Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

OSHKOSH – U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) issued the following statement after Biden’s remarks on Ukraine:

“For America and the world to be safe, America must be strong. Everything that President Biden has done since taking office has weakened America. From canceling the Keystone XL Pipeline and waiving sanctions on the Nord Stream 2 Pipeline, to open borders leading to a record flood of illegal immigrants and reckless and out of control spending that has sparked 7.5% inflation, and the dangerous and embarrassing withdrawal from Afghanistan. All these actions have weakened America, and our enemies have noticed. They are taking advantage of the Biden administration’s weakness.”

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Source: United States Senator for Wisconsin Ron Johnson

Discharging service members who are not fully vaccinated will threaten military readiness 

WASHINGTON — On Thursday, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin demanding responses to his Oct. 12, 2021 and Dec. 15, 2021 letters on the Department of Defense’s (DoD) COVID-19 vaccine mandate. To date, DoD has failed to respond to the senator’s questions including requests for information on the vaccination status of service members. 

Recently, Thomas Renz, an attorney representing several DoD whistleblowers, released a 35-page DoD brief that included some of the information the senator previously requested from Sec. Austin.

The senator wrote, “This brief, dated January 12, 2022, appeared to contain data that I had requested from you including information on the vaccination status of service members.  Specifically, the document showed that for all services members, approximately 76% are fully vaccinated; 16% are partially vaccinated; and 8% are not vaccinated or unknown.”

As a result of DoD’s discharging of service members who are not fully vaccinated, the senator added, “I am concerned that your actions may threaten our defense capabilities.   I am sure you realize that you cannot discharge thousands of service members who are not fully vaccinated and hope to maintain any semblance of military readiness.”

Read more about the letter in The Washington Free Beacon.

The full text of the letter can be found here and below:

February 17, 2022

 

The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III

Secretary of Defense

U.S. Department of Defense

1000 Defense Pentagon

Washington, D.C. 20301

Dear Secretary Austin:

              For months, the Department of Defense (DoD) has failed to provide information about your ambiguous August 24, 2021 COVID-19 vaccine mandate.[1]  Perhaps as a result of your unwillingness to be transparent with service members, whistleblowers have come forward to share some of the information that I asked you to provide last year. 

Over four months ago on October 12, 2021, I requested that DoD provide information about the number COVID-19 vaccinations administered to service members.[2]  On October 27, 2021, I received a letter from Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gilbert Cisneros stating that he would “provide a comprehensive response by November 29, 2021.”[3]  After DoD failed to meet this deadline, I reiterated my requests in a December 15, 2021 letter.[4]  On January 10, 2022, Mr. Cisneros wrote to me again stating that he will provide a “comprehensive response to [my] questions by March 31, 2022.”[5]  DoD’s consistent failure to respond to my requests in a timely manner is unacceptable particularly when my questions relate to the health and well-being of service members.  

Recently, Thomas Renz, an attorney who is representing multiple DoD whistleblowers, released a 35-page unclassified DoD document titled, “Senior Leaders Brief COVID-19.”[6]  This brief, dated January 12, 2022, appeared to contain data that I had requested from you including information on the vaccination status of service members.  Specifically, the document showed that for all services members, approximately 76% are fully vaccinated; 16% are partially vaccinated; and 8% are not vaccinated or unknown.[7]  I request that you immediately provide an official copy of this apparent packet of information (enclosed) and all similar briefings compiled since August 24, 2021.  If this brief is authentic, then why did DoD not immediately send me this information on vaccination status as soon as it was compiled?   

Given that DoD is still discharging service members who “refuse to be vaccinated for COVID-19,” I am concerned that your actions may threaten our defense capabilities.[8]  I am sure you realize that you cannot discharge thousands of service members who are not fully vaccinated and hope to maintain any semblance of military readiness. 

The men and women of the armed forces who put their lives on the line to defend this country deserve your full transparency and cooperation with congressional oversight.  I demand your immediate response to my previous letters.

Sincerely,

Ron Johnson

United States Senator

cc:         The Honorable Sean O’Donnell

              Acting Inspector General

Source: United States Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV)

This New Facility Received Funding from COVID Relief Laws that Rosen Helped Pass

LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) attended the grand opening of the Nevada Strong Start Child Care Services Center in Las Vegas and toured the new facility with local leaders and child care providers. Federal funding for the new center was provided by the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Act and the American Rescue Plan Act, both of which Senator Rosen voted for and helped pass. Senator Rosen was joined by Governor Steve Sisolak, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto, Congresswoman Susie Lee, and Clark County Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick.  

“Even before the pandemic, half of American families reported difficulty accessing affordable child care,” said Senator Rosen. “Thanks in large part to federal funding from COVID relief laws passed through Congress, this new Child Care Services Center will be a critical resource for providers across Nevada, bringing invaluable resources, information, and support to thousands of working parents and their kids. I am committed to delivering solutions to lower costs and make child care more accessible and affordable for Nevadans, giving providers the tools to succeed and parents the support they need.” 

Child Care Services Center is being created to support the needs of Nevada’s child care providers of all types, giving them one location to access resources, support, and information to better serve young children and families. Child Care Services Center will open a second location in Reno later this year, as well as an online hub to support child care providers across the state.

The American Rescue Plan, which Senator Rosen voted for last year, included $39 billion for emergency relief to support child care providers, including the funding that made today’s launch of Nevada Strong Start Child Care Services Center possible.

Last year, Senator Rosen and Congresswoman Lee introduced their Small Business Child Care Investment Act, bipartisan legislation that would prevent the closure of nonprofit child care facilities and help them to expand operations by providing access to the same federal small business loans available to for-profit child care providers.

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Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee that oversees the Internal Revenue Service, was joined today by U.S. Rep. Donald Payne, Jr., Rutgers Law Tax Clinic representatives, tax professionals and taxpayers, as he reiterated his calls for the agency to take immediate actions to get back to basics, reduce its massive backlog, and improve customer service during the 2022 tax filing season.

“Since last June, I have been sounding the alarm on the customer service issues, processing delays, and anticipated challenges at the IRS given the significant outstanding backlog of tax returns. I have sent six oversight letters to the IRS urging them to get back to the basics of opening the mail, processing returns, and answering phone calls,” said Sen. Menendez. “No entity, public or private, touches more Americans than the IRS. That’s why we must have an IRS that works.”

Even before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, the IRS has struggled with funding and personnel issues for over a decade. Between 2010 and 2019, the agency’s budget declined by $2.9 billion or 20.4 percent. This, combined with a reduction in nearly one-fourth of its workforce, created a “perfect storm” leading up to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.

WATCH VIDEO HERE

 Following the onset of the pandemic, the IRS closed all of its processing facilities for almost three months and delayed the close of the 2020 filing season, leading to a backlog of 13.1 million unprocessed tax returns at the end of 2020, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). According to the National Taxpayer Advocate, as of January 28, 2022, the IRS has 23.7 million items to process manually, including 17.9 million unprocessed returns and 5.8 million pieces of mail.

“My office has received hundreds of calls in the last year and a half on IRS-related matters – in fact, it is the single greatest issue that we are hearing about and it is time for the IRS to make changes,” added Sen. Menendez.

“The current IRS backlog is a major issue that is causing serious delays in when American taxpayers get their tax refunds,” said Rep. Donald M. Payne, Jr.  “I have received multiple complaints from constituents about it. I am delighted Senator Menendez has given us the opportunity to address this issue directly.  I am sure all of our constituents will appreciate that we hear their concerns and frustrations and that we are working with the IRS to rectify the situation.”                                                                  

“Navigating the complex tax system is a challenge in the best of times. Low-income individuals often have additional obstacles due to limited education or language barriers. Our goal is to help these individuals, who are lost in the system, achieve  a result in a tax dispute,” said Sandy Freund, Clinical Professor of Law, Charles Davenport Clinical Scholar at Rutgers Law School and Director of the Tax Clinic. “However, lately, all of us in the tax community face the additional hurdle of dealing with the IRS, a bureaucracy now laden with extreme delays in case processing. Cases are taking years to resolve and supporting documents sent in by taxpayers are not being processed at all. These delays are incredibly costly to taxpayers, as refunds are being seized yearly, while cases are pending.”

“Taxpayers and tax practitioners have experienced tremendous difficulties and frustration in dealing with the IRS due to erroneous notices, delays in processing returns and correspondence, and the IRS’s failure to answer a large majority of phone calls,” said Andrea Diaz, CPA, partner at SKC & Co., CPAs, and member of the New Jersey Society of CPAs. “We appreciate the time and focus that Senator Menendez has given to remedy these issues.”

Sen. Menendez has long been sounding the alarm about customer service performance and the agency’s massive processing backlogs. Last week, Sen. Menendez and Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.-07) led a bicameral effort with 45 colleagues urging the IRS to take immediate actions to reduce its massive backlog and improve its customer service during the 2022 tax filing season. Shortly after sending out letter, the IRS announced it would be putting together a second surge team to help address the massive backlogs and continue to improve customer service.

Sens. Menendez and Cortez Masto today led another letter calling on the IRS to halt its planned closure of the Austin tax processing center, given how it would impact ITIN applicants and recipients.  Shortly after sending the letter, the IRS announced it would not close the Austin facility.

In January, Sen. Menendez led 210 colleagues in a bipartisan and bicameral call for the IRS to provide penalty relief for taxpayers. This spurred the agency to address some of the most painful issues facing taxpayers by temporarily halting some, but not all of the penalty notifications. Sen. Menendez also urged IRS Commissioner Rettig last year to keep phone lines open while addressing the unprecedented backlog of unprocessed returns and to take concrete steps that will allow them to return back to basics such as answering phones, providing quality online and in-person services, and processing returns in a timely manner.

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Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy

Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

02.22.22

Cantwell: With Aviation Jobs Program a Success, Now “Aviation is Starting to Hire” in Washington

Cantwell: “This took everything for us to do to save our competitive nature here in the Pacific Northwest, to keep complex, quality metal and plastic parts being assembled and made for aerospace here in Washington state.”

TACOMA, WA – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, met with workers at Tacoma aviation manufacturer Tool Gauge Machine Works, Inc. to discuss the benefits of the company’s $619,775 grant from the Aviation Manufacturing Jobs Protection Program (AMJP) that saved 38 jobs and helped Tool Gauge survive the pandemic. Senator Cantwell led the effort to secure funding for the AMJP in the American Rescue Plan that passed last March.

“We [knew] that when the downturn of aviation demand happened during COVID, that we were going to need to do something to help stabilize the supply chain. We knew that when our economy started to rebound and that aerospace demand started to return, that if we had lost these jobs…we might not ever get them back. And with this level of critical skill, we knew that our region could not afford to lose one more aviation worker,” said Cantwell.

Now, Cantwell says, “aviation is starting to hire, and we’re thankful these programs made it through this incredibly difficult COVID period for all of us.”

Statewide, through all three rounds of AMJP, a total of $57.2 million in grants have now been awarded to 68 Washington state aviation manufacturers, estimated to protect 3,150 aerospace jobs by providing funding to retain, rehire, or recall skilled employees. In total, $8,348,836 was awarded to 6 Pierce County aviation businesses and saved a total of 384 high-skilled jobs in Tacoma, Fife, Sumner, and Bonney Lake.

“Because we had the grant, we had the workforce, and we were able to save our key-skilled positions. We were in a great position to take on that transfer work. And the thing about aerospace work is, once it goes away, it never comes back…So it was critical for us, and it’s going to help us grow back out,” said Jim Lee, General Manager of Tool Gauge.

The health of the aerospace supply chain is critical to the U.S. aviation industry as a whole. Nationwide, pre-pandemic levels showed the aerospace industry employed about 2.19 million jobs with 58% attributed to supply chain jobs. Prior to COVID-19, Washington state supported 130,000 direct aerospace employees and produced 1,400 aircraft and unmanned aerial systems, accounting for more than $50 billion product exports annually.

“Thanks to programs, like the one that the Senator helped us with, [we] have kept people here…I can’t believe in a moment what would have happened if I would have lost my job…So I’m very, very thankful for this program,” said Teresita Quiroz, Tool Gauge employee.

The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted the aviation manufacturing, maintenance, repair and overhaul industries. More than 100,000 supply chain jobs have already been lost since the outbreak of the pandemic, including 30,000 jobs in Washington State.

Last March, Cantwell wrote Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg asking the agency to quickly implement the program. In June and again in July, Senator Cantwell urged Washington state aerospace manufacturers to retain their employees by applying to the AMJP program before the application deadline.

A recording of the event livestream is available HERE and a transcript of Cantwell’s remarks is available HERE.

A list of all Pierce County grant recipients is available HERE, Snohomish County is available HERE, King County is available HERE, and Spokane County is available HERE.

A list of all AMJP recipients can be found HERE.

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Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

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Source: United States Senator for Illinois Tammy Duckworth

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Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) joined Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) and U.S. Congressman Bob Latta (R-OH), along with 124 bicameral colleagues, in sending a letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requesting the FDA immediately restore more stringent oversight of chemical abortion bills, including the in-person dispensing requirement the FDA suspended in December.
 
Click here to see a full list of cosponsors. 
 
The full text of the letter is below.
 
Dear Commissioner Califf: 
 
We write to express our deep concern regarding the December action by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to permanently eliminate longstanding patient safeguards associated with the chemical abortion drug mifepristone.
 
Removing the in-person dispensing requirements from the drug’s Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) and permitting mail-order dispensing of this drug will increase risks to women. This action recklessly ignores the clear data showing the dangers of chemical abortions and abandons FDA’s responsibility for ensuring safety of drugs. 
 
Mifepristone is the first part of the two-drug chemical abortion process. It blocks progesterone, a hormone that nurtures the developing child throughout the pregnancy. It is prescribed in combination with a second drug, misoprostol, which forces the uterus to contract and expel the unborn baby. This chemical abortion process is a multi-day progression of bleeding, cramping, and contracting that according to the Mifeprex medication guide may take up to 30 days to complete. 
 
In addition to the loss of the unborn child, chemical abortion drugs present serious risk to the health of the mother, including severe bleeding, infection, the need for surgical intervention, and even death. In fact, chemical abortions are four times more dangerous than surgical abortions. These health risks necessitate, at minimum, in-person screening by a physician. Pregnant mothers need to be screened in-person for contraindications like an ectopic pregnancy and the age of their baby to prevent life-threatening complications. They should also be tested for blood type and Rh factor to protect their fertility,4 examined after taking the drugs because of the risk of infection from an incomplete abortion. Furthermore, allowing these drugs to be dispensed without physician oversight makes it easier for the drug to fall into the hands of abusers who may give them to pregnant women without their knowledge and consent. 
 
Recognizing these grave risks, FDA put in place rules to protect the women who take these drugs by implementing a REMS for mifepristone. FDA can require a REMS when a drug has “serious safety concerns” and the REMS are necessary to address the specific serious risk associated with the drug. 
 
Under the mifepristone REMS, the drug had to be ordered, prescribed, and dispensed by a qualified healthcare provider in a clinic, medical office, or hospital. FDA’s action to indefinitely repeal basic, commonsense safeguards is reckless and exposes women to unnecessary risks. 
 
Even with the stronger REMS in place, mifepristone posed serious risks that have been increasing over time. A first-of-its-kind longitudinal study, published in November 2021 found that the rate of abortion-related emergency room visits following a chemical abortion increased by more than 500 percent from 2002 through 2015.9 This study looked at Medicaid claims data from the 17 states where taxpayer funds pay for abortion and is consistent with similar studies of chemical abortion in Finland and Sweden, The FDA decision ignores these studies, which all confirm the risks from mifepristone are serious and increasing. 
 
Make no mistake: the relaxation of these requirements will hasten a new regime of mail order abortion, where women ingest these dangerous medications alone without any meaningful oversight from a doctor. Without physician involvement and the associated quick access to care in the case of adverse events, women are likely to face additional complications from these do-it yourself chemical abortions. 
 
Indefinitely eliminating the REMS in-person requirement eliminates the minimal guardrails established to protect women’s health. This action promotes mail-order abortion-on demand and disregards the growing threat to women’s health posed by chemical abortion drugs. Further, the agency abandons vulnerable pregnant women to the reckless and predatory actions of the abortion industry. In light of comprehensive data showing increasing risks to women, the FDA should strengthen the REMS, rather than loosen them. Therefore, we call on FDA to immediately rescind its removal of the in-person dispensing requirement and to strengthen the REMS in order to protect women’s health.