News Coverage
Bloomberg Law: Democrats Urge Biden: Fix Migrant Work Permit Backlog This Year
Congressional Democrats Tuesday pressed the Department of Homeland Security to clear a backlog of 1.4 million work permit applications for migrants before the end of the year. Despite several policy changes to address wait times at US Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 900,000 immigrants seeking their first work permits and half a million more looking to renew the documents remain “at the mercy of USCIS’s bureaucratic processing delays,” according to a letter from 70 House and … Continue Reading
October 22, 2024
The Verge: Democrats want DOJ to prosecute tax prep companies for privacy violations
A group of Democratic lawmakers are urging the Justice Department to prosecute tax prep companies accused of improperly sharing user information with Meta and Google through their advertising pixels. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA), are calling on the DOJ to take action against tax prep companies that they say failed to protect taxpayer privacy. In a new letter shared exclusively with The Verge, the lawmakers advance … Continue Reading
October 22, 2024
NBC News: Democratic senators slam McDonald's for menu price hikes they say have outpaced inflation
Three Democratic senators are asking McDonald's about its menu price hikes in recent years, arguing that the increases are higher than they should be - even with inflation and rising operating costs. In a letter sent late Monday afternoon, Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania and Ron Wyden of Oregon demanded that McDonald's President and CEO Chris Kempczinski explain the chain’s pricing decisions. "McDonald’s own reports indicate that the company’s price … Continue Reading
October 18, 2024
The Hill: Drug companies that violate law would fund medical research under new Democratic legislation
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have introduced legislation that would require pharmaceutical companies that have entered settlement agreements over violating federal law to invest a portion of their profits into key agencies. Titled the "Medical Innovation Act," the bill would apply to large drugmakers that are found to have violated federal laws and also have received federal funding that helped them develop what the bill calls "blockbuster drugs." The … Continue Reading
October 17, 2024
Military.com: Pentagon Discloses 21 Allegations of Sexual Misconduct in JROTC As It Outlines Reforms to Congress
Twenty-one instructors in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps program were accused of sexual misconduct against high school cadets in the 2022-23 school year, but the Pentagon enacted several congressionally mandated reforms this year to curb the issue, the department said in a recent letter to Congress. The number of allegations of sexual misconduct was disclosed in a new annual report to Congress that is now required after language was included in last year's defense policy bill … Continue Reading
October 17, 2024
HuffPost: Elizabeth Warren, AOC, Others Urge Biden To Take Action On Housing Costs Before Term Ends
Thirty-two Democratic lawmakers are urging President Joe Biden to use his remaining time in office to draw on an array of executive branch agencies to rein in housing costs. “We strongly encourage you to cement your legacy by addressing one of the most pressing economic issues of our time and take swift action to create more housing and lower housing costs for Americans everywhere,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter sent to Biden on Wednesday and obtained by HuffPost. The Biden administration … Continue Reading
October 15, 2024
Boston Herald: Report: Inflation Reduction Act saves Bay State Medicare enrollees 100s of millions
Ahead of her first debate with her Republican opponent, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren's office is out with a new report that shows hundreds of millions in savings for Medicare beneficiaries in the Bay State. According to the report, by next year Medicare cost savings written into the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 will have saved Massachusetts residents millions. "Overall, these provisions will allow Medicare enrollees in Massachusetts to save as much as approximately $170 million on … Continue Reading
October 11, 2024
The Hill: Lawmakers press FTC chair on federal price gouging ban
A group of mostly Democrats pressed Federal Trade Commission (FT) Chair Lina Khan this week for more information on how a federal price gouging ban could help "hold bad actors accountable" in the event of major disasters like Hurricane Helene. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) led 11 lawmakers in signing onto the letter, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Reps. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), Cartwright (D-Pa.), Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.), … Continue Reading
October 10, 2024
Reuters: US Senator Warren calls for scrutiny of Novo Holdings' Catalent deal
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has asked antitrust regulators to closely scrutinize a $16.5 billion deal in which Novo Nordisk's (NOVOb.CO), controlling shareholder would acquire contract drug manufacturer Catalent (CTLT.N), saying it may give the pharmaceutical company an unlawful advantage in weight loss and obesity drugs. Novo Holdings, the investment firm that has a controlling interest in Novo Nordisk, signed a $16.5 billion deal to buy Catalent in February to boost supply of Wegovy, … Continue Reading
October 10, 2024
Boston Globe: Warren takes aim at private equity again, now with Steward as ammo
Senator Elizabeth Warren unveiled legislation Thursday designed to rein in the growing power of private equity firms and limit the sort of leveraged buyout deals that led to the crisis at Steward Health Care, whose bankruptcy continues to roil communities in Massachusetts and seven other states. The bill would crack down on private equity firms that use debt to acquire businesses and then strip them of their cash, real estate, and other assets — often leaving them financially weak or even … Continue Reading
October 10, 2024
Financial Times: Elizabeth Warren criticises accounting watchdog over BDO audit failures
Members of the US Senate finance committee are demanding tougher enforcement action against accounting firms after a sustained increase in the number of flaws found in their audit work. Democratic senators Elizabeth Warren and Sheldon Whitehouse said deficiency rates that have exceeded 40 per cent for the past two years call into question whether the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board is properly holding the industry to account. In a letter to the PCAOB seen by the Financial Times, the … Continue Reading
October 10, 2024
HuffPost: In Making A Case For Herself, Elizabeth Warren Is Also Making A Case For A Progressive Future
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is up for reelection in November, so she’s out making the case for herself. But the case isn’t actually just for herself. She’s very aware she’s also making the case for progressive policymaking and goals at a time when moderates are hoping to wrest some power away from the left wing of the Democratic Party. Part of the pitch for Warren (and for progressives) is a 72-page report her Senate office is releasing Thursday outlining her major accomplishments during … Continue Reading
October 07, 2024
NBC News: Sen. Warren and Rep. Dean demand major food and beverage CEOs stop ‘shrinkflation’
Two Democratic lawmakers are demanding that some of the biggest food and beverage companies stop engaging in “shrinkflation” — the practice of reducing product sizes while charging prices that are the same or higher. In pointed letters, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Rep. Madeleine Dean of Pennsylvania accused General Mills, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo of engaging in a “pattern of profiteering” through shrinkflation and by “dodging taxes.” The letters, sent Sunday afternoon and shared … Continue Reading
October 03, 2024
The Verge: John Deere accused of ‘excluding’ right-to-repair language in its manuals
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is pressuring John Deere to update its manuals to better enable customers to repair their tractors. By omitting information about repair rights and pollution control systems, Warren alleges that John Deere could be in violation of the Clean Air Act. John Deere has been at the center of an ongoing battle over the right to repair John Deere has been at the center of an ongoing battle over the right to repair, especially as it incorporates more software into farm … Continue Reading
October 03, 2024
Reuters: US Senator Warren asks regulator to impose growth curbs on Citi
A prominent Democratic U.S. senator called on a top regulator on Wednesday to impose growth restrictions on Citigroup (C.N), opens new tab as the Wall Street bank struggles to fix ongoing regulatory problems. In a letter to Acting Comptroller of the Currency Michael Hsu, Senator Elizabeth Warren said that Citi's years-long struggle to fix data, controls and other management problems show it has become "too big to manage" and should be curtailed. A prominent bank critic who has previously … Continue Reading
October 03, 2024
New York Times: Senators Urge Justice Dept. to Hold Boeing Executives Accountable for Safety
Two Democratic senators sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, pressing the top Justice Department official to take a tougher approach to Boeing and criminally prosecute the aircraft company's executives for not doing enough to ensure passenger safety. The letter, from Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, criticized the Justice Department for not doing enough to hold Boeing accountable, as the company continues to grapple … Continue Reading
October 03, 2024
BNN Bloomberg: US Steel CEO Pressed by Two Senators to Defend Nippon Steel Deal Payout
Two prominent Democratic senators are criticizing United States Steel Corp. Chief Executive Officer David Burritt over his potential $72 million "golden parachute" if the sale to a Japanese company goes through - while President Joe Biden's decision on the takeover hangs in the air. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Senator Sherrod Brown of Ohio, whose race for reelection is one of the closest in the chamber this year, wrote to Burritt Wednesday regarding financial incentives … Continue Reading
October 01, 2024
Boston Globe: ‘That’s just not right’: Sen. Warren presses Stop & Shop on grocery prices after study showing differences across neighborhoods
For more than a year, youth organizers with the Hyde Square Task Force in Jamaica Plain have pressed grocery giant Stop & Shop on pricing differences at its Greater Boston locations, alleging that grocery costs in its stores located in more affluent neighborhoods are cheaper than stores that are not. On Monday, the teen sleuths received reinforcements after members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation sent a letter to Stop & Shop's parent company demanding it provide … Continue Reading
September 30, 2024
MassLive: Private equity repeat: Mass. pols raise concerns about sale of Steward’s doctor network
A trio of Massachusetts lawmakers are raising fresh concerns about the sale of bankrupt Steward Health Care's physicians network to a company that's owned by a private equity firm. Democratic U.S. Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren, joined by U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-4th District, said they're worried state residents would be "at the mercy of another private equity firm" as they recover from the damage of Steward, which was formerly owned by a private equity firm. … Read the full … Continue Reading
September 26, 2024
Reuters: US Senator Warren probes defense groups' opposition to 'right to repair'
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren has asked defense industry groups how much their members make from contracts that withhold replacement parts and tools, pushing back on their opposition to a bill that would give the U.S. military a "right to repair" its own equipment. Warren asked the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) and three other industry groups in a letter on Wednesday how much they have spent lobbying against the provision included in the Senate's 2025 proposed defense … Continue Reading
