Category: US Senate

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Barrasso Bill Expands Access to Broadband in National Parks

Source: United States Senator for Wyoming John Barrasso

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine), chair of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee, introduced legislation to increase broadband and cellular service at U.S. National Parks.

The Connect Our Parks Act will direct each National Park to assess where broadband service is needed and develop a plan to increase access to internet and cellular service. Increased cellular access inside our Parks is a crucial component of public safety. Further, broadband access has been identified as a barrier to hiring and retaining qualified employees for the National Park Service, a current crisis within the agency.

“Wyoming is home to the most incredible national parks in the country,” said Senator Barrasso. “Our national parks host millions of visitors and employees every year. We want to make sure everyone in the park has access to life-saving emergency services. The Connect Our Parks Act will provide Park Rangers, employees, and visitors with high-speed, reliable broadband to keep our parks safe and accessible at all times.”

“America’s National Parks provide great opportunities to enjoy nature, but when emergencies happen, visitors should have modern connections to receive help,” said Senator King, chair of the Senate National Parks Subcommittee. “The Connect Our Parks Act is a commonsense effort to improve access to emergency services, assist Park Rangers responding to crises, and expand growing digital services like park navigation. I appreciate Senator Barrasso’s leadership on this issue and look forward to our continued partnership to improve America’s great outdoors.”

Cosponsors of this bill include U.S. Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.).

This Connect Our Parks Act specifically:

  • Directs each of the National Parks to assess where service, both internet service and cellular service, is lacking within the park.
  • For broadband, areas of study should include housing, administrative facilities and related structures, and campgrounds.
  • For cellular service, areas should be identified that would increase the public’s access to emergency services and would increase the communications capabilities of Park Rangers.
  • Requires each park to develop a plan to increase broadband and cellular service based on the results of the assessment.
  • Requires the plan to provide minimal disruptions to viewsheds, land, and wildlife.
  • Requires each park to utilize public-private partnerships to install and provide the telecommunications service.
  • Requires parks to consult with relevant stakeholders, plan in a technology-neutral way, and provide a minimum internet service speed of 100/20 Mbps.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

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Sen. Moran Statement on Commerce Committee Delayed Markup of FAA Reauthorization Act

Source: United States Senator for Kansas – Jerry Moran

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) – the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations, and Innovation – today released the following statement regarding a delayed markup of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2023:

“Members of this committee have been negotiating in good faith for months to produce a strong bipartisan product. This is a first step in the process, and we should move the FAA Reauthorization Act through our committee today. It is crucial we provide certainty and a long-term reauthorization to the FAA to address and prepare for the current and future state of aviation. The FAA is at an important juncture as it navigates an evolving environment and challenges.

“When traveling by air, Americans expect to arrive to their destination safely, with minimal delays and without spending all their savings on a plane ticket. It is these expectations that have been at the forefront of our discussions as we drafted this legislation. Work to improve the FAA Reauthorization Act legislation will be ongoing, and I urge the Majority Leader to address those issues on the Senate floor and allow the committee to move this package forward. Our aviation system should not be subject to last minute political whims.”

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Hoeven Helps Introduce Legislation to Expand Telehealth Access, Make Permanent Telehealth Flexibilities

Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

06.15.23

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today helped reintroduce the Creating Opportunities Now for Necessary and Effective Care Technologies (CONNECT) for Health Act. The legislation, sponsored by Senators Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), will expand coverage of telehealth services through Medicare and make permanent telehealth flexibilities that were provided in recent years. Doing so will help improve health outcomes and make it easier for patients to connect with their doctors. Hoeven previously cosponsored the bill in the 117th Congress.

“Telehealth is an increasingly important tool that empowers Americans across the country, particularly in rural states like North Dakota, to access their health care providers with greater convenience and at a lower cost,” said Senator Hoeven. “That’s why we’re working to remove restrictions on this critical technology and provide the flexibility that patients and providers need to better utilize its potential for improving health and well-being.”

“While telehealth use has skyrocketed these last few years, our laws have not kept up. Telehealth is helping people in every part of the country get the care they need, and it’s here to stay,” said Senator Schatz. “Our comprehensive bill makes it easier for more people to see their doctors no matter where they live.”

“Telehealth is a revolutionary development in health care delivery. The internet put communications and commerce in the palm of our hand, and it is now doing the same for health care,” said Senator Wicker. “After years of dedicated efforts, I am pleased to see the growing support for making flexibility in telehealth delivery permanent. The CONNECT for Health Act will move us toward Medicare beneficiaries receiving the healthcare they deserve.”

Specifically, the CONNECT for Health Act would:

  • Permanently remove all geographic restrictions on telehealth services and expand originating sites to include the home and other sites.
  • Permanently allow health centers and rural health clinics to provide telehealth services.
  • Allow more eligible health care professionals to utilize telehealth services.
  • Remove unnecessary in-person visit requirements for telemental health services.
  • Require more published data to learn more about how telehealth is being used, impacts of quality of care, and how it can be improved to support patients and health care providers.

In addition to Hoeven, Schatz and Wicker, the CONNECT for Health is cosponsored by Senators Ben Cardin (D-Md.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Angus King (I-Maine), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), James Lankford (R-Okla.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Katie Britt (R-Ala.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Todd Young (R-Ind.). Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Roger Marshall (R-Kan.).

A summary of the bill and the list of endorsing organizations are available here. The full text of the bill is available here.

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Hoeven, Blackburn Introduce Legislation Requiring Familial DNA Testing at Southern Border

Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

06.14.23

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven and Senator Marsha Blackburn this week introduced the End Child Trafficking Now Act, legislation to require a DNA test to determine the relationship between illegal immigrants coming across the border and any accompanying children.

“I’ve traveled to the southern border repeatedly over the last few years, and we need to stop the illegal immigration crisis,” said Senator Hoeven. “Children are being trafficked at the border by individuals claiming to have family ties in order to exploit our immigration laws. This is a humanitarian crisis. ICE and CBP officials agree Rapid DNA testing deters illegal crossings. Mandating DNA testing will help to ensure that bad actors are punished for trafficking these children.”

The End Child Trafficking Now Act would:

  • Require the deportation of illegal immigrant adults if they refuse a DNA test;
  • Mandate a maximum 10-year prison sentence for illegal immigrant adults who fabricate family ties or guardianship over a minor;
  • Criminalize “child recycling,” which happens when the same child is used repeatedly to gain entry by illegal immigrant adults who are neither relatives nor legal guardians; and
  • Require the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to process the child as an unaccompanied minor under current law if family ties or legal guardianship cannot be proven with the accompanying adult.

Senators Hoeven and Blackburn are joined on the bill by Senators Bill Hagerty, Thom Tillis, Mike Lee, Cindy Hyde-Smith, Ted Cruz, Joni Ernst, J.D. Vance, Steve Daines and Bill Cassidy. Representative Lance Gooden introduced the companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The legislation is the latest in Hoeven’s work to address the Biden administration’s failed immigration policies and stop the crisis at the southern border. Over the last several years, Hoeven has met with North Dakota National Guard members in Del Rio and Eagle Pass, Texas to highlight their mission in support of Customs and Border Protection operations. The senator has also reviewed border operations in El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley, and traveled with a bipartisan congressional delegation to Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Guatemala to outline the need to work with these nations to stop illegal immigration and prevent human and drug trafficking.

Hoeven continues pressing the Biden administration to secure the border, enforce the law, including:

  • Reinstate the Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) or Remain in Mexico Policy, which required people seeking asylum at the southern border to wait in Mexico while their case was adjudicated.
  • Strictly Enforce the Safe Third Country Agreements requiring that those coming from El Salvador, Honduras, and Guatemala seek asylum there first, otherwise be returned to await the outcome of their claims.

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Press Releases 06/15/2023 Tillis Co-Introduces Bipartisan Legislation to Help Prepare Homeowners for Natural Disasters

Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis recently co-introduced the Disaster Mitigation and Tax Parity Act, bipartisan legislation that will exempt rebates that homeowners receive for hardening their homes against natural disasters from federal taxes.

“Federal taxes being taken out of a North Carolina homeowner’s rebate is the last thing they should have to think about if they take proactive measures to prepare their homes for natural disasters,” said Senator Tillis. “We should be doing everything we can to incentivize homeowners and improve disaster mitigation, and I’m proud to work on this bipartisan bill to provide this commonsense tax break to North Carolinians.”

North Carolina is among the states that provide rebates to homeowners who take steps to protect their homes from natural disasters. These improvements can include removing trees, bushes, and other fire-prone vegetation close to homes that contribute to wildfires, strengthening foundations to protect against earthquakes, and installing fortified roofs to withstand hurricanes.

However, homeowners are required to pay federal taxes on those rebates. In contrast, rebates for energy conservation improvements are already exempt from federal income taxes. This bill would place natural disaster mitigation efforts in a similar category. 

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Whitehouse Applauds UN Effort to Root Out Fossil Fuel Lobbying from Global Climate Summits

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Sheldon Whitehouse

06.15.23

UNFCCC announcement comes just weeks after Senator Whitehouse, congressional colleagues, and members of the European parliament sent transatlantic letter demanding greater transparency

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee and a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement after the United Nations (UN) announced that it will require all delegates attending Conferences of the Parties (COPs) to disclose their affiliation with fossil fuel companies and other corporations:

“The fossil fuel industry’s fingerprints were everywhere at the last COP, the world’s best shot each year to address the global climate crisis that we are running out of time to solve.  After raising this issue repeatedly with UN, U.S., and European climate leaders, I’m pleased to see the UN step up and begin to address this creeping problem by requiring COP delegates to disclose their ties to corporate polluters.  It’s a good first step, and one that the UN should build on by requiring all companies participating in COPs to file audited climate political footprint statements as a ticket to entry.” 

“Currently, corporations hide much of their anti-climate work behind front groups and anonymous elections spending.  Full transparency is necessary to provide an accurate picture of where corporations stand on climate-related issues to help restore public faith in the COP process and achieve the climate action necessary to save our planet from climate catastrophe.”

UN climate officials confirmed today that delegates attending its annual climate summit will be required to disclose their affiliations in an effort to clamp down on undue influence by fossil fuel companies.  Participants will also be asked to provide optional information on their relationship with the government agency or organization that has nominated them, and those declining to do so will be flagged.

According to one analysis, at least 636 lobbyists from the oil and gas industries registered to attend COP27 last year, and many attended under the cover of country delegations. 

Last month, Whitehouse led a letter with 133 members of Congress and the European Parliament to U.S. President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Simon Stiell urging the officials to rid COP28 and all future international climate talks of persistent interference from the fossil fuel industry.

Last December after returning from COP27, Whitehouse and Senators Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Edward Markey (D-MA) wrote to Secretary General Guterres and Executive Secretary Stiell calling on the United Nations to require sponsors and participants at future climate conferences to provide audited corporate climate political influencing statements. 

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English/Español: Rubio Criticizes State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

In its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, the U.S. State Department evaluates the status of the government’s efforts to counter human trafficking and highlights the best strategies to diminish this global evil. 

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) issued a statement criticizing the release of the State Department’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report:

  • “Human trafficking is a global tragedy that can only be countered if nations unite and fight against this evil. Democratic nations worldwide have a moral duty to hold oppressors accountable. The U.S. must continue to lead by example in pursuit of both justice and accountability. 

  • “It is absurd and shameful that the State Department’s summary report fails to highlight two of the most alarming instances of modern-day slavery. Starting with China’s acts of genocide against the Uyghur population, where individuals are subjected to forced labor and unjust mass detentions, as well as Cuba’s ‘medical brigades,’ which are nothing more than a profit-driven scheme led by the island’s criminal regime.

  • “Burying these human rights violations in the individual country reports means most people and reporters will assume the U.S. government does not take heinous crimes in China and Cuba seriously.” — Senator Rubio

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RUBIO CRÍTICA INFORME DEL 2023 SOBRE LA TRATA DE PERSONAS DEL DEPARTAMENTO DE ESTADO

En su informe anual sobre la Trata de Personas, el Departamento de Estado de EE.UU. analiza el estado de los esfuerzos del gobierno para contrarrestar la trata de personas y destaca las mejores estrategias para disminuir este mal a nivel mundial.

El senador estadounidense Marco Rubio (R-FL) emitió un comunicado en la que critica la publicación del informe del 2023 sobre la Trata de Personas del Departamento de Estado:

  • “La trata de personas es una tragedia mundial que solo puede contrarrestarse si las naciones se unen y luchan conjuntamente contra este mal. Las naciones democráticas de todo el mundo tienen el deber moral de responsabilizar a los opresores. EE.UU. debe seguir liderando con su ejemplo en la lucha por la justicia y la rendición de cuentas.

  • “Es absurdo y vergonzoso que el informe resumido del Departamento de Estado no resalte dos de los casos más alarmantes de la esclavitud moderna. Comenzando con los actos de genocidio cometidos por China contra los uigures, donde estos individuos son sometidos a trabajos forzados y detenciones masivas injustas, así como a las ‘brigadas médicas’ de Cuba, que no son más que un esquema lucrativo liderado por el régimen criminal de la isla.

  • “El enterrar estas violaciones de DD.HH. en el informe individual de cada país significa que la mayoría de la gente y periodistas supondrán que el gobierno de EE.UU. no toma los crímenes atroces en China y Cuba en serio.” — Senador Rubio

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Scott Sickle Cell Legislation Passes Out of Committee

Source: United States Senator for South Carolina Tim Scott

Thursday | June 15, 2023

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Tim Scott’s (R-S.C.) and Senator Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) Sickle Cell Disease and Other Heritable Blood Disorders Research, Surveillance, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2023 passed out of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. This legislation reauthorizes the Health Resources and Services Administration’s Sickle Cell Disease Treatment Demonstration Program beyond fiscal year 2023 through fiscal year 2028. 

Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder predominantly effecting African Americans, Latinos and other minority groups. Individuals with SCD have a significantly lower life expectancy than the overall population. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, sickle cell affects 100,000 individuals in the United States.

“Sickle cell continues to affect thousands of Americans, oftentimes those without access to specialized care,” said Senator Scott. “This bill makes strides in ensuring those affected have access to the treatment they need to manage their healthcare and eventually future cures for this deadly disease.”

The Sickle Cell Disease Treatment and Demonstration Program:

  • Increases the number of clinicians knowledgeable about SCD care;
  • Improves the quality of care provided to individuals with SCD;
  • Develops best practices for coordination of services during the pediatric to adult care transition; and
  • Improves care coordination with other providers.The legislation is endorsed by the Sickle Cell Disease Partnership, National Association of Sickle Cell Centers, American Society of Hematology, Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc, and Sick Cells.

The full text of the legislation can be viewed here.

Background:

Senator Scott’s leadership on Sickle Cell Disease awareness includes:

  • Introducing and signing into law the Sickle Cell and Other Heritable Blood Disorders Research Surveillance, Prevention and Treatment Act in 2018;
  • Creating bipartisan legislation to dedicate September as Sickle Cell Awareness month;
  • Questioning the FDA nominee on the future of CRISPR technology in finding a cure for Sickle Cell Disease; and
  • Designating February 28th as Rare Disease Day to promote awareness for all rare diseases, such as sickle cell.

Related Issues: 

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Collins, King Back Bipartisan Legislation to Expand Students’ Access to Milk in Schools

Source: United States Senator for Maine Angus King

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King are joining a group of colleagues in sponsoring bipartisan legislation that would amend federal school lunch program guidelines to expand students’ access to milk in schools. The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act allows schools to offer additional healthy milk options in schools to improve students’ nutrition intake as a critical step toward improving child health outcomes.

The legislation seeks to require schools to include “whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free” milk as options in the National School Lunch program, and to exempt milk from USDA saturated fat limits established in the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act. Current law requires flavored milk in schools must be fat-free, though schools may seek a waiver to offer low-fat (1%) flavored milk.

“Whole milk provides essential nutrients such as calcium and vitamin D, crucial for the growth and development of students,” said Senator Collins. “This bipartisan bill, which allows schools to provide whole, reduced-fat, low-fat, and fat-free milk as options under the National School Lunch Program not only helps ensure our students are getting the nutrients they need, but also supports local dairy farmers and strengthens local economies.

“Maine dairy farmers play a critical role in our state – producing high-quality, healthy products and driving our agricultural economy,” said Senator King. “The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act is commonsense legislation to give Maine students more choices for the type of milk they consume based on their own nutritional needs. I’m grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for working together to support hardworking dairy producers and the health of America’s students.”

“As a Maine dairy farmer, I believe strongly in the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act. Not only is whole milk full of important nutrients our kids need to grow and learn, it’s local and produced by dairy farmers like my family and me right here in Maine,” said Isabel Mullin, a Maine dairy farmer in Kittery and Young Cooperator for the National Milk Producers Federation.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans reports that nearly 90 percent of Americans do not meet their daily dairy intake recommendations. Additionally, leading nutritionists have found that whole dairy fats have no negative effect on a diet, and may even reduce risk of heart disease.

In addition to Senator Collins and King, cosponsors of the act include U.S. Senators Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Roger Marshall M.D. (R-Kan.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), John Fetterman (R-Pa.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.).

Senators Collins and King have been strong supporter of dairy industries, recently joining a bipartisan group in introducing legislation to combat the unfair practice of mislabeling non-dairy products. In the past, Senators Collins and King have joined their colleagues in asking the USDA for additional COVID-19 relief for dairy farmers. The Senators also previously joined the Maine Delegation in urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide federal support to the 14 Maine organic dairy farms who were notified that their contracts would not be renewed by Horizon Organic. 

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Cassidy, Scott, Colleagues Urge U.S. Department of State to Resolve Unacceptable Passport Delays

Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Rick Scott (R-FL), and 12 Republican colleagues urged U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken to take immediate action to resolve the massive backlog of passport applications in a letter to the U.S. Department of State.

“Since January 2023, our offices have observed a massive increase in passport related inquiries from our constituents. We understand that the Department of State is experiencing an unprecedented number of passport applications and renewals, but the strategies put in place to address this unprecedented demand appear to need additional attention,” wrote the senators.  

“These backlogs have resulted in many American families being forced to cancel their travel plans because of increased wait times, a lack of available in-person appointments and an inability to communicate with passport agencies. Furthermore, the delay many Americans are experiencing in receiving their passport could potentially be detrimental to their livelihood,” continued the senators. 

Cassidy and Scott were joined by U.S. Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Crapo (R-ID), John Barrasso (R-WY), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Katie Britt (R-AL), Ted Budd (R-NC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), JD Vance (R-OH), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and Deb Fischer (R-NE) in signing the letter.

Read the full letter here or below:  

Dear Secretary Blinken:

As summer begins and families across the nation are finalizing their travel plans, we have heard countless reports from constituents in our states about the massive backlogs in processing passport applications. While we appreciate the hard work of Passport Agency employees across the nation, this backlog and the unresponsiveness to many passport inquiries is unacceptable. 

Since January 2023, our offices have observed a massive increase in passport related inquiries from our constituents. We understand that the Department of State is experiencing an unprecedented number of passport applications and renewals, but the strategies put in place to address this unprecedented demand appear to need additional attention.

These backlogs have resulted in many American families being forced to cancel their travel plans because of increased wait times, a lack of available in-person appointments and an inability to communicate with passport agencies. Furthermore, the delay many Americans are experiencing in receiving their passport could potentially be detrimental to their livelihood.

The Department of State must address these issues promptly to remedy the situation. As our offices continue to work each and every day to assist constituents with their passport needs, we are requesting answers to the following questions:

  1. What measures are being taken to decrease processing and wait times?
  2. How does the Department plan to resolve the communications issues?
  3. How does the Department plan to permanently resolve these issues to avoid backlog in the future?

Families across the nation are dependent on a quick and efficient solution to the many issues and delays the Passport Agencies are experiencing. We look forward to hearing your solutions to this ongoing issue. 

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