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Key Senate Committee Passes Bipartisan Legislation to Prevent Child Abuse that Includes Hassan-Led Priorities

Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Maggie Hassan

June 10, 2021

Legislation Includes Bipartisan Bills Introduced by Senator Hassan to Support Grandfamilies and Teach Child Abuse Prevention in Schools

WASHINGTON – The Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on which Senator Maggie Hassan serves, voted on a bipartisan basis today to reauthorize the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The package includes bipartisan priorities that Senator Hassan worked to secure to better support grandfamilies and expand efforts to teach child abuse prevention in schools.

“We took an important step forward today to better prevent child abuse and neglect in order to ensure that our children can live up to their fullest potential and thrive,” Senator Hassan said. “As the substance use disorder crisis continues in New Hampshire, I am glad that this package includes my bipartisan bill to support grandparents who are raising their grandchildren, which sadly we’ve seen happen frequently when a child’s parent dies due to an overdose or is struggling with substance use disorder.”

The reauthorization of the bipartisan Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) that the Committee voted on today includes:

  • The bipartisan Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act that Senator Hassan introduced with Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) to better support kinship caregivers – the vast majority of whom are grandparents – who have taken over as primary caregivers for children exposed to substance misuse or other trauma.
  • The bipartisan Jenna Quinn Law, which Senator Hassan introduced with Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), that would allow current grant funds to be used to train and educate students, teachers, caregivers, and other adults who work with children in a professional or volunteer capacity on how to prevent, recognize, and report child sexual abuse.

Senator Hassan is working across party lines to prevent child abuse, and she cosponsored the bipartisan Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Act, which was signed into law in 2018. The Help Grandfamilies Prevent Child Abuse Act builds on these efforts. Senator Hassan also helped secure $350 million for the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act in the American Rescue Plan that was signed into law.

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Bill to Boost Tech Competitiveness with China Passes Senate

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski

06.10.21

Contains Senator Murkowski Arctic Priorities

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted in favor of the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act, previously known as the Endless Frontier Act, which passed the Senate in a 68-32 vote. The bipartisan legislation counters China by confronting the nation’s economic and geopolitical power and invests in science, technology, and U.S. manufacturing, including reliable supply chains for critical minerals. The bill contains Arctic priorities championed by Senator Murkowski.

To ensure that the United States has adequate capacity to prevent and respond to security threats in the Arctic region, the bill addresses the need to invest in a significantly expanded icebreaker fleet. The legislation also includes language requiring the President to appoint a Special Representative or Special Envoy with the rank of Ambassador, who will also serve as a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Arctic Affairs.

“America has long been a leader in innovation, but we must continue to invest in these priorities to remain a global leader and reclaim the manufacturing capabilities that have been ceded to China. America can and will maintain a position as the most advanced nation on earth, so long as we continue to invest in technology, research, and production,” said Senator Murkowski. “This legislation makes investments in STEM workforce and capacity, invests in our National Labs, recognizes the need for more production of critical minerals, supports American trade, strengthens our national security and more. I helped secure a number of provisions focused on the Arctic—from prioritizing investments such as icebreakers to necessary staffing. While there is more work to be done in regards to our nation’s focus on the Arctic region given its geostrategic value and importance, I’m proud to get behind a policy initiative to help ensure American competitiveness.”

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Murkowski Cites Serious Flaws in Paycheck Fairness Act

Source: United States Senator for Alaska Lisa Murkowski

06.10.21

U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) voted against proceeding to the Paycheck Fairness Act, a partisan bill with serious flaws. Murkowski’s vote is consistent with her votes on this measure in previous Congresses.

“I’ve always been committed to fair pay and equal treatment under the law for all women, but this bill is not the solution. A good bill name doesn’t make it a good bill,” said Senator Murkowski. “This legislation allows unlimited compensatory and punitive awards, even if there is no proof of intentional discrimination. It would significantly limit the ability and discretion of employers to consider reasonable business reasons for salary decisions and places burdensome wage reporting requirements on businesses. Addressing the gender pay gap and holding employers accountable for gender discrimination must remain a priority, but the so called Paycheck Fairness Act is not the answer.”

Background on Senator Murkowski’s Efforts:

As a former member of the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, Senator Murkowski has long been a supporter of addressing the gender pay gap and ensuring we move toward a path where workers receive equal pay for equal work. Over the years, she has taken a number of actions to ensure progress toward pay equity and workplace fairness for women:

  • She was one of four Republican Senators who voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 that amended the Civil Rights Act to increase worker protections against pay discrimination and empower women to identify and remedy paycheck discrimination.
  • In 2014 and 2015, she was an original co-sponsor of the End Pay Discrimination Through Information Act, which would have amended the Fair Labor Standards Act to prohibit an employer from discriminating against an employee who inquires or discusses about wages of the employee or another employee.
  • She was an original co-sponsor of the Workplace Advancement Act, which was offered as an amendment to the Paycheck Fairness Act in 2014.  This amendment would have prohibited retaliation against employees who discuss their wages, reinforced the current laws against pay discrimination, required employers to prominently post notices of employees’ rights under the Equal Pay Act and the Civil Rights Act, and created a grant to support worker training for women and men underrepresented in industries that report worker shortages to get the skills they need to grow and compete.
  • In 2019, she introduced legislation that would reopen consideration of the Equal Rights Amendment.
  • In 2020, she signed on to a letter asking the Secretary of Labor to update research on gender-based wage disparity in order to provide policymakers with up-to-date, comprehensive, and accurate data on this subject. As that letter stated, “Gender-based discrimination is a wrong that our government has attempted to stop. If that effort is failing, we want to know. If there are clear factors behind existing wage disparities, which Congress could address, we want to learn more. Equal opportunity is a hallmark of the American dream that must be preserved.
  • On April 29, 2021, Senator Murkowski signed on as an original co-sponsor of the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act, saying, “No employee should have to choose between keeping a job and their health or the health of their baby—it’s as simple as that. This bill will improve federal law by requiring employers to make reasonable accommodations for expecting and new mothers and ensure that women are not discriminated against simply because of pregnancy or childbirth.”
  • On January 22, 2012, she introduced a resolution that would eliminate the deadline for the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, which prohibits discrimination based on sex.

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Wyden, Merkley: More Than $800,000 to go to Oregon Small Businesses Developing Novel Clean Energy and Climate Solutions

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

June 10, 2021

Four clean energy projects across Oregon will innovate new technologies to create good-paying jobs

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today announced that four Oregon companies will receive critical seed funding totaling more than $800,000 from the Department of Energy to pursue projects in clean energy technologies and climate solutions.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of Oregon’s economy, supporting jobs in our communities and tackling the big challenges faced by our nation,” Wyden said. “As the climate emergency persists, I’m happy to see the Department of Energy investing in small businesses that will help kick America’s carbon habit and move us toward a clean energy future.”

“Climate chaos is the biggest existential threat of our time,” Merkley said. “We can’t bury our heads in the sand and give up—we have to unleash the power of American ingenuity to develop the kinds of cutting-edge technologies that fighting this crisis requires. I’m pleased that this funding is headed to four Oregon businesses that are making invaluable contributions to that effort, and will continue to do all that I can to secure the resources we need to transition toward a clean energy future.”  

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will award $54 million in critical seed funding to 235 small businesses, across 42 states, for projects that are developing and deploying proof-of-concept prototypes for a wide range of technological solutions needed to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. This diverse class of awardees is designing novel solutions to our greatest energy needs around advanced grid technologies, solar and hydrogen power, carbon capture and storage, artificial intelligence, electric vehicle batteries and more. 

Oregon companies receiving funds are as follows:

  • Community Energy Labs LLC, Portland: $206,230 – a scalable, autonomous clean building control platform that allows small to mid-sized commercial building owners to simply and affordably meet their energy efficiency goals.
  • Burch Energy Services LLC, Lafayette: $199,983 – an indoor air quality assessment technology that integrates national, local, and building data, assess health risks to the building occupants, and performs automated mitigation tactics using the building’s ventilation system.
  • RUTE Foundations Systems, Portland: $199,999 – A dual land use plan to increase revenue for farmland and rural America that will allow farmers and ranchers to use land for both agriculture and generation of solar power.
  • AQUAHARMONICS INC, West Linn: $199,884 – A wave energy powered instrumentation buoy will allow for high resolution, real-time data streams from remote ocean locations and will improve the United States’ ability to mitigate risks associated with natural disasters, weather forecasting, climate change monitoring, key fishery monitoring, as well as a host of national defense concerns.

For more information about the projects, click here.   

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Collins, Burr Press CDC Director on Inconsistencies about Teachers’ Union Influence on School Reopening Guidance

Source: United States Senator for Maine Susan Collins

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Richard Burr (R-NC), the Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, sent a letter to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky to clarify apparent inconsistencies in her recent Senate testimony about the influence teachers’ unions had on the CDC’s school reopening guidance.

At a Senate HELP Committee hearing last month, Senator Collins pressed CDC Director Walensky on why the CDC was not following proper procedures in issuing COVID-19 guidance. Senator Collins identified several recent occasions where shifting CDC recommendations have been at odds with or slow to catch up with the science, including that the American Federation of Teachers, a powerful teachers union, reportedly secured changes verbatim in draft guidance on school reopenings.

“You testified that edits from the teachers’ unions were limited to addressing ‘what happens if you have immunocompromised teachers,’” the Senators wrote. ‘You further testified that the level of collaboration between the teachers’ unions and the CDC was routine[.]’”

“Compared to the emails between the CDC and the teachers’ unions, your testimony seems – at a minimum incomplete – if not inaccurate,” the Senators continued. “The email correspondence makes clear that the involvement of the teachers’ unions went well beyond accommodations for high-risk teachers. Equally troubling, your testimony was also inconsistent with the representations in your April 22, 2021, letter responding to questions Ranking Member Burr had concerning the CDC’s guidance for vaccinated people.”

“Americans need to be able to trust the CDC to give them accurate, unbiased health information, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. That your agency would give teachers’ unions privileged access to the agency’s internal decision-making process on an issue as critical as school re-openings is a betrayal of that trust,” the Senators continued. “That you then would appear to try to avoid Congressional scrutiny by providing incomplete testimony is deeply troubling. As a first step to rebuilding public confidence, the CDC needs be transparent about how the teachers’ unions came to have such extraordinary input in school re-opening guidance. As CDC Director, you need explain and, if necessary, correct the inconsistencies between your testimony, your letter, and the CDC emails.”

Click HERE to read the full letter.

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Sasse Praises Vaccine Diplomacy

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Ben Sasse

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, issued the following statement after President Biden announced the purchase of 500 million more vaccines for global distribution. 

“Health diplomacy is a smart investment and buying these vaccines is the right move. America should have an aggressive strategy to vaccinate a billion people around the world this year. America should administer these vaccines directly in order to counter the Chinese Communist Party’s strategy of using the pandemic to gain the upper hand — they’ve conditioned their garbage vaccines on breaking ties with America’s ally Taiwan. America is different and we should show it. We should move quickly to share these life-saving shots with friends in Asia and across the developing world with a simple message: Uncle Sam, not Chairman Xi, cares about your health.”

In May, Sasse called for the Biden Administration to distribute one billion vaccines globally to save lives and combat CCP influence.

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Warren and HHS Secretary Agree that Congress Must Make “Generational Change” on Health Care and Put Biden’s Medicare Priorities into Action

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

June 10, 2021

“The time for delays, and half measures, and equivocating, and industry-friendly legislating is over”

Video of Hearing Exchange (Youtube)

Washington, DC – At today’s Senate Finance Committee, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra about the Biden administration’s Medicare priorities, including authorizing drug price negotiation, expanding Medicare benefits, and lowering the eligibility age. 

In response to her questions, Secretary Becerra agreed that HHS looks forward to working with Congress on expanding coverage to include vision, dental, and hearing services, ensuring older Americans 60 and over receive Medicare coverage, and lower drug prices. Both urged Congress to take action. 

Transcript: The President’s FY 2022 HHS Budget
 U.S. Senate Finance Committee
Thursday, June 10, 2021 

Senator Warren: Thank you for being here, Mr. Secretary. 

So, President Biden’s budget proposes an historic investment in the American people. When it comes to health care, the President has called on Congress to do more-especially for Medicare.

Now, Medicare is very popular, but it is not perfect-especially when it comes to covering the services that older Americans need. For example, fifty percent of people aged 75 or older have a disabling hearing loss, but Medicare doesn’t offer a comprehensive hearing benefit. It also doesn’t cover full dental or vision services-even though 70 percent of seniors have no dental insurance, and older Americans are at increased risk for severe eye problems.

So, that’s why the President, as part of his budget, called on Congress to “improv[e] access to dental, vision, and hearing coverage in Medicare.”

So, Secretary Becerra, let me ask you. How would expanding Medicare coverage to include vision, dental, and hearing services improve the health and wellbeing of Medicare beneficiaries-especially low-income beneficiaries and seniors in medically underserved groups?

Secretary Becerra: Well, Senator, I think as we’ve discussed in the past and the President made very clear. We have ways that we can expand these services, and in fact, we must because we know it’s to our own benefit to provide these preventative services as early as possible to our seniors. What I can tell you is that there are ways to pay for these additional services. We’ve discussed some of those as well in the past. If you were to save money on prescription drug medication by negotiating prices or providing– the industry must provide rebates when it increases prices too quickly. You start to develop the resources you need to pay for things like providing access to oral– dental health services, vision services, hearing services. So we’re looking forward to working with you to make sure that we continue to make Medicare even better and where we go. I know that really will depend on Congress, but we’re ready. We want to make it work.  

Senator Warren: Good. Good. I’m glad to hear that. I think that’s terrific. Expanding Medicare to cover health conditions that affect seniors is an obvious move and it is the right thing to do-which is why the President has called on Congress to do it. But it’s not just people 65 and over who need better access to care. There are plenty of people just shy of Medicare age who need better hearing, dental, and vision coverage-along with all the other benefits that Medicare has to offer.

President Biden’s budget also calls on Congress to give people aged 60 and up the option to enroll in Medicare, a policy that some analysts predict would give 23 million people, including nearly 2 million previously uninsured people, access to the program. So, Mr. Secretary, why is it so important that Congress follows through on this proposal?            

Secretary Becerra: Senator, for all the reasons we now know as a result of COVID that we have too many Americans who don’t have any coverage and too many Americans who don’t have enough coverage. And the worst thing we can do is allow our family members who are reaching the age of qualifying for Medicare but aren’t quite there who typically are going to be more at risk of suffering from a health condition. The lack of access to the kind of care that they will need. The President, as you’ve mentioned, has been supportive of having the public option of having those 60 and older apply for Medicare. He is– he has mentioned on many occasions that he is open to considering so many different ideas, but what he wants is for us to get something done. 

Senator Warren: Good. I like that. You know. I strongly agree with President Biden: Congress should expand Medicare to include vision, hearing, and dental coverage, and it should lower the age of Medicare. In fact, I think we should go lower than the President proposed, to age 55.

Now, President Biden also wants Congress to let Medicare negotiate payments for high-cost Part D drugs-something you referred to earlier, Mr. Secretary. But big pharma is lobbying hard to maintain the status quo.

So, let me ask you, Mr. Secretary. As Congress crafts legislation to lower drug prices, the pharmaceutical lobbyists are out there fear mongering and pressing us to pass some watered-down bill that fails to tackle drug pricing head-on. How do you think Congress should respond? Are we going to go with these half measures or do you think we should pass a strong negotiation bill that implements the President’s agenda? 

Secretary Becerra: Senator, I think COVID-19 has taught us so many different things. It continues to teach us. And we see what happens when we aren’t prepared. I don’t think anyone wants the American public to not be prepared to face down, whether it’s a pandemic or something as serious as making sure that all of us have access to the prescription medication we need. We will leave it to Congress but we think this is an opportunity to make a generational change in how we do business when it comes to prescription medication. 

Senator Warren: Good. I’m glad to hear that, Secretary Becerra. I agree. The time for delays, and half measures, and equivocating, and industry-friendly legislating is over. It is time for Congress to step up and put President Biden’s Medicare priorities into action.

And I don’t just mean some of the priorities – I mean all of them: authorizing drug price negotiation with real muscle, expanding Medicare benefits, and lowering the eligibility age. As you say, we have an opportunity here to dramatically improve the Medicare program, and we shouldn’t waste it by being afraid to take on interest groups that are profiting off our current system.

I appreciate you being here today, Mr. Secretary. 

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Warren, Colleagues Call On DHS and ICE to Issue Guidance Against Re-detaining Individuals Released During Pandemic

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

June 10, 2021

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, DC – United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) calling on the agencies to issue guidance for all ICE field offices and detention centers against re-detaining individuals previously released due to the COVID-19 pandemic who have complied with the conditions of their release and who pose no public safety concerns.

“It is imperative that federal authorities protect the health, safety, and rights of detained individuals and the wellbeing of the staff, families, and the surrounding communities of ICE detention centers,” wrote the lawmakers. “We urge DHS and ICE to take steps to remove the unpredictability, uncertainty, and arbitrariness generated by the varying approaches of different ICE field offices regarding re-detaining released individuals. We ask that you promptly issue guidance to all ICE field offices and detention facilities that individuals who have been released from custody due to COVID-19, and who have complied and continue to comply with the conditions of their release, should be permitted to remain free from custody.”

ICE detention facilities have served as hotspots for COVID-19 transmission, imperiling the health and safety of detainees, the staff in charge of their care, and their surrounding communities. In April 2020, a federal judge granted an emergency preliminary injunction ordering ICE to release all detained immigrants at risk for COVID-19. As of March 22, 2021, ICE has released from its custody only 3,741 detainees, which amounts to less than 16% of the currently detained population. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, which has over 800 previously detained clients who have been released, many of these individuals are now living safely at home with their families, in compliance with the terms of their court-ordered releases and posing no danger to their community.

While some ICE field offices have agreed not to re-detain anyone released by court order as a result of COVID-19, others have actively sought to reverse court orders granting releases. This inconsistency in the approaches taken by ICE field offices is leading to unpredictability and uncertainty, subjecting formerly detained people to the prospect of re-detention and thus an increased risk of COVID-19 exposure.

“Individuals who were released from immigration detention to the safety of their families due to serious risks to their health and lives during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis must continue to be treated with dignity,” said Adina Appelbaum, program director of Immigration Impact Lab at the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights (CAIR) Coalition. “In valuing their health and safety, the federal courts have recognized the humanity of these men and women. Re-detaining them would mean we are regressing back to a world where immigrants are not seen as human beings.”

“Over the course of COVID-19 pandemic, ICE agreed to release thousands of people from detention to shelter in the safety of their homes. ICE also reduced the number of people in ICE detention from more than 56,000 each day to just over 13,000,” said Eunice Cho, Sr. Staff Attorney, ACLU National Prison Project. “This dramatic reduction underscores an important truth: Immigration detention has been overused for decades. Now, as the country works to move past the pandemic, we hope the government will choose a just, humane approach and allow people who were released to remain free with their families and communities. That is the country we aspire to be.”

This letter has been endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the CAIR Coalition and is part of Senator Warren’s ongoing efforts to protect the rights of migrants and asylum seekers.

  • In April 2021, Senator Warren (D-Mass.), Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), Senator Alex Padilla, and Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) led a bicameral letter to President Biden urging the inclusion of a fair, secure, and accessible pathway to U.S. citizenship for over 5 million immigrant essential workers in the President’s upcoming infrastructure package.
  • In March 2021, Senator Warren, Congressman Joaquin Castro, and Senator Booker reintroduced the bicameral COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act to require immigration detention facilities to collect and publicly report data about COVID-19 cases, vaccine distribution, and the preventative measures in place in these facilities.
  • In February, Senator Warren joined Senator Bob Menendez and Congresswoman Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) in introducing the bicameral U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 – President Biden’s bold, inclusive, and humane framework for the future of the United States immigration system.
  • In April 2020, Senator Warren cosponsored Senator Booker’s Federal Immigrant Release for Safety and Security Together (FIRST) Act. The bill called for moving immigrants out of detention and halting immigration enforcement during the COVID-19 pandemic to address the spread of the virus in congregant settings.

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Warren, Murphy, Porter, Pocan Raise Concerns Over Pfizer Executives’ Threats to Raise COVID-19 Vaccine Prices Despite Massive Profits

Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts – Elizabeth Warren

June 10, 2021

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, DC – United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Congresswoman Katie Porter (D-Calif.) and Congressman Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) sent a letter to Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, raising concerns over Pfizer executives’ statements earlier this year indicating the company would significantly raise the price of its COVID-19 vaccine, BNT162b2, once the pandemic subsides. 

“As lawmakers, we have a responsibility to keep vaccines accessible and reasonably priced. We have serious concerns regarding Pfizer’s statements and write to request more information,” the lawmakers wrote. 

In June 2020, Bourla made assurances that market pricing for a COVID-19 vaccine would be “unethical” and would amount to “taking advantage of a situation.” But on an earnings call in February 2021, Pfizer’s Chief Financial Officer Frank D’Amelio told investors Pfizer was “obviously…going to get more on price” for its COVID-19 vaccine-noting that currently Pfizer is receiving $19.50 per dose in the United States, “which is not a normal price like we typically get for a vaccine-$150, $175 per dose.” At an investor conference on March 11, 2021, Mr. D’Amelio doubled down on these claims and said Pfizer sees “a significant opportunity…from a pricing perspective” once the environment shifts from a “pandemic situation to an endemic situation.”

Pfizer is already making billions of dollars from the vaccine. In its February financial reports, Pfizer projected $15 billion in 2021 revenue from the COVID-19 vaccine alone. Last month, Pfizer updated these projections, indicating it now expected over $26 billion in 2021 revenues from the vaccine, with a profit from the vaccine in the “high-20s as a percentage of revenue.” Pfizer also expects to generate significant additional revenues in coming years from future COVID-19 booster shots and the development of other vaccines using mRNA technology.

“Thanks to large federal investments in research, development, and manufacturing-including billions of dollars to support production and delivery of Pfizer’s vaccine product-the COVID-19 vaccine is currently free for patients in the United States. However, future price escalations could cause private insurers to raise premiums and increase taxpayer costs for health care,” concluded the lawmakers. 

To safeguard public health and ensure COVID-19 vaccines remain reasonably priced and accessible to all Americans and people around the world, the lawmakers have requested responses to their letter no later than June 22, 2021. 

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Nebraska Receives $1.8 Million CARES Act Grant to Support Tourism

Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), a member of the Senate Commerce Committee, released the following statement after the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) announced a $1.8 million grant to support Nebraska tourism:

“Nebraska’s tourism industry is still recovering from the COVID pandemic. I was proud to vote for the CARES Act in 2020, which provided this federal funding to ensure that visitors can once again enjoy Nebraska’s natural wonders, majestic skies, and historic museums.” 

More information:

The $1.8 million in funding will go to the Nebraska Tourism Commission to boost Nebraska tourism through marketing and coordination. It will be matched by $450,000 in local funds and is expected to retain 810 jobs. 

This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus.