Press Releases
Senator Warren, House Majority Whip Clyburn Introduce Legislation to Cancel Student Loan Debt for Millions of Americans
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.), today introduced bicameral legislation to eliminate up to $50,000 in student loan debt for 42 million Americans-providing debt relief to 95% of student borrowers, including cancelling student debt entirely for 75% of borrowers. The Student Loan Debt Relief Act would end the student debt … Continue Reading
July 19, 2019
Senator Warren Submits a Statement for the Record Opposing Mark Esper's Nomination for Secretary of Defense
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) yesterday voted 'no' during an executive session to consider Mark Esper's nomination to be Secretary of Defense. She also submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) reiterating her opposition to his nomination. Her statement, released here, reiterates concerns Senator Warren raised with Secretary Esper directly during his nomination hearing before the SASC on Tuesday, in a … Continue Reading
July 19, 2019
Warren, Ocasio-Cortez Demand Answers After Private Equity Firm Breaks Promise of Severance Pay to Laid Off Shopko Employees
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) today sent a letter to private equity firm Sun Capital expressing alarm about reports that the firm, after years of looting the discount retailer Shopko and then driving it into bankruptcy, plans to break its promise to make severance payments to thousands of dedicated Shopko employees.Since Shopko was acquired in a leveraged buyout in 2005, Sun Capital saddled the … Continue Reading
July 18, 2019
Warren, Baldwin, Brown, Pocan, Jayapal, Colleagues Unveil Bold Legislation to Fundamentally Reform the Private Equity Industry
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking Committee, along with Representatives Mark Pocan (D-Wisc.), and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), today unveiled the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, a comprehensive bill to fundamentally reform the private equity industry and level the playing field by forcing private equity firms to take responsibility for the outcomes of companies they … Continue Reading
July 17, 2019
Warren Joins Menendez, Colleagues in Unveiling Comprehensive Flood Insurance Reform Bill
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and a bipartisan group of their Senate colleagues in unveiling new, comprehensive legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) for five years while instituting a series of sweeping reforms to address the waste, abuse and mismanagement plaguing the system. More than five million American families depend upon the NFIP -- including over 61,000 across 330 communities in … Continue Reading
July 17, 2019
Senator Warren and Representative Lawson Introduce the College Student Hunger Act of 2019 to Address Hunger on College Campuses
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Representative Al Lawson (D-Fla.), member of the U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, today introduced the College Student Hunger Act of 2019, legislation to address food insecurity on college campuses by enabling more low-income college students to access the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and pushing the federal … Continue Reading
July 17, 2019
Senators Warren and Markey Reconvene Bipartisan Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Judicial Nominations
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today announced they will reconvene a bipartisan advisory committee to review and provide recommendations on federal District Court candidates across Massachusetts. Candidates interested in applying for a U.S. DistrictCourt nomination must submit their applications to the Advisory Committee by August 7, 2019.The Advisory Committee on Massachusetts Judicial Nominations, first appointed in … Continue Reading
July 16, 2019
Warren Questions Defense Secretary Nominee Mark Esper's Refusal to Fully Recuse Himself from Matters Involving His Former Employer, Raytheon
SENATOR WARREN: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Secretary Esper, prior to becoming Army Secretary, you were the top lobbyist for Raytheon, which of course is the nation's third largest defense contractor.Now, under current ethics rules, you're prohibited from participating in any decisions involving Raytheon for two years after your appointment as Army Secretary. But because you have already been in government for 20 months, that recusal period is set to expire in November, which means you will … Continue Reading
July 15, 2019
Senator Warren Sends Letter to Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper - Former Top Lobbyist for Raytheon - Raising New and Ongoing Ethics Concerns Ahead of Hearing to be Secretary of Defense
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Acting Secretary of Defense Mark Esper regarding his nomination to be Secretary of Defense and potential conflicts of interest he faces due to his previous role as Vice President of Government Relations for Raytheon from 2010 to 2017-the top lobbyist for the nation's third largest defense contractor. If confirmed, … Continue Reading
July 15, 2019
Senator Warren Requests Information on Top Commerce Department Officials' Conflicts of Interest and Decisions about Steel Tariff Exemptions
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce Designated Agency Ethics Official (DAEO) David Maggi regarding potentially serious conflicts of interest for the two most senior Commerce Department officials responsible for managing the Section 232 exemptions from President Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs, Under Secretary of Commerce of International Trade Gilbert Kaplan for the International Trade Administration (ITA) … Continue Reading
July 12, 2019
Lawmakers Applaud Over $17 Million in National Science Foundation Grants to Massachusetts Research Institutions
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), along with U.S. Representatives James P. McGovern (D-Mass.), William Keating (D-Mass.), Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) and Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) today announced that the National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded over $17 million in competitive grant funding to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Education Development Center, Trustees of Boston University, University of Massachusetts … Continue Reading
July 12, 2019
Senator Warren Investigates Reports that ICE has Secretly Transferred Migrants to Three New For-Profit Detention Facilities
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) yesterday sent a letter to Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Mark Morgan seeking answers regarding reports that ICE has signed new contracts for three for-profit immigration detention centers in Mississippi and Louisiana: Adams County Correctional Center (operated by CoreCivic, one of the largest for-profit prison operators in the country), Catahoula Correctional Center, and South Louisiana ICE … Continue Reading
July 10, 2019
Senator Warren, Representative Casten Lead Colleagues Introducing a Bill to Require Every Public Company to Disclose Climate-Related Risks
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today reintroduced the Climate Risk Disclosure Act of 2019 to require public companies to disclose critical information about their exposure to climate-related risks. Originally introduced in 2018, the legislation will help investors appropriately assess climate-related risks, accelerate the transition from fossil fuels to cleaner and more efficient energy sources, and reduce the risks of both environmental and financial … Continue Reading
July 09, 2019
Senators Warren, Daines Reintroduce Bicameral, Bipartisan Bill to Address Gambling Addiction Among Servicemembers
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Steve Daines (R-Mont.) reintroduced the bipartisan Gambling Addiction Prevention (GAP) Act of 2019 in the Senate. This legislation would require the Department of Defense (DOD) to develop policies and programs to prevent and treat gambling problems among our servicemembers, in coordination with the Department's other behavioral health efforts. It would also require the Department to update its regulations, … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Senator Warren Joins Senator Markey Urging Census Bureau to Provide Language Support for Southeast Asian Community
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and 17 Senate colleagues in calling on the U.S. Census Bureau to include Khmer, Hmong, and Lao among the languages supported by the Internet Self-Response (ISR) and Census Questionnaire Assistance (CQA) options for the 2020 Census. While current Census data “identifies the number of limited-English-proficient households,” it “does not capture the range of needs that they have,” … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Senators Warren and Blumenthal Request Information About Oversight of Organ Procurement Organizations (OPOs)
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Ct.) today sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) about troubling reports of deficiencies in the U.S. organ procurement network. Over 100,000 Americans are on a wait list for an organ transplant, and critical shortages in organs available for donation result in roughly 22 deaths per day among patients waiting … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Provisions from Warren-Haaland Bill to Address Unsafe Military Housing Advance in the Senate
Washington, DC - The United States Senate advanced a number of provisions from the Military Housing Oversight and Service Member Protection Act, a comprehensive bill that Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC) and the Military Personnel Subcommittee, and Representative Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, introduced to address disturbing reports of unsafe and unsanitary conditions in privatized, on-base … Continue Reading
July 08, 2019
Senators Warren and Gillibrand Raise Concerns that the Trump Administration May Separate Military Families
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Secretary Kevin McAleenan, raising concerns about recent reports that the Trump Administration is considering eliminating Parole in Place and Deferred Action, which protect eligible undocumented family members of active duty servicemembers, reservists, and veterans from … Continue Reading
July 02, 2019
Senator Warren Calls on Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb to Resign from Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer's Board of Directors
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) sent a letter to Scott Gottlieb, the former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) who recently joined the board of directors at Pfizer, calling on Dr. Gottlieb to resign from his position at Pfizer. Senator Warren noted that Pfizer has billions of dollars at stake in FDA decisions and wrote that his board appointment is exactly the kind of "revolving door influence-peddling" that causes Americans to … Continue Reading
July 01, 2019
Senator Warren, Rep. Jayapal Investigate Reports that FCC Advisory Council is Dominated by Industry Insiders
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Ajit Pai, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), on June 27, 2019, requesting more information about reports that the FCC's Communications Security, Reliability, and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) may be inappropriately dominated by industry insiders. CSRIC is an advisory panel, tasked with "provid[ing] recommendations to the FCC regarding ways … Continue Reading
