Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin

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Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

Click here or the image above to watch Ranking Member Capito’s opening remarks from the committee hearing.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee held its second hearing of the year on the need to substantively reform America’s broken permitting and environmental review processes.

On May 4, Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) and John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Ranking Member of the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced two bills to streamline the process for infrastructure, transportation, and energy projects, lower prices for consumers, and make it easier to build in America.

Below is the opening statement of Ranking Member Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) as delivered.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman. And thank the three of you for being here today and for what you do every day for this country, appreciate that.

“We’re holding this hearing today to discuss a priority for both of us and many of us: modernizing and improving America’s permitting process.

“Americans are dealing now with rampant inflation, breakdowns in supply chains, and aging, inadequate infrastructure.

“They are struggling with higher costs and less reliable infrastructure to heat and cool their homes, keep the lights on, get to school and work.

“The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was born out of this Committee, was designed to address many of these challenges, by funding the buildout of more road, bridge, drinking water, and wastewater projects, and making the United States less reliant on other countries to meet its basic needs.

“A year-and-a-half later, we are now seeing that implementation of that legislation, as well as that of the CHIPS and Science Act, and even legislation that I did not support, the Inflation Act, all running into the same challenges that have dogged infrastructure development for years.

“It comes as no surprise to those of us who have been in and around this space for a while, and that is why I have consistently called for statutory reforms to the federal environmental review and permitting processes, including most recently in the RESTART Act that I introduced two weeks ago joined by most of my Republican colleagues on this Committee.

“The processes have become a bureaucratic, confusing maze.

“Even if a project sponsor successfully makes it through, or even if they make it through three different times under administrations of both parties, as with the Mountain Valley Pipeline in my state, they often hit more roadblocks, litigation.

“Activists opposed to building any new projects are standing at the ready with a lawsuit to add further delays and costs in the hope of killing a project or inflicting so much pain that a project sponsor will give up, eliminating jobs, tax revenues, and economic resilience in the process.

“As even John Podesta, the president’s senior advisor, acknowledged at an event last week, ‘We got so good at stopping projects that we forgot how to build things in America. It’s been this way for a while.’

“The red tape, regulatory hurdles, and endless court battles faced by businesses slow and sometimes altogether stop critical projects.

“Ultimately, it is the American people who pay.

“We sometimes hear defenders of the broken system claim that “most” projects make it through the environmental review, permitting, and litigation just fine, but that torturing of the data sort of misses the point.

“The projects that are getting held up longest and Martha Williams mentioned this yesterday in her testimony, are those that are the most transformative and provide the most widespread benefits.

“These are the big-ticket projects, the ones that would provide affordable energy to a whole region of the country, create new construction jobs and permanent positions in manufacturing, or connect rural communities with new roads.

“Those aren’t examples pulled out of thin air.

“The Mountain Valley Pipeline, the Nucor steel mill, and Corridor H, are examples of each type of project being held up by bureaucracy or litigation, and those are just pulled from my home state.

“I want to thank all of you for coming here today, I look forward to hearing from them on their ideas.

“However, I am concerned that your agencies are at best beautifying the existing processes with nice-sounding policy pronouncements that do nothing, or are actively making the situation worse with more regulation and delay, disguised as guidance to avoid an actual rulemaking process.

“Despite its rhetoric and vested interest in seeing those investments succeed, I have not seen the administration do anything to actually address the challenges that I have outlined.

“More than a year ago, your three agencies announced a ‘Permitting Action Plan.’

“It then took your agencies ten months to release guidance, in the form of a 13-page memo, to begin to implement that plan.

“It took ten months to come up with a plan for the plan.

“Within a month after that memo was released, federal agencies were supposed to provide you with their own “Action Plans” to implement that guidance by April 5.

“Ms. Mallory, we talked about this on the phone the other day. I spoke with you about these documents. And you indicated that the administration does not intend to make those plans publicly available. I think it’s important for us to hear what agencies have proposed to CEQ, OMB, and FPISC to improve the permitting process as we continue our legislative efforts.

“We’ve tried for years in prior infrastructure laws to solve these problems with increased coordination and aspirational timelines, but as we sit here today the problems persist and those solutions haven’t worked.

“That is why we need specific legislation, we cannot waste another year as delays, and high inflation all reduce the impact of these investments.

“To truly modernize our environmental review and permitting processes, we must actually amend the underlying statutes like NEPA, the Clean Water Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

“We need enforceable deadlines on environmental reviews, not “goals” and soft aspirational schedules that can be changed on a whim by agencies that require constant oversight to achieve.

“Most importantly, we need to modernize these processes for all types of projects.

“Pitting renewable projects against fossil, pipelines against transmission, even different transportation projects against each other, will not strengthen our economy nor benefit our environment, but only lead to more political bickering in Congress and among industries jockeying to be favored in the process.

“From on-shoring new manufacturing and domestic critical mineral projects to roads, bridges, gas pipelines, transmission lines, our permitting problems affect all sectors of the economy, and therefore our international competitiveness and national security.

“Also, we need judicial reform to end the vicious cycle of projects being held in limbo by activists.

“We need lasting solutions that won’t shift between administrations and to do that, we must have a transparent committee process, which we have embarked on, and compromise on a bipartisan legislation, which we have done in the past and can do in the future.

“Now, I know that many issues in Congress have become increasingly partisan in recent years, but the need for environmental review and permitting modernization should not be.

“Both sides are watching their priorities get hung up in the process purgatory.

“This is an issue that should be approached with common sense and a bipartisan spirit. It is time for us to work together to find common ground and implement meaningful reforms to bring these processes up to date to address the challenges we face today.

“By working together, we can find solutions that benefit both our economy and our environment, while still ensuring that projects are held to high standards of safety and environmental protection.

“I look forward to hearing from our agency partners and my colleagues today on how we can achieve this together.

“Thank you, Mr. Chairman.”

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Source: United States Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn)

The Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program awards grants to state and local law enforcement agencies so they can hire new officers and provide needed training, technology, and equipment

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the COPS Reauthorization Act to extend critical support for state and local law enforcement agencies across the country. This bipartisan legislation reauthorizes the Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) program through FY 2029. The COPS program awards grants to state and local law enforcement agencies so they can hire new officers and provide training, technology, and equipment. It also enables the Justice Department to provide technical assistance to community leaders and law enforcement agencies at all levels.

“As a former prosecutor, I know the difference that the COPS program can make in combating crime and keeping our communities safe,” said Klobuchar. “Our bipartisan legislation will make sure this critical program is supported and that state and local police departments will be able to rely on it to continue hiring and providing needed tools and training to our law enforcement officers.”

“Reauthorizing the community-oriented policing services (COPS) program will help recruit and retain officers and strengthen local law enforcement across Alaska, from our rural communities to cities like Fairbanks and Anchorage,” said Murkowski. “As Alaska continues to grapple with the challenges of public safety, I’m proud to join Senator Klobuchar in this bipartisan effort that will make our communities more secure. We owe it to our local law enforcement to provide them with the training, tools, and information they need to keep themselves and Alaskans safe.” 

The COPS Reauthorization Act is cosponsored by Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Thom Tillis (R-NC). The bill has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Police Officers Association.

Klobuchar has long worked to provide law enforcement with the resources they need. 

Klobuchar helped secure significant funding for the COPS program in the 2022 end of year budget bill, including funding for the COPS Hiring Program which helps provide law enforcement agencies with the resources they need to hire additional officers. She has also successfully fought for the Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) program, which has provided state and local law enforcement with needed support to hire, train, and equip public safety officers. 

In 2022, Klobuchar and Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) bipartisan Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Reauthorization Act was signed into law. This legislation supports state and local law enforcement agencies by funding mental health courts, crisis intervention teams, and other programs that help law enforcement assist people experiencing mental health challenges.

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Source: United States Senator for Vermont – Bernie Sanders

WASHINGTON, May 17 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), along with 41 of their colleagues in the Senate and 80 in the House of Representatives, today introduced legislation that would ensure the United States finally joins virtually every other major country on Earth in guaranteeing paid sick leave to its workers.

Ahead of the introduction of the Healthy Families Act of 2023 (HFA) on Wednesday, Sanders and DeLauro also rallied with Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), rail workers, mothers, union leaders, advocates, and colleagues to call on Congress to pass the HFA and the Family and Medical Insurance Leave (FAMILY) Act into law, that would guarantee twelve weeks of paid family and medical leave.

Sanders and DeLauro were joined on the legislation in the Senate by Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Sherrod Brown D-Ohio), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Mich.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

“It is time to end this absurdity,” said Sanders. “It is time for the United States to join nearly every other major country in the world and finally guarantee paid sick leave. In the richest country in the history of the world, it is a total disgrace that millions of workers are having to choose between their job and caring for their family, their newborn child, or themselves when they are sick and in need of care. It is time Congress passed this legislation to ensure workers receive the basic dignity and benefits that they deserve.”

“Right now, the United States does not guarantee workers a single paid sick day, and many are not even entitled – under law – to unpaid time,” said DeLauro. “Not even one day. That is shameful. I am proud to be joined by my colleague Senator Bernie Sanders in reintroducing the Healthy Families Act, legislation that would provide paid sick days to working Americans. It is beyond time for the United States to guarantee paid sick days for its workforce.”

Today, the U.S. remains one of the only two major countries in the world that does not provide paid time off for short-term illnesses nor paid leave for family and medical needs and emergencies. Currently, 34 million workers lack any paid sick time at all – including 25 percent of the private sector workforce and 9 percent of the public sector workforce. Things are worse for low-income workers and households, reaching a breaking point for millions of Americans during the pandemic. In addition, nearly one in four employed mothers return to work within two weeks of giving birth and one in five retirees have left the workforce earlier than planned to care for an ill family member. It is estimated that more than 2 million women left the U.S. workforce since the start of the pandemic, many forced to leave to care for their family.

Workers without paid sick leave are three times more likely to delay or forgo necessary health care for themselves and nearly twice as likely to forgo medical care for their families compared to working adults with paid sick days. However, workers with access to paid sick leave are 28 percent less likely to suffer nonfatal occupational injuries and employers who provide paid sick leave see 25 percent less turnover in their workforce. According to a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, a universal paid sick days policy would reduce preventable visits to the emergency room and result in cost savings of $1.1 billion per year, including $500 million in savings for public health insurance programs like Medicare and Medicaid.

The Healthy Families Act of 2023 would allow workers in businesses with 15 or more employees to earn up to seven job-protected paid sick days each year to be used to recover from their own illnesses, access preventive care, provide care to a sick family member, or attend school meetings related to a child’s health condition or disability. The legislation would also:

• Allow workers in businesses with fewer than 15 employees would earn up to seven job-protected unpaid sick days each year to be used for the same reasons – unless their employers choose to offer paid sick days.
• Allow workers who are victims of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault to use their paid sick days to recover or seek assistance related to an incident.
• Provide a simple method for calculating accrued sick time. Workers would earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 56 hours per year, unless the employer selects a higher limit.

More than 120 organizations endorsed the Healthy Families Act of 2023, including the Brotherhood of Railroad Signalmen, MomsRising, Family Values at Work, Paid Leave For All, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Nurses United, and A Better Balance.

Read testimonials and statements of support, here.
Read the fact sheet, here.
Read the bill text, here.
Read the list of endorsing organizations, here

Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet

Video of Bennet’s Remarks Last Night HERE

Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) to introduce the Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act. This legislation would codify the Department of Defense’s (DoD) February 2023 policy that ensures service members and their families can access non-covered reproductive health care, including abortion services and Assisted Reproductive Technology like in vitro fertilization, regardless of the state in which they are stationed. After the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, 40 percent of active duty service women face limited or no access to reproductive care.

“American service members and their families deserve access to safe reproductive health care, no matter where they are stationed. As states continue to pass laws that restrict abortion access and threaten doctors with lawsuits and jail time for providing abortion care, this bill protects access to reproductive care for those who are serving our country and their families,” said Bennet. “They signed up to defend our rights and we need to defend theirs.”

“Our service members put their lives on the line for our freedom. Their freedom to access reproductive health care shouldn’t be restricted based on where they’re sent to serve,” said Hickenlooper.

“The onslaught of anti-women laws enacted across our country since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade have imperiled women’s access to comprehensive health care services, including abortion. Among those most vulnerable to these dangerous laws are servicewomen and military families, who have no choice over where they are stationed and what state laws may govern women’s bodies. That’s why it is paramount that Congress act to enshrine current Department of Defense policy to protect servicewomen and military families and provide them necessary leave for reproductive health care services,” said Shaheen. “It’s shameful that Republicans have pushed Congress to this point – that we need to safeguard paid leave so military personnel and their loved ones can seek out the health care they need. The attacks on women waged by Republicans are putting women’s lives at risk, and in this case, also compromising military readiness. Servicewomen should not be put in this position in the first place. I’ll do everything I can to mitigate the impact they may feel from these extreme policies and ensure their health and safety comes first.” 

In March, the senators urged Department of Defense (DoD) Secretary Lloyd Austin to focus on the fundamental connection between our military’s readiness and ensuring that women in the Armed Services have access to reproductive health care. In that letter, the senators also called for DoD to consider abortion access in major personnel and basing decisions.

Specifically, this bill would:

• Allow service members to access non-covered reproductive health care through an administrative absence, to prevent loss of accrued leave and with full pay; 
• Allow a service member to accompany a spouse or dependent who receives non-covered reproductive health care through an administrative absence;
• Provide a service member, or their dependent, access to travel and transportation allowances to receive non-covered reproductive health care (this does not include payment for the reproductive care services); and
• Ensure the protection of the privacy of the service member requesting administrative absence in order to access or accompany a spouse or dependent accessing non-covered reproductive health care.

Since March, Bennet has defended access to reproductive health care for military service members, and their families on five separate occasions – including just last week and last night.

The Protecting Service Members and Military Families’ Access to Health Care Act is supported by the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the National Women’s Law Center, VoteVets, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the Service Women’s Action Network, Vet Voice Foundation, Power to Decide, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, and the National Partnership for Women and Families.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Shaheen, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Ma.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.). 

The text of the bill is available HERE.

Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

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Source: United States Senator for South Dakota Mike Rounds

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Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senator Angus King, a member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, and Congressman Jared Golden, have introduced a bipartisan, bicameral bill to fast-track reimbursements from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to Maine Veterans’ Homes (MVH).

In 2021, Congress passed legislation authorizing the VA to cover the costs of in-home care for veterans with dementia provided by state veteran homes, but the VA has still not begun processing the reimbursements. This delay has forced MVH, and in some cases veterans and their families, to pay out-of-pocket for the care costing approximately $130,000 per month and over $2.5 million since 2019. The Reimburse Veterans for Domiciliary Care Act would require the Department to begin payments for current care as mandated by law and retroactively provide MVH with the reimbursements for past care. Senator Susan Collins and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree are co-leads on the bill.

“For decades, Maine Veterans’ Home has provided world-class care to our state’s veterans. They’ve worked hard to meet America’s commitment to those who served despite rising costs and a lack of financial support from the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Senators King and Collins and Representatives Golden and Pingree. “The Reimburse Veterans for Domiciliary Care Act requires the VA to fulfill its promises and help ensure older Maine veterans struggling with dementia can continue receiving the care they need. We hope Congress will swiftly pass our bipartisan, bicameral legislation to end the unfair reimbursement delays and meet our nation’s solemn promise to the brave men and women who answered the call of service.”

“Maine Veterans’ Homes is grateful for the efforts that have gone into the Reimburse Veterans for Domiciliary Care Act,” said Sharon Fusco, MVH Chief Executive Officer. “This bill ensures rulemaking is completed on legislation that was passed in 2021. We have incurred over $2.5 million in expenses providing care to individuals to ensure they do not fall into the cracks while we wait for the rulemaking to be completed. This legislation ensures individuals who cannot live independently have a place where they can receive needed services and honors the commitment we made as a society to serve those who have served.”

Domiciliary care was established by the VA after the Civil War as a type of in-home assisted living that is provided to older veterans who are independently mobile or semi-mobile but are incapable of living alone because of disabilities. Over 130 MVH residents receive domiciliary care, 80% of whom are on Medicaid.

The care was federally reimbursed for years, up until 2019, when the VA abruptly ended payments. The Veterans Health Care and Benefits Improvement Act, signed into law on January 5, 2021, authorized the VA resume reimbursements for domiciliary care at state homes like MVH. Twenty-eight months later, the VA has yet to announce a proposal for the payments.

The Reimburse Veterans for Domiciliary Care Act would:

• Mandate that the VA publish a proposed rule in the Federal Register for domiciliary care reimbursements no later than 90 days from this bill being enacted.
• Mandate that the VA enact the finalized reimbursement plan within 180 days of the proposal, or 260 days of this bill being enacted, whichever is sooner.
• Mandate that payments to eligible veterans be retroactive to January 5^th 2021 when the initial legislation was enacted.

Created by the Maine Legislature in 1977, Maine Veterans’ Homes is an independent, nonprofit organization that provides services to Maine veterans at six homes in Maine: Augusta, Bangor, Caribou, Machias, Scarborough and South Paris. Their care includes rehabilitative care, domiciliary care, nursing care, and end of life care.

Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)

***Click here to download video. Click here for audio.***

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), during an Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee hearing, questioned Martha Williams, Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), and urged the agency to work with the local communities to expeditiously fix the dam at Lake Ilo, which the FWS recently drained again this spring.

He also talked about the importance of providing satellite overlay maps of new easements and setting consistent metrics between the FWS and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) for establishing drain tile setbacks on properties with Waterfowl Production Area easements. Excerpts and full video are below.

Click Here to Watch

Senator Cramer first outlined the fallout from Lake Ilo’s draining, which area residents must now manage by cleaning up the rotting fish left behind. He also criticized the federal agency’s poor communication with local groups and emphasized the recreation and agricultural use of the water.

“The permanent fix the Service has been working on is expected to be completed in a couple of years. This is a big, immediate problem and I’m pleading with you to work with me. Tell me how I can help you fix this earthen dam sooner than a couple of years from now, because another spring would be really difficult like this. Can we try to work faster?” asked Senator Cramer.

“I am aware of this issue,” replied Director Williams. “My understanding is we are working to get the design complete and understand the need to fix this as quickly as possible. I apologize we haven’t worked well with the community. I know we have tried. I would like to work with you on this and can understand it’s very unfortunate.”

The Senator then discussed new Waterfowl Production Area (WPA) easements, many of which do not receive satellite overlay maps, as well as varying drain tile setback requirements due to the often-siloed operations across federal agencies. Ideally, the FWS should adopt the NRCS threshold as the uniform standard.

“What I worry about is not just having a certain high-tech, literal map of an easement, but it further erodes confidence between the landowner and the Service. We would like to get to a 95% certainty standard, which is what the NRCS at USDA has for their easements, rather than the 99% the Service uses. Reconciling all of this will help everybody better understand what they’re dealing with,” said Senator Cramer. “What do you know about the satellite maps with the new easements?”

“We have clarified refuge managers, not law enforcement agents, who are responsible for managing easements. We have completed the pre-1976 mapping and appeal process. We have codified for clarity and transportation drain tile setbacks. Now, we’re starting this new process. My understanding is we are working to provide those colored satellite photos for the easements. I don’t have the totally up-to-date information, but that was something we are aware of, and it’s a helpful tool we would like to be able to provide,” replied Director Williams.

Senator Cramer briefly reiterated the need to reconcile the 95% and 99% drain tile thresholds. In response, Director Williams confirmed she is “working diligently” to square the discrepancy to align with NRCS.

Background:

On April 27, 2023, the FWS published a proposed rule clarifying drain tile may be installed on lands encumbered by a wetland easement provided that protected wetland areas are not drained, directly or indirectly. The proposed regulations require the Service to establish drain tile setback distances based upon the best available science, soil characteristics, tile diameter, depth of tile below the surface, and topography. This ensures protected wetland areas are not drained.

Additionally, the Service will provide these setback distances to landowners upon request. Landowners who work with the Service and follow their setback instructions are shielded from criminal or civil penalty.