Press Releases
Warren Joins Markey, Colleagues in Renewed Call for FCC to Protect Community Television Channels
Washington, DC - United States Senator Warren (D-Mass.) joined Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) in urging the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) to protect public, educational, or governmental (PEG) stations as it proposes changes to the rules governing agreements between Local Franchising Authorities and cable operators. Currently, cable franchise agreements with towns and cities are required to meet demonstrated community needs by providing in-kind contributions that benefit … Continue Reading
July 29, 2019
Warren, Brown Demand Action Following IG Report Finding Blankenstein ‘May Have Abused His Authority’
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ranking Member of the Banking Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection, and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, are demanding action from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), and the CFPB Inspector General following what the senators call 'damning' findings from … Continue Reading
July 26, 2019
Warren, Shaheen, Murray Question Secretary of Veterans Affairs Over Contraceptive Access Among Veterans
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) sent a letter to Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert Wilkie seeking information on the oral contraceptive dispensing policies of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The letter follows a recent study which found that the VA could prevent nearly 600 unintended pregnancies annually … Continue Reading
July 26, 2019
Senators Warren, Paul, & Rep. Rice Reintroduce Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation to Ensure Better Access to Hearing Health Care Services
Washington, DC - United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) today announced they will introduce the Medicare Audiologist Access and Services Act of 2019, a bipartisan bill that ensures seniors and people with disabilities on Medicare have access to a full range of hearing and balance health care services provided by licensed audiologists. Senators Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) joined the bill as original co-sponsors. Representative Tom … Continue Reading
July 26, 2019
Warren, Ocasio-Cortez, Colleagues Seek Defense Funding for Safe Cleanup of Toxic Military Waste on Puerto Rican Island of Vieques
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), along with 15 of their colleagues, sent a letter to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees urging them to include a provision funding the safe cleanup of military waste on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques in the final National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2020. The lawmakers' letter comes as the Senate … Continue Reading
July 25, 2019
Senator Warren Investigates Allegations that Private Prison Contractors Withhold Basic Necessities, Use Threat of Solitary Confinement to Coerce Detainees into "Voluntary" Work Programs
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to Jennifer Costello, Acting Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), requesting that the IG conduct an investigation into the use of solitary confinement and other punishments to coerce participation in "voluntary" work programs at federal and federally-contracted immigration detention facilities, and the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies, procedures, and … Continue Reading
July 24, 2019
Warren, Van Hollen, Pressley, García Introduce Legislation to Require the Fed to Act on Faster Payments
Washington, DC - Today, United States Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Jesús “Chuy” García (D-Ill.) introduced the Payment Modernization Act of 2019. Americans lose billions of dollars each turning to more costly financial products and paying overdraft fees because their paychecks take days to appear in their bank accounts after they’re deposited. This legislation clarifies that the Federal Reserve (Fed) has … Continue Reading
July 24, 2019
Warren Seeks Answers from Pharmaceutical Giant Pfizer on Appointment of Former FDA Commissioner Gottlieb to Board of Directors
Washington, DC - United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) today sent a letter to pharmaceutical company Pfizer to request information regarding the decision to name Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former Commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), to the company’s Board of Directors. The letter follows a call by Senator Warren earlier this month for Dr. Gottlieb to resign from his position at Pfizer. Dr. Gottlieb is the second high-level Trump Administration … Continue Reading
July 23, 2019
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 letter, and … 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
In Case You Missed It: Workers Join Warren, Members of Congress to Stop Wall Street Looting of American Businesses
Video (Facebook)Washington, DC - Today, workers from retail, hospitality, and newspaper industries joined United States Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Democratic Members of Congress to discuss the introduction of the Stop Wall Street Looting Act, a comprehensive bill to fundamentally reform the private equity industry.The Stop Wall Street Looting Act was introduced today by Senators Warren, Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Ranking Member of the Senate Banking … 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
