News Coverage
MassLive: As opioid deaths rise, Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren press National Institutes of Health on COVID-postponed research programs
U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren this week pressed the National Institutes of Health for details on opioid research programs and treatment efforts that have stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Massachusetts Democrats, in a letter to NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins, said that several behavioral health and addiction treatment studies are reportedly on hold at a time when overdoses are rising and the country faces public health and economic crises exacerbating the struggles of … Continue Reading
November 18, 2020
CNBC: Sen. Elizabeth Warren says CDC failed to capture the true toll of Covid on people of color
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to clarify and revise its estimates for the risk posed to communities of color by Covid-19.CNBC obtained a copy of a letter the Massachusetts Democrat sent last week to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield that says “by failing to adjust COVID-19 mortality rates by age in its public data releases, the CDC may not be providing an accurate assessment of the increased risk of death and serious illness for communities … Continue Reading
November 13, 2020
The Hill: Elizabeth Warren slams Justice Alito over 'nakedly partisan' speech
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday condemned Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over a speech he gave Thursday at the Federalist Society’s annual meeting, which Warren called a “nakedly partisan” address. “Supreme Court Justices aren't supposed to be political hacks,” the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate wrote on Twitter. “This right-wing speech is nakedly partisan.“My bill to #EndCorruptionNow restores some integrity to our Court by forcing Justices to follow the ethics … Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
CNN Business: Elizabeth Warren calls out CEOs for 'weak and meaningless' climate commitments
New York (CNN Business) - Senator Elizabeth Warren fears Corporate America's latest commitment to fight the climate crisis is little more than a publicity stunt.The Massachusetts Democrat is demanding the Business Roundtable, an influential lobbying group headed by leading CEOs, follow up on its recent call to adopt new principles to address climate change with concrete steps."The seriousness of the climate crisis deserves more than empty rhetoric without any actual climate action," Warren … Continue Reading
November 10, 2020
Bloomberg: Warren Blasts Virus-Aid Watchdog, Who Hits Back on Partisanship
Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday blasted the inspector general tasked with monitoring a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package for failing to fulfill his mandate, after a spat over investigating the role of lobbyists in the allocation of funds.Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday blasted the inspector general tasked with monitoring a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package for failing to fulfill his mandate, after a spat over investigating the role of lobbyists in the allocation of … Continue Reading
November 10, 2020
CNBC: Warren wants answers on suspension of FDA inspections of overseas drug manufacturing facilities
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith are concerned about the safety of pharmaceuticals and drug components coming into the United States, as the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to many inspections of overseas drug manufacturing facilities.In a letter to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn released Tuesday, the senators wrote: “We are concerned that, absent proper oversight of our drug supply chain and the overseas facilities manufacturing products millions of Americans rely on, … Continue Reading
November 06, 2020
The Washington Post: Democratic Senators Call for Expansion of Fed Lending Programs
Four Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urged the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury to expand emergency lending programs for businesses and states and municipalities to provide support while Congress debates additional fiscal stimulus.In a Nov. 5 letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin obtained by Bloomberg, the senators asked that the programs be extended beyond their Dec. 31 deadlines, and that changes be made to make them more … Continue Reading
October 30, 2020
Bloomberg: Elizabeth Warren Says Perry Must Quit Energy Transfer Role
Senator Elizabeth Warren reiterated her call for Rick Perry to resign from his role with Energy Transfer LP, citing recent media reports that he pushed for a deal involving the company while he was U.S. Energy Secretary.“Your actions raise even more questions about your behavior during your time in government service,” Warren said in a letter dated Wednesday that was seen by Bloomberg. She referred to stories published by Time and ProPublica that said Perry worked to advance an ultimately … Continue Reading
October 30, 2020
The New York Times: Democratic Senators Prepare to ‘Fundamentally Reform’ Capitalism
A statement of intentJust days before Election Day, four Democratic senators — Tammy Baldwin, Tom Carper, Mark Warner and Elizabeth Warren — are banding together to “fundamentally reform” capitalism. DealBook’s Lauren Hirsch got a first look at their working group, which will be announced today. Above all, it suggests growing Democratic unity around pushing corporate America to focus less on shareholders and short-term profits. And it signals an early priority for lawmakers if their party … Continue Reading
October 30, 2020
The Washington Post: Senate Democrats call on power, water, telecom giants to halt all utility shutoffs
Top Senate Democrats are calling on electric, gas, water and telecommunications giants to voluntarily halt all utility shutoffs for the duration of the coronavirus pandemic, raising fears that millions of Americans are falling behind on their bills and have no easy way to catch up.The request - sent in a letter Friday to 21 of the largest utility companies - illustrates the country’s lingering economic needs even as Washington fails to coalesce around a new coronavirus relief package, which … Continue Reading
October 29, 2020
Boston.com: Elizabeth Warren’s office compiled a report on the Trump administration’s Hatch Act violations. They counted more than 50.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren often calls President Donald Trump’s administration the “most corrupt” in the country’s history — and not just because of the headline-grabbing stuff.In a report Thursday shared exclusively with Boston.com, the Massachusetts senator’s office put together a list of all the confirmed and alleged violations of the Hatch Act by Trump administration officials, finding a pattern of disregard for the law with “almost no consequences.”...Read the full article on … Continue Reading
October 29, 2020
CNN: Senators ask HHS, CDC about 'highly alarming' excess Covid-19 deaths
(CNN) Three Democratic US senators have asked the US Health and Human Services Secretary and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director to explain what they're doing to investigate a "highly alarming" excess of deaths in the United States, above and beyond the more than 200,000 fatalities directly attributed to Covid-19."Newly released CDC data reveal that 'an estimated 299,028 excess deaths occurred from late January through October 3, 2020, with 198,081 (66%) excess deaths … Continue Reading
October 28, 2020
Common Dreams: Warren Rips USPS Board Members for 'Acting as Accomplices' to DeJoy as He Sabotages Mail Delivery—and the Election
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday blasted members of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors for "acting as accomplices" to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy while he sabotages the mail—and, as a result, the election—after the panel rejected her request for financial disclosure filings and refused to commit to reversing DeJoy's destructive policy changes."The USPS Board of Governors has refused to release information about their own financial ties and has doubled down on their support of … Continue Reading
October 27, 2020
U.S. News & World Report: Senate Democrats Press Trump Administration to Collect, Disseminate School Reopening Data
SENATE DEMOCRATS URGED the Trump administration this week to create a centralized database to track school-related coronavirus cases and school reopening plans in order to provide more reliable information for school leaders trying to reopen for in-person learning. "As schools have begun the new academic year operating in-person, remotely, or with a hybrid approach, there has been wide variation in both the reporting and tracking of COVID-19 cases at schools that provide in-person learning," … Continue Reading
October 22, 2020
CNBC: Progressive lawmakers call on congressional leaders to prepare for next pandemic
More than 100 Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives, largely progressives, are calling on congressional leaders to take steps to prepare the United States for the next pandemic and mitigate racial disparities in U.S. health care.Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., spearheaded a letter sent to the top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate on Thursday calling on them to “lay the groundwork to prevent and mitigate future pandemics.”...Read the … Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
The New York Times: Senate Bill Would Outlaw Bank Discrimination for the First Time
Democrats in Congress have introduced legislation that would make it illegal for banks and other financial firms to discriminate against their customers because of their race, religion, sexual orientation and other characteristics — an effort meant to close a loophole in the Civil Rights Act highlighted in a New York Times report in June.The Fair Access to Financial Services Act, introduced on Wednesday by members of the Senate Banking Committee, would explicitly outlaw discrimination against … Continue Reading
October 21, 2020
Grist: Elizabeth Warren blasts the EPA for neglecting environmental justice
Climate change and environmental degradation don’t affect all Americans equally. Extreme heat, flooding, drought, and other consequences of our warming planet tend to hit low-income and nonwhite communities hardest. And pollution from highways and industry activity has long affected those communities most, too. These patterns are known as environmental injustice.In 2010, the Environmental Protection Agency under President Obama established a tool called EJSCREEN to literally map the factors … Continue Reading
October 16, 2020
Reveal: Lawmakers demand Amazon answer for deception on worker injuries
A trio of Democratic Congress members from Massachusetts is demanding that Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos answer questions about the company’s deception around worker injuries and its failure to address high injury rates at its fulfillment centers. “We are gravely concerned that, as evidence mounts of unsafe working conditions for Amazon warehouse workers, Amazon’s response continues to be to roll out PR campaigns and misrepresent workers’ injury risk to Congress and the public rather than implement … Continue Reading
October 15, 2020
CNN: Elizabeth Warren demands investigation into elite investors accessing Trump briefings
New York (CNN Business) - Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on US financial regulators to investigate whether insider trading laws were violated when elite investors reportedly got wind of private concerns voiced by Trump officials about the pandemic in late February."Numerous investors may have used this early and insider information about the looming, tragic economic and public health consequences of the pandemic to extract profits for themselves," Warren wrote in the letter obtained first … Continue Reading
October 14, 2020
CNN: Elizabeth Warren slams Disney for laying off thousands of workers after awarding fat executive pay packages
New York (CNN Business) - Senator Elizabeth Warren slammed Disney over decisions she says prioritized shareholders and CEO pay packages over the well-being of its workers.Disney, which is laying off 28,000 employees in the United States, made "short-sighted" business decisions that depleted the storied company's capital cushion, Warren said in a letter released Wednesday.In particular, Warren called out Disney for "showering its top executives with over-the-top compensation packages and … Continue Reading