News Coverage
The Hill: Warren calls on McConnell to bring Senate back to address Postal Service
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Monday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) should bring the Senate back into session amid criticism surrounding changes at the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) as the GOP leader faces growing calls to reconvene the chamber. “Good for [Speaker] Nancy Pelosi for bringing the House back. I believe Mitch McConnell needs to bring the Senate back as well," Warren told NBC's "Today." "People depend on the post office. We're depending on it for our … Continue Reading
August 14, 2020
CNN: Exclusive: Postal service inspector general reviewing DeJoy's policy changes and potential ethics conflicts
Washington (CNN)The internal watchdog at the United States Postal Service is reviewing controversial policy changes recently imposed under Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, and is also examining DeJoy's compliance with federal ethics rules, according to a spokeswoman for the USPS inspector general and an aide to Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who requested the review.Lawmakers from both parties and postal union leaders have sounded alarms over disruptive changes instituted by DeJoy this summer, … Continue Reading
August 13, 2020
CNBC: Sen. Elizabeth Warren demands ‘corruption’ probe after report of Amazon options purchase by Postal Service chief Louis DeJoy
Sen. Elizabeth Warren on Thursday demanded that the U.S. Postal Service’s internal ethics watchdog investigate what she suggested was “corruption” in the purchase of Amazon stock options by Postmaster General Louis DeJoy after his appointment to that job.The Massachusetts Democrat Warren, in a tweet, wrote that DeJoy’s “investments in @USPS competitors were already deeply problematic.”...Read the full article on the CNBC … Continue Reading
August 13, 2020
The Verge: Facebook tells Elizabeth Warren it has two different standards for climate fact-checking
Facebook says its third-party fact-checking partners “do review and rate climate misinformation, and there has never been a prohibition against them doing so,” in a response to criticism from Democratic senators. Facebook will continue its policy of exempting “clear opinion content” from fact-checking, the letter says. The senators are unsatisfied.In the response, which was shared exclusively with The Verge, the tech behemoth says it does not consider all climate change content “opinion.” But … Continue Reading
August 10, 2020
19th News: Democrats focus new legislation on the pandemic’s effect on maternal mortality
The emerging evidence suggests pregnant people are at enhanced risk of complications from COVID-19. Now, a group of Democrats are trying to plug holes in how the government tracks the virus’ impact on pregnancy, put new resources into maternal health and ensure that pregnant individuals are ultimately eligible for any new treatments and vaccines, according to a bill shared first with The 19th.The bill, unveiled Monday and spearheaded by Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Lauren Underwood, comes as … Continue Reading
August 07, 2020
CNN: Warren and other top Democrats ask USPS watchdog to investigate practices
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other top Democrats on Friday sent a letter to the United States Postal Service inspector general asking her to investigate recent operational changes within the agency.The Democrats write that they are concerned about "modifications" to USPS "staffing and policies" recently put in place by new Postmaster General Louis DeJoy. Appointed by President Donald Trump, DeJoy is a Trump fundraiser and ally.The group, which includes Sens. Gary Peters of Michigan, … Continue Reading
August 06, 2020
ABC News: As coronavirus spreads through nation's jails and prisons, lawmakers demand more transparency on toll
Citing the growing toll from a hidden side of the coronavirus pandemic, top Democratic lawmakers are looking to require state and federal prisons to open their books on the number of cases behind bars.Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren, Patty Murray, and Cory Booker led a group introducing legislation Thursday that would require the array of agencies that administer the nation’s jails and prisons to collect and report publicly detailed information about the spread of COVID-19 in their … Continue Reading
August 06, 2020
The New York Times: Elizabeth Warren Says Child Care Is Key to Bringing the Economy Back
America is in the middle of a child care meltdown.Millions of children are out of school and unlikely to return anytime soon. Day care centers are being pushed the brink of collapse. And parents are trying — and often failing — to balance care with working.None of this surprises Elizabeth Warren. The Massachusetts senator — still under consideration to be Joe Biden’s running mate — made child care a centerpiece of her presidential campaign, proposing one of the most ambitious plans in the … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
The Washington Post: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wants to know whether a data-mining company sold protester data to the police.
The company, Mobilewalla, released a report in June that showed the demographics of protesters based on their location data, as BuzzFeed News first reported. “We have serious concerns that your company’s data could be used for surveillance of Americans engaging in Constitutionally-protected speech.” Warren and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), and House Committee on Oversight and Reform Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) wrote to the company's CEO yesterday. They suggested … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
The Hill: Bill from Warren, Gillibrand and Waters would make Fed fight economic racial inequalities
A bill introduced by three Democratic lawmakers Wednesday would require the Federal Reserve to actively work to narrow racial gaps in wealth, income and employment in the U.S.Called the “Federal Reserve Racial and Economic Equity Act,” the bill, spearheaded by Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), would make reducing racial economic inequality a core part of the central bank’s broader mission of maximizing employment and keeping … Continue Reading
August 04, 2020
Bloomberg: Elizabeth Warren Seeks SEC Insider Trading Probe After Kodak Shares Surge
Senator Elizabeth Warren wants U.S. regulators to examine possible insider trading and disclosure violations involving Eastman Kodak Co. after the former film company’s shares soared when it announced a surprise foray into generic drugs with help from a $765 million government loan.In a letter dated Tuesday, Warren asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine trading prior to Kodak’s July 28 announcement. On July 27, volume in the company’s shares surged and the stock rose about … Continue Reading
August 03, 2020
Politico: ‘Shame on you’: Warren slams Esper over handling of Trump’s Pentagon nominee
Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren sharply criticized Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday after the administration installed an embattled nominee in a senior Pentagon post amid opposition on Capitol Hill, accusing the Pentagon chief of doing President Donald Trump’s “dirty work.”Retired Army Brig. Gen. Anthony Tata’s nomination to be undersecretary of defense for policy was upended on Thursday when the Senate Armed Services Committee canceled his confirmation hearing minutes before it was set … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
Forbes: Democrats Introduce Bill To Get Police Out Of Schools
The deaths of Black people at the hands of police this year ignited an important conversation about police reform in this country. A number of proposals have been introduced to address various facets of policing at the federal, state, and local levels. This week, Democratic lawmakers in Congress added to that list with a bill to get police out of schools.Senators Chris Murphy (CT) and Elizabeth Warren (MA), along with Representatives Ayanna Pressley (MA) and Ilhan Omar (MN), introduced the … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
The Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Urge FTC Probe of Mobile Ad Industry’s Tracking of Consumers
A group of members of Congress is asking the Federal Trade Commission to open an investigation into the mobile advertising industry’s practice of covertly tracking consumers using digital display ads.The complaint sent to the FTC on Friday cites a little-known practice of using what is called “bidstream” data derived from the ads that appear on websites and in mobile applications to obtain sensitive information about consumers that can include their real-world locations and information about … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
The New York Times: Democrats Decry Fed Push to Ease Capital Requirements for Big Banks
Two Senate Democrats sharply criticized the Federal Reserve’s effort to get Congress to help it weaken capital requirements for big banks this week, following a report in The New York Times that Republicans were hoping to include such a provision in the next coronavirus relief package.In letters to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell and Vice Chair Randal K. Quarles, Senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who sit on a committee that oversees banks and … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
The Washington Post: Senate Democrats raise concerns about educational redlining in student lending
An emerging practice of using education data to determine creditworthiness is drawing scrutiny on Capitol Hill, where Senate Democrats are questioning whether private student lenders are engaging in educational redlining by raising the price of credit for historically marginalized groups.Lawmakers’ concerns center on lenders factoring in where borrowers attend college or what they study to assess the risk of extending credit and the appropriate interest to charge. Lenders say using a range of … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
NBC News: Two senators demand answers from Wells Fargo following NBC News reports
Citing a recent investigation by NBC News, two U.S. senators have asked the chief executive of Wells Fargo to answer extensive questions about the bank’s practice of pausing mortgage payments for borrowers without their consent under a federal program designed to help homeowners financially hurt by COVID-19.The senators, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Brian Schatz of Hawaii, both Democrats and members of the Senate Banking Committee, wrote a letter on July 29 requesting information and … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Vice: Warren Investigates Report That FedEx, Walmart Punish Workers for Taking Time Off
Senator Elizabeth Warren sent letters to the CEOs of FedEx, Walmart, Conagra, 3M, and Kroger on Tuesday demanding information about their respective attendance policies and whether companies are adequately informing workers of their legal rights to take time off work without punishment.The letters follow a June report by the legal advocacy group A Better Balance that investigated 66 U.S. companies (including those contacted by Senator Warren) that use points-based attendance policies, also … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
Morning Consult: Sens. Warren, Schatz Call on Fed to Suspend Bank Dividends and Increase Transparency
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) are urging Federal Reserve officials to suspend bank dividends and to provide more transparency on the way the Fed measures the ability of banks to weather a crisis, according to a letter provided exclusively to Morning Consult. Warren and Schatz, both on the Senate Banking Committee, said in a letter sent Tuesday night to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Fed Vice Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles that their concerns are “especially … Continue Reading
July 29, 2020
HuffPost: Millions Of Americans Are About To Be Homeless, And It’s Totally Preventable
The federal moratorium on evictions expired last Friday, ending protections for nearly 12 million Americans. This Friday, 25 million people will stop receiving an extra $600 in weekly coronavirus relief in their unemployment benefits.And on Saturday, rent is due for millions of Americans who won’t be able to pay.If Congress doesn’t step in, these people could be evicted come September. And the worst part is that this looming crisis is completely avoidable. All lawmakers need to do is take … Continue Reading