Source: United States Senator Mike Braun (Indiana)
WASHINGTON – Senator Braun released the following statement on former President Trump’s indictment by the Biden Department of Justice.
“The Biden administration is arresting their top political adversary for something Biden himself admitted to doing just this year. President Biden’s weaponization of our justice system against his enemies will do lasting damage to the rule of law.” – Senator Mike Braun
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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, and member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced three grants totaling $300,000 through the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for regional development planning across West Virginia.
“At the EPW Committee, we oversee and work closely with the ARC to identify places where investments can strengthen local economies and make a difference in our communities,” Ranking Member Capito said. “The funds announced today will help assist three areas of West Virginia with planning for future development, and I’m looking forward to seeing these resources help create more success stories across our state.”
Individual awards listed below:
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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced $1,444,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the Town of Oceana, W.Va. This funding, which was secured through a Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) request made solely by Senator Capito, will be used to upgrade Oceana’s wastewater collection system to accommodate increasing sewage volume.
In total, Senator Capito secured $241,135,000 in direct spending measures for initiatives and projects across West Virginia through the Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 appropriations omnibus package.
“I’m pleased to have secured this funding for the Town of Oceana to make needed upgrades to their wastewater system,” Ranking Member Capito said. “Making sure our communities have reliable water infrastructure will always be a top priority, and that these funds will address a number of defects to be repaired or eliminated which were identified by the city. I am glad to help support this needed improvement for the people of Oceana.”
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Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Shelley Moore Capito
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Ranking Member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee and member of the Appropriations Committee, released the below statement on today’s groundbreaking of the Kerens to Parsons section of Corridor H. For years, Capito has delivered resources for Corridor H’s completion through Congressionally Directed Spending, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act she crafted in the EPW Committee, and other funding sources.
“As a member of the Appropriations Committee, and in my role at the EPW Committee overseeing the Federal Highway Administration, I’ve consistently pushed for the completion of Corridor H and helped deliver funds to do so. The groundbreaking of this key section between Kerens and Parsons marks a major milestone for this critical transportation project, and I’m thrilled for the positive impact it will have for years to come as we continue to expand and improve West Virginia’s roads and bridges,” Ranking Member Capito said.
In 2022, Senator Capito secured $5 million for Corridor H as part of a Congressionally Directed Spending request.
Following a letter and call with the Department of Transportation in 2020, Senator Capito secured $12 million for the Kerens to Parsons section of Corridor H.
In 2019, Senator Capito pushed to fund the Appalachian Development Highway System at $100 million annually, and importantly, worked to ensure it would be fully funded at that level in the years that followed.
In 2019, Senator Capito announced a $100 million grant for the West Virginia Division of Highways (WVDOH) to support construction of Corridor H.
Photo from 2019 of DOT Secretary Chao and Senator Capito can be found here announcing a $100 million grant that supported the construction of Corridor H.
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Source: United States Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND)
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), member of the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to provide a “clear and swift change in administrative direction” on Waters of the United States (WOTUS) to prevent further delay of determining jurisdiction. In addition, the letter asks the agencies to provide more information regarding the associated cost savings and whether the agencies will adhere to the Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA.
“In an attempt to rectify “serious vagueness concerns,” the Court provided a clear definition of WOTUS to protect the regulated community and states’ authority from unlawful federal overreach. In light of the clear decision, we are calling on you to issue expedient guidance with clear guardrails for the EPA and Corps to operate within so jurisdictional determinations can resume,” wrote Senator Cramer.
“While the decision did not align with the Administration’s perspective, both these issues should be addressed promptly so the American people are not relegated to more regulatory limbo by an unresponsive or dilatory bureaucracy in Washington,” continued Senator Cramer.
“The estimated reduction in expected agency actions should be accompanied by the agencies’ estimated financial savings due to the reduced workload. Any guidance published without an estimated reduction in agency actions and associated cost savings would raise serious concerns about the agencies’ willingness to display meaningful progress toward complying with the Court’s decision,” concluded Senator Cramer.
Click here to read the letter.
Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven
WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today announced that he has secured approval of North Dakota’s application for more than $68 million in funding for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Centers from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. Hoeven has been working with Treasury officials, including Assistant Secretary Jonathan Davidson, to move the application forward and provide certainty for the state’s CTE Center projects. In particular, the senator has been working to advance the state’s application to:
“Securing this award for North Dakota’s CTE Centers is an important win for the state. Today’s announcement means the short-term loan from the state can be promptly repaid and will enable construction to move forward,” said Hoeven. “We’ve been working with Treasury to advance this process and provide much-needed certainty for the development of these CTE Centers, which will help our state better meet its workforce needs while giving students’ more options to pursue cost-effective education and build a successful career.”
Specifically, the award supports the construction of 13 CTE Centers in North Dakota, including the:
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Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), author of the bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, released a statement after the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced just two new additions to the UFLPA entity list.
Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
WASHINGTON, DC – As smoke and fine particles from Canadian wildfires casts a cloud over Rhode Island and blankets other parts of the East Coast and Midwest, U.S. Senator Jack Reed says it is time to accelerate actions to mitigate the impacts of cross-border pollution and climate change.
Noting that air pollution and climate change are interconnected challenges, Senator Reed is urging Congress to accelerate efforts to combat climate change, prevent pollution, and strengthen air quality standards. Reed also says the Biden Administration should boost firefighting personnel and equipment to help with the fires in Canada that are putting more than 100 million people in the U.S. under Air Quality Index alerts, according to a White House fact sheet.
“We’ve got to keep people safe from this degraded air quality and we’ve got to take action to prevent climate change from making this a common occurrence. Unfortunately, we are seeing an uptick in wildfires here in Rhode Island and elsewhere. Climate change is causing drier, hotter conditions leading to more intense fires and longer wildfire seasons. So it is imperative that Congress provide resources to protect people and do more to help mitigate the impacts of climate change,” said Reed.
According to Canadian authorities, there were 137 active wildfires in the province of Quebec as of Thursday morning. Canadian officials also announced that, to date, there have been 443 fires in Quebec, which is more than double the 10-year average for this time of year.
To help Canada contain these blazes and put the wildfires out, the Biden Administration is directing 600 U.S. firefighters and support personnel from the U.S. Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior to deploy to Canada to assist with firefighting efforts. Today, Senator Reed joined U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), the Senate Majority Leader, in calling for the Biden Administration to increase that commitment by sending double the number of Forest Service personnel to help fight the wildfires.
Reed also noted that over the past two years, the U.S. Senate passed billions in federal funding to mitigate and respond to wildfires.
Additionally, the historic Inflation Reduction Act, which President Biden signed on August 16, 2022, contains over $369 billion in energy security and climate change resilience investments — the single biggest investment in climate action in U.S. history. This new law will help the United States reach its emission reduction commitments, increase U.S. competitiveness, lower energy bills, and spur a ‘race to the top’ in clean energy that will help strengthen the U.S. economy and national security and make America more energy independent.
To help Rhode Islanders take advantage of opportunities to save both money and energy, Senator Reed has begun hosting a series of roundtables and workshops with groups across the state to help Rhode Islanders access thousands of dollars in savings on new energy efficient upgrades and clean energy installations.
Next Wednesday, Reed is holding a special Clean Energy Incentives Workshop for local mayors and town officials from across the state to help them access clean energy tax incentives from the Inflation Reduction Act. Representatives from the National League of Cities; the Rhode Island Office of Energy Resources; the Rhode Island League of Cities and Towns; and Rewiring America will be on hand to help answer questions.
Reed says that it is important for the U.S. to exercise climate leadership. He commended the Biden Administration for ambitiously setting the goal of reducing U.S. emissions 50 to 52 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Additionally, the U.S. has pledged to increase international climate finance, reduce methane emissions and deforestation, and help high-emitting countries transition away from coal and other fossil fuels to cleaner, renewable energy sources.
Earlier this week, Senator Reed announced $178,000 in federal funds to assist the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) with PM2.5 air quality monitoring efforts across the state. The federal assistance is designed to help DEM operate and maintain its air quality monitoring network and to measure the levels of very fine particulate matter. This work involves air quality sampling and generation of representative air quality data.
Source: United States Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore)
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden announced that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is awarding $500,000 to the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians (CTCLUSI) for air monitoring to improve public health.
“One of the most important steps in protecting frontline communities from air pollution is actually monitoring their air so that we can see where there are problems and take steps to address them,” said Senator Merkley. “This funding for the CTCLUSI will help shine a light on problems that are getting in the way of clean air and give the community better tools to keep themselves safe from air pollutants.” ?
“Preventing pollution in Oregon and nationwide requires accurate and reliable data to do the job effectively,” Wyden said. “I’m glad this federal investment will help the Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians achieve that goal so people in the region can breathe cleaner air and stay healthy.”
This EPA funding will enable the community to deploy Purple Air monitors in the CTCLUSI five county service area, develop a dashboard and outreach materials illustrating relationships in air quality and heating sources, and conduct a needs assessment on critical air quality issues, followed by the development of action plans to implement recommendations arising from the assessment.
Source: United States Senator for Nebraska Deb Fischer
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), members of the Senate Commerce Committee, this week introduced the Advanced Aviation Integration Act. The bill would re-designate a portion of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) so the agency is better equipped to tackle the regulatory challenges of emerging aviation technologies. This includes innovations like advanced air mobility, which promises to improve accessibility to underserved communities in rural and urban areas. The bill would also create an online portal at the FAA for all new aircraft certification requests, allowing applicants to monitor their progress.
“The aviation industry is undergoing an exciting period of innovation, with new technologies emerging nearly every day. It’s critical then that the FAA has the right structure and people in place to keep up. Our bipartisan bill would retool the agency so it can more efficiently tackle the regulatory and safety challenges of the future,” said Senator Fischer.
“I’m proud to partner with Senator Fischer to introduce our bipartisan bill that will focus and enhance our nation’s leadership on Advanced Aviation. As we move into a new era of aviation with rapid technological advancement, such as Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing operations, our legislation will ensure the FAA prioritizes the effective and efficient integration of advanced air mobility aircraft into our National Airspace System,” said Senator Duckworth, Chair of the Subcommittee on Aviation Safety, Operations and Innovation.
“We applaud Senators Fischer and Duckworth for this bipartisan legislation that provides the FAA with much-needed tools, leadership, and resources to position the United States to remain the leader in aviation safety globally. Our nation is at an inflection point for aviation safety, with safety-enhancing technologies that will prevent accidents and save lives within reach for smaller aircraft, and this legislation will accelerate that work,” said Robert Rose, Co-founder and CEO of Reliable Robotics.
The FAA’s reauthorization, which lasts five years, is up at the end of 2023.
Background:
Innovation in the aviation sector has led to a growth of new technologies. The Advanced Aviation Integration Act would:
Click here to view text of the legislation.
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