Weekly wrap-up from Senator Mark Warner

With the President’s signature on the bipartisan border security deal, the Trump shutdown mess is over, for now. Sen. Warner voted to keep the government open, as he had consistently throughout the funding debate. Now that the Senate has adjourned for the President’s Day recess, he heads out for a road trip across Virginia next week.

FINALLY

The President signed into law this afternoon the bipartisan funding and border security bill, averting another disastrous government shutdown.

The legislation fully funds the government through September 30th and includes numerous provisions the Senators championed to benefit Virginia, including a salary boost for federal workers and more funding for Chesapeake Bay restoration.

Sens Warner and Kaine released the following statement on the government funding bill becoming law.

“We’re relieved hundreds of thousands of federal employees won’t have to go without pay again because of President Trump’s determination to shut the government down, but these hardworking public servants are sick of us lurching from crisis-to-crisis every couple weeks,” said the Senators. “While we’re glad this bipartisan package includes many key Virginia priorities, it’s inexcusable that it does not include back pay for federal contractors, who are still hurting from the last shutdown. We hope Congress will finally pass legislation to address this issue.”

On the President’s national emergency declaration for border wall funding, the Senators said,

“We made significant investments in border security done the right way, and there’s no good reason President Trump should do a political power grab for more. When national security leaders brief us on the big security threats against our nation, they are not asking us for a wall. The President is just saying this is an emergency so he can get his vanity project, and it’s deeply concerning that he’s trying to build it by pulling from military construction funds, which is money that should be going toward projects like fixing military family housing and making security improvements to our bases.”

Click here for a list of the many provisions Sens. Warner and Kaine supported on behalf of Virginia that were included in the appropriations bill.

Before the vote on the funding bill, Sen. Warner took to the Senate floor to call on his colleagues to pass legislation providing back pay for low and middle-income federal contractors.

After the vote, Sen. Warner vowed to continue fighting to pass his contractor back pay bill, as well as legislation — such as Sen. Warner’s Stop STUPIDITY Act — which would end the practice of government shutdowns.

Sen. Warner also introduced legislation this week that attempts to undo some of the financial hardship facing federal workers and contractors harmed by the shutdown. The Protect Federal Workers’ Credit Act would protect the credit reports of federal workers and contractors who were hurt by the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

This bipartisan bill would require credit bureaus to remove negative information that was placed on the credit reports of federal workers and contractors who missed payments as a result of a government shutdown. The bill would apply to the recent shutdown and any future government shutdowns.

OUT OF TIME

On the Senate floor this week, Sen. Warner urged his Senate colleagues to take immediate action to ensure that 1,200 retired coal miners—500 of whom live in Virginia—do not lose their healthcare coverage by the end of the month.

In his remarks, Sen. Warner asked Senate leaders to protect miners who risk losing crucial benefits if a bankruptcy court allows the Colorado-based Westmoreland mining company to shed its obligations to provide healthcare to retirees. Sen. Warner joined several colleagues on the floor to urge passage of the American Miners Act, legislation that would secure pensions and healthcare benefits for the nation’s retired coal miners.

“We’ve got a crisis right now,” Sen. Warner said on the floor. “We talked about the Westmoreland bankruptcy, 1,200 miners. Five hundred of those live in Virginia. If we can’t get a solution on this deal right now on the American Miners Act, then a lot of those miners and their families are going to go without relief, because their day of reckoning is already upon us.”

The bill would also stabilize the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund that provides critical benefits for retirees suffering from this deadly disease. More than 25,000 coal miners and their dependents rely on the fund, but Congress needs to act to renew funding for the program. Failure to renew the tax that supports the fund would be particularly devastating for coal miners in Southwest Virginia, who have been disproportionately affected by an advanced form of the disease known as complicated black lung.

PARKS AND LEGISLATION

This week, the Senate passed a bipartisan public lands bill that permanently reauthorizes the Land & Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). This permanent funding is key to preserving and protecting Virginia’s rich history and beautiful landscapes. By providing long-term security for this critical program, communities across the Commonwealth will be able to continue caring for our natural resources and history for future generations to enjoy.

The LWCF provides states and local communities with technical assistance, recognition, and funding to help preserve their own history and create close-to-home recreation opportunities. In the span of four decades, Virginia has received more than $350 million in LWCF funding to protect dozens of national parks, wildlife refuges, forests, trails and more. This bipartisan package is supported by dozens of conservation and recreation organizations, including the National Wildlife Federation, the League of Conservation Voters, the Outdoor Industry Association, and the Nature Conservancy.

The lands package also reauthorizes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) Grant Program, which support the preservation of sites on HBCU campuses that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Last year, Virginia Union, Hampton University, Virginia State, and Virginia University of Lynchburg received grants totaling $2.27 million under the HBCU grant program.

In addition, the bill includes language Sen. Warner supported with Senator Kaine and the entire Virginia delegation, which designates the George C. Marshall Museum and Research Library in Lexington as the National George C. Marshall Museum and Library.

Senator Warner also re-introduced legislation this week, the Restore Our Parks Act, that would make the largest investment in history in our national parks. Years of chronic underfunding have left our national parks with a whopping $11.6 billion maintenance backlog.

This bipartisan bill, which Sen. Warner introduced with Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Lamar Alexander (R-TN), and Angus King (I-ME), would use existing revenues from mineral leases collected by the Department of the Interior to address approximately $5.6 billion of the highest-priority maintenance projects at national parks around the country. The legislation has the support of the Trump Administration, as well as a number of conservation groups and advocates for National Parks.

Currently, national parks in Virginia have a deferred maintenance backlog of more than $1 billion, ranking third behind only California and the District of Columbia in total deferred maintenance. For a detailed park-by-park breakdown of Virginia’s backlog, click here.

Over 100 organizations, including the National Association of Counties, the National Parks Conservation Association, and the Pew Charitable Trusts, have announced their support for the Restore our Parks Act.

GRAB BAG

Some highlights from the past week:

• NO ON BARR: In a floor speech, Sen. Warner expressed his opposition to the President’s Attorney General nominee, William Barr. He later voted against the Barr nomination in the final Senate vote.

• PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS: Sens. Warner, Cardin, Shaheen, and Baldwin introduced the Protecting Americans with Pre-existing Conditions Act, legislation that would prevent the Trump Administration from promoting “junk” health care plans that lack protections for people with pre-existing conditions and would increase health care costs for millions of Americans.

• Artificial Intelligence: Sen. Warner, Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued a statement on the promise of artificial intelligence technologies while warning against laissez-faire policies put forward by the Trump Administration.

• FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA: Sen. Warner, along with every Democratic member of the Virginia Congressional Delegation, co-signed a letter opposing seismic testing off the coast of Virginia. The seismic testing permits issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which had been denied under the Obama Administration, are one step in the Trump Administration’s plan to open up the coastal waters off Virginia to potential oil and gas drilling.

• STUDENT DEBT: Sens. Warner and John Thune (R-SD) introduced legislation to help Americans tackle their student loan debt.

• SUPPORTING TEACHERS: Sen. Warner alongside a bipartisan delegation introduced the Teacher and School LEADERS Act, a bill which will reform Teacher Quality Partnership Grants to better support school leaders and allow for greater innovation in educator preparation.

• RAPTORS: Sens. Warner and Kaine were joined by every member of the Virginia Congressional delegation in urging U.S. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson to relocate an additional F-22 squadron to Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton Roads after Hurricane Michael severely damaged the air force base in Florida where the planes had previously been based.

WEEK AHEAD

Senator Warner will be traveling through Virginia next week, holding events in Blacksburg, Salem, Hardy, Martinsville, Danville, Lynchburg, and Charlottesville. The Senate is out of session until Monday, February 25.