Press Releases
Senators Warren and Sasse Raise Concerns About $7.2 Million IRS Contract Awarded to Equifax
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) today raised concerns about the recent decision by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to award Equifax a $7.2 million contract to handle sensitive taxpayer information, despite the company's recent data breach exposing the personal information of over 145 million Americans. Earlier this week, the IRS posted the award of a new, short-term, $7.2 million sole-source contract with Equifax "to verify taxpayer … Continue Reading
October 04, 2017
Senator Warren Asks Former Equifax CEO if Breach Created New Business Opportunities for the Company
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned former Equifax CEO Richard Smith during today's Senate Banking Committee hearing about how the company might profit from selling more fraud prevention services in the wake of its recent security breach. Senator Warren noted that while Equifax has committed to offering one year of free credit monitoring to those affected by the hack, consumers will have to pay for the service for years to come in order to protect … Continue Reading
October 04, 2017
Senator Warren Asks ED General Counsel Nominee to Submit Substantive Responses to Hearing Questions
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today called on Carlos Muñiz, President Trump's nominee for General Counsel at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), to substantively respond to a series of questions regarding his legal perspective and interpretation of laws affecting ED programs and activities. Senator Warren expressed disappointment with Mr. Muñiz's initial, "rote, obfuscatory" responses to the questions she submitted for the record following his … Continue Reading
October 03, 2017
Senators Warren, Markey, Representative Tsongas, and Mayor Rivera Announce $41,000 Grant for the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, along with Representative Niki Tsongas and Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, announced today that the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded a federal grant of nearly $41,000 to the Merrimack Valley Planning Commission (MVPC) to fund the Lawrence Textile Innovation Center feasibility study in Lawrence, Massachusetts. The funding, which was awarded through the EDA's Planning and Local Technical … Continue Reading
October 03, 2017
Warren, Hatch, Whitehouse, Baldwin, Cassidy Request that GAO Consider Steps for Federal Agencies to Improve Patient Matching in Upcoming Report
Washington, DC - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) and Bill Cassidy (R-La.) today requested that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) consider a number of key issues related to improving patient matching in the U.S. health system as it begins a study required by a provision coauthored by the senators in the 21st Century Cures Act. Correct patient matching allows providers to share patient information, and … Continue Reading
October 03, 2017
Senator Warren to Wells Fargo CEO: "You should be fired."
Washington, DC - At today's Senate Banking Committee hearing, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) asked Wells Fargo CEO Tim Sloan about his record at the company, including his actions as CFO during the fake accounts scandal. She also pressed him on his plans to cut $4 billion in expenses over the next several years, and whether those cuts would result in the firing of thousands of frontline Wells Fargo employees. Senator Warren questioned Mr. Sloan, a Wells Fargo employee for … Continue Reading
October 03, 2017
In Advance of Banking Committee Hearing, Senator Warren Seeks Answers from Equifax's Former and Interim CEOs
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, today sent a letter and a series of "Questions for the Record" to former Equifax Chairman and CEO Richard Smith, and Interim CEO Paulino do Rego Barros about the data breach that has exposed the personal information of millions of Americans and the company's response to it. Mr. Smith is scheduled to testify before the Senate Banking Committee on … Continue Reading
October 03, 2017
Senator Warren, Colleagues Call on President Trump to Prioritize Disaster Relief Efforts for Puerto Rican Islands of Vieques and Culebra
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today called on President Trump to step up disaster recovery efforts on the Puerto Rican islands of Vieques and Culebra after the islands were devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Richard Blumenthal … Continue Reading
September 29, 2017
Statement from Senator Warren on Decision to Reduce Federal Oversight of AIG
Boston, MA -- Senator Elizabeth Warren released the following statement on the Financial Stability Oversight Council's decision to remove American Insurance Group's (AIG) designation as a "systemically important financial institution," reducing federal oversight of AIG: "This decision shows once again that the Trump Administration cares more about rewarding Wall Street executives than protecting Americans from another financial crisis. AIG got a $180 billion taxpayer bailout less than a decade … Continue Reading
September 29, 2017
Statement from Senator Warren on the Resignation of HHS Secretary Tom Price
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren released the following statement on the resignation of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price: "President Trump should nominate a new Secretary of Health and Human Services who is less focused on booking luxury travel and ripping health insurance away from millions of Americans -- and more focused on actually protecting and improving the health and well-being of … Continue Reading
September 29, 2017
Warren Joins Menendez, Booker, In Urging Trump to Use Defense Production Act to Hasten Puerto Rico Response
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), today joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and eight of their senate colleagues to call on President Trump to use the authority given to him under the Defense Production Act (DPA) to more quickly respond to the disaster unfolding in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The DPA was passed in 1950 to give the federal government the ability to quickly mobilize vast private sector resources through the Defense … Continue Reading
September 29, 2017
Warren, Cummings Release GAO Report Confirming 2014 Dodd Frank Rollbacks Resulted in Giant Giveaways for Big Banks
Washington, DC - A new GAO report released today by Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and House Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.) reveals that four of the nation's largest banks - JP Morgan, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, and Bank of America - have been allowed to retain an estimated $10.5 trillion worth of derivatives as a result of action by Congress in 2014 to roll back Dodd-Frank rules. As a result, taxpayers are now potentially on the hook to bail out … Continue Reading
September 28, 2017
Warren, Cantwell, Murray To Trump: We Must Do More for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) joined Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Patty Murray (D-WA), and 36 of their colleagues in a letter to President Trump expressing deep concern about the situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and urge swift action by the federal government. In the letter, the senators wrote, "We write to express deep concern about the dire humanitarian situation in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria … Continue Reading
September 27, 2017
Warren Statement on Trump Tax Reform Proposal
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released the following statement on congressional Republicans' and President Donald Trump's tax reform proposal announced today: "The 'new' Republican tax plan is the same warmed-over, trickle-down plan they've been pushing for decades. It delivers massive tax cuts to millionaires and giant corporations and kicks working families to the curb. While the plan slashes the income tax rate for the highest earners, it actually … Continue Reading
September 26, 2017
Statement from Senator Warren on the Resignation of Equifax CEO Richard Smith
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren released the following statement today about the announcement that Equifax CEO Richard F. Smith has retired in the wake of the company's data breach: "I've called for Equifax executives to be held accountable for their role in failing to stop this data breach and hiding it from the public for forty days. It's not real accountability if the CEO resigns without giving back a nickel in pay and without publicly answering questions. Mr. Smith, along … Continue Reading
September 26, 2017
Warren Joins Colleagues in Calling for Immediate Congressional Help for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and eight of their colleagues in writing to Republican leadership, requesting that Congress be allowed to swiftly take up legislation that provides the necessary help to the U.S. citizens living in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands impacted by Hurricanes Maria and Irma. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Tammy Duckworth … Continue Reading
September 25, 2017
Senator Warren Delivers Floor Speech in Support of CFPB Forced Arbitration Rule, Ahead of Possible GOP Repeal Vote Tomorrow
. Remarks by Senator Elizabeth WarrenSeptember 25, 2017*As Prepared for Delivery* Wells Fargo creates 3.5 million fake accounts, charging customers fees and ruining credit scores. Equifax lets hackers steal personal information on 143 million Americans, putting nearly 60% of American adults at risk of identity theft. The Republican Party's response? Take away your legal rights to hold companies like Wells Fargo and Equifax accountable. I know it sounds nuts. But it's true. Here's the … Continue Reading
September 23, 2017
Senator Warren, Colleagues Urge President to Fully Fund Disaster Response in Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
Washington, DC - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and three other senators to call on President Trump to waive the local cost-sharing requirement for the hurricane response in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and for the federal government to fully cover recovery expenses. The senators noted the challenging financial situation and extensive damage in both jurisdictions in calling for the waiver. "We are concerned Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin … Continue Reading
September 22, 2017
Senator Warren Expands Equifax Investigation with Three New Information Requests
Washington, DC - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today expanded her investigation into the causes of the recent Equifax breach, the company's response, and possible next steps to address problems at credit reporting agencies and better protect consumers. The Senator wrote to the Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Equifax's Board of Directors, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to request additional information as she continues her investigation. … Continue Reading
September 20, 2017
Warren Urges EEOC Chair Nominee to Prevent Employers from Discriminating Based on Credit Histories
Washington, DC - At a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing yesterday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) questioned Ms. Janet Dhillon, nominated by President Trump to Chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), about her willingness to take action against employers who use credit histories to discriminate against people of color, who are often negatively impacted by their credit reports and penalized as a result. The Senator noted that about half of … Continue Reading