News Coverage
The Verge: Sen. Warren calls for investigation of Google’s ‘Project Bernanke’
In a letter to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) on Wednesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) called for an investigation of Google’s alleged manipulation of the marketplace for online ads, opening the door for a new federal regulator for digital advertising markets.Warren’s letter focuses on a program called “Project Bernanke,” revealed in April as part of a lawsuit against Google led by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. Under that program, Google allegedly used historical Google … Continue Reading
June 30, 2021
Lowell Sun: Sen. Elizabeth Warren: Lowell Community Health Center “even more extraordinary place today”
Lowell Community Health Center was the first community health center U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren had visited shortly after joining the Senate in 2013.At that point, the then-new facility had only been open for a few months in one portion of its Jackson Street building — and expansion was only “a distant dream” — but Warren still regarded it as “a remarkable opportunity for me to see the inner workings of community health at its best.”When she came back Tuesday for another tour and to learn … Continue Reading
June 29, 2021
The Verge: Sen. Warren calls for ‘meticulous’ review of Amazon’s MGM acquisition
Senator Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Federal Trade Commission for a thorough review of Amazon’s bid to acquire MGM, arguing that the deal could harm consumers and may have anticompetitive effects in the streaming space and beyond.In a letter addressed to newly sworn-in FTC chair Lina Khan and shared exclusively with The Verge, Warren urged the FTC to specifically and closely examine “the possible anticompetitive effects this deal will have on streaming services and entertainment products … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Yahoo Finance: Student loan servicer censured over 'what appears to be false' congressional testimony
Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and John Kennedy (R-LA) sent a letter to a key student loan servicer CEO over "what appear to be false and misleading" statements during a congressional testimony on April 13, Yahoo Finance has learned.“We write to seek information on what appears to be false and misleading testimony that you provided at a hearing before the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs’ Subcommittee on Economic Policy on April 13, 2021," they wrote. ...Read the full … Continue Reading
June 25, 2021
Business Insider: Elizabeth Warren said a student-loan CEO gave false information to Congress. A Republican senator agreed.
As chair of the Senate subcommittee on economic policy, Elizabeth Warren in April invited the CEOs of the country's major student-loan servicers to testify on the impact of student debt on borrowers.She, and the subcommittee's Republican ranking member, John Kennedy, say that one of them may have given false testimony.On Wednesday, Warren and Kennedy sent a letter to Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency (PHEAA) CEO James Steeley regarding "what appear to be false and misleading" … Continue Reading
June 24, 2021
The Hill: Warren, Cassidy want hearing on new Alzheimer's drug coverage
Bipartisan senators are calling for a hearing into how the Medicare program could, or even should, cover an expensive new Alzheimer's drug with questionable benefit.Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) want the Senate Finance Committee to examine the challenges facing Medicare that were brought about by the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) decision to approve Biogen's Aduhelm....Read the full … Continue Reading
June 23, 2021
NBC: Democrats call on Biden to extend pause of student loan payments
WASHINGTON — Democrats on Capitol Hill are urging President Joe Biden to extend the federal student loan payment moratorium by at least six months as the economy continues to rebound from the coronavirus pandemic.In a letter to Biden obtained by NBC News, a group of Democratic lawmakers asked him to take action before the Sept. 30 deadline when loan forbearance is set to expire, requesting he extend the pause until March 31, 2022, or until the economy bounces back to pre-pandemic employment … Continue Reading
June 21, 2021
CNBC: Senators Warren, Smith, Markey warn of ‘extraordinary financial hardship’ when federal student loan payments resume
When the coronavirus pandemic first swept the United States in March 2020, student debt relief was among the first policies enacted to help struggling Americans. Since March 27, 2020, federal student loan interest rates have been set to 0% and payments have been paused. But the policy is set to expire on Oct. 1, 2021.On Monday, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Tina Smith and Edward J. Markey sent letters to the CEOs of all federal student loan servicers requesting information about the … Continue Reading
June 17, 2021
CNBC: Sen. Warren presses major pharma trade group on efforts to block Covid vaccine patent waivers
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren is pressing the CEO of a major pharmaceutical trade group on its lobbying efforts against a proposal to waive intellectual property rights for Covid-19 vaccines that would help boost production of the shots for poorer nations.Warren and other lawmakers asked how much money the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, or PhRMA, and its member companies spent this year lobbying Congress and White House officials in opposition to the waiver, in a … Continue Reading
June 12, 2021
WCVB: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. Jim McGovern support striking nurses at St. Vincent Hospital
WORCESTER, Mass. — A U.S. senator and a U.S. representative from the Massachusetts congressional delegation showed their support for the striking nurses at St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester on Saturday.Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Jim McGovern, of the 2nd District, and other labor leaders attended a rally across the street from the hospital on what marked the 97th day of the strike against Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare.The strike, which began on March 8, is now the longest nurses strike in … Continue Reading
June 09, 2021
Bloomberg: Crypto Is ‘Wild West’ Needing Consumer Protections, Warren Says
The U.S. government needs to step up oversight of the digital currency market and find ways to protect consumers from scams stemming from the rapid rise of cryptocurrencies, Massachusetts Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren said Wednesday.Warren, in a Bloomberg TV interview, called the market for cryptocurrencies the “wild West,” and said digital currency is “not a good way to buy and sell things and not a good investment and an environmental disaster.”Earlier in the day, Warren chaired a … Continue Reading
June 09, 2021
New York Times: An Exposé Has Congress Rethinking How to Tax the Superrich
WASHINGTON — A jaw-dropping report by ProPublica detailing how America’s richest men avoided paying taxes has intensified interest in Congress, even among some Republicans, in changing the tax code to ensure that people like Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett pay their fair share.For Republicans, the idea that the tax code should give preferential treatment to investment has been sacrosanct, ostensibly to promote economic growth and innovation that could benefit everyone. But the news this week … Continue Reading
June 04, 2021
Bloomberg: SEC Ousts Head of Top Audit Regulator Amid Warren Pressure
The Securities and Exchange Commission, led by Chairman Gary Gensler, has fired the U.S.’s top accounting regulator, a move that is certain to please investor advocates and progressives who had demanded an overhaul of the watchdog.The SEC announced the removal of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board Chairman William Duhnke in a Friday statement. He was replaced on an acting basis with PCAOB board member Duane DesParte.The change was approved in a vote by Gensler and the SEC’s … Continue Reading
June 01, 2021
Wicked Local: Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Salem small biz owners talk COVID-19 struggles
A little under a dozen small-business owners on Tuesday told Sen. Elizabeth Warren they are facing a mixture of COVID-19-related issues as they bounce back from the global pandemic in 2021. Warren joined Mayor Kim Driscoll, elected officials and mostly local restaurant and café owners seated around a table set up outside the Adriatic Restaurant for the early-afternoon conversation in downtown Salem. COVID-19 wreaked havoc on the local tourism, hospitality and restaurant industry. “Every … Continue Reading
June 01, 2021
Eagle Tribune: Groceries and grades: Warren visits Lawrence to bring attention to college food insecurity
LAWRENCE — Not long ago, pre-pandemic, Northern Essex Community College was serving peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the hallways of its Lawrence campus. Sure, NECC President Lane Glenn may have really liked a grab n' go grape jelly with crunchy Jif, but the PB&J sandwich stations signaled a lot more, the community college head explained. According to Glenn, they illustrated the harsh reality many college students face, right at home in Lawrence: That food insecurity is very real.Glenn, … Continue Reading
May 27, 2021
Quartz: Elizabeth Warren doesn’t buy Jamie Dimon’s commitment to conscious capitalism
If you were to host an impromptu dinner party to discuss the role of corporate America in social welfare today, Elizabeth Warren and Jamie Dimon would be close to the top of the guest list. Warren, a Massachusetts senator and former Democratic presidential candidate, has for decades taken up the mantle of causes like consumer protection and income inequality, while Dimon, JPMorgan Chase’s chairman and CEO, has cultivated a reputation for pushing corporate America to embrace a more socially … Continue Reading
May 27, 2021
Rollcall: Progressives push more clean energy infrastructure spending
A pair of progressive lawmakers is pushing to include legislation that would lock in more than $1 trillion in spending for U.S.-made clean energy products and create a new division of the Energy Department focused on low- and zero-carbon options.Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., are set to unveil two bills Thursday as left-leaning Democrats in Congress are pushing the Biden administration and members of their party on Capitol Hill to maintain a broad, … Continue Reading
May 26, 2021
New York Times: Senators criticize Wall Street chiefs about their pandemic response.
The top executives of six of the biggest banks in the United States drew criticism from several senators during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday for not doing more to help small businesses and retail customers during the pandemic.A number of lawmakers said the nation’s top banks should have provided more relief to businesses and consumers in light of the big profits the banking industry posted last year.The most contentious moment occurred when Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of … Continue Reading
May 26, 2021
Salon: Elizabeth Warren and Jamie Dimon face off in heated Senate hearing
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., grilled J.P. Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon during a Senate Banking Committee hearing on Tuesday, calling claims that the bank helped customers during the pandemic "a bunch of baloney.""No matter how you try to spin it," Warren declared, "this past year has shown that corporate profits are more important to your bank than offering just a little help to struggling families even when we're in the middle of a worldwide crisis."Back in December, CNBC reported that, … Continue Reading
May 25, 2021
Bloomberg: Warren Tears Into Fed on Credit Suisse Oversight Before Archegos
Senator Elizabeth Warren ripped the Federal Reserve for its oversight of Credit Suisse Group AG in the run-up to Archegos Capital Management’s implosion, arguing the regulator badly blundered when it freed the bank from heightened monitoring.Warren pointed out at a Tuesday Senate hearing that the Fed knew Credit Suisse had problems estimating its potential trading losses because the agency had flagged the Swiss bank over that issue in its 2019 stress tests. She questioned why Credit Suisse, … Continue Reading