Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

05.19.23

Cantwell Announces Major New Sustainable Aviation Fuel Investment in Washington State

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation applauded SkyNRG’s decision to construct a major new sustainable aviation fuel production facility in the State of Washington.

“It’s no surprise that Washington state continues to lead the way in the aviation sector,” said Sen. Cantwell. “Investing in sustainable aviation technologies is critical to maintaining aviation sector growth and high wage jobs while meeting our emission reduction goals. I appreciate the region’s continued support for the sustainable aviation fuel investments we were able to secure last Congress and look forward to building upon this progress in the upcoming FAA Reauthorization bill.”

Sen. Cantwell has been a strong advocate for sustainable aviation and has worked on several legislative initiatives including securing $297 million for the Sustainable Aviation Fuel and Low-Emissions Aviation Technology Grant Program, now known as the Fueling Aviation’s Sustainable Transition (FAST) program, which was enacted in the Inflation Reduction Act. She also partnered with her Senate colleagues to introduce the Sustainable Skies Act in 2019, a version of which was also incorporated in the Inflation Reduction Act to provide a robust new tax credit to increase the supply and bring down the cost of sustainable aviation fuel. Recently, Sen. Cantwell joined a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen expressing continued support for implementing the sustainable aviation fuel tax credit as intended to effectively scale up the domestic production of sustainable aviation fuel.

Sen. Cantwell, along with Washington state aviation and environmental leaders including SkyNRG, Climate Solutions, and the Port of Seattle, pushed for the inclusion of the SAF grant program and SAF blender’s tax credit in the Build Back Better package at a press conference held at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in October 2021.

Last August, Sen. Cantwell brought U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport to tell her about the progress our region is making on sustainable aviation fuels.

As Senate Commerce Committee Chair, Cantwell will lead Congressional efforts this year to reauthorize the FAA and increase the adoption of low-emission and innovative aviation technologies for cleaner, quieter, and more affordable air travel.

Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

05.19.23

NASA Selects Washington’s Blue Origin to Help Land Astronauts on the Moon for Artemis V Mission

The “Blue Moon” landing system will allow astronauts to carry out exploration activities on the Moon’s South Pole for Artemis V mission

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, announced that the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has selected Kent-based Blue Origin to develop the human landing system for NASA’s Artemis V mission to the Moon.

“There’s a new space race going on and we’re proud that Washington companies are going to help us win it by putting more Americans on the Moon and placing us on stronger footing to get to Mars,” Senator Cantwell said. “Two years ago, the Senate, the NASA Administrator, safety experts, and a group of retired astronauts all knew the importance of maintaining competition in the Artemis program. Today’s decision finally applies a best practice developed over many space programs: increasing competition and having a backup plan makes our astronauts safer and protects the taxpayer.”

On the Artemis V mission, four astronauts will be launched into lunar orbit aboard the Orion Spacecraft using the NASA Space Launch System (SLS). Two astronauts will then transfer to the human landing system, to be developed by Blue Origin, for a weeklong trip to the Moon’s South Pole region to conduct science and exploration activities. NASA astronauts Kayla Barron and Anne McClain, both Washington natives, are among the people under consideration to go the Moon for future Artemis missions.

According to NASA, adding another human landing system partner to NASA’s Artemis program will increase competition, reduce costs to taxpayers, support a regular cadence of lunar landings, further invest in the lunar economy, and help NASA achieve its goals on and around the Moon in preparation for future astronaut missions to Mars.

The Blue Origin led National Team (with Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Draper, Astrobotic, and Honeybee Robotics as partners) estimates that this contract directly supports more than 3,000 jobs nationwide including more than 1,000 jobs in Washington state.  It provides more than $7 billion in investment across the nation with Blue Origin providing significant savings to the government by investing over 50% of the cost share. This investment includes more than $700 million with small businesses and will support the diverse and robust aerospace supply chain required to maintain US leadership in space. To date, Blue Origin has spent more than $1 billion with companies in Washington State across all its programs and this contract will significantly increase the company’s work with Washington suppliers.

The following nine companies are official partners and suppliers to the Blue Origin National Team:

1. Baker Manufacturing Inc, Tacoma, WA;
2. Electroimpact Inc, Mukilteo, WA;
3. Janicki Industries Inc, Sedro Woolley, WA;
4. Machine & Fabrication Ind LLC, Kent, WA;
5. Machine Repair & Design Inc, Sumner, WA;
6. Machinists Inc, Seattle, WA;
7. McNeeley Mfg, Auburn, WA;
8. Motion Industries, Tukwila, WA; and
9. Specialty Metals Corporation, Kent, WA

42 Washington companies are providing services or components for the Artemis missions to return to the Moon, including General Dynamics in Bothell, Aerojet Rocketdyne in Redmond, HI REL Laboratories in Spokane, and Toray Composite Materials in Tacoma.

In November 2019, Senator Cantwell co-sponsored the bipartisan NASA Authorization Act of 2020, which aimed to recognize the Artemis missions in U.S. law for the first time. To provide certainty and stability for the program, language authorizing the Artemis program and requiring NASA to establish stringent oversight requirements was eventually incorporated into the CHIPS & Science Act, which Cantwell spearheaded through Congress. The CHIPS & Science Act was signed into law on August 9, 2022.

Sen. Cantwell has been a tireless supporter of the Artemis program. In 2021, one year before successful passage of the CHIPS & Science Act, Sen. Cantwell urged her colleagues on the Senate floor to support the investments required by NASA to ensure the proper redundancy needed for the human landing system:

“The American taxpayers invest too much in these space programs not to apply these lessons about the importance of resiliency and redundancy. The same lesson should be applied to the programs developed here as we approach this new project to land people back on the Moon,” said Sen. Cantwell. “These are complex systems with multiple components that need to work together to the get astronauts down to the lunar surface and back safely. Building in resiliency and redundancy increases NASA’s chances of successfully landing humans on the Moon and bringing them home safely.”

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Source: United States Senator for Wyoming John Barrasso

CASPER, WY – U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) joined U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), in introducing legislation to make tax relief for small businesses permanent.

The Main Street Tax Certainty Act will support small businesses, help create jobs, and strengthen our economy. The tax is set to expire at the end of 2025 if Congress does not act to make it permanent.

“Small businesses are the backbone of Wyoming’s economy. Burdensome tax regulations make it harder for owners to grow their business and create more job opportunities,” said Senator Barrasso. “Providing this much-needed tax relief will give small businesses certainty and avoid massive tax hikes that threaten the future of these businesses.”

This legislation is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (Tenn.), Jim Risch (Idaho), Bill Cassidy (La.), Roger Marshall (Kan.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Mike Braun (Ind.), Bill Hagerty (Tenn.), Chuck Grassley (Iowa), Tim Scott (S.C.), Ted Cruz (Texas), Roger Wicker (Miss.) and Kevin Cramer (N.D.).

Background:

• Pass-through businesses represent 98 percent of all businesses and employ approximately 50 percent of American workers. The Main Street Tax Certainty Act would help grow the economy and provide much needed certainty for small business job creators by making permanent the 20 percent pass-through deduction. Absent congressional action, these businesses will face a massive tax hike and will likely be forced to reduce wages or eliminate jobs.
• The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act created Section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code, which allows pass through businesses to deduct up to 20 percent of qualifying income. The deduction is currently slated to expire at the end of 2025. Through making this deduction permanent, this legislation ensures that millions of Main Street businesses continue to maintain tax parity with large corporations.
• The bill has received significant support from over 130 stakeholder groups, including the National Association of Manufacturing, S Corporation Association, National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the American Farm Bureau Federation, the National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA), the Independent Community Bankers Association of America and the National Beer Wholesalers Association.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) reintroduced bipartisan legislation today to support the use of technology to help close the gap in maternal health care and address the racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality outcomes.

The Tech to Save Moms Act invests in and promotes the integration and development of telehealth and other digital tools that can help reduce maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity. The legislation is based on a recommendation from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that indicates that the usage of digital tools, including an expansion of remote patient monitoring and promoting virtual training and capacity, plays a critical role in addressing specific challenges patients and providers are facing, especially in underserved communities.

“Before the pandemic, New Jersey had one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the country and alarming racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated barriers to equitable maternity care,” said Sen. Menendez. “The Tech to Save Moms Act will allow us to leverage new technologies to improve the integration of telehealth services in maternal health care, combat implicit biases, and ultimately reduce disparities in maternal health outcomes.”

“The mortality rates for expectant mothers throughout the United States are far too high,” said Sen. Sullivan. “In Alaska, this challenge is even more severe for mothers who live in our remote communities, hundreds of miles from the nearest health care facility. New, emerging digital tools can enable a provider to assess mothers wherever they are, improve health outcomes, and bring down unacceptably high rates of maternal mortality. I am excited to join Senator Menendez in reintroducing this legislation to utilize the best in technology today to keep moms healthy and save lives throughout America and Alaska.”

The Tech to Save Moms Act is included in the Black Maternal Health Momnibus Act, recently introduced by Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Congresswoman Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.-14). This sweeping package includes twelve bills to end maternal mortality and to close racial and ethnic disparities in maternal health outcomes.

“Access to equitable maternal health care is a pressing issue that requires innovative solutions,” said Sen. Booker. “This bill recognizes the transformative potential of technology to reduce maternal mortality and address racial disparities in maternal health outcomes. By investing in telehealth and digital tools, we can overcome barriers to care, combat implicit biases, and ensure that all mothers, regardless of their location or background, have access to quality healthcare.”

The Tech to Save Moms Act will:

1. Require the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation to consider models that improve the integration of telehealth services in maternal health care
2. Provide funding for technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity building models that will develop and disseminate instructional programming and training for maternity care providers in rural and underserved areas, covering topics such as:
   1. Safety and quality improvement
   2. Addressing maternal mental and behavioral health conditions
   3. Identifying social determinants of health risks in the prenatal and postpartum periods
3. Establish a grant program to promote digital tools designed to improve maternal health outcomes, particularly in rural and underserved communities
4. Commission a comprehensive study on the use of technology in maternity care to reduce maternal mortality, morbidity, and disparities

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 700 women die each year in the United States due to pregnancy or delivery complications, and Black, Native American and Alaska Native women are two-to-three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. According to the 2021 Nurture NJ Strategic Plan, Black women in New Jersey from 2014 to 2016 had approximately seven times more pregnancy-related deaths (46.9 per 100,000 live births) than white women (6.5 per 100,000 live births).

As defined by the CDC, Severe Maternal Morbidity (SMM) is the unexpected outcomes of labor and delivery that result in significant short- or long-term consequences to a woman’s health. New Jersey’s SMM rates are among the highest in the U.S., according to a 2020 report by the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH). In 2018, rates of SMM among New Jersey Black, non-Hispanic women were nearly three times greater than those of non-Hispanic white women.

In 2021, Sens. Menendez and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) first introduced the Tech to Save Moms Act to reduce the mortality rate among new and expectant mothers in the U.S. by providing innovative emerging digital tools that can assess mothers wherever they are located – no matter how remote, and regardless of their socioeconomic status.

The Tech to Save Moms Act is supported by more than 180 organizations, including the American Academy of Nursing, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Nurses Association, American Telemedicine Association, Association of Black Women Physicians, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, MomsRising, National Organization for Women, National Urban League, National Women’s Law Center, New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute, Partners in Health, and Protect Our Care.

“As part of our longstanding commitment to expanding access to care for underserved communities, the ATA and ATA Action proudly stand behind the Tech to Save Moms Act, introduced by telehealth champions, Senators Menendez and Sullivan, to improve the maternal health outcomes for rural and underserved populations,” said Kyle Zebley, senior vice president, public policy, American Telemedicine Association, and executive director, ATA Action. “This bipartisan legislation leverages virtual care to assist in bridging gaps in maternal healthcare, including testing telehealth models in maternity care services, providing grants to expand technology-enabled collaborative learning and capacity models to help pregnant and postpartum women, and authorizing grants to increase access to digital tools.”

For a copy of the bill text click HERE.

Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

GREENBRIER COUNTY, W.Va. – Today, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) traveled to Greenbrier County for visits focused on health care services and economic development in the region.

First, Senator Capito visited the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, W.Va. During the visit, Senator Capito toured the facility and provided remarks at the facility’s open house event, which was to celebrate Vandalia Health’s (CAMC and Mon Health) acquisition of Greenbrier Valley Medical Center. The hospital employs nearly 200 people, and has a 122-bed capacity with both in and outpatient care.

“It’s great to see the good work that the professionals at Greenbrier Valley Medical Center are doing every day,” Senator Capito said. “This hospital has offered world-class healthcare to West Virginians for nearly 90 years, and I am proud to see them building on their success to create a better future and better care for West Virginians.”

“We are so grateful for the senator attending this celebration,” David Ramsey, president and CEO of Vandalia Health, said. “Sen. Capito, has been a long-time supporter of health care and hospitals in West Virginia and helping us further our mission of providing the highest quality care, close to home.”

Later in the afternoon, Senator Capito traveled to Maxwelton, W.Va. where she toured Smooth Ambler Distillery. During her visit, Senator Capito saw firsthand the distilling, aging, and serving process at the facility that has been practiced and mastered across generations of American distillers.

“People like the dedicated distillers and friendly staff at Smooth Ambler are integral to the culture of West Virginia, and make our state proud,” Senator Capito said. “Their passion, attention to detail, and customer service make you feel right at home and I’m excited to see how they extend their operations in and around West Virginia as they continue to preserve the tradition of being a distiller.”

“We are proud today to share with Senator Capito how Smooth Ambler continues to source locally and sustainably as we honor our strong West Virginia heritage – a heritage we are proud to share with whiskey lovers across America,” Travis Hammond, Director of Operations at Smooth Ambler Distillery, said.

Photos from the events are included below:

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) visits the Greenbrier Valley Medical Center in Ronceverte, W.Va. on Friday, May 19, 2023.

U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) tours Smooth Ambler Distillery in Maxwelton, W.Va. on Friday, May 19, 2023.

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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski

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Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

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Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

Washington — Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) joined more than 20 of his colleagues led by Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) in reintroducing the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and in Emergency (SECURE) Act, legislation to allow qualified TPS recipients to apply for legal permanent residency.

TPS is a temporary, legal immigration status granted to foreign citizens who are endangered by conditions in their home country resulting from extraordinary events such as ongoing armed conflict, environmental disaster, or epidemic. TPS status is granted for set periods ranging from six to 18 months, requiring the Department of Homeland Security to extend a country’s status on a recurring basis. Each time a country is recertified, recipients must reapply and pass a thorough background check. Currently, there are approximately 670,000 people with TPS in the United States.

The SECURE Act is needed now more than ever in light of the pending decision in Ramos v. Nielsen in the Ninth Circuit. In that case, beneficiaries of TPS and their U.S.-citizen children challenge the Trump administration’s termination of protections for individuals from El Salvador, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Sudan, and later for Nepal and Honduras. Though the Biden Administration has since re-designated TPS for Haiti and Sudan, it has not done so for the other four countries. Without executive action, an adverse ruling in this case would result in the potential deportation of thousands of TPS recipients from these four countries who have built lives, started businesses, and raised families in the United States to countries facing ongoing violence and instability.

The SECURE Act will provide long-term stability for these individuals and their communities by giving them the ability to apply for legal permanent residency. Under the bill, all TPS recipients who were qualified under the most recent TPS designation and who have been continuously present in the United States for at least three years would be eligible to apply for legal permanent residency.

Additionally, under the SECURE Act:

• A spouse, domestic partner, child, or unmarried child of a qualifying non-citizen would be eligible to obtain permanent resident status (upon meeting certain requirements).
• Individuals with a pending TPS application will receive work authorization and be eligible for travel authorization.
• Non-citizens who have a pending application or is prima facie eligible for permanent status under the bill and intends to apply are shielded from deportation.
• Information from an applicant’s application may not be shared or used for immigration enforcement purposes, with limited exceptions, such as for the identification of fraudulent claims.
• DHS must report to Congress when terminating a country’s TPS designation with an explanation to justify the termination. 

Senator Markey was joined by Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) in reintroducing the SECURE Act alongside Senators Van Hollen, Cardin, and Feinstein.

Bill text can be viewed here.

This legislation is endorsed by the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), CASA, United Workers Party, TPS Alliance, and Working Families United.

“LIUNA commends Senators Van Hollen, Cardin, and Feinstein on their continued leadership in working to protect Temporary Protected Status (TPS) recipients with the re-introduction of the Safe Environment from Countries Under Repression and Emergency (SECURE) Act. Many thousands of union members in the construction industry have Temporary Protected Status. The SECURE Act would allow these valued members of our union to remain in our country. The bill would protect workers from all TPS designated nations, and their immediate family members, who have had a continuous presence in the U.S. The bill will also give them a path to legal permanent resident status as well as eventual naturalization. Thousands of union members have lived and worked in our country for years under TPS, paying taxes while supporting their families. Approximately thirty percent of TPS recipients work in the construction industry. These workers build America every day and are vital to our nation’s economy. LIUNA is proud to endorse the SECURE Act and urges the Senate to bring this legislation to the floor for passage immediately,” said Brent Booker, General President, LIUNA.

“This critical legislation recognizes the urgent need to protect and provide a path to permanent residency to those most in need. The SECURE Act not only upholds our values of compassion and fairness but also acknowledges the invaluable contributions our community has made to society. CASA stands in strong support and looks forward to continuing to work alongside Senator Van Hollen to ensure that those who have sought safety and stability in our country can build a secure future for themselves and their families,” said Gustavo Torres, Executive Director, CASA.

“Despite the political challenges in congress TPS migrant families continue to advocate for a pathway to residency. The National TPS Alliance encourages any legislative vehicle that will guarantee our permanent residency and bring justice to our immigrant community. Today’s reintroduction of the SECURE Act in the Senate serves as a confirmation of our advocacy. We applaud Senator Van Hollen’s allyship in this effort and hope to see other congressional leaders support this legislation,” said Mardoel Hernandez, TPS recipient from Honduras and National TPS Alliance Executive Committee Member.

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