Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) released the following statement after voting in favor of sanctioning Russia regarding the Nord Stream 2 pipeline on Thursday. The pipeline, once operational, would enable Russia to bypass Ukraine and deliver natural gas directly to European nations.

“At a time when Democrats are falsely accusing us of undermining democracy here at home, it’s quite ironic they are supporting policies that benefit a Russian regime that is increasingly hostile toward a democratic Ukraine. Make no mistake, avoiding sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline allows him direct access to European markets, further handcuffs Ukraine, and jeopardizes America’s national security. Domestically, President Biden has killed U.S. pipelines that would ensure our energy security and provide many hardworking Americans with good-paying jobs, yet his foreign policy hypocritically supports Russia in its quest for global energy dominance.

“It’s past time the Biden administration prioritize American pipelines, energy, and jobs, and finally stand up for the interests of the United States and our allies abroad.”

BACKGROUND:

In March 2021, Senator Capito joined her colleagues in sending a letter to President Biden urging him to impose sanctions against those who are involved with the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

In January 2021, Senator Capito released a statement on the first day of President Biden’s term, criticizing his decision to cancel the Keystone XL Pipeline.

In 2019, Senator Capito voted in favor of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020, which included the Protecting Europe’s Energy Security Act that could be used a tool to sanction those involved with the pipeline, but President Biden has failed to do so.

In 2017, Senator Capito voted in favor of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, which was used then to impose the sanctions that have since been removed by President Biden.

Senator Capito is a cosponsor of the Energy Security Cooperation with Allied Partners in Europe (ESCAPE) Act, which would expedite the approval of U.S. natural gas exports to allied countries and impose sanctions on Russia for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, as well as other Russian export pipelines.

Capito is also a cosponsor of the Protecting Our Well-being by Expanding Russian Sanctions (POWERS) Act, which would reinstate any sanctions waved by the administration with respect to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline.

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Source: United States Senator for Delaware – Tom Carper

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today celebrated the Federal Highway Administration’s launch of the largest-ever bridge repair effort in our nation’s history using funds that Carper secured in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“It’s wonderful to see the Biden-Harris administration delivering on the promise to fix our nation’s bridges. Bridges are a perfect example of how important it is to regularly invest in our transportation infrastructure. Each day, millions of Americans rely on bridges for commuting to work, traveling to nearby communities, and delivering goods. Yet, after years of neglect far too many of them across our country remain in poor condition and at risk of failure. Fortunately, we made bridges a priority in the bipartisan infrastructure law. The historic funding provided in that law for bridge repairs is going to improve lives and keep us moving forward.”

HISTORIC IMPACT:

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the single largest investment ever in our nation’s bridges. Carper drafted the underlying surface transportation legislation that made this possible. The historic bill provides states with $26.5 billion and Tribal transportation facilities with $825 million for bridge maintenance and repairs. Estimates predict that this will help fix roughly 15,000 bridges.

DELAWARE BENEFITS:

Delaware stands to receive a total of $225 million over five years under the bridge formula program. This funding will help modernize bridges in the First State, keeping communities connected and creating good-paying construction jobs in the process.

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Source: United States Senator for Delaware Christopher Coons

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement after President Biden’s announcement that he would nominate Dr. Lisa D. Cook to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve:

“Since we first met nearly thirty years ago, I’ve always known Lisa Cook to be a brilliant thinker, an experienced economist, a committed and capable public servant, and a kind friend. She’s recognized as one of our nation’s finest economists, and whether here at home teaching at Michigan State University and serving at the White House Council of Economic Advisers or abroad while advising the Nigerian and Rwandan governments, she has proven herself to be a valuable voice guiding economic policy with an especially strong background in macroeconomics, the economics of innovation, and the experience of women and African Americans. I congratulate President Biden on his excellent choice of nominee, and I encourage my Senate colleagues to ensure Professor Cook’s nomination is smooth and swift.”

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Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Senator Tim Scott (R-SC) and Republican colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona demanding answers as to whether he played a key role in orchestrating a letter from the National School Board Association (NSBA) that called concerned parents “domestic terrorists.” 
 
“Parents are not ‘domestic terrorists’ and it is appalling that anyone would suggest that exercising the constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and assembly would be characterized as a threat,” the senators wrote. “Parents across the country are outraged that their children’s education has been disrupted, delayed, even denied over the past two years.” 
 
“While we knew early on that White House staff were complicit in the creation of this letter, it is only recently that information has surfaced implicating you and your office in this shameful episode,” the senators continued. “News reports indicate that the letter from the NSBA to President Biden was actually initiated at your request. Accountability begins at the top, and as U.S. Secretary of Education you must explain your role, or your staff’s role, in the creation of this letter.” 
 
The full text of the letter is below. 
 
Dear Secretary Cardona: 
 
Parents are not “domestic terrorists” and it is appalling that anyone would suggest that exercising the constitutionally protected freedoms of speech and assembly would be characterized as a threat. Parents across the country are outraged that their children’s education has been disrupted, delayed, even denied over the past two years. 
 
Study after study shows how much educational harm has been done to schoolchildren with shutdowns and closures. It is estimated most students lost between 30 and 50 percent of their learning gains because of school closures. Moreover, minority and low-income students and students with disabilities were among the hardest hit as a result of these disruptions, with many losing as much as a full year of educational progress. Students’ mental health suffered as well. According to the CDC, teen suicide attempts among girls increased by 51 percent, likely due in part to students’ inability to access in-person learning. 
 
Yet on September 29, 2021, the National School Boards Association (NSBA) sent a letter to President Biden accusing parents expressing concern and frustration with lockdowns, shutdowns, school closures, mandates and more with “domestic terrorism.” The letter even suggested using the PATRIOT Act against parents who are concerned about months and years of lost educational opportunities due to school closures, shutdowns, and unnecessary restrictions.
 
On October 4, 2021, Attorney General Garland issued a memo at NSBA’s behest, directing the FBI and U.S. Attorneys to act on the contents of the NSBA letter. That evoked the prospects of the FBI using the powers of the PATRIOT Act against peacefully protesting parents frantic to get their children back in school so they don’t fall behind and lose a year of education.
 
On October 22, 2021, the NSBA apologized for the letter, as they should. Many state school board associations have called into question their affiliation with the NSBA, and the NSBA has a lot of work to do to regain the trust of America’s moms and dads without significant reforms.
 
Unfortunately, the Attorney General has not rescinded his memo, as he should.
 
While we knew early on that White House staff were complicit in the creation of this letter, it is only recently that information has surfaced implicating you and your office in this shameful episode. News reports indicate that the letter from the NSBA to President Biden was actually initiated at your request. 
 
Accountability begins at the top, and as U.S. Secretary of Education you must explain your role, or your staff’s role, in the creation of this letter.
 

Please respond to the following questions by 4:00 p.m., Friday, January 14, 2022: 

1. What role did you personally play in soliciting the letter from the NSBA to the President on September 29, 2021? Did you advise on the content or the wording of the letter? 
2. What role did your staff play in soliciting the letter from the NSBA to the President on September 29, 2021? Did they advise on the content or the wording of the letter? 
3. Do you believe that parents exercising constitutionally protected rights are “domestic terrorists”? 
4. What direction was your Department given from the White House regarding the origination, creation, or content of the letter? 
5. Will you commit to firing any staff involved in crafting this letter if they did so without your knowledge or direction? 
6. Do you think that school board meetings should be open to the public to allow parents to have oversight and influence on their children’s education? 

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse

01.14.22

PROVIDENCE, RI — As the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) plans out their 2022 construction season, the Ocean State is getting a $47.1 million federal boost for bridge projects this week, thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58).

Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced that an additional $47.1 million in federal funds is being wired to the state as a result of the bipartisan infrastructure law they helped pass last November.

To go with this $47.1 million infusion of federal bridge funds this year, Rhode Island will get a projected total of $289,730,682 in base formula funding from the highway portion of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, according to the Congressional delegation. In addition to fixing roads and bridges, the federal funds will also be invested in community priorities and in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the resilience of Rhode Island’s transportation system to climate change and extreme weather. And the bill also makes additional, significant investments in the state’s airports, transit, and electric vehicle charging networks.

“RIDOT has been making concerted effort over the last several years to reduce the percentage of deficient bridges. I’ve been pleased to bring more than $160 million additional bridge funding to the state over the last three years to help in that effort. The $47.1 million bridge funds that will come under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will allow RIDOT to tackle even more projects to fix aging bridges that require urgent attention and upgrades. This federal aid will accelerate bridge upgrades and repairs in Rhode Island. It will help improve our communities and build new bridges to the future,” said Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, who helped ensure that the bridge funding in the bill went to states with the most need to upgrade structurally deficient bridges.

“Rhode Island drivers know all too well that many of the bridges connecting the Ocean State are in need of significant repair or replacement,” said Senator Whitehouse, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. “Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will deliver a major infusion of funding to modernize those bridges, creating good jobs while making travel safer for drivers, bicyclists, and pedestrians.”

“For years, our roads and bridges have been in desperate need of repair. Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, help is finally on the way to bring our aging bridges into the 21st century,” said Rep. Jim Langevin. “Soon, millions of dollars in federal funding will be headed to the Ocean State, which will create thousands of good-paying union jobs, and make it safer and easier for Rhode Islanders to travel across our state.”

“Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill has already been designated for Rhode Island’s airports, our highways, and the replacement of dangerous lead pipes – ensuring that every Rhode Islander has access to safe and clean drinking water. This latest round of funding will allow us to repair, modernize, and construct new bridges around the state – projects that will support good paying, local jobs and make our roads safer and more efficient,” said Congressman Cicilline.

The federal bridge funding is administered by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).

In addition to this guaranteed federal bridge funding, Rhode Island and other states will have the opportunity to vie for a share of $12.5 billion in competitive federal grants from the Bridge Investment Program, as well as a chance to compete for a share of $15 billion for major projects.

All this money flows from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed into law last year. Over the life of the law, Rhode Island is estimated to get over $1.7 billion in highway funding, $277 million for mass-transit, $45 million for airports, and $23 million for new electric vehicle charging stations, as well as $100 million to expand high-speed internet coverage and help low-income residents get affordable reliable Internet access.

A recent report by the national transportation research non-profit TRIP found that Rhode Island had the second worst rate of deficient bridges. According to the report, 12 percent of Rhode Island’s urban interstate bridges were in poor or structurally deficient condition, just after West Virginia’s 13 percent.

While this new $47.1 million in federal bridge funding is a boost to the state, the delegation noted that it is important for Republicans to come to the table and help finish the full year 2022 Appropriations process to ensure states can properly plan and access their full allocation of transportation funding.

Currently, the federal government is operating under a short-term stopgap continuing resolution that is set to expire on February 18 unless Congress acts to extend it.

Source: United States Senator for Commonwealth of Virginia Mark R Warner

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) today announced the largest-ever federal investment in Virginia’s bridges, made possible by the passage of the bipartisan infrastructure law negotiated by Sen. Warner and supported by Sen. Kaine. Virginia will receive $536.8 million over five years to address highway bridge needs, which include 577 bridges across the Commonwealth that are currently rated as being in “poor” condition, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

“We’re thrilled to announce this record amount of funding to fix aging bridges across Virginia,” said the senators. “Modernizing bridges will improve safety and support economic growth in every corner of the Commonwealth. Today’s announcement is one more reason we were proud to support the once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment that is improving lives and livelihoods across the country.”

In July 2021, Sen. Warner joined Richmond officials for a tour of the Mayo Bridge, which was constructed in 1913 to cross the James River and is one of the hundreds of bridges across Virginia that are currently considered structurally deficient and expected to benefit from the investment announced today. Photos from that visit are available here.

In December 2021, Sen. Kaine joined U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg in Richmond and Henrico County to discuss how the $7.7 billion in federal funds Virginia expects to receive from the infrastructure bill will be used to repair and replace roads and bridges and improve public transportation. 

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Source: United States Senator for Nevada Cortez Masto

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Source: United States Senator for Massachusetts Ed Markey

Legislation would update and expand online tools, integrate technologies across scales, and inventory national infrastructure to improve air quality management

 

Washington (January 14, 2022)—Today, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chair of the Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate, and Nuclear Safety, introduced the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act, legislation to authorize $55 million over five years for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to annually update and expand its online air quality toolbox with best-available monitoring technologies and associated uses of data, connect the toolbox with environmental justice mapping and screening tools, and create full-time equivalent positions to support the work. The legislation would also establish a working group consisting of representatives from EPA regional offices, air agencies, environmental justice networks, data science, and public health science to develop templates for integrated monitoring systems. In addition, it would direct the EPA and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct an inventory of the locations and operation statuses of air monitors, existing data infrastructure, high-priority areas for monitoring deployment in environmental justice communities, and workforce needs to improve air quality management across scales.

“Now, more than ever, we need to address the deep-rooted injustices of air pollution and its disparate effects on our communities’ public health,” said Senator Markey. “As air quality technologies continue to improve, we must use those improvements to institute better, bolder, more adaptive, and more equitable assessments and management of air quality nationwide.”

A copy of the bill text can be found HERE.

The legislation is co-sponsored in the Senate by Senators Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and Cory A. Booker (D-N.J.).

The legislation is endorsed by Environmental Defense Fund, American Lung Association, Clean Air Task Force, American Thoracic Society, and Dr. Sacoby Wilson (Director of the Center for Community Engagement, Environmental Justice, and Health).

“Hyperlocal air quality monitoring technologies are critically important for understanding the local health impacts of air pollution,” said Sarah Vogel, Senior Vice President for Health at the Environmental Defense Fund. “We need better data on local sources of air pollution, information on health outcomes, and the ability to integrate this data into decision-making. We thank Senator Markey for introducing the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act, which would provide needed tools to better understand air pollution and protect health.”

“Thank you to Senator Markey for introducing the Technology Assessment for Air Quality Management Act and for his continued leadership on addressing air pollution,” said Harold Wimmer, President & CEO of the American Lung Association. “Accurately monitoring air quality is a key component in protecting public health, and it is especially important to prioritize monitoring in the communities that have been left behind in the pursuit for healthy air. Exploring ways to expand air quality monitoring and ensuring that data is efficiently shared with local communities is necessary to ensure clean air for all.”

 

“Innovative technologies play a critical role to improve our understanding of the air pollution burden in our nation, especially in environmental justice communities,” said Dr. John Graham, Senior Scientist of the Clean Air Task Force. “This Act will provide a fundamental database of air pollution monitoring techniques and their uses and will help optimize resource deployment to improve the safety of communities.”

Source: United States Senator for Maryland Ben Cardin

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