Category: US Senate

Source: United States Senator for Louisiana Bill Cassidy

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Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) today announced a combined $6,233,476.67 to support the New Jersey Department of Transportation and the City of Englewood for services provided to protect residents during severe weather storms.

“I applaud our state and local response for providing much-needed shelter to residents and keeping our roadways clear during and after these storms,” said Sen. Menendez. “As severe weather events become more frequent, it’s critical that municipalities and state and local agencies have the funding and resources to quickly, effectively, and efficiently respond and keep residents safe.”

“We must continue to invest resources toward recovery efforts in communities affected by natural disasters and severe weather,” said Sen. Booker. “From personnel expenses to emergency housing, the cost of New Jersey’s response to natural disasters is significant. I am grateful for these federal reimbursements to communities who stepped up to help protect New Jerseyans.” 

The New Jersey Department of Transportation was awarded $4,608,551.87 for costs incurred for snow removal, salting, and other services throughout Morris, Sussex and Warren Counties during a severe winter storm early last year. The City of Englewood was awarded $1,624,924.80 for providing sheltering for residents at four hotels during and after Hurricane Ida swept through the state in September 2021. 

Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was joined by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) in unveiling the Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2022, bipartisan and bicameral legislation to require the Department of State to investigate and provide Congress with annual reports regarding the nature of the relationship between criminal gangs and political and economic elites in Haiti. Representative Val Demings (D-Fla.) previously introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives.

 

In response to growing gang violence that has exacerbated Haiti’s ongoing security and humanitarian crises, the new legislation seeks to grant public access to the Department’s annual congressional reports and calls for robust sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act against criminal gangs in Haiti, as well as political and economic elites found to be colluding with the gangs.

 

“I am proud to be joined by my colleagues in introducing this bicameral legislation not only to shed light on the devastating gang violence in Haiti but also signal our commitment to hold bad actors to account regardless of their status,” Chairman Menendez said. “There is a growing body of evidence of Haiti’s armed criminal gangs’ gross violations of human rights, drug trafficking and racketeering schemes, all of which have ushered in a new era of terror exacerbating the country’s significant economic, security, and humanitarian challenges. It is time for both Haiti’s gangs and their financers and political backers to face more consequences for threatening Haiti’s future and broader hemispheric stability.”

 

“Violent gangs, an outburst of cholera, and an unstable government are making the humanitarian crisis in Haiti worse by the day. Haitians will continue to suffer as long as gang members continue to be propped up and protected by corrupt government officials. Holding these bad actors accountable is the first step to addressing the complex crisis Haiti is facing,” Senator Rubio said.

 

“The people of Haiti have long suffered at the hands of criminal gangs and their backers. This legislation targets these individuals who perpetuate unspeakable violence against the Haitian people, and the powerful public figures who deploy these gangs for their own benefit. Exposing the connections between these individuals is an important step towards transparency, accountability, and justice for the Haitian people,” Senator Kaine said.

 

“Governments must protect their citizens. I introduced this legislation in the House of Representatives earlier this month because we must fight for a Haiti free from fear and gang violence, where the Haitian people have the safety and freedom to build their own future. We need to root out the bad actors behind Haiti’s lawlessness and hold them accountable. After the brazen assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, killings and kidnappings have soared, with the backing of Haitian political and economic elites. The United States must take concrete steps to hold these criminals accountable and help the Haitian people achieve stability, freedom, human rights, and democracy,” Representative Demings said.

The Haiti Criminal Collusion Transparency Act of 2022:

• Imposes Global Magnitsky sanctions and visa restrictions on both Haitian gang leaders and the political and economic elites that support their activities.
• Requires annual reporting on the nature and magnitude of gang violence in Haiti and connections between Haitian political and economic elites and criminal gangs.
• Ensures public, readily accessible identification of Haitian political and economic elites that the United States assesses to have links to criminal gangs.

 

Find a copy of the legislation HERE.

Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) today announced a combined $13,010,293.54 in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funding to reimburse Valley Hospital and the New Jersey Department of Health for costs incurred during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The New Jersey Department of Health and hospitals across the state were vital in the fight against COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic,” said Sen. Menendez. “This additional funding will ensure our communities and health care providers have the resources they need to continue to protect the health and safety of all New Jerseyans.”

“New Jersey hospitals and the Department of Health have been on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19,” said Sen. Booker. “This funding provides them the resources they need to keep our communities and health care providers safe and healthy.”

Valley Hospital, located in Ridgewood, Bergen County, was awarded a total of $7,610,293.54 for the personal protective equipment, medical supplies, and disinfected they bought during the pandemic. The New Jersey Department of Health was awarded $5,400,000 for COVID-19 testing that was purchased during the beginning months of the pandemic.

Source: United States Senator for New Jersey Bob Menendez

JERSEY CITY – U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today issued the below statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in northern Ethiopia and accountability for perpetrators of human rights abuses following the resumption of hostilities between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in August 2022 after a five-month ceasefire:

“Conflict, famine, and lack of medical care in northern Ethiopia have already cost the lives of an estimated half a million people in Tigray alone since fighting began in northern Ethiopia in November 2020, and the collapse of the short-lived ceasefire between parties puts the lives of many more Ethiopians in jeopardy. 

“I call on the parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia to immediately cease hostilities, for Ethiopian President Abiy to order his Eritrean mercenaries out of Ethiopia and lift his cruel blockade of Tigray, and for both the Ethiopian government and the TPLF to commit to renewed peace talks without pre-condition. In the absence of a ceasefire, I plan to pursue Senate passage of my Ethiopia Peace and Democracy Promotion Act of 2021, which would impose punitive measures on those undermining efforts to end hostilities or those providing weapons to parties involved in hostilities in Ethiopia. 

“More than a year after issuing Executive Order 14046, the Biden administration has yet to sanction any Ethiopians, and the fighting and abuses have now resumed. The Secretary of State should make a determination relative to war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide without further delay, and impose immediate sanctions on those who committed such acts. Those found guilty of abuses during the course of the conflict must be held accountable without further delay.”

Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet

Denver — U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee’s Subcommittee on Conservation, Climate, Forestry, and Natural Resources, and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) sent a letter to U.S. Forest Service Chief Randy Moore highlighting the significance of Tribal stewardship over lands and waters that make up the National Forest System, and the need to continue collaborative participation from Tribal leadership and governments and the federal government. In their letter, the senators request the development of a policy for Tribal co-management and stewardship of federal forests and grasslands. 

“For generations, Tribal nations have managed the lands and waters that now comprise the National Forest System,” wrote the senators. “These lands and waters are essential to their ways of life, and many Tribal governments exercise rights and interests on federal lands – to hunt, fish, and gather. Furthermore, how the federal government manages these lands can have a direct impact on traditional natural resources.” 

The senators highlighted an increase in wildfires, noting how these events can start on forest lands managed by the Forest Service and then cross over onto Tribal lands, threatening both Tribal communities and resources. In their letter, the senators note how Tribal governments across the country are pursuing opportunities to engage with the federal government to co-manage specific areas in order to either protect and enhance treaty resources, or exercise their off-reservation treaty rights. 

The senators continued: “Developing co-management arrangements with Tribal nations is not only essential to fulfilling the Service’s trust and treaty obligations, but also is an opportunity to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge and practices into management. Tribal co-management can take many forms, which is why it is imperative that the Service have clear policies and procedures for honoring these requests.”

The full text of the letter is available HERE and below: 

Dear Chief Moore: 

We write today to request that the U.S. Forest Service engage in substantive Tribal consultation, using existing authorities, to develop a policy for Tribal co-management and co-stewardship of federal forests and grasslands under its jurisdiction.  

For generations, Tribal nations have managed the lands and waters that now comprise the National Forest System. These lands and waters are essential to their ways of life, and many Tribal governments exercise rights and interests on federal lands – to hunt, fish, and gather. Furthermore, how the federal government manages these lands can have a direct impact on traditional natural resources. Wildfires, for example, that start on forest lands managed by the Forest Service can cross over on to tribal lands, putting communities and trust resources in jeopardy. 

Today, Tribal governments across the country are seeking opportunities to engage with the federal government to co-manage specific areas to protect or enhance their treaty resources or to exercise their off-reservation treaty rights. Developing co-management arrangements with Tribal nations is not only essential to fulfilling the Service’s trust and treaty obligations, but also is an opportunity to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge and practices into management. Tribal co-management can take many forms, which is why it is imperative that the Service have clear policies and procedures for honoring these requests. 

We appreciate the Forest Service’s ongoing work to implement congressional authorities to bring tribal expertise and capacity into forest health projects on federal lands.? These include the Tribal Forest Protection Act and subsequent contracting authorities, Good Neighbor Authority, Landscape Scale Restoration Program and others. 

We applaud Secretaries Haaland and Vilsack’s Joint Secretarial Order 3403 that directs federal land management agencies, including the Forest Service, to manage federal lands in a “manner that seeks to protect the treaty, religious, subsistence, and cultural interests of federally recognized Indian Tribes including the Native Hawaiian Community.” On September 13, 2022, the Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service all released guidance documents outlining how the bureaus would facilitate co-management.  

We encourage the Forest Service to initiate a process for engaging tribal perspectives on co-stewardship, making recommendations for statutory language to further the goals of co-stewardship and to better integrate the core principles of tribal co-stewardship into federal land management. 

Thank you for your ongoing work with Indian tribes to improve and restore the health of tribal and federal forests nationwide. 

Sincerely,

 

Source: United States Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet

Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI), secured key provisions in the pending National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). The Senate plans to debate and pass the legislation when it returns in November. 

“The upcoming defense bill includes key Colorado priorities, from securing U.S. leadership in space and emerging technologies to fighting climate change and wildfires,” said Bennet. “These provisions will help prepare the United States to face evolving threats both at home and abroad, and I will continue my bipartisan work to secure them in the final bill.”

The Senate moved to include the FY23 Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA) as part of the FY23 NDAA, which unanimously passed the Senate Intelligence Committee with bipartisan support in June. Bennet-backed provisions in the FY23 IAA close existing gaps in U.S. national security.

Bennet-backed provisions in the FY23 NDAA:

FireGuard: This provision, led by Bennet, builds on his previous efforts to extend the authorization for the Colorado National Guard’s FireGuard program until 2028. The program provides crucial detection and monitoring capabilities for wildfires across the country. 

Space Technology Research: This provision, led by Bennet and U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), directs the Secretary of the Air Force and U.S Space Force Chief of Space Operations to strengthen partnerships with American universities to support space technology research and workforce training. Bennet also secured $20 million for university-led space technology development to support Space Force research in the current Senate defense appropriations bill. 

The bipartisan American Technology Leadership Act: Bennet introduced this legislation with U.S. Senators Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.) to establish an Office of Global Competition Analysis (OGCA) to assess how the United States fares in key emerging technologies relative to other countries to inform policy and strengthen U.S. competitiveness. The OGCA would combine intelligence data with commercial data in order to determine U.S. leadership in emerging technologies critical to national and economic security.

International Norms in Space: This provision, led by Bennet and co-sponsored by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), highlights the importance of international norms in space. It requires the Director of National Intelligence, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense, State, and Commerce, the Administrator of NASA, and other heads of intelligence agencies, to identify threats to U.S. interest in space that may be mitigated by international norms, rules, and principles and identify opportunities for the U.S. to influence these norms.

Global Food Instability Implications of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: This provision, led by U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and co-sponsored by Bennet and U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.), requires the Intelligence Community to assess the implications of food insecurity — and identify steps the U.S. can take to mitigate it — following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Specifically, it focuses on the potential for regional instability resulting from food insecurity.

Critical Ports and Related Infrastructure: This amendment, led by Bennet and co-sponsored by U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), requires the Secretary of State, in coordination with the Secretary of Defense and the Director of National Intelligence, to monitor Chinese government investments in ports and port-related infrastructure critical to American national security around the world, and prioritize threats for additional U.S. and partner focus.