Press Releases
Massachusetts Lawmakers Request Additional Information from Columbia Gas Amid New Reports of Delays and Shortfalls in Gas Explosion Claims Process
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) along with Representatives Seth Moulton (MA-06) and Lori Trahan (MA-03) yesterday sent a letter to Columbia Gas and its parent company NiSource requesting additional information about the claims process established for the communities of the Merrimack Valley devastated by the deadly September 13, 2018 natural gas explosions. The letter comes after recent reports that Columbia Gas is failing to … Continue Reading
March 14, 2019
Senators Warren, Cruz Introduce Bipartisan Resolution Honoring Service of Military Retirees
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) led a bipartisan group of 21 senators today and introduced a resolution designating April 18, 2019 as "Military Retiree Appreciation Day" to commemorate the life-long service of military retirees. The resolution encourages Americans to honor the past and continued service of the approximately 2 million retired service members across the United States.The week of April 7-13, 2019 is designated as … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Warren, Courtney Introduce Bill to Aid Student Loan Borrowers
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Joe Courtney (D-Conn.) reintroduced the bicameral Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act, a bill that would allow undergraduate borrowers repaying public or private loans to refinance those loans to an interest rate of 3.76 percent. The bill would also allow graduate and parent borrowers to refinance to competitive rates, reducing monthly payments and helping borrowers repay loans sooner. The Bank on … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Warren and Colleagues Reintroduce Historic Legislation to Confront America's Housing Crisis
Read Letter of Support from the U.S. Conference of MayorsRead Letter of Support from Massachusetts MayorsRead Letter of Support from Civil Rights GroupsRead Letter of Support from the National Rural Housing Coalition Read Letter of Support from Credit Union National AssociationBill Text | Bill Summary | Moody's Independent Analysis | Explainer VideoWashington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), along with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Edward Markey … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Warren, Udall, Colleagues Reintroduce Bicameral Native American Voting Rights Act
Washington, DC — United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.), vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, in reintroducing the Native American Voting Rights Act, landmark legislation that would provide the necessary resources and oversight to ensure Native Americans and Alaska Natives have equal access to the electoral process. The legislation is also cosponsored by Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), … Continue Reading
March 13, 2019
Warren Delivers Floor Speech Opposing Neomi Rao's Nomination for DC Circuit Judgeship
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) delivered a speech on the Senate floor opposing the nomination of Neomi Rao for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In her remarks, Senator Warren highlighted Ms. Rao's record of rolling back consumer protections and rubber-stamping the Trump Administration's pro-corporate agenda, and urged the Senate to reject her nomination. The Senator also stated her strong opposition to William Beach's … Continue Reading
March 12, 2019
Senator Warren Questions CFPB Director Kraninger About Lack of Enforcement Action
SENATOR WARREN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So before the 2008 crisis, it was open season on consumers. Giant financial institutions cheated people on mortgages, on credit cards, and a bunch of other financial products, and government regulators did nothing. After the crisis, the CFPB was created to be a cop on the beat to aggressively enforce laws that protect consumers, especially those who get regularly cheated. So, Director Kraninger, during your confirmation hearing, you testified, … Continue Reading
March 08, 2019
Senator Warren’s Statement on the Department of Labor’s Proposal to Set New Salary Threshold for Overtime Protections
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today released the following statement in response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposal to raise the salary threshold for overtime protections to $35,000 annually, with no automatic updates for inflation. The proposed rule is expected to affect around a quarter of the 4 million workers who would have received a raise under an Obama Administration proposal to raise the threshold to nearly $50,000 in annual earnings. “The … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Warren Joins Sanders, Velázquez, Colleagues in Unveiling Legislation to Provide Nutrition Assistance to Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez (D-N.Y.) in introducing the Equitable Nutrition Assistance for the Territories Act of 2019 to restore Puerto Rico's, the Northern Mariana Islands' and American Samoa's access to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). In the early 1980s, Puerto Rico was removed from SNAP and given a block grant to administer nutrition assistance. The … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Senator Warren Joins Bipartisan Call for an Investigation into Non-Compete Agreements Hurting U.S. Workers
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and four of their colleagues in calling for a Government Accountability Office (GAO) investigation into the use and abuse of non-compete agreements. Also joining the request for a nonpartisan GAO investigation are U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-Ind.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Tim Kaine (D-Va.). Non-compete agreements are increasingly used to impose arbitrary … Continue Reading
March 07, 2019
Senators Warren, Cotton, Thune and Sinema Reintroduce National POW/MIA Flag Act
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), John Thune (R-S.D.), and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) today reintroduced the National POW/MIA Flag Act, which would require the POW/MIA Flag to be displayed whenever the American flag is displayed on prominent federal properties, including the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the World War II Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, every national cemetery, the buildings … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Warren Joins Schatz, Pocan, Colleagues in Reintroducing Legislation to the End Student Loan Debt Crisis
Washington, DC -United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Representative Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.) and 40 of their Senate and House colleagues in reintroducing the Debt-Free College Act, legislation that will reverse the growing student debt crisis in the United States. The bill restores a path to affordable college by providing states incentives through matching grants to increase investments in public higher education and provide students … Continue Reading
March 06, 2019
Senator Warren and Colleagues Demand Answers on Shamefully Weak SEC Settlement with Corinthian College Executives
Washington, DC - Today, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) led U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) in sending a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton seeking answers about last week's feeble settlement with two top Corinthian College executives who materially misled the public about the … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Senator Warren Discusses Importance of Vaccines to Preventing and Controlling Disease Outbreaks
SENATOR WARREN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. So we've heard today about how important vaccines are to preventing and controlling many diseases, and I want to zero in on one that we are battling right now in Massachusetts. Since last April, 318 outbreak-associated cases of acute hepatitis A virus have been reported in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hep A is a contagious virus that causes liver infection. Older children and adults who acquire the hepatitis A virus can experience a slew of … Continue Reading
March 05, 2019
Warren, Jayapal Release T-Mobile Responses to Their Inquiry About Trump International Hotel Patronage
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) today released T-Mobile's responses to their February 6, 2019 letter inquiring about reports that T-Mobile executives started to regularly patronize President Trump's hotel in Washington D.C. immediately after announcing a proposed merger with its rival, Sprint, and asking T-Mobile to share the amount spent at the Trump property between April 2018, when the proposed merger was … Continue Reading
March 01, 2019
Warren, Blumenthal, Menendez, and Sanders Call on Congressional Leadership to Address Expiring Food and Nutrition Benefits for Puerto Rico in Final Disaster Relief Bill
Washington, DC - As negotiations continue on a supplemental disaster relief bill, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called on Congressional leadership to ensure that the final package address the imminent expiration of food and other nutritional benefits for thousands of eligible Puerto Ricans. Unlike fellow U.S. citizens living in the 50 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and the United … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Senators Warren and Rubio Reintroduce Bill to Protect Jobs for Workers Struggling with Student Loans
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) today reintroduced the Protecting Job Opportunities for Borrowers (Protecting JOBs) Act (S.609), legislation that would help to ensure borrowers are not inhibited from working solely because they fell behind on their federal student loan payments. Specifically, the Protecting JOBs Act would prevent states from suspending, revoking or denying state professional, teaching, or driver's licenses … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Warren Joins Whitehouse, Cotton, Moulton, and King in Reintroducing ALS Disability Insurance Access Act
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Representatives Seth Moulton (MA-06) and Peter King (NY-02) in reintroducing the ALS Disability Insurance Access Act. The bipartisan bill would eliminate the five-month waiting period before ALS patients can receive the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits they earned by contributing to Social Security. Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Senators Warren and Blumenthal Investigate Interior Nominee and Former Lobbyist David Bernhardt's Conflicts of Interest
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) today sent a letter to the Designated Agency Ethics Official, Scott de la Vega, at the U.S. Department of the Interior Ethics Office (DEO) and to the Deputy Inspector General, Mary Kendall, at the U.S. Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General, expressing concern over conflicts of interest and potential ethics violations by David Bernhardt, the Acting Secretary of the Department … Continue Reading
February 28, 2019
Warren, Booker, Deutch Investigate Private Prisoner Transport Company Following Reports of Inhumane and Unsafe Conditions
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Representative Ted Deutch (D-Fla.) sent a letter to Joel Brasfield, President of Prisoner Transportation Services, LLC (PTS), a private prisoner transport company that contracts with state and local law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities to transport pretrial arrestees and prisoners across interstate or intrastate jurisdictional lines. PTS and its subsidiaries have come under … Continue Reading