Press Releases
Senators Warren and Enzi Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Strengthen Genetic Privacy Protections for Research Participants
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.) today introduced the bipartisan Genetic Research Privacy Protection Act, which would strengthen privacy protections for the genetic information of medical research participants. Federal agencies as well as research institutions maintain large databases of genetic information. It also is now possible to use genetic information to identify individuals and to learn information about their health and the … Continue Reading
April 01, 2016
Warren, Markey, Keating, and Kennedy Applaud Release of Additional LIHEAP Funds for Mass. Residents
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, along with Congressmen Bill Keating and Joe Kennedy III applauded today's release of an additional $14,806,664 of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds for families in Massachusetts. With this second release, 99 percent of FY 2016 formula funds will have been provided to grantees. The remaining one percent is being held back pending final agency-wide budget decisions by the U.S. Department of … Continue Reading
March 31, 2016
Senator Warren Calls for SEC Investigation Into Financial Services Providers Over Contradictory Statements on the DOL Conflict of Interest Rule
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren today sent a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Mary Jo White to request that the SEC open an investigation into whether financial services providers violated securities laws by misleading investors by making contradictory statements about the impacts on their business practices of the Department of Labor's (DOL) pending Conflict of Interest Rule. "Corporate interests have become accustomed to saying whatever they … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
Senator Warren Calls on Department of Education to Implement Five Fundamentals to Reform Student Loan Servicing
Washington, DC - Senator Elizabeth Warren has called on the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to implement five fundamentals to reform federal student loan servicing, following a recent ED Office of Inspector General (OIG) report identifying significant flaws in the Department's 2015 review of Navient's and other servicers' compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. "When a private company breaks the law and steals from American soldiers who are literally in the field fighting … Continue Reading
March 30, 2016
Senator Warren Applauds Medical Journals’ Proposal to Require Sharing of Clinical Trial Data
Washington, DC- United States Senator Elizabeth Warren today sent a letter to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) applauding its proposal for journals to require the sharing of clinical trial data by researchers as a condition of publication. Under ICMJE's proposal, the author of a journal article would be asked to share the deidentified individual-patient data (IPD) that was used to generate the article's results. In the letter, Senator Warren explains how increased … Continue Reading
March 23, 2016
Sen. Warren and Rep. Takano Commend Social Security Administration for Taking Steps to Ensure SSI Beneficiaries in Same-Sex Marriages Are Not Penalized
WASHINGTON, DC - Following a letter from United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Congressman Mark Takano (D-Calif.), and 119 of their congressional colleagues, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has adopted a streamlined waiver process to address errors in SSA's treatment of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries in same-sex marriages. The October 26, 2015 letter sent by the Members of Congress urged Acting Commissioner of Social Security Carolyn W. Colvin and … Continue Reading
March 17, 2016
Senate Committee Approves Bipartisan Amendment based on the Bipartisan, Bicameral Reducing Unused Medication Act to Allow Partial Filling of Opioid Prescriptions
Washington, DC - The U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on Wednesday approved an amendment based on the bipartisan, bicameral Reducing Unused Medication Act that would allow prescriptions for opioid medications to be partially filled by pharmacists at the request of patients or doctors, reducing the number of unused painkillers. More than 70 percent of adults who misuse prescription opioids get them from friends or relatives, according to the … Continue Reading
March 16, 2016
Senator Warren's Statement on the Supreme Court Nomination
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren released the following statement today: "For decades, Chief Judge Merrick Garland has served his country with distinction - as a federal prosecutor, a senior official at the Department of Justice, and a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Along the way, he has won praise from Democratic and Republican Senators, liberals and conservatives - even the Bush-appointed Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. "The confirmation … Continue Reading
March 09, 2016
Senator Warren Delivers Speech on the Republican Blockade of Any Supreme Court Nominees
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren delivered a speech on the floor of the United States Senate highlighting Senate Republicans' blockade of any Supreme Court nominee, and their history of bowing to extremists in the Party who refuse to recognize the legitimacy of our democratically-elected President. The full text of Senator Warren's speech is below: Senator Elizabeth WarrenFloor Speech on the Republican Blockade of Any Supreme Court NomineesMarch 9, 2016 There's a vacancy on the … Continue Reading
March 08, 2016
Senators Introduce Bill to Help Ensure Patient Access to Mental Health Coverage Required by Law
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) on Monday introduced the Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act, which would increase transparency and strengthen accountability for insurers so that patients receive the mental health coverage they are entitled under the law. The legislation is a companion to the House bill previously introduced by Congressman Joe … Continue Reading
March 07, 2016
Sen. Warren Seeks Information from CFTC Commissioner Giancarlo on Flawed Committee Report
Washington, DC - Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today asked Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo for additional information regarding new and troubling revelations about his role as the sponsor of the CFTC's Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC). On February 25, 2016, the EEMAC released a report that was critical of the CFTC's proposed rule on position limits for commodities futures and swaps. Sen. Warren wrote to Giancarlo the same day … Continue Reading
March 03, 2016
Warren Seeks Answers from Education Secretary Nominee About Department’s Flawed Oversight of Student Loan Servicers
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent a letter and a series of "Questions for the Record" to Acting Secretary of Education Dr. John King, seeking answers about the Education Department's (ED's) flawed oversight of student loan servicers' compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. Dr. King recently was nominated to serve as Education Secretary and his nomination is being considered by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) … Continue Reading
March 03, 2016
Senator Warren Highlights Corporate Capture of the Rulemaking Process
Washington, DC - In remarks today at a Regulatory Capture Forum hosted by the Administrative Conference of the United States, Senator Elizabeth Warren highlighted the challenges posed by corporate capture of the rulemaking process. "When it comes to undue industry influence, our rule-making process is broken from start to finish," Senator Warren said. "At every stage - from the months before a rule is proposed to the final decision of a court hearing a challenge to that rule - the existing … Continue Reading
March 03, 2016
Senate Democrats Introduce Bill to Restore Medical Research Funding
Fact SheetBill Text Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and HELP Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) today introduced the National Biomedical Research Act with all of their Democratic colleagues on the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee. This bill would increase funding for targeted biomedical research initiatives through a new, reliable funding stream supporting the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Food and Drug … Continue Reading
March 01, 2016
Murray, Warren, Blumenthal Respond to Oversight Report on Education Department’s Student Loan Servicers’ Compliance Review
Washington, DC - Today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) responded to the report from the Education Department's Office of Inspector General (OIG), examining the Department's review of student loan servicers' compliance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA). The senators requested the OIG report and released a Warren staff report in … Continue Reading
February 25, 2016
Sen. Warren Asks CFTC Commissioner to Withdraw Biased, Faulty Committee Report
Full text the letter available here Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner J. Christopher Giancarlo asking him to withdraw a newly-released report from the CFTC's Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC), citing significant legal, substantive, and procedural irregularities. In order to ensure market stability and prevent speculation that can drive up the cost of oil and gas for … Continue Reading
February 24, 2016
Warren, Capito, Clark and Stivers Introduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Bill to Allow Partial Filling of Opioid Prescriptions
Bill text available hereFact sheet available here Washington, DC - Today, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) joined Representatives Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) to introduce the Reducing Unused Medications Act. The bill would allow prescriptions for opioid medications to be partially filled by pharmacists at the request of patients or doctors, reducing the number of unused painkillers. More than 70 percent of adults who … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
Scott, Warren, Colleagues Call for EEOC Action to Protect Employees’ Family Health Information
Members ask for changes to ensure employer-sponsored wellness programs fully comply with the GINA Full text of the letter is available here WASHINGTON - Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce; United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.); and six colleagues sent a bicameral letter to the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) requesting that the agency make changes to proposed regulations to help protect sensitive … Continue Reading
February 11, 2016
Cummings and Warren Highlight Financial Industry’s Contradictory Statements on Retirement Adviser Conflict of Interest Rule
A PDF copy of the letter is available here Washington, DC - Today, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, sent a letter to the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) highlighting the stark difference between the financial industry's optimistic statements to investors about the impact of the proposed Conflict of Interest Rule, and the same firms' … Continue Reading
February 09, 2016
HELP Committee Advances Bipartisan Bill to Help Patients by Facilitating Faster Development of Drugs for Rare Diseases
Washington, DC - The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee today approved a bipartisan bill help advance the development of targeted drugs for patients with serious or life-threatening rare genetic diseases. The Advancing Targeted Therapies for Rare Diseases Act of 2015 was introduced by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Burr (R-NC), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in September. "Our conversations with Coloradans suffering the effects of … Continue Reading
