News Coverage
New Bedford Standard-Times: UMass marine scientists get $4.4M research grants
July 11, 2014 NOAA is directing $4.4 million over the next two years to scallop researchers at SMAST through the Northeast Cooperative Research Program. Dr. Kevin Stokesbury, a researcher at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology, is involved in most of the projects that are being funded with the grants. Stokesbury was behind the invention of the video scallop survey methods that upended federal fisheries scientists' understanding of how many scallops were on the ocean … Continue Reading
July 10, 2014
GoLocalWorcester: Sturbridge, Northbridge Receive $872,100 in Fire Grants from FEMA
July 10, 2014 The Fire Departments of Sturbridge and Northbridge have received $872,100 in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program.Northbridge Fire Department will receive $712,500 for a new Ariel Ladder Fire Truck. Sturbridge Fire Department will receive $159,600 for a Brush Fire Truck. ... The announcement was made by United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, and Representatives Richard Neal, … Continue Reading
June 30, 2014
Springfield Republican: Hampden County Sheriff Michael Ashe celebrated at White House as 'Champion of Change'
June 30, 2014 Hampden County Sheriff Michael J. Ashe was honored Monday during a White House ceremony that celebrated his 40-year career in criminal justice and recognized him as a "champion of change" in the area of inmate rehabilitation. Ashe was one of 15 people being recognized under President Obama's "Champions of Change" program in the category of Expanding Reentry Employment Opportunities. ... Warren said "Sheriff Ashe has done an outstanding job growing innovative, successful, and … Continue Reading
June 29, 2014
New Bedford Standard-Times: Charles W. Morgan a symbol of New Bedford's past, present and future
June 29, 2014 The return of the Charles W. Morgan is a symbol of what's been accomplished in recent New Bedford history, as well as what's still in store. "The city that lit the world will do it once again," said U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, making a rare appearance in the city for the homecoming of the Morgan. "But this time, when New Bedford lights the world, instead of whale oil, it will be with the lights from wind energy." Warren was one of many officials at Saturday's welcoming ceremony … Continue Reading
June 26, 2014
Springfield Republican: Senate Democrats including Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, pushing campaign finance transparency bill ahead of midterm elections
June 26, 2014 Democrats in the U.S. Senate this week reintroduced a bill to increase transparency relating to campaign contributions and with a eye toward the midterm elections in November, the topic is likely to be a polarizing one in Washington. A version of the DISCLOSE Act, authored by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., was reintroduced in the Senate on Tuesday to require any covered organization that spends $10,000 or more during an election cycle to file a report with the Federal Election … Continue Reading
June 20, 2014
Wicked Local: Hanover, Halifax fire departments get federal grants
June 20, 2014 The Hanover and Halifax fire departments have received federal grants totaling $635,792 for upgrades to facilities and equipment. Halifax will get the biggest check - $540,792 - for a regional communications center. Hanover will use its $95,000 to install a sprinkler system at its fire headquarters. The money is part of $783,232 in Federal Emergency Management Agency funds awarded to four Massachusetts fire departments through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. The … Continue Reading
June 20, 2014
Springfield Republican: Belchertown Fire Department gets $68,000 federal grant
June 20, 2014 The town Fire Department has received a grant totally nearly $68,000 to pay for cardiac monitors. The grant was announced by U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, through a press release from Warren's office. Statewide, $783,232 in Federal Emergency Management Agency grants went to four Massachusetts fire departments through the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program. Belchertown was the only Western Massachusetts community to receive such a … Continue Reading
June 18, 2014
Watertown Tab & Press: Watertown Fire Department awarded FEMA assistance grants
June 18, 2014 After applying for a very competitive grant, the Watertown Fire Department was among eight departments in the state to receive federal funding to keep the community, families and the firefighters themselves safe. The money, according to fire officials, will be used for new equipment and additional staffing. According to a release from Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Watertown Fire Dept. (WFD) was awarded $186,800 through the Assistance to Firefighter Grant (AFG). … Continue Reading
June 17, 2014
Boston Business Journal: Sen. Warren, Mayor Walsh advocate for increased medical research funding
June 17, 2014 U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren stood in front of a room full of cancer patient advocates and cancer researchers on Monday, reciting a goal that has been spoken repeatedly around this city - funding for medical research needs to be increased. "More people are surviving cancer because we're finding so many more ways to attack it," she said. (Research) is the best way to fight back." ... Warren urged attendees to press their federal representatives to increase funding. But she also … Continue Reading
June 11, 2014
Greenfield Recorder Editorial: Senate can help with college debt relief
June 11, 2014 A college degree is supposed to be a springboard to one's future. Studies show that those who have earned, say, a bachelor's degree, will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars more over a 40-year employment career than a person with just a high school diploma. ... Although Congress has - grudgingly - made some changes for future students, it hasn't done much for those with existing loans. Many graduates, therefore, are faced with paying back their loans plus 7 percent … Continue Reading
June 10, 2014
New York Times Editorial: Student Borrowers and the Economy
June 10, 2014 President Obama took an important step this week when he signed an executive order providing relief to millions of struggling student loan borrowers and urged Congress to pass a student loan refinancing bill that is scheduled for a vote in the Senate on Wednesday. Both the executive order and the refinancing bill speak to a grave problem that has trapped recent college graduates and threatens the long-term health of the economy. ... The executive order signed on Monday will help … Continue Reading
June 10, 2014
Boston Globe Editorial: Elizabeth Warren’s student loan bill is worth talking about
June 10, 2014 The first bill Senator Elizabeth Warren ever filed had to do with student loans: Last year, she proposed offering new student loan rates that were as eye-catchingly low as the rate that the Federal Reserve charges banks for short-term lending. That bill, a bit of political theater, went nowhere. Now Warren is back with a new - and more modest - proposal that would allow many people to refinance existing student loans at lower rates. Warren says her bill would affect millions of … Continue Reading
June 08, 2014
Berkshire Eagle Editorial: Taking on student debt
June 8, 2014 The escalating cost of a college education and the resulting debt burden too many young people take on to get that education creates a dilemma that goes well beyond the plight of students. By sending into the world a generation of college graduations too overwhelmed with debt to buy homes or even cars, the twin scourge of high cost and high debt threatens to put the breaks on an already struggling economy. This problem is everybody's problem. This week, the U.S. Senate is expected … Continue Reading
June 08, 2014
MetroWest Daily News Editorial: A better deal on student debt
June 8, 2014 As members of the Class of 2014 marched out of their college commencement exercises, they carried with them more than pride in their accomplishments, the best wishes of their families and upgraded resumes. They also carried a boatload of student loan debt. The Wall Street Journal reports the average 2014 graduate will owe $33,000. That's up from $31,000 in the last year. The average for the Class of 1993, for comparison, was just $10,000. This is a huge problem for the Class of … Continue Reading
June 07, 2014
Springfield Republican: With vote nearing on Sen. Elizabeth Warren's student loan debt refinancing bill, President Barack Obama offers up his support
By Robert Rizzuto June 7, 2014 WASHINGTON - With President Barack Obama set to officially endorse Sen. Elizabeth Warren's Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act on Monday, the commander in chief dedicated his weekly address to highlighting the bill and the problem of college debt dragging down the next generation. "In a 21st century economy, the surest pathway into the middle class is some form of higher education. The unemployment rate for workers with a bachelor's degree is just 3.3 … Continue Reading
May 19, 2014
Roll Call: Elizabeth Warren Leads Progressive Charge, but Has GOP Admirers Too
By Niels Lesniewski May 19, 2014 "What reaction do you usually expect from banks?" Sen. Elizabeth Warren asked a reporter last week. It was classic Warren. Appearing at a news conference with fellow Democrats and D.C.-area college students to roll out legislation she spearheaded that would let borrowers refinance student loans, the Massachusetts Democrat dismissed a question about financial institutions losing profits from older, high-interest loans. "There's a real question here. Does … Continue Reading
May 19, 2014
Boston Globe: Forum addresses struggles of working families
By Katie JohnstonMay 19, 2014 CAMBRIDGE - Families are working harder than ever, but falling further behind -- and easing their struggle will require significant policy changes, including raising the minimum wage, closing the gender wage gap, refinancing student loan debt, and creating affordable child care, a group of women lawmakers, economists, and researchers said Monday. These and other proposals were discussed as part of forum on the challenges facing working families, one of five … Continue Reading
May 11, 2014
WGBH News: Warren Renews Push To Refinance Student Loan Debt
By Kirk CarapezzaMay 11, 2014 Senator Elizabeth Warren is renewing her effort to help former college students pay back their student loan debt. Warren wants to bring high student loan interest rates down to the rates that are offered to new borrowers this year. Earlier this week, WGBH's On Campus caught up with the senator shortly after she left the floor of the Senate where she filed a bill to do just that. On Campus: If successful, what will this bill mean for those who have outstanding … Continue Reading
May 07, 2014
Springfield Republican: US Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey announce $32 million in AmeriCorps funding for Massachusetts
By Robert Rizzuto May 7, 2014 WASHINGTON - Both U.S. Senators from Massachusetts on Wednesday announced the Bay State would receive more than $32 million in AmeriCorps funding which is expected to place nearly 7,000 people with 18 different organizations across the commonwealth. A combination of Corporation for National and Community Service grants totaling $32,933,000 were slated by Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey to assist AmeriCorps member groups tackling a range of issues … Continue Reading
May 06, 2014
Associated Press: Education Gets Top Billing on Capitol Hill
By Kimberly Hefling May 6, 2014 Lawmakers looking ahead to the November elections are putting renewed focus on education, tackling issues on Capitol Hill this week ranging from expanding charter schools to paying off student loan debt. ... Student loans, the subject of some contentious debate in 2013, are coming up again in both the House and Senate. With the doubling of interest rates looming, Congress last year acted to keep them at low level levels for now - but linked those rates to the … Continue Reading