Category: US Senate

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

June 16, 2023

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today that they and Senate colleagues have introduced legislation that would cut taxes for working families in Oregon and nationwide by expanding the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit.

“When Democrats expanded the Child Tax Credit and the Earned Income Tax Credit in 2021, 3.7 million children were lifted out of poverty, providing families in Oregon and all around the country some much-needed financial breathing room for the first time,” said Wyden, Chair of the Senate Finance Committee. “This is a proven strategy to cut poverty and help families get ahead economically, but Republicans have blocked every effort to renew it.”

“Republicans argue that people of modest incomes will quit their jobs if the tax code gives them just a little more financial support, but the record shows that employment grew and our economy created millions of jobs while these tax credit expansions were in place in 2021,” Wyden said. “We’re going to look for every opportunity to pass this legislation in the coming weeks and months, and I’m hopeful that we’ll be able to overcome the opposition.”  

“The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit are proven and effective poverty-reducing tools for workers and their families,” said Sen. Merkley. “At a time when families across the country are facing economic hardship as the cost of living continues to rise and low-income wages stagnate, expanding and making these tax credits permanent is critical to put money back into workers’ pockets, boost our economy, and support America’s working families.”

The Working Families Tax Relief Act would:

1. Boost the incomes of 40 million households, including 65 million children. 
2. Increase the Child Tax Credit to $3,000 for children 6-17 and $3,600 for children from birth to 5 – when parents need it most – and make the credit fully refundable.
3. Deliver the Child Tax Credit monthly, providing a reliable source of financial stability so families can better keep up with the cost of living.
4. Nearly triple the Earned Income Tax Credit for workers without children and make the credit available for people starting at age 19 and eliminating the maximum age. Currently, workers without children can be taxed into poverty. Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit would fix that.
5. Make permanent the American Rescue Plan’s expansion of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, which cut child poverty by 40 percent.

Alongside Wyden, the introduction of the legislation was led by U.S. Senators Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Dick Durbin, D-Ill.

Alongside Merkley, the bill was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Bob Casey, D-Pa., Chris Coons, D-Del., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Angus King, I-Maine, Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Ed Markey, D-Mass., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Gary Peters, D-Mich., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Mark Warner, D-Va., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Wyden and Merkley successfully fought to expand the Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit to give families financial relief. These tax credits expired in early 2022 and Wyden and Merkley have continued the fight to make them permanent.

 

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

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

June 16, 2023

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley said today they and colleagues have reintroduced legislation that would codify and strengthen the right to contraception in Oregon and nationwide.

“Right-wing extremists have made their agenda painfully clear: they will not rest until they have control over women’s bodies, including the right to access safe medication,” Wyden said. “For many Americans, birth control is a part of a basic health regimen. The Right to Contraception Act will ensure that the government stays out of the exam room and the bedroom because all Americans should have an equal right to chart the course of their own lives, including if and when to be pregnant.”

“In 2023, it is outrageous that we’re even debating whether Americans should have access to contraception—but that’s where this extremist MAGA Supreme Court has left us,” Merkley said. “Access to contraception and other family planning and reproductive health care resources are vital in ensuring all Americans are able to control their own lives and health care decisions. Let’s keep the government out of our bedrooms and doctors’ offices and ensure that the right to contraception remains ironclad in America.”

Although nine out of 10 American adults support access to all forms of birth control, several states restrict accessto contraceptives by eliminating public funding for it, defining abortion broadly enough to include contraception, and allowing health care providers to deny service related to contraception on the basis of their own beliefs. Enshrining the right to contraception into federal law would reverse steps already taken by Republicans in states across the country to restrict access to contraceptives and ensure that any future attempt by the far-right majority on the Supreme Court to overturn Griswold v. Connecticut would not endanger access to this essential health care. 

A copy of the legislation is HERE.

Specifically, the Right to Contraception Act would uphold access to contraception by:

1.     Guaranteeing the legal right for individuals to get and use contraception and for health care providers to provide contraceptives, contraception, and information, referrals, and services related to contraception;

2.     Prohibiting the federal government or any state from administering, implementing, or enforcing any law, rule, regulation, standard or other provision that would prohibit or restrict the sale, provision, or use of contraception; and, 

3.     Allowing the Department of Justice (DOJ), providers, and individuals harmed by restrictions on contraception access made unlawful under the legislation, to go to court to enforce these rights.

Senators Edward J. Markey, D-Mass., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai’i and Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill. introduced the bill in the Senate. Along with Wyden and Merkley, more than half of the Senate Democratic caucus backs the Right to Contraception Act, including Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., Cory Booker, D-N.J., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., Ben Cardin, D-Md., Tom Carper, D-Del., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., John Fetterman, D-Pa., Kristen Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawai’i, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Bob Menendez, D-N.J., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Alex Padilla, D-Calif., Jack Reed, D-R.I., Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Brian Schatz, D-Hawai’i, Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., Tina Smith, D-Minn., Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I.

The Right to Contraception Act is endorsed by Advocates for Youth, AIDS United, American Atheists, American College of Nurse-Midwives, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Americans for Contraception, Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs, Catholics for Choice, Center for American Progress, Center for Biological Diversity, CenterLink: The Community of LGBTQ Centers, Coalition to Expand Contraceptive Access, Contraceptive Access Initiative, Equality California, Girls Inc., Hadassah, House Pro-Choice Caucus, Ibis Reproductive Health, Interfaith Alliance, Jacobs Institute of Women’s Health, Minority Veterans of America, NARAL Pro-Choice America, National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women’s Health, National Center for Lesbian Rights, National Coalition of STD Directors, National Council of Jewish Women , National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association, National Health Law Program, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Women’s Law Center, People For the American Way, Physicians for Reproductive Health, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Population Connection Action Fund, Power to Decide, Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, Reproductive Health Access Project, Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, The Collaborative, and Upstream USA.

 

Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Thom Tillis recently co-introduced the Counting Veterans’ Cancer Act, bipartisan legislation that would ensure veterans’ cancer cases are fully accounted for in national cancer registries. Under current reporting laws, it’s estimated that each year, tens of thousands of cancer cases among veterans are missed by the central registries that form the foundation of national cancer research.  

“Far too many veterans suffering from cancer are left uncounted by national cancer registries,” said Senator Tillis. “It is crucial that veteran cancer cases are accurately reported so doctors, scientists, and other health care providers can provide the best care and treatments to our veterans, and this legislation will provide the necessary changes to ensure veteran cancer cases are properly identified and reported.” 

“Senators Kelly and Tillis’ legislation will help identify cancer-related disparities among veterans, improve the understanding of the cancer-related needs of veterans and increase opportunities for veterans with cancer to be included in clinical trials, cancer-related research, and analysis,” said Lori Swain, Executive Director of the National Cancer Registrars Association (NCRA).  

Background:

State cancer registries collect data on cancer type, severity, treatment, and outcomes, which is then submitted to two national registries: the Center for Disease Control’s National Program of Cancer Registries (NPCR) and National Institute of Health’s Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program (SEER). Data from these registries are the basis of cancer tracking, prevention, and control research.  

While individual state laws require new cancer data to be reported to state registries, only some VA medical facilities report data to their relevant state registries. It is estimated that tens of thousands of cases are missed each year by central cancer registries because of a lack of VA reporting. Consequently, the national registries miss a significant portion of veteran cancer data.  

The Veterans’ Cancer Act would require Veterans’ Health Administration facilities to share cancer data with state cancer registries, which would guarantee their inclusion in the national registries.   

Click here for full bill text.  

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Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) office will host in-person and virtual Mobile Office Hours next week to assist constituents with federal casework issues in their respective local communities. These office hours offer constituents who do not live close to one of Senator Rubio’s eight regional offices a more convenient way to receive federal casework assistance.
 

In-person Mobile Office Hours

Tuesday, June 20, 2023
Alachua County
12:30pm – 2:00pm EDT
Waldo Library – Meeting Room
15150 NE U.S. Hwy. 301
Waldo, FL 32694
Click Here
 
Escambia County
1:00pm – 3:00pm CDT
Beulah Church
7561 Mobile Hwy.
Pensacola, FL 32526
 
Osceola County
1:00pm – 3:00pm EDT
Kissimmee City Hall
101 Church St.
Kissimmee, FL 34741
 
Sarasota County
2:00pm – 3:30pm EDT
 Sarasota Chamber of Commerce
1945 Fruitville Rd.
Sarasota, FL 34236
Click Here
 
Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Miami-Dade County
10:00am – 12:00pm EDT
Stephen P. Clark Government Center
111 NW 1^st St.
Miami, FL 33128
Click Here
 
Franklin County
12:00pm – 1:30pm EDT
UF/IFAS Extension Franklin County
261 Dr. Frederick S. Humphries St.
Apalachicola, FL 32320
Click Here
 
Thursday, June 22, 2023
Putnam County
9:00am – 10:30am EDT
Putnam County Government Complex
Board of County Commissioners Conference Room
2509 Crill Ave.
Palatka, FL 32177
Click Here
 
Sumter County
10:00am – 12:00pm EDT
 Laurel Manor Recreation Center
1985 Laurel Manor Dr.
The Villages, FL 32162
 
Flagler County
12:30pm – 2:00pm EDT
Flagler County Government Services Complex
Building 2, 1^st Floor Conference Room
1769 E. Moody Blvd.
Bunnell, FL 32110
Click Here
 
Friday, June 23, 2023
Liberty County
1:30pm – 3:00pm EDT
UF/IFAS Extension Liberty County
10405 NW Theo Jacobs Way
Bristol, FL 32321
Click Here
 
 

Virtual Mobile Office Hours

Wednesday, June 21, 2023
Walton County
12:00pm – 1:30pm CDT
Click Here

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Anti-Catholic Hate Has No Place in America, Much Less America’s National Pastime
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) and CatholicVote President Brian Burch
June 16, 2023
Federalist

When we first learned of the Los Angeles Dodgers’ plans to award the vile hate group known as the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence (SPI) with a “Community Hero Award,” we were in disbelief…. Why would Dodgers owner Todd Boehly decide to taint baseball’s beloved legacy of patriotism, faith, and family with a group that exists to defile religious values?…
 
We first pitched this op-ed to the Los Angeles Times. We pinged the paper four times over the course of three days but received no response. We take this as an indication that the pro-Dodgers Times does not wish its readers to hear the other side of the story….

Would anyone tolerate a group that portrayed the prophet Muhammad as a drag queen? Or a striptease at the Western Wall in Jerusalem? Of course not. But now, when pro-abortion extremists are already unleashing a wave of violent attacks on Catholics around the country, the Dodgers have made it clear that anti-Catholicism is not only an acceptable form of bigotry, but laudable….
 
This should outrage the millions of Catholics in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, whose voices and religious beliefs are clearly despised by the very team relying on their support. It should also concern the millions of non-Catholic Los Angeles residents, whose team decided to openly encourage and celebrate anti-Catholic discrimination.
 
We will not stand for these attacks on our faith. Everyone in Southern California should understand that the Dodgers they knew and loved sacrificed their legacy and honor on the altar of anti-Catholic hate.

Read the rest here.

Source: United States Senator for Indiana Todd Young

June 16, 2023

The following opinion column was originally published in The Messenger on June 16, 2023.

By Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Sen. Todd Young (R-Ind.)

Around the world, autocratic states like China and Russia are using heavy-handed economic coercion to intimidate smaller countries and economies to get their way. As senators from both parties, we think we need to act to strengthen our nation’s ability to step up to this challenge.

At the recent G-7 meeting in Japan, President Biden and the other leaders of the world’s largest democratic countries and economies agreed to launch a new Coordination Platform on Economic Coercion to strengthen information sharing and collaboration, as well as to build new tools to deter and counter economic coercion. That’s why we hope to move forward with our bill, the Countering Economic Coercion Act, to enable a forceful response to coercive actions in concert with our like-minded partners overseas.

There are many examples of economic coercion just in the past few years. To punish Lithuania for allowing Taiwan to open a representative office in Vilnius, China unleashed an economic broadside against the Baltic state, blocking bilateral trade and blacklisting Lithuanian products in international markets. Russia weaponized its integration in European energy markets to try to force Western governments to back down from their support of Ukraine. And China responded to Australia’s call for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 by disrupting valuable Australian exports. China is Australia’s top export market, and the pain imposed on a wide range of Australian businesses, farmers and miners was real, as China blocked billions in exports of barley, beef, wine and coal.

In addition to these overt actions, China has made countless other economic threats, leveraging the size of its market to extract political compliance through economic intimidation. This economic coercion can serve as a powerful deterrent: If a smaller economy knows it will get walloped with one of China’s economic hammers, it is much less likely to take any action that might irritate Beijing. By using economic hammers to threaten, bully and bludgeon, China exploits economic interdependence to impose its will on the world and influence the sovereign political decisions of democratic states.

Of course, the United States uses economic sanctions to protect our own interests and discipline malign actors overseas. However, our actions are transparent, open to legal scrutiny and grounded in international norms. When China or Russia carry out threats of economic coercion, they act without accountability or transparency, and they undermine international rules meant to protect the defenseless. Because their actions are often informal and opaque, existing international mechanisms cannot respond rapidly or effectively.

The United States has stood by its allies when they have come under economic attack, but we need to update our policy toolkit so that we can respond more forcefully and more quickly. That is why we introduced our bipartisan and bicameral Countering Economic Coercion Act, which would give the executive branch more tools to support our allies when they are subject to economic bullying — and to punish the countries carrying out this malign behavior.

Our bill would allow the president to act quickly by temporarily decreasing duties on certain imports from targeted countries and offering the U.S. market as an alternative when China shuts down trade. The bill also allows the executive branch to speed up regulatory processes to facilitate rapid export financing, import approvals, and other trade, aid and investment assistance.

A quick response to support our allies helps ease their economic pain and gives time for supply chains to shift, private markets to adjust and new investors to step in. This is important because China often targets economic disruption where it will be most painful, including perishable produce or other products with a short shelf life. By supplanting China as a trading partner for targeted countries, we can also create new opportunities for U.S. businesses, workers and consumers.

By offering mechanisms to support targeted countries, we expect our bill will serve as a deterrent: if China and Russia know we stand ready to assist any foreign partner targeted with economic coercion, they will be less likely to attempt economic aggression. Further, our bill would allow the president to increase duties on imports from the country carrying out economic coercion. Forcing China and Russia to pay an economic price for beating up on vulnerable economies will enhance the deterrent effect and help protect our allies.

As our colleagues in Congress consider this legislation, most of our G-7 allies are considering similar laws that would allow them to respond more forcefully to economic coercion as well. This is a good thing — the more unified we are with like-minded democratic allies in responding to anti-democratic bullying and intimidation, the more successful we will be.

In an increasingly competitive world with rising authoritarian threats, this is what U.S. leadership must look like. By demonstrating our commitment to our allies, deepening our economic integration with reliable trading partners and building democratic coalitions, we can face down authoritarian bullying and build a better, freer world.

Sen. Chris Coons is the Democratic junior senator from Delaware. 

Sen. Todd Young is the Republican senior senator from Indiana.

Coons and Young serve on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They are sponsors of the Countering Economic Coercion Act.

Source: United States Senator for West Virginia Joe Manchin

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

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine joined Sens. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Dick Durbin (D-IL) in introducing the Working Families Tax Relief Act, legislation that would cut taxes for low- and middle-income American workers and families by expanding the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The American Rescue Plan, which Warner and Kaine helped pass, expanded these tax credits during the pandemic, but the expansion expired in December 2021; this bill would make the expansions permanent to continue to help families. 

The expanded CTC provided up to $300 in monthly tax refunds per qualifying child to help low- and middle-income families with children under 18 years old pay for basic necessities like food, housing and utility bills, education costs, and health care. It helped lift 2.1 million children out of poverty. In Virginia, the expanded CTC helped 1.7 million children— including 249,000 children living in poverty. The expanded EITC, which lowers taxes for low-income childless workers, provided up to $1,500 in annual tax relief to more than 400,000 workers without children in Virginia.  

“The expansion of the CTC and EITC helped many workers and families in Virginia pay for necessities like food, housing, and health care,” said the senators. “Permanently expanding these tax credits will offer more financial stability to families, keep children out of poverty, and put money back in the pockets of millions of hardworking American families and workers.”

 Specifically, the Working Families Tax Relief Act would:

• Increase the annual CTC to $3,000 for low- and middle-income families with children ages 6-17 and $3,600 for low- and middle-income families with children ages 0-5, which is the rate it was in 2021. This CTC would be delivered in monthly payments as it was in 2021, providing a reliable source of financial stability.
• Make the CTC “fully refundable” so that the lowest-income families can receive the credit. Under current law, many of these families are not able to benefit from the CTC.
• Nearly triple the maximum value of the EITC for low-income workers without children.
• Extend the EITC to workers starting at age 19 and eliminate the maximum age. The EITC can currently only be claimed if you are between 25-65 years old.

In addition to Warner, Kaine, Brown, Bennet, Booker, Warnock, Wyden, and Durbin, the legislation was cosponsored by Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Warner and Kaine have long supported efforts to lower costs and improve tax fairness for Virginia workers and families. The senators helped pass the American Rescue Plan, which originally expanded the CTC and EITC. Expanding the CTC and EITC are priorities in Kaine’s Roadmap to Recovery, a legislative action plan to help America build on the progress made since the pandemic.

Full text of the bill is available here.