News Coverage
The Root: Democratic Lawmakers Ask HHS to Allocate Portion of COVID-19 Relief Funds to Grassroots Groups in Communities of Color
In the midst of a vaccine rollout plagued by slowdowns as well as lingering suspicions from Black Americans and others about trusting the government’s response, Democrats are calling on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to direct funds from the recently passed $900 billion COVID relief bill to grassroots organizations in communities of color so they can conduct testing and other coronavirus related outreach.This week, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) and Sen. Elizabeth … Continue Reading
January 07, 2021
The Hill: Warren claps back at DeVos following resignation announcement: 'Good riddance'
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) tweeted a scathing send-off for Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, who tendered her resignation Thursday evening, calling her “the worst Secretary of Education ever."“Betsy DeVos has never done her job to help America’s students. It doesn’t surprise me one bit that she’d rather quit than do her job to help invoke the 25th Amendment,” Warren wrote. “Good riddance, Betsy. You were the worst Secretary of Education ever.”… Read the full … Continue Reading
January 07, 2021
Boston.com: Watch: Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey delivered scathing rebukes of Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn election results
Massachusetts senators Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren delivered blistering rebukes of the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, hours after a violent mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, forcing lawmakers to hide and evacuate. The speeches by the Democratic senators were delivered after the Congress reconvened Wednesday evening to complete the Electoral College tally. The proceedings were completed early Thursday morning … Continue Reading
December 31, 2020
Politico: Elizabeth Warren's next chapter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer replaced, lamenting that there's no one ready to step in. Elizabeth Warren has a different approach.The Massachusetts Democrat is a member of Schumer’s leadership team and is working closely with the Senate minority leader on a policy priority that could fuel the first intra-party fight with President-elect Joe Biden.A few months before the election, Warren asked Schumer to join her effort to cancel $50,000 of student loan debt for … Continue Reading
December 24, 2020
Masslive: Sens. Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren oppose Springfield biomass project by Palmer Renewable Energy
Massachusetts’ two U.S. senators, Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, have asked the state to suspend and reassess the approval it gave 12 years ago for a still-unbuilt Springfield biomass plant that would take wood chips and burn them for electricity.Developer Palmer Renewable Energy said Wednesday it has already begun work at the site, 1000 Page Blvd. in East Springfield.The two Democratic senators want the project put on hold at least until the incoming Biden administration comes out with a … Continue Reading
December 22, 2020
Military Times: Private military housing companies face questions about military families with disabled members
Two senators are pressing privatized housing companies for extensive details on their treatment of military families with disabled members who need accessible housing.Some private companies that have partnered with the Defense Department “do not appear to be following federal laws that protect persons with disabilities,” according to letters sent Dec. 18 to top executives of six companies, signed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C.Citing the findings of a small … Continue Reading
December 22, 2020
CNBC: Sen. Warren introduces bill to provide free Covid testing for teachers, students and essential workers across U.S.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pushing legislation that would provide free Covid testing for teachers, students, essential workers and others who have high exposure to the coronavirus, expanding federally funded screening efforts throughout the U.S.The Expanding COVID-19 Testing Capacity Act of 2020 would require the Department of Health and Human Services to “stabilize the testing supply chain” by manufacturing tests and testing supplies, or find contractors who can do it for the agency, Warren … Continue Reading
December 22, 2020
NBC News: Senators ask Justice Department watchdog to investigate federal executions under Trump
After a second federal inmate scheduled to be executed next month recently tested positive for the coronavirus, several senators are asking the Department of Justice's independent watchdog agency to investigate what motivated the Trump administration to resume the federal death penalty this year.Since July, the Justice Department under Attorney General William Barr has put 10 federal inmates to death, with three more executions scheduled in January just days before President-elect Joe Biden's … Continue Reading
December 22, 2020
Bloomberg: Tobacco Companies Tried to Profit Off Virus, Lawmaker Group Says
A group of U.S. lawmakers, including Senator Elizabeth Warren, has sent letters to two of the world’s largest tobacco companies alleging they attempted to “profit off the back of a global health crisis.”The letters sent to British American Tobacco Plc and Philip Morris International Inc., dated Dec. 16 and Dec. 18, respectively, cite a Stanford University study that found tobacco companies promoted their products during the pandemic on social media platforms popular with young adults by … Continue Reading
December 18, 2020
Politico: Warren re-ups bill to ban stock trading by lawmakers
While Georgia’s two Republican senators fend off campaign attacks on their stock trading, their Democratic colleague Elizabeth Warren is re-launching her bill to prevent lawmakers from making individual stock trades.Georgia Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler both came under recent fire for buying and selling stocks at moments when they were privy to sensitive information about the companies they invested in. Each is now a candidate in Georgia’s high-stakes January 5 runoff … Continue Reading
December 15, 2020
Forbes: The Bankruptcy Code Is Stacked Against Black Families. Elizabeth Warren’s New Bill Would Change That
Bankruptcy offers an exit route for families and businesses trapped by debt. In 2019, Forever 21, Barneys New York and Payless ShoeSource declared bankruptcy. Donald Trump’s businesses have declared bankruptcy on six occasions.The Bankruptcy Abuse and Protection Act of 2005 made bankruptcy much more expensive and time-consuming for ordinary Americans to access. After the passage of BAPCA, typical costs for declaring bankruptcy rose from $663 to $986 for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, and from $1,847 to … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
Politico: Senate Democrats press Trump on possible vaccine shortage
Senate Democrats are pressing the Trump administration to explain whether the United States could soon face a critical shortage of Covid-19 vaccine doses, citing recent reports that the White House passed on Pfizer’s repeated offers to purchase additional shots."We are concerned the failure to secure an adequate supply of vaccines will needlessly prolong the COVID-19 pandemic in this country, causing further loss of life and economic devastation," a group of senior lawmakers wrote to leaders … Continue Reading
December 14, 2020
Mother Jones: Exclusive: Read Elizabeth Warren’s Scathing Report on “Corrupt” Prison Audits
The organization responsible for accrediting US prisons, jails, and detention centers runs a “corrupt” process that puts a “rubber stamp” on dangerous facilities while taking in millions from the private prison industry, according to a scathing report from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), shared exclusively with Mother Jones.The report, the result of a nearly 19-month investigation by the senator’s office, examined the American Correctional Association (ACA), a nongovernmental organization … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
CNBC: Sens. Warren, Smith tell Azar they discovered ‘significant gaps’ in Covid testing
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., have informed the secretary of Health and Human Services they have discovered “significant gaps in COVID-19 testing capacity.”In a letter this week to HHS chief Alex Azar, Warren and Smith said they made the discovery after contacting five of the worlds largest Covid testing labs: Quest, BioReference, ARUP Labs, LabCorp., and Mayo Clinic.They said the labs informed them that they experienced a “large spike in COVID-19 diagnostic testing … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
WBUR: Warren Files Bill To Require Immigration Agencies Report Out COVID-19 Data
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and several Democratic colleagues want immigration detention facilities to track and publicly report data about COVID-19 cases.Warren, along with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, filed the bill, called the COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act, Wednesday in both chambers of Congress.The bill would require Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement — and any … Continue Reading
December 08, 2020
Daily Beast: Senate Dems Ask FBI for Full QAnon Threat Assessment
A group of Senate Democrats, led by Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), is asking federal authorities for a full accounting of threats posed by QAnon, the burgeoning fringe movement peddling bizarre conspiracies that involve President Donald Trump rooting out satanist pedophiles in government.On Tuesday, Schumer and 13 Democrats sent a letter to FBI Director Christopher Wray and Joseph Maher, a top official at the Department of Homeland Security’s … Continue Reading
December 08, 2020
Boston.com: Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey urge fellow Senate Democrats to demand stimulus checks in COVID-19 relief bill
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey believe that any new COVID-19 relief package needs to include a new round of stimulus checks — and they’re imploring fellow Senate Democrats to hold firm on the position in the midst of the dual public health and economic crises.The two Massachusetts senators signed onto a letter Tuesday urging colleagues to “join us in demanding that any new COVID-relief proposal includes a $1,200 direct payment to adults and $500 to their children,” similar to the first … Continue Reading
December 07, 2020
Salon: With rent due and evictions looming, Warren rips McConnell for "disgraceful" obstruction
With another rent payment due Tuesday for millions of Americans, Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans for continuing to stonewall an adequate coronavirus stimulus bill that would prevent mass evictions that are just around the corner and provide desperately needed relief to the unemployed."The rent is due. . . and Majority Leader McConnell and the Senate GOP still haven't reinstated the $600 unemployment checks, extended … Continue Reading
December 07, 2020
WBUR: 16 Mass. Elected Officials Challenge State Agency On East Boston Substation
Multiple members of the Massachusetts federal delegation, along with several state and local elected officials, sent a letter on Monday to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides, challenging the state's recent decision to move forward with plans to build a controversial electrical substation in East Boston.The letter, directed at the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), asked the board to re-evaluate whether the electrical substation on the Chelsea Creek waterfront … Continue Reading
December 04, 2020
Buzzfeed News: Elizabeth Warren And Ayanna Pressley Want To Know How Badly The US Pandemic Response Failed People Of Color
The US government needs to investigate whether Black, Latino, and Native American communities most impacted by the pandemic have received adequate coronavirus relief funds, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley wrote to the Government Accountability Office.“To date, the federal government has spent trillions of dollars to sustain our health system and mitigate the economic fallout during this public health emergency. However, it is not clear whether that relief has successfully … Continue Reading