News Coverage
Washington Post: Sanders, Warren reveal bill to tax CEO pay during income inequality hearing targeting Amazon
SAN FRANCISCO — Amazon faced fresh scrutiny for its treatment of workers at a Senate hearing Wednesday on income inequality, as senators introduced a new bill to tax chief executives who make 50 times more than the median workers.Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) drilled into the gap between most Americans and billionaires during his opening remarks, pointing to data that billionaires have gained significant wealth during the pandemic.“During the pandemic, millions of people are struggling to put … Continue Reading
March 12, 2021
Market Place: Sen. Elizabeth Warren on her new wealth tax bill and how to enforce it
In 2020, while millions of Americans struggled with job loss and economic turmoil due to the coronavirus pandemic, the richest 100 Americans’ fortunes grew by $598 billion. This is the backdrop for the wealth tax introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., last week.The Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act, co-sponsored in the House by Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., would impose a 2% tax on individual net worth above $50 million and an additional 1% surtax on net worth above … Continue Reading
March 10, 2021
Boston.com: New legislation from Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey aims to address the long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on students
Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey introduced legislation Wednesday that would create an application-based grant program to administer $100 billion in funding over the next 10 years to address the social, emotional, mental, and physical health needs of students related to impacts from COVID-19 and aid in accelerating academic progress. The Educational Equity Challenge Grant Act of 2021, which would be administered by the Department of Education, was also introduced by Democratic Sens. Ron … Continue Reading
March 07, 2021
Masslive: Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey and Rep. Jim McGovern urge improved staffing for St. Vincent Hospital nurses ahead of strike
A trio of Massachusetts lawmakers on Sunday urged Tenet Healthcare, the parent company of St. Vincent Hospital, to make staffing and safety concessions for the hundreds of nurses planning to strike starting Monday.Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey and Rep. Jim McGovern argued that Dallas-based Tenet Healthcare has “still not made appropriate and necessary movement on the issue of staffing.” The hospital’s 800 nurses are preparing to start an open-ended strike Monday morning after two … Continue Reading
March 04, 2021
CNBC: Senators question Amazon about using cameras to monitor delivery drivers
Five senators are calling on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to provide more information on the company’s recent deployment of “surveillance cameras” in vehicles used by contracted delivery drivers.In a letter Wednesday, Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut asked for more clarity on Amazon’s use of footage collected by the cameras and the scope of their use, with a deadline for … Continue Reading
March 02, 2021
Boston Globe: Warren and Markey want Biden to include recurring direct payments in his wider economic package
Massachusetts Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey are calling on President Biden to include recurring direct payments and automatic unemployment insurance extensions tied to economic conditions in his Build Back Better plan.The payments to Americans would come in addition to the $1,400 stimulus checks included in the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package passed by the House Saturday which could be taken up by the Senate as soon as mid-week.The pair have joined with seven other Senate … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
Business Insider: Democratic senator's first bill provides 5 million essential workers with a pathway to citizenship
In order to aid essential workers during COVID-19, Democrats introduced a bill on Friday to provide undocumented immigrants who have worked on the frontlines during the pandemic an expedited pathway to citizenship.Led by Sen. Alex Padilla of California, his first bill in Congress — the Citizenship for Essential Workers Act — targeted the 5 million workers without legal status who worked in healthcare, agriculture, public transit, and other frontline industries during the pandemic.The bill, … Continue Reading
March 01, 2021
The New York Times: Warren Revives Wealth Tax, Citing Pandemic Inequalities
WASHINGTON — Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, introduced legislation on Monday that would tax the net worth of the wealthiest people in America, a proposal aimed at persuading President Biden and other Democrats to fund sweeping new federal spending programs by taxing the richest Americans.Ms. Warren’s wealth tax would apply a 2 percent tax to individual net worth — including the value of stocks, houses, boats and anything else a person owns, after subtracting out any debts … Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Mother Jones: Warren, Booker, and Sanders Push DHS to Investigate Allegations That Officers Threatened Asylum Seekers With COVID-19 Exposure
A group of US senators is urging the Department of Homeland Security to investigate allegations that guards at immigration detention centers beat asylum seekers into submitting to their own deportations. “The allegations of violence and brutality against vulnerable refugees seeking safety here in the United States are unlawful and disturbing,” they write in the letter. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal … Continue Reading
February 26, 2021
Washington Post: Warren endorses pushing citizenship for undocumented essential workers through reconciliation
Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Friday that Democrats should immediately use budget reconciliation — a dramatic act that would make it easier to pass a bill in the Senate — to create a pathway to U.S. citizenship for millions of undocumented workers in essential jobs such as health care and farming.The Massachusetts Democrat spoke the day after the Senate parliamentarian rejected leading senators’ attempt to use reconciliation to pass Biden’s proposed $15-an-hour minimum wage. Reconciliation … Continue Reading
February 24, 2021
The 19th: Democratic senators ask Biden admin to create office focusing on reproductive health and wellbeing
A group of Democratic senators is calling on the Biden administration to establish an Office of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Wellbeing in order to “more holistically address ‘the human right to maintain personal bodily autonomy,’” according to a letter first shared with The 19th. The office they envision would encompass a range of issues that would “go beyond securing reproductive rights.” “Reproductive justice for all means addressing issues of health care access; economic inequality; … Continue Reading
February 19, 2021
Cape Cod Times: Reintroduced bill could bolster Cape Cod bridges evacuation routes with federal funds
WASHINGTON — The Cape’s federal legislative delegation reintroduced a bill Thursday that would dedicate $1 billion of federal funds to bolster the country’s evacuation routes — with hopes it could fetch money for the aging Bourne and Sagamore bridges. The Enhancing the Strength and Capacity of America’s Primary Evacuation Routes (or the more digestible ESCAPE) Act, was introduced for the third time to try and dedicate $1 billion annually to a grant program that would expand the capacity and … Continue Reading
February 18, 2021
CNN: Elizabeth Warren to FINRA: Why isn’t Robinhood’s CEO licensed by FINRA?
Senator Elizabeth Warren is pushing for answers from Wall Street’s self-regulator over the Robinhood fiasco.Among other concerns, Warren calls out that, as CNN Business first reported, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev does not have a license from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. In a letter to FINRA, Warren asks the regulator to describe what determines whether individuals must be registered, what the registration requirements are for executives at broker-dealers and whether … Continue Reading
February 18, 2021
Boston 25 News: Sen. Elizabeth Warren visits Chelsea, a community hit hard by the pandemic
BOSTON — Finally, a possible light at the end of the tunnel for those here in hard-hit Chelsea.I have been reporting in Chelsea day after day about the needs of the people here. Finally, the message for help has been heard loud and clear by local politicians, who said help is on the way.“Right now, I don’t have job. It’s very hard. COVID-19,” said Oscar Irias of Chelsea.Irias is one of the thousands of essential workers in Chelsea who is struggling to put food on the table, ever since the … Continue Reading
February 16, 2021
Masslive: Centralized COVID vaccine registration needed for Massachusetts, say 10 members of Massachusetts federal delegation to Gov. Baker
Ten members of the Massachusetts federal congressional delegation are calling on Gov. Charlie Baker to create a centralized COVID-19 vaccine pre-registration system amid a “disjointed and cumbersome” sign-up process.In a joint letter addressed to Baker, the lawmakers said they are “deeply concerned” about the “slow and inequitable deployment” of the COVID vaccine in Massachusetts, urging the administration to increase outreach and streamline the scheduling process, among other things.The … Continue Reading
February 12, 2021
Business Insider: Elizabeth Warren and Sherrod Brown urge the SEC to overhaul insider-trading rules that allegedly harm everyday investors
A trio of Democratic Senators called on the Securities and Exchange Commission to overhaul insider trading rules that allegedly put retail investors at a disadvantage.Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Sherrod Brown, and Chris Van Hollen urged the regulator to review and update policies regarding 10b5-1 plans. The policy allows corporate executives to schedule stock purchases and sales for the purpose of avoiding instances of insider trading. Yet the group of lawmakers suggests executives — particularly … Continue Reading
February 06, 2021
Rolling Stone: Dems to Treasury Chief Yellen: The Time to Crack Down on Dark Money Is Now
WASHINGTON — Dark money, that torrent of anonymous cash unleashed by groups with mind-numbingly generic names such as Americans for Prosperity or Patriot Majority, is an ugly fixture of American politics, a weapon used to win elections, confirm (or defeat) judges, and pass (or defeat) legislation. Once dominated by ultra-wealthy conservatives like the Koch brothers, the dark-money racket is now embraced by Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives alike. President Joe … Continue Reading
February 02, 2021
Boston Globe: Warren, Pressley push Biden to cancel student loan debt
If you thought top progressive lawmakers from Massachusetts would stop jousting with the White House now that a fellow Democrat is in office, you were mistaken.The new president was sworn in less than a month ago, but Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Ayanna Pressley are wasting no time pushing Joe Biden to cancel up to $50,000 in debt for each of the roughly 44 million Americans who have federal student loans.They and other prominent Democrats say Biden can wipe out this debt using … Continue Reading
February 02, 2021
CNN: Exclusive: Elizabeth Warren wants answers on Robinhood's ties to large hedge funds
Senator Elizabeth Warren is demanding answers from Robinhood co-CEO Vlad Tenev over potential conflicts of interest caused by the free trading app's relationship with large hedge funds and other financial players.In a letter obtained by CNN Business, the Massachusetts Democrat called out Robinhood for "abruptly changing the rules" on individual investors last week by temporarily banning purchases of GameStop (GME), AMC (AMC) and other stocks backed by traders on Reddit."The public deserves a … Continue Reading
February 02, 2021
Washington Post: Sen. Warren calls Genesis Healthcare executive bonus act of ‘unfathomable greed’
A nursing home chain that gave its former CEO a $5.2 million “retention payment” at the height of the pandemic has received a sharp rebuke from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who sits on the Senate’s Special Committee on Aging.Warren called the payout by Genesis Healthcare to George Hager Jr. — at a time when the death toll among residents was approaching 2,800 and the company was relying on federal emergency aid to survive financially — “inexplicable and unseemly” in a letter dated Jan. 27. … Continue Reading
