Mark R. Warner

Senator Warner celebrated the beginning of "the year of the snake" on Sunday at the Eden Center in Falls Church.

The Senator watched the lion dance and an impressive fireworks display and participated in the flag ceremony. After the ceremony, he ducked into businesses in the Eden Center to greet business owners and shoppers, and handed out envelopes of "lucky money" to kids.

To see more of Senator Warner's Tet Celebration, watch the short video below.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, today honored two Central Intelligence Agency veterans who played key roles in the 1994 arrest and espionage conviction of CIA spy Aldrich Ames on charges of spying for the Russians. Jeanne Vertefeuille of McLean, VA served at the CIA for more than 40 years and died on Dec. 29, 2012. CIA colleague and friend Sandy Grimes of Great Falls, VA, who also worked on the Ames task force, served as a caregiver during the final months of her life. 

Sen. Warner highlighted the service of Vertefeuille and Grimes as part of his regular series of  “Great Federal Employees” floor speeches this afternoon. Virginia has a high concentration of federal employees and is home to many of the nation’s intelligence agencies.

“Jeanne Vertefeuille and Sandy Grimes blazed a trail for women in the national clandestine service,” Sen. Warner said. “It was through their efforts, and the good work of many others, that we ultimately unmasked the notorious traitor Aldrich Ames in 1994. One cannot help but be inspired by the true-life story of service, patriotism, and friendship demonstrated by these two great federal employees.”

Sen. Warner also announced today that he will re-introduce bipartisan legislation to designate July 26th as United States Intelligence Professionals Day to honor intelligence officers, past and present, for their service and professionalism. Legislation to establish Intelligence Professionals Day was co-sponsored in the last Congress by Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and 13 others. 

“I look forward to working with my colleagues to reintroduce a resolution establishing Intelligence Professionals Day in the new Congress,” Sen. Warner said. “We should bring respectful attention to quiet professionals like Jeanne Vertefeuille and Sandy Grimes who keep our nation safe every day, without any thought of recognition.”

Sen. Warner delivered the speech as part of his Great Federal Employees initiative to honor the work of extraordinary federal workers. Former Delaware Sen. Ted Kaufman started the practice in 2009 and highlighted 100 employees during his time in the Senate. Sen. Warner serves on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. 

Senator Warner met today with the entire NoVA congressional delegation to work on strategy to relocate the FBI Headquarters to Northern Virginia.

Despite individually representing different constituencies and potential FBI relocation sites, the bipartisan delegation vowed to work together to bring the FBI to Virginia.

“We feel very confident that as long as this decision is made on the merits, Virginia will be successful,” Senator Warner said today. The meeting included Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) as well as Gerry Connolly (D-11th), Representatives Jim Moran (D-8th), Rob Wittman (R-1st), and Frank Wolf (R-10th).

“The Commonwealth offers numerous benefits to FBI employees; a majority of FBI personnel reside in Virginia; the FBI Academy and the FBI Laboratory are located in Quantico; the Northern Virginia Resident Agency is located in Prince William County; and Winchester is the future home of the FBI’s Central Records Complex," the delegation said in a statement following the meeting. "Proximity to the National Counterterrorism Center and CIA provide opportunity for efficiency and agency coordination. Further, the Commonwealth has some of the best schools in the country, and is consistently ranked one of the best places to live, work, and raise a family in the nation."

“We believe the Commonwealth is an ideal location for the FBI and will continue working together to advocate for FBI relocation to Virginia.”

WASHINGTON – Today, Virginia Representatives Jim Moran (VA-08), Frank Wolf (VA-10), Gerry Connolly (VA-11), and Rob Wittman (VA-01) and Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner sent a letter to the administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) urging consideration of Northern Virginia for the new FBI Headquarters location. Their letter follows GSA’s Request for Information seeking input on a location for a consolidated FBI Headquarters in the National Capital Region.

In their letter, the lawmakers requested that GSA undertake a qualitative “source selection” procurement, rather than cost-only process, noting that Northern Virginia is already home to a majority of FBI employees as well as the FBI’s major training academy at Quantico.

Excerpts from the letter:

“We…strongly support providing the FBI with a secure headquarters location that meets the needs of its workforce, allowing them to more effectively carry out their vital law enforcement responsibilities.”

“As you begin this process, we encourage GSA to keep in mind factors that we believe make a location in Northern Virginia a logical and appropriate choice. Northern Virginia is home to a significant majority of the FBI workforce that will be directly impacted by this decision. Clearly, a location in Northern Virginia would minimize adverse effects on these employees.”

“We trust that GSA will conduct this highly anticipated and scrutinized procurement in a fair and open process, and we stand ready to assist with any additional information in support of the selection of a site in Northern Virginia.”

Senator Warner called into three morning radio shows in Virginia today to discuss the looming fiscal cliff. 

He spoke with  John Fredericks, whose morning show is broadcast in Norfolk, Richmond and Northern Virginia, and he also dialed-in to WRVA in Richmond and Washington’s WTOP Radio. 

“I think people are willing to do their part if we, the elected officials, can instead of blaming each other, put out a plan that says we’re all going to have some skin in the game,” Sen. Warner told  Mike Moss and Bruce Alan of WTOP.

“The sooner we can get some give [from both sides of the aisle] the better,” he told Jimmy Barrett on WRVA. 

“Crowdfunding has the potential to not only change the way that startup businesses access capital, but to allow entrepreneurs to create and keep jobs in places like Danville or Roanoke,” Senator Warner said today in Arlington at the first of a series of events that he’s holding to help Virginia entrepreneurs better understand how crowdfunding can be a tool for business growth.

Today’s event included a brief introduction by Senator Warner, followed by a panel discussion with a diverse range of regional experts and business leaders, including the CEOs of Indiegogo, NewsiT, Smallknot, and TapCaps.

“Virtually all of the net new jobs that were created in America over the last 30 years have been created by startups,” Senator Warner said. 

Crowdfunding is a way for businesses to raise capital through the pooling of many relatively small investments.  Though not a new concept, advances in internet technology have paved the way for crowdfunding to “really change the world,” said Senator Warner.  Using new platforms such as Indiegogo and Smallknot geared towards connecting businesses with potential small investors, some entrepreneurs have raised millions of dollars needed to get their businesses started.  

A recent report cited by the Milken Institute estimates that $2.8 billion would be raised via crowdfunding in 2012 alone, an 87% increase over 2011.  Panelists also explained how these initial investments gathered through crowdfunding can help attract capital from more traditional sources. 

Though potentially a great tool for entrepreneurs in need of capital, Senator Warner and most of the panelists agreed that the potential pitfalls of crowdfunding – including investor protections, managing investor expectations, and even liability questions – must be carefully weighed in order to protect those small investors and contributors.   

Resources from today's seminar will be available here. Senator Warner will be holding at least 4 more crowdfunding-related events across the Commonwealth between now and the end of the year.  The next will take place in Norfolk on Thursday, October 25, and will be followed by a networking happy hour.  For more information, please visit Senator Warner’s crowdfunding page. 

Senator Warner had a hometown town hall meeting on Friday at the United Way headquarters in Alexandria. The Alexandria Chamber of Commerce co-hosted the town hall, and members asked the Senator questions on topics ranging from energy, education, and, obviously, deficit reduction.

"I know I circle back to deficit reduction all the time," Senator Warner said. "But, honestly, if we don't solve our debt crisis soon, we're not going to be able to tackle any of these other problems."

The Senator then visited Fort Belvoir's new Warrior Transition Battalion facility, which provides rehab services to help our wounded warriors heal. He also toured the new 1.2 million square foot Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, which is LEED Gold certified and includes green roofs and other design elements that will help save almost $500,000 per year.

"I'm proud of these great new facilities that will help serve our military men and women," Senator Warner said. "And I'm especially proud that we have them in Northern Virginia."

Finally, the Senator visited Belmont in Stafford County to host a roundtable with business leaders. The Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star covered the event:

Warner spoke about everything from education to defense spending to health care—focusing on one question: How do we get out of this mess?

“It shouldn’t be this hard to get the country on the right track,” Warner said.

Senator Warner is asking the head of the Federal Aviation Administration for a full accounting of a potentially catastrophic “near miss” incident earlier this week at Northern Virginia’s Reagan Washington Airport. Two commuter planes reportedly took off from a runway at the same time another plane was approaching from the opposite direction – an incident that federal aviation officials have blamed on a “communication lapse.”

Yesterday, Senator Warner and House Transportation Committee Chairman Rep. John Mica (R-FL) called on the FAA to thoroughly review the incident and issue a public explanation. Both lawmakers say there’s been an alarming rise in dangerous airport incidents, and they blame outdated air traffic technology that is badly in need of an upgrade. They spoke with WTOP Radio’s Dave McConnell about it in this report:

WASHINGTON – Senators Jim Webb and Mark R. Warner and Representatives Jim Moran and Gerry Connolly today applauded the Defense Department’s release of $180 million in funding for a project to widen Route 1 through Ft. Belvoir. The funding now goes to the Federal Highway Administration to begin construction on transportation improvements that will accommodate increased traffic related to BRAC 2005 relocations.

The $180 million was awarded in November; part of a $300 million appropriation secured by the Maryland and Virginia delegations for BRAC-related transportation improvements across the country. 

“This investment is critical to mitigating traffic congestion as a result of the BRAC consolidation and is an important step towards improving Northern Virginia’s strained transportation infrastructure,” said Senator Webb. “Congressman Moran is to be commended for his leadership in making this project a reality.”

“This is an important milestone in our efforts to move forward on improvements to the I95 and Route 1 corridor to support the Fort Belvoir expansion,” Sen. Mark R. Warner said. “Congestion mitigation is critically important to commuters, businesses and homeowners near Belvoir, and I am very pleased the delegation was able to successfully work together on both sides of the Capitol to get this done.”

"This is one of the final steps to making BRAC work in southern Fairfax County. The funded improvements will greatly enhance access to Fort Belvoir and make it better for local drivers who travel near the Post daily," Rep. Connolly said.  "It is the result of ongoing collaboration between our members of Congress, local leaders and the Pentagon to mitigate the massive military relocations as a result of BRAC. We can look forward to breaking ground on this project next year."

“Today’s transfer demonstrates the Defense Department’s continued commitment to Ft. Belvoir and the communities impacted by the BRAC relocation,” said Rep. Moran. “The new state of the art hospital at Ft. Belvoir will bring an influx of cars onto an already crowded stretch of road. I am pleased to see this critical project moving forward and on schedule.”

BRAC relocations and the construction of the new Ft. Belvoir Community Hospital, which opened in November 2011, are expected to bring more than 11,000 new DoD employees and 574,000 annual hospital patients onto Route 1. Today’s funding will be used to  widen --  from four to six lanes --  3.5 miles of U.S. Route 1 from Telegraph Road north to Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. The project will improve access to Fort Belvoir at Tully Gate and Pence Gate, which serve as the main access points to the new Fort Belvoir Community Hospital and include new bike lanes, pedestrian facilities, drainage and utility improvements. 

Senator Warner recently hosted a strategy session in Fredericksburg to help Virginia localities learn about various funding opportunities and ideas for high-speed broadband deployment. 

The session included two panels: a discussion with the USDA Rural Utility Service and the Federal Communications Commission about current funding opportunities and ongoing policy changes at the federal level,  as well as a conversation with various broadband providers about successful broadband deployment partnerships.

Senator Warner dropped by to speak at the event between panels. He emphasized the importance of broadband, even in this time of tight federal, state and local budgets.

“I really do think broadband is not going to guarantee your communities’ economic success, but the absence of broadband is pretty much going to mean you’re not going to be on the map,” the Senator said.

Below are recordings of the two sessions, as well as copies of the presentations from RUS and the FCC.