News Coverage
Sens. Warren, Smith tell Azar they discovered ‘significant gaps’ in Covid testing
by Brian Schwartz, Stephanie Dhue
Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Tina Smith, D-Minn., have informed the secretary of Health and Human Services they have discovered “significant gaps in COVID-19 testing capacity.”In a letter this week to HHS chief Alex Azar, Warren and Smith said they made the discovery after contacting five of the worlds largest Covid testing labs: Quest, BioReference, ARUP Labs, LabCorp., and Mayo Clinic.They said the labs informed them that they experienced a “large spike in COVID-19 diagnostic testing … Continue Reading
December 09, 2020
Warren Files Bill To Require Immigration Agencies Report Out COVID-19 Data
by Ally Jarmanning
Sen. Elizabeth Warren and several Democratic colleagues want immigration detention facilities to track and publicly report data about COVID-19 cases.Warren, along with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and Texas Rep. Joaquin Castro, filed the bill, called the COVID-19 in Immigration Detention Data Transparency Act, Wednesday in both chambers of Congress.The bill would require Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, and the Office of Refugee Resettlement — and any … Continue Reading
December 08, 2020
Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey urge fellow Senate Democrats to demand stimulus checks in COVID-19 relief bill
by Nik DeCosta-Klipa
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey believe that any new COVID-19 relief package needs to include a new round of stimulus checks — and they’re imploring fellow Senate Democrats to hold firm on the position in the midst of the dual public health and economic crises.The two Massachusetts senators signed onto a letter Tuesday urging colleagues to “join us in demanding that any new COVID-relief proposal includes a $1,200 direct payment to adults and $500 to their children,” similar to the first … Continue Reading
December 07, 2020
With rent due and evictions looming, Warren rips McConnell for "disgraceful" obstruction
by Jake Johnson
With another rent payment due Tuesday for millions of Americans, Sen. Elizabeth Warren called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans for continuing to stonewall an adequate coronavirus stimulus bill that would prevent mass evictions that are just around the corner and provide desperately needed relief to the unemployed."The rent is due. . . and Majority Leader McConnell and the Senate GOP still haven't reinstated the $600 unemployment checks, extended … Continue Reading
December 07, 2020
16 Mass. Elected Officials Challenge State Agency On East Boston Substation
by Miriam Wasser
Multiple members of the Massachusetts federal delegation, along with several state and local elected officials, sent a letter on Monday to Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Kathleen Theoharides, challenging the state's recent decision to move forward with plans to build a controversial electrical substation in East Boston.The letter, directed at the Energy Facilities Siting Board (EFSB), asked the board to re-evaluate whether the electrical substation on the Chelsea Creek waterfront … Continue Reading
December 04, 2020
Elizabeth Warren And Ayanna Pressley Want To Know How Badly The US Pandemic Response Failed People Of Color
by Venessa Wong
The US government needs to investigate whether Black, Latino, and Native American communities most impacted by the pandemic have received adequate coronavirus relief funds, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Ayanna Pressley wrote to the Government Accountability Office.“To date, the federal government has spent trillions of dollars to sustain our health system and mitigate the economic fallout during this public health emergency. However, it is not clear whether that relief has successfully … Continue Reading
December 03, 2020
Massachusetts lawmakers concerned that some Comcast subscribers could lose WCVB
by Nik DeCosta-Klipa
Could some Comcast subscribers in Massachusetts soon be forced to tune into a Rhode Island TV station for ABC programming?Four members of the state’s federal delegation are worried it could happen.Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren and Reps. Bill Keating and Joe Kennedy III expressed concern Thursday that subscribers to Comcast’s Xfinity TV service in Bristol County could lose access to WCVB, amid news that the cable company and the Boston-based ABC affiliate’s owner, Hearst, have yet to … Continue Reading
December 01, 2020
Warren makes case to Fed chair for canceling student loan debt
by Naomi Jagoda
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday pressed for President-elect Joe Biden to take executive action to cancel student loan debt during an exchange with Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell at a Senate hearing."All on his own, President-elect Biden will have the ability to administratively cancel billions of dollars in student loan debt using the authority that Congress has already given to the secretary of Education," Warren said during a Senate Banking Committee hearing. "This is the … Continue Reading
November 25, 2020
Elizabeth Warren Calls On ICE To End Deportations During Pandemic: 'Stop Terrorizing Our Communities'
by Natalie Colarossi
Senator Elizabeth Warren called on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to end deportations of undocumented immigrants who pose no national security threat on Wednesday, citing concerns that the deportations could lead to an unnecessary spread of COVID-19.The Massachusetts senator joined forces with the state's additional 11 members of Congress to write a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stating that "detention and deportation of immigrants only … Continue Reading
November 24, 2020
Sen. Elizabeth Warren to introduce $8 billion relief bill to help underserved Americans during pandemic
by Mariel Padilla
Arguing that the federal response to the pandemic has largely overlooked millions of Americans, Sen. Elizabeth Warren plans to introduce the COVID Community Care Act — a move first shared with The 19th. The $8 billion relief bill would provide grants for community-based organizations and nonprofits to conduct testing, tracing and outreach activities in communities with higher virus rates or that have historically lacked access to medical care. Women account for 75 percent of full-time health … Continue Reading
November 23, 2020
Senators Demand Investigation Into Rehab Centers That Use Patients for Free Labor
by Samir Ferdowsi
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Tammy Baldwin have requested a formal look into a “shadow workforce” at federally funded substance rehabilitation centers. According to a recent Reveal investigation, 300 vocational centers have been using unpaid workers, many in hazardous settings, as well as waiving all worker benefits for patients—in one case, using patients to clean up dead animals in a zoo. “We had to clean up blood and stuff, which I didn't feel comfortable doing, because you're supposed to … Continue Reading
November 19, 2020
Black Farmers Have Been Robbed of Land. A New Bill Would Give Them a “Quantum Leap” Toward Justice.
by Tom Philpott
After the US Civil War, newly emancipated Black growers won a share of the agricultural landscape. They did so despite fierce backlash and the ultimately failed promises of Reconstruction. By the 1910s, around 200,000 Black farmers owned an estimated 20 million acres of land, mostly in the South. * That turned out to be a peak. Since then, due largely to lingering white supremacy and racist machinations within the US Department of Agriculture, the number of Black farmers has plunged by 98 … Continue Reading
November 19, 2020
As opioid deaths rise, Massachusetts Sens. Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren press National Institutes of Health on COVID-postponed research programs
by Benjamin Kail
U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren this week pressed the National Institutes of Health for details on opioid research programs and treatment efforts that have stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.The Massachusetts Democrats, in a letter to NIH Director Dr. Francis S. Collins, said that several behavioral health and addiction treatment studies are reportedly on hold at a time when overdoses are rising and the country faces public health and economic crises exacerbating the struggles of … Continue Reading
November 18, 2020
Sen. Elizabeth Warren says CDC failed to capture the true toll of Covid on people of color
by Will Feuer
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to clarify and revise its estimates for the risk posed to communities of color by Covid-19.CNBC obtained a copy of a letter the Massachusetts Democrat sent last week to CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield that says “by failing to adjust COVID-19 mortality rates by age in its public data releases, the CDC may not be providing an accurate assessment of the increased risk of death and serious illness for communities … Continue Reading
November 13, 2020
Elizabeth Warren slams Justice Alito over 'nakedly partisan' speech
by Celine Castronuovo
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Friday condemned Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito over a speech he gave Thursday at the Federalist Society’s annual meeting, which Warren called a “nakedly partisan” address. “Supreme Court Justices aren't supposed to be political hacks,” the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate wrote on Twitter. “This right-wing speech is nakedly partisan.“My bill to #EndCorruptionNow restores some integrity to our Court by forcing Justices to follow the ethics … Continue Reading
November 11, 2020
Exclusive: Elizabeth Warren calls out CEOs for 'weak and meaningless' climate commitments
by Matt Egan
New York (CNN Business) - Senator Elizabeth Warren fears Corporate America's latest commitment to fight the climate crisis is little more than a publicity stunt.The Massachusetts Democrat is demanding the Business Roundtable, an influential lobbying group headed by leading CEOs, follow up on its recent call to adopt new principles to address climate change with concrete steps."The seriousness of the climate crisis deserves more than empty rhetoric without any actual climate action," Warren … Continue Reading
November 10, 2020
Warren Blasts Virus-Aid Watchdog, Who Hits Back on Partisanship
by Laura Davison
Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday blasted the inspector general tasked with monitoring a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package for failing to fulfill his mandate, after a spat over investigating the role of lobbyists in the allocation of funds.Senator Elizabeth Warren on Monday blasted the inspector general tasked with monitoring a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package for failing to fulfill his mandate, after a spat over investigating the role of lobbyists in the allocation of … Continue Reading
November 10, 2020
Warren wants answers on suspension of FDA inspections of overseas drug manufacturing facilities
by Stephanie Dhue
Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Tina Smith are concerned about the safety of pharmaceuticals and drug components coming into the United States, as the coronavirus pandemic has put a halt to many inspections of overseas drug manufacturing facilities.In a letter to FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn released Tuesday, the senators wrote: “We are concerned that, absent proper oversight of our drug supply chain and the overseas facilities manufacturing products millions of Americans rely on, … Continue Reading
November 06, 2020
Democratic Senators Call for Expansion of Fed Lending Programs
by Catarina Saraiva
Four Democratic senators, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, urged the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury to expand emergency lending programs for businesses and states and municipalities to provide support while Congress debates additional fiscal stimulus.In a Nov. 5 letter to Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin obtained by Bloomberg, the senators asked that the programs be extended beyond their Dec. 31 deadlines, and that changes be made to make them more … Continue Reading
October 30, 2020
Elizabeth Warren Says Perry Must Quit Energy Transfer Role
by Gerson Freitas Jr
Senator Elizabeth Warren reiterated her call for Rick Perry to resign from his role with Energy Transfer LP, citing recent media reports that he pushed for a deal involving the company while he was U.S. Energy Secretary.“Your actions raise even more questions about your behavior during your time in government service,” Warren said in a letter dated Wednesday that was seen by Bloomberg. She referred to stories published by Time and ProPublica that said Perry worked to advance an ultimately … Continue Reading
