Senator Warner has made a list and checked it twice, tallying up some of his wins for Virginia in 2019.

Warner’s press office released this end of year wrap up:

On Thursday, Congress gaveled out for the year after a whirlwind week of last-minute legislating. Specifically, Congress passed critical end-of-year funding bills to keep the government open for another year, as well as the annual defense bill. Contained in these bills are a number of Senator Warner’s top priorities for Virginia, including protections for military families in privatized housing, a pay raise for the troops, a pay raise and paid family leave for federal workers, and legislation preserving coal miners’ pensions and healthcare, among many others.

You can read about all the Virginia priorities included in the annual defense bill (known as NDAA) here and all of the Virginia priorities included in the annual government funding (or “appropriations”) legislation here.

This has been a busy year for Senator Warner, so as we head into the holiday season, Senator Warner has made a list and checked it twice, tallying up some of his wins for Virginia in 2019.

FOR VETERANS & MILITARY FAMILIES

Military Housing: As part of the annual defense bill, Sen. Warner secured passage of major portions of the Ensuring Safe Housing for our Military Act, a bill to address hazardous living conditions in privatized military housing throughout the United States, including service members and their families living in homes with persistent mold blooms, water leaks and rodent and insect infestations. The NDAA also includes provisions establishing a tenants’ bill of rights for military families.

Fixed an Unfair Tax on Gold Star Families: As part of the annual appropriations package passed this week, Congress passed Warner-sponsored legislation correcting one of the many unintended consequences of the 2017 GOP tax bill that treats military and VA survivor benefits as trusts or estates, subjecting the benefits of many military families to a much higher tax rate. The Gold Star Family Tax Relief Act will fix this error by treating any military and VA survivor benefits as earned income, rather than at the trust or parent tax rate.

Repealed the Military Widows Tax: This week, Congress passed the Military Widow’s Tax Elimination Act, as part of the NDAA. This Warner-sponsored bill will repeal the unfair law that prevents as many as 67,000 surviving military spouses nationwide from receiving their full Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs survivor benefits.

Pay Raise for our Troops: As part of the NDAA, Sen. Warner helped secure a 3.1% pay raise for all military servicemembers beginning in 2020.

Doing Right by Vietnam Vets: In June, the President signed into law the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, a Warner-sponsored bill that ended the exclusion from VA benefits for Vietnam-era veterans who were exposed to toxic herbacide Agent Orange while serving aboard US Navy ships. Later, as part of the annual appropriations legislation, Sen. Warner voted in favor of $153.6 million to fund the VA’s implementation of the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act. That funding package also includes language requiring the VA to report to Congress within 30 days 1) the reason for the two-year delay in expanding the presumptive list; 2) a cost estimate for adding new diseases; and 3) the date the VA plans to implement a decision.

Cut Red Tape to Improve VA Healthcare: In August, Sen. Warner secured approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget of lease prospectuses for new VA outpatient clinics in Hampton Roads and Fredericksburg. In September, he secured sign-off from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. These final moves are the culmination of a years-long effort led by Sen. Warner to address bureaucratic barriers to these new veterans clinics. Having cleared the final hurdles, the federal government is now accepting bids for the construction of the new facilities.

FOR OUR NATIONAL SECURITY

Funding for Virginia’s Shipbuilding Industry: The NDAA authorizes $23.9 billion dollars for shipbuilding, part of which will fund construction for two Virginia-class submarines and an aircraft carrier. As part of the NDAA, Sen. Warner also voted to fund the Navy’s block procurement of 9 Virginia-class submarines, 5 of which will be launched from Newport News. Sen. Warner has long advocated for block-buy efforts to save taxpayer money and provide stability for the Navy’s capabilities and Virginia’s shipbuilding industry.

USS Truman: The NDAA also authorizes funding for the mid-life refueling of the USS Truman, stationed out of Naval Station Norfolk.

F-22 program relocation to Norfolk: Following efforts by Sen. Warner and the Virginia delegation, the Air Force announced plans to permanently relocate an F-22 Raptor training squadron from Florida to Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

Passed the Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA): As Vice Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Warner spends hours each week cloistered away in a secure hearing room, performing oversight over the 17 government entities and numerous cleared private contractors comprising the U.S. intelligence community (many of which are headquartered in Virginia.) In addition to its oversight responsibilities, one task required of the Senate Intelligence Committee is to pass the annual Intelligence Authorization Act (IAA). This week, Congress passed the legislation as part of the annual NDAA bill. You can read about all of the specific, unclassified highlights of that bill here. Sen. Warner is particularly proud to have authored a provision providing 12 weeks of paid parental leave to intelligence personnel, including adoptive and foster parents, matching what many private sector companies are already providing.

Reducing the Security Clearance Backlog: Sen. Warner has been relentless in pushing the Pentagon, the Office of Personnel Management, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) to reduce the wait times for national security workers and contractors to receive security clearances, successfully pushing to get the security clearance backlog cut by more than half over the course of the year. The IAA also includes legislation authored by Sen. Warner to modernize the antiquated security clearance process, return the background investigation inventory that once stood at 725,000 cases to a healthy, stable level, and bring greater accountability to the system.

Bipartisan Senate Reports on Russia’s Intervention in 2016: As part of its oversight investigation into the intelligence community’s response to the 2016 Russian election interference campaign, the Senate Intelligence Committee released two reports, the first on Russia’s efforts against U.S. election infrastructure, and the second on Russia’s use of social media in the 2016 election.

Funding to Secure Our Elections: Sen. Warner helped secure $675 million in additional funding to help states and localities improve the security of their election infrastructure. However, as Sen. Warner has repeatedly and strenuously noted, additional funding is not a substitute for passing the multiple bipartisan election security and anti-misinformation bills that Senate GOP leadership has been blocking all year.

Standing with Hong Kong: President Trump recently signed into law Warner-backed legislation to defend the rights of the people of Hong Kong at a time when Hong Kong’s autonomy and freedoms are under assault by interference from the Chinese government and Communist Party, and to impose sanctions against Chinese and Hong Kong officials responsible for human rights abuses in Hong Kong.

FOR FEDERAL WORKERS

Passed Paid Family Leave for Federal Workers: Federal workers will soon be eligible for 12 weeks paid parental leave, thanks to a provision in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that Congress passed this week. Until now, new parents have had to tap into sick leave, vacation time, and unpaid leave in order to care for a child. This provision builds on language Sen. Warner was able to secure in the Intelligence Authorization Act providing 12 weeks of paid leave to new parents in the intelligence community.

Pay Raise for Federal Workers: As part of the end-of-year appropriations bill, Congress approved a 3.1% pay raise for federal workers, which Sen. Warner had formally requested earlier this year.

Preventing the Elimination of OPM: The defense bill passed this week prevents the Trump Administration from merging the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) with the General Services Administration (GSA) without first providing Congress and the public transparency on the rationale behind the move, backed by sound, independent analysis of the potential costs and benefits. This mirrors an effort pushed by Sen. Warner to prevent the federal workforce from being subjected to continued political attacks and increased political interference by the Trump Administration.

Shutdown Back Pay: In January, the President signed Warner-sponsored legislation providing back pay to federal workers affected by the 35-day government shutdown.

Relief for Relocated Federal Workers: As part of the NDAA, Congress passed the bipartisan Relocation Expense Parity Act, a bill Sen. Warner sponsored that will provide financial relief to certain civilian federal employees who have to relocate for work. The bill will ensure that all federal employees who qualify to have their moving costs reimbursed by the government are also repaid for the taxes owed on relocation reimbursements.

MAJOR WINS FOR NOVA…

Transportation Funding: The appropriations package approved this week provides $1 billion for competitive transportation grants through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program, formerly known as “TIGER” grants. Virginia has previously used these grants for projects including I-95 Express Lanes, I-564 connector from Norfolk International Terminals at the Port of Virginia, I-64 Delta Frames Bridges in Rockbridge County, the Pulse bus-rapid transit system in Richmond, and Northstar Boulevard in Loudoun County near Dulles.

WMATA $$$: The spending bill also included the full federal funding of $150 million for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) capital improvements. In May, Sen. Warner introduced legislation to renew the federal funding commitment to Metro, provide critical safety reforms, and strengthen oversight of WMATA.

Leesburg Airport: It also includes $7 million for the Federal Aviation Administration to continue its remote tower systems pilot program at smaller airports, including the Remote Tower Center partnership between Leesburg Executive Airport and Saab Technologies, as well as similar remote tower pilot projects being developed around the country.

WMATA Safety: When it was reported that a state-owned Chinese company was a likely frontrunner for the contract to manufacture the new 8000 series rail cars, Sen. Warner successfully pressured WMATA to add additional cybersecurity requirements to the procurement process, in order to reduce the risks that Metro could be vulnerable to hacking or cyberespionage.

… CENTRAL VIRGINIA:

Honoring Captain Kahn: In April, legislation sponsored by Sen. Warner was implemented, renaming a Charlottesville Post office in honor of the late U.S. Army Captain Humayun Khan, a graduate of the University of Virginia.

Richmond Airport: As part of the end-of-year spending package, Sen. Warner secured an additional $734,314 to reimburse Richmond International Airport for baggage screening equipment purchased after 9/11.

… COASTAL VIRGINIA:

Honoring a Virginia Beach Hero: In August, the President signed Warner-sponsored legislation into law renaming a Virginia Beach post office after Ryan “Keith” Cox, a longtime public utilities employee who sacrificed his own life to save others during the shooting at the Virginia Beach Municipal Center.

Virginia Beach Strong: In December, Congress sent Sen. Warner’s Virginia Beach Strong Act to the President’s desk, where it awaits signature into law. The bill will make technical fixes to the tax code allowing contributions to the Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund to be tax-deductible.

Supporting NASA Wallops: Sen. Warner wrote and passed into law legislation to boost aeronautics industry innovation, research and development, and supported successful legislation to reimburse the Town of Chincoteague for the purchase and installation of new production wells to replace contaminated wells located on NASA Wallops Flight Facility property.

… & SWVA:

Passed the Bipartisan Miners Act: Following years of efforts by Sen. Warner to safeguard benefits for mine workers and secure pensions for our nation’s retired miners, Congress passed the Warner-sponsored Bipartisan American Miners Act as part of the end-of-year appropriations bill. The legislation would shore up the 1974 United Mine Workers of America Pension Plan – which is currently headed for insolvency due to coal company bankruptcies and the 2008 financial crisis – protecting pension benefits for 92,000 miners, and healthcare benefits for 13,000 miners, including 800 retirees in Virginia affected by the 2018 bankruptcy of Westmoreland Coal Co.

Caring for Miners with Black Lung Disease: The annual appropriations bill also extends an expired funding source for the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund through 2020, shoring up the stability of this fund established in 1978 to treat coal miners affected by black lung disease. Sen. Warner helped spearhead a Senate effort to restore funding for the Fund after the tax that supports it expired at the end of 2018.

Saved the Flatwoods Job Corps: Sen. Warner helped lead an effort to protect the Flatwoods Job Corps facility in Coeburn, Virginia. In May 2019, USDA and DOL announced they were terminating an interagency agreement that provided for the operation of the Civilian Conservation Center program within the Forest Service. As part of the reorganization, DOL announced plans to close nine of the 25 CCCs operated in eight states, including the Flatwoods center in Coeburn, Virginia. The proposed closures were expected to lead to the loss of nearly 1,100 Forest Service jobs. Under pressure from Sen. Warner and others, the Trump Administration later reversed course, saving a facility that employs ~70 individuals and can accommodate up to 180 students.

Record Funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission: Sen. Warner secured $175 million for the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), an increase of $10 million over fiscal year 2019. In April, Sen. Warner led a Senate appropriations letter in support of increased ARC funding. Last fiscal year, ARC supported 32 projects in Virginia totaling $8.2 million in federal investment, matched by nearly $20.5 million in state, local, and private investments. This funding will help create and retain 950 jobs in the region.

Lee County Hospital: In October, after a six-year bipartisan effort spearheaded by Sens. Warner and Kaine, Rep. Morgan Griffith, and local officials, the Lee County Hospital reopened its urgent care center, six years after the hospital closed in 2013, leaving the county without access to a nearby hospital. It is expected to be fully reopened next year. Sen. Warner is also the lead sponsor of legislation to benefit hospitals in medically underserved areas like Lee County, where patients are more likely to be uninsured and hospitals have struggled to stay afloat financially. The States Achieve Medicaid Expansion (SAME) Act of 2019 would allow states like Virginia that expanded Medicaid after 2014 to receive the same level of federal matching funds as states that expanded earlier, and according to the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, it would save Virginia’s hospitals an estimated $300 million per year in the first three years of implementation.

Funding for SWVA Forest Farming: Sen. Warner was successful in securing nearly $600,000 in federal funding for Appalachian Sustainable Development/Virginia Tech to continue and expand their Appalachian Beginning Forest Farmer Coalition. This funding will be used to increase membership and improve opportunities and capabilities among forest farmers in Central Appalachia. This grant is essential for the program to continue its operations for the next three years.

Money for Unmanned Systems: Sen. Warner has been a longtime champion of unmanned systems research, believing the new industry could be a game-changer for Virginia. He personally lobbied Transportation Sec. Elaine Chao to secure $15 million in federal grant money for the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) in Blacksburg, and helped include $24 million in the end-of-year spending package for continued research at sites like the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP).

FOR VIRGINIA’S DIVERSE COMMUNITIES

African-American History Commission Funding: As part of the end-of-year appropriations bill, Sen. Warner helped secure $3 million in funding for the 400 Years of African-American History Commission, which was established by legislation Sen. Warner passed with Rep. Bobby Scott and Sen. Kaine in 2017.

Hidden Figures Congressional Gold Medal: In November, bipartisan legislation sponsored by Sens. Warner and  Kaine to award four African-American women scientists the Congressional Gold Medal for their work at NASA Langley was signed into law by President Trump.

Passed the FUTURE Act: Yesterday, the President signed into law the bipartisan FUTURE Act, legislation Sen. Warner supported that permanently restored $255 million in annual funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) that expired on September 30. Virginia is home to five HBCUs – Virginia Union University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, Hampton University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg – that last year received more than $4 million in funding through the program.

Money for Historically Black Colleges and Universities: In addition, the appropriations bill includes another $93 million to support HBCUs and MSIs, providing money for HBCUs in Virginia to make campus improvements and strengthen financial management, academic resources and endowment-building capacity.

Saved Historic HBCU Sites: With Sen. Warner’s support, Congress renewed the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Grant Program, a public lands program that supports 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.

TPS for El Salvador: After the Trump Administration announced plans to end the Temporary Protection Status (TPS) designation that allows nearly 200,000 Salvadorans to live and work in the U.S., Sen. Warner successfully urged the Administration to reverse course and extend the TPS designation for El Salvador, allowing 21,500 Salvadorans to continue working, living and thriving in Virginia.

Reversing Foreign Aid Cuts to Northern Triangle countries: Following an outcry by Sen. Warner and other lawmakers, the Trump Administration reversed plans to block aid to Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras (together commonly referred to as the Northern Triangle countries). Sen. Warner has also introduced legislation to tackle the root causes of the migrant crisis forcing many women, children and families from those countries to seek refuge in the U.S.

Ensuring an Accurate Census: Sen. Warner successfully pushed back on the Trump Administration’s attempts to add a politically-motivated question about citizenship to the 2020 census.

Virginia Tribes: As part of the appropriations package, Sen. Warner secured $1.281 million for the New Tribes program, an increase of $161,000 over last year. In 2018, Sen. Warner and Sen. Kaine successfully passed legislation granting federal recognition to six Virginia tribes.

FOR VIRGINIA FARMERS AND PRODUCERS

Reversing the Chinese Ban on U.S. Poultry: In November, the Chinese government announced that it was lifting its import ban on U.S. poultry products that had been in place since 2015. Opening up the China market has been a top Warner priority since the ban was announced. The Virginia poultry industry has estimated that the lifting of the ban could boost the Commonwealth’s poultry exports by over $20 million a year.

Industrial Hemp Crop Insurance: Following the 2018 passage of Warner-sponsored legislation legalizing industrial hemp, Sen. Warner successfully led an effort to include Virginia in a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) crop insurance pilot program. Crop insurance is often critical for farmers to guard against unforeseen disasters. Drafts of this pilot program initially did not include Virginia, potentially giving growers in other states an unfair advantage in the new market. Following a bipartisan effort to persuade Agrilogic, the private company selected by USDA to run the pilot program, Virginia was included.

FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC LANDS

Record levels of Chesapeake Bay Funding: Sen. Warner – in coordination with other Chesapeake Bay delegation members – was able to secure $85 million for EPA’s Chesapeake Bay Program, record funding for the program. The Chesapeake Bay Program coordinates Chesapeake Bay watershed restoration and protection efforts throughout the region, and the majority of its funds are passed through to the states and local communities for on-the-ground restoration. The Chesapeake Bay Program is managed by the EPA through the Chesapeake Bay program office. In his initial budget requests, the President proposed slashing Chesapeake Bay funding to just $5 million.

Permanently Renewed LWCF: Sen. Warner supported a successful effort to permanently reauthorize the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), which protects and preserves Virginia’s public lands.

Passed the Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act: Sen. Warner was able to secure passage of the Good Samaritan Search and Recovery Act in the Natural Resources Management Act (S.47). This legislation allows Good Samaritans, or eligible search and recovery operations, expedited access to certain public lands so that they may conduct searches for missing persons. Sen. Warner’s involvement in this issue was prompted by the experience of Jodi Goldberg of Alexandria, whose brother, Keith, was killed and whose body was left at the Lake Mead National Recreation Area near Las Vegas, Nevada in 2012. His family worked for 10 months to get the permits and secure a one million-dollar liability insurance policy required by the National Park Service before it would allow a trained volunteer search and recovery team to search for his body in the national park.

Passed 9/11 National Memorial Trail Resolution: Sen. Warner with Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) secured Senate passage of the 9/11 National Memorial Trail resolution. This resolution highlights the significance of the September 11th National Memorial Trail – a 1,300-mile network of roads and paths that connect the Pentagon Memorial (Arlington, Va.), the Flight 93 National Memorial (Shanksville, Pa.), the National September 11th Memorial and Museum (New York City, N.Y.), and the 9/11 Memorial Garden of Reflection (Yardley, Pa.). The NMT also passes through parts of Maryland, West Virginia, New Jersey, and Washington, D.C.

FOR FAMILIES, WORKERS AND CONSUMERS

Ashanti Alert Act Implementation Funding: President Trump signed into law Sen. Warner’s bill to establish a nationwide alert system for missing adults at the end of last year, but the Department of Justice has been too slow to get the Ashanti Alert up and running. As part of his efforts to pressure DOJ to start saving lives with this system, Sen. Warner secured language in the end-of-year spending bill requiring the Department of Justice to provide Congress with a progress report of the Ashanti Alert implementation within 30 days. Additionally, the legislation requires that the DOJ establish a firm deadline for full implementation of the Ashanti Alert Act no later than 90 days after the funding bill is signed into law. The law is named after Ashanti Billie, the 19-year-old who was abducted in Norfolk, Va. on September 18, 2017, and whose body was discovered in North Carolina 11 days after she was first reported missing.

Ending Annoying Robocalls: On Thursday, Congress sent President Trump a Warner-backed bill cracking down on illegal robocall scams, setting the bill up to become law in the coming days. The Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act gives regulators more time to find scammers, increases civil forfeiture penalties for those who are caught, requires service providers to adopt call authentication and blocking, and brings relevant federal agencies and state attorneys general together to address impediments to criminal prosecution of robocallers who intentionally break laws.

Saving Money on Health Care: Congress signed off on Sen. Warner’s bill to reauthorize the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI), the independent nonprofit corporation established under the Affordable Care Act to save Americans money on their health care costs and help patients better understand their diagnostic and treatment options.

Researching the Causes of Gun Violence: For the first time in 20 years, Congress signed off this week on $25 million to support scientific studies on gun violence, which kills more than 1,000 Virginians annually. Sen. Warner introduced legislation earlier this year to fund firearms safety and gun violence prevention research at the at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Investing in Workers: For years, Sen. Warner has been calling for companies to do a better job investing in their workforce. After Sen. Warner weighed in, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently proposed modernizing the reporting and disclosure of human capital management practices, which will allow investors to see whether a company is making the appropriate investments in its workforce.

Beach Safety: Sen. Warner successfully encouraged the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) to launch a public awareness campaign about the dangers of improperly secured beach umbrellas, after a woman was killed in Virginia Beach in 2016 when she was struck in the torso by an airborne beach umbrella.

Export-Import Bank: As part of the appropriations package, the Export-Import Bank was reauthorized for seven years through 2026. Last year, the Ex-Im Bank supported $51 million in Virginia exports.

Brand USA: Sen. Warner sponsored legislation, which was included in the appropriations package, to reauthorize the Brand USA Program through 2027. Brand USA is a highly effective public-private promotion program which drives important foreign tourism to the Commonwealth. Last year, 1.1 million international tourists spent $2 billion visiting Virginia.

Law Enforcement: Sen. Warner helped secure $547.2 million for the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program, the leading source of federal justice funding for state and local jurisdictions, supporting a range of law enforcement and courts programs. Sen. Warner also helped secure $235 million for the COPS Hiring Program, placing 1,300 more police officers on the streets of our communities.

CASEWORK – BY THE #’S

One of Sen. Warner’s most integral duties is assisting constituents with federal services, like Social Security, Medicare, veterans or military affairs, taxes, passports, and immigration issues. Each year, Sen. Warner’s office assists thousands of Virginians in navigating the federal bureaucracy. Let’s take a look at the numbers:

Number of Casework Letters Sent – 13,723

Cases Closed – 2,259

Agency Funds Recouped to Virginians: Nearly $7 million from the IRS, VA, Social Security Administration, and other agencies

Just a couple of highlights from a busy year in casework:

Homecoming: Sen. Warner’s office assisted former UVA Women’s Basketball Coach Joanne Boyle with an immigration issue that had prevented her from bringing her adopted daughter home from Senegal. You can read more about her daughter’s story at ESPN.com.

Approved: After 21-month-old Daryn Sullivan was denied access to a life-changing gene therapy by her insurance company because of its cost, Sen. Warner’s office worked her family to get that decision reversed. You can read more in the Washington Post.

Sen. Warner also helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in federal grant money for projects all over Virginia: whether it’s major bucks ($50 million to Virginia Commonwealth University to research the long-term impacts of mild traumatic brain injuries or concussions on service members and veterans … $60 million to expand access to affordable housing in Norfolk and Newport News) or smaller amounts ($400,000 to the University of Virginia to expand telemedicine treatment in underserved parts of Virginia), every federal $ makes a BIG difference at home.