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Senators Stabenow and Peters Announce Support for Solon Township Fire Department

Source: United States Senator for Michigan Debbie Stabenow

Thursday, September 15, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C – U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (MI) and Gary Peters (MI) today announced that Solon Township Fire Department will receive $40,000 from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to get a new breathing air compressor. The funding comes from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program.

 

“Our firefighters put their lives on the line to protect our families, homes, and communities,” said Senator Stabenow. “These new resources will help keep the public safe and give our first responders the equipment they need to do their jobs more safely and effectively.”

 

“It’s important that our fire departments have the resources to purchase necessary safety equipment to continue serving their communities effectively,” said Senator Peters, Chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. “This grant will help the Solon Township Fire Department purchase new equipment needed by firefighters to safely respond to emergencies.”

 

More information about these grants can be found at: https://www.fema.gov/grants/preparedness/firefighters.

 

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Senators Stabenow, Young Introduce Bipartisan Early Pell Promise Act

Source: United States Senator for Michigan Debbie Stabenow

Thursday, September 15, 2022

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) and Todd Young (R-IN) today introduced bipartisan legislation to help make sure that students who work hard to get into college can enroll regardless of their financial circumstances. Under current law, students only find out how much financial aid they will receive right before attending college. The Early Pell Promise Act provides more financial certainty for families by pre-qualifying certain students for full Pell Grant support starting as early as the eighth grade. It also ensures that families and students who pre-qualify for aid receive additional information about the cost of college attendance and student financial aid.

“Too many young people in Michigan aren’t aware of the resources available to help them find the right college, let alone how to make it a reality,” Senator Stabenow said. “Every child in America, no matter their financial situation, should know that if they work hard, study hard, and get good grades, the opportunity to attend college will be available after high school.”

“Many Hoosier families would benefit from knowing how much financial aid they can count on receiving long before their child’s first day of college. The Early Pell Promise Act works to ensure young Hoosiers are set up for success in our higher education system through pre-qualification for Pell grants as early as the eighth grade. This will help more students to afford higher education and plan for a prosperous future,” said Senator Young.

This legislation is inspired by the Kalamazoo Promise, created in 2005, which provides hope and inspiration to students who have attended Kalamazoo Public Schools by paying for their college tuition at any of Michigan’s state colleges or universities. According to a recent study, the Kalamazoo Promise increased student post-secondary enrollment and has spurred many other states and localities to start their own promise programs.

 

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Klobuchar, Smith Secure Significant Federal Funding to Strengthen Bridge Infrastructure in Austin

Source: United States Senator for Minnesota Amy Klobuchar

 Investments will help rebuild eight bridges and restore two bridges across city and surrounding region

AUSTIN – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tina Smith (D-MN) announced that the U.S Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $25 million in federal funding to strengthen bridge infrastructure in Austin along Interstate 90 (I-90), a critical connective point for the Austin area. These resources, provided through USDOT’s Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, will help rebuild eight bridges and restore two bridges along I-90. 

“Investments in our infrastructure serve as down payments on the long-term economic well-being of our state,” said Klobuchar. “This federal funding will reconstruct eight bridges and rehabilitate two across Austin and surrounding areas, helping reduce traffic and boosting transit connectivity. With these improved bridges, Austin residents will be able to more safely and conveniently access work, school, and more.”

“Investments in infrastructure create good-paying jobs, boost local economies, and keep our communities safe and connected to schools, jobs, local businesses, and more. I-90 serves as an important national transportation route and critical connecting point for Austin, with places like the Mayo Clinic Health System, Riverland Community College, Hormel, and countless other important services, homes, and businesses just off the Interstate,” said Smith. “This is the largest competitive grant Minnesota has received from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act so far and will ensure I-90 is safe and accessible for decades to come.”

This funding will also allow Austin to install connective ramps that integrate I-90 with the city, construct a network of accessible sidewalks and trails, and replace stormwater infrastructure. 

INFRA grants can be used by communities across the country for multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of freight and transit mobility. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Klobuchar and Smith supported and was signed into law last year, delivered a 50 percent increase in the amount of available funding for INFRA grants, as well as resources for improving the state’s roads, bridges, public transportation, and water infrastructure. 

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Cantwell’s Successful Advocacy for West Seattle Bridge Repair Project to Culminate in Grand Reopening Ceremony

Source: United States Senator for Washington Maria Cantwell

09.15.22

Cantwell’s Successful Advocacy for West Seattle Bridge Repair Project to Culminate in Grand Reopening Ceremony

SEATTLE, WA – This Sunday, the West Seattle Bridge will reopen after more than two years of closure for repairs. On Friday, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) will join Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), leaders from the Seattle Department of Transportation, the Washington State Department of Transportation and other stakeholders at Terminal 18 at the Port of Seattle to celebrate the bridge’s opening – and the return of a crucial economic driver for the region’s commuters and freight haulers.

As chair of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Sen. Cantwell was instrumental in securing the majority of funds needed to complete the West Seattle Bridge repair project. Of the project’s $66.94 million repair costs more than half – $37.65 million – came from federal funding sources.

One portion ($11,250,600) of federal funding came from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program, which was created by Sen. Cantwell in 2015. The program helps local communities pay for nationally and regionally significant freight projects just like the West Seattle Bridge.

“Fast freight movement means jobs. Our farmers understand it, and the business community gets it,” Sen. Cantwell said upon her bill’s passage in 2015. “Now, for the first time, we have a grant program to fund multimodal freight projects.”

Shortly after the West Seattle Bridge closed in March 2020 due to a crack in the concrete, Sen. Cantwell spoke with then-mayor Jenny Durkan multiple times about helping the city of Seattle secure federal grant funding to help pay for the project.

In March 2021, Sen. Cantwell sent a joint letter alongside Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Seattle) and Rep. Adam Smith (D-Seattle) to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg calling on the DOT to support the West Seattle Bridge’s application for an INFRA grant. While their advocacy was successful, helping the project secure an $11.25 million competitive INFRA grant, this was $10.3 million less than the city asked for, so instead of celebrating, Sen. Cantwell called on USDOT to help provide additional resources to the city.

“The stakes are high for both the traveling public and for the freight investments we are making at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5. We need answers now from the U.S. Department of Transportation on real solutions for providing additional federal investment to fix the West Seattle Bridge,” Sen. Cantwell said in June 2021.

Sen. Cantwell worked with the city, federal, and regional leaders to ensure the West Seattle bridge received additional funding and helped secure an additional $26.4 million in funding from federal formula programs, nearly $10 million ($7.6 million) more than the city had original estimated the project would receive from other federal sources.

This advocacy effort culminated in Sen. Cantwell inviting Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation, to see the importance of the West Seattle Bridge and the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5 to both the region and the nation. In August 2021, the two of them took a tour of the bridge and Cantwell advocated for additional federal support to improve this critical transportation corridor. Three months later USDOT announced a $20 million RAISE grant for the East Marginal Way Corridor to improve access to the lower West Seattle Bridge and the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 5.

The West Seattle Bridge closed on March 23, 2020 when city officials discovered that the cracks on the concrete main span were growing rapidly. The closure took Seattle’s busiest city-owned bridge out of use, forcing 100,000 average daily drivers and 25,000 average daily transit riders to find an alternative route.

Photos of Sen. Cantwell’s August 2021 tour of the West Seattle Bridge construction site alongside Deputy DOT Secretary Trottenberg can be found HERE.

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Carper Statement on Pending Senate Consideration of the Kigali Amendment

Source: United States Senator for Delaware – Tom Carper

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, today issued the following statement on the announcement that the Senate will vote next week to proceed to consider the Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol, a global treaty to phase down hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

“I’m beyond pleased that the Senate is on the precipice of considering the Kigali Amendment. In ratifying this agreement, the United States will join 137 other nations to phase down the use of these powerful greenhouse gases. Importantly, Kigali ratification will finally allow U.S. heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration manufacturers to access international markets, resulting in massive economic benefits and job creation. As the original author of the bipartisan American Innovation and Manufacturing Act with Senator Kennedy, I look forward to voting for ratification of the Kigali Amendment and urge all of my colleagues to join me.”

ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF RATIFICATION

It is estimated that implementing the American Innovation and Manufacturing (AIM) Act paired with the ratification of the Kigali Amendment will generate $38.8 billion in investment in the U.S. economy by 2027 while creating 150,000 direct and indirect American jobs and increasing U.S. heating, ventilation, air conditioning, and refrigeration exports by at least 25 percent in that same period.

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Hoeven Outlines Impact of Persistent Inflation on American Consumers, Farmers, Ranchers & Energy Industry

Source: United States Senator for North Dakota John Hoeven

09.15.22

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven today, on the floor of the U.S. Senate, outlined the harmful impact of President Biden’s tax-and-spend policies, which have led to record-high inflation and skyrocketing food and energy prices. The senator pushed back on the administration’s decision to double-down on failed policies and its refusal to allow needed energy development on federal lands, which is worsening the issues facing American consumers, farmers, ranchers and many others.

“Inflation has now exceeded 8% for six straight months. This persistent high inflation is causing price increases for American families at the grocery store, at the gas pump, and for basic housing needs, leaving many Americans struggling to make ends meet,” said Hoeven. “Rather than getting government out of the way, increasing domestic energy production, securing our border, and taking meaningful action to reduce inflation, the Biden administration is instead doubling down on its failed economic policies.

“Last month, as follow-up to their massive $2 trillion spending package from March 2021 that fueled the inflationary fire we are now dealing with, Democrats jammed through yet another tax and spend package on a party-line vote that imposes new energy taxes and Green New Deal-style subsidies that will only worsen our current energy crisis and weaken our nation’s economic and national security.

“Ironically, the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act”, does nothing to help reduce inflation. Analysis by economists at Penn Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, the Federal Reserve, Moody’s Analytics, the Congressional Budget Office, and others all agree that this bill will do nothing to help reduce inflation.

“Meanwhile, the cost of food at the grocery store has increased 13.5 percent over the last 12 months – the largest 12-month increase since March 1979. Yet, the Biden administration has done nothing to help alleviate these inflationary price increases on Americans.”

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Press Releases 09/15/2022 Tillis, Colleagues Introduce Law Enforcement Immersive, Scenario-Based Training Bill

Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) and Representatives Tim Ryan (D-OH-13) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH-16) introduced the bipartisan, bicameral LawEnforcement Scenario-Based Training for Safety and De-Escalation Act of 2022. 

This legislation would require the U.S. Department of Justice, through the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS), to create immersive, real-life, scenario-based training curriculum to address key issues raised by law enforcement officers and the communities they serve. 

The curriculum would focus on improving community-police relations; officer safety and resilience; situational awareness; physical and emotional responses to stress; critical decision-making and problem-solving; de-escalation and use of force; and crisis intervention. The bill would also create a grant program to support public and private entities that train law enforcement officers using similar immersive curriculum. All law enforcement officers—in departments large and small, rural and urban—should have access to the state-of-the-art, scenario-based training that saves lives and rebuilds trust. This bill is an important step toward finding common ground between law enforcement and the communities they serve. 

“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every single day to keep ourcommunities safe, and they deserve training and resources that help them handle the most difficult situations,” said Senator Tillis. “This bipartisan legislation will help law enforcement receive training to de-escalate a host of crises, including those involving people with mental health or drug dependency issues. Improved training will result in improved safety for both law enforcement officers and the people they regularly interact with.” 

The NAACP, Fraternal Order of Police, Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association, the National Tactical Officers Association, and the International Union of Police Associations have endorsed the legislation.

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Rubio, Cruz Introduce Bill to Ban Iranian President Raisi from Entering the United States

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi is complicit in the mass murder of Iranian dissidents and in the Iranian regime’s active plans to assassinate former U.S. officials on American soil. Nevertheless, the Biden Administration has not moved to deny Raisi a visa to enter the United States in order to attend the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York City, despite multiple congressional requests to do so both last year and this year. 
 

U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ted Cruz (R-TX) introduced the Strengthening Entry Visa Enforcement and Restrictions Act of 2022 (SEVER Act) to prevent Raisi from entering the United States and attending the UNGA.

  • “Ebrahim Raisi actively supports terrorism and wants to kill American citizens. Although I’m not surprised he wants to reunite with the many other murderers and thugs who claim membership at the United Nations, Raisi should not be allowed into the United States. Our bill would accomplish what the Biden Administration appears unwilling to do: ban Raisi’s entrance into the country and protect our national security.” — Senator Rubio

  • “Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi would already be excluded from entering the United States for the U.N. General Assembly if President Biden and his administration were enforcing existing statutes in good faith. Raisi has a record of terrorist activities, including his advocacy for the assassination of President Trump and other U.S. officials. He is also listed by the State Department as ineligible for entering the United States because of mass atrocities he committed. Nevertheless, the Biden administration seems set on circumventing these restrictions. The SEVER Act will deny entry to Raisi and the few dozen individuals who are hand-picked by the Ayatollah to repress the Iranian people and pose threats to American national security, to ensure they cannot get into the United States. It is well within the rights of the United States to deny them entry, and we absolutely should.” — Senator Cruz

 
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Joni Ernst (R-IA), and John Barrasso (R-WY) are also cosponsors.

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Rubio, Colleagues Introduce Bill to Make Distribution of Deadly Fentanyl Chargeable as Felony Murder

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

Illicit use of fentanyl is now the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18-45. According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, drug dealers are increasingly targeting children and young people with fentanyl pills made to look like candy.
 
In response to the rise of fentanyl being trafficked across our southern border and into our communities, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced the Felony Murder for Deadly Fentanyl Distribution Act. The bill, which Rubio announced in a Fox Newsop-ed, makes the distribution of fentanyl resulting in death punishable by federal felony murder charges.
 

  • “Fentanyl is killing Americans at a record high. This deadly drug is widespread throughout our country and has left no community untouched. This bill would make drug dealers pay the price for selling deadly fentanyl.” – Senator Rubio

 
U.S. Representative Tony Gonzales (R-TX) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.
 

  • “Fentanyl is being smuggled through our southern border at record levels. Not only has this lethal drug led to thousands of American deaths, but cartels are now targeting our children and young people. With the Biden Administration failing to resolve this national security crisis, it is time for Congress to take matters into its own hands. That’s why I am proud to introduce this critical legislation alongside Senator Rubio to ensure criminals who traffic this deadly drug are met with severe penalties under the law .” – Representative Gonzales

 
Senators Tom Cotton (R-AR), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), Rick Scott (R-FL), Roger Wicker (R-MS), John Cornyn (R-TX), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Mike Braun (R-IN), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Steve Daines (R-MT), and Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS) cosponsored the bill.
 

  • “Fentanyl, the leading cause of death in the U.S. for adults age 18 to 45, is a weapon of destruction that is stealing the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year. Those responsible for the fatalities caused by distribution of this shockingly lethal drug must be held accountable. This commonsense legislation is a step toward stopping the flow of fentanyl into America and ending the deadly drug crisis wreaking havoc on our country.” – Senator Hagerty

 

  • “People who knowingly distribute lethal fentanyl deserve the strictest sentence possible. For too long, people have suffered addiction and death because of this evil drug that is pouring across Joe Biden’s open southern border. Fentanyl has skyrocketed to the number one killer of young people, and to put an end to this crisis, strong actions must be taken. I am proud to join Senator Rubio in standing up for victims of this crisis, and urge the immediate passage of this critically important bill.” – Senator Scott

 

  • “Criminals poisoning Americans with fentanyl should be treated the same as someone pulling the trigger of a gun. If drug dealers and cartels push this deadly substance, they will face justice.” – Senator Cassidy

 

  • “A wide open Southern border has fueled a fentanyl epidemic in this country. The dealers and distributors of this deadly drug must be held accountable, and that’s what we’re fighting to do. This effort will impose felony murder charges for people who willingly distribute this lethal opioid to unknowing recipients.” – Senator Ernst

 

  • “The felony prosecution of fentanyl smugglers and dealers is long overdue. Their movement and distribution of this drug is unprecedented and has resulted in Fentanyl becoming the number one cause of death for Americans under the age of 45. This is due to the cartels pushing fentanyl across the border and killing Americans, but also to the Biden administration’s failure to secure the border. I am proud to stand with my colleagues as we fight for justice for the victims of America’s fentanyl epidemic and our open border.” – Senator Cruz

 

  • “The Biden border crisis has caused an epidemic of fentanyl flooding our communities, and the results have been deadly. It’s time to get serious about holding illegal fentanyl traffickers responsible.” – Senator Hawley

 

  • “Fentanyl is the leading cause of death among young adults nationally, and it is the number one public safety threat in Montana. The fentanyl crisis tearing our communities apart is the result of Biden’s wide open southern border. We need swift, meaningful action to combat this epidemic – that includes cracking down on the criminals distributing it.” – Senator Daines

 

  • “The Biden administration has failed to enforce multiple policies to stop fentanyl from coming across the border, even though it is now the leading cause of death for adults aged 18 to 45.  This legislation is desperately needed to protect our communities by ensuring harsher consequences to those who knowingly distribute this deadly drug in Mississippi and across the country.” – Senator Hyde-Smith
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ICYMI: Rubio Exposes Left’s Climate “Whataboutism”

Source: United States Senator for Florida Marco Rubio

The Left’s Climate “Whataboutism” Is On Full Display in California
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL)
September 15, 2022
Daily Wire

“[C]limate change” is simply the Left’s catchall excuse for anything that goes wrong…. This is especially true in California. Just look at Democrats’ response to the state’s terrible wildfires…. When the fires strike, opportunistic politicians and click-starved journalists predictably blame global warming…. In reality, the connection is a bit more complicated….

Over the years, California’s policy of stopping wildfires as soon as they start has caused the state’s tree density to explode…. That surge has made major wildfires far more likely than they used to be….

There’s a similar dynamic at work with California’s electricity woes…. It doesn’t take a genius to see that banning fossil fuels in a hot, arid state, where the average person drives roughly 30,000 miles per year, could lead to power shortages—especially when renewable technologies aren’t as efficient as traditional ones….

That’s not to mention, as well, that regulation slips allowed one of California’s major utility companies, Pacific Gas and Electric, to ignore aging infrastructure for decades as they charged “abnormally high electricity rates” to their customers….

When an algal bloom hit San Francisco Bay this summer, a University of California professor said it was the result of global warming…. We now know that the bloom was the result of a complete failure by local governments to upgrade and modernize sewage treatment plants….

These examples show how the Left’s climate change alarmism is often just “whataboutism,” a way to avoid confronting real problems like California’s incompetent state and local governments. They also show that the best way to respond to climate change is not Green New Deal-style policies that weaken our infrastructure and economy. 

Rather, the key is to invest in technological innovation and adaptation to environmental changes. It’s what we are doing in Florida. To make those investments, however, left-wing politicians would need to quit playing their lazy blame-games and put in the type of work that doesn’t generate clicks or online donations.

Read the rest here.