Here’s your Warner Weekly Wrap-up – June 8, 2019

While the nation continues to mourn the 12 lives lost in Virginia Beach, the Senate adjourned a day early this week to accommodate Senators traveling to Normandy for events marking the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landing.

REMEMBERING OPERATION OVERLORD

Senator Warner celebrated the 75th anniversary of the largest air, land and sea operation in human history a little closer to home – in Bedford, Va., home of the National D-Day Memorial.

“You are about to embark on the great crusade toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you… I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle.” – Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

On June 6, 1944, the Allied Expeditionary Forces, under the command of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, landed on the shores of Normandy, paving the way for the end of World War II. Of the 156,000 Allied soldiers who arrived that day, nearly three dozen men hailed from Bedford, Va., population 3,200. By the day’s end on Omaha Beach, nineteen “Bedford boys” with Company A of the 116th Infantry would lie dead. At least four more soldiers from Bedford would be killed as part of the campaign – inflicting Bedford with the highest per-capita D-Day casualties of any town in America. In recognition of the community’s tremendous sacrifice, in 1995 Congress designated Bedford as the site of the nation’s National D-Day Memorial.

Sen. Warner joined more than 100 World War II veterans, Vice President Pence, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie, military leaders and thousands of visitors from around the world for Thursday’s observance of the 75th anniversary of the Normandy invasion at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford. Sen. Warner, the son of a WWII Marine corporal, told those in attendance:

“These men stepped up when their country needed them the most. It’s the spirit of that sacrifice that we celebrate today and will continue to celebrate so history will never forget what happened on D-Day.”

TRAGEDY IN VIRGINIA BEACH

After the D-Day celebration, Sen. Warner traveled to Virginia Beach, where he and Sen. Kaine met with local elected officials, community leaders, and first responders in the wake of last Friday’s tragic shooting that left 12 innocent victims dead.

Thursday evening, Sen. Warner joined thousands of mourners at a community memorial service in Rock Church in Virginia Beach to honor and grieve for the 12 lives lost.

Earlier this week in Washington, Sen. Warner called on the Republican-led U.S. Senate to take up bipartisan legislation to reduce gun violence, and applauded Governor Northam’s decision to call a special session to work on gun safety legislation.

The Senator’s travels across Virginia are continuing today and tomorrow, with stops in Kenbridge, South Hill, Emporia, and Richmond.

FIGHTING FOR SWVA JOBS

Sen. Warner and Sen. Kaine introduced legislation this week to protect Southwest Virginia jobs by blocking a Trump Administration plan to close the Flatwoods Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, which employs dozens of people in Coeburn, Va.

Two weeks ago, the U.S. Departments of Labor and Agriculture announced plans to close nine Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers that provide job training in rural communities around the country for young adults ages 16 to 24. Among the sites slated for closure under the Administration’s plan is the Flatwoods Job Corps Civilian Conservation Center, which for decades has helped provide young men and women in Appalachia with the skills needed to succeed in an ever-modernizing economy while assisting in the conversation of public natural resources.

Sen. Warner has vocally opposed the move, which would be devastating for Wise County and communities throughout Southwest Virginia. Sens. Warner and Kaine, along with Rep. Morgan Griffith, last week sent a letter to the Trump Administration urging it to keep the Flatwoods site operating, and this week joined with Senators from both parties to introduce the bipartisan Job Corps Protection Act, which would prohibit the Trump Administration from closing any of the Job Corps Civilian Conservation Centers located across the country.

GRAB BAG

Some highlights from Sen. Warner’s busy week:

• FOOD DESERTS: Sen. Warner wrote an op-ed in Sunday’s Virginian Pilot and Daily Press newspapers calling on Congress to expand access to healthy food in urban food deserts.
• SON-IN-LAW: After Jared Kushner told a reporter that he wouldn’t necessarily call the FBI if a foreign power contacted him today to offer elections assistance, Sen. Warner called on Congress to pass his legislation requiring political campaigns to report attempts at foreign elections influence to the federal authorities.
• ELECTION SECURITY: Sen. Warner delivered the Weekly Democratic Address this week, calling on Republican leaders to bring bipartisan election security legislation up for a vote on the Senate floor.
• DATA BREACH: After a data breach exposed personal and health information of nearly 12 million Quest Diagnostics customers, Sen. Warner, the co-chair of the Senate Cybersecurity Caucus, wrote to the company’s CEO asking what steps the company takes to protect customer information.

• CLIMATE CHANGE: Sen. Warner co-sponsored a bill directing the President to develop a plan for the U.S. to meet its commitments under the historic Paris Climate Agreement.

WEEK AHEAD

The Senate will take votes on several judicial nominees, including the nomination of Judge Rossie David Alston, Jr. to serve on the Eastern District Court of Virginia. On Tuesday, Sen. Warner will join a Banking Committee hearing on money laundering, and participate in the AWS Public Sector Summit in Washington.

On Wednesday, he’ll speak at a kickoff event for the 400 Years African American History (AAH) Commission featuring the singer Nick Cannon.

On Thursday, the Senate is expected to vote on resolutions seeking to block the Trump Administration’s sale of weapons to Bahrain and Qatar.