatens the privacy and funds owed to every American taxpayer and Social Security recipient. Congressional Republicans cannot continue to turn a blind eye as to how their own constituents’ private financial records are handled,” she said.
The full text of the letter is HERE and below:
Dear Chairman Crapo and Chairman Scott:
We write requesting that the Committee on Finance and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs immediately hold hearings to examine reports that officials associated with Elon Musk and the so-called U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) have gained access to systems that control payments to millions of American citizens, including Social Security, Medicare, tax refunds, and payments to small businesses.1 It is critical that the Senate understands this threat to the stability of a payment system that millions of Americans rely upon and that is critical to America’s global financial standing.
The Treasury Department’s Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s payment systems control the flow of more than $6 trillion in annual payments to households, businesses and other entities nationwide. These payment systems cover 87% of all federal payments and process more than a billion payments annually and are responsible for the distribution of Social Security and Medicare benefits, tax refunds, payments to federal employees and contractors, including competitors of Musk-owned companies, and thousands of other functions.
Putting this system in the hands of unaccountable political actors raises significant economic and national security risks. Information in these systems is critical to the Department’s management of the national debt. The takeover by Mr. Musk and his associates was achieved by engineering the ouster of a key official responsible for managing the extraordinary measures the Department has been taking to avoid a default. A misstep with these payment systems could lead to a technical default with a wide range of devastating consequences, from seniors missing Social Security payments to a global financial meltdown that costs trillions of dollars and millions of jobs.
Furthermore, granting access to Mr. Musk and his team – who may not have appropriate security clearances – access to this system risks exposing the sensitive tax and financial information of nearly every American. The Treasury payment system “includes sensitive personal information about the millions of Americans who receive Social Security checks, tax refunds and other payments from the federal government.” It is not clear why these individuals were granted unfettered access to such data, what they could do with it once inside the system, and what protections are in place to ensure the Department has been complying with its legal obligations under the Privacy Act, 26 U.S.C. 6103, as well as other statutes and Treasury regulations and policies that protect such sensitive information about millions of Americans.
Finally, we are deeply concerned that following the federal grant and loan freeze earlier this week, as well as Musk’s own comments on social media, officials associated with Musk may have intended to access these payment systems to illegally withhold payments authorized by law, and to circumvent the court orders prohibiting that freeze from going into effect. We ask that the Finance Committee and Banking Committee swiftly schedule hearings to allow Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to answer critical questions about the risks posed by Musk and DOGE’s access to the Bureau of Fiscal Service’s payment systems.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Resolution Text (PDF)
Washington (February 5, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Senate co-chair of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, today introduced a resolution to recommit the United States to arms control agreements to prevent a new nuclear arms race, one year before the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) between the United States and Russia will expire. Unless a new agreement is in place by early 2026, there will be no legal limits on U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear forces, reversing decades of work to reduce the risk of nuclear war. Representatives Bill Foster (IL-11), John Garamendi (CA-08), and Don Beyer (VA-08) are leading the resolution in the House. Reps. Garamendi and Beyer are the House co-chairs of the Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group.
“The Trump administration has an historic opportunity to initiate high-level talks for a new pact and prevent a dangerous and costly nuclear arms race,” said Senator Markey. “I urge President Trump to work with Russia to replace New START and to talk with China about arms control. We are just one year away from losing New START and with it, all legal limits on Russian nuclear forces. There is no time to wait.”
“As a physicist, preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons has always been one of my top priorities,” said Representative Foster. “Russia’s suspension of the New START Treaty and Putin’s rhetoric about the potential use of nuclear weapons in Ukraine should have the entire international community on high alert and should serve as the impetus for us to pursue substantive nuclear arms control dialogue. American leadership is desperately needed to prevent escalation and avoid an unrestrained nuclear arms race.”
“For far too long, nuclear weapons have threatened our country. Our leadership has long recognized that arms control is the most effective way to ensure American security. In today’s environment, it’s more important than ever that we begin to treat arms control with the same dedication we give our nuclear modernization and begin a constructive dialogue for a New START Treaty. We must strive for a more peaceful future, one without the existential threat of nuclear weapons,” said Representative Garamendi.
“Now more than ever, it is absolutely critical that we redouble our commitment to nuclear nonproliferation,” said Representative Beyer. “The New START treaty is our last major nuclear arms control agreement, and with rising instability overseas the ingredients are there for a runaway nuclear arms race that endangers us all. This resolution demonstrates broad bicameral support for a renewal of New START and further arms control talks with other nuclear arms states that will help avert the potential global catastrophe that is a nuclear exchange.”
On May 17, 2024, the Working Group co-chairs led their colleagues in a letter to President Joe Biden urging support for commonsense limits on the world’s two largest nuclear stockpiles, and to continue renewed efforts to restart arms control talks with the Russian Federation and other nuclear states.
Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey
Bill Text (PDF) | Watch: Senator Markey’s Remarks
Washington (February 5, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension (HELP) Committee’s Subcommittee on Primary Health & Retirement Security, along with Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), today reintroduced the Right to Contraception Act, legislation that would create a statutory right to obtain and use contraceptives and ensure health care providers have a right to provide contraceptives, contraception, and share information about this essential care. The legislation is led by Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) in the House.
In July 2022, the Right to Contraception Act passed the House (220-195). That same month, Republicans blocked an attempt in the U.S. Senate to pass the bill by unanimous consent. They did the same in June 2023. In June 2024, Republicans blocked Senate Democrats’ attempt to pass the bill on the floor.
“The right to contraception is essential for people’s freedom to make decisions about their lives and their health without politicians getting in the way,” said Senator Markey. “Contraception is essential not only for sexual and reproductive health, but also to treat a wide array of medical conditions and decrease the risk of certain cancers. The Right to Contraception Act will protect the right for people to get contraception and for providers to give it in the face of President Trump and Republicans’ relentless attacks on reproductive justice.”
“I am proud to introduce the Right to Contraception Act in the 119th Congress in response to the real threats to accessing birth control in Texas and across our country,” said Congresswoman Fletcher. “With 200 original co-sponsors in the House, the Right to Contraception Act reflects the position of the vast majority of Americans who rely on contraception of all kinds to plan their families and their lives. Efforts to restrict access to birth control are not about reflecting the will of the people, they are about taking away the freedom, dignity, and autonomy of all Americans. As a representative from a state intent on taking our reproductive rights away, I will continue to work with my colleagues in Congress and do everything I can to protect and restore the health, privacy, dignity, and autonomy of women and families across our country. We will not give up.”
“Contraception is essential health care that millions of people across the country rely on,” said Senator Hirono. “The Right to Contraception Act simply protects patients’ right to access contraception, as well as providers’ right to provide it. I’m proud to join Senator Markey and Representative Fletcher in reintroducing this important bill. The right to control your own body, free from government interference, is as fundamental as it gets, and we’ll continue doing everything we can to protect the reproductive rights of all Americans.”
“Ever since the Supreme Court threw out Roe v. Wade, we’ve seen extreme MAGA Republicans across the country work to roll back health care and tear reproductive freedom away from Americans—which has cruelly threatened birth control, plan B, IUDs and other forms of contraception,” said Senator Duckworth. “I refuse to let my daughters grow up in a world with fewer rights than I had. As MAGA Republicans continue their anti-choice, anti-science crusade, it is as important as ever that the Senate acts to codify the right to contraception into law so that every American in every state—regardless of their skin color, zip code or income—has equal access to basic, necessary health care. I’m proud to join Senators Markey and Hirono in reintroducing our Right to Contraception Act to do just that.”
“Nobody wants Donald Trump rifling through their medicine cabinet,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-05). “Democrats’ Right to Contraception Act is as clear-cut as it gets. This is about the health, freedom, and dignity. Republicans once again have a chance to show us where they stand: on the side of health care bans or on the side of the American people.”
“Affordable, accessible contraception is one of the building blocks for people to be able to make ends meet and get what they want out of life. And now that the Supreme Court has eliminated the constitutional right to abortion, Republicans at every level of government are targeting contraception access – including by threatening to gut Medicaid, the country’s biggest payer of reproductive health care coverage like contraception. We will keep fighting to pass the Right to Contraception Act to keep the government out of our business and out of our exam rooms,” said Congresswoman Sara Jacobs (CA-51).
“It feels like every day we wake up to someone trying to take away another fundamental right. We have an extremist president, a submissive Republican Congress, and a radical Supreme Court that wants to undo decades of progress. That means it is up to us to protect the rights we once believed were secure—including access to contraception,” said Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05). “I am co-leading the Right to Contraception Act to protect the millions of people who use contraception every day to safeguard their health, the health of others, or manage medical conditions. We must continue to protect the freedom to make personal healthcare decisions.”
“Access to birth control should be a given, but with extreme Republicans chipping away at women’s reproductive rights by the day, we have no choice but to enshrine this protection into law,” said Congresswoman Angie Craig (MN-02). “I will always stand up for our fundamental rights and freedoms, and that’s why I’m proud to be co-leading the Right to Contraception Act.”
“Everyone, no matter their ZIP code, should be able to get the birth control they need, when they need it. At a time when reproductive freedom is under attack across the country, this bill will help people make their own health care decisions and get birth control without government interference. We’re grateful to Sens. Markey, Hirono, and Duckworth and Reps. Fletcher, Jacobs, Craig, and Williams for reintroducing the Right to Contraception Act and for their continued leadership in the fight to make sexual and reproductive health care more accessible. Now is the time to safeguard birth control for our freedom and well-being,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Action Fund.
“Republicans promised on the campaign trail that they wanted to protect contraception, but there isn’t a single Congressional Republican who has signed on to the Right to Contraception Act. Actions speak louder than words and refusing to back this commonsense bill is a refusal to listen to what voters overwhelmingly support across party lines. No matter what they say, Republicans never had any intention of protecting the fundamental right to contraception. Thank you to Senators Markey, Duckworth, and Hirono and Representatives Fletcher, Craig, Williams, and Jacobs for introducing this essential legislation, and to all of our champions in Congress for reaffirming their commitment to protecting reproductive freedom,” said Mini Timmaraju, President and CEO of Reproductive Freedom for All.
“The Right to Contraception Act is a vital safeguard for the fundamental freedom to make personal health decisions. As a physician, I see daily how contraception empowers patients to protect their health, plan their families, and shape their futures. Rep. Fletcher’s leadership in advancing this legislation is critical to securing this essential right for all Americans,” said Dr. Dara Kass, Emergency Medicine Physician and Board Member for Americans for Contraception.
“As an OB-GYN, I’ve seen firsthand that the right to birth control is essential for the well-being of my patients, their families and their communities. For nearly six decades, birth control has allowed millions of people to manage health conditions, plan if and when to have children and achieve their career and educational aspirations. Not surprisingly, birth control is incredibly popular and those who attack it are spreading misinformation and disinformation in order to justify their attacks. If policymakers truly mean what they say regarding support for contraception, there is no clearer way to meaningfully demonstrate that support than by co-sponsoring and passing the Right to Contraception Act,” said Dr. Raegan McDonald-Mosley, MD, MPH, CEO of Power to Decide.
“Threats to contraceptive access are on the rise—misinformation, distortion of science, funding cuts, restrictions on young peoples’ access, and more. Plus, the network of family planning providers who deliver reproductive health care to thousands is facing unprecedented attacks. Contraception helps people who want to have a baby have well-timed, healthier pregnancies, and more agency in their relationships, education, work life, and finances. That’s why Americans overwhelmingly support contraceptive access. Congress must meet the moment and enshrine the right to contraception into law,” said Clare Coleman, President and CEO of the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association.
“The Right to Contraception Act is needed now more than ever as an essential safeguard to protect birth control rights and access. President Trump and extremist members of Congress, state legislators, and judges have all made it clear — they are intent on going after contraception. In just the last two weeks, President Trump unraveled efforts to expand access to birth control, and critical guidance on prescribing contraception has vanished from federal websites. And we are seeing more targeted efforts against birth control in state legislatures, the courts, and on social media. This legislation is critical to push back against these attacks and ensure everyone maintains the right to access the birth control they need, when they need it,” said Gretchen Borchelt, Vice President for Reproductive Rights and Health at the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC).
The Right to Contraception Act is endorsed by Power to Decide, National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Women’s Law Center, Guttmacher Institute, Reproductive Freedom for All (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice America), Population Connection Action Fund, Americans for Contraception, Advocates for Youth, National Partnership for Women & Families, American Public Health Association, American Humanist Association, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health , Center for Biological Diversity, Ibis Reproductive Health, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Upstream USA, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, National Health Law Program, SIECUS: Sex Ed for Social Change, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, Reproductive Health Access Project, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Upstream USA, In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, Center for American Progress, National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum, All* Above All, and Center for Reproductive Rights.