Senator Murray Remarks at Press Conference Following Senate Vote to Pass Five Funding Bills While Splitting Off DHS Bill

***WATCH: Senator Murray’s remarks***

ICYMI: Senate Passes Five Funding Bills, Strips Out DHS Bill to Ensure Negotiations Proceed to Rein in ICE and CBP

Washington, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, delivered the following remarks at a press conference, alongside Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senator Brian Schatz (D-HI), after final passage of five more fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills. The amended package strips the Homeland Security bill out of the six-bill package sent over by the House last week and starts a two-week clock to renegotiate the bill.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as delivered, are below:

“All week, Senate Democrats have been exceptionally clear: we cannot—and will not—pass a DHS bill until ICE and CBP are reined in.

“We laid out a clear—and common-sense—path forward: pass these five funding bills we all overwhelmingly agree on, while splitting off the DHS bill and forcing Congress to take action to rein in Kristi Noem’s out-of-control Department. And today, tonight, that’s what the Senate has done.

“Look, this is a pretty somber moment we’re in. I very seriously doubt the White House would have agreed to renegotiate constraints on DHS if not for the national outcry from the American people. America saw the killing of Alex Pretti, and America was rightly enraged—not even 3 weeks since the killing of Renee Good. And understand: the country witnessed that awful killing after weeks of seeing nonstop scenes of brutality on the streets of Minneapolis.

“But because the American people said enough, we were then able to press the Republicans to split off the DHS funding bill so we can work on oversight. And over the next few days, Senate Democrats will be focused on negotiating real restraints to put an end to the chaos we’re seeing on our streets.

“For years, Republicans have warned of rogue federal agencies infringing upon people’s most basic constitutional rights. That, of course, is exactly what is happening now.

“So, if they are serious about those warnings, if Republicans are serious about preventing Americans from being murdered by masked federal agents, they will work with us over the next two weeks to rein those agencies in—which is what the vast majority of Americans are demanding we do.

“If Republicans want Democratic votes—they need to work with us to end the unacceptable brutality we’re seeing in Minnesota and elsewhere.

“I’ll be doing everything I possibly can to ensure that Congress acts—and that we meet this moment. And in the meantime—we have torn up Trump’s budget and written a new one, by passing five more funding bills for the year ahead.

“The message to President Trump is: America will continue to fund cancer research. We are going to keep investing in affordable housing and tackling homelessness. Congress will not abolish the Department of Education. That message, and this bill, is headed his way, and he’s going to sign that bill into law.

“Importantly, these bills ensure that Congress—not President Trump or Russ Vought—decide how our taxpayer dollars get spent by reasserting Congress’ power of the purse. Getting these bills signed into law means President Trump and his cabinet secretaries will no longer have the legal authority to unilaterally defund programs to fund their own priorities or to pick and choose which projects to fund. That matters—that matters—and it is a very important victory for the American people and for our democracy.

“You have to remember that Congress is a co-equal branch, but it has to act like one.

“Democrats being at the table made a difference in these bills. We held firm to protect NIH. We held firm to protect affordable housing. We held firm to protect public education. And we held firm to put working people first.

“And because we held firm—we got major concessions out of Republicans, forcing Congress to do the right thing on many, many issues, even if it meant going against Trump, something that was unthinkable this time last year. And now we are focused on doing the same thing when it comes to meaningful DHS reforms.”

###


Padilla, Schiff Join Amicus Brief Urging Ninth Circuit Court to Affirm Critical Protections for Children in Immigration Detention

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla, Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Adam Schiff (both D-Calif.) joined a group of 24 other Senators in filing an amicus brief to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals urging the Court to uphold the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement, which sets critical minimum standards for children in immigration detention and continues to be one of the most effective protections for detained noncitizen children. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led the amicus brief.

The Senators filed the amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit case Flores v. Bondi, in which the Department of Justice (DOJ) is claiming that the detention funding in Republicans’ billionaire-first One Big Beautiful Bill (OBBB) Act overrode the protections provided in the 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement. The amicus brief rejects the Trump Administration’s baseless claims, explains that the reconciliation process cannot be used for such policy overhauls, and emphasizes that a policy override, like the one the government is claiming exists, would have been stricken from the bill.

“Appellants’ reliance on the OBBB Act as evidence of changed circumstances rests on a fundamental misunderstanding of the budget reconciliation process and its constraints. Because the bill was enacted through reconciliation, its provisions were limited to budgetary matters—appropriations for detention capacity, not changes to legal standards governing detention,” wrote the Senators. “A provision terminating the Settlement would be a major substantive policy change that could not have survived the reconciliation process. Accordingly, the OBBB Act cannot constitute a changed circumstance warranting termination of the Settlement.”

While the Trump Administration argued that Congress approved family detention by appropriating funds for family residential centers in the OBBB Act, the Senators emphasized that the section of the bill in question did not create a new detention directive or authorize any new program. Instead, the bill appropriated money for detention capacity that was already authorized by law. Therefore, the Senators argued that the Court should not equate this appropriation with a repeal of the Flores settlement.

“The distinction between appropriating funds and amending substantive law matters enormously in the reconciliation context,” continued the Senators. “Congress appropriated $45 billion for detention capacity, including family residential centers. But this appropriation does not supersede whatever legal standards otherwise govern such detention. Accordingly, the OBBB Act’s appropriation for detention capacity does not authorize detention of children in violation of the Flores Settlement, eliminate licensing requirements for facilities, or repeal the other substantive protections secured by the Settlement. Congress regularly appropriates funds for activities that remain subject to independent legal requirements. Appropriating money for federal construction projects does not exempt those projects from environmental review. Appropriating money to expand the federal workforce does not displace existing collective bargaining agreements. And appropriating money for detention does not eliminate the legal standards governing how that detention must be conducted—including the Settlement’s requirements for the treatment of children.”

In addition to Padilla, Schiff, Merkley, Durbin, and Peters, the amicus brief was signed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.).

Senators Padilla and Schiff have strongly opposed President Trump’s cruel and indiscriminate mass deportation agenda and denial of basic services for detained individuals. Last week, Padilla and Schiff conducted an oversight visit to the largest detention center in California, located in California City, to learn firsthand of the concerns surrounding the inhumane conditions detained individuals are facing at the facility. The Senators investigated reports of unsanitary and unsafe facility conditions, inadequate medical and mental health care, insufficient access to legal counsel, a severe lack of accommodations for people with disabilities, and the unnecessary use of solitary confinement. During the visit, they met with dozens of Californians and other detained individuals, many with no criminal record, whom ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have swept up indiscriminately amid the Trump Administration’s mass detention and deportation campaign.

Earlier this week, Senators Padilla and Booker introduced the Dignity for Detained Immigrants Act to end the use of private, for-profit detention facilities, prohibit the practice of detaining families, and ensure due process for detained individuals. Last year, Padilla and Schiff introduced the Restoring Access to Detainees Act, a bill to ensure the Department of Homeland Security allows detained noncitizens to contact legal counsel and their families.

The full amicus brief the lawmakers filed to the Ninth Circuit can be found here.

###


Padilla Warns Secretaries of State of Trump’s Threats to Elections, Urges Them to Defend the Right to Vote

Address follows Padilla letter demanding DOJ cease voter roll pressure campaign in response to AG Bondi’s letter to Minnesota Governor Walz linking ICE and CBP deployment to the state’s voter rolls

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration and California’s former Secretary of State, spoke to the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Elections Committee, sounding the alarm on the Trump Administration’s serious threats to election administration and security, while pushing states’ chief election officials to protect the fundamental right to vote.

Padilla denounced the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuits against 24 states, including California, to coerce them into handing over unredacted access to their voting rolls, which contain voters’ personally identifiable information. He slammed Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pushing him to surrender the state’s voter rolls as part of an exchange for the Administration calling off its dangerous deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents to Minneapolis, an operation that has already led to the unjustified killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

“Don’t get me started on how they’ve chosen to go about immigration enforcement across the country, but to me, it’s pretty telling. Is it really about public safety in Minnesota, or is it about trying to get the voter data that they’ve been desperately trying to get for almost eight years now?” said Senator Padilla. “That’s the environment that we’re living in and working in. The whole country sees it for what it is, I know I see it for what it is, and Congress will continue to assert its role in all of this.”

Padilla continued to sound the alarm on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s undertested, flawed Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program, warning that running voter registration lists through this program could lead to illegal voter purges and puts voters’ sensitive, private data at risk of falling into the wrong hands, including outside election denier groups looking to overturn election results.

Padilla highlighted President Trump’s repeated attempts to change or preempt election laws, despite power over elections residing with Congress and the states, not the Executive Branch. He criticized Trump’s efforts to weaponize the Election Assistance Commission through his illegal anti-voter executive order, much of which has already been blocked by federal courts. At the same time, Padilla raised concerns that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has paused all election security-focused activities, and denounced this week’s chilling actions by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and the FBI in raiding Fulton County, Georgia’s elections office to further perpetuate the repeatedly disproven lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

As Republican legislators resurface the SAVE Act — legislation that would disenfranchise millions of eligible American citizens if passed — Padilla emphasized that the bill, in addition to creating major obstacles for married women, servicemembers and their families, and minority and rural communities, would make the critical election work Secretaries of State do exponentially more difficult. He slammed the false pretense for the SAVE Act, calling it “a solution in search of a problem” as voter fraud is exceedingly rare, and he vowed to defeat it in the Senate.

Yesterday, Padilla and Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) led a letter urging Attorney General Bondi to cease DOJ’s pressure campaign to obtain voters’ sensitive data and potentially purge voter rolls and posed a series of oversight questions to the Department about how it is pursuing this campaign, what it is doing with state voter data, and how it will protect it from leaks and hacks, in light of the recent revelations of DOGE staff at the Social Security Administration (SSA) sharing data with an unidentified group seeking to investigate the 2020 election, via an unauthorized secret agreement. Last October, Padilla and Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) filed an amicus brief supporting a lawsuit opposing the Trump Administration’s illegal ongoing attempts to purge state voter rolls across the country by developing a massive interagency database of Americans’ sensitive personal data.

Key Excerpts from Remarks, as Delivered:

If there was any reminder that we all needed of the urgency of the situation, I call your attention to what happened in Georgia yesterday, where none other than Tulsi Gabbard, Director of National Intelligence, joined the FBI in invading a local elections office in the state of Georgia, trying to recover materials from the 2020 election. I guess they’re still searching for 11,000 more votes. But it should be a reminder or a wake-up call that this can happen at any point, once again, between now and this coming November.

It is, in fact, Congress that has the power to make and modify laws, not the President of the United States. So it’s not surprising that the courts again blocked his illegal executive orders and if they try to issue additional ones, including restricting vote-by-mail, I believe it’ll meet the same fate.

On Monday, we heard that [DOJ plans] to use state voter data to conduct list maintenance at the federal level. Secretaries, Republican and Democratic Secretaries, how does that make you feel about what they think about your integrity and your professionalism and those of your offices and your staff and your teams? Not trying to be partisan here, just trying to call balls and strikes.

We’ve seen public calls for prosecutions against elected officials. We’ve seen Oval Office shakedowns. We’ve seen threats to withhold funding from certain states when state leaders don’t do what President Trump wants them to do. We’ve seen litmus tests for federal jobs, again, the people who are supposed to be partners with us in protecting our democracy.

Don’t get me started on how they’ve chosen to go about immigration enforcement across the country, but to me, it’s pretty telling. Is it really about public safety in Minnesota, or is it about trying to get the voter data that they’ve been desperately trying to get for almost eight years now? That’s the environment that we’re living in and working in. The whole country sees it for what it is, I know I see it for what it is, and Congress will continue to assert its role in all of this.

I know we will have and you will deliver free and fair elections this November, and in primaries between now and then and for years to come, because of your hard work, your integrity, your commitment, and that of your teams.

When it comes to campaigns, it’s okay to put on blue jerseys or red jerseys, but when it comes to government, when it comes to the public service we’re sworn to do, it’s not about Republican or Democrat. It’s about democracy. It is about security. It is about integrity.

Secretaries of State, I encourage you to continue defending your roles, your authority, and your voters, because we’re all counting on you, and in the face of all this, … your work has never been more critical, and I want to be your partner in continuing to deliver for the people of your respective states and our nation.

###


Peters Helps Senate Pass Bipartisan Funding Bill with Investments to Strengthen American National Security, Foreign Policy, and Economic Competitiveness

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped the Senate pass the Fiscal Year 2026 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act. This bipartisan legislation advances American foreign policy objectives and works to address growing threats and ongoing conflicts across the globe to keep Americans safe. Peters also secured funding in the bill to protect the Great Lakes and support innovative research at Michigan State University. The bipartisan bill rejects the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to programs aimed at bolstering our international alliances and strengthening U.S. national security.

“This bipartisan bill will strengthen our global alliances and help ensure we’re equipped to meet the evolving threats and challenges we face around the world today, particularly from adversaries like Russia and China,” said Senator Peters. “I'm proud the bill also makes critical investments to improve global health outcomes and address food insecurity.”

The bill includes numerous measures led and supported by Peters, including:

Protecting Great Lakes, Advancing Research in Michigan

Keeping the Great Lakes Healthy: Peters helped secure over $52 million in the bill for the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission (GLFC). In close collaboration with American and Canadian partners, the GLFC works to combat the spread of invasive species like sea lamprey across the entire Great Lakes Region.

Supporting Innovative Agriculture Research in Michigan: Peters worked to secure $72 million in the bill for the Feed the Future Innovation Lab program, which seeks to address emerging challenges impacting agriculture and food security. Research is conducted in collaboration with U.S. universities, including labs housed at Michigan State University.

Strengthening U.S. National Security, Alliances Around the World

Supporting U.S. Allies and Partners and Countering Malign Actors: This bill helps ensure the U.S. delivers on its commitments to our allies and partners around the world. The bill provides funding for the Countering People’s Republic of China (PRC) Influence Fund, enhances strategic investments to counter Russian influence and aggression, and increases funding for partner military financing, training, and education globally.

Strategic Investments in Economic Development Assistance to Promote U.S. National Interests Abroad: The bill creates a new fund, called the National Security Investment Programs, to support bilateral economic and development assistance around the globe. This program will strengthen U.S. global partnerships and national security by supporting economic resilience and promoting democracy.

Promoting International Defense Collaboration: The bill includes funding to support the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, which seeks to bolster national security by establishing trusted relationships with global partners and build future defense alliances.

Maintaining Global Public Health Partnerships: The bill includes robust funding for essential global health initiatives, including programs that support essential nutrition, improve access to maternal and child health, and advance the fight against HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria. Peters also fought to secure $300 million to maintain the United States’ contribution to Gavi, a public-private vaccination alliance that seeks to expand access to vaccines and protect children from some of the world’s deadliest diseases.

Safely Removing Post-Conflict Remnants of War: Peters helped secure $265 million to advance the removal of land mines and related remnants of war. This work is essential to ensuring post-conflict areas are safe for civilian use and helps support agricultural and construction activities.

Advancing Prosperity in the Middle East: The bill includes $20 million for the Middle East Partnership Initiative, a program that promotes economic development and civic engagement by working with youth throughout the Middle East. The program facilitates U.S. coordination with regional partners to achieve shared political, economic, and societal goals. The bill also includes funding for the Nita M. Lowey Middle East Peace Fund, which supports programs that promote societal and economic collaboration between Israelis and Palestinians.

###


Peters Helps Senate Pass Bipartisan Funding Bill with Investments to Support Michigan Communities and Economic Development Initiatives

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped the Senate pass the Fiscal Year 2026 Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. The bipartisan bill includes funding secured by Peters that will support high-impact, local public projects across Michigan, including to support small businesses, boost local economic development, and expand workforce opportunities. It also includes provisions to strengthen government oversight capabilities.

“This bipartisan legislation makes key investments to advance local community projects, strengthen Michigan’s workforce, and uplift our small businesses, which are the engine of our state’s economy,” said Senator Peters. “I was also proud to secure provisions in this bill that protect the ability for independent Inspectors General to conduct oversight over federal agencies, which is an essential part of holding our government accountable.”

The bill includes numerous measures led and supported by Peters, including:

Supporting Local Economic Development, Stronger Communities

Assisting Michigan Communities Impacted by “Low Snow” Winters: Peters secured a provision in the bill that would seek to assist small businesses impacted by a “low snow” winter. Specifically, the bill includes language requiring the Small Business Administration (SBA) to begin identifying reforms that would allow these businesses to secure federal assistance to help them through extreme weather situations that have impacted their economic well-being. In recent years, Michigan has faced record-high temperatures and drought conditions during winter months, impacting communities who depend on winter recreation and tourism to support the local economy. Peters previously helped introduce bipartisan legislation to ensure small businesses that rely on strong winters are eligible for disaster relief through the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program during winters with below average snowfall or snow cover.

Supporting Wayne County Small Businesses: The bill provides $1 million to Wayne State University to help expand its entrepreneurial support and small business development services across Wayne County.

Improving Small Business Support in Grand Rapids: Peters secured more than $1.8 million in funding for the City of Grand Rapids. Specifically, the funding will be used to modernize the West Michigan Works! Office space to enhance its services for small business and workforce development.

Continued Investment in the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Program: The bill includes $324 million for the CDFI Fund, which provides credit, capital, and financial services to underserved populations and communities in Michigan and across the country. Throughout his time in the Senate, Peters has consistently championed efforts to support the CDFI program.

Improving Access to Capital in Low-Income Communities: The bill also includes $3.4 million secured by Peters for the Community Development Revolving Loan Fund, which helps low-income designated credit unions improve availability of loan funding for its members.

Preserving Local Lansing History: Peters secured $210,000 for Michigan State University to support the digital preservation of the Lansing Labor News in order to preserve the historical record of the Lansing region.

Holding Government Accountable, Conducting Oversight

Protecting Independent Inspectors General: Peters fought to include robust funding for the Offices of Inspectors General (OIG) in the bill. OIG personnel are responsible for providing independent oversight of federal programs, working to identify potential waste, fraud, and abuse. Additionally, Peters secured bill language prohibiting the use of appropriated funds to deny full and prompt access by Inspectors General to agency records and information. Peters has consistently championed these provisions, which are particularly important following President Trump’s decision to remove 19 independent Inspectors General from government agencies in 2025. After this unprecedented action, Peters released a report which found that the Inspectors General who were fired by President Trump identified billions of dollars more in potential savings to taxpayers than the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) created by the Trump Administration and Elon Musk with the supposed goal of identifying wasteful spending.

###


Peters Secures Funding to Strengthen Educational Opportunities, Improve Health Outcomes for Michiganders in Senate Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped the Senate pass the Fiscal Year 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Peters secured funding in the bill that will support high-impact, local public projects across Michigan, including to support economic and workforce development initiatives, expand access to quality health care, and improve access to safe drinking water for Michigan families.

“This bipartisan, commonsense bill will advance critical health initiatives and improve health care access across Michigan,” said Senator Peters. “I was also proud to secure provisions in the bill that support Michigan workforce training programs to help Michiganders obtain good-paying jobs, boost our state’s economy, and support long-term growth.”

The bill includes measures led and supported by Peters, including:

Expanding Workforce Development and Educational Opportunities

Strengthening Aerospace Education in Detroit: The bill includes $1 million for the Detroit Public Schools Community District to make technology upgrades at its Davis Aerospace Technical High School. This project would help the school increase enrollment and improve the workforce pipeline of skilled students.

Increasing Access to Aviation Training in Jackson County: Peters secured $500,000 in the bill for the Jackson County Airport. The funding will be used to bolster enrollment in its aviation technician training program, which is open to current high school students and recent graduates.

Developing Educational Opportunities for Veterans and Underserved Students: The bill includes $500,000 to help Grand Valley State University develop and expand educational opportunities for veterans and underserved students living in rural areas of Michigan.

Bolstering Lake Huron Research at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU): Peters secured $1.5 million for SVSU. The funding will support equipment and technology upgrades for its Lake Huron Environmental Sciences Research Station, which will serve as the headquarters of the Saginaw Bay Environmental Sciences Institute, the Science and Sustainability Education Center, and the Mobile Sciences Laboratory. The equipment will advance research efforts including state-of-the-art beach bacteria monitoring and the formation of the first coordinated, long-term water quality program in the Saginaw Bay Watershed.

Expanding Access to Career Technical Education in Grand Rapids: Peters secured $750,000 for the Kent Intermediate School District’s Career Tech Center. Funding will be used to increase enrollees at the Kent Career Tech Center (KCTC) and ensure all students have access to courses that prepare them for high-demand careers in fields such as health care, manufacturing, information technology, and skilled trades.

Bolstering Aviation Workforce Training at Western Michigan University (WMU): Peters secured $819,000 for WMU to purchase training equipment necessary to prepare qualified graduates for the aviation industry.

Training Washtenaw County Students for In-Demand Aviation Careers: Peters secured $985,000 in the bill to help expand Eastern Michigan University’s aviation program, which will help boost enrollment and train the next generation of aviation professionals.

Improving Cybersecurity Education in the Upper Peninsula: Peters secured $606,000 for Northern Michigan University to construct an advanced cybersecurity classroom and laboratory. The project will upgrade the school’s auto and truck cybersecurity educational program and add a mobile cybersecurity lab that can be brought to K-12 students.

Expanding Health Care Education and Job Training in Rural Communities: The bill includes $1,226,000 secured by Peters to help Central Michigan University increase opportunities for students in rural areas to gain education in the health care field using both in-person instruction and distanced educational technologies.

Improving Student Success at Macomb Community College: Peters secured $230,000 for Macomb Community College to support its Student Success Center. This funding will help further implement and scale up student tutoring and academic support to reduce achievement gaps and improve student success rates.

Strengthening Emergency Responder Workforce in Wayne County: The bill includes $750,000 to help the Downriver Community Conference train, upskill, and recruit new emergency response personnel in Wayne County.

Supporting Shiawassee County Career Readiness Center: Peters secured $267,000 for the Shiawassee Regional Education Service District. This funding will help upgrade equipment used in its Career and Technical Education training programs, helping to ensure students are prepared to fill good-paying, in-demand jobs with regional employers.

Bolstering Masonry Workforce Training in Wayne County: Peters secured $2 million for the Schoolcraft Community College District. The funding will be used in partnership with the Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers to create a collaborative learning model to prepare students for a skilled trades career while earning college credit.

Improving Public Health and Access to Health Care, Strengthening Community Support Programs

Supporting Flint Families Impacted by Lead Contamination: The bill includes $5 million for the CDC’s Lead Exposure Registry. This nationwide program supports the Flint Registry, which has helped deliver comprehensive health and support services to Genesee County residents impacted by lead contamination. Peters was a key champion and author of the Flint agreement which established the Flint Lead Registry in 2016. As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Peters has consistently requested and advocated for robust federal funding for the registry through his role on the committee.

Addressing PFAS Exposure in Michigan Communities: Peters helped secure language in the bill expressing his concerns on the risks of PFAS exposure in communities across Michigan and the United States, and calling on the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to continue to support mitigation efforts.

Combating Youth Opioid Addiction: Peters secured $3 million for the Youth Prevention and Recovery Initiative, a substance abuse program at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) that expands access to medication treatment for adolescents suffering from opioid addiction. Peters helped establish the program in 2018 and has introduced legislation that would reauthorize this critical program.

Supporting Michigan’s Rural Hospitals: Peters secured a provision in the bill that will assist Michigan’s rural hospitals hoping to enroll in the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) 340B Drug Pricing Program, which helps provide rural hospitals and health clinics with discounted prescription drugs. Certain 340B financial rules deem Medicare Disproportionate Share Hospitals (DSH) ineligible for the program. To address this issue, Peters secured language that directs HHS to brief the committee on recommendations that can help hospitals better anticipate DSH program changes.

Protecting Heating Assistance for Michigan Families: The bill rejects the Trump Administration’s calls to eliminate the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and funds the program at $4 billion. The program provides critical assistance to help families with young children, people with disabilities, and seniors pay their energy bills.

Improving Health Care Education in Mecosta County: Peters helped secure $1,950,000 in the bill for Ferris State University’s Allied Health Science Facility. The funding will be used to upgrade the program’s clinical and educational spaces, which will help improve health care outcomes in rural areas.

Strengthening Mental Health Support in Calhoun County: Peters secured $750,000 in the bill for the Calhoun County Community Mental Health Authority, which provides community-based mental health support for youth and families.

Supporting Local Educational Institutions Following Traumatic Events: The bill includes up to $6 million to support Project School Emergency Response to Violence (Project SERV), a Department of Education program that supports schools across the country in the aftermath of violent or traumatic events that impact students. Project SERV provided $707,600 to the Oxford Area Community School District following the horrific school shooting in November 2022.

Promoting Medical Nutrition Therapy: The bill includes language secured by Peters that seeks to develop and provide proper access to medical foods and nutrition that helps manage disease and improve health outcomes. The provision specifically requests that the Department of Health and Human Services develops a national action plan to raise awareness of Medical Nutrition Therapy, which has proven successful for improving disease management.

Expanding Access to Child Care in Montcalm County: The bill includes $50,000 to support Tri County Area Schools’ Early Childhood Center Revitalization Project. The funding would help expand access to critically needed pre-school and early childhood special education in the community.

Reducing Preventable Injury: The bill includes $11 million for the CDC’s Injury Control Research Center (ICRC). The University of Michigan hosts one of eleven ICRC’s across the country, which help develop policy and programs aimed at reducing preventable injury at the local, state, and federal level.

Improving Workplace Compliance and Labor Standards: Peters secured $260 million in funding for the Department of Labor’s Office of Wage and Hour Division, which aims to enhance the welfare of the nation’s workforce and achieve compliance with safe labor standards.

###


Peters Statement on Senate Passage of Bipartisan Deal to Fund Government and Continue Negotiations on Needed DHS Reforms

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released the following statement after the Senate passed a bipartisan agreement to fund numerous key federal agencies while negotiations on needed reforms to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) immigration enforcement operations continue:

“This short-term deal will allow key agencies like FEMA and TSA to continue their vital work for Americans, but it isn’t a blank check. This puts the Trump Administration on notice that they have two weeks to agree to a DHS bill that makes real reforms to how they carry out immigration enforcement. If Republicans refuse to meet our commonsense demands, they will be responsible for shutting down DHS completely.

“While we continue to negotiate DHS reforms like requiring body cameras and clear identification of federal law enforcement, I’m glad that we were able to pass funding for the remaining government agencies with bipartisan support. This means that federal resources for Michigan servicemembers, critical infrastructure projects, mental health services, and more will remain available to the Michiganders who count on them.”


Senator Peters Helps Senate Pass Defense Appropriations Bill, Secures Key Provisions to Bolster Michigan Military Installations and Strengthen National Security

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped the Senate pass the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act. This bipartisan legislation supports our servicemembers, bolsters Michigan’s military installations, and provides investment in our state’s robust defense footprint.

“Michigan is home to key military installations and vital defense sector partners that strengthen our national security and keep our servicemembers safe,” said Senator Peters. “This bipartisan bill delivers the resources to ensure our state continues to develop the innovative technologies needed to meet the growing threats posed by our adversaries around the world. I’m also proud this bill includes provisions I authored to address PFAS contamination in Michigan communities and funds essential clean-up activities at Michigan’s military installations.”

The bill includes measures led and supported by Peters, including:

Supporting Michigan’s Defense Installations

Funding for Exercise Northern Strike: Peters secured a record $27.3 million for Exercise Northern Strike – the National Guard Bureau’s largest joint service and multicomponent exercise which takes place annually in Michigan. Northern Strike takes place at the National All-Domain Warfighting Center (NADWC), which utilizes both the Camp Grayling Joint Maneuver Training Center and the Alpena Combat Readiness Center, based in Northern Michigan.

Supporting PFAS Remediation in Grayling: Peters secured $42.8 million to support PFAS remediation efforts at Camp Grayling. This funding will extend municipal water to new residential areas and begin remediation at the Army Airfield to protect the municipal wells in the City of Grayling and AuSable River. Peters has long supported DOD’s plans to expand use of PFAS mitigation strategies pioneered in Northern Michigan at more than 30 DOD installations and National Guard facilities nationwide, including Camp Grayling.

Investing in PFAS Remediation Stemming from Defense Activities: In addition to the funding secured for Camp Grayling, the bill makes substantial investments in defense communities to help limit environmental impacts from military activities, such as PFAS contamination. This bill includes $135 million for PFAS cleanup, testing, and remediation. Peters also secured language in the bill highlighting concerns with the health and safety impacts of PFAS contamination and requiring the Department of Defense to provide Congress with the Department’s plans for PFAS remediation and disposal activities.

Protecting Defense Medical Research: Peters helped secure robust funding for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program (CDMRP), which aims to translate research discovery into health care solutions for servicemembers, veterans, and the American public.

Supporting Michigan’s Servicemembers and Military Families

Pay Raise for Servicemembers: The bill provides a 3.8 percent across-the-board pay raise for servicemembers, as well as an additional 10 percent pay raise for junior enlisted personnel.

Delivering Child Care & Early Education: The bill fully funds the Child Care Fee Assistance Program and provides funding for the operation, renovation, and repair of child development centers. It also supports full-day, universal pre-K for our military families.

Supporting Suicide Prevention and Response: The bill fully funds programs that support servicemember and veteran suicide prevention and response. The bill also supports continued implementation of the recommendations of the Suicide Prevention and Response Independent Review Committee. It also designates suicide prevention as a research area within the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs’ Peer-Reviewed Medical Research Program.

Working to Prevent Sexual Assault: The bill provides $47 million for the Special Victims’ Counsel (SVC) program to help survivors of sexual assault.

Bolstering Michigan’s Defense Economy, Workforce Initiatives

Promoting STEM Education through STARBASE: This bill includes an additional $53 million in funding for STARBASE, a DoD Youth Program that promotes STEM education. Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township is home to the first STARBASE program, which specifically provides K-12 students unique experiences in experiential learning, simulations and experiments in aviation and space-related fields.

Accelerating Vehicle Cybersecurity Education: The bill includes $7.7 million secured by Peters for the Virtual Institutes for Cyber and Electromagnetic Spectrum Research and Employ (VICEROY) program, which has enabled the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) to establish the Metro-Detroit Regional Vehicle Cybersecurity Virtual Institute. This funding will help UDM leverage the expertise in the Metro-Detroit region to accelerate workforce development. VICEROY already has nearly 250 enrollees in the Detroit metro area, including high school, Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC), community college, and bachelor’s and master’s degree students.

Funding to Support Combatant Craft Heavy Platform : The final bill includes $7.5 million in funding to support the production of the next Combatant Craft Heavy (CCH) vessel. This work in Holland will continue to keep Michigan at the center of our nation’s defense.

Modernizing High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs): Peters helped secure $50 million to upgrade Humvees with anti-lock brakes and electronic stability control systems that will help prevent rollovers, which have claimed the lives of U.S. servicemembers. These kits are made in Troy and this funding would help support more than 150 jobs.

Expanding Michigan's 3D Printing Network: The bill includes $5 million to create a shared network of 3D printers available for small and medium-sized defense manufacturers throughout Michigan. The initiative, called Project DIAMOnD, aims to support Michigan’s manufacturing businesses by supporting product development, workforce training, and peer-to-peer information sharing.

Supporting Defense System Production in Coldwater: Peters fought to secure $7.5 million in the bill to support development and production of high velocity weapon systems in Coldwater. The facility will produce molybdenum alloys, which are essential to fill critical capability gaps currently facing the Department of Defense. This provision will strengthen our domestic supply chain of these essential alloys and support an estimated 130 good-paying jobs in Michigan.

Strengthening Michigan’s Marine Workforce: Peters secured $100 million to support the Marinette Marine shipyard, which is located along the Menominee River and employs hundreds of Michiganders. These funds will be used to hire hundreds of additional skilled trades workers.

Strengthening Collaboration Between U.S. Navy and the University of Michigan: Peters secured $3.25 million to kickstart creation of the Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Research and Education Hub, which will be housed at the University of Michigan (UM). In partnership with the Office of Naval Research and Michigan’s Defense Manufacturers, UM will work to develop new defense technologies that improve and enhance the performance of Navy systems. The Hub will also serve as a training and recruitment tool for Navy personnel.

Supporting Youth National Guard Programs: The bill includes an additional $87.4 million Peters secured for the National Guard Youth Challenge Program. This program helps provide a second chance to thousands of disadvantaged young adults who take the initiative to better their lives. Programs are led by National Guard cadre, who help foster discipline, leadership, and physical and educational skills, and provide cadets with mentorship and assistance in earning their high school diploma or GED. The program has graduated nearly 200,000 young people who dropped out of high school, with 62 percent of program participants going on to earn their high school diploma or GED. The funding Peters secured will help the program accept more applicants each year.

Advanced Manufacturing Centers: Peters helped secure $5 million for research and development of critical materials processing to bolster the commercialization of ceramic-related technology. This vital research is done by LIFT, a Department of Defense Manufacturing Innovation Institute based in Detroit that Peters helped establish.

Supporting Autonomous Vehicle Research: The bill includes $5 million to support Michigan State University’s (MSU) collaboration with the U.S. Army to build a prototype of a lightweight autonomous vehicle platform to fuse different technologies into a unified system. This ongoing research project will support Michigan’s leadership in the global automotive marketplace.

Accelerating Development of Defense Technologies in Southfield: Peters secured $6 million in the bill to support ongoing operations at the Centrepolis Accelerator, which is located at Lawrence Technological University in Southfield. Through its Defense Hardtech Accelerator Program, the Centrepolis Accelerator develops innovate solutions to rapidly advance and update technologies for military applications.

Connecting Small Businesses to Defense Contracts: The bill includes an additional $38.2 million to support the Small Business Administration's APEX Accelerator program, which provides technical assistance to small businesses interested in competing for defense and general government procurement contracts. The program aims to increase the number of locally owned qualified vendors, which will help support local economies and support job growth.

Strengthening our National Security, Supporting Allies Around the World

Strengthen Efforts to Combat Anti-Tunneling Activity: The bill includes $80 million in funding to strengthen current collaborative efforts between the U.S. and Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) to combat Hamas and strengthen anti-tunneling activity in the Gaza Strip. As part of DOD’s collaboration with the IDF, Israel shares its counter-tunnel technology with DOD and the Department of Homeland Security to combat growing threats at our borders, as well as similar threats faced on the Korean Peninsula and in multiple locations in the Middle East. This provision is based on Peters’United States-Israel Anti-Tunnel Cooperation Act.

National Guard and Reserves: The bill includes $73.8 million for the State Partnership Program (SPP), which funds training and exercises with U.S. allies. The program connects state National Guards with U.S. partner nations to bolster defense capabilities, increase readiness, and foster enduring institutional relationships with our partners around the world. Michigan is partnered with the nations of Latvia, Liberia, and Sierra Leone through the SPP.

Supporting Taiwan and Indo-Pacific Partners: The bill provides robust support for Taiwan, including $1 billion to support key U.S. allies like Taiwan, the Philippines, and allies across the Indo-Pacific. The bill also strengthens U.S. research and military collaboration through the AUKUS partnership with our Australian and U.K. allies.

Strengthening Partnerships in Europe: The bill rejects President Trump’s proposal to eliminate support for Ukraine and instead provides $400 million, the same funding amount authorized last month in the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The bill also rejects President Trump’s proposal to eliminate funding for the Baltic Security Initiative, which invests in security cooperation with Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania, and instead provides $200 million to support the initiative. The bill adds $48.47 million for European Command unfunded priorities to enhance collective defense, and it rejects President Trump’s request to cut funding for the George C. Marshall Center for Security Studies.

Keeping Civilians and Troops Safe from Landmines: Peters helped secure additional funding for the Humanitarian Demining Research and Development program. This program allows for the research and development of technologies used to detect and clear landmines, unexploded ordnance, and improvised explosive devices. These technologies increase the effectiveness, efficiency, and safety of demining operations for military and humanitarian use – saving lives and taxpayer dollars.

###


Senator Peters Secures Michigan Wins in Bipartisan Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Bill

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped the Senate pass the Fiscal Year 2026 Transportation, Housing, Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The bipartisan legislation provides funding for Michigan priorities, high-impact, local public projects, and federal programs that support key transportation, workforce, and housing initiatives. The legislation also helps bolster auto safety and innovation, as well as safe, reliable air service in Michigan and across the country.

“Whether it’s our roadways, airports, or local public transit, Michigan communities depend on reliable transportation infrastructure to get where they need to go. This bill will promote safer travel across our state and region, while putting guardrails in place to prevent the Trump Administration from cutting funding for important transportation programs that benefit our state,” said Senator Peters, a member of the Appropriations Committee and Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, Freight, Pipelines, and Safety. “I was also proud to secure funding for local projects across Michigan that will support housing affordability, job creation, and safe drinking water in our communities.”

The bill includes numerous measures led and supported by Peters, including:

Strengthening Michigan Air Service & Airport Safety

Defending Essential Air Service from Administration Cuts: The bill fully funds the Essential Air Service Program (EAS) and includes a new provision authored by Peters that prevents the Trump Administration from cutting, renegotiating, or otherwise altering an existing EAS airport contract unless it is requested by the community it serves. This provision helps defend Michigan communities from being targeted by the Trump Administration’s promise to cut $308 million from the EAS program. Michigan has nine communities eligible for the Essential Air Service program: Alpena, Escanaba, Hancock/Houghton, Iron Mountain/Kingsford, Ironwood, Manistee/Ludington, Muskegon, Pellston, and Sault Ste. Marie.

New Funding for Outdated Air Traffic Control Towers: In the wake of the tragic Washington, DC plane crash in January 2025, Peters worked to secure an additional $50 million in the bill to expedite replacement of aging and unsafe air traffic control towers at individual airports. Several commercial airports in Michigan have air traffic control towers that are over 60 years old. Peters also secured a nearly $1 billion increase in funding for aviation facilities and equipment to address our air traffic control modernization backlog, while ensuring a safer and more efficient experience for customers.

Upgrading Jet Bridges at Lansing’s Capital Region Airport: The bill includes nearly $8 million for Capital Region International Airport in Lansing. Specifically, this funding will be used to design, acquire, and install new passenger boarding bridges.

Supporting Expansion at Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids: Peters secured $800,000 for upgrades to the Gerald R. Ford International Airport in Grand Rapids. This funding will be used to install the second of two baggage claim devices to expand existing capacity and prepare for the airport’s expansion of international flights.

Upgrading Michigan’s Transportation & Shipping Infrastructure

Rebuilding the Saginaw Road Bridge: Peters successfully secured $955,000 to replace the Saginaw Road Bridge which was severely damaged by flooding in 2020. The bridge is the primary east-west route over the Tittabawassee River connecting the cities of Midland, Coleman, and Clare.

Reconstruction of Mound Road from 8 Mile to I-696: Peters secured $750,000 to support the second phase of the Mound Road reconstruction project, which is improving a corridor in Warren that serves critical defense and manufacturing entities.

Upgrading Detroit Public Transit: Peters secured $3,000,000 for the City of Detroit to fund the early phases of developing of a new intermodal bus and rail passenger facility at Michigan Central Station in Detroit. Peters also secured an additional $2.6 million to extend and build new dedicated transit lanes on Woodward Avenue to expand public transportation along the corridor. This funding will help upgrade the city’s crucial public transit systems and improve transit time for Detroit residents.

Improving Efficiency at Port of Monroe: Peters secured $3.6 million for infrastructure improvements at the Port of Monroe that would enhance the port’s export capacity, improve logistics efficiency, and strengthen shipping in the Great Lakes region.

Bolstering Automotive Innovation and Improving Roadway Safety

Supporting Bus Safety in Grand Rapids: Peters secured $750,000 for Grand Rapids to equip public transit buses with collision avoidance and pedestrian alert technology that will improve transit safety in the community.

Funding to Accelerate Safe and Transparent Deployment of Automated Driving Systems: Peters secured $13.9 million for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) Office of Automation Safety to expedite the safe development of automated driving systems by setting safety standards, evaluating exemption petitions, and overseeing safety demonstrations.

Improving Transparency of Vehicle Safety Technology Performance: Peters secured $3.5 million for NHTSA’s Partnership for Analytics Research in Traffic Safety (PARTS) Program. The program focuses on collaboration between automakers and federal agencies to share data on, and improve the performance of, advanced driver assistance systems. Peters also secured language in the bill encouraging NHTSA to include additional leading-edge driver assistance systems and autonomous driving systems in the program.

Supporting the Motorcycle Advisory Council: Peters secured a provision in the bill directing NHTSA to report to Congress within 180 days on the status of the Motorcycle Advisory Council. Peters’ Motorcycle Advisory Council Act passed as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, requiring the Department of Transportation to form an Advisory Council where motorcyclists would advise the Department on a range of issues, including motorcycle and motorcyclist safety. Peters is an avid motorcycle rider. He helped found and currently co-chairs the bipartisan Senate Motorcycle Caucus.

Improving Vehicle Recall Outreach to Protect Driver and Roadway Safety: Data indicates that as many as 1 in 5 cars on the road have an open recall. Peters secured language requiring NHTSA to improve and expand its recall outreach to states, including by expanding the reach of the State Process for Informing Consumers of Recalls grant program. The bill also include language to better utilize Over the Air (OTA) updates to increase recall repair rates.

Reducing Deaths and Serious Roadway Injuries: The bill directs the Department of Transportation to incentivize and accelerate the deployment of cellular vehicle-to-everything (C–V2X) technologies, which connect vehicles to other vehicles as well as the infrastructure around them. This technology enables school bus safety and collision avoidance, while improving emergency responder response times and pedestrian, bicyclist, and motorcyclist safety.

Improving NHTSA Operations: Peters secured language in the bill directing NHTSA, in collaboration with the National Academy of Public Administration, to conduct a review of its processes and identify opportunities for improvement. The report will focus on challenges currently facing the agency. This includes the timeliness of response to congressional directives, expertise in research and enforcement of regulations, and putting more emphasis on performance and outcomes.

Improving Bridge Infrastructure in Ypsilanti: Peters secured $250,000 in the bill to support the City of Ypsilanti’s Cross Street and Prospect Street Bridge Rehabilitation Project. The funding will be used to replace the upper framework of both bridges, which will remove load and traffic restrictions currently in place for vehicles traveling on the bridge.

Reconstruction Along Silverwood Road in Lapeer: The bill includes $3.1 million for Lapeer County Road Commission to support reconstruction and resurfacing of approximately 6 miles of Silverwood Road between Clifford Road and Castle Road.

Resurfacing Patterson Avenue in Cascade Township: Peters secured $250,000 to support the Kent County Road Commission’s Patterson Avenue Resurfacing project. The funding will be used to improve deteriorating pavement surface along a high-volume roadway.

Expanding Affordable Housing for Michigan Residents

Building Affordable Housing Units in Southfield: Peters secured $1.2 million to support the City of Southfield’s Garner Street Housing Development, which will add units of single and multi-family housing for low- to moderate-income city residents.

Supporting Affordable Housing for Seniors in Detroit: Peters secured $500,000 for the City of Detroit to support construction of the Archdale Senior Affordable Housing Project.

Revitalizing Lewis Street Corridor in Flint: Peters secured $2 million for development of the Flint Eastside Market and Residential Units Project. This funding would be used to develop multiple affordable housing units as well as commercial space for small businesses and entrepreneurs on the Lewis Street corridor of Flint.

Supporting Substance Use Recovery for Tribal Members: Peters secured $574,000 for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. The funding would be used for planning and design of a long-term housing facility to support substance abuse recovery for Tribal members. The facility would provide persons recovering from substance abuse and related issues with stable housing to facilitate long-term recovery.

Modernizing Berston Field House: The bill includes over $6.3 million in funding secured by Peters to support the ongoing Berston Field House Expansion and Renovation Project in Flint. The funding will help renovate the 100-year-old historic site and build a new state-of-the-art recreation and community center to expand services, amenities, programming, and opportunities to serve more people.

Increasing Housing Options for At-Risk Youth in Southfield: The bill includes $850,000 to help create supporting housing units for young people aging out of foster care services. The project also includes construction of a connected community health center.

Expanding Funding for Homeless Assistance Grants: Peters fought for and successfully secured nearly $4.5 billion in Homeless Assistance Grants (HAG). These grants provide funding for Continuums of Care, which are local planning bodies that coordinate housing and services to help families and individuals experiencing homelessness.

Investing in Our Communities, Streamlining the Grant Applicant Process: The bill includes $3.3 billion for the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, which provides funding to support affordable housing developments in urban communities. Peters also secured language in the bill emphasizing the need for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to reduce the administrative complexities of its programs, which would make grants more accessible to Michigan communities.

Improving Response to the Homelessness Crisis: The bill includes language requiring HUD to examine using digital options to help improve the accuracy of its annual Point-in-Time (PIT) count, which determines the total number of individuals experiencing homelessness in the United States. Currently, the PIT count is conducted during winter months, when cold weather states like Michigan often see its lowest population of individuals experiencing homelessness. This provision will ensure that HUD explores changes to its system that will more accurately reflect homelessness experienced in each state over the course of the entire year to help improve access to the resources needed to effectively address homelessness.

Protecting Michigan’s Vital Ecosystems and Improving Access to Clean Water

Supporting PFOS Contamination Cleanup in Bay City: Peters secured $959,000 for Bay City’s PFOS contamination cleanup efforts. This funding would support the excavation and demolition of the city’s existing fire station, where PFOS contamination was detected.

Replacing Ecorse Creek Bridge and Culvert: Peters secured $2.5 million for the Downriver Community Conference to support the Ecorse Creek ecosystem restoration project. This funding would help remove and replace bridges and culverts that contribute to flooding in the area to alleviate flooding in the North Branch Ecorse Creek watershed.

Replacing Lead Service Lines in Redford Township: Peters secured $2 million in the bill to support replacement of lead water service lines currently in use across Redford Township.

Expanding Opportunities for Job Training, Workforce Development Initiatives

Promoting Aviation Careers for Women: The bill includes language that supports reauthorization of the Bessie Coleman Women in Aviation Advisory Committee, which was created to help recruit and retain women in careers that are key to the safety of our aviation system. Currently, less than 12 percent of aerospace engineers, less than 10 percent of licensed pilots, and less than 3 percent of maintenance technicians are women. These fields are also experiencing a critical workforce shortage, driven in part by this gender gap. This provision builds on Peters’ Promoting Women in Aviation Act, bipartisan legislation passed into law that made permanent the Women in Aviation Advisory Committee.

Expanding Access to Maritime Workforce Training: Peters secured $4.8 million for the Maritime Administration’s Student Incentive Payment (SIP) Program, which helps cadets offset the cost of tuition, uniforms, books, and living costs. Last year, Peters’ CADETS Act was signed into law, which expands the eligibility age for the SIP Program to include any qualified student who will meet the age requirements for enlistment in the U.S. Navy Reserve at their time of graduation, and ensures that high-performing, non-traditional cadets can receive this funding.

Upgrading Albion STEM Center: Peters helped secure $500,000 in the bill to support necessary structural and mechanical repairs at the City of Albion’s Learning STEM Center, which will improve the safety and accessibility of the facility.

Increasing Transportation Options for Michiganders

Keeping Pedestrians Safe: Peters secured $1 million for construction of the Red Run Park Bridge in Sterling Heights. The funding will construct a non-motorized bridge connecting the Baumgartner Sports Complex to the planned Red Run Park in Sterling Heights, providing safe, non-motorized access to recreational space and to a nearby Smart Bus transit route for commuters.

Improving the Ypsilanti Transit Center: Peters secured $750,000 to support the reconstruction of the Ypsilanti Transit Center to improve safety and security features.

Connecting Grand Rapids Neighborhoods: Peters worked to secure $250,000 to support construction of a pedestrian bridge in Grand Rapids. This transformational project will provide a safe transportation choice for pedestrians while linking two downtown neighborhoods.

Improving Non-Motorized Transportation in Livonia: The bill includes $850,000 for the City of Livonia. Specifically, the funding will be used to widen Stark Road to include a non-motorized lane for bikers and walkers. The project will help link Livonia to surrounding communities across a 36 square mile region.

###


As Trump Tries to Come for RIers’ Voter Data, Reed & Whitehouse Push to Protect It

WASHINGTON, DC – The Constitution specifies that Congress and the states -- not the president -- can set the rules for our elections. But that has not stopped President Trump from seeking to seize voter rolls, control how Americans vote ahead of the 2026 congressional midterm elections, and to try and tilt the electoral playing field in his favor.

U.S. Senators Jack Reed (D-RI) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, are standing up to the Trump Administration’s overzealous attempts to collect confidential Rhode Island voter information, which they say the federal government does not need and could be misused to try to undermine future elections. Reed and Whitehouse say Rhode Island has fully complied with the law and even offered DOJ a free copy of the state’s voter roll file it normally provides to the public for a $25 fee.

They also pointed out that no federal statute authorizes DOJ to maintain Americans’ full, unredacted voter registration records, including political affiliation, and that creating such a national database would be a privacy and security nightmare.

Today, Reed and Whitehouse joined U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, and 25 Senate colleagues in pushing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to stop its unlawful pressure campaign to coerce dozens of states into providing the Trump Administration their voter registration lists, which include voters’ personally identifiable information.

Despite lacking legal authority, DOJ has sued 24 states and Washington, DC for refusing to hand over their full voter registration lists. The Senators sounded the alarm that the Administration’s efforts risk unjustified voter roll purges, pose severe privacy and national security concerns, and subvert state and local election officials’ authority to maintain registration lists.

The letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi also comes after she recently wrote to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz pushing him to surrender the state’s voter registration lists as part of an exchange for the Administration calling off its dangerous deployment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers and agents to Minneapolis, an operation that has already led to the unjustified killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti. That letter followed two recent federal court rulings rejecting DOJ’s voter roll lawsuits in California and Oregon.

After DOJ ignored a previous inquiry into the Trump Administration’s efforts to amass state voter data and initial lawsuits against several states, the Senators demanded DOJ provide responses to their earlier queries, along with new questions on its continued pursuit of state voter registration lists in the face of two federal court rulings rejecting its litigation and regarding the safeguards in place for handling the information it already has from millions of voters.

Reed and Whitehouse and their colleagues also requested a briefing to the Senate Judiciary and Rules and Administration Committees, as well as Senators whose states have been sued by DOJ.

The Attorney General’s letter to Governor Walz “marked an unacceptable escalation of DOJ’s campaign to centralize state voter rolls and sensitive personal information under its control,” wrote the 28 U.S. Senators. “It is also the clearest admission that the Department knows it lacks authority to obtain state voter rolls and is instead resorting to strong arm tactics and intimidation by force.”

“While most states are resisting this illegal voter roll grab, we are gravely concerned by the amount of sensitive data the Department has already amassed on millions of American voters,” continued the Senators. “The Department has failed to provide Congress, or the public, any information on how it is maintaining this vast amount of data, the guardrails in place to protect state voter information, how the data is to be used, or who in the federal government has access to this sensitive data.”

The Senators highlighted President Trump’s baseless claims of federal authority over elections, standing in stark contrast to American federalism and the Constitution, which outline clear roles for states and Congress but none for the Executive Branch. Trump erroneously claimed in a Truth Social post that “states are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes.”

Two weeks ago, federal judges in California and Oregon held that those states were not required to provide DOJ with unredacted copies of their voter registration lists. The court in California warned that “DOJ’s campaign to collect sensitive voter data … paints an alarming picture regarding the centralization of Americans’ information within the Executive Branch — without approval from Congress or Americans themselves.” The Senators pushed Attorney General Bondi to stop wasting taxpayer dollars through DOJ’s unchecked mass litigation pressure campaign that jeopardizes data privacy and could lead to voter purges.

Despite the Administration’s claims, voting by noncitizens is extremely rare, made even clearer by a review of Texas’ voter registration list of more than 18 million voters through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. The review flagged only 33 people — 0.000001% of registered voters — as potentially having voted illegally in the 2024 election.

As DOJ has sharply increased its possession of voter registrations and data, including from Texas and at least seven other states who have already relinquished their complete voter registration lists, the Senators stressed that recent changes to and the expanded use of the insufficiently tested SAVE program could lead to some individuals mistakenly being flagged as noncitizens, threatening their right to vote. DOJ’s pressure campaign, in collaboration with outside election denier groups, to coerce state voter registration lists and run them through the SAVE program has already led to issues.

Last month, 70 county clerks in Missouri sent a letter to state House and Senate leadership underscoring that the flawed SAVE program has erroneously flagged individuals known by the county clerks to be U.S. citizens, including voters that the clerks personally registered at naturalization ceremonies.

In addition to Reed, Whitehouse, and Padilla, the letter to Attorney General Bondi was also signed by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Chris Coons (D-DE), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Gary Peters (D-MI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Tina Smith (D-MN.), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Raphael Warnock (D-GA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

Full text of the letter follows:

Dear Attorney General Bondi:

We write to urge the Department of Justice (the Department or DOJ) to stop its intensifying pressure campaign to coerce states into handing over their voter rolls, which include voters’ personally identifiable information (PII), in apparent violation of federal law. We strongly oppose the Department’s lawsuits against states, which are unauthorized attempts to centralize this data, that in addition to posing serious risks to voter privacy, data security, and national security, also invite unwarranted voter roll purges and undermine state and local election officials’ list maintenance efforts.

The unauthorized nature of these lawsuits was exposed by your January 24 letter to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz seeking voter rolls as a condition to ending the dangerous recent deployment of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to the state that has cost two innocent Americans their lives. This letter marked an unacceptable escalation of DOJ’s campaign to centralize state voter rolls and sensitive personal information under its control. It is also the clearest admission that the Department knows it lacks authority to obtain state voter rolls and is instead resorting to strong arm tactics and intimidation by force. The whole country now sees this pursuit of state voter rolls for what it is, nothing more than an “apparent ransom.”

The Department should immediately schedule a briefing for relevant Senate offices and Committees and provide thorough written responses to previous questions from Congress about these activities. In light of the Department’s continued pursuit of state voter rolls, the millions of voters’ information it already has, and two federal court rulings rejecting its litigation, we raise further questions below.

Since early November 2025, the Department has sued an additional 16 states and the District of Columbia for failure to produce their full voter registration lists upon request, bringing the total number of states targeted by lawsuits to 24. DOJ lacks legal authority to compel states to turn over possession of their voter registration lists. Meanwhile, President Trump has made the Administration’s policy very clear, asserting, falsely:

“Remember, the States are merely an ‘agent’ for the Federal Government in counting and tabulating the votes. They must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, FOR THE GOOD OF OUR COUNTRY, to do.” [emphasis in original]

This statement, by a President who openly directs the Department’s activities, is a chilling assertion of illegal power that is completely at odds with federalism and our constitutional structure, which provides explicit roles for states and Congress but none for the Executive Branch.

On January 14 and 15, 2026, two federal judges in Oregon and California, respectively, clearly rejected two of DOJ’s voter roll lawsuits. In dismissing DOJ’s case against California for its voter rolls, the court stated, “[w]hile the DOJ has told this Court that its purpose for demanding the sensitive voter information of Californians is ‘voter roll maintenance enforcement and compliance,’ representations made by the DOJ elsewhere paint a starkly different picture that this Court cannot ignore.” The judge went on to discuss various statements by DOJ officials that led him to conclude that “the DOJ’s campaign to collect sensitive voter data . . . paints an alarming picture regarding the centralization of Americans’ information within the Executive Branch — without approval from Congress or Americans themselves.” The Department should take heed of those rulings and cease this litigation campaign that poses serious risks to voters’ data privacy, risks unwarranted voter purges, and will waste millions of federal and state taxpayer funds if it continues unchecked. The California court, in particular, correctly recognized that the Civil Rights Act of 1960’s Title III disclosure requirements on which the Department relies in these lawsuits were passed to end state policies that prevented Black Americans from voting. Thus, the Department may not use them as a blank check to amass any election data it wants – especially when the effect of that data collection could prevent eligible Americans from voting.

While most states are resisting this illegal voter roll grab, we are gravely concerned by the amount of sensitive data the Department has already amassed on millions of American voters. The Department has failed to provide Congress, or the public, any information on how it is maintaining this vast amount of data, the guardrails in place to protect state voter information, how the data is to be used, or who in the federal government has access to this sensitive data. The quantity of data in DOJ’s possession has dramatically increased now that Texas has recently joined at least 7 other states who have handed over their complete lists of registered voters during this pressure campaign from President Trump and DOJ. It bears noting that Texas already (and separately) processed its voter registration list, consisting of more than 18 million voters, through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Systemic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program. That review resulted in the referral of 33 people — 0.000001% of registered voters — to the Texas Attorney General as to whether they “may have” voted illegally in the 2024 election. Given recent changes to the SAVE program by DHS, we are concerned that individuals may be mistakenly identified as non-citizens by your activities and their voting rights undermined.

Without public transparency, it appears that DOJ is coordinating its voter roll acquisition campaign with DHS’s SAVE program along with outside election denier groups such as Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network. On November 18, ten states’ chief election officers wrote to you and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem seeking clarification on whether your agencies had “actively misled election officials regarding the uses of voter data,” so far with no response. Last month, 70 county clerks in Missouri sent a letter to state House and Senate leadership describing the SAVE program as flawed given that it has erroneously flagged individuals known by the county clerks to be U.S. citizens, including voters the clerks personally registered at naturalization ceremonies. Just last week, DOJ admitted in court pleadings that rogue DOGE employees at the Social Security Administration (SSA) entered into a secret agreement to share SSA data unlawfully with an outside group for election-related purposes. The Department owes Congress and the public an explanation of what it plans to do with state voter roll data in its possession and what safeguards are in place to prevent further unauthorized misuse.

As Senators representing states being sued by DOJ for their voters’ personal information, we request the Department provide complete answers to the questions posed in the November 6, 2025 letter from Senators Padilla and Durbin, along with the following additional questions:

(1) Has the Department, at any other point in history, ever sought to accumulate the voter registration lists for every state in unison, for any purpose?

(2) How many states’ voter registration lists does the Department currently have in its possession? Which states?

a. In what format were the state voter registration lists received by the Department? By what means were they transferred to the Department?

b. What information is included in the voter files received by the Department beyond voter name and address? Do the voter files include date of birth, full or partial Social Security Number, and/or full or partial driver’s license number? Do the voter files include information about past participation in elections or voters’ affiliation with political parties?

c. Do the voter files received by the Department include records with addresses withheld from the public, like records relating to peace officers, public officials, or victims of domestic violence?

d. For states that have not shared voter rolls, is DOJ reaching out to local officials to request the information? If yes, who are you reaching out to, and has anyone shared such information?

(3) What Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs), Memoranda of Agreement (MOAs), Computer Matching Agreements (CMAs) – or other arrangements not committed to memoranda form – currently exist between the Department and the states regarding the state voter registration lists?

a. Does the Department have any MOUs, MOAs, CMAs — or other arrangements not committed to memoranda form — with other federal agencies for the use of the lists?

b. If so, which ones and for which purposes?

(4) Has the Department shared the state voter registration lists, or information contained therein, with any contractors, outside groups or other state/federal agencies or components beyond the Civil Rights Division? If so, which ones, for which purposes? Please provide any relevant MOUs, MOAs, matching agreements, or similar agreements outlining the terms or processes for sharing such data with outside groups or other state/federal agencies or components within DOJ.

(5) Where are the state voter registration lists stored? If electronically stored, what format or form? What type of network access is there?

a. What safeguards are in place to ensure that voters’ social security number, address, date of birth, party affiliation and any other PII found in state voter registration lists in the Department’s possession remain private and uncompromised?

b. When will the data be destroyed? If not destroyed, how long will the data be retained? For what additional purposes?

c. Has the DOJ Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) been consulted on cybersecurity best practices for storing this data?

d. In compliance with the Federal Information Security Modernization Act and 44 U.S.C.A. § 3554(b) in particular, has the Department “develop[ed], document[ed], and implement[ed] an agency-wide information security program” based on the required risk assessment and consistent with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards and guidelines issued pursuant to 40 U.S.C. § 11331?

e. Has the DOJ Office of Privacy and Civil Liberties been consulted on your activities to ensure that Americans’ rights are not undermined?

f. What actions is DOJ taking to ensure that others who have access to voter data have effective, mandated cybersecurity and privacy measures in place?

(6) Who at the Department has access to the state voter registration lists? Please provide a list of components and offices with access, including but not limited to those within the Civil Rights Division.

(7) Is DOJ running the voter registration lists through the DHS SAVE program? If so, is DHS retaining the information in any databases? Is DOJ running the data through any other databases or systems at DOJ or any other federal agencies? If so, which ones?

a. Is DOJ flagging potential voters for review or removal from state voter registration lists?

(8) Given that federal courts have now confirmed DOJ’s failure to comply with the requirements of the Privacy Act of 1974, has DOJ commenced an investigation into the criminal liability of employees associated with the effort to acquire the voter rolls?

The Department has a responsibility to respond to congressional correspondence and oversight requests in a timely manner. Due to the unprecedented nature of these actions by DOJ and the very real threat to the voting rights of millions of Americans voters, we seek written responses to these questions and those posed in the November 6, 2025 letter no later than February 11, 2026. In addition, we request a briefing on the Department’s activities regarding state voter rolls provided for Senate Rules and Judiciary Committees and Senators’ offices in states that are the subject of DOJ litigation on or before February 25, 2026.

Sincerely,


Reed Statement on Nomination of Kevin Warsh for Fed Chair

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI), a member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, issued the following statement regarding President Trump’s announcement that he intends to nominate Kevin Warsh to replace Jerome Powell as Chair of the Federal Reserve when Powell’s term expires in May of 2026:

“Is Mr. Warsh more attuned to President Trump’s personal preferences versus the very real struggles of America’s hard-working families? That’s a key question that must be answered.

“The financial security and well-being of the American people must come first. Right now, Americans believe the economy is headed in the wrong direction, so we need to hear more about Mr. Warsh’s plans to help turn things around and what safeguards he’ll support to ensure the Fed’s independence.

“We also need to look at his track record as a Fed governor during the financial crisis and probe how his views seem to have drastically changed since then.”


Ricketts Applauds Minibus Passage, Calls for Quick Funding of DHS

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) issued the following statement after the Senate voted to pass five full-year appropriations bills. The Senate also passed a short-term continuing resolution for Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which is responsible for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the U.S. Coast Guard, and several law enforcement agencies.

“I will continue to support the ongoing efforts to pass full-year appropriations bills. I am committed to funding DHS. Enforcing our immigration laws makes streets safer. With so many states feeling the impacts of Winter Storm Fern, we also must ensure FEMA funds do not lapse.”


IN CASE YOU MISSED IT…  Sen. Rick Scott in The Hill: Americans are Relying on Adversaries Like Communist China for Everyday Medications

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In case you missed it, Senator Rick Scott announced his Consumer Labeling for Enhanced API Reporting and Legitimate Accountability for Base Entity Listings (CLEAR LABELS) Act during a U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging hearing. This announcement follows a bipartisan investigative report he led as chairman of the Aging Committee to expose vulnerabilities in the generic drug supply chain and strengthen accountability. This legislation ensures logical steps to provide transparency and information to Americans on where the drugs they consume every day are produced, and the risks associated with drugs produced outside of the United States. This comes as the senator continues to hold hearings, seek information, and explore solutions to ensure American’s access to safe, high-quality medicines and address the risks of the United States’ overdependence on generic drugs made in Communist China and India.

Read more HERE or find excerpts from The Hill article, Rick Scott unveils legislation requiring country of origin on drug labeling, below:

“Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) on Thursday unveiled legislation that would require prescription drug labels to include information about where medications originated from.

…

“‘It is alarming just how many medicines Americans depend on are made overseas, in places like Communist China and India with limited transparency and oversight, leaving patients blindsided about where their drugs come from and unknowingly putting themselves at increased risk of death,” Scott said in a statement.

…

‘The legislation builds off a bipartisan report that the committee released which highlighted the U.S.’s growing dependence on pharmaceutical products manufactured overseas. The report noted that the U.S. is particularly reliant on China and India for products like antibiotics and generic drugs, respectively.”

Read the full article in The Hill HERE.

###