Warner Weekly Wrap-Up: Raise the Roof

This week, the Senate considered a number of executive nominations, resolutions, and pieces of legislation, including a bill to extend the nation’s debt limit through early December. Following last week’s spending bill to temporarily keep the government open, the Senate continued to negotiate with the White House and the House of Representatives in an effort to raise the debt limit, pass historic infrastructure legislation, and find a compromise on the budget reconciliation.

RAISE THE ROOF

This week, Sen. Warner was focused on avoiding a dangerous debt default that loomed come mid-October, after Republican leaders spent weeks insisting that they would not vote to honor the debts already incurred under the last presidential administration.

Failure to make good on the full faith and credit of the United States would have irreversible consequences for American families, businesses and local communities. Seniors could stop receiving Social Security checks. Families would stop getting their child tax credits. And costs would be passed onto consumers… as mortgages, car loans, and credit cards get more expensive.

Nothing about raising the debt limit obligates any new spending. This is just about paying for the debt that was already incurred – to the tune of $8 trillion under President Trump.

Momentarily staving off financial and economic disaster, a bipartisan group of senators on Thursday evening voted to temporarily extend the nation’s debt limit through early December, giving congressional leaders an additional two months to figure out a way to avoid a catastrophic default.

Following the vote to extend the nation’s debt limit Sen. Warner issued the following tweet:

Sen. Warner, who has been vocal about the need to reform the nation’s debt ceiling, said this, in a call to Virginia reporters:

“Having this arbitrary political tool out there that allows extremists on either end of the political spectrum, by giving them a live hand grenade and having them pull the pin to self-inflict damage, is crazy.”

He doubled down on the importance of debt limit reform in an interview with ABC News’ Phil Lipof:

“When we come to December…my hope is we can include elimination of this frankly crazy requirement because it is nothing but a political tool, used by both parties, to extract a pound of flesh without a meaningful policy debate…if we were to put into jeopardy the full faith and credit of the United States it would have both national security and hugely catastrophic economic consequences.”

GOING POSTAL

For months, Charlottesville residents have experienced some of the worst mail delays in the country – sometimes going days or even weeks without any mail delivery at all. For months, Virginians have been missing out on needed medications, incurring late fees for bills that don’t arrive on time, and, of late, waiting on absentee ballots that should have arrived weeks ago.

Over the weekend, many Charlottesville residents finally started to see some relief, as a surge of postal carriers from across Virginia descended on the region to help tackle the backlog of piled-up mail, with an additional 55 carriers Saturday and 63 carriers Sunday joining local postal workers in an all-hands-on-deck blizzard of mail activity. The blitz followed an August visit by Sen. Warner to the Charlottesville post office, where he called on the U.S. Postal Service to immediately address the unacceptable levels of service in the area. Sen. Warner was also joined by Sen. Kaine in writing to Virginia District Manager of the United States Postal Service Gerald Roane, urging him to address the problem.

After last weekend’s surge, Sen. Warner held a remote media availability to specifically address to the problem of mail delivery delays in Charlottesville and throughout the Commonwealth. Speaking to reporters, Sen. Warner expressed frustration in the lack of communication and transparency from the postal service as well as the lack of progress made in regards to a permanent solution.

“Some of these management errors and lack of transparency frustrates the heck out of me. Now at the end of the day…there’s only so much rattling of the cage I can do. I really think it’s going to take pressure from me, pressure from the press, and others to get more clarity.”

Following Sen. Warner’s media availability, the post office announced a Saturday job fair to recruit more mail carriers. In the meantime, a number of extra carriers will be staying in the area to help keep up with the flow of mail and continue working to eliminate the mail backlog.

HAVANA PASSAGE

For years, intelligence and diplomatic personnel serving abroad have been falling victim to “unexplained health incidents” caused by mysterious attacks from an unknown source. “Havana Syndrome” is the term given to an illness that surfaced among more than 40 U.S. Embassy staff in Havana, Cuba, beginning in 2016. Since then, dozens of U.S. diplomats and members of the intelligence community at other locations have suffered symptoms including dizziness, headaches, fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and memory loss that a study by the National Academy of Sciences found was consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed, radiofrequency energy.

President Biden signed into law the Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act, legislation authored by Sen. Warner, who serves as Chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, along with Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), to provide health and financial support to the public servants injured as a result of these directed energy attacks.

Sen. Warner issued the following statement celebrating the HAVANA Act being signed into law:

“Every day, American diplomats and intelligence officers around the world put themselves at risk to keep our nation safe. In return, we have an obligation to provide ample support when these brave men and women are injured in the line of duty. As the Senate Intelligence Committee continues to look into the mysterious and debilitating attacks on U.S. personnel abroad, I’m proud to know that these officials will now be able to count on the compensation and care they deserve, thanks to President Biden’s signing of our Helping American Victims Afflicted by Neurological Attacks (HAVANA) Act.”

This legislation authorizes the CIA Director, the Secretary of State, and other agency leaders to provide injured employees with additional financial support for brain injuries.  Both the CIA and State Department will be required to create regulations detailing fair and equitable criteria for payment. The legislation also requires the CIA and State Department to report to Congress on how this authority is being used and if additional legislative or administrative action is required.

GRAB BAG

LEADERS IN TECH: Sen. Warner sent a letter urging the Biden Administration to make technology policy a priority at the upcoming ministerial meeting of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

CONGRESSIONAL AUTHORITY: Sens Warner and Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) introduced bipartisan legislation to prevent presidential abuse of “national security” tariffs by reinstating congressional authority over trade.

KNOW ANYONE: Sens. Warner and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are now accepting applications for the position of United States District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Virginia, to succeed United States District Court Judge Raymond A. Jackson, who will assume senior status effective November 23, 2021.

 CONFIRMED: Sens. Warner and Kaine released a statement upon the Senate voting to confirm Jessica Aber as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) and Christopher Kavanaugh as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia (WDVA).

RIGHT TO VOTE: Sens. Warner and Kaine joined Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in introducing legislation to restore the landmark Voting Rights Act and stop the spread of voter suppression.

WEEK AHEAD

The Senate will be in recess next week. Sen. Warner is expected to hit the road, where he’ll hold events across Virginia.