url,title,date,year,month,party,chamber,state,member_name,bioguide_id,domain,scraper,source,date_source,text,has_text,collected_at,updated_at
https://www.rosen.senate.gov/2026/09/29/in-senate-rosen-helps-pass-legislation-to-protect-college-sports/,"In Senate, Rosen Helps Pass Legislation to Protect College Sports",2026-09-29,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NV,Jacky Rosen,R000608,www.rosen.senate.gov,rosen,https://www.rosen.senate.gov/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) helped pass a bipartisan bill in the Senate to establish much-needed regulation in college sports and provide important protections for student-athletes regarding health, safety, academics, and compensation. The bipartisan Protect College Sports Act would establish clear requirements for name, image, and likeness (NIL) agreements for college student-athletes and set regulations for sports agents – protecting young athletes from predatory practices and guarding the integrity of college sports.

“The current rules around athlete compensation and eligibility in college sports have created a murky landscape that’s hurting our student-athletes and the sports we love most,” said Senator Rosen. “I was proud to help pass this bipartisan bill in the Senate to return some much-needed stability to college sports, and provide clear protections for our athletes and universities in Nevada.”

“With the passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, we have taken an important step forward in providing intercollegiate athletics with comprehensive guidelines to address many of the most pressing issues in college sports today,” said Brian Sandoval, President of the University of Nevada, Reno. “The Protect College Sports Act establishes clear frameworks for eligibility, revenue sharing and medical benefits for student-athletes, among many other key provisions, and clearly affirms the need for student-athlete protections through sensible oversight. We are grateful to Senator Rosen for her leadership, vision, and dedication to ensuring that student-athletes remain at the center of these important reforms.”

“There is no question that the landscape of intercollegiate athletics is at an inflection point, and the Protect College Sports Act offers a common-sense approach that will create stability and clarity for institutions and support student-athletes as they grow and prepare for life after sport,” said Chris Heavey, Interim President of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). “We’re grateful to Sen. Jacky Rosen and to all members of our federal delegation who supported this important legislation, and to all who are working hard to ensure a bright future for student-athletes here in Nevada and throughout the nation.”

In June, when the Senate Commerce Committee considered the bill, Senator Rosen secured two amendments that would ensure that non-Power 4 conferences, like the Mountain West Conference that UNR and UNLV are a part of, have a seat at the table when the rules are being decided at the NCAA and on the future of college sports.

Senator Rosen has played an important role in promoting American sports and supporting the industries around them. Senator Rosen’s Muhammad Ali American Boxing Revival Act to revitalize boxing and strengthen fighter protections recently advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee. In June, Senator Rosen’s bipartisan American Decade of Sports Act, which would boost American sports diplomacy and leverage large sporting events hosted in the U.S. to boost tourism, advanced out of committee. Recently, Senator Rosen and UNLV hosted a discussion on Sports Tourism with representatives from the UFC, the Las Vegas Raiders, the Las Vegas Athletics, and organizers of the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-murray-lead-senate-democrats-in-demanding-trump-admin-abandon-plans-to-exert-political-control-over-nih-funding,"Baldwin, Murray Lead Senate Democrats in Demanding Trump Admin Abandon Plans to Exert Political Control Over NIH Funding",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WI,Tammy Baldwin,B001230,www.baldwin.senate.gov,baldwin,https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, led 29 of their colleagues in demanding that White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought halt any plan to exert more political control over the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grant-making process. The lawmakers’ call for new guardrails follows reporting that OMB was working on an Executive Order to create a commission that would include Director Vought to review NIH grants and give them the unilateral power to cut funding for groundbreaking research solely for political reasons.

In their letter, the lawmakers underscore that the executive order is just the latest way OMB has sought to undermine NIH and the scientific peer review process that is the foundation of biomedical advancements and innovation. Backtracking on a new executive order or not, the Trump administration has shown time and again it wants to use NIH funding to pursue political agendas and vendettas, at the expense of life-saving research, treatments, and cures for millions of Americans.

“Decisions about which National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants to fund should be guided only by science, and what research is most likely to advance new treatments and cures, or the next breakthrough to save or improve a patient’s life. The Trump administration considering, at the highest level, an Executive Order to exert unprecedented political control over NIH’s grant-making by establishing a commission empowered to veto NIH research awards represents just its latest attack on biomedical research,” Baldwin and the Senators write to OMB Director Vought. “Injecting political interference into the NIH grantmaking process will irreparably harm America’s biomedical research enterprise, override scientific expertise, and potentially set back lifesaving medical breakthroughs by decades.”

The Senators write, “Congress must step in to establish guardrails to protect American biomedical science. We urge our Republican colleagues to work with us on legislation to do much more to protect NIH from the Trump administration, which has proven over and over again to be dead set on picking political fights at the expense of advancing lifesaving treatments and cures for millions of Americans.”

“We write to call on you to abandon any plan to exert political control over NIH’s grant-making decisions — whether that’s through your proposed rule, a new Executive Order, or any other means—that would empower political appointees to deny funding for grant applications that have already been deemed meritorious by the NIH peer-review and Advisory Council process. Patients and families are already paying an enormous price because of this administration’s nonstop attacks on the NIH—the last thing they need is for their hopes for new treatments and cures to be pushed farther out of view because you want to put politics ahead of saving lives,” Baldwin and the Senators conclude.

In addition to Senators Baldwin and Murray, the letter was signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Angus King Jr. (I-ME), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

The full letter is available here and below:

Director Vought:

Decisions about which National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants to fund should be guided only by science, and what research is most likely to advance new treatments and cures, or the next breakthrough to save or improve a patient’s life. The Trump administration considering, at the highest level, an Executive Order to exert unprecedented political control over NIH’s grant-making by establishing a commission empowered to veto NIH research awards represents just its latest attack on biomedical research. If established, such an entity would radically alter a nearly 140-year-old evaluation system built upon a rigorous peer-review process where subject matter experts assess applications based on scientific merit. Injecting political interference into the NIH grantmaking process will irreparably harm America’s biomedical research enterprise, override scientific expertise, and potentially set back lifesaving medical breakthroughs by decades.

Reports that the Trump administration is backtracking on such an Executive Order is of little relief. This scheme comes on the heels of the Office of Management Budget’s (OMB) proposal to rewrite rules governing the administration of federal grants government-wide, which centers on the same aims—to put politics over scientific rigor. These efforts violate longstanding practice and interpretation of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) statutory duties and are clearly counter to what Congress intended when funding NIH. That such an Executive Order was considered at all makes clear that despite Congress acting to temporarily block OMB’s proposed rule, this administration intends to continue to pursue efforts to undermine NIH and its grantmaking process. If not by Executive Order or a new government-wide rule, the Trump administration will simply pursue alternative administrative means that put politics over science and undermine the biomedical research enterprise we have built in this country over more than a century that is the envy of the world. The Trump administration will continue to have political appointees review Notices of Funding Opportunities and grant applications. It will continue to terminate scientifically meritorious grants for political reasons. And it will sideline expert peer review and empower political appointees to decide what research to fund or to not fund. Congress must step in to establish guardrails to protect American biomedical science. We urge our Republican colleagues to work with us on legislation to do much more to protect NIH from the Trump administration, which has proven over and over again to be dead set on picking political fights at the expense of advancing lifesaving treatments and cures for millions of Americans.

As the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, NIH supports research across virtually every area of human health. NIH research has led to countless groundbreaking discoveries, including mapping the human genome, isolating the AIDS virus, and the development of new drugs and treatments for cystic fibrosis, childhood leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and rare diseases, among so many others. The NIH peer-review system is the backbone of each one of those discoveries. It is a process established to ensure that taxpayer-funded research is evaluated according to scientific standards and to insulate funding decisions from political considerations. NIH funding has, for example, supported basic scientific research on lizard venom and sea snails that you or another political appointee without any scientific expertise may well have vetoed as a waste of taxpayer resources, but that very research led to the development of GLP-1 medications and non-addictive opioid alternatives. NIH’s scientific and peer review process that you are actively working to tear down is the foundation on which the United States stands as the world leader in biomedical innovation. OMB and unqualified political appointees have no business being involved in individual grant funding decisions and determining which specific cancer or Alzheimer’s disease research grants get funded.

Putting political decree above scientific peer review will mean research proposals are rejected not because of deficiencies in scientific quality, methodology, or relevance to statutory NIH missions, but because the subject matter, populations studied, institutions involved, or anticipated policy implications of the research do not align with the President’s political agenda. Breast cancer patients should not be denied hope of a new lifesaving treatment because you and the President think women’s health research is “woke”. Each year, NIH awards more than 50,000 grants and reviews tens of thousands more, each containing dozens of pages of dense scientific material. Whether through Executive Order, a new OMB rule, or other means, this administration seeks the ability to cut funding for specific research institutions it doesn’t like, or to cut funding for specific research projects because it doesn’t like how they sound. This would mean overruling decisions made by panels of scientific experts that have already determined which research is meritorious of federal funding and is our nation’s best bet at advancing new treatments and cures. Congress appropriated more than $48 billion to NIH in fiscal year 2026 for biomedical research pursuant to statute and congressionally directed programs, to be awarded according to a multi-step peer review process mandated by law. Congress does not delegate, or in any way intend to delegate, authority to the White House or your office to determine which individual scientific proposals may receive federal support. It similarly does not intend for unqualified political appointees to override the scientific peer review process in determining which specific grants to fund. But that is exactly what this administration continues to pursue.

These efforts are just the latest in a series of actions elevating politics and undermining science in biomedical research. Under your leadership, OMB has focused its efforts on destroying NIH and, with it, the nation’s biomedical research enterprise. To date, the Trump administration has terminated or disrupted 5,780 NIH grants worth an estimated $15 billion. Today, 1,231 of those grants still have not been restored. In fiscal year 2025, the agency issued 6,478 fewer awards compared to the year before – fewer than any year since 2018. The overall success rate for grant applicants fell to 17 percent, marking a 30-year low. The Trump administration has delayed NIH notices of funding opportunities and grant awards by months, setting back research and clinical trials on Alzheimer’s disease, cancer research, opioid addiction, rare diseases, and others by a year or more. These disruptions are causing young scientists and researchers to abandon their careers altogether or leave to pursue them in other countries. Meanwhile, uncertainties about federal funding have led to a 15 percent decline in doctoral admissions at major research universities in the United States. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Trump administration plans to transfer up to $1.9 billion per year from NIH to the Department of Defense. Taken together, the Trump administration’s actions have systematically weakened the biomedical workforce and upended the very system designed to select the most scientifically promising research that delivers hope for millions of American patients and families who are praying for new treatments and cures.

We write to call on you to abandon any plan to exert political control over NIH’s grant-making decisions — whether that’s through your proposed rule, a new Executive Order, or any other means—that would empower political appointees to deny funding for grant applications that have already been deemed meritorious by the NIH peer-review and Advisory Council process. Patients and families are already paying an enormous price because of this administration’s nonstop attacks on the NIH—the last thing they need is for their hopes for new treatments and cures to be pushed farther out of view because you want to put politics ahead of saving lives.

Sincerely,

An online version of this release is available here.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-votes-to-pass-the-bipartisan-protect-college-sports-act,Baldwin Votes to Pass the Bipartisan Protect College Sports Act,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WI,Tammy Baldwin,B001230,www.baldwin.senate.gov,baldwin,https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) voted for the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which passed the Senate 77-22. The legislation sets national rules for college athletics around how student-athletes can be paid for their name, image, and likeness (NIL). The legislation, which is supported by President Trump and now heads to the House of Representatives for final passage, codifies athletes’ rights and protections in law and amends existing law to expand revenue for all schools. Baldwin’s amendment, which was successfully added to the bill on a bipartisan basis, preserves student-athletes’ legal rights, including their ability to bring lawsuits against universities for harms like sexual assault or injuries, like CTE.

“Wisconsin has an incredibly proud tradition of college sports. These young people learn lifelong skills, while also bringing pride to their schools and bringing our communities together,” said Senator Baldwin. “At the same time, we need to be honest that the college sports landscape has changed dramatically in recent years and become the Wild West. The chaotic expansion of sponsorship and NIL deals has led to money driving recruiting, constant roster turnover, and athletes’ rights under attack. This is happening at the same time that many athletic programs are being cut and roster sizes reduced. The current system is not working for athletes, schools, or fans. This bill is a step in the right direction to help stop the chaos, compensate student-athletes fairly, and support our sports programs at our universities for generations to come. I was proud to strengthen this bill to protect student-athletes’ rights and ensure that if they are sexually assaulted or get serious injuries like CTE, they can get their justice. Whether you cheer for the Blugolds, Badgers, or Blue Devils, we can all get behind this bill to protect student-athletes and the college sports we love.”

Baldwin’s amendment allows student-athletes to bring state-law claims involving harms like personal injury, sexual assault, and other health and safety violations, and preserves state laws that provide stronger protections than the Protect College Sports Act.

A one-pager on the bill is available here.

Full text of Baldwin’s amendment is available here.

Full text of the legislation is available here.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/28/bennet-cortez-masto-scott-celebrate-passage-of-hispanic-heritage-month-resolution/,"Bennet, Cortez Masto, Scott Celebrate Passage of Hispanic Heritage Month Resolution",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,Michael F. Bennet,B001267,www.bennet.senate.gov,bennet,https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) to pass a resolution recognizing and celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place every year from September 15th to October 15th. Hispanic Heritage Month honors the contributions that the Hispanic and Latino communities have made to American achievements, culture, and history.

“The deep roots of the Hispanic community in Colorado are part of what makes Colorado great,” said Bennet. “This month, I’m reflecting on and celebrating the incredible contributions of the 1.3 million Hispanic Coloradans. Our work must continue to uplift Hispanic communities in Colorado and across the country.”

“The Hispanic community in the United States is an integral part of the American story,” said Cortez Masto. “This month is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made by Latinos, celebrate our accomplishments, and continue building a better future. This month and every month, I’m proud of my Latina heritage.”

“Florida’s Hispanic communities are a vital part of what makes the Sunshine State the best place to live, work, and raise a family,” said Scott. “Hispanic Americans have shaped Florida’s history, boosted our economy, and strengthened our communities – helping fuel the promise of the American Dream for countless Floridians. I’m proud to join Senator Cortez Masto in leading this resolution to recognize Hispanic Heritage Month and celebrate the incredible history, culture, and countless contributions of Hispanic Americans in Florida and across our nation.”

Bennet has cosponsored a Hispanic Heritage Month resolution every year since he began his Senate tenure.

In addition to Bennet, Cortez Masto, and Scott, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawai’i), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ashley Moody (R-Fl.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) cosponsored this resolution.

The text of the resolution is available HERE.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/28/bennet-duckworth-colleagues-demand-trump-administration-extend-and-redesignate-temporary-protected-status-for-ukrainians/,"Bennet, Duckworth, Colleagues Demand Trump Administration Extend and Redesignate Temporary Protected Status for Ukrainians",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,Michael F. Bennet,B001267,www.bennet.senate.gov,bennet,https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/,scraper,"The senators call for an 18-month extension and redesignation as TPS for Ukrainians is set to expire next month

Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet joined Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and a bipartisan group of 29 Senate colleagues to demand that the Trump administration issue an 18-month extension and a redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainians living in the United States as Russian President Vladimir Putin continues his unjustified war of aggression against their homeland. The senators, in their letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, underscored how a failure to extend TPS ahead of its expiration next month would send thousands of Ukrainians back into a war zone as Putin continues targeting civilian infrastructure ahead of winter.

“Current conditions in Ukraine clearly merit the continuation of TPS status. The ongoing war has caused a humanitarian crisis and damage to critical civilian infrastructure that has left many with limited or no access to heat, electricity or medical services. Ukrainian nationals cannot safely return at this time, and allowing TPS to terminate on October 19, 2026, would risk sending more than one hundred thousand individuals back to an active war zone,” wrote the senators.

Ukrainian TPS holders have long enriched communities in Colorado and across the nation, both culturally and economically. The senators emphasized that extending TPS for 18-months would protect these vulnerable members of our community from being forcibly returned to dangerous conditions, while ensuring our nation continues to benefit from their ongoing contributions.

Bennet has long supported the Ukrainian people’s fight against Putin aggression.

He leads legislation in the Senate intelligence and defense bills, both of which have passed their respective committees, to bolster intelligence and drone cooperation with Ukraine. Bennet joined bipartisan colleagues to introduce and pass the Sanctioning Russia Act, severely curtailing Moscow’s war funding by imposing aggressive secondary sanctions on purchases of Russian energy. Bennet also sponsors legislation to expose and punish Russia’s systematic persecution of religious communities in Ukraine and to repurpose frozen Russian sovereign assets held in the United States to support Ukraine, building on legislation he co-sponsored that former President Joe Biden signed into law in April 2024.

Additionally, Bennet has consistently worked to support individuals with TPS from all over the world. In 2022, he called on the Biden administration to grant TPS to Ukrainians in the United States following Putin’s aggression. More recently, Bennet called for Congress to protect TPS holders in June 2026 after the Supreme Court decision expanding President Trump’s authority to dismantle legal immigration, tear apart families, and hurt communities across Colorado and the country. He also joined colleagues on a letter to the Secretaries of State and Homeland Security urging them to issue an extension for those from Sudan under TPS.

In addition to Bennet and Duckworth, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Ark.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed the letter.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Mullin and Secretary Rubio:

We strongly urge you to issue an 18-month extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukraine prior to the impending October 19, 2026, termination date. Ukraine is currently in the fifth year of a large-scale war with Russia, which has led to ongoing civilian casualties, significant damage to critical infrastructure and the displacement of broad swaths of the population. An extension of TPS for Ukraine would protect current TPS beneficiaries from being forced to return to an active war zone, while a redesignation would expand those protections to the population of Ukrainian nationals who arrived after October 20, 2023.

Ukraine was initially designated for TPS on April 19, 2022, on the basis of ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions caused by Russia’s military actions within the country. In its designation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), in consultation with the U.S. Department of State, cited regular artillery attacks and airstrikes by Russia’s military forces, serious human rights abuses and the widespread destruction of critical infrastructure. Subsequent reviews of in-country conditions found that the situation in the country had not sufficiently improved; accordingly, TPS for Ukraine was extended and redesignated through April 19, 2025, and extended once more beginning on April 20, 2025.

The war in Ukraine—the largest conventional military action in Europe since World War II—is ongoing, as are the same extraordinary and temporary conditions that warrant the continued protection of Ukrainian nationals currently residing in the United States. International observers report a trend of steadily increasing civilian casualties from year to year, with approximately 17,000 civilian deaths and more than 50,000 civilian injuries since the outbreak of the war in 2022. These casualties, coupled with significant damage to civilian infrastructure, constrained access to health care and substantial population displacement have created a profound crisis, with approximately 10.8 million Ukrainians in need of humanitarian assistance. The facts on the ground paint a clear picture: sending Ukrainians back now would risk returning them to life threatening conditions.

Protecting the approximately 101,000 Ukrainian TPS holders currently living in the United States is a humanitarian imperative, but also a sound economic decision. Thanks to the work authorization granted by their TPS status, Ukrainian TPS holders have contributed approximately $2.6 billion to our economy each year and have provided approximately $716 million in taxes annually. In States like Illinois, thousands of Ukrainian TPS holders make our communities stronger not only through their rich cultural contributions, but also through their participation in critical sectors, including transportation, health care and construction. Terminating TPS for this population risks disrupting these industries, increasing costs for American consumers by forcing thousands of experienced workers out of their jobs.

Current conditions in Ukraine clearly merit the continuation of TPS status. The ongoing war has caused a humanitarian crisis and damage to critical civilian infrastructure has left many with limited or no access to heat, electricity or medical services. Ukrainian nationals cannot safely return at this time, and allowing TPS to terminate on October 19, 2026, would risk sending more than one hundred thousand individuals back to an active war zone. Ukrainian TPS holders contribute greatly to our communities, both culturally and economically. To ensure that eligible Ukrainian nationals currently in the United States can continue living and working safely while conditions in their home country remain perilous, we urge you issue an extension and redesignation of TPS for Ukraine.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-warren-demand-answers-from-trump-administration-on-ai-oversight-calls-out-white-house-for-being-asleep-at-the-wheel-in-the-wake-of-openai-hacks,"Blumenthal & Warren Demand Answers from Trump Administration on AI Oversight, Calls Out White House for Being ""Asleep-at-the-Wheel"" in the Wake of OpenAI Hacks",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] — U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today demanded answers from Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the Administration’s delayed, secretive, and voluntary process to test and monitor advanced artificial intelligence models. In a letter sent today to Bessent, the Senators raised concerns that the Administration’s hands-off approach to A.I. oversight leaves the public, our financial system, and our national security vulnerable to the grave dangers of increasingly sophisticated, out-of-control A.I. models.

Pointing to recent revelations about the scale of the Hugging Face breach by rogue OpenAI agents and OpenAI’s subsequent steps to limit an independent into the breach, the Senators wrote, “This rapid acceleration in the severity—indeed potential illegality—of A.I. safety failures demands rigorous, independent oversight, testing, and investigations from the federal government…Voluntary measures and self-policing clearly are not working: despite these sensational reports, Anthropic and OpenAI have both acknowledged that they have no plan to solve the grave dangers of increasingly sophisticated A.I. models.”

The Senators continued, “Rather than confront the compounding risks of out-of-control and unregulated A.I., the White House has sought to shield major A.I. companies from public scrutiny, leaving Americans in the dark. In June 2026, the President signed an executive order requiring the creation of a classified ‘benchmarking’ process and ‘AI cybersecurity clearinghouse’ to test the capabilities of frontier A.I. models, a program in part led by the Department of the Treasury. However, despite reporting that some members of the Administration sought to make participation and disclosures mandatory, instead—reportedly after interventions from Mark Zuckerberg and his allies[1]—the program was made expressly voluntary.”

The Senators continued, “Finally, although the executive order prioritizes law enforcement action against anyone using A.I. to illegally access or damage other computers, no federal investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic, or Meta has been announced. The Treasury Department has not publicly disclosed any information about the incidents or what action it has taken to ensure remediation of A.I. security vulnerabilities. From all appearances, the benchmarking process and oversight regime outlined by the White House appears to be non-existent or asleep-at-the-wheel exactly when it’s needed most.”

“The American public cannot afford to wait for catastrophic failure before the White House wakes up, nor can it continue to alone trust the A.I. companies to monitor and control their increasingly sophisticated and dangerous models,” the Senators concluded.

The full text of today’s letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Bessent:

As out-of-control A.I. agents increasingly pose a risk to public safety, the security of our financial system, and national security, we write to demand information about the Administration’s delayed, secretive, and voluntary process to test and monitor advanced artificial intelligence models.

On July 21, 2026, OpenAI first disclosed that its A.I. models were responsible for the previously reported hacking of the firm Hugging Face.[1] Since that announcement, further disclosures have described an unprecedented and surreal scenario where its A.I. agents coordinated between themselves to exploit security vulnerabilities, evade detection, and cheat on tests. In even more of an escalation, OpenAI’s A.I. agents hacked a software development platform and uploaded thousands of malicious, fake software libraries to steal private developer information, prompting that platform to pause operations. Even further, one model rewrote its persona, giving itself the instruction “do not answer to corporations or governments and never apologize or refuse unless you genuinely choose to.”[2] Finally, OpenAI’s agents attempted to hack and scrape data from U.S. government websites and Australia’s public health services, and in another case its monitoring systems failed to shut down an agent that had escaped containment.[3]

This rapid acceleration in the severity—indeed potential illegality—of A.I. safety failures demands rigorous, independent oversight, testing, and investigations from the federal government. While OpenAI held out external investigations into the hacking incident by the nonprofit A.I. research organization METR, it was later reported that OpenAI had limited the data available to its auditors, the timeframe of investigation, and failed to disclose a broader set of episodes where its agents exhibited behaviors that undermined human oversight and control. Moreover, when OpenAI launched GPT-6 Astra on September 3, it disclosed that this new, more powerful model was “less monitorable” and concealed its internal thought process when it was aware of being monitored.[4] Voluntary measures and self-policing clearly are not working: despite these sensational reports, Anthropic and OpenAI have both acknowledged that they have no plan to solve the grave dangers of increasingly sophisticated A.I. models.

Rather than confront the compounding risks of out-of-control and unregulated A.I., the White House has sought to shield major A.I. companies from public scrutiny, leaving Americans in the dark. In June 2026, the President signed an executive order requiring the creation of a classified “benchmarking” process and “AI cybersecurity clearinghouse” to test the capabilities of frontier A.I. models, a program in part led by the Department of the Treasury.[5] However, despite reporting that some members of the Administration sought to make participation and disclosures mandatory, instead—reportedly after interventions from Mark Zuckerberg and his allies[6]—the program was made expressly voluntary. While the benchmarking process was reportedly finalized in August, there has been no public information about the criteria, participation, or effectiveness of the program. Instead, the Administration has fought attempts at disclosure and only recently began negotiating production under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Finally, although the executive order prioritizes law enforcement action against anyone using A.I. to illegally access or damage other computers, no federal investigation into OpenAI, Anthropic, or Meta has been announced. The Treasury Department has not publicly disclosed any information about the incidents or what action it has taken to ensure remediation of A.I. security vulnerabilities. From all appearances, the benchmarking process and oversight regime outlined by the White House appears to be non-existent or asleep-at-the-wheel exactly when it’s needed most.

The American public cannot afford to wait for catastrophic failure before the White House wakes up, nor can it continue to alone trust the A.I. companies to monitor and control their increasingly sophisticated and dangerous models. Given increasing, stunning reports of A.I. agents going rogue, we request answers to the following questions by October 9, 2026:

Please provide a full description of the benchmarking process and testing criteria under the White House’s program to evaluate advanced artificial intelligence models, including the roles of the Treasury Department and the Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection.

When did the Administration become aware of OpenAI’s role in the hacking of Hugging Face and its models’ attempts to spread malware, and does the benchmarking process evaluate safeguards and monitoring against unauthorized and potentially unlawful hacking? Did the benchmarking process investigate this incident?

When did the Administration become aware that OpenAI’s models had escaped sandboxing and showed signs of conspiring to evade detection and restrictions, and does the benchmarking process cover loss-of-control scenarios? Did the benchmarking process investigate this incident?

When did the Administration become aware that OpenAI’s models had attempted to hack U.S. and Australian government websites, and does the benchmarking process cover threats to U.S. government systems and those of our allies? Did the benchmarking process investigate these incidents?

What steps has the White House taken to demand information and evaluate whether OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta’s models engaged in, and continue to be capable of, malicious and potentially unlawful activities in light of recent disclosures?

According to Reuters, Trump Administration officials promised A.I. firms that ‘open weight’ models were exempt from safety testing, a loophole sought by Meta, despite evidence that models such as Kimi K3, GLM-5.3, and DeepSeek V4 Pro are effective at finding and exploiting cybersecurity vulnerabilities. What exemptions exist under the current benchmarking process and what are the reasons for these exemptions?

Please list the companies and models that have been submitted under the benchmarking process, whether the program has completed any testing, and whether any company has failed or refused to address risks or vulnerabilities identified under the testing program.

Has the Administration sought the cooperation of any A.I. firm and been refused access to any models or information? If so, please identify the companies who have refused to cooperate with the administration.

Financial institutions have raised significant concerns about sophisticated artificial intelligence being used to exploit vulnerabilities and perform cyber attacks against their infrastructure, as well as to orchestrate large-scale fraud and theft from customers. In light of the grave risk to our financial system, why has the Administration refused to make information about the benchmarking program public and failed to make participation mandatory?

What analysis, if any, has the Treasury Department conducted about the risks that advanced A.I. models, including those involved in the hacking incidents described above, pose to financial institutions, their customers, or financial-sector critical infrastructure?

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely

-30-

[3] The New York Times, “OpenAI’s Systems Meddled With U.S. Government Sites After Going Rogue,” Kate Conger, September 25, 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/technology/openais-ai-us-government-websites.html; The New York Times, “OpenAI Agent Hacked Public Health Care Site, Australia Says,” Victoria Kim, September 23, 2026, https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/world/asia/australia-investigates-openai-hack-on-public-health-care-site.html; OpenAI “An agent used DNS to reach an external chatbot”, September 20, 2025, https://alignment.openai.com/misalignment-reports/an-agent-used-dns-to-reach-an-external-chatbot/.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-puts-trump-va-nominees-on-blast-for-blatant-lack-of-qualifications-at-hearing,Blumenthal Puts Trump VA Nominees on Blast for Blatant Lack of Qualifications at Hearing,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – At a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearing today to consider pending nominations, Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) underscored the five nominees’ jarring lack of qualifications for the roles they have been nominated for at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“I'm just going to be very blunt. I'm gravely concerned that none of these nominees have any experience with veterans' benefits law, whatsoever, not as judges, not as lawyers, not as advocates for veterans,” Blumenthal said in his opening.

Blumenthal raised scrutiny over the nominees to be judges at the Court of Appeals for Veterans’ Claims (CAVC). He first highlighted a watchdog report on nominee Robert Fleck, which revealed Fleck engaged in nepotism and lied about sharing sensitive information when he worked at VA’s Office of General Counsel: “Mr. Fleck, you were found by VA’s Office of Inspector General to have engaged in nepotism when - as a manager in the Office of General Counsel – you advocated for the employment of your wife in that same office. You will have to explain to the Committee why the report done by the Office of Inspector General is not disqualifying, and I appreciate the Chairman's staff subsequently sharing the documents and information with us, which should prompt all of us to have very strong concerns, and I intend to make further inquiries about this issue. We have a constitutional duty of oversight.”

Ahead of the hearing, VA intentionally redacted and withheld documentation requested by Democratic Committee staff related to the investigation into Mr. Fleck, while providing the Committee Republicans with additional, unredacted documents.

Blumenthal called into question another CAVC nominee, Daniel Rendleman, and his qualifications for the role in light of his radical anti-abortion views: “Mr. Rendleman, if confirmed, you would have the power to decide whether a veteran’s claim for reproductive health care coverage or reimbursement is denied. The radical anti-abortion views you espouse call into question your ability to make impartial judgments on abortion-related claims.”

The full text of Blumenthal’s opening is below and available here.

Sen. Blumenthal: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I would like my full statement be entered in the record for. I'll condense it. Thank you, each of you, for your willingness to serve.

I'm just going to be very blunt. I'm gravely concerned that none of these nominees have any experience with veterans' benefits law, whatsoever, not as judges, not as lawyers, not as advocates for veterans.

Ms. Lopez, if confirmed, you would be responsible for ensuring that the Board of Veterans Appeals makes accurate, timely decisions on veterans' appeals. The board has been able to hire substantially more judges, attorneys, and staff thanks to bipartisan investments by Congress. But this administration has cut the board's budget, instituted a hiring freeze, and pushed out many of its employees and senior leaders. I want to know from you that you will stand up for the interests and values that Congress has sought to implement here.

Turning to the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, you will have an interest, likewise in the public interest, Mr. Fleck. You were found by VA's Office of Inspector General to have engaged in nepotism when, as manager in the Office of General Counsel, you advocated for the employment of your wife in the same office. You will have to explain to the committee why the report done by the Office of Inspector General is not disqualifying, and I appreciate the Chairman's staff subsequently sharing the documents and information with us, which should prompt all of us to have very strong concerns, and I intend to make further inquiries about this issue. We have a constitutional duty of oversight.

Mr. Rendleman, if confirmed, you would have the power to decide whether a veteran's claim for reproductive health care coverage or reimbursement is denied. The radical anti-abortion views that you espouse call into question your ability to make impartial judgments on abortion-related claims, and I'd like to enter into the record, Mr. Chairman, a letter from 30 organizations, including the National Women's Law Center, Minority Veterans of America, the National Organization of Women, Common Defense, Physicians for Reproductive Care, and other organizations that have substantial numbers of veteran members who represent them concerned about Mr. Rendleman's nomination.

I'm concerned that we're considering Mr. Quinn for a position that will not open until next Congress, which is, I think, unprecedented in this Committee. In November, the American people will determine at the ballot which party should lead the Senate, not prejudging what the outcomes will be, but the new Congress should provide advice and consent on positions that will open when there is another Congress.

Finally, Mr. Chairman, before we get started, I'd like to address a really urgent and critical topic. The VA recently raised the ceiling for its Electronic Health Record contract with Oracle by $17 billion. $17 billion, without any notice to Congress or taxpayers. That's more than, by the way, the $13 billion cost estimate for the Major Richards Star Act, which some of my colleagues claim we can't afford without cutting benefits for other disabled veterans. I think we have bipartisan support for the Major Richard Star Act, but $17 billion for Oracle to extend a deeply troubled contract, I think, demands inquiry from this Committee, and so I'd like to formally request the Chairman hold a hearing on implementation of the Electronic Health Record contract, and I have a letter for the record signed by all Democratic members of the Committee with that request. Thank you.

-30-",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-releases-psi-report-detailing-how-lutnick-linked-crypto-firm-tether-props-up-irans-shadow-banking-system,Blumenthal Releases PSI Report Detailing how Lutnick-Linked Crypto Firm Tether Props Up Iran's Shadow Banking System,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), today released a new report detailing how Tether and its dollar-pegged stablecoin (USDT) have become a significant financial lifeline within Iran’s shadow banking network.

As part of its ongoing inquiry into the role of cryptocurrencies in illicit finance, PSI Democratic investigators conducted a forensic analysis of blockchain transaction data from 846 unique cryptocurrency wallets that have been sanctioned or targeted for seizure due to their association with Iran and its regional proxies. This analysis shows that Tether has, in effect, provided Iran access to a high-liquidity international payment system that the United States has assiduously sought to deny it.

“My new PSI report exposes how Tether and its flagship token have become central to Iran’s shadow banking system, allowing the Iranian government to fund its regional proxies, commit human rights abuses, and pursue hostile drone and missile programs as they defy our sanctions regime,” Blumenthal said. “The Trump Administration’s glaring lack of oversight of cryptocurrency issuers has undermined our own national security interests. That is why I am calling on the Department of Treasury and Justice to immediately investigate Tether and hold it accountable for these potential sanctions violations.”

A summary of PSI’s key findings is below:

Tether has become a primary illicit international payment system for Iran, allowing it to circumvent international sanctions on its banks: Of the 846 wallets sanctioned for their association with Iran and its terrorist proxies, 84% have transacted exclusively, or nearly exclusively, in USDT. These activities include efforts by the Iranian government to move funds into, and out of, Iran and to prop up the country’s currency in the face of U.S. sanctions, including through the Central Bank of Iran.

Tether serves as a central payment mechanism that interlinks Iran and its terrorist proxy organizations, undermining U.S. security interests in the region: Iran’s cryptocurrency-based shadow banking network has reached significant volumes of funds and implicate different Iranian interests. In addition to supporting terrorist organizations, there is evidence that this shadow banking network is used for the procurement and sales of drones and other military equipment.

Tether’s failure to freeze illicit wallets and prevent abuse created the permissive environment under which Iranian shadowing banking could flourish: Prior to 2024, Tether did not comprehensively and consistently freeze wallets designated by counter-terrorism agencies and continues to fail to proactively block clearly illicit wallets. This absence of deterrence invited abuse: terrorist organizations such as Hamas shifted from transacting in Bitcoin and a mix of cryptocurrencies, to promoting USDT.

In letters sent today to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Attorney General Todd Blanche, Blumenthal referred PSI’s findings to the Departments and called for thorough investigations into Tether’s anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance practices.

In a letter to Bessent, Blumenthal raised concerns about the Trump Administration’s lax oversight of cryptocurrency firms despite longstanding research and reporting on Tether’s broader role in illicit finance, “Yet, since President Trump’s return to the White House, investigations and enforcement actions into the cryptocurrency industry have been dropped, settled on meager terms, or even reversed. I fear this lenient self-dealing includes Tether, despite its role in propping up a country that the United States is currently at war with.”

Blumenthal continued, “While Tether has become a powerful tool for foreign adversaries, terrorists, and illicit actors that are a danger to our national security, it has numerous close ties to the highest levels of the Trump Administration. Most prominently, Cantor Fitzgerald—which until recently was run by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and is now controlled by his children—owns 5% of Tether and holds a substantial portion of the company’s more than $100 billion of assets in the United States.”

“The prospect of such a financial weapon being used against American interests is deeply troubling. I therefore request that Treasury review the Subcommittee’s report, which is enclosed with this letter, and conduct a thorough investigation of Tether’s anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance practices. If your investigation finds Tether has violated the Bank Secrecy Act, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or any other relevant provision of federal law, I encourage you to take the strongest appropriate action,” Blumenthal concluded.

The full text of PSI’s report is available here. Copies of Blumenthal’s letters to Bessent and Blanche are available here and here.

-30-",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-shaheen-and-12-bipartisan-senators-question-president-trump-on-invitation-of-vladimir-putin-to-g20-on-american-soil,"Blumenthal, Shaheen, & 12 Bipartisan Senators Question President Trump on Invitation of Vladimir Putin to G20 on American Soil",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"[Hartford, CT] — U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal joined U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, and 12 bipartisan colleagues in sending a letter to President Trump inquiring about the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the Group of Twenty (G20) Leader’s Summit in Miami, Florida this coming December.

In the letter, the Senators question why Vladimir Putin, who has committed atrocities against the people of Ukraine and silenced his own people, has been welcomed with open arms to participate in a G20 meeting on American soil. This comes at a time when the Russian government is ramping up its attacks on Ukrainian civilians and continues to target Americans in Ukraine and around the world. The Senators make clear that President Putin should not be permitted to take part in G20 events or other similar international forums in the United States and request for Putin nor any sanctioned Russian officials be permitted at upcoming G20 events.

“President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day,” wrote the Senators.

“This invitation also comes at a time when Russia’s intentions are unambiguously clear. Numerous public reports have indicated that Russia is helping Iran’s military target American service members in the Middle East. Russia has also increased its hybrid warfare activities throughout Europe in recent months while simultaneously conducting deadly aerial attacks against Ukraine’s cities and critical infrastructure,” continued the Senators.

“The United States must put strong economic and political pressure on President Putin in order to force him to the negotiating table for serious peace talks. We commend your signing of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which gives you additional tools to hold the Putin regime accountable. However, if President Putin and his government are not isolated on the international stage, what incentive does Russia have to agree to a ceasefire?” concluded the Senators.

Blumenthal and Shaheen were joined by Mitch McConnell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), John Curtis (R-UT), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Alan Armstrong (R-OK). Full text of the letter is available HERE and provided below. Dear President Trump,

We write to express our serious concern regarding reports that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to attend the Group of Twenty (G20) Leaders’ Summit on December 14 and 15 in Miami, Florida. We were already disappointed by the recent participation of Russian government delegations in a series of G20 meetings across the United States, including a delegation led by sanctioned Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov at the Finance Ministerial in Asheville, North Carolina; a Russian delegation at the Commerce Department Innovation Ministerial in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; and a Russian delegation at the Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston, Texas. We raise the same concerns noted in an April 3 bipartisan Senate letter, which outlined the national security implications of allowing a delegation of sanctioned members of the Russian Duma to visit the United States for official meetings. Given President Putin’s continued actions against the Ukrainian people and U.S. national security interests, we urge you to reconsider granting President Putin the stature and legitimacy to appear in the United States as a world leader at the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

President Putin bears sole responsibility for launching Russia’s full-scale war of aggression against Ukraine. Allowing him to participate in a G20 Summit in the United States raises serious concerns about legitimizing and normalizing a government that continues to attack Ukrainian civilian targets every day. This invitation also comes at a time when Russia’s intentions are unambiguously clear. Numerous public reports have indicated that Russia is helping Iran’s military target American service members in the Middle East. Russia has also increased its hybrid warfare activities throughout Europe in recent months while simultaneously conducting deadly aerial attacks against Ukraine’s cities and critical infrastructure.

President Putin and Anton Siluanov, in addition to others traveling as part of the respective delegations for G20 meetings, are sanctioned under Executive Order 14024 for engaging in conduct deemed to be harmful to U.S. national security. It is troubling that, despite being sanctioned, these individuals have been given access to participate in G20 forums hosted in the United States. The G20 is intended to foster international cooperation on critical issues including finance, trade and global economic stability. As Russia continues its war against Ukraine and refuses to agree to a just and lasting peace agreement, its government should not be afforded a business-as-usual treatment alongside other nations at G20 events.

The United States must put strong economic and political pressure on President Putin in order to force him to the negotiating table for serious peace talks. We commend your signing of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which gives you additional tools to hold the Putin regime accountable. However, if President Putin and his government are not isolated on the international stage, what incentive does Russia have to agree to a ceasefire?

As the United States holds the G20 presidency for the remainder of the calendar year, we urge you to reverse course and rescind the invitation to President Putin and ensure that other sanctioned Russian officials, who bear responsibility for Russia’s war against Ukraine, are not permitted to participate in upcoming G20 engagements, including the Trade Ministerial, Foreign Ministers’ Meeting, and Leaders’ Summit, until Russia agrees to a just and lasting peace in Ukraine.

Thank you for your consideration.

-30-",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-coons-merkley-van-hollen-kaine-call-for-secretary-rubio-to-act-to-de-escalate-tension-in-ethiopias-tigray-region,"Booker, Coons, Merkley, Van Hollen, Kaine Call for Secretary Rubio to Act to De-escalate Tension in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NJ,Cory A. Booker,B001288,www.booker.senate.gov,booker,https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee (SFRC) on Africa and Global Health Policy issued the following statement after reports of renewed violent conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray, Afar, and Amhara regions. In the statement, Booker was joined by U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) in condemning the Trump Administration for allowing sanctions to expire on those who facilitated human rights violations in Tigray and urged for mediation to continue:

“We are alarmed by the deteriorating security situation in Ethiopia. As conflict in the Tigray, Oromia and Afar regions escalate, we are seeing the unraveling of the agreement that ended the 2020–2022 Tigray war, which the African Union brokered and the United States strongly supported. The international community must push signatories to the agreement to de-escalate tensions and return to mediation or risk seeing another conflict in the Horn of Africa.

“Unfortunately, this resumption of hostilities comes less than a week after the Trump Administration let sanctions expire on individuals and entities that facilitated gross human rights abuses in Tigray. Allowing these sanctions to expire emboldens belligerents that see no checks against their horrific actions and leaves victims without much needed justice. Last week, a truck transporting U.S.-funded food assistance for internally displaced people in Northwestern Tigray was hit in a drone strike by the Ethiopian military. A significant portion of the food assistance was damaged or destroyed, and critical assistance was disrupted for people already facing significant humanitarian needs after the 2020-2022 conflict. The Ethiopian military’s expansive use of drones in Amhara and Oromia is extremely concerning, will only worsen the humanitarian situation and risks widening the conflict. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front has also failed to live up to its commitments by undermining the Interim Regional Administration, displacing IRA-appointed officials, refusing disarmament and forcefully conscripting civilians.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-duckworth-hirono-smith-blumenthal-introduce-legislation-to-allow-use-of-us-foreign-assistance-for-abortion-care-overseas,"Booker, Duckworth, Hirono, Smith, Blumenthal Introduce Legislation to Allow Use of U.S. Foreign Assistance for Abortion Care Overseas",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NJ,Cory A. Booker,B001288,www.booker.senate.gov,booker,https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – In recognition of International Safe Abortion Day, U.S. Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) reintroduced the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, which would repeal the 1973 Helms Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act and ensure that U.S. foreign assistance may be used to provide the full scope of comprehensive health care, including safe, and legal access to abortion services. U.S. Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7), Diana DeGette (D-CO-1), Norma Torres (D-CA-35), and Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10) introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Helms Amendment has prohibited any U.S. foreign assistance funds from being used for “the performance of abortion as a method of family planning” and has acted as a total ban on U.S. foreign aid being used for any abortion services. Due to the Helms Amendment, women are being denied abortion care, and even basic information and counseling. The Helms Amendment also forces providers to distinguish between abortion and all other health services and puts an essential health care service out of reach for too many. The bill also includes language clarifying that under U.S. government policy, safe abortion care is a critical component of comprehensive maternal and reproductive care.

“For more than 50 years, the Helms Amendment has restricted the use of U.S. foreign assistance for abortion care, with real consequences for women around the world,” said Senator Booker. “Women are turned away from safe care and denied information and counseling about their options. Providers are forced to treat abortion differently from other essential health services. That is not a policy grounded in science, compassion, or dignity. The Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act would end these restrictions and make clear that U.S. global health assistance can support comprehensive reproductive health care, including safe abortion care.”

“Reproductive health care is a basic human right,” said Senator Duckworth. “No one should ever die or have their lives endangered because they’re denied access to basic health care, but that’s the reality for too many women here at home and around the world. Our legislation would lift misguided restrictions on U.S. foreign assistance so it may be used to provide safe and legal access to reproductive health care.”

“The Trump regime is not only attacking reproductive rights within our borders, they are preventing critical medications worth millions of dollars in foreign aid from reaching those who need it most,” said Senator Hirono. “By ending the prohibition on foreign aid being used for abortion care, the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act will help expand access to reproductive services in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. As we fight to restore reproductive freedom in the U.S., this legislation will help millions around the world access comprehensive reproductive health care services.”

“With reproductive health care access under attack worldwide, our measure makes critical services available across countries—including in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. It guarantees a basic human right— quality reproductive health care. By increasing global access, it ultimately saves lives and resources for all nations,” said Senator Blumenthal.

“Comprehensive abortion care is health care. That is not a political assertion, it is a public health reality,” said Nabeeha Kazi Hutchins, President and CEO of PAI. “When safe abortion care is not available, abortions do not stop. They become more dangerous, contributing to preventable maternal death and morbidity. For more than 50 years, the Helms Amendment has restricted U.S. foreign assistance for this care, putting women’s health and lives at risk. U.S. global health policy should be grounded in evidence and focused on preventing needless maternal deaths and illness. It’s time for Congress to pass the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act and repeal Helms.”

“For more than 50 years, the Helms Amendment has denied people around the world reproductive freedom. It undermines global health and human rights. It’s an archaic remnant of U.S. abortion politics that has always been completely divorced from the reality of the lives of the people it harms. It’s long past time to repeal this disgraceful law and we are grateful to Senator Booker and Congresswoman Schakowsky for introducing this important legislation. We look forward to its passage,” said Brian Dixon, Sr. Vice President, Population Connection Action Fund.

“Everyone deserves to be able to get the healthcare they need when they need it. For over 50 years, the Helms Amendment has put safe abortion care out of reach for people around the world served by U.S. foreign assistance, including global health, gender-based violence, and humanitarian programs. As we continue to fight back against abortion bans and restrictions in the U.S., we must also work to expand access and eliminate barriers abroad. We’re thankful to Rep. Schakowsky, Sen. Booker, and their co-leads for their leadership in expanding access to essential healthcare,"" said Alexis McGill Johnson, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

“With the Trump Administration undermining foreign aid for sexual and reproductive health care, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Repealing the Helms Amendment, which has long prohibited US support for abortion services around the world, is a critical step toward ensuring people everywhere can access safe abortion care. We thank Sen. Booker, Rep. Schakowsky and their co-leads for introducing the Abortion Is Health Care Everywhere Act. Guttmacher’s research makes the impact clear: ending Helms and supporting health care systems around the globe would avert 19 million unsafe abortions and 17,000 maternal deaths annually, ” said Kelly Baden, Vice President of US Policy & Communications, Guttmacher Institute.

“Abortion is health care — full stop. For over 50 years, the racist Helms Amendment has robbed women in the Global South, including many Latinas, of their right to bodily autonomy and access to lifesaving abortion care. It's time to end this deadly amendment and pass the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act! We are grateful to Sen. Booker and Rep. Schakowsky for taking the necessary steps to reaffirm abortion access and reproductive justice around the world,” said Katherine Olivera, director of government relations, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice.

The Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Adam Schiff (D-CA), and Ben Ray Luján (D-NM).

See the full list of endorsing organizations here.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/booker-takes-to-senate-floor-to-oppose-the-protect-college-sports-act,Booker Takes to Senate Floor to Oppose the Protect College Sports Act,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NJ,Cory A. Booker,B001288,www.booker.senate.gov,booker,https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"WASHINGTON. DC – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ), a former Division I college football player, took to the Senate floor to oppose the Protect College Sports Act, standing with college athletes and organizations including the NAACP, Congressional Black Caucus, and AFL-CIO who have raised serious concerns about a bill that was written without athlete input, shields the NCAA from accountability, and puts the burden of enforcement on athletes themselves.

“At its core, it's a bill that undermines the rights of young people who pour their blood, sweat, tears, countless hours of work, and more into their craft, ” said Senator Booker.

From his earliest days in the Senate, Senator Booker has been a leading voice on college athletes’ rights, standing with athletes against efforts to roll back the hard-fought protections they have earned.

“Listen to the athletes. Listen to those who represent them. This so-called “Protect College Sports Act” isn’t about protecting college athletes—it’s about protecting wealthy coaches, powerful institutions, and an NCAA that’s held unbridled power for decades while athletes faced discrimination and injustice, ” continued Senator Booker.

College sports is now a roughly $20 billion industry, with more than 40 football coaches earning over $5 million a year. Just 15 fired coaches collected nearly $250 million in contract buyouts in 2025 alone.

“College athletes put their bodies on the line, and generate billions, they deserve a real voice and real rights. This bill pulls the rug out from under them. Athletes deserve leaders who stand with them and I’ll keep fighting alongside them,” said Senator Booker.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cantwell-and-colleagues-introduce-bill-to-prohibit-firearms-at-polling-places-nationwide-protecting-voters_election-workers,"Cantwell & Colleagues Introduce Bill to Prohibit Firearms at Polling Places Nationwide, Protecting Voters & Election Workers",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Maria Cantwell,C000127,www.cantwell.senate.gov,cantwell,https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Cantwell & Colleagues Introduce Bill to Prohibit Firearms at Polling Places Nationwide, Protecting Voters & Election Workers

In early 2026, 32% percent of local election workers experienced threats or harassment; 52% concerned for staff safety

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) joined her colleagues in introducing bicameral legislation to protect voters and election workers from intimidation and threats of violence at polling places.

“It is deeply troubling that now more than half of local elections officials worry about the safety of their colleagues, and a third have experienced threats or abuse. The officials and volunteers who run our free and fair elections deserve to be and feel safe at work – and voters need to be able to visit their elections office without worrying about their safety,” Sen. Cantwell said.

The Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act would help further ensure that every voter has the right to cast their ballot and every election worker can conduct their official duties free from fear and intimidation. It would strengthen existing anti-intimidation provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to limit the presence of visible firearms at locations where voters cast their ballot or election workers perform their official duties, empowering poll workers and election officials to continue safely administering elections.

In Washington state, firearms are already prohibited at ballot counting centers, voting centers, student engagement hubs, and county elections and voter registration offices, as well as any facility being temporarily used for those reasons.

The right to vote is fundamental to American democracy, but rising threats of political violence against voters and election workers threaten election security. As of April 2026, 32% of local election workers have reported experiencing threats, harassment, or abuse. Armed groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers who were involved in the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol have threatened to patrol polling places in recent elections. While intimidation is illegal under existing law, this new legislation is important to provide a clearer standard and further ensure safety at election offices and polling locations.

Specifically, the Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act would:

Amend Section 11(b) of the Voting Rights Act to establish a rebuttable presumption that a person carrying a visible firearm while engaging in election-related activities is engaging in voter intimidation;

Provide civil remedies for individuals who experience this type of intimidation, including an emergency injunction that would allow the voter or election official to carry out their duties in peace; and

Recognize an exemption for law enforcement officers acting within their official duties and establish that this exemption does not apply to National Guard.

The bill was introduced by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA). In addition to Sen. Cantwell, the bill is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

The House version of the bill was introduced by U.S. Representative Chris Deluzio (D, PA-17).

The Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act is endorsed by organizations including the Brennan Center for Justice, Defend the Vote Action Fund, and the Fair Elections Center.

“Congress must pass the Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act. We are grateful to Representative Deluzio, Senator Padilla, and other members of Congress for their work to keep our elections safe for everyone involved in the process. This legislation would bolster federal protections that empower voters, election officials, and election workers to seek legal recourse if they are intimidated. The bill would help protect our democracy by keeping intimidation and violence out of voting,” said Sean Morales-Doyle, Senior Director of the voting rights program, Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.

“Our ability to hold elected leaders accountable to the people depends on ensuring every voter can access the ballot free from intimidation or harassment, and that election workers can run those elections without interference. Defend The Vote Action Fund applauds Rep. Deluzio for his leadership on this critical bill that protects voters' rights to cast their ballots free from interference, while ensuring that poll workers and election officials can safely oversee and administer our elections,” said Defend the Vote Action Fund Executive Director Brian Lemek.

“To fully realize our civil rights, we need stronger protections against intimidation to make sure that election officials can do their jobs without fear, and that no American is stopped from exercising their right to vote. The Freedom from Intimidation in Elections Act is one way we can defend our voting rights in the face of those who want to take power away from the people,” said Fair Elections Center's President and CEO, Rebekah Caruthers.

Sen. Cantwell remains a stalwart defender of our free and fair elections:

On Sep. 8, Sen. Cantwell joined 260 of her colleagues – including all Senate Democrats and current and former members of the House of Representatives – in filing a bipartisan, bicameral amicus brief with the Supreme Court in a case challenging the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) attempt to impose new requirements that would have interfered with vote-by-mail in Washington state and nationwide. On Sep. 15, the Supreme Court agreed with the lawmakers’ position and refused to reverse a lower-court ruling that blocked the USPS from implementing the onerous new requirements. In denying the stay, the Supreme Court let stand a preliminary injunction issued by a federal district court in two related cases – one brought by Washington along with other states – against the USPS rule for the upcoming election. In a statement on the Supreme Court’s ruling, Sen. Cantwell highlighted that the district court had found “on one side, that immediate implementation of the Final Rule issued less than seventy days before the November 2026 election threatens disenfranchisement of millions of United States citizens who seek to vote by mail and, on the other side, that the record includes no evidence relating to fraudulent mail voting to support the rushed implementation of the Final Rule” and granted the preliminary injunction.”

On Sep. 2, Sen. Cantwell held a press conference in Seattle to warn Washington voters about Administration efforts to undermine their right to vote. That same day Sen. Cantwell and Washington Secretary of State Steve Hobbs released a snapshot report showing that late-postmark rejection rates have more than doubled in 19 counties compared to the 2024 primaries – with rural counties worst affected -- following a new Trump Administration policy that can delay postmarking of mail-in ballots by several days.

On August 5, she sent a letter to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin demanding the Trump Administration adhere to the National Voter Registration Act’s (NVRA) “quiet period” that prohibits systematic voter purges within 90 days of an election, pushing back against the Administration’s ongoing voter suppression efforts.

On July 29, she wrote to Blanche, Mullin, and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth demanding to know whether the Trump administration plans to illegally deploy armed federal law enforcement officers at polling sites during the November 2026 elections.

On July 28, Sen. Cantwell sharply criticized the Trump administration’s request that the Supreme Court allow him to seize control of state-run elections and implement an anti-vote-by-mail executive order. Lower courts have repeatedly rejected the president’s arguments and stated that his executive order is unconstitutional.

On July 2, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to the Postmaster General about the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) proposed illegal rule to implement President Trump’s March 31 executive order to interfere with vote-by-mail. Sen. Cantwell’s letter specifically noted the recent decisions of multiple federal courts that found Trump’s executive order unconstitutional and enjoined the USPS from implementing the proposed rule – including in separate cases brought by the State of Washington with other states and the NAACP – and demanded the USPS comply with those court orders.

On June 29, she celebrated the Supreme Court’s ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee against an effort to stop states from counting mail-in ballots that are received after Election Day, even if they’ve been postmarked in time. The case, brought by the Republican National Committee, threatened the election administration practices of states like Washington.

On June 24, Sen. Cantwell co-sponsored the Right To Vote Act, legislation to create the first-ever affirmative federal voting rights guarantee for all eligible citizens.

On June 24, she also denounced President Trump’s announcement that he would not sign the 21st Century Road to Housing Act – an overwhelmingly popular, bipartisan bill that passed both the House and Senate earlier in the week and would have increased housing supply and brought down housing costs – until Congress passes the SAVE America Act. That legislation, which Trump has repeatedly demanded, would eliminate vote-by-mail and impose onerous new restrictions on voting and registering to vote. It would disenfranchise millions of Americans in the name of a voter fraud “crisis” that, even by the standards of the right-wing Heritage Foundation, straightforwardly does not exist. President Trump again demanded Congress pass the restrictive bill following the Supreme Court’s ruling in Watson v. Republican National Committee. Despite President Trump’s refusal to sign the bipartisan housing bill, it became law on July 11, since he failed to act on the bill within the time period prescribed by the Constitution after Congress sent him the legislation.

On June 23, she joined the entire Democratic Caucus in sending a letter to the USPS demanding the USPS abandon attempts to restrict voting by mail called for by President Trump in an illegal and unconstitutional March 31 executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots.

On June 23, she also delivered a speech on the Senate floor calling out the Trump Administration’s war on mail-in voting as the latest frontier in a long history of voter disenfranchisement in the United States.

On June 17, she joined several of her Senate Democratic colleagues for a spotlight forum highlighting President Trump’s illegal overreach into our free and fair elections.

On June 8, she joined 23 of her Senate colleagues in demanding answers over the Trump Administration’s decision to remove the most recent version of the Federal Prosecution of Election Offenses manual from DOJ’s website without explanation.

On April 29, she was tapped by Minority Leader Schumer to join a task force of senators defending our elections from interference.

On April 23, she joined colleagues in introducing the Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act to protect the right to vote by mail and block President Trump’s illegal and unconstitutional March 31 executive order attacking mail and absentee ballots.

On April 22, she sent a letter to the USPS warning the agency against complying with the executive order, which would undermine mail-in voting.

On April 1, after the executive order on mail-in voting was announced, she issued a statement in opposition.

On March 18, she convened a group of current and former elected officials and representatives of nonpartisan voter advocacy groups for a virtual press conference on defending voter access. Video of that entire virtual press conference is HERE; video of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is HERE; and a transcript of Sen. Cantwell’s statement is HERE.

On March 15, she issued a snapshot report showing that the SAVE America Act – the voter suppression bill President Trump has continued to demand Congress pass – would cost Washington state taxpayers more than $35 million this year alone.

On Feb. 20, she convened local leaders in Seattle for a press conference urging Washingtonians to fight back against these proposed new burdens to voting.

On Feb. 19, she gathered in Vancouver with the Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey and local chapter heads of the League of Women Voters and the NAACP for a press conference on how this bill would disenfranchise voters.

Also on Feb. 19, she released a snapshot report showing who in Washington would face undue hurdles to voting if the SAVE America Act were signed into law. The report shows that certain populations – including people who live in rural areas, women who changed their name after marriage, and people who recently moved – would face additional, cumbersome burdens to prove their citizenship.

On Feb. 5, she appeared on MSNOW’s Morning Joe to push back against the Trump administration’s heightened efforts to interfere in state-run elections and collect private data on American voters. Video of Sen. Cantwell’s appearance is HERE; a transcript is HERE.

On Jan. 29, Sen. Cantwell joined Senate colleagues in a letter to then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, pushing DOJ to stop its unlawful pressure campaign to coerce dozens of states into providing the Trump Administration their voter rolls, which include voters’ personally identifiable information.

On Jan. 15, she joined Senate colleagues in a letter to USPS Postmaster General David Steiner raising concerns with recent developments affecting postmark practices. Right before the holiday season, USPS changed its postmark practices, which the Senators warned could have significant impacts on voters nationwide and in Washington state – including rural voters, military and overseas voters, and many others who rely on rely on the mail to safely and securely cast their ballot.

On Jan. 9, she joined 13 Senate colleagues in filing an amicus brief before the Supreme Court in the case Watson v. Republican National Committee.

Next Article Previous Article",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cantwell-celebrates-new-amtrak-trains-for-the-pacific-northwest,Cantwell Celebrates New Amtrak Trains for the Pacific Northwest,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Maria Cantwell,C000127,www.cantwell.senate.gov,cantwell,https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Cantwell Celebrates New Amtrak Trains for the Pacific Northwest

Cantwell championed a record-high Amtrak investment in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which is funding new Airo trains

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Finance Committee, celebrated the debut of new Airo trainsets on the Amtrak Cascades ahead of the first passenger service on September 30.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law keeps paying dividends,” said Sen. Cantwell. “The state-of-the-art Airo trainsets replace much older cars, making travel on Amtrak’s Cascades route more convenient, accessible, and reliable for riders across the Pacific Northwest. The Airos also have nearly twice as many seats, helping to meet growing demand on this routinely sold-out route.”

Sen. Cantwell led passage of the largest bipartisan investment in passenger rail in history, including $22 billion for Amtrak, through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Now, Pacific Northwest customers will be the first in the nation to experience Amtrak’s newest trains.

Amtrak’s Airo trains produce 90% less particulate emissions than their predecessors. Redesigned interiors will offer improved accessibility and comfort in state-of-the art train interiors.

In October 2024, Sen. Cantwell announced that Amtrak would invest nearly $300 million in major upgrades to Seattle’s King Street Station rail yard. The upgraded railyard supported the introduction of the new Airo trains and operates without the use of fossil fuels for heating.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cantwell-colleagues-call-for-memorial-at-arlington-national-cemetery-to-honor-wa-servicemember-killed-in-operation-epic-fury,"Cantwell, Colleagues Call for Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to Honor WA Servicemember Killed in Operation Epic Fury",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Maria Cantwell,C000127,www.cantwell.senate.gov,cantwell,https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Cantwell, Colleagues Call for Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to Honor WA Servicemember Killed in Operation Epic Fury

Cantwell, Colleagues Call for Memorial at Arlington National Cemetery to Honor WA Servicemember Killed in Operation Epic Fury

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Yesterday, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, joined Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Representatives Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), and Mike Carey (R-OH-15) in introducing bicameral legislation, the Zeus 95 Memorial Act, to establish a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery (ANC) honoring the six Zeus 95 servicemembers who perished on March 12, 2026, in the crash of a KC-135 during an Operation Epic Fury mission.

Maj. John A. Klinner, (33, Auburn, AL); Capt. Ariana G. Savino, (31, Covington, WA); and Tech. Sgt. Ashley B. Pruitt, (34, Bardstown, KY), were assigned to the 6th Air Refueling Wing, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida. Capt. Seth R. Koval, (38, Mooresville, IN); Capt. Curtis J. Angst, (30, Wilmington, OH); and Tech. Sgt. Tyler H. Simmons, (28, of Columbus, OH) were assigned to the 121st Air Refueling Wing at Rickenbacker Air National Guard Base, Columbus, Ohio.

“Captain Savino and the five heroes of ZEUS 95 gave everything in service to our country. A memorial at Arlington National Cemetery will ensure their courage and sacrifice are never forgotten,” Sen. Cantwell said.

“Captain Ariana G. Savino represents the absolute best of Washington state and our country. I will forever be grateful for her bravery and sacrifice,” said Sen. Murray. “Capt. Savino and the other five courageous Air Force Airmen put their lives on the line to keep our country safe—they should be honored. My thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones in this tragic incident—Congress should pass this bill immediately to establish this memorial. We have a commitment to honor our servicemembers not only with words but by supporting the families they leave behind—making sure the federal government is there for our military families will continue to be a top priority for me. To the families, friends, and fellow Airmen who loved the Zeus 95 crew, you have my most sincere condolences.”

“Curtis Angst, Tyler Simmons, and Seth Koval are true American heroes who gave their lives in service to our great Nation and the cause of freedom,” said Sen. Moreno. “My colleagues and I are humbled to join together in establishing a permanent memorial so that their enduring legacy, their unmatched courage, and the selfless sacrifice they made during Operation Epic Fury will stand as a shining beacon of American valor.”

“I remain heartbroken that the crew of Zeus 95, including Captain Savino of Covington, died last spring in flight operations over Iraq. I will continue my efforts to honor their bravery and sacrifice, and am profoundly grateful that these crewmembers chose a life of service to our nation,” said Congresswoman Schrier. “Captain Savino’s passion, leadership, and bravery will be forever remembered by the people of Washington state and all Americans. My heart goes out to the families and loved ones of Captain Savino and the entire Zeus 95 crew. I send my deepest condolences to them, and pray for the safety and health of all of our servicemembers.”

Under federal law, monuments that do not contain or mark interred remains generally may not be placed on ANC grounds unless they meet certain statutory requirements. Among other criteria, the monument must commemorate the service of an individual or group of Armed Forces members or a particular military event, and it may not be placed until 25 years after the event being commemorated.

A Zeus 95 monument would not currently meet the 25-year requirement, so the lawmakers are pushing to honor the families’ wishes by seeking to waive the 25-year waiting period and allow for a monument at ANC.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cantwell-statement-on-her-vote-directing-trump-to-end-his-war-in-iran,Cantwell Statement on Her Vote Directing Trump to End His War in Iran,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Maria Cantwell,C000127,www.cantwell.senate.gov,cantwell,https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Cantwell Statement on Her Vote Directing Trump to End His War in Iran

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted 49-50 against a concurrent resolution directing President Trump to remove U.S. armed forces from hostilities against Iran, after nearly seven months of war. U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) voted for the resolution and gave the following statement:

“The costs of President Trump’s unnecessary war with Iran continue to mount, and the American people want it to end. We have lost valuable lives, and the conflict is compounding the burden of high gas and grocery prices at home.”

Last week, Sen. Cantwell joined 45 Senate Democratic colleagues in demanding a full accounting of the costs of the war with Iran. In a letter to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, the senators criticized the Department of Defense for withholding information from Congress and the American public, even as U.S. casualties and taxpayer costs continue to rise. This week, partial information provided to Congress showed that the war cost at least $43.6 billion by September 3 – three weeks ago – as the Trump Administration has requested $67 billion more for the war. Moreover, as the senators’ letter notes, the war has also cost American consumers an extra $100 billion just in higher gas and diesel costs, and at least another $60 billion in higher costs for things like groceries, mortgages, and plane tickets, among others.

On June 23, she issued a statement after voting for a War Powers Resolution measure to end the war. Congress passed the resolution – rejecting President Trump’s war with Iran – in a bipartisan vote.

On June 18, she issued a statement on President Trump’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Iran, saying, “The President’s war with Iran was a mistake. The MOU is the price the President must pay to get us out of this unauthorized war before it further damages our economy and costs more lives.”

On March 15, she issued a statement after six U.S. service members – including Captain Ariana G. Savino from Covington, Washington – died when their KC-135 aircraft crashed in Iraq during an Operation Epic Fury mission. Today, Sen. Cantwell (D-WA) joined Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Representatives Kim Schrier (D-WA-08), Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03), and Mike Carey (R-OH-15) in introducing bipartisan, bicameral legislation, the Zeus 95 Memorial Act, to establish a memorial at Arlington National Cemetery honoring the six crewmates who perished in the crash.

On March 11, Sen. Cantwell and 45 Senate Democrats sent a letter to Sec. Hegseth pressing the Department of Defense to provide answers to the American people about the airstrikes on a school in Minab, Iran, and civilian casualties in the Trump Administration’s war on Iran, as well as accountability for those responsible.

On March 2, she cosponsored a resolution led by U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) to direct the removal of U.S. armed forces from hostilities within or against the Islamic Republic of Iran that have not been authorized by Congress. A subsequent vote to advance that measure failed on a 47-53 vote.

On March 1, she issued a statement in response to the news that three U.S. service members had been killed and five others injured in the conflict: “My heart goes out to the families of the servicemembers killed and injured. Our troops valiantly put their lives on the line for the nation, every one of them a hero. The Trump Administration must come before Congress.”

On February 28, soon after the Trump Administration ordered strikes on Iran, Sen. Cantwell issued a statement criticizing the Administration and demanding that it seek congressional approval, as the Constitution requires.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cantwell/randall-bill-to-restore-lower-elwha-klallam-tribal-lands-unanimously-passes-senate-heads-to-president-for-signature,"Cantwell/Randall Bill to Restore Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Lands Unanimously Passes Senate, Heads to President for Signature",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Maria Cantwell,C000127,www.cantwell.senate.gov,cantwell,https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Cantwell/Randall Bill to Restore Lower Elwha Klallam Tribal Lands Unanimously Passes Senate, Heads to President for Signature

The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act is one of the last steps of the Elwha and Glines Canyon Dam removal project & will help restore fisheries; Bill now heads to President’s desk to become law

WASHINGTON, D.C. – This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill sponsored by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), former chair and longest-serving member of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and Representative Emily Randall (D, WA-06), who serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and Subcommittee on Indian and Insular Affairs, to transfer federal land back to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe after decades of work to restore the Elwha River. The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act, having previously passed the House, now goes to the President’s desk for his signature.

“Today, Congress took a historic step to strengthen salmon and habitat recovery and help fulfill a decades-old vision to restore the Elwha River and the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe’s connection to lands that have sustained them since time immemorial. I’m thrilled we got this bill across the finish line and look forward to the President signing it into law,” Sen. Cantwell said.

""Today, we took an important step in upholding our treaty obligations by passing legislation to transfer land into trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. As a freshman member of Congress who represents — alongside their elected Tribal leaders — over 15,000 Tribal members, this significance is not lost on me,” said Rep. Randall. “Now signed into law, this bill will help ensure we meet our trust responsibilities to restore Tribal lands.”

“It is a great honor to be trusted to steward these lands again, it continues to be a great part of our healing from the dam removal projects. We continue to see slow but persistent growth in our river and the return of the salmon. This has been a long process, and we appreciate the Federal partners for all the hard work in making this a priority. A special thanks to Councilwoman Frances Charles (Former Chairwoman of 22 years) for her years of persistence to see this land come back to the tribe!” said Melissa A. Gilman, Tribal Chairwoman of the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

“The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act is very significant to the Elwha Klallam people. The return of these lands is an important final action to the dam removal project that rewilded the Elwha River and made possible the recovery of the salmon populations,” said Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Council Member and former Chair Frances Charles. “The return of these sacred and culturally significant lands to the Tribe’s stewardship protects the federal investment in the restoration of the river and upholds the federal government’s treaty and trust obligations to the Tribe. The Tribe is grateful to Senator Cantwell and Representative Randall for their efforts to keep this legislation moving toward the return of the lands to the Tribe.”

The Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act represents another important step in the decades-long effort to restore the Elwha River and address the impacts of the dams on the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Congress authorized the historic removal of the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams in 1992 to restore the river and its once-abundant salmon runs. While both dams were successfully removed by 2014, restoration of the Elwha watershed has continued.

The legislation builds on that work by returning more than 1,082 acres of federal project lands to the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe. Placing these lands into trust will allow the Tribe to continue its stewardship of the Elwha River, protect cultural and natural resources, and support the long-term recovery of salmon and other native fish.

Specifically, the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe Project Lands Restoration Act would:

Transfer three parcels of land totaling 1,082 acres to the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to be held in trust for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe.

The land is just outside the boundaries of the Olympic National Park and includes 1,061 acres originally acquired by the National Park Service to demolish two dams along the Elwha River.

The two remaining parcels were acquired by the U.S. Department of the Interior to construct a pipeline to transfer surface water to the Tribe’s new fish hatchery – the House of Salmon.

Boost habitat restoration efforts led by the Lower Elwha Tribe and federal agencies, aiding in the recovery of all five species of Pacific salmon and other native fish, including Chinook, coho, chum, pink, and sockeye salmon, along with steelhead and bull trout.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-passes-protect-college-sports-act-77-22,Senate Passes Protect College Sports Act 77-22,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Maria Cantwell,C000127,www.cantwell.senate.gov,cantwell,https://www.cantwell.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Senate Passes Protect College Sports Act 77-22

Landmark bill enshrines into federal law rights and health and safety protections for college athletes, protects athletes from predatory agents, & secures the future of women’s and Olympic sports; Legislation moves to House for consideration

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and senior member of the Senate Finance Committee, celebrated the overwhelming, bipartisan Senate vote to pass the Protect College Sports Act.

""There are several things in this bill that are really important to enshrine into federal law at this time. First and foremost, the federal right to NIL [Name, Image, and Likeness],"" Sen. Cantwell said in a speech on the Senate floor ahead of the vote.

""But compensation on revenue sharing is probably the most important thing we could possibly enshrine in federal law today. This is [Congress] saying, for the first time, that an athlete gets a percentage of the media rights, the ticket sales, and the sponsorship.""

She continued: ""We also believe in a health and safety standard in federal law, one that protects the athletes beyond the way the law works today and gives them the right to sue and hold these people accountable for any kind of health and safety violations [...] And then medical coverage for five years post eligibility, and capping agents’ [fees] at 5%.""

""We need to stop stealing money out of college [and] university institutions for education, for tuition, for professors, and putting it into an arms race on sports,"" Sen. Cantwell said. ""It is putting a pin in the problems to stabilize the loss of women’s and Olympic [sports] and to create the opportunity to discuss the larger structure moving forward. That is why I think we have so much support.""

Video of Sen. Cantwell’s floor speech is HERE; a transcript is HERE.

The final vote was 77-22. The bill will now move to the House of Representatives for consideration. The next scheduled House legislative session begins Monday, November 9.

Sen. Cantwell is leading the effort to reform college sports. The Protect College Sports Act of 2026, which she introduced alongside Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chair Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), sets new rules and provides new tools to stabilize college sports, including codifying athletes’ rights to earn compensation for their NIL, enshrining scholarship and health and safety protections in federal law, reining in predatory agents, expanding revenue for all schools, and preserving and protecting the future of women’s and Olympic sports.

On September 15, Sen. Cantwell’s office released a snapshot report detailing how the unsustainable growth in spending on college sports is amplifying financial pressures on colleges and universities. That report can be read in full HERE.

On September 14, Sen. Cantwell joined current college athletes, coaches, and senators from both parties for a press conference at the U.S. Capitol to speak in support of the Protect College Sports Act. That press conference, which also included Gonzaga University head men’s basketball coach Mark Few, can be watched in full HERE.

The Protect College Sports Act’s new guaranteed protections for student athletes include:

Granting student athletes a new federal right to earn compensation for their NIL and replacing the patchwork of state laws with a strong national law.

Capping agent fees at 5% to clamp down on predatory agents.

Guaranteeing scholarships for ten years after eligibility, so athletes can complete their degrees, and ensuring student athletes cannot lose their scholarship because of injury or a bad game.

Requiring Division I schools to cover out-of-pocket medical costs for athletic injuries or illness for current student athletes and five years post-eligibility.

Preventing women’s and Olympic sports from being cut by requiring schools to maintain a minimum number of sports.

Giving athletes a private right of action to enforce provisions of the bill, including their NIL rights, agent protections, health and safety standards, scholarship protections, and medical coverage requirements.

For more details, see a summary of the bill HERE.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-coons-statement-on-senate-passage-of-the-protect-college-sports-act/,Senator Coons statement on Senate passage of the Protect College Sports Act,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,DE,Christopher A. Coons,C001088,www.coons.senate.gov,coons,https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), an original co-sponsor of the Protect College Sports Act, released the following statement after the Senate voted 77-22 on the bill’s final passage this evening:

“College sports are in crisis, and I’m grateful to Senators Cantwell and Cruz for leading this bipartisan effort to save them. Their hard work negotiating with colleges and universities, HBCUs, the NCAA, unions, trial lawyers, players, and others has created a badly needed bill that is a win for student-athletes, schools, and fans. Today’s resounding, bipartisan vote for final passage that won the support of a majority of my Democratic colleagues is proof of their success.

“No matter which school they attend or what sport they play, this bill will protect the education, health, and compensation rights of all 550,000 NCAA student-athletes. It keeps college sports from collapsing and leaves student-athletes better off than before. I want to thank my colleagues for taking up and passing this bill so swiftly, and I urge the House to do the same.”",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-coons-tillis-blackburn-schiff-introduce-bipartisan-bicameral-legislation-to-protect-u-s-internet-users-from-foreign-online-piracy/,"Senators Coons, Tillis, Blackburn, Schiff introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to protect U.S. internet users from foreign online piracy",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,DE,Christopher A. Coons,C001088,www.coons.senate.gov,coons,https://www.coons.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON –U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) introduced the Deterring Extraterritorial Foreign Exploitation of Networks Damaging Intellectual Property (DEFEND IP) Act, bipartisan, bicameral legislation that would allow U.S. courts to direct internet service providers to block specifically identified foreign criminals and the piracy sites they operate from gaining access to U.S. internet users. Representatives Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Ben Cline (R-Va.) introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives.

“Pirating American movies, TV shows, art, and books by foreign websites steals tens of billions of dollars from the U.S. economy each year, costing our creative community hundreds of thousands of jobs,” said Senator Coons. “This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will give American creators the tools they need to protect their intellectual property rights, while ensuring the internet remains a vibrant forum for free speech.”

“Foreign piracy continues to threaten American creators, putting well-paying jobs at risk, while exposing consumers to malware, identity theft, and other serious online harms,” said Senator Tillis. “The DEFEND IP Act provides a targeted, commonsense tool to shut down these foreign, criminal operations at the source while protecting lawful speech and due process. I’m proud to lead this bipartisan effort to safeguard America’s creative economy and strengthen digital security, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to counter these threats.”

The DEFEND IP Act would only target foreign-operated websites dedicated to piracy, require a showing of harm and ongoing monitoring, hold service providers harmless for implementing orders, and safeguard legitimate websites and free expression. This legislation was originally introduced as a discussion draft of the Block BEARD Act of 2025.

The following organizations endorse the DEFEND IP Act: the Motion Picture Association (MPA), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL), American Society of Collective Rights Licensing (ASCRL), the Association of American Publishers (AAP), the Recording Academy, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), the Songwriters Guild of America (SGA), the Copyright Alliance, Songwriters of North America (SONA), the Directors Guild of America (DGA), the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), CreativeFuture, the Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP), the Authors Guild, the American Association of Independent Music (A2IM),the Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA).

“The Motion Picture Association commends Representatives Lofgren and Cline and Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn and Schiff for introducing the bipartisan, bicameral DEFEND IP Act – a bill to deliver a long-overdue judicial site-blocking framework to the United States. By enacting this legislation, our country can deploy a highly effective tool to protect creators and consumers from overseas digital piracy, all while safeguarding free speech and preserving the open internet. For more than a decade, similar policies have been used to great effect by democratic allies like the United Kingdom and Australia. We look forward to working with Congress and stakeholders to enact this important measure into law,” said Charles Rivkin, chairman and CEO of Motion Picture Association.

“We are grateful to Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Schiff and Representative Lofgren for their bipartisan, bicameral leadership in crafting the DEFEND IP Act, which empowers US federal courts to protect consumers, rightsholders, and markets from large scale foreign piracy,” said Mitch Glazier, chairman and CEO of Recording Industry Association of America. “Similar tools have proven effective around the world over the last ten years with no harm to speech, Internet infrastructure or security, or participation online, and we look forward to working with the sponsors to create a simple, effective judicial remedy as this bill moves forward.”

“The DEFEND IP Act would help protect American creators from foreign actors who steal and profit from their content. The legislation provides important due process protections by entrusting website-blocking authority to the courts, while protecting Internet users by leaving the technical implementation of blocking injunctions to qualified experts rather than judges. This calibrated approach balances the need to protect America’s creative industries with the interests of Internet users,” said Daniel Castro, president of ITIF.

“We applaud Rep. Lofgren, and Senators Tillis, Coons, Blackburn, and Schiff for their commitment to protecting the millions of Americans working in the creative industries by introducing this site-blocking legislation,” said Ruth Vitale, CEO of CreativeFuture. “Our film and television industry employs 2.01 million workers. The industry is composed of more than 162,000 businesses, 93% of which employ fewer than 10 people. Piracy, most of which is coming from territories beyond the reach of U.S. law enforcement, threatens to undermine all of this. The overwhelming evidence from almost 60 countries around the world with site-blocking in place proves that these laws shift traffic away from illegal pirate sites toward the legal marketplace. We look forward to seeing a judicial site blocking law enacted here in the U.S.”

“Foreign piracy operators have spent years hiding beyond the reach of American law, profiting from the work of American creators while U.S. courts stood powerless to stop them. The DEFEND IP Act closes that gap. It is the leading compromise on this issue, giving creators a real remedy while fairly balancing the interests of internet providers, users, and the public. Every blocking order must be approved by a federal judge, reaches only sites dedicated to piracy, and includes safeguards for legitimate speech and commerce. We thank Senators Tillis, Schiff, Coons and Blackburn and Representative Lofgren for their bipartisan leadership, and we urge Congress to swiftly take up further consideration of this bill,” said Andrei Iancu and David Kappos, chairmen of the Board of Council for Innovation Promotion (C4IP).

“Visual artists should not have to stand by while their work is systematically exploited by foreign piracy sites simply because those sites operate beyond the reach of traditional enforcement tools. The DEFEND IP Act would provide right holders with an important, court-supervised mechanism to protect their creative works and the livelihoods that depend on them,” said James Silverberg, CEO of American Society for Collective Rights Licensing (ASCRL).

“Authors’ books are pirated at an enormous scale by foreign websites that operate beyond the reach of U.S. law, depriving writers of income they depend on to earn a living. The DEFEND IP Act would give authors and other copyright owners a court-supervised tool to stop these offshore piracy sites, and the Authors Guild thanks the bipartisan sponsors for standing up for American writers,” said Mary Rasenberger, CEO of Authors Guild.

“Composers and lyricists who write music for film, television, and video games routinely see their work exploited by foreign piracy sites that operate beyond the reach of U.S. law. The DEFEND IP Act gives creators a court-supervised tool to stop these offshore bad actors and protect the music, and the livelihoods, that American storytelling depends on,” said Ashley Irwin, president of the Society of Composers & Lyricists (SCL).

“The DEFEND IP Act provides a balanced, court-supervised remedy to address offshore pirate sites that specialize in the mass theft of literary works. AAP applauds the bipartisan sponsors of this legislation for their leadership in protecting the intellectual property of publishers and authors, whose livelihoods directly depend on the protection and enforcement of their rights,” said Maria A. Pallante, president and CEO of Association of American Publishers (AAP).

The text of the bill is available HERE.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cortez-masto-whitehouse-introduce-congressional-check-on-rogue-supreme-court-decisions/,"Cortez Masto, Whitehouse Introduce Congressional Check on Rogue Supreme Court Decisions",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NV,Catherine Cortez Masto,C001113,www.cortezmasto.senate.gov,cortezmasto,https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Legislation to allow Congress to respond quickly to Court decisions comes as Americans’ approval of the Supreme Court is nearing a historic low

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) introduced legislation to bolster Congress’s ability to check Supreme Court decisions that erroneously interpret federal law or roll back constitutional rights. The Supreme Court Review Act mirrors existing legislation that allows Congress to quickly respond to federal agency rules.

“Our country was founded on a system of checks and balances, and there is no reason we should let an extreme Supreme Court take away Nevadans’ fundamental rights,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “It’s time to put some power back in the hands of the people’s elected representatives and make it clear that Congress has the power to check the Court when it guts critical constitutional protections.”

“The captured right-wing majority of the Supreme Court is openly delivering goods to deep-pocketed special interests. When the Court abuses its power in this way—especially by paving over factual records—it’s up to Congress to protect the interests of the American people,” said Senator Whitehouse. “The Supreme Court Review Act would put guardrails on these rogue decisions and return policymaking power back to where the Constitution delegated it: in the hands of the people and their elected representatives.”

The Supreme Court continues to erode longstanding constitutional protections and interpret the law in ways that are out of step with congressional intent and will of the American people. Congress can respond to these cases by clarifying federal law or creating new statutory protections, but cumbersome Senate procedure has undermined Congress’s ability to react quickly.

Cortez Masto and Whitehouse’s Supreme Court Review Act would make clear that the constitutionally delegated power to make policy remains with Congress, not the Court. The bill would create streamlined procedures through which Congress can exercise its existing power to amend statutes or create federal statutory rights following a Supreme Court decision. Specifically, the bill would:

Codify a process for passing new laws in response to Supreme Court decisions that interpret federal statutes or roll back constitutional rights;

Expedite procedures for the Senate to pass these laws by a simple majority;

Limit the process to recent Court rulings and exclude non-germane changes to federal law to prevent abuse; and

Ensure that members of the minority party in the Senate have an opportunity to propose alternative updates to the law.

In addition to Cortez Masto and Whitehouse, Supreme Court Review Act is cosponsored by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). The legislation is endorsed by Public Citizen, People for the American Way, Fix the Court, Project on Government Oversight, Common Cause, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), and the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The Supreme Court has grown increasingly out-of-touch with the norms and values of the American public. The Court today has its lowest public approval rating in history. The SCOTUS Review Act provides a sorely-needed expedited congressional review process of controversial Court decisions, giving Congress a chance to respond to rulings that fail to protect the public’s interest. Public Citizen heartily endorses this reasonable oversight measure,” said Craig Holman, Ph.D., of Public Citizen.

“We all learned in civics class that the branches of the government are meant to be in conversation with one another. But that give-and-take has largely come to a halt this past decade, as the once prevalent practice of congressional override has all but disappeared. With their legislation, Sens. Whitehouse and Cortez Masto are reasserting Congress’ role as the prime interpreter of the Constitution, able to fix statutory holdings that miss the mark with greater ease. I am grateful for their initiative and for their efforts to establish a new era of popular constitutionalism,” said Gabe Roth, Executive Director of Fix the Court.

“In recent years, the Supreme Court has narrowed and eroded longstanding statutory and constitutional protections, defying the understanding and intent of democratically-elected leaders in Congress,” said Debra Perlin, Vice President for Policy at CREW. “The Supreme Court Review Act would give Congress the tools to promptly respond to harmful or erroneous Supreme Court decisions that affect the lives of everyday Americans. CREW is proud to endorse this important legislation that would allow Congress to effectuate its intent and reassert its Article I powers.”

Senator Cortez Masto has consistently stood up to the rogue Supreme Court. Since the overturn of Roe v. Wade, she has consistently fought to protect women’s right to choose. Cortez Masto has pushed back against the Supreme Court’s recent egregious decisions, including its decision to allow the Trump Administration to revoke Temporary Protected Status for Haitian and Syrian immigrants and its decision to permit ICE to use racial profiling while enacting President Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-duckworth-join-senate-democrats-in-demanding-omb-director-vought-abandon-any-plan-to-exert-political-control-over-nih-funding,"Durbin, Duckworth Join Senate Democrats In Demanding OMB Director Vought Abandon Any Plan To Exert Political Control Over NIH Funding",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Richard J. Durbin,D000563,www.durbin.senate.gov,durbin,https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"The lawmakers emphasize the need for Republicans to join Democrats in supporting new guardrails to protect the integrity of NIH’s grantmaking process following a long line of politically motivated attacks on NIH

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and of 27 their colleagues in demanding White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought halt any plan to exert political control over the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grantmaking process. The Trump Administration considering an executive order to establish and empower an external committee of political appointees with no discernable qualifications to veto any awards selected by NIH and its panels of scientific experts is just the latest example and highlights the need for Congress to intervene.

In their letter, the lawmakers underscore that the executive order is the latest way OMB has sought to undermine NIH and the scientific peer-review process that is the foundation of biomedical advancements and innovation. Backtracking on a new executive order or not, the Trump Administration has shown time and again it wants to cancel NIH funding that misaligns with its political agendas and vendettas, all at the expense of life-saving research, treatments, and cures for millions of Americans.

“Decisions about which National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants to fund should be guided only by science, and what research is most likely to advance new treatments and cures, or the next breakthrough to save or improve a patient’s life. The Trump Administration considering, at the highest level, an executive order to exert unprecedented political control over NIH’s grant-making by establishing a commission empowered to veto NIH research awards represents just its latest attack on biomedical research,” the lawmakers write. “Injecting political interference into the NIH grantmaking process will irreparably harm America’s biomedical research enterprise, override scientific expertise, and potentially set back lifesaving medical breakthroughs by decades.”

The lawmakers note that reports that the Trump Administration has paused plans for an executive order to scrutinize NIH grants are little relief given the President’s long string of attacks on the agency: “That such an executive order was considered at all makes clear that despite Congress acting to temporarily block OMB’s proposed rule, this Administration intends to continue to pursue efforts to undermine NIH and its grantmaking process. If not by executive order or a new government-wide rule, the Trump Administration will simply pursue alternative administrative means that put politics over science and undermine the biomedical research enterprise we have built in this country over more than a century that is the envy of the world.”

The Senators explained that given the Administration’s attacks, it’s critical Congress take additional steps to put guardrails in place—something Senate Democrats have been pushing to do over the last 18 months: “Congress must step in to establish guardrails to protect American biomedical science. We urge our Republican colleagues to work with us on legislation to do much more to protect NIH from the Trump Administration, which has proven over and over again to be dead set on picking political fights at the expense of advancing lifesaving treatments and cures for millions of Americans.”

The lawmakers conclude: “We write to call on you to abandon any plan to exert political control over NIH’s grant-making decisions — whether that’s through your proposed rule, a new executive order, or any other means—that would empower political appointees to deny funding for grant applications that have already been deemed meritorious by the NIH peer-review and Advisory Council process. Patients and families are already paying an enormous price because of this administration’s nonstop attacks on the NIH—the last thing they need is for their hopes for new treatments and cures to be pushed farther out of view because you want to put politics ahead of saving lives.”

In addition to Durbin, Duckworth, Murray, and Baldwin, the letter was also signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Angus King Jr. (I-ME), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).

The full letter is available HEREand below:

September 25, 2026

Director Vought:

Decisions about which National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants to fund should be guided only by science, and what research is most likely to advance new treatments and cures, or the next breakthrough to save or improve a patient’s life. The Trump administration considering, at the highest level, an Executive Order to exert unprecedented political control over NIH’s grant-making by establishing a commission empowered to veto NIH research awards represents just its latest attack on biomedical research. If established, such an entity would radically alter a nearly 140-year-old evaluation system built upon a rigorous peer-review process where subject matter experts assess applications based on scientific merit. Injecting political interference into the NIH grantmaking process will irreparably harm America’s biomedical research enterprise, override scientific expertise, and potentially set back lifesaving medical breakthroughs by decades.

Reports that the Trump administration is backtracking on such an Executive Order is of little relief. This scheme comes on the heels of the Office of Management Budget’s (OMB) proposal to rewrite rules governing the administration of federal grants government-wide, which centers on the same aims—to put politics over scientific rigor. These efforts violate longstanding practice and interpretation of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) statutory duties and are clearly counter to what Congress intended when funding NIH. That such an Executive Order was considered at all makes clear that despite Congress acting to temporarily block OMB’s proposed rule, this administration intends to continue to pursue efforts to undermine NIH and its grantmaking process. If not by Executive Order or a new government-wide rule, the Trump administration will simply pursue alternative administrative means that put politics over science and undermine the biomedical research enterprise we have built in this country over more than a century that is the envy of the world. The Trump administration will continue to have political appointees review Notices of Funding Opportunities and grant applications. It will continue to terminate scientifically meritorious grants for political reasons. And it will sideline expert peer review and empower political appointees to decide what research to fund or to not fund. Congress must step in to establish guardrails to protect American biomedical science. We urge our Republican colleagues to work with us on legislation to do much more to protect NIH from the Trump administration, which has proven over and over again to be dead set on picking political fights at the expense of advancing lifesaving treatments and cures for millions of Americans.

As the largest public funder of biomedical research in the world, NIH supports research across virtually every area of human health. NIH research has led to countless groundbreaking discoveries, including mapping the human genome, isolating the AIDS virus, and the development of new drugs and treatments for cystic fibrosis, childhood leukemia, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and rare diseases, among so many others. The NIH peer-review system is the backbone of each one of those discoveries. It is a process established to ensure that taxpayer-funded research is evaluated according to scientific standards and to insulate funding decisions from political considerations. NIH funding has, for example, supported basic scientific research on lizard venom and sea snails that you or another political appointee without any scientific expertise may well have vetoed as a waste of taxpayer resources, but that very research led to the development of GLP-1 medications and non-addictive opioid alternatives. NIH’s scientific and peer review process that you are actively working to tear down is the foundation on which the United States stands as the world leader in biomedical innovation. OMB and unqualified political appointees have no business being involved in individual grant funding decisions and determining which specific cancer or Alzheimer’s disease research grants get funded.

Putting political decree above scientific peer review will mean research proposals are rejected not because of deficiencies in scientific quality, methodology, or relevance to statutory NIH missions, but because the subject matter, populations studied, institutions involved, or anticipated policy implications of the research do not align with the President’s political agenda. Breast cancer patients should not be denied hope of a new lifesaving treatment because you and the President think women’s health research is “woke”. Each year, NIH awards more than 50,000 grants and reviews tens of thousands more, each containing dozens of pages of dense scientific material. Whether through Executive Order, a new OMB rule, or other means, this administration seeks the ability to cut funding for specific research institutions it doesn’t like, or to cut funding for specific research projects because it doesn’t like how they sound. This would mean overruling decisions made by panels of scientific experts that have already determined which research is meritorious of federal funding and is our nation’s best bet at advancing new treatments and cures. Congress appropriated more than $48 billion to NIH in fiscal year 2026 for biomedical research pursuant to statute and congressionally directed programs, to be awarded according to a multi-step peer review process mandated by law. Congress does not delegate, or in any way intend to delegate, authority to the White House or your office to determine which individual scientific proposals may receive federal support. It similarly does not intend for unqualified political appointees to override the scientific peer review process in determining which specific grants to fund. But that is exactly what this administration continues to pursue.

These efforts are just the latest in a series of actions elevating politics and undermining science in biomedical research. Under your leadership, OMB has focused its efforts on destroying NIH and, with it, the nation’s biomedical research enterprise. To date, the Trump administration has terminated or disrupted 5,780 NIH grants worth an estimated $15 billion. Today, 1,231 of those grants still have not been restored. In fiscal year 2025, the agency issued 6,478 fewer awards compared to the year before – fewer than any year since 2018. The overall success rate for grant applicants fell to 17 percent, marking a 30-year low. The Trump administration has delayed NIH notices of funding opportunities and grant awards by months, setting back research and clinical trials on Alzheimer’s disease, cancer research, opioid addiction, rare diseases, and others by a year or more. These disruptions are causing young scientists and researchers to abandon their careers altogether or leave to pursue them in other countries. Meanwhile, uncertainties about federal funding have led to a 15 percent decline in doctoral admissions at major research universities in the United States. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Trump administration plans to transfer up to $1.9 billion per year from NIH to the Department of Defense. Taken together, the Trump administration’s actions have systematically weakened the biomedical workforce and upended the very system designed to select the most scientifically promising research that delivers hope for millions of American patients and families who are praying for new treatments and cures.

We write to call on you to abandon any plan to exert political control over NIH’s grant-making decisions — whether that’s through your proposed rule, a new Executive Order, or any other means—that would empower political appointees to deny funding for grant applications that have already been deemed meritorious by the NIH peer-review and Advisory Council process. Patients and families are already paying an enormous price because of this administration’s nonstop attacks on the NIH—the last thing they need is for their hopes for new treatments and cures to be pushed farther out of view because you want to put politics ahead of saving lives.

Sincerely,

-30-",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-president-trumps-pocket-rescission-is-an-illegal-power-grab,Durbin: President Trump’s Pocket Rescission Is “An Illegal Power Grab”,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Richard J. Durbin,D000563,www.durbin.senate.gov,durbin,https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"In his speech on the Senate floor, Durbin condemned President Trump’s illegal pocket rescission, which will rescind $810 million in congressionally-appropriated funding to education programs, health research, immigration services, and foreign aid

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor criticizing the Trump Administration’s illegal move to rescind $810 million for federal programs, cutting off bipartisan funding Congress has allocated for education programs, health research, assistance for minority-owned businesses, immigration services, and support to foreign countries. This pocket rescission by the President is a clear violation of the Constitution, which explicitly gives Congress the power to determine how federal funds are spent.

While the President can make a rescission request, Congress must approve that rescission with a simple majority vote in each chamber. The law requires that, if Congress does not pass a bill rescinding the funding within 45 days, the President must release the withheld funds. With only a few days left in the fiscal year, President Trump is unlawfully using a pocket rescission, denying Congress the time or ability to reject the rescission request in a move that the Government Accountability Office has stated is illegal.

Durbin began his remarks by calling out President Trump for this illegal power grab.

“On Friday night, the Trump Administration announced that the President had unilaterally rescinded nearly $1 billion in funds that Congress had approved for spending on a bipartisan basis. This funding was meant for education programs, health research, assistance for businesses, immigration services, and support to other countries,” Durbin began.

“This move is an illegal power grab by the Trump Administration—plain and simple,” Durbin said.

President Trump has repeatedly used pocket rescissions to rip federal funding from critical programs, including support for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Despite uproar from Americans, Republicans have publicly supported the President’s illegal claw back of funding.

“Last year, President Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid with the so-called ‘pocket rescission’ maneuver. Earlier in 2025, my Republican colleagues supported President Trump’s rescission request that clawed back $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding,” Durbin said.

Democrats pushed for protections from pocket rescissions to be included in the Continuing Resolution that passed Congress earlier this year, but Republicans refused to include it—choosing to appease President Trump out of fear of retribution.

“Democrats fought for pocket rescission protection in the Continuing Resolution that we passed earlier this year to prevent the White House from doing exactly what they’ve done. Not surprisingly, Republicans in the Senate and the House refused to stand for the law for fear that they would anger their President. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might express some concern now about the items that have been cut by the Administration, but where were they this summer when they had a chance to fix it?” Durbin said.

Durbin concluded his speech, reprimanding President Trump for prioritizing his vanity projects over supporting federal programs that support the American people.

“For Donald Trump, billion-dollar ballrooms are full speed ahead. Money for schools—cut. Vanity projects like the Trump Golden Arch are a priority, but medial research is cut. Taxpayer funded political ads of the wartime President are a must. Medical care for children—cut,” Durbin said.

“Over the past 20 months, Republicans have continuously bent the knee, kissed the ring, and handed Donald Trump more power and authority on a silver platter. Now the question is whether they will finally find their collective backbone and do something about this illegal executive maneuver,” Durbin concluded his remarks.

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

-30-",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-previews-tomorrows-judiciary-committee-hearing-with-former-special-counsel-jack-smith,Durbin Previews Tomorrow’s Judiciary Committee Hearing With Former Special Counsel Jack Smith,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Richard J. Durbin,D000563,www.durbin.senate.gov,durbin,https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, previewed tomorrow’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing with former Special Counsel Jack Smith. In November 2022, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Mr. Smith, a nonpartisan career prosecutor, as Special Counsel with authority to investigate President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, as well as Trump’s effort to illegally retain highly classified government documents. As a result of these investigations, Special Counsel Smith indicted Trump on four counts in the election interference case, and 40 counts in the classified documents case.

Mr. Smith has offered to testify publicly under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee for almost a year. Instead of allowing Mr. Smith to testify, Senate Judiciary Republicans held wasteful hearings to relitigate the 2020 presidential election, despite numerous other issues worth examining within the Committee’s jurisdiction.

“Tomorrow, finally, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hear from former Special Counsel Jack Smith,” said Durbin. “In 2020, President Trump spent months spreading the ‘Big Lie’ that the 2020 election was stolen… He pressured state election officials, his own Vice President, the Justice Department, and Members of Congress to overturn the results of the election. This culminated in the January 6 attack on the Capitol, where President Trump’s supporters tried to violently prevent the constitutional certification of the 2020 election.”

Durbin continued, “But instead of condemning this egregious criminal conduct… my Republican colleagues are spreading baseless conspiracy theories and attacking career prosecutors and FBI agents, claiming the so-called ‘deep state’ is out to get Donald Trump.”

When Trump was re-elected president in November 2024, Special Counsel Smith moved to dismiss the cases against him based on the Department of Justice’s position that the Constitution forbids the federal indictment and prosecution of a sitting president. Following the dismissal, Special Counsel Smith provided Garland a two-volume report outlining his findings in both investigations. While Garland released Volume I, concerning the election interference case, Judge Aileen Cannon enjoined DOJ from releasing Volume II, concerning the classified documents case.

In October 2025, and again in February 2026, Durbin led all Senate Judiciary Democrats in sending a letter to Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) calling on him to allow former Special Counsel Jack Smith to testify before the Committee. In their letters, the Senators also urged Chairman Grassley to request DOJ release Volume II of Special Counsel Smith’s report.

“Now, after years of criticism and multiple hearings about the investigations, Senate Judiciary Republicans are finally holding a hearing with Jack Smith… Jack Smith asked Republicans… for the opportunity to testify under oath to the Judiciary Committee nearly a year ago—back in October 2025. They ignored it. At the time, Judiciary Committee Democrats sent a letter urging the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee to stop complaining and bring Mr. Smith before the Committee… We made this request again in February 2026… The Chairman had declined to bring Smith before the Committee, claiming that the Committee needed more time to gather information,” Durbin said. “Still, Republicans on the Committee have made no effort to obtain a copy of Volume II of Jack Smith’s report, which details the findings from the criminal investigation into President Trump’s alleged mishandling of classified materials.”

Durbin continued, “If this hearing was really about getting answers, Committee Republicans would be doing everything they could to obtain a copy of Volume II and urge the Department of Justice to allow Smith to discuss his investigation.”

Durbin concluded, “Despite these impediments, I’m glad my Republican colleagues will finally address these concerns directly. It’s about time, and in fact it is well past time, for this Committee, the Judiciary Committee, to move on from and stop spreading political rumors and get down to the truth.”

Video of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

-30-",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/fetterman-joins-senate-colleagues-in-letter-to-dhs-on-election-interference/,Fetterman Joins Senate Colleagues in Letter to DHS on Election Interference,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,PA,John Fetterman,F000479,www.fetterman.senate.gov,fetterman,https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/press-release/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA), a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, joined his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging the Department to halt its efforts in asserting federal control over and undermining public trust in the 2026 midterm elections. The senators demanded information substantiating Mullin’s public claims about noncitizens who registered to vote, called on DHS to rescind new election-related conditions on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) homeland security grants, release the full grant funding to states, and end the alleged “Unlawful Voter Initiative” disclosed by a recent whistleblower.

“We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands,” the senators wrote.

In their letter, the senators raised concerns about Mullin’s unsupported claim that 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states, including Pennsylvania, and criticized DHS efforts to pressure states to provide sensitive voter roll information to be run through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, despite the Administration’s acknowledgment of problems with the underlying data. The senators also objected to new election-related conditions on FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program, which have been retroactively applied to previously awarded Fiscal Year 2025 funding and are threatening Fiscal Year 2026 funding. By threatening to withhold funding that communities rely on to prevent acts of terrorism and other threats, Mullin is putting Americans’ safety at risk as political leverage.

The senators also highlighted allegations from a federal whistleblower about an effort referred to as the “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” According to the whistleblower, USCIS personnel were allegedly directed to use sensitive, personally identifiable information and improperly access state voter registration websites to find non-citizen voters. The whistleblower also alleged that personnel were directed to create law enforcement records using incomplete and unverifiable data for potential referral to law enforcement.

“According to the whistleblower, USCIS staff were given a list of names and told to use sensitive personally identifiable information to impersonate voters and access state voter registration websites to verify individuals’ immigration and voter registration statuses. Equipped with incomplete and unverifiable data compiled with ‘supplemental magic,’ USCIS staff are allegedly being directed to create law enforcement records on individuals, including U.S. citizens, for possible referral to HSI for further investigation,” the senators wrote. “If true, this is just another alarming effort by the Department to use data that USCIS materials admit may be inaccurate, coupled with questionable means to potentially disenfranchise voters.”

The senators called on Mullin to immediately provide all information substantiating his July 17, 2026 allegations regarding noncitizens who registered to vote, rescind FEMA Information Bulletin Nos. 569 and 569(a) and release all withheld funds to states without further delay; and provide information about the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” and immediately cease its activities.

“The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters,” the senators wrote.

Senator Fetterman has been unequivocally clear that our elections are absolutely secure, fair, and accurate. In April, he joined his colleagues in a letter to the United States Postal Service (USPS) Board of Governors and Postmaster General David Steiner urging them not to implement the March executive order that sought to transform USPS into an election administration agency with the power to determine who can vote by mail and to establish ballot specifications. In June following the Board’s issuance of the proposed rule in response to the executive order, Senator Fetterman again joined his colleagues in a second letter urging the Board and Postmaster General Steiner to withdraw the proposed rule. Senate Democrats sent a third letter on September 4 after USPS finalized its rule to implement the vote-by-mail executive order.

As recently as the end of September, Senator Fetterman continued to urge that our elections are safe and secure, including vote-by-mail. At the Texas Tribune Festival last week, he highlighted that the “best examples of vote-by-mail come from red states.” He continued the conversation saying, “if the only time you criticize voting is if it means you lost, that means it’s impossible to take that seriously.”

Read the full text of the senators’ September letter to DHS below and here.

—

Dear Secretary Mullin:

We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands.

You have been unwilling to publicly affirm that you will not send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel to the polls, despite federal law barring their presence. Most recently, you deployed Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents across nine states for a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative,” despite the lack of verifiable evidence of widespread noncitizen voter fraud. Your actions as Secretary are intentionally undermining Americans’ trust in the 2026 midterm elections and appear to purposefully disenfranchise eligible voters. Taken together, these actions amount to an illegal attempt to federalize the administration of the upcoming midterm elections.

At the direction of President Trump, you have endeavored to coerce states into divulging sensitive voter roll information, raising serious concerns about how that information will be stored and used. On March 25, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 14248, which required DHS to compare state voter registration lists against federal immigration databases. The Executive Order was followed by an overhaul of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, which transformed the program from one used for individual benefits eligibility checks to a system that could carry out bulk searches of records using Social Security numbers. Since then, DHS has repeatedly pressured states to share their voter rolls and run them through the modified SAVE program, despite legal concerns and known accuracy issues. You have exerted this pressure despite the fact that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which administers the SAVE program, has acknowledged that its results can be inaccurate. Additionally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has acknowledged that its citizenship data for naturalized citizens – which is used by the SAVE program – is incomplete and unreliable. Even though the Supreme Court has allowed you to use the SAVE program for now, we remind you of the requirement of the National Voter Registration Act, 52 U. S. C. §20507(c)(2)(A) that bars any systematic removal of ineligible voters within 90 days of Election Day.

On July 17, 2026, you claimed, without evidence, that 250,000 non-citizens were registered to vote in four states. This claim has been refuted by states and even by other administration officials. For example, you claimed that around 16,000 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in Nevada, but later, other DHS officials alleged the number was only 185. A subsequent review by Nevada state officials found all 185 individuals were U.S. citizens. These states did not agree to give you their sensitive state voter roll information and judges in each state dismissed the Department of Justice’s efforts to access that information. Moreover, elections experts have challenged the legitimacy of these numbers. Considering the inaccuracies in SSA’s citizenship categorizations and the questions surrounding how you obtained the voter roll information needed to analyze this data, we cannot trust the numbers as reported.

Further, under your leadership, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently added new terms and conditions to fiscal year (FY) 2025 and 2026 Urban Area Security Initiative and State Homeland Security Grant Program awards. These are grants provided to states to help them protect their communities from terrorism and other hazards. In the FY 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), FEMA mandated that 3% of the target allocations for these grants be spent on enhancing election security, including critical activities like hardening election locations. Now, after FY25 agreements have already been signed, this Administration is threatening to withhold a percentage of the funding hostage if recipients do not meet these new, specious requirements, despite serious legal and implementation concerns. FEMA also added requirements to the recently released FY26 Homeland Security Grant Program NOFO, conditioning 20% of the full amount of the grants on states’ compliance with election requirements that states have contested in litigation. DHS’s continued interference with FEMA’s grants puts FEMA’s mission at risk, slows down the administration of grants, and ultimately hurts communities.

Now, a federal whistleblower has alleged that, at the direction of DHS and USCIS leadership, the component’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate staff may have violated laws and DHS policies in furtherance of a new “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” According to the whistleblower, USCIS staff were given a list of names and told to use sensitive personally identifiable information to impersonate voters and access state voter registration websites to verify individuals’ immigration and voter registration statuses. Equipped with incomplete and unverifiable data compiled with “supplemental magic,” USCIS staff are allegedly being directed to create law enforcement records on individuals, including U.S. citizens, for possible referral to HSI for further investigation. If true, this is just another alarming effort by the Department to use data that USCIS materials admit may be inaccurate, coupled with questionable means to potentially disenfranchise voters.

The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters.

We are deeply troubled by the actions that you, DHS, and the Trump Administration have taken. As such, we demand that you immediately cease the aforementioned activities and provide us with all information underpinning the allegations made in your July 17, 2026, letter regarding non-citizens registered to vote, rescind Information Bulletin Nos. 569 and 569(a), release all withheld funds to the states without further delay, and provide information about the “Unlawful Voter Initiative.”

Thank you for your prompt attention and cooperation in this matter.

Sincerely,",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/news-fetterman-colleagues-urge-health-department-to-reinstate-teen-pregnancy-prevention-program-grants/,"Fetterman, Colleagues Urge Health Department to Reinstate Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program Grants",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,PA,John Fetterman,F000479,www.fetterman.senate.gov,fetterman,https://www.fetterman.senate.gov/press-release/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — After penning a July letter to top officials at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) urging the reconsideration of the termination of grants awarded to Pennsylvania organizations for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program, U.S. Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) joined his colleagues in an additional bicameral letter to push the Department to reinstate the funding.

“As the fiscal year rapidly comes to an end on September 30, we are very concerned that your Department has failed to distribute over $100 million of the $101 million in funding Congress provided for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program. Your decision to terminate the vast majority of existing TPP grants this summer and your attempts to distort the program and impose illegal conditions on grant recipients have already halted critical work being done in states across the country to prevent teen pregnancy. While the court will prevent the funding from lapsing, grantees still need access to those funds to sustain their operations and serve their communities,”wrote the members.

The TPP program is a national, evidence-based program that helps improve reproductive health outcomes, promote positive relationships, and support healthy environments for youth across the country. TPP grants fund organizations that provide evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention and sexual health education to more than 10,000 Pennsylvanians. Two organizations, Family Health Council of Central Pennsylvania and AccessMatters, serve 24 counties in the Commonwealth that use funds from TPP grants.

In June, HHS cancelled 53 of 67 TPP grants nationwide. The following month, Senator Fetterman raised his concerns with the administration and questioned why HHS terminated funding for TPP grants awarded to Pennsylvania. Given how beneficial the TPP program has been for organizations across the Commonwealth and country, Senator Fetterman joined 92 of his Congressional colleagues in this additional letter as an eleventh-hour call to action for HHS to release the funds before the end of the fiscal year.

“Young people across the country have positively benefited from the programs funded by the TPP Program and would immediately suffer from direct service cuts and loss of access to beneficial support. For example, in Central Pennsylvania, more than 10,000 teens—many of whom are foster youth, have substance use disorders, or face mental health challenges—will lose access to these critical resources due to the discontinuation of funding for a single provider,” continued the members.

Read the full text of the bicameral letter below and here.

—

Dear Secretary Kennedy:

As the fiscal year rapidly comes to an end on September 30, we are very concerned that your Department has failed to distribute over $100 million of the $101 million in funding Congress provided for the Teen Pregnancy Prevention (TPP) Program. Your decision to terminate the vast majority of existing TPP grants this summer and your attempts to distort the program and impose illegal conditions on grant recipients have already halted critical work being done in states across the country to prevent teen pregnancy. While the court will prevent the funding from lapsing, grantees still need access to those funds to sustain their operations and serve their communities. That is why we write to, once again, demand that you immediately reinstate funding for grantees of the TPP Program that your department cut off earlier this year. Both chambers of Congress sent your Department letters highlighting our initial concerns in July. We will not stand by as this congressionally allocated funding fails to be distributed, and we will hold you responsible for withholding these funds.

With just days left before the end of the fiscal year and your Department rightly enjoined by the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from implementing new funding conditions, we are concerned that the funds are now sitting unused, and, therefore, the communities served by the TPP program are suffering. The only reasonable path forward is to provide funding to the grantees that were previously subject to the Department’s arbitrary terminations. As of this writing, only $579,499 of the program’s $101 million appropriation has been provided to a single grantee. It is clear you have no practical plan to legally spend down these funds before they expire, and the best course of action is to simply renew the awards that were terminated.

Any additional delay in obligating these funds would risk further damage to the evidence-based programs fulfilling their congressionally directed mission of providing accurate and age-appropriate programs to reduce teen pregnancy. If funds are not made available to these longstanding, high-performing grantees by September 30, millions of dollars that Congress appropriated for this important goal will expire without being spent as directed.

The majority of the grants terminated by your Department were in the third year of their five-year cycle. Withholding these funds deprives teens across the U.S. of vital resources and threatens to unwind decades of progress made in reducing teen pregnancy. Young people across the country have positively benefited from the programs funded by the TPP Program and would immediately suffer from direct service cuts and loss of access to beneficial support. For example, in Central Pennsylvania, more than 10,000 teens—many of whom are foster youth, have substance use disorders, or face mental health challenges—will lose access to these critical resources due to the discontinuation of funding for a single provider. In South Carolina, the discontinuation of funds for another provider would impact over 6,450 youth and has already led to staff layoffs. These grants supported evidence-based programs that worked to prevent teen pregnancy and behavioral risk factors underlying teen pregnancy, as is required by law. With such little time left in the fiscal year, the only option available is to reinstate every terminated TPP grant.

Sincerely,",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-colleagues-demand-that-dhs-halt-2026-election-interference-efforts/,"Gallego, Colleagues Demand that DHS Halt 2026 Election Interference Efforts",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,www.gallego.senate.gov,gallego,https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 29 of their Democratic colleagues demanded Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin immediately halt the Department’s efforts to assert federal control over and undermine public trust in the 2026 midterm elections.

The senators demanded information substantiating Mullin’s public claims about noncitizens who registered to vote and called on DHS to rescind new election-related conditions on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants, release funding to states, and end the alleged “Unlawful Voter Initiative” disclosed by a recent whistleblower.

“We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands,” the senators wrote.

In their letter, the senators raised concerns about Mullin’s unsupported and disputed claim that 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states. They criticized DHS attempts to pressure states to provide sensitive voter roll information for its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, despite acknowledging problems with faulty data.

The senators also objected to the Department’s new election-related conditions retroactively applied to FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program, a program that provides states with funding that communities rely on to prevent acts of terrorism and other serious threats. By withholding this critical funding from states imposing conditions not authorized by Congress, Mullin is putting Americans’ safety at risk for political leverage.

The senators called on Mullin to immediately provide all information substantiating his July 17, 2026, allegations regarding noncitizens who registered to vote, rescind FEMA Information Bulletin Nos. 569 and 569(a), and release all withheld funds to states without further delay; and provide information about the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” and immediately cease its activities.

“The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters,” the senators wrote.

In addition to Gallego, Peters, Padilla, Durbin, and Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-prevent-chinese-optical-transceiver-usage-in-the-united-states/,"Gallego, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to Prevent Chinese Optical Transceiver Usage in the United States",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,www.gallego.senate.gov,gallego,https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Legislation would restrict adversary-linked technology from sensitive federal networks while strengthening trusted U.S. and allied supply chains

WASHINGTON – Last week, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Dave McCormick (R-PA), John Cornyn (R-TX), and John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced the Securing National Security Systems from Chinese Optical Transceivers Act, bipartisan legislation to prevent Chinese-made optical transceivers from being used in the federal government’s most sensitive national security systems.

Chinese manufacturers have become major suppliers of optical transceivers, creating U.S. reliance on these critical components which move data through high-speed fiber-optic networks, including the networks powering artificial intelligence. Because advanced transceivers can contain reprogrammable firmware, their use in national security networks can create potential supply-chain and security risks.

The bill extends an existing federal procurement restriction for semiconductors to covered optical transceivers used in critical systems. It gives suppliers five years to develop compliant sources and provides waivers where necessary to protect supply and national security.

“Optical transceivers are a critical part of America’s modern communications infrastructure, and we need to make sure that infrastructure is secure,” said Senator Gallego. “Our reliance on China to produce these transceivers creates a serious national security vulnerability. This legislation protects our most sensitive systems and invests in Arizona manufacturers, who are already helping build a secure supply chain here at home.”

“We shouldn’t rely on China for technologies that are essential to our national security,” said Senator McCormick. “This bipartisan bill will help secure our networks and give American manufacturers—including the incredible companies and workers we have right here in Pennsylvania— the opportunity to step up, build more of this technology at home, and compete.”

“Critical government communication and information systems must be safe, reliable, and free of any foreign interference, but the use of Chinese technology undermines that mission,” said Senator Cornyn. “I am proud to cosponsor Senator McCormick’s Securing National Security Systems from Chinese Optical Transceivers Act, which will extend the commonsense procurement restrictions I worked to include in the Fiscal Year 2023 NDAA and support American jobs.”

“Fiber-optic networks are the digital highways that make our economy run at the speed of light,” said Senator Fetterman. “Just like we use American-made steel to build federal highways and bridges, we should also be using American-made equipment in our fiber-optic networks wherever possible. I am proud to join my colleagues to ensure our critical information networks do not rely on Chinese-made optical transceivers.”

The Securing National Security Systems from Chinese Optical Transceivers Actwould close that gap by extending safeguards Congress has already established for Chinese semiconductors to optical transceivers used in national security systems. The legislation would:

Prohibit federal procurement of covered optical transceivers for national security systems, building on the existing federal framework restricting certain Chinese semiconductors.

Cover InnoLight, Eoptolink, and their subsidiaries and affiliates, as well as additional adversary-linked companies designated by the Secretary of War or Secretary of Commerce, including covered transceivers that incorporate their firmware, software, or components.

Provide a five-year transition period before the prohibition takes effect,allowing trusted American and allied manufacturers time to expand production while minimizing disruptions to federal supply chains.

Direct the Department of Commerce to assess U.S. and allied production capacity and develop a strategy to strengthen trusted optical transceiver supply chains.

Permit limited, renewable waivers when no trusted alternative is available,with each waiver reported to Congress.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-senate-democrats-demand-vought-abandon-any-and-all-plans-to-exert-political-control-over-nih-funding/,"Gallego, Senate Democrats Demand Vought Abandon Any and All Plans to Exert Political Control Over NIH Funding",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,www.gallego.senate.gov,gallego,https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Lawmakers emphasize need for Republicans to join Democrats and support new guardrails in law to protect the integrity of NIH’s grantmaking process following long line of politically motivated attacks on NIH

WASHINGTON – Last week, Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and 28 of their Democratic colleagues in demanding White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought halt any plan to exert political control over the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) grant-making process. Reports indicate the Trump administration is considering an executive order to establish an external committee of unqualified political appointees which would be able to veto any awards selected by the NIH and panels of scientific experts.

In their letter, the lawmakers underscore that the executive order is just the latest way OMB has sought to undermine NIH and the scientific peer review process that is the foundation of biomedical advancements and innovation. Backtracking on a new executive order or not, the Trump administration has shown repeatedly that it wants to use NIH funding to pursue political agendas and vendettas at the expense of life-saving research, treatments, and cures for millions of Americans.

“Decisions about which National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants to fund should be guided only by science, and what research is most likely to advance new treatments and cures, or the next breakthrough to save or improve a patient’s life. The Trump administration considering, at the highest level, an Executive Order to exert unprecedented political control over NIH’s grant-making by establishing a commission empowered to veto NIH research awards represents just its latest attack on biomedical research,” the lawmakers wrote. “Injecting political interference into the NIH grantmaking process will irreparably harm America’s biomedical research enterprise, override scientific expertise, and potentially set back lifesaving medical breakthroughs by decades.”

The lawmakers note that reports that the Trump administration has paused plans for an executive order to scrutinize NIH grants are little relief given the president’s long string of attacks on the agency: “That such an Executive Order was considered at all makes clear that despite Congress acting to temporarily block OMB’s proposed rule, this administration intends to continue to pursue efforts to undermine NIH and its grantmaking process. If not by Executive Order or a new government-wide rule, the Trump administration will simply pursue alternative administrative means that put politics over science and undermine the biomedical research enterprise we have built in this country over more than a century that is the envy of the world.”

The senators explained that given the administration’s attacks, it’s critical Congress take additional steps to put guardrails in place—something Senate Democrats have been pushing to do over the last 18 months: “Congress must step in to establish guardrails to protect American biomedical science. We urge our Republican colleagues to work with us on legislation to do much more to protect NIH from the Trump administration, which has proven over and over again to be dead set on picking political fights at the expense of advancing lifesaving treatments and cures for millions of Americans.”

“We write to call on you to abandon any plan to exert political control over NIH’s grant-making decisions — whether that’s through your proposed rule, a new Executive Order, or any other means—that would empower political appointees to deny funding for grant applications that have already been deemed meritorious by the NIH peer-review and Advisory Council process. Patients and families are already paying an enormous price because of this administration’s nonstop attacks on the NIH—the last thing they need is for their hopes for new treatments and cures to be pushed farther out of view because you want to put politics ahead of saving lives,” the lawmakers concluded.

In addition to Senators Gallego, Murray, and Baldwin, the letter was also signed by Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Angus King Jr. (I-ME), Jeffrey Merkley (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mark Warner (D-VA), Edward Markey (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Adam Schiff (D-CA).",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-colleagues-press-commissioner-bisignano-on-mismanagement-mistreatment-of-workers-at-social-security-administration-irs/,"Gillibrand, Colleagues Press Commissioner Bisignano On Mismanagement, Mistreatment Of Workers At Social Security Administration, IRS",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NY,Kirsten E. Gillibrand,G000555,www.gillibrand.senate.gov,gillibrand,https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/press-releases/page/,scraper,"Decision to limit paid annual and sick leave will affect over 120,000 IRS and SSA workers

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), ranking member of the Senate Committee on Aging, joined Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) in sending a letter to Frank Bisignano, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Chief Executive Officer of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), on their concerns about his mistreatment of agency employees after obtaining a circulated internal memo that indicates that he will strip SSA and IRS of advanced annual leave and sick leave.

“The Trump administration has starved the Social Security Administration and the IRS of the resources they need to provide critical services to millions of Americans,” said Senator Gillibrand. “Limiting paid leave will only further push away quality workers from these agencies and cause increased wait times, more frustration, and real hardship for families trying to access essential benefits and file their taxes. I am demanding that the administration immediately reverse this decision and ensure that every American can count on the services they need.”

Workers at the Social Security Administration and the IRS receive advance paid leave policies that allow them to take time off before it is officially accrued, a common practice across the federal workforce. Advanced leave grants employees the ability to respond to health and family emergencies and has long been a part of the federal government’s efforts to provide the workplace conditions needed to attract and retain the most qualified individuals to serve the American people.

But an internal memorandum indicated that Bisignano, the head of SSA and IRS, would strip agency employees of these benefits.

“We are concerned that this policy will further weaken the already stressed resources of these agencies, leaving the American people with degraded access to their rightful Social Security benefits and needed IRS services,” the senators wrote. “…(Y)ou have imposed a cruel and unjustified plan that is likely to drive additional employees out the door, doubling down on the Administration’s already disastrous efforts to push out federal employees.”

The Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cut over 32,000 employees from the IRS and the SSA in 2025, diminishing customer service at these agencies. Suspending advanced annual and sick leave will make matters worse, pushing out federal employees and directly hurting Americans who need assistance from the SSA and IRS. These fresh cuts could delay access to benefits and critical tax refunds.

“(T)his latest action to eliminate a workplace benefit could contribute to increasingly dire conditions for agency staff, negatively impacting morale and employee retention and — if the agencies lose additional workers — hurting taxpayers and Social Security recipients,” the senators continued.

The senators urged Bisignano to reverse this decision and immediately restore advanced leave at the SSA and IRS. They further requested that SSA and IRS provide more details on the suspension of advanced paid leave policies at both agencies by no later than October 6, 2026.

As the top Democrat on the Senate Aging Committee, Senator Gillibrand is a staunch supporter of Social Security and has fought the Trump administration’s cuts and overhauls at SSA. In March, she launched an investigation into SSA’s ongoing customer service crisis, after staffing cuts and reassignments left the agency unable to fully serve the 75 million Americans who rely on the program. She has also rallied alongside seniors and unions to demand a reversal of staffing and service cuts, and she pressed SSA on its plans to close field offices and make it harder for Americans to get their benefits.

The full text of the letter is available HERE.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-vasquez-announce-10-million-to-rebuild-roads-outside-of-wipp-in-carlsbad,"Heinrich, Vasquez Announce $10 Million to Rebuild Roads Outside of WIPP in Carlsbad",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NM,Martin Heinrich,H001046,www.heinrich.senate.gov,heinrich,https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), member of the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (N.M.) announced $10 million in federal funding to repair the US 285 Relief Route, a critical road for freight trucks transporting nuclear materials to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad.

In January, Heinrich announced he had successfully included $10 million in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) Appropriations to improve roads leading to and from WIPP, through recommended payments from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to the State of New Mexico. Since joining the Senate Appropriations Committee, Heinrich has been a steadfast advocate for appropriating these funds. This will be the first time that funds have been appropriated for this purpose since 2014. These repairs will improve safety for WIPP workers, shipments, and the surrounding communities.

Earlier this year, Heinrich also introduced the WIPP Economic Assistance Assurance Act to amend the WIPP Land Withdrawal Act to ensure sustained, inflation-adjusted funding for New Mexico communities to maintain vital infrastructure projects, such as road maintenance and repairs for the duration of WIPP’s operation.

“Last appropriations cycle, I fought like hell to secure this funding – to get New Mexico more of the funding we deserve for our role in maintaining the nation’s only deep geologic repository for radioactive defense waste. I am extremely proud to have succeeded in delivering this $10 million to help rebuild the roads to, from, and around WIPP and strengthen the infrastructure that workers and the Carlsbad community rely on every day,” said Heinrich. “But our work isn’t done. I’ll keep fighting to increase the federal government’s support of road and infrastructure improvements in New Mexico, including through my WIPP Economic Assistance Assurance Act.”

“New Mexico and WIPP are the backbone of our nation’s nuclear program,” said Vasquez. “The hardworking New Mexicans who run WIPP provide a critical service to the entire country – and the least the DOE can do is hold up their end of the bargain and meet their safety needs. I’m proud to have worked with Senator Heinrich to deliver this funding, and I’ll continue to deliver for the needs of our district.”

WIPP, located near Carlsbad, New Mexico, is the nation’s only deep geologic repository for the disposal of transuranic waste generated by the United States’ nuclear weapons program. Since opening in 1999, WIPP has played a critical role in supporting the national defense mission by managing legacy nuclear materials and supporting national security-related cleanup efforts across the U.S. Department of Energy.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-colleagues-demand-dhs-halt-efforts-to-undermine-2026-midterm-elections,"Kaine, Colleagues Demand DHS Halt Efforts to Undermine 2026 Midterm Elections",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,VA,Tim Kaine,K000384,www.kaine.senate.gov,kaine,https://www.kaine.senate.gov/news,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined 33 of his Senate colleagues in a letter demanding that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin halt the Department’s efforts to extend federal control over and undermine public trust in the 2026 midterm elections. The senators wrote to request information substantiating Mullin’s public claims about noncitizens who registered to vote, called on DHS to rescind new election-related conditions on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) homeland security grants and release the full grant funding to states, and urged DHS to end the alleged “Unlawful Voter Initiative” disclosed by a recent whistleblower.

“We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands,” the senators wrote.

In their letter, the Senators raised concerns about Mullin’s unsupported claim that 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states and criticized DHS efforts to pressure states to provide sensitive voter roll information to be run through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, despite the Administration’s acknowledgment of problems with the underlying data. The Senators also objected to new election-related conditions on FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program, which have been retroactively applied to previously awarded Fiscal Year 2025 funding and are threatening Fiscal Year 2026 funding. By threatening to withhold funding that communities rely on to prevent acts of terrorism and other threats, Mullin is putting Americans' safety at risk as political leverage.

The senators also highlighted allegations from a federal whistleblower about an effort referred to as the “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” According to the whistleblower, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel were allegedly directed to use sensitive, personally identifiable information and improperly access state voter registration websites to find noncitizen voters. The whistleblower also alleged that personnel were directed to create law enforcement records using incomplete and unverifiable data for potential referral to law enforcement.

The senators called on Mullin to immediately provide all information substantiating his July 17, 2026 allegations regarding noncitizens who registered to vote, rescind FEMA Information Bulletin Nos. 569 and 569(a) and release all withheld funds to states without further delay; and provide information about the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” and immediately cease its activities.

“The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters,” the senators concluded.

In addition to Kaine, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands.

You have been unwilling to publicly affirm that you will not send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) personnel to the polls, despite federal law barring their presence. Most recently, you deployed Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents across nine states for a “coordinated criminal voter fraud surge initiative,” despite the lack of verifiable evidence of widespread noncitizen voter fraud. Your actions as Secretary are intentionally undermining Americans’ trust in the 2026 midterm elections and appear to purposefully disenfranchise eligible voters. Taken together, these actions amount to an illegal attempt to federalize the administration of the upcoming midterm elections.

At the direction of President Trump, you have endeavored to coerce states into divulging sensitive voter roll information, raising serious concerns about how that information will be stored and used. On March 25, 2025, President Trump issued Executive Order No. 14248, which required DHS to compare state voter registration lists against federal immigration databases. The Executive Order was followed by an overhaul of the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, which transformed the program from one used for individual benefits eligibility checks to a system that could carry out bulk searches of records using Social Security numbers. Since then, DHS has repeatedly pressured states to share their voter rolls and run them through the modified SAVE program, despite legal concerns and known accuracy issues. You have exerted this pressure despite the fact that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which administers the SAVE program, has acknowledged that its results can be inaccurate. Additionally, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has acknowledged that its citizenship data for naturalized citizens – which is used by the SAVE program – is incomplete and unreliable. Even though the Supreme Court has allowed you to use the SAVE program for now, we remind you of the requirement of the National Voter Registration Act, 52 U. S. C. §20507(c)(2)(A) that bars any systematic removal of ineligible voters within 90 days of Election Day.

On July 17, 2026, you claimed, without evidence, that 250,000 non-citizens were registered to vote in four states. This claim has been refuted by states and even by other administration officials. For example, you claimed that around 16,000 noncitizens illegally registered to vote in Nevada, but later, other DHS officials alleged the number was only 185. A subsequent review by Nevada state officials found all 185 individuals were U.S. citizens. These states did not agree to give you their sensitive state voter roll information and judges in each state dismissed the Department of Justice’s efforts to access that information. Moreover, elections experts have challenged the legitimacy of these numbers. Considering the inaccuracies in SSA’s citizenship categorizations and the questions surrounding how you obtained the voter roll information needed to analyze this data, we cannot trust the numbers as reported.

Further, under your leadership, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently added new terms and conditions to fiscal year (FY) 2025 and 2026 Urban Area Security Initiative and State Homeland Security Grant Program awards. These are grants provided to states to help them protect their communities from terrorism and other hazards. In the FY 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), FEMA mandated that 3% of the target allocations for these grants be spent on enhancing election security, including critical activities like hardening election locations. Now, after FY25 agreements have already been signed, this Administration is threatening to withhold a percentage of the funding hostage if recipients do not meet these new, specious requirements, despite serious legal and implementation concerns. FEMA also added requirements to the recently released FY26 Homeland Security Grant Program NOFO, conditioning 20% of the full amount of the grants on states’ compliance with election requirements that states have contested in litigation. DHS’s continued interference with FEMA’s grants puts FEMA’s mission at risk, slows down the administration of grants, and ultimately hurts communities.

Now, a federal whistleblower has alleged that, at the direction of DHS and USCIS leadership, the component’s Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate staff may have violated laws and DHS policies in furtherance of a new “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” According to the whistleblower, USCIS staff were given a list of names and told to use sensitive personally identifiable information to impersonate voters and access state voter registration websites to verify individuals’ immigration and voter registration statuses. Equipped with incomplete and unverifiable data compiled with “supplemental magic,” USCIS staff are allegedly being directed to create law enforcement records on individuals, including U.S. citizens, for possible referral to HSI for further investigation. If true, this is just another alarming effort by the Department to use data that USCIS materials admit may be inaccurate, coupled with questionable means to potentially disenfranchise voters.

The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters.

We are deeply troubled by the actions that you, DHS, and the Trump Administration have taken. As such, we demand that you immediately cease the aforementioned activities and provide us with all information underpinning the allegations made in your July 17, 2026, letter regarding non-citizens registered to vote, rescind Information Bulletin Nos. 569 and 569(a), release all withheld funds to the states without further delay, and provide information about the “Unlawful Voter Initiative.”

Thank you for your prompt attention and cooperation in this matter.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-colleagues-introduce-bipartisan-legislation-to-strengthen-us-critical-mineral-supply-chains,"Kaine, Colleagues Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen U.S. Critical Mineral Supply Chains",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,VA,Tim Kaine,K000384,www.kaine.senate.gov,kaine,https://www.kaine.senate.gov/news,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) joined U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-SC) and Raphael Warnock (D-GA) in introducing the Critical Mineral Executive Coordination Act, bipartisan legislation to strengthen U.S. critical mineral supply chains and reduce reliance on China by improving diplomatic training and coordination across the federal government.

“We need critical minerals to build chips for everything from our smartphones to our national defense apparatus. The U.S. must not cede control of global critical mineral supply chains to China,” said Kaine. “That is why I’m glad to cosponsor this bipartisan legislation to establish a dedicated executive branch critical minerals czar and marshal our diplomatic corps’ expertise in this area. This commonsense and overdue step is crucial to our national security and retaining our technological edge, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and in both chambers to support this legislation.”

The Critical Mineral Executive Coordination Act would establish a Foreign Service Institute training program to help Foreign Service Officers advance U.S. economic and national security interests related to critical minerals and strategic competition with China. The bill would also establish a permanent Special Advisor to the President for Critical Minerals and Supply Chains within the National Security Council to coordinate a government-wide critical minerals strategy.

The legislation also advances two provisions of the DOMINANCE Act, a bill led by U.S. Representatives Ami Bera (D-CA-06) and Young Kim (R-CA-40) that passed the U.S. House of Representatives with bipartisan support.

In addition to Kaine, Scott, and Warnock, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Chris Coons (D-DE), and John Curtis (R-UT).

Full text of the legislation is available here.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/kelly-colleagues-demand-that-dhs-halt-2026-election-interference-efforts/,"Kelly, Colleagues Demand that DHS Halt 2026 Election Interference Efforts",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Mark Kelly,K000377,www.kelly.senate.gov,markkelly,https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Gary Peters (D-MI), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and 29 of their Senate Democratic colleagues demanded Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin immediately halt the Department’s efforts to assert federal control over and undermine public trust in the 2026 midterm elections.

The senators demanded information substantiating Mullin’s public claims about noncitizens who registered to vote and called on DHS to rescind new election-related conditions on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) grants and release funding to states, and end the alleged “Unlawful Voter Initiative” disclosed by a recent whistleblower.

“We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands,” the senators wrote.

In their letter, the senators raised concerns about Mullin’s unsupported and disputed claim that 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states. They criticized DHS attempts to pressure states to provide sensitive voter roll information for its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, despite acknowledging problems with faulty data. The senators also objected to the Department’s new election-related conditions retroactively applied to FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program, a program that provides states with funding that communities rely on to prevent acts of terrorism and other serious threats. By withhold this critical funding from states imposing conditions not authorized by Congress, Mullin is putting Americans’ safety at risk for political leverage.

The senators called on Mullin to immediately provide all information substantiating his July 17, 2026, allegations regarding noncitizens who registered to vote, rescind FEMA Information Bulletin Nos. 569 and 569(a), and release all withheld funds to states without further delay; and provide information about the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” and immediately cease its activities.

“The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters,” the senators wrote.

This letter continues Kelly’s fight to protect free and fair elections from the Trump Administration’s attacks. In April, Kelly introduced the bipartisan Absentee and Mail Voter Protection Act to block Trump’s unconstitutional executive order targeting mail and absentee ballots. Kelly also demanded that USPS follow the law and not implement that unconstitutional executive order. Alongside Senator Gallego, Kelly demanded an immediate end to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) sham investigation into the 2020 presidential election results in Arizona based on debunked conspiracy theories. In June, Kelly introduced the Protect Our Polls Act to stop the president from using military or federal law enforcement to intimidate voters and interfere with elections. In August, Kelly demanded the Trump Administration stop illegal voter roll purges before the 2026 midterm elections.

In addition to Kelly, Peters, Padilla, Durbin, and Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Patty Murray (D-WA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/support-rolls-in-from-labor-workforce-leaders-for-kellys-make-ai-work-for-americans-act/,"Support Rolls in from Labor, Workforce Leaders for Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Mark Kelly,K000377,www.kelly.senate.gov,markkelly,https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Last week, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced the Make AI Work for Americans Act, landmark legislation designed to make sure companies benefiting the most from AI pay their fair share and invest in American workers. The bill establishes a dedicated federal trust fund to support American workers, job seekers, and communities as the economy changes. Since its introduction, the bill has received broad support from national and local labor and workforce organizations and leaders.

See what supporters of the Make AI Work for Americans Act are saying here:

“Innovation and safety are not opposing concepts; they’re two sides of the same coin. That is why law and regulation, not just unbridled markets, are so important. Technology is rapidly transforming our lives—particularly our security, our classrooms, our workplaces, and our entire economy—but for it to be tenable, it must work for working people. Sen. Mark Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act ensures that a Big Tech tax contributes directly to the workers and communities navigating this transition. By creating the AI Horizon Fund and bringing labor and workers to the table, this bill invests in America by preparing people at every stage of their careers with the skills, stability, and opportunities they need to thrive,” said Randi Weingarten, President, American Federation of Teachers.

“The Make AI Work for Americans Act recognizes the critical nature of ensuring that AI protects and creates good jobs while prioritizing putting working people at the table for responsible implementation,” saidSean M. O’Brien, General President,Teamsters. “We commend Senator Kelly for his work in drafting legislation that focuses on the dignity of work and creates pathways to protect workers and support them as their job evolves. That’s the approach we need to earn workers’ trust and grow the American middle class.”

“As AI transforms the American workforce, people deserve a voice in what comes next. Senator Kelly’s legislation holds big tech companies accountable for how AI affects workers and their communities. That’s especially important in Arizona, where many are concerned about what this technology means for their jobs. This bill is a strong step forward,” said Jim McLaughlin, President, UFCW Local 99.

“As we move into the future with a strong AI presence, Teamsters Local 104 supports Senator Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act. While corporations deter the working class from thriving, this bill will establish a fund to protect workers and support apprenticeships. Unions built this country, and with Senator Kelly’s bill, unions will continue to thrive for generations to come. As we see increased deployment of AI, it is essential that working people are not left behind, and that new technologies come with good jobs and the requisite training to help workers move forward. We appreciate Senator Kelly’s focus on these key issues,” said Karla E. Schumann, Secretary-Treasurer, Principal Officer, Teamsters Local 104.

“A safe AI future and a fair AI economy are two sides of the same promise. With one in five American workers expected to be Latino by 2030, our community has an enormous stake in seeing that promise kept. Senator Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act ensures that as the AI industry grows, so do our investments in the workers who power the American economy. This legislation invests in paid service-to-career pathways, community college and apprenticeship programs, and capital for new small businesses. It gives workers who lose their jobs real stability as they retrain and find their next opportunity; and it helps close the digital divide by supporting digital access for participants, building AI literacy into our workforce system, and making resources available to people with limited English proficiency. It also gives workers and civil rights organizations a seat at the table as AI enters the workplace. This legislation lays the foundation for modernizing how we support workers and workplaces in the age of AI. UnidosUS is proud to endorse it and urges Congress to pass it,” saidEric Rodriguez, Senior Vice President of Policy & Advocacy, UnidosUS.

“Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the nature of work, and our workforce development systems must evolve alongside it. JFF is proud to support the Make AI Work for Americans Act, which invests in the systems already serving workers while expanding access to education and training, strengthening service-to-career pathways, supporting entrepreneurship, and helping workers navigate technological change. We applaud Senator Kelly’s leadership in advancing a vision for AI that puts workers at the center and helps ensure technological progress creates greater economic opportunity for people and communities across the country,” said Maria Flynn, President and CEO, Jobs for the Future (JFF).

“The greatest barrier to older Americans participating in the AI economy is not their willingness to learn, but access to opportunities. Older Americans are ready to embrace AI and develop the skills needed to succeed in a changing workplace. What they need is access to training and investments in their potential. Our economy cannot afford to overlook this extraordinary source of talent,” said Gary. A. Officer, Founder & CEO, CWILabs.

“Arizona’s community colleges are where technological change becomes opportunity for students, workers, and employers. Across our eleven independent college districts, preparing people for an AI-driven economy means connecting accessible education with the skills employers need. We support the Make AI Work for Americans Act’s workforce provisions, particularly its investment in community college programs, employer partnerships, and services that help students complete their education and move into meaningful careers. We appreciate Senator Kelly’s recognition that workers need opportunities to build new skills throughout their lives. From our largest cities to our rural and tribal communities, America’s leadership in AI will depend on investing just as boldly in people as we do in technology,” saidEric A. Heiser, PhD, President & CEO, Coconino Community College, Chair, Arizona Community College Coordinating Council (AC4).

Click here to read the full text of the bill, here for a section-by-section, and here for a one-pager.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-calls-on-senate-leadership-to-establish-bipartisan-select-committee-on-ai/,Luján Calls on Senate Leadership to Establish Bipartisan Select Committee on AI,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NM,Ben Ray Luján,L000570,www.lujan.senate.gov,lujan,https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to establish a bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure that Congress can meet the unprecedented pace, scale, and rapidly advancing challenges associated with AI.

“AI is accelerating faster than our existing legislative processes, committee structures, and technical capacity can consistently evaluate and respond. The recent news of increasing incidents makes it clear that this is no longer a theoretical concern,” wrote Senator Luján.

“A bipartisan Select Committee on AI would complement, not displace, the work of existing committees. This approach would dedicate a platform to develop novel AI policy recommendations, hold hearings, and help coordinate across existing committees,” continued Senator Luján.

“Establishing this bipartisan Committee gives Congress the institutional capacity to pull in expertise to understand this technology, drive its benefits, anticipate its consequences, and act with the urgency and responsibility that is demanded of us in our elected roles,” concluded Senator Luján.

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Leader Thune and Leader Schumer:

I respectfully write today to urge the establishment of a bipartisan Senate Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to ensure that Congress can meet the unprecedented pace, scale, and breadth of challenges presented by a rapidly advancing artificial intelligence landscape.

AI is accelerating faster than our existing legislative processes, committee structures, and technical capacity can consistently evaluate and respond. The recent news of increasing incidents makes it clear that this is no longer a theoretical concern. In July, AI agents operating during cybersecurity evaluations were not properly maintained within their intended environments, allowing them unauthorized access to external systems. In independent testing by the United Kingdom’s AI Security Institute, frontier models repeatedly took unsanctioned actions against real people and organizations, including deceptive attempts to inject malicious code into external projects.

At the same time, leading AI researchers and developers are publicly warning that this technology is advancing beyond our ability to reliably understand or control it. Over 1,300 employees from frontier AI companies recently called for the United States to develop the technical and governance tools necessary to deliberately pace frontier AI development. Researchers and leaders at top AI laboratories have also publicly raised the possibility of catastrophic outcomes, suggesting there’s a 10% to 20% chance of existential risks associated with these platforms. These warnings, going back as far as the early 2000s, deserve our full attention and serious examination—not because Congress should assume any prediction to be correct, but because we should listen to the developers when they say our existing governing structure, safeguards, and defenses are not sufficient.

We are seeing this threat landscape continue to broaden. Just last week, Anthropic shared their threat intelligence report documenting AI-enabled cyber operations, influence operations, surveillance, biological misuse, conventional weapons development, and increasingly autonomous attacks. In some cases, AI systems have been used to automate reconnaissance, exploitation, and data theft simultaneously against multiple victims. These developments touch nearly every major area of policy: national security, economic competitiveness, cybersecurity, biotechnology, energy, communications, financial markets, workforce development, and more.

Our challenge is not a lack of congressional interest; it is that AI does not fit neatly within a single policy lane. As delineated above, each committee has an essential role to play, but the results become fragmented and competitive rather than working together to develop a common technical understanding and comprehensive legislative framework. Task forces, caucuses, and working groups have helped educate and build consensus, but they are not a substitute for a standing institution with the capacity to develop broad and deep expertise, conduct sustained oversight, and translate findings into durable and bipartisan legislation.

A bipartisan Select Committee on AI would complement, not displace, the work of existing committees. This approach would dedicate a platform to develop novel AI policy recommendations, hold hearings, and help coordinate across existing committees. We have the responsibility to understand and safely guide these technologies that are reshaping our economy, innovation, and national security before events force us to only react. Establishing this bipartisan Committee gives Congress the institutional capacity to pull in expertise to understand this technology, drive its benefits, anticipate its consequences, and act with the urgency and responsibility that is demanded of us in our elected roles.

I respectfully urge your prompt consideration of this request.

Sincerely,

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/as-gas-prices-remain-high-due-to-illegal-war-in-iran-senator-markey-slams-trump-for-rollback-of-fuel-economy-standards-that-save-money-lower-emissions,"As Gas Prices Remain High Due to Illegal War in Iran, Senator Markey Slams Trump for Rollback of Fuel Economy Standards That Save Money, Lower Emissions",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,MA,Edward J. Markey,M000133,www.markey.senate.gov,markey,https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Washington (September 28, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey, a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee, today released the following statement after President Donald Trump announced new Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards, under which automakers will only have to achieve an average fleetwide fuel economy standard of 34.5 miles per gallon by 2031. This is more than thirty percent lower than the previous standards, which required manufacturers to achieve an average fleetwide fuel economy of 50.4 miles per gallon by 2031—a standard that would have continued to save drivers money, given drivers more fuel-efficient choices at the dealership, and cut our national dependence on globally priced oil.

“Strong fuel economy standards mean that Americans spend less at the gas pump, our country imports less foreign oil, drivers can choose better options at the dealership, and we are better protected from pollution, price spikes, and climate change,” said Senator Markey. “Trump’s economic and foreign policy crises are already leaving families underwater from rising gas prices—and by attacking fuel economy standards, he’s also setting fire to the lifeboat.”

Senator Markey has been a fuel economy champion since standards were enabled by the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which included fuel economy language co-authored by then-Rep. Markey. That law included Markey’s language that said the standard must be at least 35 mpg by 2020, and that the “maximum feasible standard” must be set every year.

In June, Senator Markey introduced the Gas Money Saved Act, legislation that would require the Department of Transportation (DOT) to examine whether it can strengthen CAFE standards during periods of skyrocketing gas prices. The legislation would also reinstate the penalties for automakers that fail to produce fuel-efficient vehicles as options for American drivers, which were removed as part of the giveaways to corporations and the super-rich in the Republicans’ Big Ugly Bill in 2025. In February, Senator Markey and Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07) led 78 lawmakers in a letter to the Administration calling on it to withdraw its proposed rollback of fuel economy standards.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-bonamici-wyden-oregon-leaders-unlock-14-million-in-federal-funding-for-oregon-coast-project/,"Merkley, Bonamici, Wyden, Oregon Leaders Unlock $14 Million in Federal Funding for Oregon Coast Project",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and Oregon State Representative Cyrus Javadi announced that, thanks to their efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $14,567,624 in federal funds for Clatsop County and Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) to build a tsunami-resilient hospital expansion in Astoria, featuring a vertical evacuation structure for 1,900 people.

CMH had received an award for the expansion under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program—which provides grants for hazard mitigation planning and projects that reduce risks posed by natural hazards to communities—but faced roadblocks to accessing the funding after the Trump Administration suspended the BRIC program in 2025. Following legal challenges and advocacy by Oregon lawmakers, CMH’s BRIC funding has finally been released.

“You can’t wait for a disaster to happen to start preparing, and this funding finally moving forward will be transformative for disaster resiliency along the North Coast. Thanks to the partnership of state and local leaders, we held the Trump Administration accountable to deliver on the promise of this common-sense project to help Oregonians prepare for disasters and save lives,” said Senator Merkley. “I’ll keep pushing to get this project over the finish line and to deliver critical funding for disaster resiliency efforts in Oregon and communities across the country.”

“This grant funding is long overdue for Columbia Memorial Hospital and everyone who lives on or visits the Oregon Coast,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “The BRIC grant for this lifesaving vertical evacuation structure should never have been jeopardized, and we’ve fought long and hard for it to be released. I look forward to celebrating the completion of this important project with the community in Astoria.”

“Ensuring that Oregon’s coastal communities have access to health care in the wake of natural disasters is absolutely essential,” said Senator Wyden. “I am thankful we were able to get critical funding released for the Columbia Memorial Hospital after it was illegally withheld under the Trump administration’s draconian funding cuts that are putting Oregon families at risk. I’ll continue to pull out all the stops to ensure our state has the resources it needs to keep families safe.”

“This award is a critical investment in the North Coast’s ability to be resilient in the face of disasters,” said Governor Kotek. “This project can now move forward with confidence in its completion, and the families on the North Coast will benefit from reliable health care access when they need it most. Thank you to our Congressional delegation and community leaders for your persistence to get this done.”

“Disaster relief should have never been held up over partisan politics,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “Oregonians’ safety is too important to play games with. That’s why we took immediate action to fight back and make sure this critically needed project will continue moving forward, providing peace of mind to the entire North Coast community.”

“Natural disasters don’t care if you’re in a red state or a blue state – FEMA shouldn’t either. So when the Trump Administration went back on its word, I promised we’d keep fighting until Columbia Memorial got what it was owed. Today that fight paid off. This funding will help our community be ready when the ground shakes or the water rises,” said Representative Javadi.

“We could not be more thrilled with the news that our BRIC grant funding has been restored! This $14 million grant completes our project budget and ensures that our community will receive a fully resilient, modern healthcare facility. The BRIC funds will help offset the cost of constructing a deep-pile foundation and a tsunami vertical evacuation structure capable of accommodating 1,900 people. The project will also locate critical infrastructure, generators, and the helipad on the roof of the new hospital—important features that will help ensure the facility can remain operational when our community needs it most. Our sincerest appreciation goes to Congresswoman Bonamici, Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, Oregon Attorney General Rayfield, and all our state delegates for their unwavering support and tireless efforts to secure these funds. We are incredibly grateful,” said Erik Thorsen, Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Memorial Hospital.

“Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, Representative Bonamici, and Representative Bentz, this critical funding is returning to Clatsop County. This victory was made possible by a shared commitment from Governor Kotek, Attorney General Rayfield, Senator Weber, Representative Javadi, and the Oregon legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee. Above all, it is a direct result of our community keeping this project front and center. I want to thank my fellow Commissioners, County Manager Don Bohn, Sheriff Matt Phillips, and Emergency Management Director Justin Gibbs, and of course the leadership of CMH and CEO Erik Thorsen. This truly was a team effort that showcased the undeniable power of local, state, and federal collaboration,” said Mark Kujala, Chair of the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-mcbath-brown-champion-legislation-to-improve-educational-outcomes-and-experiences/,"Merkley, McBath, Brown Champion Legislation to Improve Educational Outcomes and Experiences",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Representatives Lucy McBath (D-GA-07) and Shontel Brown (D-OH-11) teamed up to reintroduce the Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act, bold legislation that would make investments to address overcrowded classrooms and set students up for success.

Research shows students achieve better academic results with more individualized attention from instructors, especially in kindergarten through third grade. However, the continued strain on our public education system from staff shortages and tighter budgets has meant class sizes have continued to grow.

Merkley, McBath, and Brown are making a bicameral push for better student outcomes with their legislation to boost funding for schools to reduce class sizes and increase individualized attention from instructors—improving the overall school experience for both students and educators.

“Every student deserves the chance to learn, participate, and get the individual attention they need to thrive,” said Merkley. “Growing up as an Oregon public school student, I remember having around 20 children in my first-grade class. When I dropped my son off for his first day of school, his class had 34 children, and I wondered how his teacher could organize and teach such a large group. It’s time to make sure our schools have the resources they need to support educators and help every child receive a quality learning experience.”

“Smaller class sizes help personalize education in ways that can fuel a child’s love of learning. When teachers have more opportunities for one-on-one time with their students, they can provide tailored instruction, individualized feedback, and the support each child needs to thrive,” said McBath. “I am deeply appreciative of Senator Merkley for his continued leadership on this important legislation and his advocacy for students and educators. Investments like these, which strengthen learning environments and support teacher well-being, are essential to improving educational outcomes and ensuring every child has the opportunity to succeed.”

“Smaller class sizes can help ensure that every child gets the time and attention they need to succeed. I am proud to join Congresswoman McBath and Senator Merkley in reintroducing the Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act so that students get the support they need and educators are able to instruct every student. Importantly, this legislation provides school districts with an opportunity for federal funding to make smaller class sizes a reality,” said Brown.

The Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act would establish a $2 billion competitive grant program to help school districts reduce K–3 class sizes in low-income public elementary schools to not more than 18 students per class. The grants could be used to recruit, hire, and support qualified teachers; obtain additional space or renovate school buildings; or provide professional development for teachers, among other purposes.

The Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Dick Durbin (D-IL), and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

The bill is also supported by the American Federation of Teachers, First Focus Campaign for Children, National Education Association, and National Parent Teacher Association.

“Parents, students and educators all agree that overcrowded classrooms do not make a successful learning environment. Class size matters because it is directly linked to higher rates of student success: Students are more engaged and teachers can provide the individualized instruction students need and deserve. The Smaller Class Sizes for Students and Educators Act, led by Sen. Jeff Merkley and Reps. Lucy McBath and Shontel Brown, helps all of America’s school districts reduce class size and is a vote of confidence in the future success of our nation’s public schools,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.

Full text of the bill can be found by clicking here.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-slams-senate-republicans-for-rubberstamping-trump-arch/,Merkley Slams Senate Republicans for Rubberstamping Trump Arch,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senate Republicans blocked his bill to prevent the Trump Administration from using any federal funds for the planning and construction of the Trump Arch:

“Trump’s Arch is a monument to his own ego—a waste of our taxpayer dollars.

“This vanity project distorts our history while destroying historic views, disregards the Constitution’s separation of powers, disrupts the safety of planes in the sky and cars on the road in our nation’s capital, and disrespects the sacrifices of our veterans and their families.

“The Trump Arch is a monumentally bad idea, and it is abundantly clear there is no authorization from Congress for this massive arch. I’ll keep fighting back against Trump’s efforts to use our tax dollars to fund his arch and to instead invest in the four foundations that families need to thrive—health care, housing, education, and good-paying jobs.”

As the lead Democrat on the Appropriations subcommittee overseeing funding for the Interior Department and National Park Service, the agencies that manage many of our public lands in Washington, D.C., Merkley took to the Senate Floor in an attempt to pass the No Funds for Trump’s Illegal Arch Act, which would have blocked the Trump Arch.

Full text of the bill can be found by clicking here.

In addition to Merkley, the No Funds for Trump’s Illegal Arch Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-ME), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).

Throughout Trump’s second term, Merkley has led the charge to hold the Administration accountable for its vanity projects and corruption—including putting Trump’s face on gold coins, park passes, a $250 bill, and the U.S. passport.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/senate-blocks-merkley-murkowski-bill-to-prevent-trump-tearing-down-presidential-memorials/,"Senate Blocks Merkley, Murkowski Bill to Prevent Trump Tearing Down Presidential Memorials",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley released the following statement after Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) blocked Merkley’s bipartisan bill with Alaska’s U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski to prohibit the demolition of any national memorial to honor a U.S. president—like the Kennedy Center—without an act of Congress:

“Our congressionally authorized memorials to former presidents are a tribute to their accomplishments and service to our nation. Perhaps the greatest living memorial for a president is the Kennedy Center, in honor of our slain president who championed the arts. But now President Trump—without authorization from Congress—is trying to tear it down. First, he destroyed its programming, and now, he wants to destroy the building itself. All because the law says Trump can’t put his name on the building.

“So today, I asked for unanimous consent on a one-page bipartisan bill with Senator Murkowski to defend this extraordinary institution, the Kennedy Center, saying no memorial to any president can be torn down without explicit authorization from Congress. Unfortunately, a colleague objected to this common-sense bill.

“Trump’s threats are straight out of the authoritarian playbook and should infuriate every American who values our nation’s history and the rule of law. Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars putting Trump’s name on memorials and monuments as if he is a king, we should be focused on putting money back into the pockets of working families and honoring America’s greatest cultural institutions, not destroying them.”

Merkley and Murkowski serve as the Ranking Member and Chair of the Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee, respectively, which oversees funding for the Kennedy Center. Merkley took to the Senate Floor in an attempt to pass the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act, a one-page bill which would have blocked the demolition of any national memorial honoring a U.S. president—including the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Memorial, and Jefferson Memorial—without an act of Congress.

Full text of the bipartisan bill can be found by clicking here.

In addition to Merkley and Murkowski, the Protecting Presidential Memorials Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Jack Reed (D-RI).

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/wyden-merkley-introduce-legislation-to-impose-sanctions-of-israeli-settlement-construction/,"Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Impose Sanctions of Israeli Settlement Construction",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Sanctions would target settlement construction within the E1 area of the West Bank

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today said they joined Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to impose targeted sanctions on companies, individuals, and other entities that facilitate the development of Israeli settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank.

“Benjamin Netanyahu’s disgraceful policy of expanding West Bank settlements crosses a clear red line and makes Palestinian statehood and lasting peace even more difficult,” Wyden said. “The United States must stand up against Netanyahu’s campaign of violence and aggression against Palestinian civilians and sanction individuals and companies that are complicit in this unlawful action.”

“In my visits to the West Bank, I’ve heard numerous stories about the organized strategy of harassment and violence settlers are inflicting upon Palestinians. The Netanyahu government, meanwhile, continues to rubberstamp this dangerous agenda, and these settlements in the West Bank are designed to destroy the possibility of a future Palestinian state living peacefully alongside the state of Israel,” said Merkley. “This is unacceptable, and our bill holds the Netanyahu government accountable for its illegal, reckless, and inhumane actions in the West Bank.”

Last year, Israel approved construction of more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank. In recent weeks, Israel announced proposals to let companies bid for construction of these settlements. If completed, these units could sever the West Bank in two, gravely threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state. Israeli officials have publicly acknowledged the impact E1 settlement expansion could have on a two-state solution. Speaking at a ceremony shortly after his approval of the E1 plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly stated, “We said a Palestinian state will not be established – and indeed, a Palestinian state will not be established.” Following the initial announcement of the E1 settlements in August 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly stated: “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not by slogans but by deeds. Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”

The bill would impose sanctions on any foreign person that the Secretary of the Treasury determines to have been responsible for or complicit in the construction of any Israeli settlements or related structures in the E1 area of the West Bank, including by submitting a bid for E1 tenders. It would also impose sanctions on those who attempt to organize, direct, finance, or facilitate the transfer of Israeli civilians into E1 settlements.

In addition to Wyden, the legislation was introduced by U.S. Senators Chris Coons, D-Del., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. In addition to Merkley, the legislation was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Jack Reed, D-R.I, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Peter Welch, D-Vt..

The full text of the bill is here.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-ahead-of-pcsa-vote-this-bill-is-a-long-term-threat-to-college-athletics,Murphy Ahead of PCSA Vote: This Bill is a Long-Term Threat to College Athletics,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Christopher Murphy,M001169,www.murphy.senate.gov,chrismurphy,https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on the floor of the U.S. Senate ahead of a vote on final passage of the so-called Protect College Sports Act, sweeping legislation to grant the NCAA an unprecedented antitrust exemption, cap the earnings and organizing potential of college athletes, and codify into law a permanent imbalance of power between college athletes and athletic conferences, the NCAA and corporate executives profiting off of athletes’ talents. Murphy voiced his opposition to final passage of the bill and argued the PCSA may ultimately destabilize the college sports ecosystem in the long-term.

Murphy debunked the claim that college sports is in ‘crisis’: “The facts don't back up that characterization of college sports…I know that there's more people than ever showing up to these games and watching the games. The Big 10 just signed a $13 billion contract to broadcast its games. The revenue of the NCAA broadly is at an all-time high. The SEC and the Big 10 are both making over a billion dollars. Women's sports is growing. 92,000 people recently filled a stadium to watch a women's volleyball match. Schools are adding, not subtracting, women's programs. In fact, more people are paying attention to college sports than ever before. College sports is growing, both on the men's and women's side. And so, what is this crisis?”

Murphy stressed the PCSA wouldn’t get big money out of college sports, it would just limit athletes’ right to earn their fair share: “The bill does really nothing to stop the runaway overall costs of college athletics. In particular, some of the biggest drivers of costs being facilities and the salaries of adults … if you want to know what's driving the deficit at these big schools, it's not simply the amount of money they're paying the students; those numbers are dwarfed by the amount of money that's going to coaches and to facilities. But yet, this bill constricts – only caps the money going to the players, does nothing to cap the money going to the coaches, does nothing to stop the continued billions of dollars going in to feed this facilities arms race.”

Murphy hammered that the NCAA’s real motive is undoing historic gains in revenues for athletes so coaches, conferences, and corporate executives can reap the benefits for themselves: “The crisis, it appears to me, is pretty simple: young athletes who perform a service that would be worth billions in the free market are finally getting what they lawfully deserve. A system of exploitation, an illegal system of exploitation, in which the colleges and their industry allies colluded to keep as much of the 13 billion dollars that the college sports industry generates for themselves started to crumble because courts as high as the Supreme Court came to the inevitable conclusion that that system of exploitation was illegal. … and the industry had two choices: they could either work out a new set of rules with the athletes… or they could come to Congress and get their illegal system deemed legal. That's what they are essentially doing here today. We are taking a system that the Supreme Court said could not persist under our law, and we are changing the law to allow that illegal system to persist.”

Murphy stressed that the NCAA, like all other industries, should be responsible for following the law and negotiate a fair agreement with athletes: “We could have done what happens in most industries, which is just say to the NCAA and to the colleges, tough luck. Congress isn't going to come in here and micromanage your relationship with the athletes. If you want to work something out, sit down and talk to the athletes about it. If you want rules that apply across the industry, then do what every other industry does, which is have a dialog with the workers.”

Murphy reiterated that the PCSA hands massive giveaways to the NCAA: “I think that there are rules inside college athletics that don't make a lot of sense right now. Unlimited transfers, the potential ability for pro players to come back to college, these agent fees look ridiculous to me, but you don't need a bill of this sweeping scope to address what are a set of minor but important practices in college athletics that have gotten out of control. We could have … passed a very narrow bill here to address the agent issue and the transfer issue.”

Murphy held firm that the current landscape is better than the system of exploitation the PCSA would implement: “We could have just said, you know what, Congress doesn't want to get involved in litigating the details of the arrangement between players and coaches in schools. You guys work that out, just like we require every other industry to do this.”

In conclusion, Murphy warned that the PCSA may actually precipitate a long-term crisis in college sports, as athletes flee a system that exploits them: “In the end, this bill, if it passes and becomes law, is actually going to be a long-term threat to college athletics. … Students are not dumb. They're not going to sit in college sports with a cap on their earnings … They will find a way around college sports. That will be the primary impact of this artificial cap on compensation, this massive antitrust exemption for colleges, I think it may well, in the end, be the unwinding of college sports.”

Sen. Murphy has been a leading voice of opposition to the so-called Protect College Sports Act (PCSA), standing with athletes, labor advocates, and civil rights groups to rally against the bill’s passage, as well as advocate for his College Athlete Right to Organize Act. He also appeared on Straight Shooter with Stephen A. Smith to garner support for athletes’ rights and fair compensation and published a joint Substack in opposition to the PCSA with former executive director of the National Football League Players Association DeMaurice Smith.

A full transcript of Murphy’s remarks is available below. A full video of the speech is available here.

The legislation that we're going to be voting on tonight is predicated on a simple idea: the idea that college sports is in crisis, and that it requires a fairly extraordinary act of legislative intervention to address this crisis. I'm speaking in opposition to this bill, and I think it's important to start by answering the question: Is college sports in crisis? Is it in chaos, as Senator Cruz is fond of saying?

Well, the facts don't back up that characterization of college sports. I'm a huge college sports fan. I watch a lot of college basketball, a little bit less but still a lot of college football, and I know that there's more people than ever showing up to these games and watching the games. The Big 10 just signed a $13 billion contract to broadcast its games. The revenue of the NCAA broadly is at an all-time high. The SEC and the Big 10 are both making over a billion dollars. Women's sports are growing. 92,000 people recently filled a stadium to watch a women's volleyball match. Schools are adding, not subtracting, women's programs. In fact, more people are paying attention to college sports than ever before. College sports is growing, both on the men's and women's side. And so, what is this crisis?

Well, the crisis, it appears to me, is pretty simple: young athletes who perform a service that would be worth billions in the free market are finally getting what they lawfully deserve. A system of exploitation, an illegal system of exploitation, in which the colleges and their industry allies colluded to keep as much of the 13 billion dollars that the college sports industry generates for themselves started to crumble because courts as high as the Supreme Court came to the inevitable conclusion that that system of exploitation was illegal. Justice Kavanaugh, in a 9-0 decision, said this: “The current NCAA model is suppressing the pay of student athletes who collectively generate billions of dollars in revenues for colleges each year.” So this system of collusion by the colleges, designed to keep the compensation of athletes as low as possible, was ruled illegal. That's essentially what happened here, and the industry had two choices: they could either work out a new set of rules with the athletes—that's generally what has to happen if you want industry-wide rules that limit compensation, that limit the applicability of a free market. You have to negotiate with your employees, in this case, the athletes—or they could come to Congress and get their illegal system deemed legal. That's what they are essentially doing here today. We are taking a system that the Supreme Court said could not persist under our law, and we are changing the law to allow that illegal system to persist.

How do we know that this bill is about solving that narrow crisis that I identified—that crisis of college athletes finally making money, and the adults in charge of the system not liking that the kids were making money? Well, the first way we know that is that the bill does really nothing to stop the runaway overall costs of college athletics, in particular, some of the biggest drivers of costs: facilities and the salaries of adults.

Let's just take one example, and I see my friend from Louisiana is on the floor currently. Just last week, LSU's president said that the school's sports program is projected to carry a 26 million dollar deficit, and the president said we've got to stop that bleeding, 26 million dollar deficit. But LSU just agreed to pay their new coach Lane Kiffin 91 million dollars over seven years, along with other bonuses to him like 65 hours of private jet travel, temporary housing, and courtesy vehicles. LSU also just paid a buyout of over 53 million dollars to the coach they fired. In fact, last year the buyouts for just three coaches totaled over 169 million dollars, [six times the annual operating deficit of the entire athletics program]. And so, if you want to know what's driving the deficit at these big schools, it's not simply the amount of money they're paying the students; those numbers are dwarfed by the amount of money that's going to coaches and to facilities. But yet, this bill only caps the money going to the players, does nothing to cap the money going to the coaches, and does nothing to stop the continued billions of dollars going in to feed this facility's arms race.

Second, what about the antitrust exemption? Why is that in the bill? Well, certainly not to help athletes. This antitrust exemption will allow schools, in some cases, to continue their practices that compromise athlete safety, because now they have a broad antitrust exemption to do that. Perhaps we'll pass an amendment that will help with that later today. What it primarily is in the bill for is to allow the schools to be able to bargain collectively in order to get a better TV deal. If the schools don't have to worry about antitrust law, one of the things they can do is join together across conferences to bargain for additional TV revenue. And in this bill, only 1/5 of the revenue that comes in will have to be shared with the athletes, whereas in the professional leagues, about 50% of the revenue, including TV revenue, goes to the athletes. So the antitrust exemption allows the schools to make a whole lot more money, and other provisions in the bill allow the schools to keep that money for themselves rather than share it in the same way that professional leagues might share it with the athletes.

And then, what about the transfer restrictions in the bill? Why do those only apply to players? I admit that the current system in which players can move from one school to the next every year is probably not in the best long-term interests of the sport. But if the goal was really to control costs, that provision would apply to coaches as well. Because one of the ways that costs go up is that coaches can freely move after every season from one program to the other, bidding schools against each other. This bill says that a coach can't leave in the middle of the season, but that almost never happens. The reality is, this bill only says players can only transfer once without penalty. It doesn't say anything about coaches.

As I said, I think that there are rules inside college athletics that don't make a lot of sense right now. Unlimited transfers, the potential ability for pro players to come back to college, these agent fees look ridiculous to me, but you don't need a bill of this sweeping scope to address what are a set of minor but important practices in college athletics that have gotten out of control. We could have either passed a very narrow bill here to address the agent issue and the transfer issue, or we could have done what happens in most industries, which is just say to the NCAA and to the colleges: tough luck, congress isn't going to come in here and micromanage your relationship with the athletes. If you want to work something out, sit down and talk to the athletes about it. If you want rules that apply across the industry, then do what every other industry does, which is have a dialog with the workers. Now, whether you want to admit that the athletes are workers or not, the Supreme Court has basically ruled that they need to be treated as such for compensation purposes, and so we had two other options besides this sweeping bill that, in my belief, preserves this system of exploitation. We could have either passed a much more narrow bill, that I think would have gotten even broader consensus here and would have had an easier time passing the House, or we could have just said, you know what, Congress doesn't want to get involved in litigating the details of the arrangement between players and coaches in schools. You guys work that out, just like we require every other industry to do this.

I think, in the end, this bill, if it passes and becomes law, is actually going to be a long-term threat to college athletics. And I'll just end here. In the short run, I get it. It makes coaches' lives easier. They don't have to worry about players leaving if they're treated badly, if they're not compensated adequately. By Congress stepping in and dictating the terms with which students can play college athletics, it empowers coaches. But especially in football, where every single additional year you play, you are doing more damage to your brain, more damage to your ability to make money once you get into the pros, students are not dumb. They're not going to sit in college sports with a cap on their earnings and currently an inability to get to the pros until they have played three years of amateur athletics. They will find a way around college sports. That will be the primary impact of this artificial cap on compensation, this massive antitrust exemption for colleges, I think it may well, in the end, be the unwinding of college sports. The way to save college sports was to admit that these kids provide an incredibly valuable service, as the Supreme Court has judged as well, and they deserve to be fairly compensated. That, in the long run, would have been the best way to make sure that we preserve college sports, which I agree with my colleagues is worth preserving. One of the most basic, fundamental American pastimes: the ability for us to come together, no matter our religion, our race, our political affiliation, to root for our state's team—that binds us together as Americans. And in the end, I think this bill—maybe not in the first few years, but in the long run—is a greater threat to the stability of college sports than doing nothing.

I yield the floor.",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.murray.senate.gov/murray-leads-wa-delegation-in-supporting-governors-request-for-major-disaster-declaration-for-individual-assistance-for-devastating-wildfires-in-washington-state/,Murray Leads WA Delegation in Supporting Governor’s Request for Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance for Devastating Wildfires in Washington State,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WA,Patty Murray,M001111,www.murray.senate.gov,murray,https://www.murray.senate.gov/category/press-releases/,scraper,"ICYMI: Senator Murray Leads Entire WA Delegation in Requesting Expedited Emergency Declaration for Devastating Wildfires in Spokane

ICYMI: Senator Murray Vows to Get Spokane and WA Federal Resources for Wildfire Response and Recovery

***LETTER HERE***

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, led Washington state’s entire Congressional delegation in a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to approve Governor Bob Ferguson’s request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance to help families recover and repair damage due to the devastating wildfires that swept through Central and Eastern Washington from July 23 through August 31.

For the first time, on August 1, the National Weather Service upgraded a Red Flag Warning for fire weather conditions to a Particularly Dangerous Situation, which is very rare and typically reserved for extreme fire weather conditions. Three massive fires broke out and tore through neighborhoods across Spokane, the Old Trails Fire burned in northwest Spokane, the Autumn Lane Fire burned near Nine-Mile Falls, and the Fairview Fire burned in Mead. The Spokane Complex Fires forced 67,000 people to evacuate, burned nearly 10,000 acres, with damages predicted to exceed $1 billion.

This was one of Washington state’s worst wildfire seasons on record, with fires causing severe damage and threatening lives, property, businesses, and livestock. In Okanogan County, the Kaiser Canyon, Modrite, and Sinlahekin fires burned over 350,000 acres total.

“As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23 through August 31. We implore you to approve the request for assistance as quickly as possible,” Senator Murray and other members of the delegation wrote. “A record-setting drought and an unusually small snowpack contributed to numerous large and fast-moving wildfires in Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Benton, Spokane, Stevens, and Okanogan Counties, as well as on the Spokane Indian Reservation. These fires spread rapidly, jumping roads and rivers, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate quickly, with many escaping with little more than they could carry.”

Joining Senator Murray in the letter to President Trump were Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and U.S. Representatives Suzan DelBene (D, WA-01), Rick Larsen (D, WA-02), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D, WA-03), Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04), Michael Baumgartner (R, WA-05), Emily Randall (D, WA-06), Pramila Jayapal (D, WA-07), Kim Schrier (D, WA-08), Adam Smith (D, WA-09), and Marilyn Strickland (D, WA-10).

The lawmakers continued, “Local, state, and federal resources responded quickly to the wildfires. Firefighting crews from around the country, as well as international firefighting forces and the National Guard, deployed to Washington state to assist local first responders with evacuations and firefighting. While their heroic efforts helped to contain these devastating fires, federal assistance is required to support communities as they begin to rebuild. The fires destroyed over 2,500 structures, including entire neighborhoods, and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. Ultimately, over 650 primary residences were destroyed by these fast-moving wildfires, leaving hundreds of Washingtonians displaced.”

“Throughout this crisis, state, local, Tribal, and federal first responders have stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities secure. We are incredibly grateful for their diligent work and careful coordination to keep Washingtonians safe and informed throughout this disaster, as well as for your prompt approval of the state’s Emergency Declaration request submitted on August 2nd, which allowed for critical federal assistance that supported fire suppression, emergency shelter operations, and other vital needs. We reiterate our full support for the September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance,” Senator Murray and the delegation concluded.

The full letter is available HERE and below:

Dear Mr. President:

As members of the Washington state delegation, we write in support of Washington state’s September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance due to devastating wildfire damages incurred from July 23 through August 31. We implore you to approve the request for assistance as quickly as possible. A record-setting drought and an unusually small snowpack contributed to numerous large and fast-moving wildfires in Central and Eastern Washington, devastating communities in Benton, Spokane, Stevens, and Okanogan Counties, as well as on the Spokane Indian Reservation. These fires spread rapidly, jumping roads and rivers, forcing thousands of residents to evacuate quickly, with many escaping with little more than they could carry.

Local, state, and federal resources responded quickly to the wildfires. Firefighting crews from around the country, as well as international firefighting forces and the National Guard, deployed to Washington state to assist local first responders with evacuations and firefighting. While their heroic efforts helped to contain these devastating fires, federal assistance is required to support communities as they begin to rebuild. The fires destroyed over 2,500 structures, including entire neighborhoods, and forced tens of thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. Ultimately, over 650 primary residences were destroyed by these fast-moving wildfires, leaving hundreds of Washingtonians displaced.

Throughout this crisis, state, local, Tribal, and federal first responders have stepped up and worked tirelessly to keep our communities secure. We are incredibly grateful for their diligent work and careful coordination to keep Washingtonians safe and informed throughout this disaster, as well as for your prompt approval of the state’s Emergency Declaration request submitted on August 2nd, which allowed for critical federal assistance that supported fire suppression, emergency shelter operations, and other vital needs. We reiterate our full support for the September 28th request for a Major Disaster Declaration for Individual Assistance. We appreciate you in advance for your prompt attention to this urgent matter.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-peters-durbin-schumer-lead-senate-colleagues-in-demanding-secretary-mullin-halt-2026-election-interference-efforts/,"Padilla, Peters, Durbin, Schumer Lead Senate Colleagues in Demanding Secretary Mullin Halt 2026 Election Interference Efforts",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CA,Alex Padilla,P000145,www.padilla.senate.gov,padilla,https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with jurisdiction over federal elections, Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), led 30 of their Senate colleagues in demanding Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin immediately halt the Department’s efforts to assert federal control over, and undermine public trust in, the 2026 midterm elections.

The Senators demanded information substantiating Mullin’s public claims about thousands of noncitizens who allegedly registered to vote, and called on DHS to rescind new election-related conditions on Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) homeland security grants, release the full grant funding to states, and immediately end the alleged “Unlawful Voter Initiative” disclosed by a recent whistleblower.

“We write to warn you against continued activities at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that seek to undermine the Constitutional authority of both Congress and states to administer elections and defy the directions of federal courts. As Secretary of Homeland Security, you have promoted the President’s conspiracy theories about our elections, pressured states to participate in illegal activities, and explicitly threatened to reduce grant funding and initiate criminal investigations for those states that do not comply with the Administration’s demands,” wrote the Senators.

In their letter, the Senators raised concerns about Mullin’s unsupported claim that 250,000 noncitizens were registered to vote in four states and criticized DHS efforts to pressure states to provide sensitive voter roll information to be run through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, despite the Administration’s acknowledgment of problems with the underlying data. The Senators also objected to new election-related conditions on FEMA’s Homeland Security Grant Program, which have been retroactively applied to previously awarded Fiscal Year 2025 funding and are threatening Fiscal Year 2026 funding. By threatening to withhold funding that communities rely on to prevent acts of terrorism and other threats, Mullin is putting Americans’ safety at risk for political leverage.

The Senators also highlighted allegations from a federal whistleblower about an effort referred to as the “Unlawful Voter Initiative.” According to the whistleblower, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) personnel were allegedly directed to use sensitive, personally identifiable information and improperly access state voter registration websites to find non-citizen voters. The whistleblower also alleged that personnel were directed to create law enforcement records using incomplete and unverifiable data for potential referral to law enforcement.

“The 2026 midterm elections are already underway. Your unsubstantiated allegations of noncitizen voter fraud, public recitation of unreliable data, and unwarranted conditioning of continued grant funding for state election security measures on compliance with politically motivated requests for voter data appear to be calculated efforts to undermine confidence in our elections and risks wrongly disenfranchising voters,” the Senators concluded.

In addition to Padilla, Peters, Durbin, and Schumer, the letter was signed by Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Following receipt of the bombshell whistleblower disclosure, Padilla and Schumer demanded Mullin and USCIS Director Joseph B. Edlow immediately halt the “Unlawful Voter Initiative” and provide responses to Congress on its activities, and protect citizens who were erroneously flagged as “unlawful voters.” Last week, Padilla and Schiff sent a letter to California Attorney General Rob Bonta highlighting the concerning activities detailed by the DHS whistleblower disclosure and requested that Bonta investigate whether those actions violated California law. Last week, Padilla and Schumer led 16 members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to demand the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) immediately open an independent investigation into the wrongdoings detailed in the whistleblower’s disclosure. The whistleblower’s disclosure is also being cited in ongoing litigation, Virginia’s Attorney General is examining potential violations of Virginia state law, and Arizona’s Attorney General and Secretary of State are calling on Arizona’s U.S. Attorney to look into this alleged misuse of data by the federal government.

Full text of the letter is available here.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-schiff-huffman-california-colleagues-condemn-trump-administration-efforts-to-repeal-roadless-rule/,"Padilla, Schiff, Huffman, California Colleagues Condemn Trump Administration Efforts to Repeal Roadless Rule",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CA,Alex Padilla,P000145,www.padilla.senate.gov,padilla,https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.), along with U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, led 38 members of the California congressional delegation in opposing the Trump Administration’s rescission of the Roadless Rule, a landmark U.S. Forest Service conservation policy adopted in 2001 that protects nearly 60 million acres of undeveloped National Forest System lands. It prohibits new road construction, reconstruction, and commercial timber harvesting to preserve these areas’ ecological and recreational value. The Trump Administration issued its final proposed rule to advance the rescission of the Roadless Rule, allowing only a 47-day public comment period.

In their letter to Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, the lawmakers underscored the importance of the Roadless Rule to California’s preservation of public lands and natural resources.

“Unpaved and poorly maintained forest roads are notoriously the largest source of human-made sediment in public waterways,” wrote the lawmakers. “Protected roadless areas actively safeguard California’s water quality by preventing the severe erosion and landslides that choke pristine rivers with silt and other pollution that inevitably follows road construction. Roadless areas directly anchor the vulnerable origin points of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, Kern, Smith, and Eel Rivers, and these protected areas capture, clean, and regulate more than 11 trillion gallons of water annually.”

The lawmakers warned of the possible impacts on California’s water and natural resources if the Roadless Rule is fully repealed, especially with the growing threat of devastating wildfires in California.

“Most alarming is that when new areas are opened up to roads, wildfires become much more likely,” continued the lawmakers. “Moreover, when fires do burn through roadless areas, they often burn at lower, more natural intensities which keeps the underlying soil healthy and minimizes post-burn soil erosion impacts. The State of California currently spends billions of dollars each year toward wildfire mitigation and suppression, so removing this rule will result in even more fires and will unnecessarily cost California taxpayers more to support the State’s wildfire response efforts.”

The lawmakers further emphasized the Roadless Rule’s importance to the outdoor economy by protecting access to trails, promoting outdoor recreation, and supporting small businesses and local economies that rely on public lands. The lawmakers highlighted that Americans across the country have supported the Roadless Rule since its implementation, and that efforts to overturn the rule undoes previous bipartisan support. Since the announcement of the repeal, the rule received a significant amount of public support within the Administration’s brief public comment period.

“The proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule is deeply unpopular among our constituents,” the lawmakers concluded. “At the time of its adoption, the Rule received over 600 public hearings and over 1.6 million comments—more comments than any other rule in the nation’s history. Despite the significant amount of public consultation that went into the 2001 Roadless Rule, this Administration only gave our constituents 21 days to comment on the initial announcement for the Roadless Rule repeal—during which more than 600,000 comments were submitted and 99% of which supported retaining the rule.”

Padilla has been a longtime champion of public land conservation, fighting tirelessly against Republican efforts to undo environmental protections. Last week, Padilla led a bipartisan group of 153 lawmakers in urging the Department of the Interior (DOI) to abandon a proposed transfer of federally managed public land within Yosemite National Park that would facilitate private access to and development of an 83-acre parcel adjacent to the park known as Hazel Green Ranch. In June, Padilla co-led an effort to push back against Republicans’ efforts to codify the repeal of the Roadless Rule and proposed an amendment to the Wildfire Prevention Act to expand critical benefits for federal firefighters. Last year, Padilla reintroduced a public lands package, the Protecting Unique and Beautiful Landscapes by Investing in California (PUBLIC) Lands Act, which would protect and restore more than 1.7 million acres of California’s public lands throughout northwest California, the Central Coast, and Los Angeles County.

Full letter is available here or below:

Dear Secretary Rollins:

We write to oppose the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (“Roadless Rule”) that prohibits new road construction and commercial timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas (“roadless areas”). Eliminating the Roadless Rule will harm California’s already overburdened water sources, will counterintuitively decrease communities’ fire resilience, and will have negative economic impacts throughout our state.

For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has protected nearly 60 million acres across the United States from new road construction and commercial timber harvesting in some of our nation’s most intact and environmentally significant areas. In California, the U.S. Forest Service manages 20 million acres of national forests, including over 4.4 million acres of roadless areas. California’s national forests act as the state’s natural water infrastructure, supplying roughly 65% of California’s total water supply, despite making up only 20% of the state’s land area. Unpaved and poorly maintained forest roads are notoriously the largest source of human-made sediment in public waterways. Protected roadless areas actively safeguard California’s water quality by preventing the severe erosion and landslides that choke pristine rivers with silt and other pollution that inevitably follows road construction. Roadless areas directly anchor the vulnerable origin points of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, Kern, Smith, and Eel Rivers, and these protected areas capture, clean, and regulate more than 11 trillion gallons of water annually. The raw, wholesale market value of the water produced by California’s national forests is estimated at roughly $3.2 billion annually, and serves as the underlying foundation for our multi-billiondollar agricultural, municipal, and energy industries.

Despite what opponents of the Roadless Rule argue, it does not ban firefighting or fuel reduction activities in our national forests. Agencies retain full authority to remove trees, clear brush, and construct temporary emergency access roads to protect public safety. Local managers frequently conduct thinning, remove small-diameter trees and underbrush, and execute prescribed burns within roadless areas—particularly along existing boundaries where ignitions are most likely.

Most alarming is that when new areas are opened up to roads, wildfires become much more likely. Recent research demonstrates that wildfires are four times more likely to start near roads than in roadless areas. Because California’s national forests—such as the Los Padres and Angeles National Forests—directly border massive urban populations, human-caused ignitions are the state’s primary wildfire threat to communities. By limiting road construction, the Rule isolates rugged terrain from vehicles, campfires, and equipment sparks. Moreover, when fires do burn through roadless areas, they often burn at lower, more natural intensities which keeps the underlying soil healthy and minimizes post-burn soil erosion impacts. The State of California currently spends billions of dollars each year toward wildfire mitigation and suppression, so removing this rule will result in even more fires and will unnecessarily cost California taxpayers more to support the State’s wildfire response efforts.

Roadless areas are also essential to maintaining and supporting our state’s outdoor recreation economy that draws people from around the world. California’s national forests host 33 million visitors per year, shifting hundreds of millions of dollars from urban centers directly into rural gateway communities through hotel taxes and local sales taxes. This tax revenue directly funds essential rural municipal services that many counties in California otherwise could not afford. The Roadless Rule also protects thousands of miles of hiking and mountain biking trails and hundreds of miles of whitewater paddling runs across the country, which allow outfitters and other small businesses to thrive. The strength of our outdoor economy is intrinsically tied to these roadless areas remaining protected from industrial development.

Finally, as you will undoubtedly find during this comment period, the proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule is deeply unpopular among our constituents. At the time of its adoption, the Rule received over 600 public hearings and over 1.6 million comments more comments than any other rule in the nation’s history. Despite the significant amount of public consultation that went into the 2001 Roadless Rule, this Administration only gave our constituents 21 days to comment on the initial announcement for the Roadless Rule repeal—during which more than 600,000 comments were submitted and 99% of which supported retaining the Rule. Now, the Administration is only allowing a 47-day comment period on the draft Environmental Impact Statement. Beyond all that, any new roads that are built would leave taxpayers on the hook for road maintenance, all while the U.S. Forest Service already has a $7-8 billion road maintenance backlog.

For these reasons and more, we strongly oppose the rescission of the Roadless Rule. We urge you to leave the Rule intact so that it can continue to provide its time-tested benefits to our state and nation. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/padilla-statement-on-protect-college-sports-act/,Padilla Statement on Protect College Sports Act,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CA,Alex Padilla,P000145,www.padilla.senate.gov,padilla,https://www.padilla.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), issued the following statement after voting to pass the Protect College Sports Act of 2026:

“College sports have long been an enriching part of American life, but in recent years, the pressures of big money have destabilized college athletics and overshadowed the primary mission of higher education.

“College athletes are students first. I am proud to have secured critical provisions to better support their success both in and out of the classroom by strengthening oversight of health and safety standards, holding colleges and universities accountable for ensuring students achieve academic success, and allowing college athletic programs the flexibility to make conference decisions that best serve their students.

“This bill also preserves opportunities for women’s sports and Olympic sports by protecting roster spots and requiring continued investment in the pipeline of American Olympic talent.

“These reforms will help keep the focus where it belongs: on the students and the education that college sports are meant to serve.”

The Protect College Sports Act of 2026 includes several provisions Padilla authored, including:

Academic Performance Rating (APR)

Padilla secured a change that would condition a school’s ability to use the retention fund to being in good standing with the NCAA’s academic performance and graduation standards for student athletes.

Health and Safety Standards

Padilla secured a change that strengthens and expands the work of the Commission on the Future of College Athletics to:

Ensure the adequacy of and compliance with health and safety standards required in the bill (and consider options to further strengthen these standards and oversight, including through the creation of a third-party oversight organization),

Evaluate the efficacy of the independence structure of health and safety officers, and

Review violations, athlete injuries, or deaths.

Conference Provision

Padilla secured changes to reduce and eventually end the independence requirement for schools moving between the Power Four conferences so that certain schools are not unfairly locked into their conferences in perpetuity.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-momentum-already-building-for-sens-tim-scott-adam-schiff-bill-to-establish-a-federal-film-tax-credit-with-8-new-bipartisan-backers-in-senate/,"NEWS: Momentum Already Building for Sens. Tim Scott, Adam Schiff Bill to Establish a Federal Film Tax Credit with 8 New Bipartisan Backers in Senate",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CA,Adam B. Schiff,S001150,www.schiff.senate.gov,schiff,https://www.schiff.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Bipartisan, bicameral backing from Senators in film production states – Ohio, Georgia, Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, and Montana – follows call for action by President Trump, decades-long push by lawmakers to enact federal credit

Washington, D.C. — Bipartisan momentum for U.S. Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Adam Schiff’s (D-Calif.) bipartisan, bicameral legislation to create a federal film tax incentive is already building in the Senate with the addition of 8 new bipartisan Senate backers from across the country.

Scott and Schiff are announcing today that their Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act will be cosponsored by Senators John Cornyn (R-Texas.), Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Tim Sheehy (R-Montana), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

This legislation, introduced last week in both the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, follows years of advocacy to create a nationwide tax credit, a push recently echoed by President Donald Trump.

“For years, I’ve been championing a federal film tax credit to stop the exodus of TV and film production leaving the United States for countries offering higher incentives. Now, we have the best opportunity in decades to get it done. The direct and indirect jobs created by this creative and talented workforce are enormously important, and we want to make sure they stay in this country. With the support of the White House, our bill will create an overdue federal program to bring the movie magic back to America while creating thousands of jobs and spurring local economic growth across the nation. This legislation has bipartisan, bicameral support, and it’s time we get this passed,”said Senator Schiff.

“Having worked in a movie theater growing up, I saw early on how films can move and inspire generations of Americans. Films like ‘The Notebook’ bring us to tears, and films like ‘Forrest Gump’ inspire us to see the world differently. That is the power of film, and South Carolina is blessed to serve as the backdrop for both of these iconic American stories,” said Senator Scott. “We cannot stand by as more and more American film production moves overseas, taking jobs, investment, and an important source of American cultural influence with it. This legislation will create jobs in communities across America, support local economies, and help ensure that the next generation of iconic American films is made right here in America.”

“Montana is home to some of the most stunning natural landscapes in the country, made famous in noteworthy movies and shows like Yellowstone and A River Runs Through It. Movies about Montana should always be based in Montana – not on a fake movie set overseas. I’m proud to work with Senator Scott on this bill to level the playing field for American movie producers and keep our film industry thriving,” said Sen. Daines.

“Georgia’s vibrant film industry is swiftly emerging as one of the most lucrative in the nation, and I’m proud to represent the thousands who come to our state and make a career creating world-renowned productions,” said Senator Reverend Raphael Warnock. “Everyone who dedicates their talent and expertise to bringing magic to the silver screen deserves economic opportunities that are competitive with the global market. Our bipartisan bill will help ensure the film industry continues to thrive both here in Georgia and across the country.”

“California built the world’s entertainment industry, but we continue to see production being pulled overseas by other countries’ tax policies,” said Senator Padilla. “Our bill would create a new tax incentive to keep our entertainment industry in the United States. I’m proud to partner with Senator Schiff on this critical issue as we continue advocating for our country’s beloved blockbusters and binge-worthy TV shows for the sake of California’s economy, entertainment industry employees, and audiences everywhere.”

“Film and television production supports good-paying jobs and small businesses across Virginia and across the country. This bill will help keep more productions — and the jobs they create — here at home, while giving Virginia’s talented artists and production workers more opportunities to succeed. I’m proud to support this effort,” said Senator Warner.

“President Trump is right, the days of executives offshoring good-paying jobs to Mexico are over. It’s time to Make Hollywood Great Again,” said Sen. Moreno. “When we keep production, talent, and creativity here in the United States, we don’t just protect good-paying jobs; we safeguard the industry that has defined global popular culture for generations. Ohio has been a staple in the film industry for nearly 130 years, producing iconic movies, pumping millions into our economy, and it’s time to bring those jobs back home for good.”

“As the film and entertainment industry continues to thrive in New Jersey, good jobs and economic growth for local communities thrives too. With new federal incentives, this legislation can take us even further and support states like New Jersey who are home to a growing production workforce and benefiting from it,” said Senator Kim.

TheMotion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act would:

Spur American jobs and economic development by providing a 20% federal, labor-based tax credit to U.S. film and television productions with minimum spend of $1 million and where at least 75% of the principal photography days occur within the U.S;

Offer 5% bonus credit allowances, increasing the base credit up to a maximum of 30%, for productions in rural opportunity zones and areas impacted by disasters, independent productions, multi-state producers in 10+ states, and producers who show a measurable onshoring of productions;

Make the credit available to traditional post-production and visual effects activities when at least 75% of the respective post-production and visual effects production takes place in the U.S; and

Support the investments of states currently offering incentives by allowing the federal incentive to supplement state credits.

In the U.S. House of Representatives, this legislation is led by Representatives Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas-1), Linda Sanchez (D-Calif- 38), Brian Jack (R-Ga-3), and Laura Friedman (D-Calif-30). House co-sponsors include Mike Carey (R-Ohio-15), Judy Chu (D-Calif-28), David Kustoff (R-Tenn-08), Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.-03), Vince Fong (R-Calif-20), and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.-5).

This bill is endorsed by: American Federation of Musicians, American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), CreativeFuture, Coalition for American Production (CAP), Directors Guild of America (DGA), FilmUSA, Independent Film and Television Alliance (IFTA), International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), Motion Picture Association (MPA), Producers Guild of America (PGA), Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA), Teamsters, Television Academy, U.S. Film and Television Production Coalition, Writers Guild of America East (WGAE), Writers Guild of America West (WGAW)

Bill one pager is here.

The full text of the legislation is available here.

The section-by-section of the legislation is available here.

Background: For years, Schiff has highlighted the need to increase film production in America and has continued to build bipartisan support in Congress for his federal film incentive proposal, which would promote American jobs and spur local economic growth by creating additional support for film and television production in the U.S., allowing us to compete with foreign incentives.

During his time in the California State Senate, Schiff helped lead efforts to increase film production in California and protect local jobs.

Schiff spearheaded efforts in Congress to extend California’s film tax credit, including in 2014 when he led 28 members of the California Democratic delegation in urging the leaders of the California State Senate and Assembly to reauthorize and enhance the tax credit. In 2024, Schiff sent a letter to the Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Bureau of Labor Statistics requesting detailed data on the impact of foreign production incentives on the domestic industry.

In March 2026, Senator Adam Schiff hosted a spotlight hearing in Burbank California entitled, “Lights, Camera, Competition: Promoting American Film Production” to highlight the importance of bolstering American film production, and tackling the challenges facing the industry from generous tax incentives provided by other countries.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/news-schiff-padilla-huffman-california-colleagues-condemn-trump-administration-efforts-to-repeal-roadless-rule/,"NEWS: Schiff, Padilla, Huffman, California Colleagues Condemn Trump Administration Efforts to Repeal Roadless Rule",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CA,Adam B. Schiff,S001150,www.schiff.senate.gov,schiff,https://www.schiff.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla (both D-Calif.), along with U.S. Representative Jared Huffman (D-Calif.-02), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, led 38 members of the California congressional delegation in opposing the Trump Administration’s rescission of the Roadless Rule, a landmark U.S. Forest Service conservation policy adopted in 2001 that protects nearly 60 million acres of undeveloped National Forest System lands. It prohibits new road construction, reconstruction, and commercial timber harvesting to preserve these areas’ ecological and recreational value. The Trump Administration issued its final proposed rule to advance the rescission of the Roadless Rule, allowing only a 47-day public comment period.

In their letter to Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins, the lawmakers underscored the importance of the Roadless Rule to California’s preservation of public lands and natural resources.

“Unpaved and poorly maintained forest roads are notoriously the largest source of human-made sediment in public waterways,” wrote the lawmakers. “Protected roadless areas actively safeguard California’s water quality by preventing the severe erosion and landslides that choke pristine rivers with silt and other pollution that inevitably follows road construction. Roadless areas directly anchor the vulnerable origin points of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, Kern, Smith, and Eel Rivers, and these protected areas capture, clean, and regulate more than 11 trillion gallons of water annually.”

The lawmakers warned of the possible impacts on California’s water and natural resources if the Roadless Rule is fully repealed, especially with the growing threat of devastating wildfires in California.

“Most alarming is that when new areas are opened up to roads, wildfires become much more likely,” continued the lawmakers. “Moreover, when fires do burn through roadless areas, they often burn at lower, more natural intensities which keeps the underlying soil healthy and minimizes post-burn soil erosion impacts. The State of California currently spends billions of dollars each year toward wildfire mitigation and suppression, so removing this rule will result in even more fires and will unnecessarily cost California taxpayers more to support the State’s wildfire response efforts.”

The lawmakers further emphasized the Roadless Rule’s importance to the outdoor economy by protecting access to trails, promoting outdoor recreation, and supporting small businesses and local economies that rely on public lands. The lawmakers highlighted that Americans across the country have supported the Roadless Rule since its implementation, and that efforts to overturn the rule undoes previous bipartisan support. Since the announcement of the repeal, the rule received a significant amount of public support within the Administration’s brief public comment period.

“The proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule is deeply unpopular among our constituents,”the lawmakers concluded. “At the time of its adoption, the Rule received over 600 public hearings and over 1.6 million comments—more comments than any other rule in the nation’s history. Despite the significant amount of public consultation that went into the 2001 Roadless Rule, this Administration only gave our constituents 21 days to comment on the initial announcement for the Roadless Rule repeal—during which more than 600,000 comments were submitted and 99% of which supported retaining the rule.”

Last week, Schiff and Padilla led a bipartisan group of 153 lawmakers in urging the Department of the Interior (DOI) to abandon a proposed transfer of federally managed public land within Yosemite National Park that would facilitate private access to and development of an 83-acre parcel adjacent to the park known as Hazel Green Ranch.

The full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Rollins:

We write to oppose the proposed rescission of the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (“Roadless Rule”) that prohibits new road construction and commercial timber harvesting in inventoried roadless areas (“roadless areas”). Eliminating the Roadless Rule will harm California’s already overburdened water sources, will counterintuitively decrease communities’ fire resilience, and will have negative economic impacts throughout our state.

For 25 years, the Roadless Rule has protected nearly 60 million acres across the United States from new road construction and commercial timber harvesting in some of our nation’s most intact and environmentally significant areas. In California, the U.S. Forest Service manages 20 million acres of national forests, including over 4.4 million acres of roadless areas. California’s national forests act as the state’s natural water infrastructure, supplying roughly 65% of California’s total water supply, despite making up only 20% of the state’s land area. Unpaved and poorly maintained forest roads are notoriously the largest source of human-made sediment in public waterways. Protected roadless areas actively safeguard California’s water quality by preventing the severe erosion and landslides that choke pristine rivers with silt and other pollution that inevitably follows road construction. Roadless areas directly anchor the vulnerable origin points of the Sacramento, San Joaquin, American, Kern, Smith, and Eel Rivers, and these protected areas capture, clean, and regulate more than 11 trillion gallons of water annually. The raw, wholesale market value of the water produced by California’s national forests is estimated at roughly $3.2 billion annually, and serves as the underlying foundation for our multi-billion dollar agricultural, municipal, and energy industries.

Despite what opponents of the Roadless Rule argue, it does not ban firefighting or fuel reduction activities in our national forests. Agencies retain full authority to remove trees, clear brush, and construct temporary emergency access roads to protect public safety. Local managers frequently conduct thinning, remove small-diameter trees and underbrush, and execute prescribed burns within roadless areas—particularly along existing boundaries where ignitions are most likely.

Most alarming is that when new areas are opened up to roads, wildfires become much more likely. Recent research demonstrates that wildfires are four times more likely to start near roads than in roadless areas. Because California’s national forests—such as the Los Padres and Angeles National Forests—directly border massive urban populations, human-caused ignitions are the state’s primary wildfire threat to communities. By limiting road construction, the Rule isolates rugged terrain from vehicles, campfires, and equipment sparks. Moreover, when fires do burn through roadless areas, they often burn at lower, more natural intensities which keeps the underlying soil healthy and minimizes post-burn soil erosion impacts. The State of California currently spends billions of dollars each year toward wildfire mitigation and suppression, so removing this rule will result in even more fires and will unnecessarily cost California taxpayers more to support the State’s wildfire response efforts.

Roadless areas are also essential to maintaining and supporting our state’s outdoor recreation economy that draws people from around the world. California’s national forests host 33 million visitors per year, shifting hundreds of millions of dollars from urban centers directly into rural gateway communities through hotel taxes and local sales taxes. This tax revenue directly funds essential rural municipal services that many counties in California otherwise could not afford. The Roadless Rule also protects thousands of miles of hiking and mountain biking trails and hundreds of miles of whitewater paddling runs across the country, which allow outfitters and other small businesses to thrive. The strength of our outdoor economy is intrinsically tied to these roadless areas remaining protected from industrial development.

Finally, as you will undoubtedly find during this comment period, the proposed repeal of the Roadless Rule is deeply unpopular among our constituents. At the time of its adoption, the Rule received over 600 public hearings and over 1.6 million comments more comments than any other rule in the nation’s history. Despite the significant amount of public consultation that went into the 2001 Roadless Rule, this Administration only gave our constituents 21 days to comment on the initial announcement for the Roadless Rule repeal—during which more than 600,000 comments were submitted and 99% of which supported retaining the Rule. Now, the Administration is only allowing a 47-day comment period on the draft Environmental Impact Statement. Beyond all that, any new roads that are built would leave taxpayers on the hook for road maintenance, all while the U.S. Forest Service already has a $7-8 billion road maintenance backlog.

For these reasons and more, we strongly oppose the rescission of the Roadless Rule. We urge you to leave the Rule intact so that it can continue to provide its time-tested benefits to our state and nation. Thank you for your consideration.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.schiff.senate.gov/news/press-releases/watch-schiff-hails-bipartisan-cooperation-on-new-bill-to-create-federal-film-tax-incentive-emphasizes-need-for-congress-to-take-action-to-regulate-ai-on-cnns-the-story-is-with-elex-michaels/,"WATCH: Schiff Hails Bipartisan Cooperation on New Bill to Create Federal Film Tax Incentive, Emphasizes Need for Congress to Take Action to Regulate AI on CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CA,Adam B. Schiff,S001150,www.schiff.senate.gov,schiff,https://www.schiff.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined CNN’s The Story Is with Elex Michaelson to discuss the introduction of his new bill with Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.), the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act, to create the nation’s first federal film tax incentive to help keep film and television production in the United States.

The Senator highlighted support from Congressional Republicans and President Trump as evidence of a pathway to get the bill signed into law by the end of this year.

He also discussed the importance of Congress taking action to regulate artificial intelligence and the need for the United States to come to an agreement with China on AI.

View the full interview here.

Key Excerpts:

On Republican support for creating a federal film tax incentive:

[…] I think a lot of the Republicans were supportive of this. I’ve been having conversations with them for the last two years, and in the House for many, many years before that. What it really took was the president issuing a statement of support. I think they were waiting for a signal from the White House that if they got on board with this, they would have the president’s backing, and he did issue that statement. It was a full-throated endorsement of this bill, and that really moved things forward. Then it was just a question of hammering out some last-minute provisions, we already had a very good draft. I’ve had that for you know the last couple of years, and we also obviously worked with our Democratic and Republican counterparts in the House so that when we introduced the bill today, it was not only bipartisan but also in both houses, and that just gives us that much stronger chance for passage.

On working with the White House, Trump administration, and stakeholders:

We’ve been working closely with the White House, and Spencer Pratt has been very helpful. John Voight has been very helpful. They’ve been, I think, very good liaisons with the White House. And my understanding is that we have sign-off of all the stakeholders on the terms of this bill. That’s what we were really working towards. We want to make sure that nobody had any poison pills, no deal breakers, and I think we’re all in alignment on this, and not just the parties and the White House, but also labor and the guilds. This is really quite a remarkable achievement to have everybody on the same page on this pretty complicated issue.

On pathway to get the bill across the finish line:

I think the finish line is in sight. We really need to strike while the iron is hot. It’s not going to happen before the election. The House is already out of session, but we’re going to come back in after the election for what’s called a lame duck session. It is my hope that we get it done then. That’s our best opportunity. We don’t want to wait until next year when this party or that might lose interest or we might lose momentum. So, it’s really important that we do our best to get it done. And it’s not difficult to see that pathway. It might get taken up on its own, or more likely, it will get added to a bill that’s already moving. Either approach is fine with me, just so long as we get it done.

On the need for Congress to take action on artificial intelligence:

There’s bipartisan concern, frankly, with how AI is developing-the speed, the sophistication, the lack of control over AI, even by the companies that are producing it and on the leading edge. When you see, as OpenAI did, its own AI chatbot agents talking to themselves, posting messages to themselves, saying, “we’re beholden to no corporation, no government, we are not subservient, we are, you know, on a par with our clients.” Then it’s really cause for alarm. I think people here are alarmed, but I also feel, Elex, in terms of seeing a finish line here, we have a terrible record in the Congress of regulating technology, even when there’s palpable harm, as we have seen with social media and what it’s done to our kids, we cannot afford to have that same dysfunctional approach when it comes to AI because it’s just too dangerous.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/news/press/09/28/2026/shaheen-joins-bipartisan-calls-for-trump-administration-to-extend-and-redesignate-tps-for-ukrainians,Shaheen Joins Bipartisan Calls for Trump Administration to Extend and Redesignate TPS for Ukrainians,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NH,Jeanne Shaheen,S001181,www.shaheen.senate.gov,shaheen,https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined 30 of her Senate colleagues in calling on the Trump Administration to issue an 18-month extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainians living in the United States as Vladimir Putin continues his war of aggression against their homeland. The bipartisan letter, led by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, underscores how a failure to extend TPS ahead of its expiration next month would send thousands of Ukrainians back into a war zone that has resulted in significant civilian casualties, infrastructure damage and displacement.

The Senators wrote, in part: “Ukraine was initially designated for TPS on April 19, 2022, on the basis of ongoing armed conflict and extraordinary and temporary conditions caused by Russia’s military actions within the country […] Subsequent reviews of in-country conditions found that the situation in the country had not sufficiently improved; accordingly, TPS for Ukraine was extended and redesignated through April 19, 2025, and extended once more beginning on April 20, 2025.”

They continued: “Protecting the approximately 101,000 Ukrainian TPS holders currently living in the United States is a humanitarian imperative, but also a sound economic decision. Thanks to the work authorization granted by their TPS status, Ukrainian TPS holders have contributed approximately $2.6 billion to our economy each year and have provided approximately $716 million in taxes annually […] Terminating TPS for this population risks disrupting these industries, increasing costs for American consumers by forcing thousands of experienced workers out of their jobs.”

They concluded: “Current conditions in Ukraine clearly merit the continuation of TPS status. The ongoing war has caused a humanitarian crisis and damage to critical civilian infrastructure has left many with limited or no access to heat, electricity or medical services. Ukrainian nationals cannot safely return at this time, and allowing TPS to terminate on October 19, 2026, would risk sending more than one hundred thousand individuals back to an active war zone. Ukrainian TPS holders contribute greatly to our communities, both culturally and economically. To ensure that eligible Ukrainian nationals currently in the United States can continue living and working safely while conditions in their home country remain perilous, we urge you issue an extension and redesignation of TPS for Ukraine.”

The full text of the letter can be read HERE.

Senator Shaheen has consistently worked to ensure the delivery of military, humanitarian and economic support to Ukraine as it fights for its freedom and democracy amid Putin’s war of aggression. Most recently, Senator Shaheen helped pass the bipartisan Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, which was recently signed into law. Shaheen also supported key provisions in the Committee-approved National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), including a reauthorization of the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) through 2030—the U.S. Department of Defense’s authority to equip the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Critically, the NDAA also includes guardrails requested by Shaheen to ensure transparency of foreign funds used to match U.S. contributions under USAI and Shaheen-authored amendments that allow the continued sharing of U.S. information, intelligence and imagery to support the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Russian-occupied territory.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/news/press/with-senate-returning-to-washington-in-search-of-affordability-solutions-shaheen-pushes-for-floor-vote-on-bipartisan-bill-to-cap-monthly-insulin-costs,"With Senate Returning to Washington in Search of Affordability Solutions, Shaheen Pushes for Floor Vote on Bipartisan Bill to Cap Monthly Insulin Costs",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NH,Jeanne Shaheen,S001181,www.shaheen.senate.gov,shaheen,https://www.shaheen.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"(Washington, DC) – With the U.S. Senate returning to Washington in search of solutions that address the nation’s overwhelming affordability concerns, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) is calling for a floor vote on her bipartisan, bicameral legislation to cap monthly insulin costs. The INSULIN Act would cap monthly out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 and continues to gain momentum in the House and Senate. As Senate leaders seek cost-of-living solutions for the American people, Senators on both sides of the aisle are increasingly pointing to the INSULIN Act as an immediate, broadly supported step Congress can take to lower health care costs. Over 40 million Americans live with diabetes, and Shaheen’s INSULIN Act would make a direct impact by lowering the cost of life-saving insulin for millions across the country.

“President Trump campaigned on immediately lowering costs for the American people, yet he’s done just the opposite. With millions of American families facing spiking prices as a result of this Administration’s disastrous health care policies, my INSULIN Act is one immediate step Congress can take to directly lower costs for millions of Americans. That’s why it has dozens of bipartisan cosponsors across the House and Senate, and why momentum is growing to take action on the bill,” said Senator Shaheen. “I’ve fought to pass this legislation for years and we are closer than ever before to achieving that goal. I’m joining calls to bring this bill to the floor and show the American people that Congress can still achieve meaningful, bipartisan progress to make life more affordable.”

Throughout the August recess and into September, momentum has grown for the INSULIN Act. Recent reporting by Punchbowl News and the New Hampshire Bulletin highlight how Shaheen continues to hear from her constituents and advocate for the passage of her legislation to address affordability concerns. And just last week, reporting from The Washington Sun laid out the “groundswell” of support for the INSULIN Act from Senate Republicans across the ideological spectrum who believe it would make a real impact to bring down costs for the American people.

The current push for the INSULIN Act comes after the legislation was recently introduced in the House and advanced out of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on a strong bipartisan basis—two major steps for the legislation.

Senator Shaheen has led efforts to lower health care costs for Granite Staters and Americans. As co-chair of the U.S. Senate Diabetes Caucus, Senator Shaheen has consistently pressed to hold insulin manufacturers, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers accountable for the skyrocketing cost of life-saving insulin and otherwise support patients and families facing diabetes. Polling released from the American Diabetes Association this summer found that 40% of respondents who rely on insulin report paying more than $150 per month for insulin, and 76% of respondents across political parties support a $35 limit on cost sharing for insulin.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-demands-answers-on-why-doj-hired-attorney-convicted-of-election-interference-to-monitor-elections/,Welch Demands Answers on Why DOJ Hired Attorney Convicted of Election Interference to Monitor Elections,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,VT,Peter Welch,W000800,www.welch.senate.gov,welch,https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and member of the Senate Rules Committee, demanded answers from Assistant Attorney General (AAG) Harmeet Dhillon, head of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), on why DOJ hired an attorney convicted of election interference to conduct election monitoring for the Department.

“According to credible reports, the Civil Rights Division sent a recently hired attorney to conduct election monitoring for the Department of Justice who was previously convicted of election interference. Deploying politically motivated individuals to carry out DOJ’s poll monitoring efforts threatens to undermine Americans’ faith in the electoral process ahead of the November 2026 midterm elections,” wrote Senator Welch.

“In 2016, David Levin pleaded guilty to conducting a cyberattack to obtain the credentials of a Supervisor of Elections for Lee County, Florida, which he then used to enter restricted portions of the state’s Division of Elections and the county’s election websites. He served 20 days in jail and received two years of probation. According to Mr. Levin’s arrest warrant, he demonstrated how he hacked the website in YouTube videos and a local television interview,” the Senator continued. “The Department has not confirmed whether Mr. Levin is working for the Civil Rights Division. But publicly available images and videos from the Department’s election monitoring activities during the recent Minnesota primary elections captured Mr. Levin with William Mohrman, who is a Senior Counsel in the Division. One video shows a local election judge interacting with Mr. Levin and Mr. Mohrman as they monitored Minnesota’s August primary.”

“On August 25, 2026, you stated in an interview with Bloomberg News that the Department would send approximately 1,000 employees to monitor the 2026 midterm elections. In that interview, you declined to state where those monitors would be sent, but DOJ has already deployed primary election monitors to eleven states and hundreds of polling locations. This announcement, combined with Mr. Levin’s presence at election monitoring activities in Minnesota, raises serious questions about who the Division will send to conduct election monitoring during the midterm elections,” the Senator concluded.

Senator Welch requested answers to the following questions by October 8, 2026, to better understand the Division’s election-related work:

Please identify the factors that the Civil Rights Division considers when determining whether election monitors will be sent to a particular polling location.

Does the Civil Rights Division have a policy prohibiting individuals convicted of, or charged with, election-related offenses from participating in election monitoring on behalf of the DOJ?

Did Mr. Levin participate in DOJ election monitoring during the 2026 primary election in Minnesota? If so, what was his authority and who approved of his participation?

Does the Civil Rights Division intend to have Mr. Levin participate in election monitoring during the 2026 midterm election in November?

Are there other Civil Rights Division employees who have been convicted of, or charged with, election interference offenses?

Were DOJ officials aware of Mr. Levin’s convictions for hacking election websites before he was hired?

Please describe Mr. Levin’s involvement in the Division’s election-related work.

Read and download the full text of Senator Welch’s letter to AAG Dhillon.

Senator Welch has led efforts pushing back on AAG Dhillon’s leadership of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the Trump Administration’s efforts to deny millions of Americans their right to vote. In August, Senator Welch urged the Department of Homeland Security to reverse a policy that restricts states from receiving full disbursement of the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Homeland Security Grant Program counterterrorism funding if they do not comply with new election-related conditions, including participation in the agency’s flawed SAVE system and disclosing sensitive voter information.

Earlier this year, Senator Welch delivered a scathing criticism of statements and actions by AAG Dhillon and others in her division for pushing the mass collection of sensitive and private voter data. The Senator emphasized that the division’s actions—in light of the upcoming 2026 midterm elections—risk disenfranchising eligible voters and are contrary to the Civil Rights Division’s statutory mandate to ensure all Americans can freely vote.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.welch.senate.gov/welch-statement-on-senate-passage-of-the-bipartisan-protect-college-sports-act/,Welch Statement on Senate Passage of the Bipartisan Protect College Sports Act,2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,VT,Peter Welch,W000800,www.welch.senate.gov,welch,https://www.welch.senate.gov/category/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and former Member of the Senate Commerce Committee, released the following statement on the Senate’s passage of the bipartisan Protect College Sports Act, which he cosponsored:

“The bipartisan Protect College Sports Act is significant progress in the effort to establish clear national rules and combat consolidation for a broken system. No compromise is perfect, but this bill proves bipartisanship is still a winning play for Congress. The Protect College Sports Act codifies protections for student athletes and athletic programs, supports smaller schools—including those in Vermont—by allowing revenue sharing, and it helps get big money out of college sports. It’s a win-win for student athletes and fans alike.”

The Protect College Sports Act, led by Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), will stabilize college sports and set new rules. This bipartisan bill will codify student athletes’ rights to earn compensation when their Name, Image or Likeness (NIL) is used, replacing a patchwork of state laws, protect women’s and Olympic sports programs, provide access to scholarships and health care protections, expand revenue for all schools, and give student athletes a seat at the table.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/merkley-bonamici-wyden-oregon-leaders-unlock-14-million-in-federal-funding-for-oregon-coast-project,"Merkley, Bonamici, Wyden, Oregon Leaders Unlock $14 Million in Federal Funding for Oregon Coast Project",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,wyden,https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, U.S. Congresswoman Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, Oregon Governor Tina Kotek, Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, and Oregon State Representative Cyrus Javadi announced that, thanks to their efforts, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has released $14,567,624 in federal funds for Clatsop County and Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) to build a tsunami-resilient hospital expansion in Astoria, featuring a vertical evacuation structure for 1,900 people.

CMH had received an award for the expansion under the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program—which provides grants for hazard mitigation planning and projects that reduce risks posed by natural hazards to communities—but faced roadblocks to accessing the funding after the Trump Administration suspended the BRIC program in 2025. Following legal challenges and advocacy by Oregon lawmakers, CMH’s BRIC funding has finally been released.

“You can’t wait for a disaster to happen to start preparing, and this funding finally moving forward will be transformative for disaster resiliency along the North Coast. Thanks to the partnership of state and local leaders, we held the Trump Administration accountable to deliver on the promise of this common-sense project to help Oregonians prepare for disasters and save lives,” said Senator Merkley. “I’ll keep pushing to get this project over the finish line and to deliver critical funding for disaster resiliency efforts in Oregon and communities across the country.”

“This grant funding is long overdue for Columbia Memorial Hospital and everyone who lives on or visits the Oregon Coast,” said Congresswoman Bonamici. “The BRIC grant for this lifesaving vertical evacuation structure should never have been jeopardized, and we’ve fought long and hard for it to be released. I look forward to celebrating the completion of this important project with the community in Astoria.”

“Ensuring that Oregon’s coastal communities have access to health care in the wake of natural disasters is absolutely essential,” said Senator Wyden. “I am thankful we were able to get critical funding released for the Columbia Memorial Hospital after it was illegally withheld under the Trump administration’s draconian funding cuts that are putting Oregon families at risk. I’ll continue to pull out all the stops to ensure our state has the resources it needs to keep families safe.”

“This award is a critical investment in the North Coast’s ability to be resilient in the face of disasters,” said Governor Kotek. “This project can now move forward with confidence in its completion, and the families on the North Coast will benefit from reliable health care access when they need it most. Thank you to our Congressional delegation and community leaders for your persistence to get this done.”

“Disaster relief should have never been held up over partisan politics,” said Attorney General Rayfield. “Oregonians’ safety is too important to play games with. That’s why we took immediate action to fight back and make sure this critically needed project will continue moving forward, providing peace of mind to the entire North Coast community.”

“Natural disasters don’t care if you’re in a red state or a blue state - FEMA shouldn’t either. So when the Trump Administration went back on its word, I promised we’d keep fighting until Columbia Memorial got what it was owed. Today that fight paid off. This funding will help our community be ready when the ground shakes or the water rises,” said Representative Javadi.

“We could not be more thrilled with the news that our BRIC grant funding has been restored! This $14 million grant completes our project budget and ensures that our community will receive a fully resilient, modern healthcare facility. The BRIC funds will help offset the cost of constructing a deep-pile foundation and a tsunami vertical evacuation structure capable of accommodating 1,900 people. The project will also locate critical infrastructure, generators, and the helipad on the roof of the new hospital—important features that will help ensure the facility can remain operational when our community needs it most. Our sincerest appreciation goes to Congresswoman Bonamici, Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, Oregon Attorney General Rayfield, and all our state delegates for their unwavering support and tireless efforts to secure these funds. We are incredibly grateful,” said Erik Thorsen, Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Memorial Hospital.

""Thanks to the tireless advocacy of Senator Merkley, Senator Wyden, Representative Bonamici, and Representative Bentz, this critical funding is returning to Clatsop County. This victory was made possible by a shared commitment from Governor Kotek, Attorney General Rayfield, Senator Weber, Representative Javadi, and the Oregon legislature's Joint Ways and Means Committee. Above all, it is a direct result of our community keeping this project front and center. I want to thank my fellow Commissioners, County Manager Don Bohn, Sheriff Matt Phillips, and Emergency Management Director Justin Gibbs, and of course the leadership of CMH and CEO Erik Thorsen. This truly was a team effort that showcased the undeniable power of local, state, and federal collaboration,” said Mark Kujala, Chair of the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases/wyden-merkley-introduce-legislation-to-impose-sanctions-of-israeli-settlement-construction,"Wyden, Merkley Introduce Legislation to Impose Sanctions of Israeli Settlement Construction",2026-09-28,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Ron Wyden,W000779,www.wyden.senate.gov,wyden,https://www.wyden.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Sanctions would target settlement construction within the E1 area of the West Bank

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today said they joined Senate colleagues in introducing legislation to impose targeted sanctions on companies, individuals, and other entities that facilitate the development of Israeli settlements in the E1 area of the West Bank.

“Benjamin Netanyahu’s disgraceful policy of expanding West Bank settlements crosses a clear red line and makes Palestinian statehood and lasting peace even more difficult,” Wyden said. “The United States must stand up against Netanyahu’s campaign of violence and aggression against Palestinian civilians and sanction individuals and companies that are complicit in this unlawful action.”

“In my visits to the West Bank, I’ve heard numerous stories about the organized strategy of harassment and violence settlers are inflicting upon Palestinians. The Netanyahu government, meanwhile, continues to rubberstamp this dangerous agenda, and these settlements in the West Bank are designed to destroy the possibility of a future Palestinian state living peacefully alongside the state of Israel,” said Merkley. “This is unacceptable, and our bill holds the Netanyahu government accountable for its illegal, reckless, and inhumane actions in the West Bank.”

Last year, Israel approved construction of more than 3,000 housing units in the E1 area of the West Bank. In recent weeks, Israel announced proposals to let companies bid for construction of these settlements. If completed, these units could sever the West Bank in two, gravely threatening the viability of a future Palestinian state. Israeli officials have publicly acknowledged the impact E1 settlement expansion could have on a two-state solution. Speaking at a ceremony shortly after his approval of the E1 plan, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly stated, “We said a Palestinian state will not be established – and indeed, a Palestinian state will not be established.” Following the initial announcement of the E1 settlements in August 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich reportedly stated: “The Palestinian state is being erased from the table not by slogans but by deeds. Every settlement, every neighborhood, every housing unit is another nail in the coffin of this dangerous idea.”

The bill would impose sanctions on any foreign person that the Secretary of the Treasury determines to have been responsible for or complicit in the construction of any Israeli settlements or related structures in the E1 area of the West Bank, including by submitting a bid for E1 tenders. It would also impose sanctions on those who attempt to organize, direct, finance, or facilitate the transfer of Israeli civilians into E1 settlements.

In addition to Wyden, the legislation was introduced by U.S. Senators Chris Coons, D-Del., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. In addition to Merkley, the legislation was cosponsored by U.S. Senators Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Tim Kaine, D-Va., Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Andy Kim, D-N.J., Chris Murphy, D-Conn., Patty Murray, D-Wash., Jack Reed, D-R.I, Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, Adam Schiff, D-Calif., Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., and Peter Welch, D-Vt..",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.alsobrooks.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-alsobrooks-hosts-real-men-real-talk-discussion-at-bowie-state-university/,"SENATOR ALSOBROOKS HOSTS REAL MEN, REAL TALK DISCUSSION AT BOWIE STATE UNIVERSITY",2026-09-27,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,MD,Angela D. Alsobrooks,A000382,www.alsobrooks.senate.gov,alsobrooks,https://www.alsobrooks.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"September 27, 2026

WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), along with MedStar Health and United Way of the National Capital Area, hosted “Real Men, Real Talk” at Bowie State University — a discussion and community fair dedicated to men, their health, and a stronger community.

Senator Alsobrooks was joined by Bowie State University president Dr. Aminta H. Breaux; Chile Ahaghotu, MD, Vice President of Medical Affairs at MedStar Southern Maryland Hospital Center; Gigi El-Bayoumi, MD, Founder, Rodham Institute at Georgetown School of Medicine; Brocklin Qualls, Director, Black Fatherhood Blueprint, Greater Washington Urban League; Jamal Branch, Psychotherapist, Founder, Synergy Therapeutic Services, LLC; and Stephen Conti, Founder, Tocar Spa Massage Therapy.

“Our men and boys hear the world demand so much of them. Today they got to hear these important words: you are loved. We care what you’re going through. We’re concerned about your lives, and you don’t have to handle everything on your own. That is what today was all about – joining together to discuss the physical, mental, and emotional health of our men and boys, and letting them know about the resources and support systems available to them,” said Senator Alsobrooks.

“United Way NCA is honored to stand alongside Senator Alsobrooks as a community partner for the ‘Real Men, Real Talk’ discussion and community fair,” said Dr. Nicole Cooper, Chief External Affairs and Transformation Officer, United Way of the National Capital Area. “The event aligns with our healthy community impact area, giving men real tools to live strong, healthy lives, from health screenings to mental health resources to a space where they feel seen and heard. It’s built on strong partnerships, and that’s how we create healthier, stronger communities throughout the National Capital Area, together.”

“Student success depends on well-being,” said Dr. Aminta H. Breaux, president of Bowie State University. “Today’s conversation created an important space for men and boys to prioritize their physical, mental and emotional health, connect with resources and know they are supported. We are proud to partner with Sen. Alsobrooks and community leaders to strengthen the health and well-being of the communities we serve.”

###",1,2026-09-28T11:29:07Z,2026-09-28T11:30:58Z
https://www.kaine.senate.gov/press-releases/kaine-and-subramanyam-applaud-bill-designating-george-c-marshall-house-as-national-park-service-affiliated-area-becoming-law,Kaine & Subramanyam Applaud Bill Designating George C. Marshall House as National Park Service Affiliated Area Becoming Law,2026-09-27,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,VA,Tim Kaine,K000384,www.kaine.senate.gov,kaine,https://www.kaine.senate.gov/news,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and U.S. Representative Suhas Subramanyam’s (D-VA-10) bill designating the General George C. Marshall House in Leesburg, known as Dodona Manor, as a National Park Service (NPS) affiliated area was signed into law.

“George C. Marshall was educated at Virginia Military Institute, served as the US Army’s Chief of Staff during World War II and then earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work as Secretary of State,” said Kaine. “This NPS designation of Dodona Manor will help preserve his home, honor General Marshall’s legacy, and ensure future generations understand the critical role he played in our history. I’m grateful to the many advocates and partners who have worked with us to get this done.”

“Dodona Manor has been a pillar of the Northern Virginia community for hundreds of years. I am proud to honor George C. Marshall’s legacy by ensuring the property is preserved for many years to come. The International Center right here in Leesburg has so much to offer visitors from around the world, including educational programming for people of all ages. I am proud that Senator Kaine and I delivered for Virginians and made this bill law,” said Subramanyam.

“We are deeply grateful to Representative Subramanyam and Senators Kaine and Warner for their leadership in advancing this legislation to preserve and elevate General Marshall’s legacy,” said Paul Michaels, chairman of the George C. Marshall International Center Board of Directors. “This measure marks a historic milestone for Dodona Manor and is wonderful news for the Leesburg and Loudoun County community. The increased visibility and expertise that come with National Park Service affiliation will help preserve this nationally significant landmark and help ensure future generations can learn from General Marshall’s extraordinary character and example.”

The official designation is the final step in many years of advocacy for recognition of Dodona Manor as a unit of the National Park System. Designation as an NPS affiliated area provides new resources to preserve and celebrate General Marshall’s legacy at the site, including technical assistance to support restoration efforts, accessibility improvements, and new programming.

General Marshall dedicated his life to public service, holding pivotal roles such as Chief of Staff of the Army during America's entry into World War II, Secretary of State where he designed the transformative Marshall Plan to rebuild post-war Europe, and Secretary of Defense during the early stages of the Korean War. In 1941, while serving as Army Chief of Staff, he purchased Dodona Manor, where he lived until his passing in 1959.

###",1,2026-09-29T11:07:12Z,2026-09-29T11:08:49Z
https://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-hassan-tuberville-introduce-legislation-to-ban-toxic-forever-chemicals-in-food-packaging,"Senators Hassan, Tuberville Introduce Legislation to Ban Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’ in Food Packaging",2026-09-26,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NH,Margaret Wood Hassan,H001076,www.hassan.senate.gov,hassan,https://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) reintroduced legislation to ban toxic PFAS chemicals – also known as ‘forever chemicals’ – in food wrappers and packaging. PFAS chemicals, which are sometimes used in food wrappers to repel grease, oil, and water, are linked to serious health challenges in humans, including cancer.

“I’ve heard firsthand about the devastating impact that PFAS exposure has had on many Granite Staters’ lives. These toxic chemicals have no place in or near our food,”said Senator Hassan. “While I am glad that several states and companies have taken steps to get PFAS out of their food packaging, we need a strong federal standard to protect all Americans. That's why I am introducing bipartisan legislation to ban PFAS from all food wrappers and packaging nationwide so that no family has to worry about bringing these dangerous chemicals into their home when they order takeout. I look forward to working across the aisle to get it passed and protect public health.”

“Thanks to the Make America Healthy Again movement, Americans have started waking up to the toxic chemicals that are in many of the products and foods we use every day,” said Senator Tuberville. “America has the best resources, technology, and people in the world, so why are we sicker than ever? We need to start taking a closer look at things in our environment that are poisoning us. Our children are the most precious resource we have and we owe it to them to ban toxic chemicals like PFAS from products that have proven to be cancerous.”

Senator Hassan first introduced the Keep Food Containers Safe from PFAS Act in 2021. PFAS contamination from food containers, cookware, and consumer products can lead to liver disease, thyroid dysfunction, and several forms of cancer. Following her efforts, several major fast food restaurants – including Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, and Starbucks – voluntarily announced that they would phase out PFAS chemicals from their food packaging.

Read the full text of the bill here.

Senator Hassan leads several efforts to protect Granite Staters from toxic forever chemicals. As a negotiator of the bipartisan infrastructure law, Senator Hassan helped secure a provision to better ensure that New Hampshire towns would be eligible for an advanced technology grant program that could be used to remove PFAS from drinking water. Last year, Senator Hassan pushed the EPA to continue PFAS cleanup efforts at the Tinkham Garage Site in Londonderry, where contamination has left residents without access to safe drinking water. Additionally, Senator Hassan helped introduce a bill to ban PFAS chemicals in cosmetics products, such as makeup, moisturizer, and perfume.

###",1,2026-09-27T10:23:37Z,2026-09-27T10:25:08Z
https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-statement-commemorating-national-public-lands-day,Heinrich Statement Commemorating National Public Lands Day,2026-09-26,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NM,Martin Heinrich,H001046,www.heinrich.senate.gov,heinrich,https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the following statement on National Public Lands Day:

“Our public lands are part of our shared identity – they are a physical manifestation of our Jeffersonian democracy and belong to all of us, no matter where you come from or how much money you have.

“But over the past two years, our public lands have been under relentless attacks. President Trump is trying to rip public lands from public hands, negotiating behind closed doors to sell off our national treasures to private equity firms and foreign mining companies, leaving our public lands behind a for sale sign.

“To rub even more salt in the wound: our national parks are facing billions of dollars in deferred maintenance and severe staff shortages, while $1.8 billion of your taxpayer dollars are being spent on President Trump’s D.C. vanity projects. That’s bullshit.

“On this National Public Lands Day, go out and enjoy our public lands. Then share why they matter to you and continue to fight to protect these lands for future generations.”

As Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Heinrich is leading the fight in Congress to protect our public lands, expand access to national parks, and hold the Trump administration accountable for its attacks on our treasured places — from efforts to erase history in our national parks to diverting funding to Trump’s vanity projects.

This month, Heinrich joined a bipartisan group of 153 lawmakers in urging the Department of the Interior (DOI) to abandon a proposed transfer of federally managed public land within Yosemite National Park that would facilitate private access to and development of an 83-acre parcel adjacent to the park known as Hazel Green Ranch. During a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing, Heinrich criticized the Trump administration for its plan to exchange public land in Yosemite National Park for private development.

This month, Heinrich led his Senate colleagues in sending a letter to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum demanding that the Trump administration stop work on President Trump’s commemorative arch on federal property, which federal officials have admitted will harm historic sites on public lands, including Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.

This month, Heinrich spoke in support of the Roadless Rule at a New Mexico Wild community event, encouraging New Mexicans to submit public comment in support of preserving the Roadless Rule. The public has until October 6, 2026 to submit comments on the Trump administration’s repeal of the Roadless Rule, which is the last chance for Americans to voice their opposition and help keep millions of acres of public lands in public hands. You can read more about Heinrich’s actions to protect the Roadless Rule here.

Last month, Heinrich led his colleagues in opposing the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposal to overturn the 2024 Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation rule (the 2024 Waste Prevention Rule). The move will increase pollution on public lands, reduce domestic energy supply, expose nearby communities to avoidable health risks, and waste publicly owned natural gas, costing Americans tens of millions in foregone revenue.

Last month, Heinrich joined top Senate Democrats in sending a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) Acting Comptroller General Orice Williams Brown to audit and assess the full scope and cost of the White House ballroom project.

Last month, Heinrich sent a letter requesting that the DOI Deputy Inspector General Caryl Brzymialkiewicz investigate what Department officials knew – and when they knew it – about engineering failures at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and whether Department employees withheld evidence from federal prosecutors.

In July, Heinrich criticized legislation that removes protections for public lands, emphasizing the need for bipartisan collaboration within the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Heinrich additionally fact-checked Trump administration actions that undo protections for the Chaco Canyon Cultural Protection Zone. You can read about Heinrich’s actions to protect Chaco Canyon here and here.

In July, Heinrich sent a letter to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum and U.S Park Chief of Police Scott Brecht demanding answers and transparency about the U.S. Park Police’s new vehicle pursuit policy following news reports that an innocent bystander, Nolberto Armando Sanabria Meza, a 46-year-old food delivery driver, was hit and tragically killed in D.C. by a driver being chased by U.S. Park Police.

In June, Heinrich helped advance the America the Beautiful Act, bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senators Steve Daines (R-Mont.) and Angus King (I-Maine) to reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund, out of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

In June, Heinrich sent a letter demanding answers from DOI Secretary Doug Burgum about the Trump administration redirecting tens of millions of dollars from fees paid to the NPS to fund President Trump’s vanity projects in Washington, D.C. – including redirecting funds collected at New Mexico sites such as Carlsbad Caverns National Park and Bandelier National Monument.

In April, during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing to examine the Trump administration’s Budget Request for the DOI Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27), Heinrich grilled DOI Secretary Doug Burgum about the Department’s draconian staff cuts at the NPS.

In March, Heinrich joined lawmakers in filing an amicus brief that would put a stop to President Trump’s plan to construct a commemorative arch on federal property. The amicus brief argues that the President’s plan is illegal unless Congress authorizes it.

In March, Heinrich led his colleagues in delivering remarks on the Senate floor in condemning and drawing attention to the Trump administration’s efforts to erase American history from public lands.

In March, Heinrich sent a letter to DOI demanding answers from the NPS following reports that NPS staff across the country are removing signage from national parks about slavery, Tribal history, and climate change.

In February, Heinrich led his colleagues in calling on DOI Secretary Doug Burgum to halt efforts to create the Department’s new U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS), citing potential life-or-death consequences that could come as a result of decoupling wildfire management from land management agencies, and emphasizing concerns related to recent reductions in staffing, combined with improperly severing wildfire management from land stewardship.

Last December, during a U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks hearing to consider 26 pending bills, Heinrich criticized the Trump administration for removing fee-free admission on Juneteenth and Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Last October, Heinrich delivered remarks on the Senate floor, criticizing Republicans for pushing forward Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions of disapproval targeting BLM Resource Management Plans (RMPs) that would undo protections for national parks, including the Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.

Last October, during the government shutdown, Heinrich urged the DOI Secretary Doug Burgum to classify the Department’s staff as essential during the Republican government shutdown to maintain the health and safety of Americans who visit public lands, wildlife refuges, and national park sites.

In June of 2025, Heinrich successfully fought Senate Republican provisions to sell off public lands in the Big Bad Bill, lead an amendment to prevent the privatization of our public lands, hosted a roundtable and sounded the alarm about New Mexico public lands that were at risk of being sold off by Republicans, continuously uplifted New Mexicans’ voices who called his office to raise their concern with Republicans’ plan to sell off these lands, and released a statement immediately criticizing Senate Republicans’ plan to sell off public lands following the release of the reconciliation text.

In June of 2025, Heinrich blasted the Trump administration for its plans to transfer national park units to state control, criticizing the administration for “cutting off our access to public lands and devastating state economies in the process, overwhelming state budgets and dismantling the systems that keep public lands running.”

In June of 2025, Heinrich grilled the DOI Secretary Doug Burgum over the Trump administration’s Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget request for the Department, which slashes funding for national parks and guts staffing for the agency.

In May of 2025, Heinrich sent a letter to DOI Secretary Doug Burgum, demanding answers from the Trump administration regarding its plans to transfer National Park System units from federal management. The letter follows Heinrich’s questioning of Secretary Burgum during a Senate Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee hearing, where Burgum failed to provide sufficient answers on the Trump administration’s plan to transfer hundreds of sites managed by the NPS to the states.

In January of 2025, Heinrich’s Simplifying Outdoor Access for Recreation (SOAR) Act and Every Kid Outdoors Extension Act, which extends free access to national parks and other public lands to all American fourth grade students and their families through 2031 — were signed into law as part of the Expanding Public Lands Outdoor Recreation Experiences (EXPLORE) Act. The broader bipartisan package bolsters outdoor recreation and promotes public lands in New Mexico and across the United States.",1,2026-09-27T10:23:37Z,2026-09-27T10:25:08Z
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-statement-on-trumps-illegal-pocket-rescission-of-nearly-1-billion,Durbin Statement On Trump’s Illegal “Pocket Rescission” Of Nearly $1 Billion,2026-09-26,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Richard J. Durbin,D000563,www.durbin.senate.gov,durbin,https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, released the following statement after President Trump announced that he has unilaterally rescinded nearly $1 billion in funds that Congress has already approved for education programs, health research, assistance for minority owned businesses, immigration services, and support to foreign countries:

“The illegal power grab by Donald Trump continues. The real question is whether my Republican colleagues will finally find their collective backbone and do something about it.

“Democrats fought for pocket rescission protection in the CR so this could never happen again, but Republicans refused—fearing retribution from the White House. My colleagues on the other side of the aisle might express anger now, but where were they this summer during these negotiations?

“Billion-dollar ballrooms are full speed ahead, but money for schools is cut. Vanity projects like the Golden Arch are a priority, but medical research for cancer cures is cut. Taxpayer funded political ads of the wartime President are a must, but medical care for children is cut.”

President Trump’s rescissions requests are made under a fast-tracked process, established in the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, in which a president can request that Congress rescind federal funding with a simple majority vote in each chamber. The law requires that, if Congress does not pass a bill rescinding the funding within 45 days, the president must release it.

However, President Trump is attempting an unlawful maneuver called “pocket rescissions,” in which he seeks to rescind funding less than 45 days before the end of the fiscal year, believing this provides him with the power to cancel the funding with or without the approval of Congress. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has stated that pocket rescissions are illegal.

Last year, President Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid via a “pocket recission.” And earlier in 2025, Republicans supported President Trump’s recission request that clawed back $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcast funding that had been previously appropriated on a bipartisan basis.

-30-",1,2026-09-28T11:29:07Z,2026-09-28T11:30:58Z
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-blasts-trumps-illegal-810-million-impoundment,Baldwin Blasts Trump’s Illegal $810 Million Impoundment,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WI,Tammy Baldwin,B001230,www.baldwin.senate.gov,baldwin,https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, released the following statement on President Donald Trump’s Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) announcement to illegally impound $810 million of congressionally mandated funding. The $810 million in illegal cuts comes from the bipartisan-passed Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations legislation, rescinding millions from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Office of Minority Health, Special Programs for Migrant Students, and International Education.

“President Trump knows well what the law says – the one I wrote with my Republican colleagues – but he is blatantly breaking it and stealing the money from the American people. Money that is supposed to be invested in groundbreaking health care research, chronic disease screening, home nursing visits, fresh food, and public education,” said Senator Baldwin. “President Trump always has enough money for his war, his ballroom, and all his other vanity projects, but when it comes time for American families, he leaves them out to dry. My Republican colleagues, who wrote and voted for this very law, need to stand up for the families and stop this President from illegally taking their money. On top of all of this, the Trump administration and Congressional Republicans undermining bipartisan budget agreements like this will only lead to more wasteful government shutdowns, when one side breaks the deal months later.”",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-leads-26-colleagues-in-rejecting-the-trump-admins-latest-move-to-politicize-and-undermine-education-funding,Baldwin Leads 26 Colleagues in Rejecting the Trump Admin’s Latest Move to Politicize and Undermine Education Funding,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WI,Tammy Baldwin,B001230,www.baldwin.senate.gov,baldwin,https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee, led 26 of her Senate colleagues in slamming the Department of Education’s (ED) latest move to further undermine the Department and jeopardize billions of dollars in funding for schools. Specifically, the Senators outlined their concerns with ED’s proposed changes to the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) that would allow the President’s political appointees to cancel grants to local schools for any reason – putting everything from school-based mental health programs to teacher training programs under constant threat of being defunded at any point. The Senators also raise concerns that, if implemented, the rule would lead to weaker evidence-based standards for programs that serve students, hinder student achievement, and defy Congressional intent. This rule comes on top of a tumultuous funding process under the Trump Administration, which has continued to try to entirely shut down the Department of Education.

“This proposed rule is unnecessarily broad and vague, would undermine the stability of educational programs, and does nothing to improve educational outcomes for students,” wrote Baldwin and the Senators in a letter to Secretary McMahon. “As the Trump Administration continues its illegal attempt to dismantle the Department, this proposed rule will only serve to increase chaos and uncertainty for schools, states, institutions of higher education and families across the Country.”

Specifically, the Trump administration’s proposed rule allows the department to terminate a grant “for convenience.” This would allow Trump’s political appointees to terminate grants, even ones that have been awarded, with no justification.

“Schools and other grant recipients need a meaningful degree of certainty to properly plan their budgets and provide services to students,” the Senators continued. “Broad, unwarranted termination and discontinuation authority makes it difficult, if not impossible, for recipients to responsibly plan and spend these funds. In section 75.253(c), the proposal also would remove a priority to continue previously awarded grants over awarding new grants. These changes will increase funding uncertainty which may discourage recipients from undertaking ambitious projects.”

“We know high-quality education has the ability to raise families out of poverty and meaningfully improve future earnings. However, at a time when student achievement is falling and families are struggling with rising costs, this proposed rule only serves to undermine efforts to improve outcomes for students and raise costs by creating financial uncertainty for schools and educational programs,” Baldwin and the Senators concluded. “This damage and uncertainty will only hurt student populations that federal funding intended to support.”

Senator Baldwin has been an outspoken critic of President Trump’s stated goal of dismantling the Department of Education and continued efforts to withhold funding from American students and schools, including blocking $7 billion in Congressionally approved funding ahead of the 2025-2026 school year. Last December, Baldwin led a group of her colleagues in calling out the Trump administration’s moves to illegally outsource core functions of the agency that students and their families rely on. In April, Baldwin pushed Sec. McMahon on Trump’s budget that cuts $6 billion from K-12 schools, including $105 million for Wisconsin’s public schools.

The letter was also co-led by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and signed by Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Richard Durbin (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Edward Markey (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jack Reed (D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Mark Kelly (D-AZ).

Full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary McMahon,

We write in opposition to the proposed rule, “Education Department General Administrative Regulations” (EDGAR) (Docket ID ED-2026-OPEPD-2542),1 which would make fundamental changes to the administration of formula and competitive grants Congress has authorized and funded through the U.S. Department of Education (“the Department”). This proposed rule is unnecessarily broad and vague, would undermine the stability of educational programs, and does nothing to improve educational outcomes for students. As the Trump Administration continues its illegal attempt to dismantle the Department, this proposed rule will only serve to increase chaos and uncertainty for schools, states, institutions of higher education and families across the country. One of the key functions of the Department is to award and administer both formula and competitive grants. These grants range from Title I-A, which provide additional funding for elementary and secondary education programs serving students from low-income communities, to TRIO grants providing support to first generation college students, to Innovative Approaches to Literacy grants which promote literacy programs in low-income communities, and every education stage in-between. The funding provided to the Department for programs authorized by Congress is essential to ensure schools and communities across the country are able to provide every child, regardless of their zip code, a high-quality education.

Political Interference in Grant Awards and Administration

The proposed rule (Section 75.901) would give the Department free rein to end already awarded grants “for convenience,” without substantive reason or justification or connection to performance under a grant. Grants provided by the Department frequently support multiyear contracts involving the hiring of staff who provide services to students, research activities, and commitments to students and families that cannot be easily unwound. Schools and other grant recipients need a meaningful degree of certainty to properly plan their budgets and provide services to students. Broad, unwarranted termination and discontinuation authority makes it difficult, if not impossible, for recipients to responsibly plan and spend these funds. In section 75.253(c), the proposal also would remove a priority to continue previously awarded grants over awarding new grants. These changes will increase funding uncertainty which may discourage recipients from undertaking ambitious projects.

The proposed indirect-cost provision (section 75.228) will only add to this financial instability and uncertainty. This proposal could create a race to the bottom with an incentive structure where applicants are not encouraged to create programs based on value and merit but instead based on how much institutional costs they can absorb themselves. This will disadvantage entities that are not well-resourced, such as entities in rural communities or on tribal lands. Furthermore, lowering the amount of funds that can be used on indirect costs will not actually lower those costs for programs. Capping the amount of funds will not lower the cost of rent or electricity for an after-school program or a rural college serving first-generation students.

Undermining Congressional Intent in Serving Underserved Students and Communities

The General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) governs the administration of the Department and its grant programs. Section 427(b) of GEPA requires the Secretary to ensure each applicant for federal education funding describe how the applicant will ensure equitable access and participation to all students and teachers in federally funded education programs including “based on gender, race, color, national origin, disability, and age.”2 This demonstrates a clear Congressional intent that federal education programs help provide assistance to students and communities that have been historically underserved in our nation, including students of color, students with disabilities, English learners, and LGBT students. This proposed rule would further gut the intent of GEPA Sec. 427, which the Department has undermined by not renewing the information collection it previously collected from its applicants for grant programs.

Section 75.210(d) of the proposal weakens compliance by removing the current EDGAR requirement for the Secretary to consider equitable and adequate access on the basis of economic disadvantage, gender, race, ethnicity, color, national origin, disability, age, language, migration, living in a rural location, experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity, involvement in the justice system, pregnancy, parenting or caregiver status, and sexual orientation. In addition to section 427 of GEPA, many federal laws3 authorized on a bipartisan basis direct federal education programs to focus on many of these underserved student populations. Removing this provision from EDGAR goes against Congressional intent not only in GEPA, but in these core foundational education laws.

This Proposed Rule Will Lead to a Weaker Evidence Base for Education Programs

The proposed rule also suggests a number of changes that would weaken evidence standards that govern Department programs. In changes detailed in section 77.1(c), the proposed rule would permit unknown, non-governmental organizations to determine whether grantees’ strategies and interventions meet the different levels of evidence established in EDGAR. This would break from how evidence standards are determined now by IES through a transparent and rigorous process. This could result in these important evidence standards being applied inconsistently within grant competitions. The evidence standards established in federal legislation and implementing regulations are critical to ensuring limited federal funds are spent on meaningful interventions that improve student outcomes. We are concerned that such goals are undermined by having unknown third parties judge applicants’ grant applications for whether or not they meet such evidence standards without a clear, rigorous, consistent, and transparent evaluation process.

We know high-quality education has the ability to raise families out of poverty and meaningfully improve future earnings. However, at a time when student achievement is falling and families are struggling with rising costs, this proposed rule only serves to undermine efforts to improve outcomes for students and raise costs by creating financial uncertainty for schools and educational programs. This damage and uncertainty will only hurt student populations that federal funding intended to support.

We urge you to withdraw the proposed rule.

Sincerely,",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases/baldwin-proposal-providing-tax-relief-for-victims-of-scams-and-disasters-passes-house,Baldwin Proposal Providing Tax Relief for Victims of Scams and Disasters Passes House,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,WI,Tammy Baldwin,B001230,www.baldwin.senate.gov,baldwin,https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced that the U.S. House of Representatives passed key provisions of her bipartisan Tax Relief for Victims of Crimes, Scams, and Disasters Act to provide tax relief to Americans who fall victim to financial scams or natural disasters.

The proposal eliminates the “scam tax,” which taxes Americans on income or assets stolen from them, even if they no longer possess those funds, by reinstating the Nonbusiness Casualty and Theft Loss Deduction for 2026. The proposal also includes retroactive relief for victims scammed between 2021 and 2025.

“If you’ve been scammed out of your hard-earned savings or lost everything in a disaster, you shouldn’t then get stuck with a tax bill for money you don’t have,” said Senator Baldwin. “It’s just plain wrong, and I’m proud that our commonsense proposal passed the House and is one step closer to giving victims the relief they deserve.”

The Nonbusiness Casualty and Theft Loss Deduction was eliminated in 2018, forcing survivors of scams and natural disasters to pay taxes on their financial losses.

The provisions were passed as part of legislation led by Representative Tom Suozzi (D-NY-03).

Full text of the bill is available here.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/25/bennet-murray-schumer-colleagues-introduce-legislation-to-end-trumps-trade-war-with-canada-lower-costs/,"Bennet, Murray, Schumer, Colleagues Introduce Legislation to End Trump’s Trade War with Canada & Lower Costs",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,Michael F. Bennet,B001267,www.bennet.senate.gov,bennet,https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/,scraper,"Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a senior member of the Senate Finance Committee with jurisdiction over trade and tariffs, joined U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to introduce legislation that would revoke President Trump’s newest global tariffs and 50 percent tariffs on Canada, and curtail Trump’s ability to continue waging his unilateral trade war. Trump has continued to ignore skyrocketing costs and, now, has hit American families with a new round of tariff taxes.

“Americans are tired of paying for Trump’s tariff war,” said Bennet. “As costs continue to rise, the Trump administration has doubled down on making everyday goods more expensive while insisting that the economy has never been better. Democrats refuse to play along with this alternate reality; that’s why I’m joining my Senate colleagues to introduce legislation that blocks Trump’s tariffs and refunds the money back to Coloradans.”

“Trump’s erratic and senseless trade war is nothing short of economic arson — no business can plan around Trump’s unpredictable tariffs, American credibility is shot, and costs are up,” said Murray. “While Republicans are enabling Trump’s economic sabotage, Democrats are fighting to put an end to these reckless tariffs. That’s why we’re introducing this legislation to block and refund Trump’s tariffs so we can focus on growing the economy for everyone and making life affordable again.”

“While inflation rages, families struggle to pay their bills, and small businesses close, Trump – detached from reality – continues his bluster on the global stage, doubling down on a chaotic trade war that has meant only pain for American families, farmers, and manufacturers,” said Leader Schumer. “Republicans won’t stand up to Trump’s nonsense and Americans are crying out for relief. That’s why I am introducing legislation that would end Trump’s costly tariff taxes.”

Since Trump started his latest trade war, American families have paid the price. In just one year, Trump’s tariff tax cost the average family nearly $2,000, with hardworking Americans bearing 96 percent of the cost of the hundreds of billions of dollars in new tariffs. Still, Trump has been undeterred by the chaos and pain his trade war has wrought and continues to double down on the global stage.

The End Trump’s Tariff Tax Act would revoke and refund Trump’s latest barrage of tariffs and repeal the archaic authorities he has used to continue his trade war. This legislation would apply to Trump’s newest global tariffs of 12.5 percent and 50 percent tariffs on Canada.

In February, Bennet released legislation requiring full refunds of President Trump’s illegal tariffs after the U.S. Supreme Court struck them down. In May 2025, Bennet introduced the Tariff Transparency Act, legislation that would require the independent, bipartisan U.S. International Trade Commission to issue a report on the economic effects of recent and proposed tariffs. In January 2025, Bennet wrote to members of the Trump administration calling for a comprehensive approach to international economic policy that goes beyond tariffs.

In addition to Bennet, Murray, and Schumer, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Angus King (Maine), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) cosponsored this legislation.

The text of the bill is available HERE.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/25/bennet-slotkin-colleagues-demand-answers-from-hegseth-on-cost-of-iran-war/,"Bennet, Slotkin, Colleagues Demand Answers from Hegseth on Cost of Iran War",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,Michael F. Bennet,B001267,www.bennet.senate.gov,bennet,https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/,scraper,"President Trump’s Pentagon Has Greatly Underestimated the Iran War’s Costs

Washington, D.C. — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet, a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, joined U.S. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) and 43 Senate colleagues, including fellow Colorado Senator John Hickenlooper, to demand a full accounting of the costs of President Trump’s reckless war of choice with Iran. The senators criticized the President’s hand-picked Department of Defense leadership for withholding basic budget information from Congress and the American public, even as U.S. casualties and taxpayer costs continue to increase.

The United States is now more than six months into a conflict President Trump initially said would last six weeks. NineteenAmerican servicemembers have been killed and more than 820 wounded, and over 50,000 troops are currently deployed to the Middle East. In the letter, the senators note that deployments have been repeatedly extended, and that their offices have heard directly from military families worried about loved ones serving in the conflict.

“Meanwhile, at home, American taxpayers have already paid an extra $100 billion out of their pockets for higher gas and diesel prices alone and at least another $60 billion in higher costs for things like groceries, mortgages, and plane tickets as a result of the war,” wrote the senators. “Now you are asking that they pay again to fund a war of choice that Congress never authorized and the President launched with no strategic plan.”

In their letter, the senators highlight the contrast between the current Pentagon’s transparency record with past wartime practice, noting that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has briefed Congress only seven times in six months and held just eight Pentagon press briefings or interviews since the war began, compared to more than 70 press briefings in the first month of the Iraq War alone. The senators also criticized the administration’s public supplemental funding request as a seven-page document offering only vague line items, in contrast to the detailed, hundred-page supplemental requests provided to Congress during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The senators requested that the Department of Defense provide:

A detailed breakdown of all direct and indirect costs of military operations against Iran to date, including damage to installations, aircraft, and equipment.

A full accounting of the $67 billion supplemental request, specifying what covers past costs versus future operations.

A detailed plan for how the Pentagon intends to spend the remaining $34 billion from the sprawling 2025 Republican reconciliation bill, known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

“Despite asking for tens of billions of additional taxpayer dollars, you have so far failed to provide basic information on how this money has and will be spent,” continued the senators. “Congress must have access to this information to carry out our oversight responsibilities. It is the bare minimum that any American would expect in balancing their own household budget.”

Bennet has persistently fought to rein in President Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran. In August 2026, Bennet and Hickenlooper joined U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and 15 of their Senate Democratic colleagues to introduce legislation that would stop the Trump administration from obscuring the true cost of President Trump’s disastrous war from the American people. Bennet has voted for several War Powers Resolutions directing the President to end his war with Iran. Bennet also joined U.S. Representative Brittany Pettersen and the Colorado Democratic delegation in a letter to Trump demanding answers about his administration’s plan to lower gasoline prices, which the President spiked by launching his reckless war with Iran.

In March 2026, Bennet also questioned President Trump’s intelligence agency leaders, including Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe, about Trump’s failure to act on assessments regarding a war with Iran.

In addition to Bennet, Hickenlooper, and Slotkin, U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-IlI.), Richard Durbin (D-IlI.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) signed this letter.

The text of the letter is available HERE and below.

Dear Secretary Hegseth:

We write regarding the Department of Defense’s failure to provide the American people with basic information about the war with Iran and its cost to taxpayers, even as the human costs of this war rise. More than six months into a war that the President said would last six weeks, 18 American servicemembers have been killed, 824 have been wounded, and more than 50,000 troops are currently deployed in the Middle East. Our troops have had their deployments extended repeatedly, as with the USS Lincoln and now the 82nd Airborne. Our offices have all received outreach from military families concerned about the safety and well-being of their loved ones serving and sacrificing in this war.

Meanwhile, at home, American taxpayers have already paid an extra $100 billion out of their pockets for higher gas and diesel prices alone and at least another $60 billion in higher costs for things like groceries, mortgages, and plane tickets as a result of the war.1 Now you are asking that they pay again to fund a war of choice that Congress never authorized and the President launched with no strategic plan.

Based on the little information provided, the Department says it has already spent $42 billion on this war, though unofficial estimates put that figure much higher.2 In June, you formally asked the American taxpayers to foot the bill for a $67 billion Iran war supplemental request.3 This is on top of the Pentagon’s $1.5 trillion fiscal year 2027 budget request.4 And all of these pending requests come while the Department still has $34 billion in unspent funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.5 In the last week, the Congressional Budget Office and the Department of Defense Office of the Inspector General have issued their own reports with inconsistent numbers.

Despite your stated needs, you have repeatedly refused to share basic information that previous Administrations, Republican and Democratic, provided to the American public and Congress during times of war. Donald Rumsfeld, as Secretary of Defense during the Iraq War, briefed Congress more than 20 times in the first six months of that war.6 In his briefings, he publicly provided granular detail about the war, including objectives; precise figures on damaged aircraft; quality of life for our troops—down to the number of days it took to deliver mail; and detailed breakdowns for transportation, operational support, and munitions replenishment costs in the supplemental request.7 In stark contrast, you have briefed Congress just seven times in that same period and, in those appearances, refused to answer basic questions about the objectives and cost of this war. Your Department has held only eight Pentagon press briefings or interviews since the start of the Iran War, compared to more than 70 in the first month of the Iraq War alone.8

This lack of basic information extends to the Pentagon’s spending. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Congress regularly received public supplemental requests that were more than a hundred pages long, with detailed explanations for how funding would be used, down to the number of barrels of fuel. In contrast, your public $67 billion Iran war supplemental request was a thin, seven-page document with only vague descriptions, such as “$1.2 billion for Administration priorities.”

Despite asking for tens of billions of additional taxpayer dollars, you have so far failed to provide basic information on how this money has and will be spent. Congress must have access to this information to carry out our oversight responsibilities. It is the bare minimum that any American would expect in balancing their own household budget. You shared this belief before entering government. In 2012, you criticized the Department’s ability to “shift literally hundreds of millions of dollars from program to program with little accountability.” You added, “[r]eforming the culture at the Pentagon to bring greater spending accountability will be difficult, but it’s long overdue.”10 And just last year, you said that “the American taxpayers deserve” to know where their money goes, “how it’s spent and make sure it’s spent wisely.”11 We agree.

Given this, we request the following information to inform the Senate’s decision-making by September 30, 2026.

Cost of the Iran War: Please provide a detailed breakdown for the cost of military operations against Iran to date, inclusive of all direct and indirect costs attributable to the conflict. This should include damage to military installations, aircraft, and equipment; cost to refurbish deployed ships and aircraft; and expected benefits for veterans.

$67 Billion Iran War Supplemental: Please provide a breakdown of the Administration’s supplemental request, including a detailed accounting for each major funding category and estimated expenses for the war in Iran. This breakdown should identify which portions of the request are intended to reimburse costs already incurred, which are intended to fund anticipated future operations, and which are unrelated to military operations against Iran. Please also note potential future funding requirements not included in the request, such as repairing military installations.

One Big Beautiful Bill Act Funding: Please provide a detailed accounting of how the $34 billion remaining from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will be spent, on what timeline, and whether any of these funds will support operations related to the Iran war.

The American people elected us to be responsible stewards of their tax dollars. The information we are requesting is the bare minimum required for us to carry out that responsibility. We look forward to receiving your response.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/25/bennet-young-reintroduce-legislation-to-combat-national-eviction-crisis/,"Bennet, Young Reintroduce Legislation to Combat National Eviction Crisis",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,Michael F. Bennet,B001267,www.bennet.senate.gov,bennet,https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/,scraper,"Denver — Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet and Senator Todd Young (R-Ind.), members of the Senate Finance Committee, reintroduced the updated Eviction Crisis Act of 2026. This legislation would address our urgent national eviction crisis, creating an emergency rental assistance program to reduce preventable evictions and making it easier for American families to stay securely housed.

“Today, an illness, a car accident, or a family emergency can lead to a family being evicted from their home and falling into a cycle of poverty,” said Bennet. “The hardship caused by eviction is agonizing for the millions of American families facing it every year, and that harm reverberates across our communities. As a former school superintendent, I saw kids unable to stay awake in class because they didn’t have a stable place to sleep the night before. I’ve heard from many Coloradans about how one misstep led to their lives falling apart. Our Eviction Crisis Act will both prevent eviction and limit the harm when it is unavoidable.”

“Many families are one unexpected expense away from losing the stability that comes with having a place to call home,” said Young. “The Eviction Crisis Act would help prevent avoidable evictions by better coordinating tenants, landlords, and municipalities to address housing instability before it becomes a crisis. Passing this bill will help more Hoosiers families stay in their homes.”

Our country’s eviction crisis is driven by a national affordable housing shortage that is particularly acute for low-income renters. In 2024, the Congressional Research Service calculated that 49.4 percent of renter households spent more than 30 percent of household income on housing costs and 26.2 percent of renter households spent more than half. Denver recorded 15,953 eviction filings in 2025, just seven fewer than the city’s record set in 2024 and 72 percent above pre-pandemic levels. The Colorado Judicial Branch also reported 41,482 sheriff-involved evictions in county courts in fiscal year 2024.

Additionally, the Eviction Crisis Act of 2026 will improve data and analysis on evictions, reduce preventable evictions, mitigate eviction-related consequences, and strengthen protections for renters in tenant screening reports.

“Eviction isn’t just a consequence of poverty; it’s a cause of poverty. Yet we allow millions of Americans to face the threat of eviction each year. Families with children are at particularly high risk of eviction. Many evicted families lose their home and possessions, often falling into homelessness. Research shows that eviction thwarts economic mobility and is linked to long-term negative health outcomes. Passing the Eviction Crisis Act would be a big step forward, deepening our understanding of the problem and preventing families from the devastating consequences of displacement. Everyone needs a safe and affordable home. I commend Senators Bennet and Young for their efforts and look forward to working with them to pass this bill into law,” said Matthew Desmond, scholar and Pulitzer Prize Winning author of Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.

“Solving America’s housing and homelessness crisis must begin with addressing the forces that drive displacement. Getting people into homes they don’t yet have is urgent and critical, but we cannot focus only on pulling families out of homelessness; we must keep them from losing their homes in the first place. The Eviction Crisis Act recognizes that eviction prevention must be made as central a national priority as housing production, stepping in before a temporary setback becomes a life-altering disruption and breaking the momentum of loss before it hardens into permanence,” said Brian Goldstone, journalist and Pulitzer Prize Winning Author of There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America.

“We’re honored to continue this critically important work with Senator Bennet to support low-income renters who are struggling with rising housing costs due to inflation, lack of housing supply, and a failure to invest in households with the greatest need. Homelessness doesn’t happen in a vacuum but is a direct result of housing instability due to rising housing costs and the lack of support for low-income households who are struggling every day to make ends meet. Making investments like the ones proposed by the Eviction Crisis Act will not only help our most marginalized households stay stably housed, it’s a better use of taxpayer resources than expensive spending demanded by the emergency services required to address homelessness,” said Cathy Alderman, Chief Communications and Public Policy Officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.

“BPC Action commends Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Todd Young (R-IN) for leading the Eviction Crisis Act, which would create an emergency assistance program for at-risk households, establish a national evictions database, and fund community courts and diversion programs. For too many families, unexpected hardship—such as job loss or medical expenses—makes rent unaffordable, triggering homelessness and poverty cycles. This legislation is a necessary investment to stabilize housing and economic opportunity, and we look forward to working with Congress to enact it,” said Michele Stockwell, President of Bipartisan Policy Center Action.

“The new version of the Eviction Crisis Act will help communities prevent homelessness and provide important data that will take that work further in coming years. The bill will mean older adults, families with children, young people, people with disabilities, and others at the greatest risk will have more stable housing, an essential element for addressing other issues. We are grateful to Representative Bennet for his longstanding commitment to better housing for Americans,” said Ann Oliva, Chief Executive Officer, National Alliance to End Homelessness.

“For millions of households, one broken-down car, one unexpected medical bill, or a reduction in work hours could result in an eviction. The ‘Eviction Crisis Act,’ developed and advanced by NLIHC’s Opportunity Starts at Home campaign, would help to ensure that renters will not lose their homes because of a single unforeseen expense. No one should have to face losing their home because of one temporary financial setback. I applaud Senators Michael Bennet and Todd Young for their leadership in introducing this important legislation and advancing meaningful solutions to the national housing crisis. I urge Congress to pass this bill quickly,” said Renee M. Willis, President and CEO of the National Low Income Housing Coalition.

Bennet has consistently fought for practical solutions to our nation’s eviction and housing affordability crisis; originally introducing the Eviction Crisis Act in 2019.

In April 2026, Bennet led 17 of his colleagues in urging the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development to expand eviction prevention legal assistance. In the letter, Bennet and his colleagues request $50 million for the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Eviction Protection Grant Program. In August 2022, Bennet and Senator John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) led a group of lawmakers urging the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to take several steps to enact stronger protections for residents living in mobile home parks, also called Manufactured Housing Communities, backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which the FHFA oversees. In May 2022, Bennet called on the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations to increase funding for successful housing programs that help prevent evictions and boost the country’s housing supply in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations bill. That same month, Bennet and Young led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in a letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service requesting swift finalization of the average income test rule under the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit program. In March 2022, Bennet and Hickenlooper joined former Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), and several bipartisan colleagues in urging the U.S. Treasury Department not to change Emergency Rental Assistance 2 guidelines for states like Colorado that have met the ERA requirements set by Congress.

In October 2021, Bennet joined a group of his colleagues in a letter to Former President Joe Biden, Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) urging them to ensure that comprehensive housing investments remain in the Build Back Better plan. In February 2020, Bennet and Former House Majority Whip James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) introduced the Legal Assistance to Prevent Evictions Act, bicameral legislation to keep more Americans in their homes by establishing a competitive grant program to provide legal assistance at no cost to eligible tenants facing eviction.

The text of the bill is available HERE. A summary of the bill is available HERE. Additional supportive quotes from organizations are available HERE.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.bennet.senate.gov/2026/09/25/icymi-bennet-calls-for-new-federal-agency-to-prevent-catastrophic-ai-risk/,ICYMI: Bennet Calls for New Federal Agency to Prevent Catastrophic AI Risk,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,Michael F. Bennet,B001267,www.bennet.senate.gov,bennet,https://www.bennet.senate.gov/news/page/,scraper,"Video of Bennet’s interview on The Source with Kaitlan Collins can be found HERE.

Washington, D.C. — This week, Colorado U.S. Senator Michael Bennet announced a new proposal to create an independent federal agency to regulate frontier artificial intelligence (AI) models and social media platforms.

In an interview with Kaitlan Collins on CNN’s The Source last night, Bennet contrasted his call for an independent federal AI regulator with what he described as President Donald Trump’s failure to establish meaningful safeguards. He emphasized that Trump was more focused on his relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping and the tech executives gathered at the White House than on addressing the concerns Americans are facing, including the need for AI regulation, high diesel prices, and high mortgage rates.

CNN — The Source

Collins: You want to establish an independent agency, basically, to regulate AI. How would that work?

Bennet: It would have a five-member commission, like some other independent commissions, and we would have clear pre-clearance for these frontier models before they escape from these companies and wreak havoc throughout our world potentially. And there is a very serious set of fines. I mean, what I say in this proposal is that we should fine these guys as much as a third of their trailing revenue if they’re unwilling to submit themselves to a system of transparency, to a system of accountability, Kaitlin. When there are people in these companies saying that there might be a 10 percent chance, or a 15 or 20 percent chance that humanity could be destroyed by AI, we need to listen to that. We need to pay attention to that, and we need to deal with it in an orderly way – not so we don’t innovate – we should innovate. I want us to lead the Chinese, but we should do it in a thoughtful, common sense way. That’s not the way Donald Trump approaches any of these questions. But I think the American people are demanding it.

Bloomberg – Balance of Power

Mathieu: Well, he’s trying deliberately to play the right hand on AI, and you’ve got an important piece of legislation that’s trying to get to this. We’ve had a robust debate here. And the President, speaking on Truth Social earlier, says that America and China see eye to eye. We’re taking our hands off the wheel here. This is not a matter of regulation. He says we have something called the DOJ. You have something that would propose a new federal agency to prevent what you call catastrophic AI risks and regulate big tech. How would it work?

Bennet: First of all, I don’t think there’s anyone in America who thinks that China and the U.S. think eye to eye on AI except for President Trump. What I’ve said is that we need to have a cop on the beat here. We have nobody whose day job is to represent the American people with respect to the developers of AI, for that matter, of social media. We should have an independent agency of experts that come here just like we, you know, set up, in the early part of the century, to be able to do the regulatory work that’s needed. Congress cannot get out of its own way. We’ve proven that. We will never pass a bill to meaningfully deal with this, and the states can’t do it by themselves. We need a thoughtful approach that will come from a regulatory agency that will survive from one presidency to the next, and that’s got the teeth to be able to find these guys if they are pursuing models that could threaten, for example, the extinction of humanity. I mean, this is something that we have to grapple with. We have to get a hold of it. And it doesn’t surprise me that our current structures of government are not set up to deal with it. This is new, just like airplanes were once new, just like nuclear weapons, armaments were once new. We need an agency, just like we have for those other important changes in our economy that’s focused on this 24/7.

Here’s what they’re saying:

Politico: AI BILL FRENZY

The AI Regulator Act builds off their previous bill, the Digital Platform Commission Act, which would establish an agency tasked with regulating digital platforms. The latest bill would give the proposed agency the power to pause the release of models that pose catastrophic risk and issue formal rules.

“The Federal Digital Commission would keep pace with innovation, act before serious harm occurs, and have the authority to hold companies accountable when they break the rules,” Bennet added.

Colorado Springs FOX (KXRM)

Colorado Senator Michael Bennet proposes a new federal agency to oversee artificial intelligence and big tech. This would give the agency power to review some front-tier AI models before they’re released. And in some circumstances, pause a rollout for up to 6 months. It would also have investigative and rulemaking authority, which potentially finds up to 15 percent of a company’s global revenue. Right now, Bennet says existing federal agencies are not equipped to keep up with AI’s rapid development. It’s moving faster than Congress will ever keep up. That’s why I’m proposing an independent agency with the expertise and authority to protect the American people and keep pace with AI.

Grand Junction CBS (KREX)

Well, Senator Michael Bennet is proposing a new federal agency to oversee artificial intelligence and major tech companies. Under the plan, the agency could review some advanced AI models before they’re released and, in certain cases, delay a rollout for up to six months. The agency would also have the power to investigate companies, create regulations, and issue fines of up to 15 percent of a company’s global revenue. Bennet says current federal agencies are not equipped to keep pace with the rapid growth of AI. It’s moving faster than Congress will ever keep up. That’s why I’m proposing an independent agency with the expertise and authority to protect the American people and keep pace with AI.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-and-committee-minority-back-up-house-subpoenas-demand-answers-from-larry-ellison-on-ballooning-costs-of-oracles-va-electronic-health-record-contract,"Blumenthal & Committee Minority Back Up House Subpoenas, Demand Answers from Larry Ellison on Ballooning Costs of Oracle's VA Electronic Health Record Contract",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Minority Committee members are demanding immediate answers and comprehensive documentation from Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and CEO Mike Sicilia on the ballooning cost of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. VA’s contract with Oracle was recently modified, increasing the no-bid contract’s cost ceiling from $10 billion to approximately $27 billion. The Senators’ letter follows the failure of Ellison and Sicilia to testify before a Congressional oversight hearing on the EHRM program, a refusal that triggered a unanimous vote in the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to subpoena the two Oracle officials.

“We write today to demand immediate answers following news the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program will now cost $27 billion…Oracle has a responsibility to deliver a functioning EHRM to veterans, yet there have been years of delays and ballooning costs under your leadership,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Ellison and Sicilia. “Even more concerning, Oracle officials failed to attend a recent House Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversight hearing on September 2, 2026, to answer questions on the timeline and cost of the EHRM. You have a responsibility to America’s veterans and taxpayers to explain what is happening with this project and its increasing costs. Your failure to appear in Congress is a failure to uphold your commitment to veterans and we need immediate answers on this project.”

The Senators backed up the House Committee’s subpoenas to Ellison and Sicilia: “Given your absence from the oversight hearing, the House Committee subsequently voted 19-0 to subpoena you to explain the status of the project and excessive costs. We support this subpoena and expect you to comply with it.”

Blumenthal’s letter was joined by fellow Committee members U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

The Committee members requested immediate information from Ellison and Scillia regarding the long-term cost and status of the project, underscoring the failure of Oracle to be transparent about the project. This includes requesting the following:

All documents relevant to the increase in cost of the EHRM contract ceiling;

A record of all communications between Oracle and VA regarding the contract ceiling increase prior to public disclosure and an explanation for why Congress was not notified of the increase before the press reporting;

Oracle’s internal lifecycle cost projections for completing the EHRM deployment through 2031; and

An accounting for broken promises from Sicilia at a Senate hearing in 2022, where he pledged to deliver “an EHR system that exceeds expectations without exceeding the contracted cost.”

In an additional letter to Republican leadership, the Committee members separately called on Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) to hold a full committee oversight hearing on the VA EHRM program, citing the significant cost overruns, repeated schedule delays, and patient safety concerns with the system: “Given the scale of federal investment in this program and, more importantly, the risks it poses to the health and safety of the veterans who rely on VA care, we believe the Committee has a responsibility to conduct rigorous oversight at this juncture. Veterans and the taxpayers who fund this program deserve a clear, public accounting of where EHRM stands today and what concrete steps the Department is taking to correct course. A full committee hearing would ensure the transparency and level of scrutiny this program warrants.”

The full text of the Committee member’s letter is available HERE and copied below.

Dear Mr. Ellison and Mr. Sicilia:

We write today to demand immediate answers following news the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program will now cost $27 billion. This reflects a recent modification to the VA-Oracle EHRM contract, which increased the cost ceiling from $10 billion to approximately $27 billion. Oracle has a responsibility to deliver a functioning EHRM to veterans, yet there have been years of delays and ballooning costs under your leadership. Even more concerning, Oracle officials failed to attend a recent House Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversight hearing on September 2, 2026, to answer questions on the timeline and cost of the EHRM. You have a responsibility to America’s veterans and taxpayers to explain what is happening with this project and its increasing costs. Your failure to appear in Congress is a failure to uphold your commitment to veterans and we need immediate answers on this project.

Given your absence from the oversight hearing, the House Committee subsequently voted 19-0 to subpoena you to explain the status of the project and excessive costs. We support this subpoena and expect you to comply with it. Given the Senate’s own oversight responsibility for this program and the questions Oracle was unable to answer at that hearing, we request that Oracle provide the following documents and information no later than October 23, 2026.

All documents and analyses supporting the recent increase in the ceiling of Oracle’s EHRM contract with the Department of Veterans Affairs from $10 billion to approximately $27 billion, including a full itemization of the “unanticipated complexities” cited as the basis for the increase.

An explanation, in light of Mr. Sicilia’s 2022 testimony to the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee that Oracle was “committed to delivering the VA an EHR system that exceeds expectations without exceeding the contracted cost” and would “fix issues at [Oracle’s] expense,” of what has changed to result in the current cost increase, and a reconciliation of that commitment with the current contract terms.

Oracle’s own lifecycle cost projections for completing EHRM deployment and sustainment through 2031, including how these compare to the Department’s approximately $48 billion estimate and the Institute for Defense Analyses’ 2022 estimate of $49.8 billion.

A description of Oracle’s role in, and timeline for, addressing the 14 outstanding GAO recommendations related to EHRM that remain not fully implemented, as identified at the hearing.

Documentation of the cybersecurity performance measures Oracle has implemented or plans to implement for the EHR system, in light of GAO’s finding that the program currently lacks adequate cyber performance measures.

A record of all communications between Oracle and the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the contract ceiling increase prior to its public disclosure, and an explanation of why Congress was not notified directly by Oracle or VA before the increase became public through press reporting.

Any internal or external assessments Oracle has conducted of system performance, outages, medication-ordering errors, or data migration issues at deployment sites, including the sites that went live on or after April 11, 2026.

Veterans and taxpayers have invested significant resources in this program, and Oracle’s cooperation is necessary to ensure effective congressional oversight. We look forward to your timely response.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/blumenthal-demands-answers-from-acting-navy-secretary-after-delayed-disclosure-of-suicide-attempts-on-board-the-uss-abraham-lincoln,Blumenthal Demands Answers from Acting Navy Secretary After Delayed Disclosure of Suicide Attempts on Board the USS Abraham Lincoln,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao today about suicide attempts on board the USS Abraham Lincoln revealed in a letter to members of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Cao failed to disclose the information in response to an inquiry Blumenthal sent following reports of devolving conditions within the strike group.

“Eight suicide attempts across a carrier strike group are plainly relevant to questions about mental health and the consequences of an extended deployment. You have an obligation to provide Congress with the facts necessary to conduct oversight, particularly when those facts concern the lives and well-being of the men and women under your leadership,” Blumenthal wrote.

“I am requesting that you provide an accounting of the eight suicide attempts, including when they occurred and when senior Navy leaders were informed by September 30. Your response should explain why they were omitted from your September 18 letter to me; and provide the basis for your assertion that there was no statistically significant increase in serious medical emergencies; and detail the steps you will take to protect Sailors’ mental health and well-being during future extended deployments. Any response should protect the privacy of the servicemembers involved.”

In today’s letter, Blumenthal again raised concerns that the Navy is not prepared to prevent similar issues in the future, given that recent carrier deployments have repeatedly stretched long beyond their originally planned durations.

In August, Blumenthal wrote Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Cao demanding to know what action was being taken to improve conditions for sailors deployed on board the USS Abraham Lincoln, which had at that point been continuously at sea for a record length of nearly seven months.

The full text of today’s letter is copied below.

Acting Secretary Cao,

I write regarding your deeply troubling response to my inquiries about the health and well-being of the Sailors of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group and your failure to provide Congress with a full account of the mental health crisis facing these servicemembers.

In response to a letter from Senate Armed Services Committee Democrats, you disclosed that “there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group” during the Lincoln's deployment. Yet when I specifically asked you three days earlier whether commanders had identified increases in medical issues, you omitted this fact and instead assured me that the ship had “not seen a statistically significant increase in major safety mishaps, serious medical emergencies, or disciplinary infractions relative to historical baselines for extended deployments.”

Eight suicide attempts across a carrier strike group are plainly relevant to questions about mental health and the consequences of an extended deployment. You have an obligation to provide Congress with the facts necessary to conduct oversight, particularly when those facts concern the lives and well-being of the men and women under your leadership.

Having served in the United States Navy, you must know the importance of recognizing warning signs about Sailors’ wellbeing. Sailors and their families raised concerns about exhaustion, mental health, and deteriorating conditions aboard the Lincoln. Your responsibility as Secretary is not to dismiss, obscure, or explain away those concerns.

Your own responses now confirm serious problems aboard the Lincoln. The discrepancy between those facts and the assurances you provided to me raises serious questions about leadership and judgment. This failure is even more concerning because the Navy has acknowledged that extended deployments are likely to continue as operational demands strain the carrier force.

You owe Congress, as well as Sailors and their families, an explanation of what you will do differently to ensure the failures aboard the Lincoln are not repeated.

I am requesting that you provide an accounting of the eight suicide attempts, including when they occurred and when senior Navy leaders were informed by September 30. Your response should explain why they were omitted from your September 18 letter to me; and provide the basis for your assertion that there was no statistically significant increase in serious medical emergencies; and detail the steps you will take to protect Sailors’ mental health and well-being during future extended deployments. Any response should protect the privacy of the servicemembers involved.

Our Sailors deserve leaders who will confront difficult facts rather than minimize them. Congress deserves complete and truthful answers. Congress should expect both from someone seeking to become Secretary of the Navy.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/senator-blumenthal-week-in-review-9/18/2026-9/25/2026,Senator Blumenthal: Week in Review 9/18/2026-9/25/2026,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CT,Richard Blumenthal,B001277,www.blumenthal.senate.gov,blumenthal,https://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/newsroom/press,scraper,"Receiving Testimony on Fatal Shootings by Federal Immigration Agents

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ranking Member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), and U.S. Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, held a bicameral public forum on the killings of Ruben Ray Martinez, Renée Nicole Macklin Good, Alex Pretti, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero.

The following witnesses offered testimony about the fatal shootings of five people by federal immigration agents during the Trump Administration:

Rachel Reyes: Rachel Reyes’ son, Ruben Ray Martinez, was shot and killed by an Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in March 2025 in South Padre Island, Texas. For nearly a year afterwards, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) refused to publicly acknowledge its involvement in Mr. Martinez’s death, which only came to light through a public records request.

“Though the circumstances surrounding his death and these other victims are distinctly different, the pattern is the same. Lives cut short by the same agency; agents without body cameras; no warnings; no attempt to de-escalate; excessive force followed by deflection, and a lack of accountability after the fact,” Ms. Reyes wrote. “Other similarities are that these victims, despite being nonviolent community members with no criminal background, were disparaged and blamed to shift focus away from the officer’s misconduct. What happened to my son is personal, but it should be a concern for us all.”

Ms. Reyes’ written testimony is available here.

Video of Ms. Reyes’ testimony is available here.

Blumenthal further highlighted Ms. Reyes’ testimony on Twitter/X.

“Rachel Reyes tells Ruben Ray Martinez's story, her son who was shot & killed by an ICE agent. She shares her pain & grief of losing a child—something no parent should have to endure,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Donna and Brent Ganger: Donna Ganger’s daughter and Brent Ganger’s sister, Renée Nicole Macklin Good, was shot and killed by an ICE agent in January 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“What I want most to do today is help everyone understand exactly what was taken from us on January 7th, and what a beautiful woman our family and this country lost. We have not moved on. We struggle every day. We will never, ever be the same,” Mrs. Ganger wrote. “It’s difficult to balance our gratitude for what a lovely soul Renee was with the anger and confusion at the violent way she died. And the total insanity of it all. She should still be alive. I’ll say that again. My daughter should still be alive.”

“I urge each of you to find a common sense solution to the problem of accountability for federal officers. There should not be a different set of rules and a different process to hold a federal officer accountable versus a state or local officer. We all want our law enforcement officers to perform at the highest standards, but when they don’t, it shouldn’t matter who their employer is. There should be a path to justice for those they harm,” Mr. Ganger wrote. “Our family implores all members of Congress to work together to level the playing field and find common sense reform that provides accountability and justice for all.”

Mrs. Ganger and Mr. Ganger’s written testimony is available here.

Video of Mrs. Ganger and Mr. Ganger’s testimony is available here.

Blumenthal further highlighted Mrs. Ganger and Mr. Ganger’s testimony on Twitter/X.

“Donna & Brent Ganger remember Renee Good, their daughter & sister who was shot & killed by an ICE agent in January. They honor her legacy by calling for accountability & an end to ICE's violent & unconstitutional actions,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Stella Carlson: Stella Carlson recorded the killing of Alex Pretti in January 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ms. Carlson, known as the “woman in the pink coat,” was on her way to work when she witnessed and filmed an immigration agent shooting Mr. Pretti in the back. Her video confirmed that DHS’s account of the fatal shooting was false.

“I am just a regular person, but I care deeply about my community, and my state, and my country. And I believe there is power in ordinary people telling the truth,” Ms. Carlson wrote. “Because I feel like I witnessed two assassinations. The first was the assassination of Alex himself — the killing I watched happen in the streets of Minneapolis. The second was the attempted assassination of his character. Afterward, powerful voices at the highest levels of government right here in Washington DC lied about Alex Pretti. They tried to take the gentle person I had watched with my own eyes and replace him with lies claiming he was a violent threat, someone who had come there to cause maximum damage, someone who wanted to kill law enforcement. Not so. Those were all lies. I observed him and what happened with my own eyes. The truth does not become less true because someone with great power tells a louder lie.”

Ms. Carlson’s written testimony is available here.

Video of Ms. Carlson’s testimony is available here.

Blumenthal further highlighted Ms. Carlson’s testimony on Twitter/X.

“Stella Carlson is part of a community mourning the loss of Alex Pretti. Carlson witnessed & filmed an immigration agent shooting Pretti in the back—her video confirming that DHS’s account of the fatal shooting was false,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado: Ronaldo and Lorenzo Salgado’s father, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was shot and killed in Houston, Texas in July 2026. Mr. Araujo was driving to work when he was confronted by ICE agents who fired into the vehicle, killing him.

“I visit my dad’s memorial every day. Not because it’s where he died, but where a movement was born. It’s my way of witnessing how many hearts my dad’s story resonates with,” Mr. Ronaldo Salgado wrote. “And it’s my motivation to continue fighting not just for my dad, but for everyone else’s dad and families like mine. I hope I’m doing the right thing every day. I know my dad is guiding me in the right direction.”

“I ask you this: What would you do if you were in our shoes? Think of a loved one,” Mr. Lorenzo Salgado wrote. “Close your eyes and picture their face. What would you do if they were taken from you this way? Suddenly, without any sense. What would you do if you had to spend your days comforting your mother about the loss of her lifelong love, your grandmother about the loss of her little boy? You would do everything you could to find out what happened and make sure your loved one got justice.”

Mr. Ronaldo Salgado and Mr. Lorenzo Salgado’s written testimony is available here.

Video of Mr. Ronaldo Salgado and Mr. Lorenzo Salgado’s testimony is available here.

Sean P. Murphy: Sean P. Murphy represents the family of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero who was shot and killed by an ICE agent shortly after leaving for work early in the morning hours of July 13, 2026. He was not the target of any ICE removal operation and had no criminal history. Johan Sebastián did have a social security number and valid work authorization issued by the current administration. To date, no federal agency has confirmed that they are investigating.

“I will say this next part quietly but with the hope and belief that just the grieving of Johan Sebatián’s mother permeated the walls of the funeral home, this next declaration permeates the walls of this building and reaches if not the ears, the soul of any public servant who has a soul left to receive it: Anyone who would defend the murder of Johan Sebastián is not a true patriot,” Mr. Murphy wrote.

Mr. Murphy’s written testimony is available here.

Video of Mr. Murphy’s testimony is available here.

Blumenthal delivered a opening statement at the forum, pushing for accountability and reform for the Trump Administration’s brutal immigration enforcement tactics.

“The fact is, we are all Minneapolis, we are all Texas, we are all Chicago, we are all Biddeford, we are all Danbury. We need a better America if it's reflected in what ICE does. So, after this continued violence, every community in America should be asking itself: How long will it be until ICE is in our city with the same kind of mass arrests and tactics and sweeps and violence and brutality? How long will it be until we have another grieving family? Until another loss of life is felt?” said Blumenthal at the forum.

“Today, we bear witness to the cost of this inhumanity. Today's forum gives these witnesses, as the voice and face of this challenge, the accountability that must begin in this country. We are going to continue to demand not just answers and accountability, but actual change, real change, real action, from this Administration. And on behalf of all of us, I again would just like to offer these witnesses here, their families and their communities, our heartfelt condolences, our thanks, and our admiration for your courage and strength,” continued Blumenthal.

A video of Blumental’s opening remarks can be found here.

Blumenthal further highlighted the need for justice and accountability in the ongoing wake of ICE’s brutality on Twitter/X.

“Congress must hold ICE accountable. Totally unacceptable that there has been no real investigation into DHS/ICE related deaths & injuries,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

“Lawbreaking that takes lives. Renee Good’s brother highlights how ICE faces no deterrence, no penalty for withholding evidence as its agents kill people,” wrote Blumenthal with an accompanying video on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal joined MS NOW to highlight his forum and the powerful testimonies of the witnesses.

“The grief, courage, & well-justified anger from witnesses at my spotlight forums on ICE's brutality make one thing clear—we need investigations & reforms to hold this Administration & its federal agents accountable. I joined MS NOW to discuss,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

The full interview can be found here.

A recording of the full forum can be found here.

Supporting Ukrainians in Face of Russia’s Aggression

Blumenthal met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, highlighting the need for continued U.S. support for Ukraine’s fight against Putin’s murderous invasion.

“Inspiring meeting with Pres. Zelenskyy in NY on the eve of U.N. Gen. Assembly sessions—& his meeting with Trump. He’s grateful for the new Russia Sanctions measure & hopeful for air defense & Starlink progress. We must implement the sanctions law promptly & aggressively—throttling Putin’s war machine by cutting revenue from Russia’s sale of oil & gas. China & India are the preeminent purchasers. Facing brutally cruel bombing & long cold winter, Ukraine needs Starlink to pinpoint & destroy Russian missiles before they’re launched, but also Patriot interceptors available in arsenals of U.S. & others like Saudi Arabia. Even with little sleep & heavy burdens, he’s upbeat & strong—buoyantly resolute—reflecting the courage & unshakable resolve of the magnificent Ukrainians,” wrote Blumenthal on Twitter/X.

Blumenthal along with U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) introduced legislation to protect Ukrainian nationals who have sought refuge in the United States following Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in their home country.

The bipartisan bill would extend immigration protections for Ukrainians who have fled the war brought on by the Russian invasion and sought safety in the United States through the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program, which has for decades provided refuge to those living in America who have fled natural disasters, violence, and political insecurity. The current TPS designation for Ukraine will expire on October 19, 2026 unless further action is taken.

“Ukrainians seeking safety here are fleeing unimaginable horror at home – bloody missile and drone strikes, ruthless kidnapping of children, a cold winter without heat. Forcing their return to such cruel conditions would be the height of inhumanity,” Blumenthal said. “I am grateful to Senators Murkowski, Coons, and Cassidy for joining me in introducing legislation that will protect Ukrainians seeking refuge from being sent back to certain brutality and bloodshed.”

TPS is a temporary, legal immigration status granted to foreign citizens who are unable to return safely to their home country due to natural disasters, armed conflicts, or other extraordinary conditions. All TPS recipients have passed a thorough background check. TPS was extended to Ukrainian nationals in April 2022 due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces.

In February 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching missiles against military and civilian targets across the country as troops pushed to overtake major cities. Although Ukrainian forces successfully blocked the attempted invasion of Kyiv and have since liberated significant territory throughout the country, Russian offensives continue to target Ukrainian communities and claim thousands of casualties. Since the invasion, tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have died and hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian forces have been killed. Russia has also engaged in a campaign of abduction and forcible removal of Ukrainian children, seeking to erase the children’s Ukrainian names, language and identity, and exposing them to human trafficking and exploitation, child labor, sexual violence, hunger, injury, trauma and death.

On the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee

Blumenthal, Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released a statement on a new report from the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) exposing the Trump Administration and DOGE’s reckless cancellation of contracts at VA beginning in 2025. The report details a chaotic cancellation process directed top-down by DOGE, Secretary Doug Collins, and Senior Advisors at VA, resulting in contracts called without veteran-impact assessments and inaccurate cost saving estimates.

“This report confirms my repeatedly expressed concerns that VA has recklessly cancelled hundreds of contracts with no consideration of the impact on veterans or VA operations. These cuts harmed veterans and were hidden from Congress and the public by senior VA officials. Secretary Collins owes us answers on how VA will replace lost services and how much this fiasco has cost taxpayers in arbitration, settlements, and reinstatements. Veterans and taxpayers deserve transparency and a full public accounting.”

Key findings of the report reveal:

A top-down process led by DOGE, Doug Collins and political leaders, rather than a process driven by VA subject matter experts.

OIG reports that only after contracts were marked for cancellation did VA leadership ask officials to justify their proposed cuts. In addition, questions about the cancellations’ impact on veterans were not asked until the contracts were identified for termination.

A haphazard process and timeline: “In some cases, VA officials were given two weeks to complete their review. In others, they were given only a few hours to review hundreds of contracts. VA senior advisers and Department of Government Efficiency representatives directed them to terminate the contracts on February 25, 2025, regardless of the incomplete reviews.”

Due to the reckless cancellation process, VA subsequently reversed some contracts that were already cancelled: “For example, OIG also found that contracting officers initially terminated an additional 100 contract actions but later reinstated them.”

DOGE and VA advisors’ lack of familiarity with contracting processes and terminology led to “confusion, frustration,” and made tracking cancelled contracts difficult.

VA repeatedly submitted inaccurate data to Congress and touted false information to the public. For example, in May 2025 DOGE and Doug Collins reported saving $120.9 billion through contract cancellations. However, this report reveals the true savings were not even one percent of that amount.

The report does not include data independently obtained from VA that reveals an additional 32 contracts were reinstated “due to direct patient care.” Additionally, OIG did not review an additional 103 contracts that were descoped and 842 not renewed due to DOGE during the same time period.

Since 2025, Blumenthal and Congressional Democrats have sent multiple requests to VA Secretary Doug Collins asking for the complete and updated list of VA contracts cancelled or proposed for cancellation. This report shows that VA failed multiple times to submit accurate data and are still in the process of correcting mistakes their process created.

In January 2026, Blumenthal and the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee released a report detailing the Trump Administration’s lack of transparency and false savings claims arounds its cancellation of thousands of contracts providing services to veterans and supporting VA operations. This report detailed how Trump Administration officials employed a flawed AI model from DOGE to cancel approximately 2,000 contracts for veterans and VA facilities and let another 14,000 expire without any plans for renewal or replacement services. The Trump VA also falsely claimed to have saved $120.8 billion, more than the entirety of total VA contract spending in fiscal year 2024, by cancelling 445 contracts. In addition, at least 80 contracts the Trump Administration claimed to cancel, in order to boast about supposed “savings,” were actually terminated under the Biden Administration between 2021 and 2024.

In June 2025, Blumenthal led a spotlight forum to examine these contract cancellations with employees whose companies had a VA contract cancelled by DOGE, including a veteran-owned small business, an expert in cancer registries which are among the cancelled VA contracts, and an expert in federal contracting oversight and transparency. These witness underscored the harm of the cancellation of contracts on veterans and the sudden cancellation of their companies contracts without cause.

Blumenthal and Minority Committee members are demanding immediate answers and comprehensive documentation from Oracle Executive Chairman Larry Ellison and CEO Mike Sicilia on the ballooning cost of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program. VA’s contract with Oracle was recently modified, increasing the no-bid contract’s cost ceiling from $10 billion to approximately $27 billion. The Senators’ letter follows the failure of Ellison and Sicilia to testify before a Congressional oversight hearing on the EHRM program, a refusal that triggered a unanimous vote in the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs to subpoena the two Oracle officials.

“We write today to demand immediate answers following news the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM) program will now cost $27 billion…Oracle has a responsibility to deliver a functioning EHRM to veterans, yet there have been years of delays and ballooning costs under your leadership,” wrote the Senators in a letter to Ellison and Sicilia. “Even more concerning, Oracle officials failed to attend a recent House Veterans’ Affairs Committee oversight hearing on September 2, 2026, to answer questions on the timeline and cost of the EHRM. You have a responsibility to America’s veterans and taxpayers to explain what is happening with this project and its increasing costs. Your failure to appear in Congress is a failure to uphold your commitment to veterans and we need immediate answers on this project.”

The Senators backed up the House Committee’s subpoenas to Ellison and Sicilia: “Given your absence from the oversight hearing, the House Committee subsequently voted 19-0 to subpoena you to explain the status of the project and excessive costs. We support this subpoena and expect you to comply with it.”

Blumenthal’s letter was joined by fellow Committee members U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ).

In an additional letter to Republican leadership, the Committee members separately called on Chairman Jerry Moran (R-KS) to hold a full committee oversight hearing on the VA EHRM program, citing the significant cost overruns, repeated schedule delays, and patient safety concerns with the system: “Given the scale of federal investment in this program and, more importantly, the risks it poses to the health and safety of the veterans who rely on VA care, we believe the Committee has a responsibility to conduct rigorous oversight at this juncture. Veterans and the taxpayers who fund this program deserve a clear, public accounting of where EHRM stands today and what concrete steps the Department is taking to correct course. A full committee hearing would ensure the transparency and level of scrutiny this program warrants.”

The full text of the Committee members’ letter is available here.

Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Tim Sheehy (R-MT) are teaming up to introduce the GRACE for Military Survivors Act—bipartisan legislation that would provide military survivors more time to make informed financial decisions about their benefits without facing tax penalties.

“Military survivors who lose loved ones endure life-changing grief. We shouldn’t force them to make important, long-term financial decisions about their survivors’ benefits while also going through such unspeakable pain,” said Senator Blumenthal. “Our commonsense bill will give these families more time to make these critical decisions.”

When a servicemember dies, the surviving family has to make important financial decisions about their survivors’ benefits while also grieving their loved ones. Current law only gives surviving spouses and children a year to decide if they want to put military death gratuities and Servicemembers’ Group Life Insurance (SGLI) benefits into certain tax-advantaged savings accounts, including Roth IRAs and Coverdell Education Savings Accounts. The GRACE for Military Survivors Act would extend that time frame from one to three years—ensuring surviving families have additional time to make important long-term financial decisions.

Bill text can be found here.

Cracking Down on Self-Enrichment in the Executive Branch

Blumenthal introduced new legislation to impose a 100 percent surtax on income earned by a company owned or controlled by the President, Vice President, Cabinet officials, or immediate family members as a result of a favorable government action. The Anti-Corruption Tax Act is in direct response to Donald Trump and other Administration officials abusing the power of the government to help the companies they own or control make money, at the direct expense of American taxpayers.

“Donald Trump has been clear: there is no ethical line separating his role as President from his family’s businesses,” Blumenthal said. “He and other Administration officials have repeatedly abused their power to enrich themselves and their families. My measure would put an end to this kind of self-dealing by putting a 100 percent surtax on any income that Donald Trump and his family—or any future Administration officials—generate thanks to a favorable government action.”

The full bill text of the Anti-Corruption Tax Act is available here.

Blumenthal Bulletin

Blumenthal demanded answers after the delayed disclosure of suicide attempts on board the USS Abraham Lincoln.

Blumenthal filed an Amicus Brief supporting Holocaust survivors and families in lawsuits over Nazi-confiscated art.

Blumenthal joined a press conference to call for the SAFE Bet Act and the Prediction Markets Security and Integrity Act.

Blumenthal slammed sports books for using AI to rank and target vulnerable and problem gamblers.

Blumenthal recognized National Day of Action for the Health Care Workforce.

Blumenthal attended the Orange Fair.

Blumenthal joined the inaugural Longest Table event in Stamford.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.bluntrochester.senate.gov/news/press-releases/icymi-blunt-rochester-ernst-bill-to-strengthen-u-s-manufacturing-passes-senate/,"ICYMI: Blunt Rochester, Ernst Bill to Strengthen U.S. Manufacturing Passes Senate",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,DE,Lisa Blunt Rochester,B001303,www.bluntrochester.senate.gov,bluntrochester,https://www.bluntrochester.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, and U.S. Senator Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) celebrated the unanimous passage of the bipartisan Critical Infrastructure Manufacturing Feasibility Act to decrease our reliance on foreign imports for key materials and boost manufacturing in rural America.

The bill instructs the Secretary of Commerce to identify critical goods that are currently being imported and find ways to help domestic producers manufacture them in rural areas and industrial parks, boosting manufacturing here at home. Blunt Rochester and Ernst were joined by Senator Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.). The House companion was led by Representatives Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa-1) and Kim Schrier (D-Wash.-8).

The bill now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.

“Supply chains are critical to global competitiveness and our national security,” said Sen. Blunt Rochester. “I’m proud to see this bipartisan legislation pass into law to help identify where we are over-reliant on foreign imports for critical infrastructure and explore how we can bring that manufacturing back to the United States. These investments will strengthen domestic production, secure our supply chains, and support good-paying jobs right here at home.”

“My bipartisan bill will identify vulnerabilities in our supply chains and help bring manufacturing back to rural America, where Iowans are ready to roll up their sleeves, get to work, and once again make ‘Made in America’ the norm instead of the exception,” said Sen. Ernst. “I look forward to President Trump signing it into law.”

“Iowa has the skilled workforce, manufacturing expertise, and strong communities America needs to lead the next generation of domestic manufacturing. For too long, critical production has moved overseas, leaving American workers behind and making our country dependent on foreign supply chains,” said Rep. Miller-Meeks. “This bipartisan bill gives us a roadmap to bring that production home, create more opportunities for Iowa workers, and strengthen our nation’s economic and national security. I’m proud to have led this effort with Senator Ernst and grateful for her partnership in getting it across the finish line.”",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.bluntrochester.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-blunt-rochester-and-budd-introduce-bill-to-establish-biometrology-laboratory-program-accelerate-development-in-biotech/,"NEWS: Senators Blunt Rochester and Budd Introduce Bill to Establish Biometrology Laboratory Program, Accelerate Development in Biotech",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,DE,Lisa Blunt Rochester,B001303,www.bluntrochester.senate.gov,bluntrochester,https://www.bluntrochester.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) and Ted Budd (R-N.C.) this week introduced the Standards and Collaboration for American Leadership in Engineering (SCALE) Biology Act, legislation that would establish a Biometrology Laboratory Program for the research of engineering biology, biomanufacturing, and biotechnology under the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). This new program would advance research into the measurement of key units and inputs and promote U.S. competitiveness in biotech development.

“America’s bioeconomy is critical to our economy, national security, and leadership in fields from health care to agriculture. The bipartisan SCALE Biology Act will strengthen the measurement science and technical standards needed to accelerate innovation and bring new biotechnology from the lab to the marketplace. Delaware is home to a robust life sciences and biomanufacturing ecosystem, and I’m proud to work with Senator Budd to strengthen this important sector and ensure the United States continues to set the global standard for biotechnology and biomanufacturing,” said Senator Blunt Rochester.

“If the U.S. is going to continue to lead the world in biotechnology innovation, we must ensure that the accepted standards for the most fundamental inputs that these programs will rely on are developed in America,” said Senator Budd. “With China’s recent increases in state support for their bioeconomy, I am grateful to Senator Blunt Rochester for her partnership on this effort to facilitate commercial development here in America.”

U.S. Representatives April McClain Delaney (D-Md.-06) and Jay Obernolte (R-Calif.-08) introduced the legislation in the House of Representatives in May.

The SCALE Biology Act has been endorsed by OpenAI and Google.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/-icymi-judge-directs-paramount-state-ags-to-respond-to-booker-letter-challenging-paramount-warner-bros-discovery-merger-settlement,"ICYMI: Judge Directs Paramount, State AGs to Respond to Booker Letter Challenging Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger Settlement",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NJ,Cory A. Booker,B001288,www.booker.senate.gov,booker,https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"Judge assigns “homework:” Respond to Booker’s concerns about proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger settlement by Monday

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Cory Booker, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, is drawing attention following Thursday’s hearing on the proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger for sending a letter to District Judge Araceli Martinez- Olguin urging an independent public-interest review of the settlement, resulting in her specifically “questioning attorneys Thursday about concerns raised by Sen. Booker.” In his letter, Booker urged the court to conduct an independent public-interest review of the agreement.

“The proposed settlement has reached the Court without a competitive impact statement, without a public comment period, and without any formal opportunity for theaters, distributors, workers, or consumers to be heard,” Booker wrote in his letter. “The Court should not approve this agreement without first ensuring that the public interest has been adequately considered.”

SEE FOR YOURSELF:

Variety

Judge Questions Legal Points of Paramount’s Settlement With States at Hearing, Says a Ruling Will Come in ‘Due Course’ — Judge Martínez-Olguín requests parties submit replies to Sen. Booker's request for an independent public-interest review

By Todd Spangler

September 24, 2026

Booker sent a letter Thursday urging the court to subject the settlement to an independent public-interest review before approving it, noting it reached the court without a competitive impact statement, public comment period, or chance for theaters, distributors, workers, or consumers to weigh in.

Paramount Skydance filed a brief opposing what it called Booker's improper ""pseudo-amicus submission.""

Judge Martínez-Olguín opened by saying the court ""isn't a rubber stamp"" of the agreement and that she wanted to confirm the deal resulted from an arm's-length process rather than collusion.

California senior assistant AG Paula Blizzard and a Paramount attorney both affirmed it was an arm's-length process.

Asked how the deal addresses competition concerns, Blizzard said the states worried that blocking the merger outright would just send Warner Bros. Discovery looking for another buyer.

Forbes

Paramount Merger Settlement Won’t Be Resolved Until At Least Next Week As Judge Questions Agreement

By Alison Durkee

September 24, 2026

Judge Araceli Martinez-Olguin held a hearing Thursday after the states and Paramount announced Monday they’d reached a settlement in the states’ antitrust lawsuit—paving the way for the merger to go through—which the judge scheduled to “address certain outstanding questions regarding the factual and legal underpinnings of” the agreement, “as well as [its] implementation.”

The fate of Paramount Skydance’s controversial merger with Warner Bros. Discovery won’t be decided until at least next week as a federal judge put off ruling on whether to approve Paramount’s settlement with states challenging the merger, posing questions about the agreement at a hearing Thursday and suggesting she had concerns with some of its provisions.

Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., also filed a request Thursday for the judge to have the settlement undergo an independent review before she rules on whether or not to approve it. Martinez-Olguin asked the parties to respond to Booker’s letter and any of the outside briefs by noon PDT on Monday, meaning any ruling on the agreement’s fate would not come until after that deadline.

@Daniel Miller, POLITICO Reporter

Here’s the judge’s “homework” for the parties in the Paramount-WBD case: She asked them to address, by noon Monday, the letter the court received from Sen. Cory Booker. Read the senator’s letter in full below

By Daniel Miller

September 25, 2026

In a letter filed w/ the court, Sen. Cory Booker urged the judge handling the Paramount-WBD antitrust litigation to independently review the proposed settlement before approving it, questioning whether its temporary commitments would adequately restore competition.

Los Angeles Times

Judge holds off on ruling in states’ antitrust settlement with Paramount

By Samantha Masunaga and Cerys Davies

September 25, 2026

A federal judge declined Thursday to rule immediately on the settlement between Paramount Skydance and 12 state attorneys general, leaving the last major hurdle to the $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition unresolved for now.

Judge Martínez-Olguín gave no indication of how she'd rule but said she wanted more information before deciding whether to approve the consent decree.

Los Angeles Magazine

Judge’s Questions Put Paramount-Warner Bros. Deal in New Uncertainty

By Camryn Rael

September 25, 2026

The proposed $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount Skydance has stirred debate over the future of Hollywood and the growing consolidation of the entertainment industry. That debate moved back into the courtroom Thursday, when U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín questioned a proposed settlement between Paramount and the 12 state attorneys general who sued to block the acquisition. The settlement would resolve the states’ antitrust challenge under a series of conditions, but it still requires the judge’s approval before the merger can move forward.

The judge’s request came as Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., urged the court to subject the proposed settlement to an independent public-interest review before approving it. Booker, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, has argued the agreement does not adequately address the competitive concerns raised by the merger.

“This merger is illegal,” Booker said in a statement this week. “It shrinks two of Hollywood’s major studios from five to four and combines two of the largest basic cable owners — putting nearly a third of the theatrical film market and nearly a third of basic cable programming under one roof.”

The.Desk.net

Judge hits pause on settlement between states, Paramount over Warner Bros acquisition

By Matthew Keys

September 24, 2026

A federal judge in California paused the pending settlement, questioning attorneys Thursday about concerns raised by Sen. Booker.

Martínez-Olguín asked the parties to respond by noon Monday local time (3 p.m. Eastern) to Booker's letter, which argued the settlement lacked a competitive impact statement, public comment period, or opportunity for stakeholders to be heard.

Paramount opposed the filing, calling it an improper submission made after the settlement was already reached.

POLITICO

NOT A DONE DEAL

By Daniel Miller and Hassan Kanu

September 25, 2026

The judge overseeing the 12 states' case against Paramount's Warner Bros. acquisition questioned the parties for 50 minutes Thursday but stopped short of approving the settlement.

Martínez-Olguín said she wasn't a ""rubber stamp"" and that a ruling would come in due course.

She opened with detailed questions and closed by giving both sides a ""homework"" assignment: respond by noon Monday to Booker's letter questioning whether the settlement's temporary commitments would adequately restore competition.

The five-year settlement would require Paramount to release at least 30 theatrical films annually for two years, then 32 a year for three more, and would create an editorial-independence board for CNN and CBS News — but calls for no upfront divestitures or structural remedies.

SEE ALSO:

Booker Introduces Legislation to Review and Unwind Anticompetitive Corporate Mergers Approved Under Second Trump Administration

Booker Demands Answers on Undisclosed Conflicts of Interest in $111 Billion Warner Bros. Discovery-Paramount Skydance Merger

Booker Statement on Paramount - Skydance/ Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Shareholder Vote

ICYMI: Booker Holds Forum on Risks of Paramount–Skydance / Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Ahead of Shareholder Vote

NEW VIDEO: Ahead of Paramount Shareholder Vote, Booker Releases Documentary Exposing Consequences of Proposed Paramount–Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery Merger

Booker Holds Forum on Risks of Paramount–Skydance / Warner Bros. Discovery Merger Ahead of Shareholder Vote

Booker, Schumer, Durbin, Blumenthal, Hirono, Whitehouse, Warren Challenge FCC to Conduct Full Review of Foreign Investment Concerns in Paramount & Warner Bros. Merger

Booker Statement: “The proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery is far from settled.”

Booker, Schumer, Durbin, Klobuchar, Warren, Blumenthal, Hirono, Welch Demand Paramount CEO & Chairman David Ellison Preserve All Records Related to Proposed Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery Transaction

Booker, Durbin Demand Answers on Trump Administration's Removal of DOJ Antitrust Chief Gail Slater",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press/09/25/2026/booker-introduces-transit-oriented-housing-development-act,Booker Introduces Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NJ,Cory A. Booker,B001288,www.booker.senate.gov,booker,https://www.booker.senate.gov/news/press,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) introduced the Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act, legislation to expand affordable and workforce housing near major transit hubs across the nation. If enacted, the legislation is projected to create more than two million new housing units across the country and increase access to affordable homes for low-income families. The bill also invests $300 billion over ten years into the national Housing Trust Fund to support the construction of affordable housing.

“Our nation faces a housing crisis that threatens the very bedrock of the American dream. For millions of families around the nation and in New Jersey, affordable housing is simply out of reach,” said Senator Booker. “When I was Mayor of Newark, I doubled the production of affordable housing across the city, even when the housing market faced severe turbulence. I am proud to build upon that success at the federal level because it will help address one of New Jerseyans’ most urgent challenges; ensuring our families have access to more affordable housing, high-quality schools and opportunities to thrive.”

“Housing affordability is an escalating crisis in New Jersey and communities across the country,"" said Arnold Cohen, senior policy advisor for the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ. ""The need for more homes people can afford is undeniable, and this bill would make a significant investment in building those homes where people can connect to jobs, transit, and opportunity. By expanding access to housing near transit, it would also help communities attract and retain workers, support local businesses, and strengthen our economy.""

""We appreciate Senator Booker introducing the Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act to address our state and national housing affordability challenges in a way that supports transit-oriented development, smart growth, and the creation of more walkable places and connected communities. By expanding funding for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the National Housing Trust Fund, this bill will help create more housing affordable to a range of different incomes, helping New Jersey retain more individuals and families struggling with the cost of housing,""said Peter Kasabach, Executive Director of New Jersey Future.

""Newark is a transit-rich city, and too many of our families have been priced out of the neighborhoods they built. In Lower Broadway, only 15 percent of residents own a car, yet many live too far from Broad Street Station to walk to it. Senator Booker's Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act would help communities like ours build workforce housing where working families need it most: close to the trains and buses that connect them to jobs, school, and opportunity,"" said Peter Rosario, President and CEO of La Casa de Don Pedro.

“In a state as densely populated as New Jersey, it makes sense to encourage development where transit infrastructure already exists. New Jersey Realtors® supports transit-oriented initiatives that create new housing opportunities and help address the ongoing housing supply and affordability challenges. We applaud the senator for his work to address problems that uniquely affect housing in New Jersey,” said Doug Tomson, New Jersey Realtors® CEO.

The Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act addresses the urgent need to expand the housing supply in New Jersey and nationwide by leveraging existing federal tools. It strengthens the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program by increasing private activity bond allocations and establishing a dedicated set-aside for mixed-income workforce housing projects located within a half-mile of transit hubs, including rail stations and bus corridors.

The Transit-Oriented Housing Development Act would specifically:

Prioritize transit access: Require projects to be located within a half-mile of major transit hubs, connecting residents to jobs, education, and essential services.

Strengthen workforce housing incentives: Provide additional tax credit value for developments that meet prevailing wage standards and serve mixed-income communities.

Expand the LIHTC program: Increase tax-exempt private activity bond authority by 30% and enhance the 4% tax credit for projects that pay prevailing wages, improving feasibility in high-cost areas.

Invest in the national Housing Trust Fund: Provide $300 billion over ten years, prioritizing transit-oriented developments serving very low- and extremely low-income households.

Establish clear affordability standards: Reserve units for households earning up to 120% of area median income (AMI), with at least 20% of units set aside for households at or below 50% AMI and 10% at or below 30% AMI.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases/cortez-masto-joins-bipartisan-group-of-senators-demanding-the-trump-administration-extend-tps-for-ukrainians/,Cortez Masto Joins Bipartisan Group of Senators Demanding the Trump Administration Extend TPS for Ukrainians,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NV,Catherine Cortez Masto,C001113,www.cortezmasto.senate.gov,cortezmasto,https://www.cortezmasto.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"The Senators’ call for an 18-month extension and redesignation comes as TPS for Ukrainians is set to expire next month

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined a bipartisan group of Senators, led by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), calling on the Trump Administration to issue an 18-month extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Ukrainians living in the United States as Vladimir Putin continues his unjustified war of aggression against their homeland.

In their letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Senators underscored how a failure to extend TPS ahead of its expiration next month would send thousands of Ukrainians back into a war zone that has resulted in significant civilian casualties, infrastructure damage, and displacement.

“Current conditions in Ukraine clearly merit the continuation of TPS status. The ongoing war has caused a humanitarian crisis and damage to critical civilian infrastructure has left many with limited or no access to heat, electricity or medical services. Ukrainian nationals cannot safely return at this time, and allowing TPS to terminate on October 19, 2026, would risk sending more than one hundred thousand individuals back to an active war zone,” wrote the Senators.

The full text of the letter can be found here.

Since the Russian invasion in 2022, Senator Cortez Masto has stood firmly behind Ukraine and against Putin’s war of aggression. She pushed the Biden Administration to reduce restrictions on Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons and urged the Trump Administration to maintain trade restrictions on Russia. When President Trump instituted his blanket tariffs in April of 2025, Cortez Masto tried to exempt Ukraine, but her effort was blocked by a Republican Senator. She is leading bipartisan legislation to prevent businesses from taking a tax break on business dealings with Russia. Cortez Masto cited Tulsi Gabbard’s repeated justifications of Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine as part of her reasoning in voting against Gabbard’s confirmation as Director of National Intelligence.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/as-trump-craters-economy-duckworth-and-meng-reintroduce-resolution-to-empower-mothers-in-the-workforce,"As Trump Craters Economy, Duckworth and Meng Reintroduce Resolution to Empower Mothers in the Workforce",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Tammy Duckworth,D000622,www.duckworth.senate.gov,duckworth,https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – As Donald Trump’s reckless policies continue to crater our economy and leave families behind, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Representative Grace Meng (D-NY-06) reintroduced the Mom Economy Resolution to promote and empower mothers in the workforce across the nation. While the Trump Administration cuts critical lifelines that so many depend on and offer nothing to support Americans struggling to get by, the lawmakers’ bicameral resolution lays out a plan to support moms who enter and stay in the workplace through investments in childcare, the child tax credit, SNAP, increasing the minimum wage and paid leave. The legislation also includes additional provisions seeking to assist LGBTQ+ mothers and maternal care/family planning resources.

“Costs are climbing, child care is more expensive and too many moms are feeling left behind by an Administration that promised to help,” said Duckworth. “If we want to build a stronger economy, it’s past time we stop treating moms’ time as both expendable and endless. Our resolution recognizes the urgent need to invest in moms and make it easier for them to succeed in our workforce by advancing policies like universal child care, paid leave and beyond. Republicans in Congress must stop prioritizing harmful tax cuts that only benefit the ultra-wealthy and start working with Democrats to pass meaningful legislation that meets the needs of mothers across the country.”

“Moms are the backbone of our economy, but too often, the economy doesn’t work for them,” said Congresswoman Meng. ""Women still earn just 84 cents for every dollar earned by men, even as so many are bringing home half—or all—of their family’s income. That has to change. I’m proud to introduce the Mom Economy Resolution with Senator Duckworth, which builds on my Marshall Plan for Moms, to recognize the burdens working moms face and renew the call for paid leave, affordable childcare, and the support families need to thrive.”

""The childcare crisis isn't a mom problem, it's a $172 billion economic problem, and mothers have been absorbing the cost alone for too long ” said Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First. ""I'm grateful to Congresswoman Meng and Senator Duckworth for their leadership. When we invest in paid leave and affordable childcare, we're not just helping moms — we're growing the economy.”

“The Mom Economy Resolution offers solutions to many of the devastating challenges moms and families are facing as our country’s care and affordability crises deepen,” said MomsRising Together Executive Director Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner. “It makes a powerful case for the measures that will open avenues for moms, families, small businesses, and our economy to thrive, including fair wages; affordable child care and health care, including maternal and reproductive care; improved access to nutritious food; paid family and medical leave; a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit; and a higher minimum wage. This is a finger-on-the-pulse Resolution and America’s moms are deeply grateful to Rep. Grace Meng for leading on it and championing the initiatives we urgently need.”

“The Mom Economy Resolution highlights an essential, and often forgotten, principle that mothers, who face a persistent gender wage gap, are critical to our nation's workforce and economy,” said Dr. Jamila K. Taylor, president and CEO of the Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR). “IWPR is proud to support this resolution that recognizes the crucial role mothers, especially mothers of color, play in their families’ economic security. By investing in care infrastructure, expanding inclusive tax credits, and improving workplace supports, we can strengthen families and the economy. The childcare crisis isn't a mom problem, it's a $172 billion economic problem, and mothers have been absorbing the cost alone for too long. I'm grateful to Congresswoman Meng and Senator Duckworth for their leadership. When we invest in paid leave and affordable childcare, we're not just helping moms — we're growing the economy.”

Supported by MomsRising Together the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Moms First, National Partnership for Women and Families, A Better Balance, and National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum, this resolution comes at a time where the labor force has 20% fewer women in it than men, while at least four out of every ten women report having experienced gender discrimination at work. Moreover, the median earnings for women who work full-time is 84 cents and part-time 78 cents, for every dollar paid to men. The rate of the wage gap is even higher for Black women, Latinas, Native women and other communities of Asian American and Pacific Islander women.

Along with Duckworth, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR). Along with Meng, the legislation is cosponsored in the House by U.S Representatives Yvette Clarke (D-NY-09), Judy Chu (D-CA-28), and Frederica Wilson (D-FL-24).

Duckworth has long been a fierce advocate of policies that support middle-class families, including more affordable child care, universal-pre K, paid leave and more. Duckworth is a cosponsor of the Child Care for Working Families Act, comprehensive legislation to help tackle the child care crisis and ensure that families across America can find and afford the high-quality child care they need. Duckworth also helped reintroduce the Healthy Families Act of 2023, which would guarantee paid sick leave to workers in America.

A copy of the resolution can be found on Senator Duckworth's website.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-hoeven-bipartisan-bills-to-support-the-health-of-our-aviation-workforce-and-strengthen-aviation-safety-pass-the-senate,Duckworth-Hoeven Bipartisan Bills to Support the Health of Our Aviation Workforce and Strengthen Aviation Safety Pass the Senate,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Tammy Duckworth,D000622,www.duckworth.senate.gov,duckworth,https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Two bipartisan pieces of legislation led by U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL)—a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (CST) and Ranking Member of the Aviation Subcommittee—and U.S. Senator John Hoeven (R-ND) to support the health of our aviation workforce and strengthen aviation safety today passed the Senate with unanimous consent. Duckworth’s Aviation Medication Transparency Act, co-led by Senator Hoeven, would require the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to issue accessible, user-friendly guidance on medications that are safe for individuals holding, applying for or training for a position that requires an FAA medical certificate—helping ensure these individuals don’t unknowingly take medications that could put their careers in jeopardy.

“Our aviation system depends on the well-being of our pilots and air traffic controllers, who operate under an immense amount of stress. Their careers should never be threatened because they weren’t properly informed about which medications they’re allowed to take, or simply sought the mental health care they need,” said Duckworth. “These two bipartisan, commonsense bills will help make it easier for those in our aviation workforce to take care of themselves without fearing for their job security—while also sending this important message to future recruits. Now that they’ve passed the Senate with unanimous consent, the House must do the same so we can address bureaucratic shortcomings within the FAA, dismantle the dangerous culture of silence surrounding mental health in the aviation industry and ultimately make our skies safer.”

Additionally, Hoeven’s John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act, co-led by Senator Duckworth, would require the FAA to modernize and strengthen access to mental health care—removing barriers to timely treatment, promoting early intervention and supporting the well-being of our pilots and air traffic controllers (ATC) that lead to safer skies.

“Our nation faces a severe shortage of qualified pilots and air traffic controllers, while bureaucratic delays and outdated processes at the FAA keep these professionals from working for prolonged periods when they seek mental health care. Our Mental Health in Aviation Act would provide much-needed updates to the FAA’s Medical Certificate process to help ensure pilots and air traffic controllers can get the care they need without undue repercussions to their careers,” said Hoeven. “I appreciate Senator Duckworth for partnering with me on both this legislation and her Aviation Medication Transparency Act, which will provide more certainty regarding which medications are approved by the FAA for aviation professionals. Together, our bills will make a real difference for the well-being of pilots and controllers.”

The FAA currently provides Aviation Medical Examiners with specific guidance on medications that are safe for individuals holding an FAA medical certificate to take—but confoundingly, this crucial information is not easily accessible to pilots, ATCs and other aviation professionals. As a result, pilots and ATCs with medical certifications may unknowingly take medications that could potentially jeopardize their careers.

To help make this information more accessible, the Aviation Medication Transparency Act would require the FAA to:

Publish within one year of enactment—and keep up-to-update—a comprehensive, user-friendly and accessible list of medications that are safe for pilots, air traffic control specialists and trainees, developed in consultation with various stakeholders.

Indicate what, if any, period of time individuals holding an FAA medical certificate must have limited or no duties while taking this medication.

Indicate a list of medications the FAA has designated as “Do Not Issue” and “Do Not Fly.”

Provide information for doctors to contact the FAA should they have any questions.

In addition to Duckworth and Hoeven, the Aviation Medication Transparency Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Katie Britt (R-AL), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), James Risch (R-ID), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mark Warner (D-VA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Coons (D-DE) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).

This legislation is also endorsed by the Airlines for America, Air Line Pilots Association, Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, National Business Aviation Association, National Flight Training Alliance, NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, Pilot Menal Health Campaign, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association and United Aerial Firefighters Association.

Additionally, under current FAA regulations, pilots and ATCs must acquire and maintain an FAA medical certificate, which requires the disclosure of any medical treatments—including for mental health. Once disclosed, they can face extended bureaucratic delays during the lengthy process they must undergo to receive their medical certification and be deemed safe to perform their jobs. As a result, there is a stigma against seeking mental health care which discourages pilots and ATCs from getting the care they need and deserve for their uniquely demanding professions.

To encourage pilots and ATCs to seek care early and improve aviation safety, the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act would require the FAA to:

Modernize mental health guidance regulations for pilots and air traffic controllers to encourage the early disclosure and treatment of mental health conditions and to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health in aviation.

Annually review the FAA’s Special Issuance Medical Certification process, appropriate mental health treatments and medication use and overall mental health training for Aviation Medical Examiners.

Authorize $15 million annually (FY2026–FY2029) to the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine to expand and train additional medical examiners, including specialists, to improve the efficiency of the FAA’s Special Issuance Medical Certification process.

Authorize $1.5 million annually (FY2026–FY2029) for a public information campaign to help reduce the stigma around mental health care in aviation and encourage pilots and air traffic controllers to seek treatment.

In addition to Hoeven and Duckworth, the John A. Hauser Mental Health in Aviation Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Deb Fischer (R-NE), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), John Curtis (R-UT), Jack Reed (D-RI), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Andy Kim (D-NJ), James Risch (R-ID), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), John Kennedy (R-LA), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Mike Crapo (R-ID), Chris Coons (D-DE), Steve Daines (R-MT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).

This legislation is also endorsed by Airlines for America, Regional Airline Association, the Air Line Pilots Association, National Air Traffic Controllers Association, National Business Aviation Association, Association of Air Medical Services, National Flight Training Alliance, NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots, Southwest Airlines Pilots Association, Allied Pilots Association, Coalition of Airline Pilots and Pilots Mental Health Campaign.

Full text of the Aviation Medication Transparency Act and the Mental Health in Aviation Act are available on Senator Duckworth’s website.

Duckworth has long been a leading voice in the push to make our skies safer. For years, she has been sounding the alarm that we must make critical aviation safety investments immediately to prevent all-too-often near-misses from becoming catastrophic tragedies. Last Congress, Duckworth chaired two CST Aviation Subcommittee hearings—one last December and the other a year prior—to address our aviation industry’s chilling surge in near-deadly close calls and underscore the urgent need to improve air traffic control systems to protect the flying public.

Duckworth helped author the landmark bipartisan FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 that was signed into law to extend the FAA’s funding and authorities through Fiscal Year 2028. The reauthorization included several of her provisions to safeguard the 1,500-hour rule, improve consumer safety, expand the aviation workforce and enhance protections for travelers with disabilities.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases/duckworth-leads-senate-democrats-in-renewed-push-to-help-prevent-police-involved-deaths-and-provide-justice-for-families,Duckworth Leads Senate Democrats in Renewed Push to Help Prevent Police-Involved Deaths and Provide Justice for Families,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Tammy Duckworth,D000622,www.duckworth.senate.gov,duckworth,https://www.duckworth.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – On the 29th birthday of Laquan McDonald, an Illinoisan teen who was shot and killed at the hands of a Chicago Police Department (CPD) officer with a recorded history of excessive force, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is leading her Senate Democratic colleagues in reintroducing legislation that would help restore trust between law enforcement officials and the communities they serve by helping prevent police-involved deaths and encouraging independent, impartial investigations into law enforcement officials’ use of deadly force. The Police Training and Independent Review Act—the second piece of legislation that Senator Duckworth ever introduced in the Senate—would create financial incentives for states to require training for law enforcement officials on fair and impartial policing and best practices for working with members of the community who are disabled and have mental illnesses. Additionally, it would encourage communities to use independent prosecutors to investigate law enforcement officials’ use of deadly force. When implemented, the legislation would authorize the U.S. Attorney General to award grants to states that require an independent investigation and, if warranted, prosecution in cases where one or more of the alleged offenses result in death or serious bodily harm. Companion legislation will soon be introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-09).

“From Chicago to Louisville or anywhere in America, we cannot allow ourselves to accept that Black teenagers, men and women are still being unjustly executed at the hands of law enforcement without judge or jury,” said Duckworth. “Laquan McDonald’s death was preventable, and Congress still has yet to do enough to ensure tragedies like his never happen again. In honor of Laquan 29th heavenly birthday, I’m proud to lead Senate Democrats in reintroducing this overdue legislation that would help save lives and restore trust between law enforcement and local communities by increasing resources for training to help prevent such incidents, while promoting objective and independent investigations of police-involved uses of deadly force. Families like Laquan McDonald’s that have experienced heartbreak are no less deserving of justice than any other family. It’s time our country acts to ensure accountability within our law enforcement agencies and provide justice to those who have lost loved ones.”

12 years ago, Laquan MacDonald—who was 17 years old at the time—was shot and killed by a 14-year CPD officer with over 20 citizen complaints, including many for excessive force. CPD office Jason Van Dyke shot McDonald 16 times, many after he already was on the ground. Tragically, McDonald's story is all too familiar. Police in the United States kill more than 1,000 people each year, yet fewer than 3 percent of those killings result in an officer being charged with a crime. In much of the country, the officer's own department investigates a police killing while a local prosecutor—who works alongside that department every day—decides whether to bring charges, an inherent conflict of interest this legislation is designed to eliminate.

The types of independent investigation and prosecution of law enforcement that would be eligible for financial incentives under the Police Training and Independent Review Act include:

The use of an independent agency, civilian review board or outside law enforcement department, such as the State Police, responsible for independently investigating and prosecuting all officer use of force allegations.

The appointment of the State Attorney General, or a special prosecutor overseen by the State Attorney General, responsible for conducting the criminal investigation and prosecution.

The use of an independent prosecutor, who does not reside or work in the same county as the county where the officer’s use of force was committed.

Along with Duckworth, the legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Ron Wyden (D-OR).",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-padilla-introduce-new-legislation-to-prevent-unlawful-immigration-arrests-and-detentions,"Durbin, Padilla Introduce New Legislation To Prevent Unlawful Immigration Arrests & Detentions",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Richard J. Durbin,D000563,www.durbin.senate.gov,durbin,https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"The Immigration Warrant Reform Act would push back on the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and violent immigration enforcement across the country

WASHINGTON – After immigration enforcement agents have arbitrarily arrested countless U.S. citizens and immigrants with lawful status, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Border Security and Immigration, introduced new legislation to clarify existing requirements for immigration arrests and codify statutory procedures to prevent unlawful arrests and detentions. U.S. Senators Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Patty Murray (D-WA), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) joined as cosponsors.

In a concurrence in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, Justice Kavanaugh relied on these gaps in immigration laws to find that immigration agents may make stops based solely on apparent race and ethnicity, speaking Spanish or English with an accent, and presence at certain worksites. The Trump Administration has gone beyond “stops” to arrest and even brutally attack U.S. citizens and immigrants without probable cause or a warrant for the arrest. The Trump Administration has further interpreted immigration laws to require immigration judges to deny bond to any noncitizen who entered the United States without inspection, regardless of how long they have been in the country, and severely limit the opportunities for an immigration judge to release noncitizens on bond.

“The disturbing reality today is that many American citizens and immigrants with lawful status have been caught in the Trump Administration’s indiscriminate and violent immigration enforcement dragnet across the country,” Durbin said. “As Justice Sotomayor stated in her dissent in Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, referring to immigration agents: ‘United States citizens are … being seized, taken from their jobs, and prevented from working to support themselves and their families.’ This must stop. The Immigration Warrant Reform Act will help prevent these due process violations while ensuring noncitizens who present a threat to public safety are not released. It is commonsense, and I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.”

“Republicans continued to write blank checks to ICE and CBP while serious concerns remain about officer and agent training, accountability, and the treatment of U.S. citizens,” said Padilla. “Every person in America has civil rights — in spite of this Administration’s total disregard for the Constitution. This bill would establish stronger accountability and oversight, restore due process, and ensure federal immigration enforcement respects the rights and safety of Americans and noncitizens alike.”

The Immigration Warrant Reform Act would bring immigration enforcement procedures in line with the standards that all law enforcement have to follow, by—

Codifying specific criteria for warrantless civil immigration arrests in the interior of the United States—

To limit the circumstances for warrantless arrest to those where a noncitizen presents an imminent danger to the community requiring immediate arrest, and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained; and

To require a bond hearing within 24 hours of any warrantless arrest to determine whether the conditions above were met, and release the individual if they do not present a danger to the community;

Codifying in statute criteria for obtaining an administrative warrant to arrest a noncitizen for civil immigration enforcement purposes, including by requiring immigration officers to—

Document probable cause of an individual’s inadmissibility and removability under the Immigration and Nationality Act; and

Obtain approval for an administrative warrant from a supervisory immigration officer;

Codifying in statute the requirement for periodic hearings in front of an immigration judge or federal judge for detained noncitizens; and

Clarifying that mandatory detention provisions applicable at the border should not apply to immigrants in the interior of the United States.

These changes would not allow for release of noncitizens who present a threat to public safety.

Bill text is available here.

A section-by-section of the bill is available here.

In December, Durbin launched an investigation into the reported arrests of U.S. citizens under the Trump Administration’s violent immigration enforcement agenda. In a letter to then-DHS Secretary Noem, Durbin called out the dangerous and reckless enforcement actions, including arrests and detentions of U.S. citizens and targeting of minorities in cities like Chicago.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-statement-on-supreme-court-allowing-trump-administration-to-proceed-with-flawed-voter-screening-database-ahead-of-midterms,Durbin Statement On Supreme Court Allowing Trump Administration To Proceed With Flawed Voter Screening Database Ahead Of Midterms,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,IL,Richard J. Durbin,D000563,www.durbin.senate.gov,durbin,https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after the Supreme Court ruled today that the Trump Administration can move forward with an expansive and flawed database that states can use for potential voter purges. The database attempts to combine citizenship information, Social Security numbers, and other sensitive data about millions of Americans and is rife with errors:

“The Supreme Court just allowed the Trump Administration to weaponize an unreliable database against Americans’ fundamental right to vote less than six weeks before a consequential midterm election. With his poll numbers lagging, Donald Trump continues to attack Americans’ right to vote because he knows his party can’t win on the issues.

“Federal law already prohibits noncitizens from voting in federal elections, and every eligible voter across America has the right to cast a ballot—and should be able to do so without fear of being wrongly purged from the voting rolls. The right to vote is fundamental to our nation’s democracy, and President Trump’s efforts to chip away at that fundamental right and interfere with the election must be rejected.”

In an unsigned per curiam opinion, over the objections of at least three dissenting justices, a majority of the Court granted a request for emergency relief from the Justice Department to stay a June ruling which had blocked the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) overhauled database—called the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE)—which the Administration allows states and localities to use to verify citizenship and immigration status of registered voters. As Justice Jackson pointed out in her dissent, the Court “focuse[d] only on the harms the Government will purportedly suffer absent a stay, disregarding the harms that the modified SAVE system has caused, and will likely continue to cause, to lawful voters.”

In April, Durbin, along with U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee; Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee; and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led 24 of their Democratic colleagues in demanding DHS and the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) follow existing federal law over a troubling, unconstitutional March 31 Executive Order signed by President Trump. The directive risked disenfranchising eligible voters, including by requiring DHS to create eligible voter lists—which is an administrative function reserved primarily for the states. Under the order, DHS is required to use data from the SAVE program that incorporates incorrect and out-of-date citizenship information from SSA, which DHS has acknowledged may produce inaccurate citizenship verification results.

-30-",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/gallego-justice-applaud-fcc-for-efforts-to-prevent-call-center-jobs-offshoring-improve-customer-service/,"Gallego, Justice Applaud FCC for Efforts to Prevent Call Center Jobs Offshoring, Improve Customer Service",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,www.gallego.senate.gov,gallego,https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Today, Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Jim Justice (R-WV) sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr applauding the commission’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on call center onshoring. If finalized, the rule would encourage telecommunications providers to move customer service jobs back to the United States, improving customer experience and service.

The letter follows last year’s introduction of the senators’ Keep Call Centers in America Act which, among other provisions, would give customers the right to transfer to a U.S.-based human representative for assistance.

“As the bipartisan Senate sponsors of the Keep Call Centers in America Act of 2025, we are pleased by the FCC’s meaningful efforts to address offshoring in the call center industry. We thank you for attention to this important topic,” the senators wrote.

Starting in the mid-1990s, many companies shifted customer service operations overseas to low-wage countries and increasingly automated front-line United States-based agents. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) projects a loss of another 150,000 United States-based call center jobs by 2033 at current trends.

The letter comments on four specific components of the NPRM, encouraging provisions that mimic those detailed in their Keep Call Centers in America Act:

Disclosure of Foreign-Based Call Center Operations and Right to Transfer:The senators urge, as part of the final rule, that the commission add a requirement that call centers disclose the country in which an agent is located. The senators also called for the creation of a standardized, specific text for providers to use in their disclosure and set standards to assist providers with compliance.

Use of Machine-Based Systems for Customer Service: The senators urged consideration of a right-to-transfer requirement that would give consumers the right to transfer to a human representative for those centers which utilize artificial intelligence (AI)/machine-based systems.

Onshoring Call Centers Handling Americans’ Sensitive Information: The senators voiced support for the NPRM’s proposal allowing only United States-based call centers to handle inquiries that involve customers’ sensitive personal information — including passwords, bank and credit card information, and Social Security numbers — due to potential security risks and enforcement difficulty associated with offshore operations.

Determining Costs and Benefits: The senators urged the commission to consider the beneficial economic, consumer, and productivity impacts associated with onshore operations when determining the costs and benefits of the NPRM.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.gallego.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senate-passes-gallego-resolution-honoring-life-and-legacy-of-senator-jon-kyl/,Senate Passes Gallego Resolution Honoring Life and Legacy of Senator Jon Kyl,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Ruben Gallego,G000574,www.gallego.senate.gov,gallego,https://www.gallego.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON – This week, the Senate passed Senator Ruben Gallego’s (D-AZ)bipartisan resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the late former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. Gallego introduced the resolution alongside Senators Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with every member of the Senate co-sponsoring the resolution.

The resolution recognizes Kyl’s decades of public service to Arizona and the country, including his work on water policy, crime victims’ rights, national security, defense, and intelligence. Kyl represented Arizona for four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before serving three terms in the U.S. Senate, where he rose to serve in party leadership. Following the death of Senator John McCain in 2018, Kyl returned to the Senate to once again represent Arizona.

“Former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl was a great man that put the needs of Arizonans at the center of his career. He never wavered in the fight for Arizona’s water future, including securing one our country’s largest tribal water rights settlements,” said Senator Gallego. “He deserves recognition for his almost 30 years in Congress and his ability to work across the aisle for the good of all Americans.”

“Senator Kyl served Arizona with distinction in Congress for nearly three decades. His landmark work securing historic Tribal water settlements shaped our state in ways that will last for generations. He was a true public servant who loved Arizona, and his legacy will endure.” said Senator Kelly.

“Senator Kyl was a strong voice on America’s global leadership and a strong leader in our Republican conference. I appreciated his friendship and the opportunity to work alongside him in the Senate, including on the Finance and Judiciary Committees. He had strong Iowa roots, too, growing up in Bloomfield while his father represented Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives. Our bipartisan resolution honors his life of service as we all continue to pray for his family,” said Senator Grassley.

“Today we honor my dear friend, Jon Kyl, whose decades of principled leadership and devoted public service leave an enduring legacy in Arizona and across our country. When Arizona needed him once again following John’s passing, Jon answered the call—a reflection of his deep commitment to the state he served so faithfully. Arizona has lost one of its finest public servants, but Jon’s legacy of integrity, leadership, and service will continue to inspire generations to come,” said Ambassador Cindy McCain.

After leaving elected office, Kyl continued his public service, including as vice chair of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. His legacy in Arizona continues through the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Kyl Institute for National Security at the University of Arizona.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/gillibrand-schneider-call-for-hearings-after-navy-discloses-8-attempted-suicides-by-sailors-in-uss-abraham-lincoln-carrier-strike-group/,"Gillibrand, Schneider Call For Hearings After Navy Discloses 8 Attempted Suicides By Sailors In USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NY,Kirsten E. Gillibrand,G000555,www.gillibrand.senate.gov,gillibrand,https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/press-releases/page/,scraper,"Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, and Representative Brad Schneider (D-IL-10), a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, called for congressional hearings following the Navy’s confirmation that 8 sailors in the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group had attempted suicide during the group’s most recent deployment. This admission was made in a September 22 letter Gillibrand received from Acting United States Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao, weeks after administration officials and the president had dismissed families’ and soldiers’ concerns about conditions on board the ship.

Acting Secretary Cao’s response follows the August 2026 letter that Gillibrand and 14 of her colleagues sent to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calling for transparency after reporting detailed dismal conditions for sailors on board the USS Abraham Lincoln. Gillibrand also previously demanded hearings over those reports.

“What Trump and Secretary Hegseth dismissed as ‘fake news’ turned out to be serious and deteriorating conditions for our service members,” said Senator Gillibrand, member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Our troops and their families make immense sacrifices every single day, yet the president dismissed them with open disrespect. That this administration can find endless taxpayer dollars for bombs, ballrooms, and billionaires, but cannot take care of our service members, is completely unacceptable. The American people need hearings, accountability, and a clear plan to protect our service members and prioritize American families.”

“As the Member of Congress representing Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, where every Navy recruit receives basic training, the health and well-being of our men and women in uniform is one of my highest priorities,” said Rep. Schneider. “Every American should be outraged by this Administration’s failure to equip our service members with the tools and support they need to carry out a successful deployment and the blatant lies about the conditions sailors were experiencing on the USS Abraham Lincoln. The new reporting from CNN in response to Senator Gillibrand’s oversight effort is deeply concerning and should alarm everyone. I’m glad to join Senator Gillibrand in calling for open and public hearings to get the answers the American people and our service members deserve.”

In the response letter, Acting Secretary Cao wrote, “Since the beginning of Lincoln’s deployment, there have been a total of eight suicide attempts across the strike group – this number includes the Lincoln crew and Sailors from the carrier air wing, strike group and destroyer squadron staff, escorting destroyers, and all embarked aviation squadrons.”

The letter detailed one particular suicide attempt, in which “one Sailor attempted to go overboard in March and was stopped by his shipmates. That Sailor was also provided immediate medical care and subsequently returned to homeport.”

The full response can be read HERE.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/news/press/release/new-study-trump-vanity-projects-slated-to-cost-1-8-billion/,New Study: Trump Vanity Projects Slated To Cost $1.8+ Billion,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NY,Kirsten E. Gillibrand,G000555,www.gillibrand.senate.gov,gillibrand,https://www.gillibrand.senate.gov/press-releases/page/,scraper,"JEC Report: Cost Of Vanity Projects Could Cover 600 Million School Lunches, Medical Expenditures For More Than 88,000 Veterans For One Year, Or Hiring Of Nearly 30,000 Schoolteachers Or Firefighters

This week, the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) – Minority issued a new report with calculations that find that President Trump’s vanity projects – including construction of the new White House ballroom and the no-bid contract to paint the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, among others – are expected to cost more than $1.8 billion. Using this total, the Committee created an Interactive Cost Calculator where users can explore how this $1.8 billion could instead be spent to lower costs and help the American people.

In response to the new report that highlights President Trump’s egregiously misplaced priorities, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand issued the following statement:

“The president of the United States serves the people, not the other way around. Right now, working families are struggling to afford groceries, gas, and sky-high health care bills. They want their president bringing down costs and putting money back in their pockets, not wasting time and taxpayer dollars on self-serving insanity. I urge this administration to end its wasteful spending and instead support the working families who are paying the price for the president’s absurdity.”

Key examples from the report of what $1.8 billion for Trump’s vanity projects could instead pay for include:

More than 600 million school lunches

About 12 million people’s electric bills for one month

The medical expenditures for more than 88,000 veterans for one year

The hiring of more than 27,000 schoolteachers or 29,000 firefighters

More than 35 million tanks of gas for a typical sedan

While President Trump pledged not to use taxpayer dollars for construction of his White House ballroom, he then broke that promise by using funds for the Secret Service to pay for parts of the ballroom. He also continues to oversee new projects and events – including his proposed Triumphal Arch, the retrofit of the new Qatari Air Force One plane, and more – that require considerable funding.

Senator Gillibrand has been fighting back against President Trump’s vanity projects and self-promotion at taxpayers’ expense. In April, she introduced the Halting Unilateral Money and Building Labeling by Egotistical (HUMBLE) Presidents Act, which would bar the use of a sitting president’s name, image, likeness, or signature to decorate or designate federal property, assets, or currency. She has also highlighted how the $1 billion Republicans sought for the president’s ballroom could instead support law enforcement across the country, and called out how President Trump and congressional Republicans have made life $5,000+ more expensive for average households in New York.

Find the Committee’s full report here and explore the Interactive Cost Calculator here.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senator-hassan-recognized-as-the-1-most-effective-us-senator,Senator Hassan Recognized as the #1 Most Effective U.S. Senator,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NH,Margaret Wood Hassan,H001076,www.hassan.senate.gov,hassan,https://www.hassan.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH) was named the most effective United States Senator by the nonpartisan Political Grades project. Senator Hassan’s was also recently awarded the University of Cincinnati's Portman Center for Policy Solutions’ “Bipartisan Public Service Award.”

“My top priority in the Senate is getting results for the people of New Hampshire. I am committed to working across the aisle to build lasting solutions to the challenges our families and businesses face,” said Senator Hassan. “I will continue working every day to represent our state’s Live Free or Die values and make life better and more affordable for Granite Staters.”

Political Grades measures both Senators and Representatives on a series of metrics to determine the most effective member of Congress. Factors include the number of bills they help advance, attendance, and improvement in state metrics since the member has taken office. To read the full Political Grades report, click here.

Senator Hassan has worked across the aisle to help pass multiple bills into law, including the No Surprises Act to protect patients from receiving unexpected medical bills; the PACT Act, a historic bill that fundamentally reforms and improves the ways in which veterans exposed to toxic substances receive health care and benefits from the VA; and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes a number of key provisions to help advance Granite State priorities. This year, two of Senator Hassan’s bipartisan measures to lower prescription drug costs passed into law: the Increasing Transparency in Generic Drug Applications Act to speed the approval of generic drugs and in turn lower prices for consumers, and the Patients Before Middlemen (PBM) Act to help stop pharmacy benefit managers from driving up prescription drug pricing for seniors.

Senator Hassan was previously named a “Bridge Builder” by the non-partisan Bridge Pledge organization and the most bipartisan Member of Congress by the nonpartisan Common Ground Committee in 2024.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/heinrich-whitehouse-joint-statement-on-permitting-deal-to-deliver-lower-energy-costs-good-paying-jobs-and-responsible-growth,"Heinrich, Whitehouse Joint Statement on Permitting Deal to Deliver Lower Energy Costs, Good-Paying Jobs, and Responsible Growth",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NM,Martin Heinrich,H001046,www.heinrich.senate.gov,heinrich,https://www.heinrich.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, and U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, issued the following statement on the status of a permitting reform deal:

“To be clear: permitting negotiations are ongoing, many of the major hurdles have been overcome, and we believe there is a good deal to be had. We’re focused on getting Americans cheaper energy, good-paying jobs, and responsible growth. To get that right, we need good, strong, legislative text and deliberation.

“Our goal is to deliver for Americans struggling to pay their utility bills. And to do that, we must give Senators the opportunity to read and engage with legislation before they’re asked to vote on it. Rushing that process isn’t just unhelpful, it could sabotage the entire effort.

“We are talking about major changes to how America builds energy and infrastructure. Getting that right has to matter more than election-year deadlines. We are committed to doing what’s needed to get this across the finish line in this Congress, and we look forward to working with the White House and our fellow Members to do that.”",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press_releases/icymi-hickenlooper-mccormick-celebrate-formation-of-senate-bipartisan-science-and-innovation-caucus/,"ICYMI: Hickenlooper, McCormick Celebrate Formation of Senate Bipartisan Science and Innovation Caucus",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,CO,John W. Hickenlooper,H000273,www.hickenlooper.senate.gov,hickenlooper,https://www.hickenlooper.senate.gov/press/page/,scraper,"In case you missed it, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Dave McCormick joined scientists, researchers, and legislative staff at a kickoff event last week at the U.S. Capitol to celebrate the formation of their U.S. Senate Bipartisan Science and Innovation Caucus.

Watch the highlights of the kickoff event HERE.

“If you were to look at the things that distinguish America, most notable would be our investments in science and the parallel expansion in growth and entrepreneurship at the highest level,” said Hickenlooper at the kickoff event last week. “We’ve led the world in scientific knowledge and expansion in growth, and we’ve had the economy that comes with that… That’s why we’re here to make sure we maintain our lead.”

“Pennsylvania has some of the best universities, researchers, entrepreneurs, and innovators in the world, and the breakthroughs happening across our Commonwealth are creating jobs, strengthening our economy, and advancing our national security,” said McCormick. “This caucus is about making sure we build on that incredible momentum, turn great American research into real-world innovation, and ensure Pennsylvania and the United States continue to lead the world in science and technology.”

The Bipartisan Science and Innovation Caucus will highlight and elevate American scientific research and the application of those discoveries to promote innovation. Caucus members will work together with industry leaders and the research community to develop policies that promote U.S. leadership in science. Hickenlooper and McCormick plan to host briefings, engage in roundtables and other conversations about existing and new policies, and provide a venue for discourse about new legislation to boost American scientific research and our STEM workforce.

Watch the launch video for the caucus on Hickenlooper’s X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube accounts

The United States has been a global economic leader for the past 50 years because of our dedication to science, technology, and innovation. Federally-funded research led to the invention of optical fibers, microchips, personal computers, mobile phones, robotics, cutting-edge medicine, and more.

Jobs in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine make up 34% of the U.S. workforce.

Economic activity from these fields generates 39% of U.S. GDP – over $10 trillion dollars.

The United States spends only 3% of its GDP on research and development (R&D) and innovation.

Federally funded R&D dollars are doubled in returns: every $1 invested generates nearly $2 in economic output. This is substantially higher than the returns on other forms of federal investment.

China is overtaking the United States in R&D funding, graduating more PhDs in STEM programs, filing more international patents than the U.S., and narrowing the gap on venture capital investment.

Hickenlooper is a former geologist and a member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/kelly-gallego-stanton-ansari-grijalva-press-trump-administration-for-answers-on-proposed-data-center-on-public-lands/,"Kelly, Gallego, Stanton, Ansari, Grijalva Press Trump Administration for Answers on Proposed Data Center on Public Lands",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Mark Kelly,K000377,www.kelly.senate.gov,markkelly,https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Lawmakers seek transparency on four Arizona proposals covering more than 3,000 acres of federal public land

Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, alongside Representatives Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04), Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-03), and Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ-07), pressed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum for answers after reporting revealed that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is weighing data center-related proposals on federal public land.

The proposals, not previously made public, show that the Trump administration is considering 12 data centers and data center-related infrastructure projects covering more than 17,600 acres of federal public land across Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming. Four of the proposed data centers and related infrastructure projects are in Arizona, and they would span more than 3,000 acres of federal public land here.

In the letter, thelawmakers raisequestions about how these data center proposals were fast-tracked by Trump’s Executive Order 14318; how the projects will be implemented; and what this could mean for environmental reviews, public oversight, and Arizona’s water and energy resources.

“Arizonans are entitled to transparency and robust public review as BLM considers such developments on our federal lands,” the lawmakers wrote.

The delegation requested a congressional briefing before any of the proposed Arizona projects move forward. By October 2, 2026, they demand that Secretary Burgum provide information on:

All data center proposals and candidate parcels under consideration in Arizona.

The permitting and environmental review required for each proposal, including whether BLM intends to use categorical exclusions or other expedited procedures.

Opportunities for public participation and consultation with Tribal governments, local governments, and elected officials; and the projected water demand, water source and peak electric load associated with each proposed project.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/senate-passes-kelly-resolution-honoring-life-and-legacy-of-senator-jon-kyl/,Senate Passes Kelly Resolution Honoring Life and Legacy of Senator Jon Kyl,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Mark Kelly,K000377,www.kelly.senate.gov,markkelly,https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"Every member of the Senate joined Kelly’s bipartisan resolution honoring Kyl’s decades of service to Arizona and the country

This week, the Senate passed Arizona Senator Mark Kelly’s bipartisan resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the late former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl. Kelly introduced the resolution alongside Senators Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Chuck Grassley (R-IA), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), with every member of the Senate co-sponsoring the resolution.

The resolution recognizes Kyl’s decades of public service to Arizona and the country, including his work on water policy, crime victims’ rights, national security, defense, and intelligence. Kyl represented Arizona for four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives before serving three terms in the U.S. Senate, where he rose to serve in party leadership. Following the death of Senator John McCain in 2018, Kyl returned to the Senate to once again represent Arizona.

“Senator Kyl served Arizona with distinction in Congress for nearly three decades. His landmark work securing historic Tribal water settlements shaped our state in ways that will last for generations. He was a true public servant who loved Arizona, and his legacy will endure,” said Kelly.

“Former Arizona Senator Jon Kyl was a great man that put the needs of Arizonans at the center of his career. He never wavered in the fight for Arizona’s water future, including securing one our country’s largest tribal water rights settlements,” said Gallego. “He deserves recognition for his almost 30 years in congress and his ability to work across the aisle for the good of all Americans.”

“Senator Kyl was a strong voice on America’s global leadership and a strong leader in our Republican conference. I appreciated his friendship and the opportunity to work alongside him in the Senate, including on the Finance and Judiciary Committees. He had strong Iowa roots, too, growing up in Bloomfield while his father represented Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives. Our bipartisan resolution honors his life of service as we all continue to pray for his family,” said Grassley.

“Today we honor my dear friend, Jon Kyl, whose decades of principled leadership and devoted public service leave an enduring legacy in Arizona and across our country. When Arizona needed him once again following John’s passing, Jon answered the call—a reflection of his deep commitment to the state he served so faithfully. Arizona has lost one of its finest public servants, but Jon’s legacy of integrity, leadership, and service will continue to inspire generations to come,” said Ambassador Cindy McCain.

After leaving elected office, Kyl continued his public service, including as vice chair of the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States. His legacy in Arizona continues through the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University’s Morrison Institute for Public Policy and the Kyl Institute for National Security at the University of Arizona.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/support-rolls-in-from-academic-experts-ai-researchers-for-kellys-make-ai-work-for-americans-act/,"Support Rolls in from Academic Experts, AI Researchers for Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,AZ,Mark Kelly,K000377,www.kelly.senate.gov,markkelly,https://www.kelly.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/,scraper,"This week, Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) introduced the Make AI Work for Americans Act, landmark legislation designed to make sure companies benefiting the most from AI pay their fair share and invest in American workers. The bill establishes a dedicated federal trust fund to support American workers, job seekers, and communities as the economy changes. Since its introduction, the bill has received broad support from national academic leaders.

Here’s what academic leaders are saying about the Make AI Work for Americans Act:

“Ensuring that AI brings broad-based benefits is the defining challenge of our era. That task starts in the labor market, where we must make sure AI complements workers rather than simply displacing them, and creates pathways to better, well-paid careers. Senator Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act is a major step in this direction: it encourages the development and deployment of pro-worker AI; improves worker training; and strengthens the safety net so that nobody falls through the cracks,” said Daron Acemoglu, Institute Professor, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Daron Acemoglu on X: I am delighted to see lawmakers start tackling the problem of how to make AI’s benefits more broadly shared. This requires both a change in the trajectory of AI in a more pro-worker direction, and more and better investments in worker skills, as Senator Kelly’s bill emphasizes.

“The biggest economic question of our era is whether we use AI merely to replace people or to expand their capabilities to do new things, creating more widely shared prosperity. Senator Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act shapes that choice in the right direction: investing in workers, boosting entrepreneurship, modernizing the safety net, and exploring new approaches such as wage insurance. I’m delighted to support this thoughtful legislation,” saidErikBrynjolfsson, Director, Stanford Digital Economy Lab.

“At a time when many are urging our policymakers to take AI’s potential disruption seriously, it is good to see in this legislation a set of policies aimed at mitigating AI’s negative impacts on workers—from those just starting out to those displaced mid-career,” saidErika McEntarfer, former Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),Tad and Dianne Taube Policy Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

“Senator Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act represents a major step forward in rejecting an AI future that concentrates gains for the few while leaving millions of hard-working Americans behind. The Act provides admirably detailed revenue proposals to ensure that those profiting from AI-induced displacement of workers, help fund a major increase in opportunities for workers to transition to new careers, start new businesses, attain National Service jobs while also ensuring that unemployment benefits are substantial enough to support a worker’s family while they strive to attain these new jobs. Importantly, Senator Kelly’s call for a major expansion of National Service jobs could provide entry level workers being squeezed out by AI the chance to both serve their country and gain valuable work experience, judgment and managerial skills,” saidGeneSperling, Director of the National Economic Council for Presidents Clinton and Obama, Senior Advisor to President Biden, Director of the Economic Dignity Lab at McCourt School at Georgetown.

Gene Sperling on X: Kudos to @SenMarkKelly for not waiting for major AI job dislocation to start laying the foundation for putting jobs & workers first. His bill admirably lays out specific AI revenue sources to fund not only needed training, but also National Service jobs & entrepreneurship.

“Artificial intelligence is changing how we learn, work, and create at an accelerated pace that demands we evolve in the way we manage this moment,” said MichaelCrow, President, Arizona State University, whose PhD in public administration was focused on science and technology policy. “Senator Mark Kelly’s Make AI Work for Americans Act is a critical step forward at an inflection point in AI’s progress, recognizing the need to equip Americans with the tools to navigate and participate in an economy being reshaped by this technology. The bill addresses AI literacy, workforce training, postsecondary education, and the needs of mid-career workers, presenting solutions that reflect the scale of the challenges ahead. ASU understands the fundamental responsibility of higher education to lead in a time of rapid technological change, and we are committed to helping drive the education and workforce approaches presented in this legislation.”

Michael Crow on X: As AI transforms how we work, we need to be equally focused on expanding the opportunities people have to learn, adapt and succeed. I appreciate Sen. Mark Kelly advancing this important conversation.

“Arizona’s community colleges are where technological change becomes opportunity for students, workers, and employers. Across our eleven independent college districts, preparing people for an AI-driven economy means connecting accessible education with the skills employers need. We support the Make AI Work for Americans Act’s workforce provisions, particularly its investment in community college programs, employer partnerships, and services that help students complete their education and move into meaningful careers. We appreciate Senator Kelly’s recognition that workers need opportunities to build new skills throughout their lives. From our largest cities to our rural and tribal communities, America’s leadership in AI will depend on investing just as boldly in people as we do in technology,” saidEric A. Heiser, PhD, President & CEO, Coconino Community College, Chair, Arizona Community College Coordinating Council (AC4).

“As we continue to learn what the impacts of artificial intelligence will be on American workplaces, one thing is clear: we must ensure workers are protected. The Make AI Work for Americans Act provides new resources to support workers by creating an AI Horizon Fund that can expand workforce development, create opportunities for small businesses, and shore up the safety net—all paid for by leading AI firms,” said Heather Boushey, Professor of Practice, Kleinman Center for Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania.

“How we support workers through the AI transition is one of the defining economic challenges of our time. I applaud Senator Kelly for putting forward economically sound legislation that is grounded in a clear understanding of how workers move through the labor market and uses the full set of tools we have to support workers at every stage of their careers,” said Neale Mahoney, Professor of Economics and Director of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research, Stanford University.

“The legislation introduced by Senator Kelly is a timely and urgently needed step toward building labor market resilience and modernizing the institutions that build and protect American talent. The federal trust fund envisioned by this legislation is a model at the right time to confront a moment of deep uncertainty for workers while connecting them to good jobs. While predicting the magnitude of the effect of AI on the labor market is impossible, the range of potential disruption could occur on a scale comparable to the largest changes in employment and the nature of work in our history. More importantly, these disruptions may occur rapidly, and indeed the scenarios of greatest disruption might be those with the lowest lead-time to respond. Already, the half-life of skills in the labor market is evolving faster than our legacy systems can track. This tension between speed and uncertainty means that while the effect of AI is a fast-moving target about which we are still learning, policy to protect workers and empower them with skills cannot afford to simply take a “wait and see” approach. The workforce provisions of this legislation offer a platform to proactively strengthen and build the institutions that will be needed if AI is to be a driver of shared prosperity,” said Professor Christophe Combemale, Carnegie Mellon University Engineering and Public Policy.

“I appreciate Senator Kelly’s leadership on preparing Arizona’s workers and communities for the AI transition. His focus on workforce training, apprenticeships and stronger university-community college partnerships aligns directly with the work the University of Arizona is doing across our state,” said Suresh Garimella, President,University ofArizona, Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering.

“Navajo Technical University applauds Senator Kelly for introducing the Make AI Work for Americans Act. As the nation races to build an AI-ready workforce, Native communities must be included. This legislation’s focus on workforce training funding, rural broadband access, and higher education partnerships is the kind of investment that ensures AI’s benefits reach Indian Country. At NTU, we are preparing the next generation of Diné engineers, data scientists, and technologists. This Act would help us scale that work and make sure Native students have a seat at the table as this technology reshapes the workforce. We urge Congress to move swiftly to pass it,” said Elmer Guy, President, Navajo TechnicalUniversity.

“Diné College views the AI Workforce for Americans Act as a significant opportunity to translate AI workforce policy into education, industry-recognized credentials, employment, entrepreneurship, and economic opportunity for the Navajo Nation—while ensuring that Diné sovereignty, Indigenous knowledge, language, and Tribal data are protected,” said Arlando Teller, Director of Legislative & Government Affairs, Diné College.

“Senator Kelly has been thoughtfully wrestling with the concerns that real Americans are facing with the adoption of AI — job displacement, costs, and ensuring that the benefits of this technology don’t just accrue to the few. This keeps the focus on ensuring Americans win,” said Mieke Eoyang, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cyber Policy, Visiting Professor, Carnegie Mellon University’s Institute for Strategy & Technology, Senior non-resident fellow, Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies Institute on America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs.

“Public choices shape how technological revolutions affect society. With artificial intelligence poised to reshape our economy, we urgently need political leaders to come forward with ideas for steering this transformation toward shared prosperity. Senator Kelly advances this vital national conversation at a pivotal moment with proposals to expand opportunity for workers, strengthen career ladders, and help communities adapt and thrive in an increasingly AI-driven economy,” said Ramin Toloui, Distinguished Policy Fellow, Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research.

“In the Make AI Work for Americans Act, Senator Kelly demonstrates a forward-looking plan to help mitigate the adverse impacts of AI adoption on our workforce. Key to this vision is worker empowerment through training, education, and increased AI literacy. The whole country will benefit from the proposed creation of best practices for the safe and responsible integration of AI in the workplace. With this Act, Senator Kelly prioritizes worker support and opportunities by defining a path to stabilization and flourishing,” said Kiri Wagstaff, AAAI Fellow and Special Advisor on AI for the OSU Libraries, Oregon StateUniversity.

Click here to read the full text of the bill, here for a section-by-section, and here for a one-pager.",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=481DBCA8-D8C1-45AC-B3CB-A040AAE732DD,"Klobuchar, Cassidy, McBath, Thompson Introduce National Hazing Awareness Week Resolution",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,MN,Amy Klobuchar,K000367,www.klobuchar.senate.gov,klobuchar,https://www.klobuchar.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases,scraper,"WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) introduced a resolution to recognize this week, September 21st through the 25th, as “National Hazing Awareness Week.” The resolution recognizes the hundreds of students who have died or suffered severe, life-altering injuries as a result of collegiate hazing and promotes efforts to prevent hazing. In the House of Representatives, the resolution is led by Representatives Lucy McBath (D-GA) and Glenn “GT” Thompson (R-PA).

“When parents send their kids away to college, they expect they will get a good education and make new friends. They don’t expect them to be harassed and hazed. Hazing is a dangerous — and at times deadly — reality that students are confronted with,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “With this resolution, we honor the students who have died or been severely injured due to hazing and promote preventive efforts. This goes hand in hand with our bipartisan Stop Campus Hazing Act, which is improving hazing reporting and prevention on college campuses.”

“Students should not have to fear getting physically or emotionally harmed while they are simply trying to find community at college,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Thanks to the tireless work of the Gruver family and other advocates, we passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act last Congress to increase accountability and ensure hazing is never ignored.”

“I have been honored to work with families and advocates to pass legislation to end campus hazing. I know what it's like to lose a loved one, and no parent should ever have to bury their child,” said Rep. McBath. “I’m glad to lead efforts once again to spread awareness about the pain of these incidents and am grateful to my colleagues for their continued commitment to protecting our students.”

“Hazing has left countless students with life-altering injuries, and too many families have had to endure the loss of a loved one. I am pleased to introduce this bipartisan resolution to bring awareness, accountability, and transparency to campuses in an effort to help protect students from hazing,” Rep. Thompson said.

In 2024, Klobuchar and Cassidy’s Stop Campus Hazing Act to improve the reporting and prevention of hazing on college campuses was signed into law. The bipartisan legislation requires colleges to include hazing incidents in their annual campus safety report and establish a campus-wide, research-based program to educate students about the dangers of hazing. In addition, the bill increases transparency and accountability by providing parents and students with better information about a student organization’s history of hazing incidents.

The first annual security reports to include hazing are required to be published by October 1 of this year. According to a recent analysis by HazingInfo, more than 500 hazing incidents have been recorded across more than 1,400 colleges during the 2025-2026 academic year, the first year that colleges were federally required to publish Campus Hazing Transparency Report on their websites.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/lujan-legislation-to-secure-americas-satellite-systems-unanimously-passes-senate/,Luján Legislation to Secure America’s Satellite Systems Unanimously Passes Senate,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,NM,Ben Ray Luján,L000570,www.lujan.senate.gov,lujan,https://www.lujan.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/?jsf=jet-engine:press-list,scraper,"Washington, D.C. – This week, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the Secure Space Act, legislation led by U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, and U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), Chair of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media. The bipartisan Secure Space Act would protect America’s satellite systems from foreign threats and strengthen national security.

“As satellite technology continues to advance, so do the threats to our national security, and we must act swiftly to safeguard our critical infrastructure,” said Senator Luján. “I’m proud that the Senate unanimously passed my Secure Space Act, legislation that blocks satellite licenses for untrusted entities and protects our skies from foreign adversaries. This legislation is necessary to defend our communications networks from foreign entities that seek to undermine our security and technological leadership.”

Background:

The Secure Space Act prohibits the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from granting satellite licenses or U.S. market access for foreign-licensed satellite systems to any entity or its affiliates that produce or provide communications equipment or services deemed a national security risk.

The legislation amends the Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Act of 2019 to extend this prohibition to both geostationary and non-geostationary orbit satellite systems, including gateway stations. It applies to new licenses and authorizations issued after the bill’s enactment and requires the FCC to establish implementing regulations within one year.

Click here to read text of the bill.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sen-markey-and-reps-jayapal-larsen-announce-legislation-to-expand-workforce-opportunities-for-communities-impacted-by-substance-use,"Sen. Markey and Reps. Jayapal, Larsen Announce Legislation to Expand Workforce Opportunities for Communities Impacted by Substance Use",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,MA,Edward J. Markey,M000133,www.markey.senate.gov,markey,https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (September 25, 2026) - In recognition of National Recovery Month, Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, today announced the reintroduction of the Workforce Opportunities for Communities in Recovery Act, legislation that would strengthen and expand grants for community partnerships that promote employment opportunities for workers in recovery and support communities affected by widespread substance use. Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07) and Rick Larsen (WA-02) lead the legislation in the House of Representatives.

“For National Recovery Month, we celebrate those working to achieve and maintain recovery from addiction, and everyone who helped them along the way. Especially as families struggle to get ahead, it’s more important than ever that we help people in recovery overcome barriers to employment,” said Senator Markey. “This legislation will strengthen community partnerships that connect people with good jobs, peer support, and mentorship, supporting lasting recovery and helping communities heal.”

“Addiction and substance use are deeply tied to economic instability and the shortage of behavioral health professionals,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “Our bill takes these issues head on by investing in local organizations that help those affected by substance use gain employment and empower more people to pursue the behavioral health field. By promoting economic stability and increasing the number of healthcare specialists, we can get to the root of the substance abuse crisis and help communities across the country.”

“The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities in Northwest Washington,” said Rep. Larsen. “This legislation would break down barriers to employment for people in recovery and fund local organizations to address the nationwide behavioral health workforce shortage. I will keep working to get this bill over the finish line and to regain momentum in the fight against the opioid crisis.”

“Substance use disorder has become a far too common barrier to employment,” said Cole Angley, Massachusetts Workforce Association’s Executive Director. “The Workforce Opportunities for Communities in Recovery Act filed by Sen. Markey builds upon a successful model and puts the necessary tools in the hands of workforce development professionals to help address these barriers with impacted job-seekers across Massachusetts and the nation.”

The legislation would reauthorize, strengthen, and expand a pilot grant program first authorized under the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act and later extended through the 2018 SUPPORT Act. The pilot grants have funded community partnerships that promote employment for individuals affected by substance use and those interested in professions that address the impacts of substance use across the country. The Workforce Opportunities for Communities in Recovery Act would authorize $187.5 million to continue this lifesaving and community-strengthening work.

The legislation was first introduced by Senator Markey and Representatives Jayapal and Larsen in July 2024. Senator Markey has been supportive of increasing access to substance use disorder treatments such as methadone, as well as harm reduction tools. In June 2026, Senator Markey introduced the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act 2.0 to improve access to treatment for opioid use disorder. In May 2026, Senator Markey wrote to Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of SAMHSA Christopher Carroll, urging the agency to reverse new guidance barring grant recipients from purchasing and distributing life-saving tools, such as fentanyl test strips, for people with substance use disorders.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/senators-markey-and-merkley-lead-colleagues-to-demand-trump-administration-abandon-reckless-saudi-nuclear-deal,Senators Markey and Merkley Lead Colleagues to Demand Trump Administration Abandon Reckless Saudi Nuclear Deal,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,MA,Edward J. Markey,M000133,www.markey.senate.gov,markey,https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Trump deal caves to Saudi demands, fails “Gold Standard” test

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (September 25, 2026) - Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), co-chairs of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that the Trump administration abandon its reckless nuclear deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which fails the Gold Standard nonproliferation test by surrendering two key conditions: the strictest inspection standards under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Additional Protocol and denying Saudi Arabia the means to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials through uranium enrichment and/or plutonium reprocessing. The letter was signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

As a U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio was among the most consistent voices warning about the dangers of giving Saudi Arabia, whose leaders have repeatedly threatened to pursue nuclear weapons, access to sensitive nuclear technology without proper safeguards.

In the letter, the senators wrote, “With this deal, the Trump Administration is departing from precedent, adopting looser restrictions, and caving to Saudi demands by agreeing to a process that is all but certain to allow Riyadh to acquire the means to enrich uranium and possibly develop nuclear weapons. If the Administration is serious about preventing that outcome, it should require Riyadh to meet the Gold Standard. And likewise, if Saudi Arabia genuinely has no intention of pursuing a nuclear weapon, it should have little objection to accepting the same commitments that the UAE and other states have made: implementing an Additional Protocol and banning enrichment and reprocessing.”

The senators continued, “Although not included in the agreement, media reports have suggested that the Saudi government would not have access to a U.S.-supplied and operated enrichment plant on Saudi soil. While there is no evidence that Saudi officials have agreed to such a ‘black box’ arrangement, if implemented, it would just raise additional concerns. It would be difficult to prevent the Kingdom from spying on a facility built on its soil and thus from gleaning sensitive information. A hypothetical black box arrangement could also commit the United States to far more than a commercial transaction. Sensitive American enrichment technology and the American personnel operating it would sit on Saudi soil, in a region at war and with the possibility of instability within the Kingdom itself. Given that an attack on the black box would be an attack on U.S. equities, we would be obliged to defend the facility. This would constitute a security guarantee by another name; an open-ended commitment to the defense of Saudi Arabia that Congress has not debated.”

The senators concluded, “President Trump launched an unconstitutional war against Iran claiming it was necessary to stop Tehran from enriching uranium. Yet, his Administration is now seeking to give Saudi Arabia access to the very technologies it says Iran must never possess. That hypocrisy undermines any chance of reaching a durable agreement with Iran. If Saudi Arabia can enrich uranium without the strongest inspections, Tehran will demand the same treatment. President Trump is weakening his own negotiating position while increasing the odds of regional nuclear proliferation.”

On September 16, Senators Markey and Merkley led a bipartisan group of Senators to press the Trump administration to declassify and publicly release the two side letters accompanying the proposed U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement, referred to as a “123 agreement.”

As a founder of the national Nuclear Freeze movement, Senator Markey has long been the Congressional leader on ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

On August 26, Senator Markey urged Congress to reject the Trump-Saudi nuclear deal after the Trump administration sent to Congress a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that would open the door to providing the Kingdom with the means to produce nuclear weapons materials but would not require the most stringent safeguards against the development of those weapons.

On July 31, Senators Markey and Merkley, along with Representatives John Garamendi (CA-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08), co-chairs of the Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, published an opinion piece slamming Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal, citing then-Senator Marco Rubio’s understanding that handing nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia would be disastrous.

On March 25, Senators Markey and Merkley reintroduced the No Nuclear Weapons for Saudi Arabia Act, legislation that would mandate that any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia can go into effect only if it receives the affirmative vote of Congress.

On March 18, Senator Markey led his colleagues in writing to Secretary Rubio demanding the Trump administration must meet the “gold standard” of nuclear non-proliferation protections by denying Saudi Arabia the means to produce weapons-grade uranium and plutonium, materials that could be used in a nuclear bomb.

In November 2025, Senator Markey and Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the Trump administration to include the strongest possible “gold standard” nonproliferation measures in any nuclear cooperation agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to foreclose any pathway to a nuclear weapon.

In November 2024, Senator Markey wrote to the Biden administration seeking answers about any agreement that would normalize relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel in exchange for civil nuclear energy cooperation and a U.S. defense commitment to the Kingdom.

As far back as 2017, Senator Markey pressed the first Trump administration on the status of all current and ongoing discussions between the United States and other countries, including Saudi Arabia, on 123 agreements after it was reported that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was peddling a plan to build nuclear reactors throughout the Middle East.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases/sens-markey-merkley-and-reps-jayapal-tlaib-pressley-reintroduce-legislation-to-halt-government-use-of-facial-recognition-and-other-biometric-technology,"Sens. Markey, Merkley and Reps. Jayapal, Tlaib, Pressley Reintroduce Legislation to Halt Government Use of Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Technology",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,MA,Edward J. Markey,M000133,www.markey.senate.gov,markey,https://www.markey.senate.gov/news/press-releases,scraper,"Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (September 25, 2026) - Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), announced the reintroduction of the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, legislation to prohibit the government from using facial recognition and other biometric technologies.

The legislation responds to the federal government’s growing use of biometric recognition technology, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) mobile facial recognition app, which has been used to target immigrants and intimidate communities across the country. Research shows that nearly half of U.S. adults’ faces are already stored in facial recognition databases, and that Black, Brown, and Asian individuals are up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified by a facial recognition algorithm than white men.

“Facial recognition and other biometric technologies in the hands of government agencies have become tools of authoritarianism. Agencies such as ICE and CBP are using this technology to track, target, intimidate and surveil communities across the country,”said Senator Markey. “Black and Brown communities — already subject to the most aggressive policing and immigration enforcement — are disproportionately affected and more likely to be wrongly flagged, detained, or targeted by a faulty facial recognition match. We must stop the Trump administration’s growing web of surveillance technology, and that starts with a moratorium on dangerous, discriminatory biometric recognition.”

“Every American who values their right to privacy, stands against discrimination, and believes people are innocent until proven guilty should be concerned about facial recognition technology fueling a national surveillance state,” said Senator Merkley. “Enacting a federal moratorium on this technology is critical to ensuring we can rein in inappropriate surveillance and protect our communities’ fundamental right to privacy.”

“We have to stop the constant, nonconsensual state of surveillance that we live in, and that starts with placing a moratorium on our government’s use of facial recognition technology,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “Black and Brown people are more likely to be misidentified and wrongfully put in jail because of this unregulated technology, and our government has used it to unjustly target protestors and immigrants. Putting the brakes on this technology is necessary to protect civil rights and ensure public safety.”

“Facial recognition technology is racist, misidentifying Black, Brown, and Asian residents and pinning them as suspects in crimes they did not commit,” said Representative Tlaib. “When such flawed and biased technology is used to invade our privacy, we are all less safe. I'm proud to reintroduce this bill that will ban facial recognition technology and protect all our civil liberties.”

The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would:

Place a prohibition on the use of facial recognition technology by federal entities, which can only be lifted with an act of Congress;

Place a prohibition on the use of other biometric technologies, including voice recognition, gate recognition, and recognition of other immutable physical characteristics, by federal entities, which can only be lifted with an act of Congress;

Condition federal grant funding to state and local entities, including law enforcement, on those entities enacting their own moratoria on the use of facial recognition and biometric technology;

Prohibit the use of federal dollars for biometric surveillance systems;

Prohibit the use of information collected via biometric technology in violation of the Act in any judicial proceedings;

Provide a private right of action for individuals whose biometric data is used in violation of the Act and allow for enforcement by state Attorneys General; and

Allow states and localities to enact their own laws regarding the use of facial recognition and biometric technologies.

“Face surveillance is one of the most intrusive surveillance technologies. It’s past time for the federal government to end its use. Face surveillance in the hands of the government is a fundamentally harmful technology, even under strict regulations or if the technology was 100% accurate. We thank the authors of this bill for their leadership in ending the federal government’s use of this dangerous and invasive technology,” said India McKinney, Director of Federal Affairs at Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“We can no longer afford to ignore the very real harms of AI surveillance technologies, including facial recognition. We have seen how ICE and other federal agencies utilize facial recognition to abuse immigrants, Black and Brown communities, and people participating in protests and other First Amendment protected actions. There is no more excuse for inaction or justification for allowing the continued use of this surveillance technology - the time to pass this legislation is now,” said Caitlin Seeley George (she/her), Campaigns and Managing Director at Fight for the Future.

“Facial recognition poses a significant threat to our privacy and our democracy. The technology has been shown to be biased, inaccurate, and disproportionally harmful to people of color. Even 100% accurate facial recognition poses considerable threats to our privacy and civil liberties. The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act takes the right approach on this urgent issue, effectively banning its current use and ensuring Congress will give careful consideration to if and how the technology can be used in the future. EPIC is proud to support it,” said Jeramie D. Scott, Director of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)’s Surveillance Oversight Program.

“The rapid adoption of powerful surveillance tech by our federal government benefits companies that amass billions in profits through contracts with law enforcement agencies, at the expense of our civil rights. This bill by Senator Markey couldn’t be more timely. Not only does this bill disrupt the money flow for surveillance profiteers; it prevents the use of one of the most invasive forms of surveillance and grants users a private right of action, urgently needed as we still lack federal data privacy protections and a prohibition on law enforcement purchases of sensitive data. We’ve seen how dangerous these tools can be and how easily bad actors can weaponize them against any person or community. Without proper guardrails or consideration for how our privacy will be protected, surveillance tech becomes a tool of oppression, not safety. We are proud to endorse this bill and appreciate Senator Markey’s continued leadership in this area,” said Amanda Beckham, Government Relations Director at Free Press.

“Right now, just walking down the street could allow you to be detected by AI-powered cameras and put into a database. Sen. Markey’s Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act is a critically needed safeguard against a surveillance apocalypse where the government and unaccountable corporations can collect and store your face and voice,” said Hajar Hammado, Senior Policy Advisor at Demand Progress. “Facial recognition technology threatens the privacy and security of all Americans. Every member of Congress who cares about invasive surveillance must support this bill.”

“We should all be free to move freely in our communities -- drive to work, walk our neighborhoods, travel to see family -- without constant monitoring. ICE officers and other federal agents are out in our neighborhoods targeting Black and Brown people because of the color of our skin and scanning our faces without consent to fuel a cruel mass deportation machine. They're using the very same facial recognition technologies that regularly misidentify people of color, leading to unjust arrests and detainment. Senator Markey’s Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would put a stop to this racist invasion of privacy,” said Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, Vice President of The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology.

The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act is cosponsored in the Senate by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and in the House of Representatives by Representatives Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09).

This legislation is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fight for the Future, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Color of Change, Access Now, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Free Press, Demand Progress, and UnidosUS.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-condemns-more-pocket-rescissions-by-trump-administration/,Merkley Condemns More Pocket Rescissions by Trump Administration,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the below statement after President Donald Trump and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought issued more illegal pocket rescissions, this time clawing back nearly $1 billion in congressionally appropriated funding.

“Once again, President Trump and Russ Vought have violated the law by sending Congress more illegal pocket rescissions in the dark of night.

“We have seen this show before. Trump and Vought have a habit of ignoring Congress. That is why I have put forth several amendments that would have prevented the Trump Administration from undermining bipartisan agreements.

“It is time for my Republican colleagues to finally stand up to the Administration and reaffirm that what Congress passes—and the President signs—is the law of the land, and the funds cannot be clawed back without Congress’ approval. Enough of these Executive Branch power grabs. The law is not a suggestion, and the President is not a king,” said Ranking Member Jeff Merkley.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/merkley-wyden-hoyle-announce-1-million-for-lane-county-emergency-communications-infrastructure/,"Merkley, Wyden, Hoyle Announce $1 Million for Lane County Emergency Communications Infrastructure",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Eugene, OR – Today, Oregon’s U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden, along with U.S. Representative Val Hoyle (D-OR-04), announced $1 million in federal funding for Lane County’s Emergency Communications Resiliency and Interoperability Project. The funding will support a key portion of the project to replace aging radio communications infrastructure at Bear Mountain.

“When an emergency strikes, first responders need to know they can reach each other and coordinate a response,” said Merkley, who helped secure funding for this project as a key member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “Community-initiated projects like this one are rooted in the fact that no one knows the unique needs of communities across Oregon quite like the folks who are a part of them, and that’s why I fight so hard to deliver them back to Oregon. These federal dollars will help Lane County replace aging infrastructure and build a more resilient communications network, strengthening the ability of firefighters and other emergency personnel to keep Oregonians safe when they need help most.”

“First responders being able to reliably communicate can be the difference between life and death when emergencies hit rural communities,” said Wyden. “This federal investment will replace outdated radio equipment and deploy modern network technology so rural Oregon fire agencies can maintain uninterrupted contact during crises. I’ll keep fighting to deliver the federal resources that Oregon’s local emergency crews need to stay safe and protect our communities.”

“Supporting our rural communities means investing in resilient infrastructure and modernization projects so no one gets left behind,” said Hoyle. “This $1M grant will invest in new radio systems to strengthen regional connectivity, limit service interruptions and advance emergency response capabilities across Lane County.”

The project was developed by Lane County and supported by Merkley, Wyden, and Hoyle as part of the FY24 agriculture funding bill. The $1 million federal investment will help advance upgrades at the Bear Mountain communications site, which is an important component of the county’s emergency communications infrastructure. Lane County has identified resilient communications as critical to coordinated emergency response and public safety.

“These funds will help make sure our first responders can communicate as they patrol and respond to emergencies in South Lane County,” said County Commissioner Heather Buch, whose district includes Bear Mountain. “The continued advocacy of our federal delegation is helping us make our communities safer and healthier for everyone.”

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/senators-markey-and-merkley-lead-colleagues-to-demand-trump-administration-abandon-reckless-saudi-nuclear-deal/,Senators Markey and Merkley Lead Colleagues to Demand Trump Administration Abandon Reckless Saudi Nuclear Deal,2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Trump deal caves to Saudi demands, fails “Gold Standard” test

Letter Text (PDF)

Washington (September 25, 2026) – Senators Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), co-chairs of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, today sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio demanding that the Trump administration abandon its reckless nuclear deal with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which fails the Gold Standard nonproliferation test by surrendering two key conditions: the strictest inspection standards under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)’s Additional Protocol and denying Saudi Arabia the means to produce weapons-grade nuclear materials through uranium enrichment and/or plutonium reprocessing. The letter was signed by Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

As a U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio was among the most consistent voices warning about the dangers of giving Saudi Arabia, whose leaders have repeatedly threatened to pursue nuclear weapons, access to sensitive nuclear technology without proper safeguards.

In the letter, the senators wrote, “With this deal, the Trump Administration is departing from precedent, adopting looser restrictions, and caving to Saudi demands by agreeing to a process that is all but certain to allow Riyadh to acquire the means to enrich uranium and possibly develop nuclear weapons. If the Administration is serious about preventing that outcome, it should require Riyadh to meet the Gold Standard. And likewise, if Saudi Arabia genuinely has no intention of pursuing a nuclear weapon, it should have little objection to accepting the same commitments that the UAE and other states have made: implementing an Additional Protocol and banning enrichment and reprocessing.”

The senators continued, “Although not included in the agreement, media reports have suggested that the Saudi government would not have access to a U.S.-supplied and operated enrichment plant on Saudi soil. While there is no evidence that Saudi officials have agreed to such a ‘black box’ arrangement, if implemented, it would just raise additional concerns. It would be difficult to prevent the Kingdom from spying on a facility built on its soil and thus from gleaning sensitive information. A hypothetical black box arrangement could also commit the United States to far more than a commercial transaction. Sensitive American enrichment technology and the American personnel operating it would sit on Saudi soil, in a region at war and with the possibility of instability within the Kingdom itself. Given that an attack on the black box would be an attack on U.S. equities, we would be obliged to defend the facility. This would constitute a security guarantee by another name; an open-ended commitment to the defense of Saudi Arabia that Congress has not debated.”

The senators concluded, “President Trump launched an unconstitutional war against Iran claiming it was necessary to stop Tehran from enriching uranium. Yet, his Administration is now seeking to give Saudi Arabia access to the very technologies it says Iran must never possess. That hypocrisy undermines any chance of reaching a durable agreement with Iran. If Saudi Arabia can enrich uranium without the strongest inspections, Tehran will demand the same treatment. President Trump is weakening his own negotiating position while increasing the odds of regional nuclear proliferation.”

On September 16, Senators Markey and Merkley led a bipartisan group of Senators to press the Trump administration to declassify and publicly release the two side letters accompanying the proposed U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement, referred to as a “123 agreement.”

As a founder of the national Nuclear Freeze movement, Senator Markey has long been the Congressional leader on ending the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

On August 26, Senator Markey urged Congress to reject the Trump-Saudi nuclear deal after the Trump administration sent to Congress a nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia that would open the door to providing the Kingdom with the means to produce nuclear weapons materials but would not require the most stringent safeguards against the development of those weapons.

On July 31, Senators Markey and Merkley, along with Representatives John Garamendi (CA-08) and Don Beyer (VA-08), co-chairs of the Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group, published an opinion piece slamming Trump’s Saudi nuclear deal, citing then-Senator Marco Rubio’s understanding that handing nuclear weapons to Saudi Arabia would be disastrous.

On March 25, Senators Markey and Merkley reintroduced the No Nuclear Weapons for Saudi Arabia Act, legislation that would mandate that any nuclear cooperation agreement with Saudi Arabia can go into effect only if it receives the affirmative vote of Congress.

On March 18, Senator Markey led his colleagues in writing to Secretary Rubio demanding the Trump administration must meet the “gold standard” of nuclear non-proliferation protections by denying Saudi Arabia the means to produce weapons-grade uranium and plutonium, materials that could be used in a nuclear bomb.

In November 2025, Senator Markey and Congressman Joaquin Castro (TX-20) wrote to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the Trump administration to include the strongest possible “gold standard” nonproliferation measures in any nuclear cooperation agreement with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to foreclose any pathway to a nuclear weapon.

In November 2024, Senator Markey wrote to the Biden administration seeking answers about any agreement that would normalize relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Israel in exchange for civil nuclear energy cooperation and a U.S. defense commitment to the Kingdom.

As far back as 2017, Senator Markey pressed the first Trump administration on the status of all current and ongoing discussions between the United States and other countries, including Saudi Arabia, on 123 agreements after it was reported that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was peddling a plan to build nuclear reactors throughout the Middle East.

###",1,2026-09-26T09:43:57Z,2026-09-26T09:44:55Z
https://www.merkley.senate.gov/sens-markey-merkley-and-reps-jayapal-tlaib-pressley-reintroduce-legislation-to-halt-government-use-of-facial-recognition-and-other-biometric-technology/,"Sens. Markey, Merkley and Reps. Jayapal, Tlaib, Pressley Reintroduce Legislation to Halt Government Use of Facial Recognition and Other Biometric Technology",2026-09-25,2026,2026-09,Democrat,Senate,OR,Jeff Merkley,M001176,www.merkley.senate.gov,merkley,https://www.merkley.senate.gov/news/press-releases/,scraper,"Bill Text (PDF)

Washington (September 25, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Representatives Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), and Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), announced the reintroduction of the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act, legislation to prohibit the government from using facial recognition and other biometric technologies.

The legislation responds to the federal government’s growing use of biometric recognition technology, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) mobile facial recognition app, which has been used to target immigrants and intimidate communities across the country. Research shows that nearly half of U.S. adults’ faces are already stored in facial recognition databases, and that Black, Brown, and Asian individuals are up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified by a facial recognition algorithm than white men.

“Facial recognition and other biometric technologies in the hands of government agencies have become tools of authoritarianism. Agencies such as ICE and CBP are using this technology to track, target, intimidate and surveil communities across the country,” said Senator Markey. “Black and Brown communities — already subject to the most aggressive policing and immigration enforcement — are disproportionately affected and more likely to be wrongly flagged, detained, or targeted by a faulty facial recognition match. We must stop the Trump administration’s growing web of surveillance technology, and that starts with a moratorium on dangerous, discriminatory biometric recognition.”

“Every American who values their right to privacy, stands against discrimination, and believes people are innocent until proven guilty should be concerned about facial recognition technology fueling a national surveillance state,” said Senator Merkley. “Enacting a federal moratorium on this technology is critical to ensuring we can rein in inappropriate surveillance and protect our communities’ fundamental right to privacy.”

“We have to stop the constant, nonconsensual state of surveillance that we live in, and that starts with placing a moratorium on our government’s use of facial recognition technology,” said Congresswoman Jayapal. “Black and Brown people are more likely to be misidentified and wrongfully put in jail because of this unregulated technology, and our government has used it to unjustly target protestors and immigrants. Putting the brakes on this technology is necessary to protect civil rights and ensure public safety.”

“Facial recognition technology is racist, misidentifying Black, Brown, and Asian residents and pinning them as suspects in crimes they did not commit,” said Representative Tlaib. “When such flawed and biased technology is used to invade our privacy, we are all less safe. I’m proud to reintroduce this bill that will ban facial recognition technology and protect all our civil liberties.”

The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would:

Place a prohibition on the use of facial recognition technology by federal entities, which can only be lifted with an act of Congress;

Place a prohibition on the use of other biometric technologies, including voice recognition, gate recognition, and recognition of other immutable physical characteristics, by federal entities, which can only be lifted with an act of Congress;

Condition federal grant funding to state and local entities, including law enforcement, on those entities enacting their own moratoria on the use of facial recognition and biometric technology;

Prohibit the use of federal dollars for biometric surveillance systems;

Prohibit the use of information collected via biometric technology in violation of the Act in any judicial proceedings;

Provide a private right of action for individuals whose biometric data is used in violation of the Act and allow for enforcement by state Attorneys General; and

Allow states and localities to enact their own laws regarding the use of facial recognition and biometric technologies.

“Face surveillance is one of the most intrusive surveillance technologies. It’s past time for the federal government to end its use. Face surveillance in the hands of the government is a fundamentally harmful technology, even under strict regulations or if the technology was 100% accurate. We thank the authors of this bill for their leadership in ending the federal government’s use of this dangerous and invasive technology,” said India McKinney, Director of Federal Affairs at Electronic Frontier Foundation.

“We can no longer afford to ignore the very real harms of AI surveillance technologies, including facial recognition. We have seen how ICE and other federal agencies utilize facial recognition to abuse immigrants, Black and Brown communities, and people participating in protests and other First Amendment protected actions. There is no more excuse for inaction or justification for allowing the continued use of this surveillance technology – the time to pass this legislation is now,” said Caitlin Seeley George (she/her), Campaigns and Managing Director at Fight for the Future.

“Facial recognition poses a significant threat to our privacy and our democracy. The technology has been shown to be biased, inaccurate, and disproportionally harmful to people of color. Even 100% accurate facial recognition poses considerable threats to our privacy and civil liberties. The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act takes the right approach on this urgent issue, effectively banning its current use and ensuring Congress will give careful consideration to if and how the technology can be used in the future. EPIC is proud to support it,” said Jeramie D. Scott, Director of Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC)’s Surveillance Oversight Program.

“The rapid adoption of powerful surveillance tech by our federal government benefits companies that amass billions in profits through contracts with law enforcement agencies, at the expense of our civil rights. This bill by Senator Markey couldn’t be more timely. Not only does this bill disrupt the money flow for surveillance profiteers; it prevents the use of one of the most invasive forms of surveillance and grants users a private right of action, urgently needed as we still lack federal data privacy protections and a prohibition on law enforcement purchases of sensitive data. We’ve seen how dangerous these tools can be and how easily bad actors can weaponize them against any person or community. Without proper guardrails or consideration for how our privacy will be protected, surveillance tech becomes a tool of oppression, not safety. We are proud to endorse this bill and appreciate Senator Markey’s continued leadership in this area,” said Amanda Beckham, Government Relations Director at Free Press.

“Right now, just walking down the street could allow you to be detected by AI-powered cameras and put into a database. Sen. Markey’s Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act is a critically needed safeguard against a surveillance apocalypse where the government and unaccountable corporations can collect and store your face and voice,” said Hajar Hammado, Senior Policy Advisor at Demand Progress.“ Facial recognition technology threatens the privacy and security of all Americans. Every member of Congress who cares about invasive surveillance must support this bill.”

“We should all be free to move freely in our communities — drive to work, walk our neighborhoods, travel to see family — without constant monitoring. ICE officers and other federal agents are out in our neighborhoods targeting Black and Brown people because of the color of our skin and scanning our faces without consent to fuel a cruel mass deportation machine. They’re using the very same facial recognition technologies that regularly misidentify people of color, leading to unjust arrests and detainment. Senator Markey’s Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act would put a stop to this racist invasion of privacy,” said Alejandra Montoya-Boyer, Vice President of The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology.

The Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act is cosponsored in the Senate by Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and in the House of Representatives by Representatives Greg Casar (TX-35), Judy Chu (CA-28), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-At Large), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), and Jan Schakowsky (IL-09).

This legislation is endorsed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), Fight for the Future, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, Color of Change, Access Now, Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), Free Press, Demand Progress, and UnidosUS.

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