Congress

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Kay R. Hagan (D-NC) secured $3.45 million in the 2010 Military Construction Appropriations Bill for an automated sniper field firing range at North Carolina's Fort Bragg. The bill passed the Senate today, and it will now be reconciled with the House version of the bill.

"This funding will prepare our soldiers for the most challenging of missions," Hagan said. "This 21st-century sniper range will give our soldiers the skills to disrupt, dismantle and defeat terrorists abroad that threaten our country. I am extremely proud of our brave soldiers at Fort Bragg, and I am committed to ensuring we provide them with the cutting-edge tools they need to keep us safe."    » read more »

Cancellation of Study Will Save Nearly 400 Jobs, Taxpayer Money; Move Comes After Persistent Lobbying From Schumer, Gillibrand, Hinchey and Hall

November 17, 2009 -- Today, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand along with Congressmen Maurice Hinchey and John Hall announced that the official decision to cancel the West Point study that was proven to be flawed and ineffective was issued today, preventing the loss of hundreds of federal jobs at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and saving taxpayer money.

The study, referred to as an A-76 study, is currently used to compare the use of private versus public employees to ensure that the government does not waste taxpayers' money.    » read more »

Feingold's Bipartisan Legislation Would Bring New Attention and Support to Ending Africa's Longest Running Rebel War

November 17, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – The Senate Foreign Relations Committee passed bipartisan legislation today authored by U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and cosponsored by Sam Brownback (R-KS) requiring the Obama administration to develop a new multifaceted strategy to confront one of Africa’s longest running rebel groups, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA).    » read more »

Amendment Based on Recommendations of a Government Study is Latest Addition to Feingold's Control Spending Now Act to Slash the Deficit

November 17, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Russ Feingold is hailing Senate passage of his amendment to the military construction appropriations bill to enhance the security of our nuclear arsenal and more effectively use taxpayer dollars.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Assistant Senate Majority Leader Dick Durbin (D-IL) today announced that the United States Senate has approved $82,257,000 in federal funding for military construction projects in Illinois.

The Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Bill for Military Construction and Veterans Affairs includes funding for the following Illinois projects:    » read more »

Legislation invests in new military facilities in Minot, Grand Forks, Bismarck and Fargo

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- The U.S. Senate approved an appropriations bill today that includes funding secured by U.S. Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad to construct new military facilities in Minot, Grand Forks, Fargo and Bismarck. Dorgan and Conrad said the bill will give a boost to North Dakota’s military missions.    » read more »

Senator has pushed for action to investigate and prosecute financial fraud

November 17, 2009 -- (WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) said today’s announcement that the Justice Department will ramp up efforts to crack down on financial fraud “is critical to bring these modern day bank-robbers to justice, necessary to restore confidence in our financial system, and I applaud the Department of Justice for taking this action.”

Dorgan has been pushing for increased investigations and prosecutions of those who wrongly profited from the financial collapse. In January, Dorgan introduced the Taxpayer Protection Act (S. 195), which would, among other things, investigate and prosecute financial fraud that contributed to the collapse of our financial markets.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today announced that they helped secure $64.6 million for military construction projects for Connecticut military bases throughout the state. The funding, which was allotted as a part of the Military Construction and Department of Veterans’ Affairs Appropriations bill, will go towards projects in Bridgeport, Middletown, and Hartford.

In addition, the bill includes $300 million for the Homeowners Assistance Program (HAP) – which provides financial support to military families incurring substantial losses when service-related moves force them to sell their homes in base communities such as the one surrounding Submarine Base New London.    » read more »

Bill Will Guarantee Up to Seven Days of Paid Sick Leave for Workers Infected By the H1N1 Virus

November 17, 2009 -- Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) today will introduce emergency legislation that will guarantee paid sick days for those who are infected by the H1N1 virus. Last week, Dodd chaired, and Congresswoman DeLauro testified at, a hearing of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families in response to the H1N1 pandemic.    » read more »

Hearing on Child Nutrition Reauthorization

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC- U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) today urged his Senate colleagues to take action to end hunger as the Senate begins to debate the reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs. Senator Casey participated in a hearing of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry entitled “Reauthorization of U.S. Child Nutrition Programs: Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health.”    » read more »

Senators' Legislation Provides Certainty & Fairness, While Being More Fiscally Responsible

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) today reintroduced fiscally responsible bipartisan legislation to exempt families, farms and small businesses from the estate tax burden.

The legislation, which also reflects proposals advocated by President Obama, would freeze the estate tax at its current 2009 levels. Under the bill, the value of any estate above $7 million per couple or $3.5 million per individual will be taxed at a 45 percent rate. That rate will remain constant, while exclusion amounts will be adjusted upward each year to account for inflation.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed tighter controls for dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions, winning the support of Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subcommittee.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a dangerous air pollutant that can travel long distances and results when sulfur-containing fuels such as coal, oil or diesel are burned. Each year, manmade sources emit more than 14 million tons of sulfur dioxide nationwide

“Current federal standards simply fail to protect public health,” said Sen. Carper. “I have long supported tighter SO2 controls that protect Americans with lung diseases like asthma, and especially children and older adults.”    » read more »

Following New Report from USDA Showing Unprecedented Rise in Hunger, Brown Emphasizes Need to Enroll More Children in Nutrition Programs

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Agriculture Subcommittee on Hunger, Nutrition and Family Farms, attended a hearing today of the Senate Agriculture Committee entitled, "Opportunities to Fight Hunger and Improve Child Health."

Brown emphasized the need to pass his Hunger Free Schools Act, which would help enroll more students who qualify for nutrition assistance in the school lunch program by increasing the program's efficiency through technology improvements and paperwork reduction.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall reported that the Senate has approved legislation to fund key construction projects at New Mexico's military installations.

The fiscal year 2010 Military Construction and Department of Veterans' Affairs Appropriations Act sets aside a total of $172 million for Cannon, Kirtland and Holloman Air Force Bases, as well as the National Guard facility in Santa Fe.

"This bill invests millions of dollars in New Mexico's military installations and ensures that our Air Force and National Guard facilities remain in top shape," Bingaman said. "It is another way to support the men and women of our armed forces."    » read more »

Funding Included in Senate Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Bill

November 17, 2009 -- Mark Udall and Michael Bennet, U.S. Senators for Colorado, announced today that the Pueblo Chemical Depot is on track to receive $92.5 million in new federal funding for construction of a facility to destroy chemical weapons stored there.

The funding was included in the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs appropriations bill for fiscal year 2010, which was approved by the Senate by a vote of 100 to 0.

The bill now goes to a conference committee to be reconciled with the version passed in the House. The $92.5 million in funding represents a portion of the money requested for work at Pueblo Chemical Depot.    » read more »