Press Releases
Massachusetts Awarded $500K in Initial Federal Funding to Combat Coronavirus Outbreak
Boston, MA - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $500,000 in initial funding to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to support efforts to address a potential outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). This initial funding comes in advance of a Senate vote on a $7.8 billion appropriations package that would provide additional emergency funding to … Continue Reading
March 04, 2020
Warren, Velázquez Sound Alarm Over Customs and Border Protection's Deficient Medical Directive for Screening and Delivery of Medical Care to Migrants
Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) sent a letter to Mark Morgan, Acting Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), calling on CBP to strengthen its new Medical Directive, which mandates the agency's requirements for medical screening and delivery of medical care to migrants in CBP custody."We, along with other Members of Congress, have repeatedly called on CBP to improve its already deficient … Continue Reading
March 04, 2020
Senators Warren, Markey Urge Department of Transportation to Suspend All Airline Ticket Cancellation and Change Fees During Coronavirus Outbreak
Washington, DC - Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to the Department of Transportation (DOT), urging the agency to require all airlines to suspend their ticket change and cancellation fees in light of the spreading coronavirus. Although some domestic airlines have temporarily waived select fees because of the coronavirus, inconsistencies in companies’ policies could leave many individuals facing risk or paying excessive … Continue Reading
March 04, 2020
Warren, Carper Bill to Enhance Ethics Requirements for Presidential Candidates Becomes Law of the Land
Washington, DC -- Today, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Tom Carper (D-Del.) applauded the signing of the bipartisan Presidential Transition Enhancement Act, which includes major provisions of the Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act, into law. The Transition Team Ethics Improvement Act was introduced by Senators Warren and Carper and the late Representative Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), and will enhance the ethics requirements that govern presidential … Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Senator Warren Questions Nation's Largest Retail Banks on Plans for Assisting Americans Affected by Coronavirus-related Disruptions
Washington, DC -- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, and Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Labor, Education, and Pensions (HELP), sent letters to the CEOs at five large U.S. retail banks -- JP Morgan, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Citibank, and U.S. Bancorp -- to ask how they plan to provide financial assistance to customers who may face … Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Senators Warren, Merkley, and Harris Raise Concerns That DHS-Operated "Tent Courts" Violate Asylum Seekers' Due Process Rights
Washington, D.C. -- United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) raising concerns about the lack of access to appropriate legal services and lack of transparency at DHS-operated "tent courts" at the U.S.-Mexico border. The lawmakers questioned whether these conditions violate asylum seekers' due process rights and hinder … Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Warren, Blumenthal, Cassidy Press Giant Health Systems Provider Ascension on Patient Data-Sharing with Google
Washington, D.C. -- United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) sent a letter to Ascension, the second largest health systems provider in the United States, regarding the company's information-sharing partnership with Google-also known as Project Nightingale-that provides Google with the health records of tens of millions of Americans. The senators' inquiry follows a November 2019 letter to Google in which they asked … Continue Reading
March 03, 2020
Senators Warren and Casey Request Information on FDA and FTC Efforts to Protect the American Public from Coronavirus Scams
Washington, D.C. -- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) and Senate Aging Committees, and Senator Bob Casey (D-Pa.), a member of the HELP Committee and Ranking Member of the Aging Committee, sent letters to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting information on their efforts to protect the American public from coronavirus scams. Online scammers have … Continue Reading
March 02, 2020
Senator Warren, Colleagues Urge Defense Secretary Not to Strip Labor Rights from Civilian DoD Employees
Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, along with Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), sent a letter to Defense Secretary Mark Esper urging him not to use the authority purportedly granted by President Trump's January 29 memo to exempt civilian employees at the … Continue Reading
March 02, 2020
Senate Democrats Ask Secretary DeVos About Plans to Protect Students, Teachers, School Staff During Possible Spread of Coronavirus
Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined HELP Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and eight other Democratic senators in requesting Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos provide details about the Department’s coronavirus preparedness and response efforts and how the Department plans to protect students, teachers, and other school staff in the event of an outbreak. Last week, Dr. … Continue Reading
March 02, 2020
Senators Warren and Markey Announce Release of Additional LIHEAP Funding for Massachusetts Residents, Helps Reverse Decrease in State Funding Allocation
Boston, MA - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today announced the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS) release of an additional $18,098,515 of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding to Massachusetts, after $114,282,623 was released in November 2019. Massachusetts was projected to receive just $11.4 million from this second allocation but Senators Markey and Warren successfully worked to secure an additional $6.7 … Continue Reading
March 02, 2020
Senate Democrats Ask How Labor Department Plans to Protect Workers During Coronavirus Spread
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today joined HELP Committee Ranking Member, Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), and their seven Democratic HELP Committee colleagues to request Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia provide details about the Department’s coronavirus preparedness and response efforts and how the Department plans to protect the safety, health, and economic security of … Continue Reading
February 28, 2020
Senators Warren and Markey Warn Trump Not to Raid Low-Income Heating Program to Pay for Coronavirus Response
Washington, D.C. - Today, Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) called on the Trump administration to stop any proposal to transfer money out of the already underfunded Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) to support the national response to the coronavirus threat. In a letter sent today to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the senators call instead for new emergency funding to combat coronavirus and point to the fact … Continue Reading
February 28, 2020
Warren Seeks Assurances U.S. Sanctions on Iran Are Not Hindering Coronavirus Containment
Washington, DC -- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent letters to the Department of the Treasury and the Department of State expressing concern about the coronavirus spread in Iran and seeking assurances that U.S. sanctions on Iran are not hindering humanitarian transactions that would help counter and contain the spread of the disease in that country.According to reports, at least 26 people have died in Iran from the coronavirus -- the largest number of deaths of … Continue Reading
February 28, 2020
Warren to Big Banks: How Are You Preparing for a Coronavirus Outbreak?
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions, today sent letters to the CEOs of Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America and Morgan Stanley -- the U.S.-based “Too Big to Fail” banks with the largest foreign exposures -- asking about how they are monitoring and preparing to mitigate the economic risks of the outbreak of the … Continue Reading
February 28, 2020
Warren, Booker, Harris Press Education Dept.'s Office of Civil Rights on Crisis Facing Student Loan Borrowers of Color
Washington, D.C. -- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), wrote to the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights (OCR) requesting information about how OCR plans to address alarming racial disparities in the federal student loan system through vigorous enforcement of the nation's civil rights laws.OCR is responsible for enforcing the country's civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination in … Continue Reading
February 27, 2020
Senators Warren and Booker Introduce the Part-Time Workers Bill of Rights
Washington, D.C. -- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and Senator Cory Booker (D-N.J.), along with Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.), today introduced the Part-Time Workers Bill of Rights. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a Senior Chief Deputy Whip and Chair of the Energy and Commerce Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, and Congresswoman Ayanna … Continue Reading
February 27, 2020
Senator Warren Unveils Legislation to De-Fund President's Border Wall, Use Funds to Combat Coronavirus Outbreak
Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, today unveiled legislation, the Prioritizing Pandemic Prevention Act, requiring all funds that have been appropriated to build a border wall-including funds directly appropriated by Congress and funds diverted by the executive branch from other accounts-to be immediately transferred to the U.S. Department … Continue Reading
February 26, 2020
Senator Warren Raises Concerns with Federal Agencies over Troubling Decision-Making Process, Citing “Confusion and Disagreement” During Evacuation of Americans with Coronavirus from Diamond Princess Cruise Ship in Japan
Washington, D.C. - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Robert Redfield raising concerns over reports that appeared to show confusion and disagreement between federal officials earlier this month when State … Continue Reading
February 26, 2020
Senator Warren Statement on Federal Criminal Charges Against Columbia Gas of Massachusetts for the 2018 Merrimack Valley Pipeline Disaster
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today released the following statement concerning Columbia Gas of Massachusetts pleading guilty to violating the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act in connection with the September 2018 Merrimack Valley natural gas disaster that killed 19-year-old Leonel Rondon, injured more than two dozen people, damaged more than 100 structures, and left residents without heat for weeks. NiSource, the parent company to Columbia Gas, has also … Continue Reading
