Heinrich Announces Launch of Federal Workforce Caucus, Vows to Continue Work to Support New Mexico’s Federal Workers

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) joined a bicameral group of senators and representatives in launching the Federal Workforce Caucus. The Caucus will focus on bolstering efforts to protect New Mexico federal workers and strengthening merit-based federal civil service so these dedicated public servants can continue to deliver for New Mexicans without political interference.

“President Trump has laid off and fired hundreds of New Mexico federal workers who manage our public lands, care for veterans, support small businesses, and keep our communities safe — all while costs are skyrocketing and working families are struggling to put food on the table,” said Heinrich. “New Mexico public servants are critical to our state’s economy and way of life. They deserve financial certainty and lower costs. I’m proud to join the Federal Workforce Caucus to continue my work to support our federal workers and do everything in my power to safeguard them from this administration’s lawlessness.”

Specifically, the Federal Workforce Caucus will serve as a forum for members to:

Support and strengthen the federal civilian workforce and the merit-based civil service system so that it can continue to deliver for American families and businesses;

Protect the integrity and nonpartisan character of federal employment;

Advance policies that improve recruitment, retention, and workforce morale across federal agencies;

Highlight stories that show how government programs and workers improve the lives of the American public;

Develop and advance data-informed policies that encourage modernization and innovative practices across the federal workforce in areas such as pay competitiveness, workforce performance optimization, and professional development; and

Facilitate dialogue among members of Congress, former and current federal employees, organizations, and unions representing federal employees, and subject-matter experts to inform efforts to modernize the federal government and attract the workforce needed to deliver for Americans.

In the Senate, the Federal Workforce Caucus is led by U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). Alongside Heinrich, members of the Caucus in the Senate include U.S. Senators Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.).

In the House, the Caucus is led by U.S. Representatives James Walkinshaw (D-Va.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.). Members of the Caucus in the House include U.S. Representatives Don Beyer (D-Va.), Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), April McClain Delaney (D-Md.), Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.), Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.), Johnny Olszewski (D-Md.), Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), and Eugene Vindman (D-Va.).

###


Hickenlooper, Bennet Urge Committee to Allow Women to Compete in Nordic Combined

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet sent a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urging it to continue including Nordic Combined in future winter games and allowing women to participate and compete for medals.

“Nordic Combined has been part of the Winter Olympics since the first Games in 1924. In Colorado, ski jumping and cross-country skiing are staples of winter sports. Jumps were built across our state, including at Steamboat Springs’ Howelsen Hill, the oldest continuously operating ski area in North America,” wrote the senators.

Alexa Brabec and Annika Malacinski are both Women’s Nordic Combined athletes from Steamboat Springs. At the 2026 Olympic Winter Games, they are sitting on the sidelines as their counterparts on the men’s Nordic Combined team, including Annika’s brother, compete.

“Women’s Nordic Combined deserves a place in the Olympics, and expanding that opportunity for these athletes is the right choice over eliminating tradition. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we might work together to achieve this important goal,” concluded the senators.

The full text of the letter is available HERE and below:

Dear President Coventry,

As we celebrate the Winter Olympics, we write to encourage you to support the future of Nordic Combined by continuing to include the sport in future games and expanding participation to women.

Nordic Combined has been part of the Winter Olympics since the first Games in 1924. In the U.S. State of Colorado, ski jumping and cross-country skiing are staples of winter sports. Jumps were built across our state, including at Steamboat Springs’ Howelsen Hill, the oldest continuously operating ski area in North America.

Despite this rich heritage, women are still excluded from Olympic Nordic Combined competition. The women’s World Championships only began in 2020, making this a relatively new competitive landscape for elite female athletes. However, the sport has made remarkable progress in a short time, the talent is undeniable, and the potential for these women to add to the U.S. medal count is real. Right now, three American women, Alexa Brabec, Annika Malacinski, and Tara Geraghty-Moats rank 2nd, 10th, and 11th in the world, respectively. All three U.S. women would be serious medal contenders if given the opportunity to compete at the Olympics. We are also deeply concerned by reports suggesting the International Olympic Committee (IOC) may remove men’s Nordic Combined rather than add the women’s event. This would erase a century-old Olympic tradition instead of expanding opportunity. While Nordic Combined doesn’t command the audience that figure skating or alpine skiing do, legacy sports are the very essence of what makes the Olympic movement meaningful. They tell the story of where we’ve been and who we are.

Women’s Nordic Combined deserves a place in the Olympics, and expanding that opportunity for these athletes is the right choice over eliminating tradition.

We would welcome the opportunity to discuss how we might work together to achieve this important goal.

Sincerely,

###


WATCH: Hickenlooper Condemns Trump Attacks on Child Care, Working Families

Hickenlooper: “This isn’t a child’s game. These are people’s lives.”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper called out President Trump’s latest efforts to harm Colorado’s working families during a Senate Health Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on federal funding for child care. Specifically, Hickenlooper criticized the Trump administration’s recent decision to freeze more than $300 million in federal funding directed to Colorado families for child care, food aid, and other social services.

“What the president has been doing by freezing funding for entire states is political retribution at its worst. And it’s harming working parents, children, and child care providers in the process,” said Hickenlooper.

“…This isn’t a child’s game. These are people’s lives,” he continued.

Watch his full remarks HERE.

Despite recent news that a federal judge issued a temporary injunction requiring the Trump administration to continue to administer the federal funds, many child care providers remain uncertain about their future.

During the hearing, Senator Hickenlooper asked Liz Denson, the president and CEO of Early Connections Learning Centers in Colorado Springs:

“How has this uncertainty and chaos of this announced freeze, how has that impacted your centers and the families that you’re serving?”

Denson responded, “It absolutely would be catastrophic for us but also for our entire state…Child care is a critical piece of economic infrastructure and without it our entire state’s economy would crumble. Parents would not be able to work and it would continue to ripple outward even beyond the lines of our state.”

Watch his question HERE.

Hickenlooper has been a fierce critic of the Trump administration’s senseless political attacks on Colorado. At the end of January, Hickenlooper sent a letter with the Colorado delegation urging the administration to immediately reinstate more than $300 million in frozen child care and social services funding for Colorado.

Hickenlooper sits on the Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee where he leads the bipartisan Child Care Modernization Grant Act, which would reauthorize and improve the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) to help provide quality, affordable child care to America’s working families.

Watch video of his opening remarks HERE.

###


Hoeven, Barrasso Introduce the Pay Less at the Pump Act

WASHINGTON – Senator John Hoeven joined Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) and Representative Mike Carey (R-Ohio) in introducing bicameral legislation to lower energy prices for American families by repealing the $12 billion “Superfund Tax” on American energy production.

The Pay Less at the Pump Act will repeal the “Superfund Tax” on crude oil and imported petroleum products that was reinstated in the Democrats’ 2022 reckless tax and spend bill. This tax leads to higher prices for families and businesses. When the long-expired tax was brought back, it was raised from its original 9.7 cents per barrel to a new rate of 16.4 cents per barrel. Additionally, the tax was indexed to inflation, meaning higher tax burdens in future years.

“Repealing the ‘Superfund Tax’ will allow North Dakota’s energy producers to invest more in production, support good-paying jobs and help keep energy affordable for families across the country,” said Senator Hoeven. “This legislation repeals an unnecessary tax on American energy, lowers prices for consumers and ensures we fully unleash our country’s energy potential.”

“Together with the Trump administration, Republicans are working to restore American energy dominance and reverse the Biden administration’s climate policies that drove up energy prices,” Senator Barrasso said. “The Pay Less at the Pump Act builds on this success by repealing another out-of-touch energy tax that hurts Americans every time they go to fill up their gas tanks. This will lower prices at the pump for American families and make it easier for Wyoming’s energy producers to unleash energy production here at home.”

Additional cosponsors include Senators James Lankford (R-Okla.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), John Kennedy (R-La.), James Risch (R-Idaho), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and Mike Lee (R-Utah).

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

-###-


Our View: High-speed internet plan helps bridge the gap

By Star Editorial


State Agriculture Officials Kick Off International Year of the Woman Farmer

Members honored International Year of the Woman Farmer through several engagements

PUBLISHED ON February 13, 2026

WASHINGTON — The nation’s commissioners, directors and secretaries of agriculture gathered in Washington D.C. for NASDA’s 2026 Winter Policy Conference, where members honored International Year of the Woman Farmer through several engagements.

“We were proud to be able to give International Year of the Woman Farmer the stage at NASDA’s Policy Conference, and we look forward to elevating the voices of women farmers throughout 2026,” NASDA CEO Ted McKinney said. “Women are vital to agriculture worldwide, from production to innovation to leadership. NASDA is committed to amplifying women farmers’ voices and ensuring policies reflect needs and opportunities for all farmers.”

Highlights from the meeting included:

NASDA opened the conference with a plenary session panel, “International Year of the Woman Farmer: What it is and why it matters” that examined the pivotal role women play in advancing global agriculture and highlighted how empowering women in agriculture helps strengthen and advance the entire industry. Moderated by NASDA President, Maine Agriculture Commissioner Amanda Beal, this session featured remarks from U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith, Global Farmer Network CEO Mary Boote and U.S. Dairy Export Council President & CEO Krysta Harden.

One topic covered by the panel was the next generation, discussing how to ensure women are not only inspired to work in agriculture but are also a respected and valued voice in the field.

“Seeing is believing and I think when you raise up other women in leadership positions, as farmers, that next generation gets to see them as well as an opportunity not only to be a farmer, to be involved in agriculture, but also to provide some leadership that their voice matters, that their perspective matters,” Boote said.

Additionally, panelists discussed how International Year of the Woman Farmer can spur meaningful change through policy and beyond.

“Don’t be afraid to introduce new legislation, whether it’s in the State House or whether it’s on Capitol Hill, that would make a difference,” Senator Hyde-Smith said. “That may not seem that easy, but as long as it’s logical and you have people that agree with you, it’s like, wow, we can get that done.”

“That recognition, to honor and to make real change, lasting change, is not just in one year. It’s not a snapshot,” Harden said. “It’s forever changing our policies, it’s changing our attitudes, it’s changing our commitment, it’s changing the way we spend money, how we spend, where we spend, who we recognize, who we honor. This is just the beginning. This is the launch of what I hope is going to be a change so more women will not have to have these conversations. That they will just be recognized for what they contribute.”

Overall, panelists emphasized the importance of bringing all people together to advance the agriculture industry, epitomizing NASDA’s Winter Policy Conference theme of “United We Thrive.”

“There are a lot of good things that we can do alone, even more that we can do together,” Boote said. “And this is where I think the agriculture story is: men and women, the next generation, the institutional knowledge of those who went before us, the intuitiveness with innovation that the next generation is bringing, understanding that we need all of them and all of us to be able to do that together is important.”

Following the panel, NASDA was honored to host U.S. Senator Deb Fischer to share about the U.S. Senate resolution celebrating the designation of 2026 as “International Year of the Woman Farmer.” The resolution was co-sponsored by Senator Fischer and U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ranking Member of the Senate Agriculture Committee.

NASDA also hosted a reception at National’s Park honoring International Year of the Woman Farmer welcoming U.S. members of Congress, embassy officials from 14 countries and agriculture industry representatives. Four hundred fifty people attended. Members of the International Year of the Women Farmer workgroup and NASDA displayed stories of women farmers from across the U.S. for government and industry leaders to learn and be inspired from.


Kaine & Ricketts Encourage Quad Dialogue

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Pete Ricketts (R-NE), members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio encouraging the Trump Administration to schedule the next Quadrilateral Security Dialogue between the United States, Australia, India, and Japan. In the letter, the senators underscored the importance of the Quad partnership in advancing U.S. national security and ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific. The senators also stressed the importance of convening a Quad Summit ahead of an expected meeting in April between President Donald Trump and People’s Republic of China (PRC) President Xi Jinping.

“At this pivotal moment of intense strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China, convening a Quad Leaders’ Summit would send a clear signal of unity, resolve, and strategic coherence among leading Indo-Pacific democracies,” wrote the senators. “Convening a Quad summit prior to President Trump’s planned meeting with Xi Jinping in April would be a decisive demonstration of U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific prior to the President’s visit to Beijing. A successful Quad summit beforehand would allow President Trump to engage from a position of greater leverage.”

“All four Quad partners face shared challenges including supply chain vulnerabilities, restrictions on critical minerals, threats to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and intensifying competition over emerging technologies,” the senators continued. “The Quad is uniquely positioned to address these challenges and advance many of the objectives outlined in President Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy building upon successes of previous Administrations, including strengthening allied deterrence, reducing strategic dependencies on adversaries, safeguarding technological leadership, and upholding freedom of navigation.”

“We look forward to working with you to strengthen the Quad at this pivotal moment for U.S. diplomacy and urge you to prioritize organizing a Quad Leaders’ Summit, and ensuing Foreign Minister and working group meetings. Doing so would reinforce American leadership, empower our closest partners, and ensure that future engagement with Beijing is grounded in unity, strength, and strategic foresight,” the senators concluded.

Full text is available here and below:

Dear Secretary Rubio,

We write to encourage the Trump Administration to prioritize scheduling the next iteration of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) between the United States, Australia, India, and Japan. At this pivotal moment of intense strategic competition with the People’s Republic of China, convening a Quad Leaders’ Summit would send a clear signal of unity, resolve, and strategic coherence among leading Indo-Pacific democracies. We stand ready to work with the Trump Administration to bolster this crucial partnership.

Timing and sequencing are critical. Convening a Quad summit prior to President Trump’s planned meeting with Xi Jinping in April would be a decisive demonstration of U.S. leadership in the Indo-Pacific prior to the President’s visit to Beijing. A successful Quad summit beforehand would allow President Trump to engage from a position of greater leverage.

The Quad partners are well-positioned to act collectively. President Trump’s recent successes advancing American interests in our bilateral relationships with Australia, India, and Japan have set the stage for revitalized collective action through the Quad. Australia and Japan have expanded cooperation on critical technologies and resilient supply chains while increasing defense investments—through reaffirmed AUKUS commitments and deeper extended-deterrence coordination. The Administration’s announcement of a trade deal with India lays the groundwork to significantly deepen strategic and defense cooperation with India and across the Indo-Pacific.

All four Quad partners face shared challenges including supply chain vulnerabilities, restrictions on critical minerals, threats to a free and open Indo-Pacific, and intensifying competition over emerging technologies. China has subjected Japan in particular to increased diplomatic pressure, military intimidation, and economic coercion that threatens regional stability and international norms. The Quad is uniquely positioned to address these challenges and advance many of the objectives outlined in President Trump’s 2025 National Security Strategy building upon successes of previous Administrations, including strengthening allied deterrence, reducing strategic dependencies on adversaries, safeguarding technological leadership, and upholding freedom of navigation.

We look forward to working with you to strengthen the Quad at this pivotal moment for U.S. diplomacy and urge you to prioritize organizing a Quad Leaders’ Summit, and ensuing Foreign Minister and working group meetings. Doing so would reinforce American leadership, empower our closest partners, and ensure that future engagement with Beijing is grounded in unity, strength, and strategic foresight. We also welcome a briefing to discuss the Administration’s vision and priorities for the Quad by March 13, 2026.

Sincerely,

###


Kelly Applauds Maritime Action Plan, Urges Passage of SHIPS for America Act

Arizona Senator Mark Kelly released the following statement on the Maritime Action Plan published today and directed under President Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance,” signed on April 9, 2025:

“As an author of the SHIPS for America Act, I’ve believed for a long time that revitalizing our shipbuilding and commercial maritime industries is something we can and must do together. Today’s release of the Administration’s Maritime Action Plan reinforces the urgency of this moment and shows there’s broad agreement on the need to act,” said Kelly. “Strengthening America’s maritime capacity will secure our supply chains, support our national security, rebuild our industrial base, and create good-paying jobs across the country. Now Congress needs to build on that momentum and pass the SHIPS for America Act.”


Kelly, Gallego Respond to New Report Confirming Arizona Is Shortchanged on Federal Energy Assistance

Kelly and Gallego introduced the LIHEAP Parity Act of 2025 to fix outdated formula

Today, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego responded to a new report from Duke University’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub finding that an outdated federal assistance formula is leaving hot-weather states like Arizona systematically underfunded under the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), even as extreme heat drives record energy costs for low-income families.

The report finds that historic underfunding of the LIHEAP program means that fewer than 20 percent of income-eligible households nationwide receive assistance each year. However, decades-old provisions in the LIHEAP statute disproportionately benefit cold-weather states while Arizona and other states receive the lowest funding per eligible household. The analysis concludes that current funding does not reflect today’s energy realities and recommends aligning LIHEAP allocations with each state’s share of low-income home energy expenditures as the statute originally intended.

Last year, Kelly and Gallego introduced the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) Parity Act of 2025 to fix this outdated formula and ensure federal home energy assistance is distributed equitably and reflects current energy needs.

“Arizona families are living through longer, hotter summers, and their energy bills reflect that reality,” said Kelly. “But federal energy assistance is still being distributed using a formula written decades ago that doesn’t reflect today’s climate or costs. This report makes it clear that reform is overdue. Our LIHEAP Parity Act makes a straightforward fix so that federal energy assistance goes where it’s actually needed and helps more families keep the A/C running during dangerous heat events.”

“In Arizona, access to affordable cooling is a matter of life and death. But the formula that determines how much federal energy assistance our state receives leaves Arizona and other hot-weather states behind, and this report confirms it,” said Gallego. “Our LIHEAP Parity Act would fix this injustice and help ensure families, seniors, and Arizonans with disabilities can afford to keep the A/C on and stay safe.”

Background:

LIHEAP is the federal government’s primary program for helping low-income households pay their energy bills. However, outdated provisions mean that LIHEAP funding unfairly benefits cold-weather states. These provisions were meant to ease the transition to a fairer formula, but instead, they’ve locked in long-term funding imbalances that disadvantage hot-weather states like Arizona. In 2023, less than five percent of eligible households in Arizona received LIHEAP assistance, whereas almost 90 percent of Michigan’s eligible households were served by this life-saving program.

Kelly and Gallego’s LIHEAP Parity Act removes outdated “hold-harmless” provisions that have distorted how regular LIHEAP funds are distributed across states, locking in preferences for colder regions at the expense of hotter states like Arizona. The bill amends the underlying formula to ensure funding is based on current energy needs and usage—so resources go where they’re most needed.

Specifically, the bill:

Strikes the 1980s-era hold-harmless provisions from the LIHEAP allocation formula.

Requires the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publicly disclose the data sources used in the formula and how often they’re updated.

This legislation builds on Kelly’s broader efforts to strengthen the LIHEAP program. In 2025, Kelly also led Arizona lawmakers in demanding answers from HHS after the department abruptly terminated the federal staff responsible for administering the program—jeopardizing access to assistance ahead of Arizona’s hottest months.


ICYMI: Graham Pushes Legislation to Abolish Sanctuary Cities, Blocked by Democrats

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) yesterday took to the Senate floor to call for immediate passage of his legislation that would abolish the practice of sanctuary cities and states once and for all. Unfortunately, Graham’s bill was blocked by Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) who argued sanctuary jurisdictions are not a problem for the country.

Senator Graham has repeatedly asserted that sanctuary city policies are an underlying cause of illegal immigration as well as the unrest surrounding the enforcement of immigration laws by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). To remedy this situation, Graham’s legislation would impose criminal penalties on state and local officials who in defiance of the law refuse to turn over illegal immigrants to federal agents who have been charged with or convicted of a crime.

On sanctuary cities being at the root of illegal immigration:

“Until you change the policies, you never stop illegal immigration. If there are 12 states … that have sanctuary status, [illegal immigrants will] keep coming. All they got to do is get to one of these states. It’s magnets for future illegal immigration, it breaks down law and order, and it needs to stop.” https://youtu.be/8v3J9BAfTvs?si=E6Q3vV7u_GcidRaX&t=375

On Graham’s proposal to prosecute defiant state and local officials:

“I have legislation… [that] says if a state or local official does not turn over to the federal government an illegal immigrant who’s … been convicted or facing criminal charges, then that state or local official can go to jail. You have an obligation under federal law to turn these people over.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=267s

During his speech, Graham slammed his Democratic colleagues for their complicity in the invasion of the country by millions of illegal immigrants during the Biden Administration. He criticized them for refusing to acknowledge the victims of Biden’s open border policies, such as Laken Riley.

On Democratic Senators’ responsibility for the Biden Border Crisis:

“Every Democratic senator turned the other way during the four years of Biden. You didn’t do anything to bring reason to chaos. How many of you spoke about Laken Riley? … How many thousands of people have been raped and abused, stolen and mistreated because of this invasion of illegal immigrants from virtually all over the world?... You never talk about the victims, [you] just want to talk about TV and Minnesota.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=214s

“If you want to have immigration policed, our Democratic friends will never be there for you. They turned their back on you and your family and allowed this nation to be invaded by 10, 15, 20 million people. Who the hell knows?” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=356s

After Senator Padilla moved to stop Senator Graham’s legislation from advancing, Graham reiterated his tenacity on this issue. He has refused to back down and remains persistent in his effort to permanently end the practices observed in sanctuary jurisdictions.

On Graham’s commitment to fully halt the policies of sanctuary cities and states:

“No matter how this ends, I am going to stay on this til I can’t stay on it anymore. I want a simple vote as a United States senator to have a debate as to whether or not sanctuary city policy … is bad for America or good for America. I think it’s terrible for America. And those engaging sanctuary city practices, you’re hurting the other 38 states, you’re creating chaos for your country and you should be held accountable.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs&t=1115s

Click here to watch Graham’s full remarks

####

Click play to view the video or follow this link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8v3J9BAfTvs


McConnell in POLITICO Magazine: What the West Must Do Now at Munich Security Conference

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense submitted the following op-ed published by POLITICO Magazine ahead of the Munich Security Conference:

The strategic challenges facing the West are not new and trans-Atlantic leaders must confront them with a healthy sense of pragmatism and urgency.

That’s what I tried to do a few years ago, with Russia’s escalation in Ukraine a year old, at the Munich Security Conference. I warned about the growing alignment of our adversaries, encouraged the United States and our allies to speed up weapons procurement and defense industrial production, and urged NATO to quickly approve the accession of two highly capable partners in Finland and Sweden. I also questioned whether the West could sustain the will to continue backing Ukraine and deter adversaries like Russia, China and Iran.

Three years further into Russia’s full-scale war in Ukraine, despite real progress in these areas, many of the same underlying questions and challenges remain unresolved. As the West’s top defense officials gather at this year’s conference in Munich, a few pressing items should command their attention:

First, at the most basic level, what are we prepared to do to counter the increasing alignment of common adversaries? The convergence of Russian and Chinese interest in the Arctic, after all, was the ostensible pretext for an especially turbulent episode of trans-Atlantic tension over Greenland last month. But how NATO allies meet shared threats has implications far beyond the High North.

Some senior Trump administration officials seem to make sense of the world by dividing it into neat and tidy spheres of influence. And from this assumption flows the familiar suggestion that Europe ought to focus on Europe so America can turn its attention elsewhere.

But increased hostile coordination suggests that our adversaries see the world less as a board game than as a web of competing interests that spans the globe. Iran, China and North Korea are willing to put their treasure, technology and lives on the line to enable Vladimir Putin’s neo-Soviet adventurism in Europe. And the joint Russian-Chinese patrols that rightly hold the attention of U.S. and fellow Arctic governments indicate a willingness to join forces around the globe.

The West would be foolish to treat increasingly aligned threats as isolated. The United States, for our part, ought to be less dismissive of our allies’ capabilities and willingness to project power and influence far beyond their shores. And we need to stop the practice by multiple administrations of picking trade fights with our closest and strongest allies. Our friends’ economic markets hold far more promise than Russia could ever. And we’ll need these friends to help America push back as China tries to rewrite the rules of the road.

In turn, our allies must get serious about shutting the back door to Chinese influence. There is hardly a more cynical bet to be made on the future of the West than chasing closer ties with a regime built on repression and enriched by slave labor and stolen Western technology.

Second, to the extent we’re serious about collective defense, there’s more work to be done in showing it. I commend allies for making tough choices to meet higher NATO spending targets. But when we look past the thicket of multilateral spending vehicles and special funds, more European nations still need to build increases into their annual base budgets, investing credibly in deterrence and the common defense year after year.

For the record, so must America. Congress just delivered annual defense appropriations $8 billion above the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 request. This was a compromise position: the Senate panel I lead had recommended an increase of nearly $23 billion.

As a share of GDP, U.S. annual defense spending remains stagnant, barely above 3 percent and well below the 5 percent target we set for NATO allies. Leading from behind has never been a sustainable strategy for a superpower that seeks peace or primacy.

Despite talk of European self-reliance and onshoring of defense supply chains, many of America’s friends still prefer to deter aggression with as many U.S.-made weapons as they can. But in the face of looming threats, the best weapons are the ones that can be deployed on time.

That’s why I urged America’s defense industry to expand production capacity ahead of inevitable demand, and why I pushed successive U.S. administrations to send stronger demand signals by building higher funding for critical munitions into their base budgets. At long last, Deputy Secretary of Defense Steve Feinberg’s interest in multiyear procurement for munitions is encouraging. But regardless of the president’s goal of a massive increase in defense spending in fiscal year 2027, the flat funding extension in fiscal year 2025 and insufficient request for fiscal year 2026 will go down as missed opportunities to breathe new life into America’s arsenal of democracy.

Today, across the alliance, are we investing enough in weapons stockpiles and defense production capacity to meet growing military requirements? Are we prepared to deliver necessary capabilities at the speed of relevance?

A third, related, conversation must clarify our commitment to partners on the front lines of aggression. The data is now quite clear: European support to Ukraine has far outpaced that from the United States. Our allies are carrying more of the burden of changing Putin’s calculus.

This is good news. But NATO’s Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List (PURL) — which exists first and foremost to direct best-in-class U.S.-made weapons to the front lines — was designed for active and robust U.S. participation, if not leadership. U.S. support to Ukraine’s military provides critical leverage for President Donald Trump’s efforts to end the war, and would be a necessary part of any security guarantee to maintain peace. If America no longer has skin in the game, we risk signaling that allies cannot count on us. And in time, we could expect more of our friends to look elsewhere to meet their military requirements.

If Munich is meant to be more than a platform for speeches, then representatives of allied governments would do well to devote their time together to reaching an understanding on the fundamentals: the nature of growing threats to shared interests, the military capabilities we’ll need to deter them and the investments required to re-fill our stockpiles and expand our industrial capacity.

It's natural to put one’s own country’s interests first, but it would be foolish for either side of the Atlantic to go it alone.


Representative Salinas, Senator Merkley Host Press Conference Promoting ICE Accountability Legislation

Woodburn, OR – Today, Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06) and Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) held a joint press conference in Woodburn, OR, to share the stories of victims of ICE overreach and to promote their recently introduced bill, the ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act. Senator Merkley and Congresswoman Salinas were joined by speakers Isa Peña of Innovation Law Lab, Nancy Lopez Flores from SEIU, and Ximena Van Dyke of Unidos Bridging Community. The group was also joined by Jess Montoya of Oregon For All and Reyna Lopez from PCUN.

Nancy Lopez Flores read a statement from Maria, a U.S. citizen and Rep. Salinas’ constituent who was a victim of ICE abuse.

The ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act would make the federal government civilly liable when U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) or Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers violate one’s constitutional rights, thereby creating a cause of action against the federal government. Additionally, it mandates that any damages awarded in such cases be first drawn from funds from Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which handed more than $150 billion to ICE, CBP, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for immigration enforcement.

“From Minnesota to Oregon, we’ve witnessed ICE and CBP abuse their power, incite violence, and violate our constitutional rights,” said Rep. Salinas. “Earlier this month, federal officials tear gassed children, workers, and even dogs who were protesting at the ICE field office in Portland. Without accountability, there are no consequences. And without consequences, they will keep violating the Constitution. That’s why this bill is so important. If ICE or CBP officers violate someone’s constitutional rights, the victim can sue the federal government to hold them civilly liable. When we choose accountability, we can put an end to Trump’s abuse.”

“All Americans should be outraged that Trump’s lawless federal agents are trampling on the Constitution and terrorizing our communities,” said Sen. Merkley. “ICE and CBP must face consequences if their agents wrongfully violate citizens’ rights to protest and free speech, search people’s homes without a warrant, or deny due process. Our ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act simply allows people to hold federal agents accountable when they violate the Constitution.”

Alongside Senator Merkley, Rep. Salinas has continued to speak out against ICE overreach. She has conducted oversight visits of the ICE field office in Portland, Oregon, and the ICE detention facility in Tacoma, Washington. Recently, Salinas and Merkley led Oregon’s Democratic congressional delegation in a letter to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons opposing any plans to open or expand ICE detention facilities in Oregon, including so-called “soft-sided” or repurposed facilities.

Full text of the ICE and CBP Constitutional Accountability Act can be found by clicking here.

###


Wyden, Merkley Push FAA to Implement Emergency Safety Regulations Following Deadly Helicopter Crash

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today pressed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to explain what it’s doing now to prevent another deadly helicopter crash like the one last month in Arizona that killed four Oregonians.

“While a thorough investigation is necessary to develop comprehensive, data-based recommendations, it’s clear that immediate action must be taken to prevent another similar tragedy,” the senators wrote in their letter to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford. “As the investigation proceeds, we urge you to continue working closely with the NTSB and promptly adopt initial safety suggestions they may have based on their preliminary findings.”

On January 2, 2026 a helicopter carrying four family members from Oregon struck a slackline suspended across Telegraph Canyon in the Tonto National Forest in Arizona. Everyone on board was killed.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) issued its initial findings from its investigation into the crash on January 21, 2026. The full investigation could take over a year to complete. As a result, Wyden and Merkley pressed the FAA over what immediate actions could be taken to prevent such tragedies in the future. Specifically, they asked:

Please describe how the FAA currently regulates slackline visibility and notifications for pilots.

In light of this tragic helicopter crash, what are you doing to ensure awareness of existing FAA regulations regarding marking and notifications of obstructions? How will you work with other agencies and organizations to share these policies?

Are you considering any immediate adjustments to FAA policies in order to increase the physical marking or visibility of slacklines? Are there any options the FAA could explore related to the standardized marking, lighting, or other visual measures that would allow slacklines to be more easily identified by pilots during both daytime and nighttime operations?

Will the FAA consider implementing a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over slacklines as a precautionary and interim measure until the NTSB issues final recommendations? What factors does the FAA consider in making TFR determinations?

The full letter can be found here.

###


Sens. Moran, Cantwell Introduce Legislation to Help Small Businesses Leverage AI Tools

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) recently introduced the bipartisan Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training Act that would authorize the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to work with the Small Business Administration (SBA) to create and distribute artificial intelligence (AI) training resources and tools to help small businesses leverage AI in their operations.

“In rural communities where resources and workforce are limited, AI has tremendous potential to fill the gaps and help small businesses with finance management, marketing, supply chain management and much more,” said Sen. Moran. “This legislation would help small businesses use AI to meet their needs, expand and innovate. Combining these tools with a trained workforce will help make certain the U.S. is utilizing AI to grow our economy and bolster businesses in Kansas and across the country.”

“Small businesses are the foundation of our economy and AI has the potential to help them maximize opportunities,” said Sen. Cantwell. “As AI tools become more accessible and more powerful, we need to make sure entrepreneurs in Washington state and across the country have the training and technical support they need to integrate these tools to better compete, grow and create jobs in a rapidly evolving marketplace.”

Kansas is home to 273,419 small businesses, making up 99.1 percent of all Kansas businesses and employing more than 590,000 workers. The State of Washington is home to 695,695 small businesses, making up 99.5 percent of all WA businesses and employing 1.5 million workers.

According to a report by the Bipartisan Policy Center and Morning Consult, 83% of small business owners in the United States who use AI in their business say it has been helpful to their company, and they used the technology for accounting, customer communication, social media and to reduce paperwork and streamline tasks.

The DOC’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) provides technical assistance to small and medium-sized businesses to improve their use of technology. NIST’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership also provides technical resources and other assistance to small and medium-sized manufacturing companies.

The Small Business Artificial Intelligence Training Act would:

Develop AI training resources and toolkits for small businesses, led by the DOC, in coordination with the SBA.

Include new trainings on how to use AI or emerging technologies to improve financial management and accounting, business planning and operations, marketing, supply chain management, government contracting and exporting. It also directs specific AI training for small businesses in rural and tribal communities, and small businesses involved in advanced manufacturing.

Provide new DOC AI training resources to small businesses through SBA resource partners, including Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE, Veteran Business Opportunity Centers and the Apex Accelerator.

Authorize the DOC Secretary to create a grant program for organizations providing AI trainings developed under this bill. It allows gift authority to use private sector and philanthropic donations to support these grants, with at least 25 percent of any grant funds going toward small businesses located rural or underserved communities.

Require the Secretary of Commerce to update AI training materials and toolkits at least every two years.

Require biannual reporting to Congress on the impact of AI training and toolkits developed and distributed under this bill.

Full text of the legislation can be found here.

# # #


Murphy, Blumenthal Call on Secretary Noem to Reverse Termination of TPS for Haiti

WASHINGTON–U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined their Democratic Senate colleagues in demanding that U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reverse her directive to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Haiti. The policy took effect February 3, 2026, though it was temporarily blocked by a federal judge.

“The Republic of Haiti remains gripped by extraordinary political instability and the deterioration of civil society,” the Senators wrote. “Armed gangs control significant territory, violence and kidnappings have escalated, and basic governance functions have effectively collapsed. Access to healthcare, food, and public services is severely limited, and large portions of the population remain displaced. Consequently, these conditions continue to meet the statutory criteria that justified the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) original TPS designation and have only worsened over time.”

“When DHS last extended TPS for Haiti in June 2024, the department cited persistent insecurity, humanitarian need, and the inability of the Haitian government to safely receive returning nationals,” the Senators continued. “Those same conditions persist today. The department’s subsequent decision not to extend TPS represents a departure from its own recent findings. It would expose individuals to grave danger, family separation, and undermine the very humanitarian purpose Congress intended TPS to serve.”

“We urge DHS to act in accordance with the law, facts on the ground, and America’s longstanding commitment to humane immigration policy,” the Senators concluded. “DHS should immediately extend TPS for Haitian nationals and provide certainty to affected families and communities across the United States.”

The letter was also signed by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Reverend Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Cory Booker (D.N.J.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Angus King (I-Maine).


Murphy, Blumenthal Join Northeast Corridor Democrats to Call For Advance Amtrak Appropriations

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined a group of Northeast Corridor Democrats in sending a letter to Senate Commerce and Appropriations Committee leadership, urging them to include advance appropriations for Amtrak and passenger rail programs in the next surface transportation reauthorization expected later this year.

The senators asked for funding for Amtrak from fiscal year 2027 through at least fiscal year 2031, emphasizing that long-term funding is key for sustaining progress made under the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and for addressing the Northeast Corridor’s capital backlog.

“Throughout 2025, Amtrak has focused on delivering reliable, high-quality service – surpassing systemwide customer service goals, expanding its network, and increasing network capacity. As a result, Amtrak experienced unprecedented ridership across its network,” the senators wrote. “Amtrak’s capability to make responsible, strategic investments in its infrastructure and equipment has the company on track to achieve operational profitability.”

The lawmakers highlighted the IIJA’s historic $66 billion investment in passenger and freight rail, including $22 billion for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor and National Network. That funding has supported major projects such as the Connecticut River Bridge replacement, the B&P Tunnel replacement in Baltimore, and the rollout of NextGen Acela trains, all while driving record ridership and revenue growth across Amtrak’s network.

“The trainset’s construction generated over 1,300 new jobs across 29 states, with nearly all of its components made in America,” the senators added. “Amtrak is advancing its stations toward full ADA accessibility by 2029. Nineteen stations across the country reached compliance in 2025, with another 50 stations targeted for FY26.”

Despite this progress, the senators wrote that the Northeast Corridor still faces an estimated $84.1 billion state-of-good-repair backlog by 2040. Without advance appropriations beyond FY26, Amtrak’s ability to complete multi-year projects efficiently and to meet growing passenger demand could be at risk.

The letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).


Murphy In Munich On AI: We Need Regulation And International Cooperation To Prevent Economic And Cultural Collapse

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Friday took part in a panel at the Munich Security Conference: “Outsmarting Ourselves? Risks and Rewards of the AI Race.” Murphy spoke alongside academics, European officials, and a Google executive to assess the emerging, and quickly evolving, risks AI poses to our economy, politics, and sense of purpose. Pointing to AI corporations’ efforts to consolidate their power over our government and society - entirely at the expense of working people - Murphy argued that international cooperation on regulating artificial intelligence is urgently necessary.

Murphy advocated for a robust regulatory approach focused on preventing the potentially catastrophic impacts of advanced AI: “Our primary victory, in the short run, is to be able to work together or separately on a regulatory regime that doesn't collapse our economy as we lose jobs at a pace that creates political disintegration, and that we don't collapse our cultures spiritually as we transition the human race away from the core basic meanings and purposes - conversation, friendship, creativity, problem solving - to machines too quickly… I wake up every day thinking that victory looks like preventing the worst, more so than capturing the best. But obviously you want that balance in the end, that's victory to me.”

He warned unregulated AI will give billionaire AI executives far too much power over our daily lives: “What freaks people out in the United States is the idea that there are going to be only a handful of companies that are going to control these enormous data sets and these enormously powerful capabilities, and that one person could wake up one day and decide to make a tweak to the code, the algorithm, the way in which the LLM works, and your existence has fundamentally changed.”

Murphy called out Big Tech’s extraordinary spending to buy political influence and shape regulation of AI: “A mandate for an American leader to prioritize working internationally to regulate AI doesn't come from nowhere. The industry right now is spending millions of dollars trying to suppress conversation in the United States at the state level, and at the federal level, around a regulatory framework, and so it becomes very difficult for there to be any president who's going to prioritize bringing this conversation to China or to our allies, if there are hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on our politics in the United States by the AI companies and by the technology companies trying to destroy any enthusiasm or conversation about regulation, that's the political reality.”


After Rejecting Trump’s Cuts, In Seattle, Murray Highlights NIH Funding to Protect & Strengthen Washington State’s Biomedical Research Economy

In a major victory for Seattle’s biomedical research hubs and Washington state families, Senator Murray prevents Trump’s devastating cuts to NIH and research into lifesaving cures and treatments

NIH funding supports more than 12,000 jobs across Washington state and more than $3 billion in economic activity

ICYMI: Senator Murray Secures Hundreds of Millions for Transportation & Housing Projects Across WA in Final Appropriations Bills; Boosts Funding for Medical Research, Housing, Child Care & More

***FULL VIDEO OF PRESS CONFERENCE HERE, PHOTOS AND B-ROLL HERE***

Seattle, WA — Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, held a press conference at Seattle Children’s Hospital on the heels of securing $48.7 billion, a $415 million increase, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to strengthen biomedical research. Last year in Seattle, Senator Murray heard from leading researchers and others about the havoc Trump wreaked on NIH, Senator Murray pledged early on to tear up Trump’s budget and write a new one—now, roughly a year later, Senator Murray has outright rejected Trump’s proposed 40% cut to NIH.

Senator Murray was joined by Dr. Christopher Longhurst, Seattle Children’s CEO, Dr. Vittorio Gallo, Seattle Children’s Senior Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, Dr. Rachel Issaka, Director of the Medicine Population Health Colorectal Cancer Screening Program at Fred Hutch and the University of Washington, Dr. Elizabeth Wayne, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at the University of Washington, and Brianne Riley and her son Camden, who is a patient at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

“Instead of cutting cancer and Alzheimer’s research by nearly half like Trump wanted—I won a more than $415 million increase,” said Senator Murray. “Last week we won a huge victory for medical research across the country: a spending bill that said no to Trump’s war on research and yes to lifesaving breakthroughs. We said no to Trump’s plan to ax medical research by a whopping 40 percent. We once again said no to Trump’s indirect cost cap proposal that would devastate biomedical research institutes across the country. And we said no to Trump’s new ‘lump sum’ grant scheme which was just one more attempt to rob researchers of grant award opportunities, and leave patients with fewer chances for a cure. ‘No’ may not be something President Trump hears often enough. But we said it clearly in our funding bill—and we made him sign it into law.”

In the government funding bill Trump signed into law on Feb 3, 2026, Senator Murray secured $48.7 billion, a $415 million increase, for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to strengthen biomedical research, including $226 million for Senator Murray’s landmark 21st Century Cures Act. The bill delivers funding boosts for NIH’s Office of Research on Women’s Health (+$30 million), Alzheimer’s disease (+$100 million), cancer (+$128 million), allergies and infectious disease (+23 million), ALS (+$15 million), maternal mortality (+$10 million), diabetes (+$10 million), and rare diseases (+$10 million). Senator Murray continues to be the leading Democratic voice speaking out for more investments in biomedical research and protecting NIH, and this bill is an important step in preventing the Trump administration from decimating the biomedical research enterprise Congress has built in a bipartisan manner over decades, which has long been the envy of the world and drives medical innovation that has saved millions of lives.

The bill rejects the Trump administration’s proposal—and illegal efforts—to cap indirect cost rates at 15%, which would devastate biomedical research, and it continues a longstanding provision that prohibits NIH from implementing such a cap. The bill also rejects the Trump administration’s misguided elimination of programs across NIH by maintaining level funding for HIV vaccine research, training programs that support the next generation of researchers, and the Safe to Sleep campaign, among others.

The bill includes a new provision that prevents implementation of the Office of Management and Budget’s misguided policy for NIH to fund significantly more multiyear research grants in one lump sum. This poorly thought-out policy would significantly cut the number of research grants NIH awards — just as it did in fiscal year 2025 when it resulted in 2,000 fewer research grants being funded.

The bill also includes a new authority for NIH to address loopholes in sexual harassment reporting and strengthen accountability.

Senator Murray also secured $3 million in Congressionally Directed Spending for Seattle Children’s Hospital, for the construction of a youth behavioral health crisis stabilization unit—to provide a safe and comfortable space for kids in crisis, who are at risk of seriously harming themselves or taking their own lives. Prior to the press conference, Murray was able to see the current spaces being used for children in behavioral health crisis and hear more about the need for the federal funding she secured.

Senator Murray, a longtime congressional leader on health care, has been fighting back tirelessly against the Trump administration’s efforts to gut lifesaving research at NIH and push out nearly 4,000 skilled scientists, grants administrators, and other employees at the agency. She led the entire Democratic caucus in a letter last February raising the alarm over the Trump administration’s actions to threaten American biomedical research infrastructure and set us back generations. Senator Murray released a statement decrying the Trump administration’s all-out assault on the NIH upon meeting with Dr. Bhattacharya last February, and at his nomination hearing in March, she pressed Bhattacharya on the Trump administration’s efforts to cut billions from biomedical research through an illegal cap on indirect costs, and their unprecedented halt on NIH Advisory Council Meetings, among other issues. In October, Senator Murray slammed the Trump administration at a HELP hearing for upending biomedical research and cancelling grants, taking a toll at NIH and FDA. She has sent numerous oversight letters and hosted numerous press conferences and events to lay out how the administration’s reckless gutting of HHS is risking Americans health and safety and will set our country back decades, and lifting up the voices of HHS employees who were fired for no reason and through no fault of their own. Murray has not let up on her oversight of NIH, at a recent HELP hearing earlier this month, she once again pressed Dr. Bhattacharya accountable for his decision to disband the NIH’s Advisory Committee to the Director—an unprecedented change to the longstanding expert panel—and Institute and Center advisory councils and review panels, and for the fallout of the Trump administration’s cuts to clinical trials.

Throughout her career, Senator Murray has led Congressional efforts to boost biomedical research. Over her years as Chair of the Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee, she secured billions of dollars in increases for biomedical research at NIH, and during her time as Chair of the HELP Committee she established the new ARPA-H research agency as part of her PREVENT Pandemics Act to advance some of the most cutting-edge research in the field. Senator Murray was also the lead Democratic negotiator of the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act, which delivered a major federal investment to boost NIH research, among many other investments.

Senator Murray’s remarks, as prepared for delivery, are below:

“Trump did everything he could to turn medical research upside down, he fired federal researchers, he cancelled research mid-study, he tried to implement an illegal funding cap that would have devastated biomedical research, and he ultimately funded fewer grants by changing how NIH got money out the door. And perhaps most alarmingly he wanted to cut medical research funding by 40%! Absolutely not. I was not going to let that happen. No way, no how.

“I was at Seattle Children’s last year, holding a roundtable where I heard from so many about how Trump’s cuts would crush our research institutions. I made a commitment early on that I would tear up Trump’s budget and write a new one. And, now, a year later—that’s exactly what I’ve done. Instead of cutting cancer and Alzheimer’s research by nearly half like Trump wanted—I won a more than $415 million increase.

“Every penny will make a difference because let’s not forget, Washington state is a hub of medical discovery with so many powerhouse institutions like, Seattle Children’s Hospital, The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, and UW that are doing pioneering research. That translates to more than 12,000 jobs in our state and more than $3 billion in economic activity. Let’s just remember: that investment in medical research really pays off.

“Now look, I am not letting any President defund promising research, destroy world class institutions, and toss potentially lifesaving cures and treatments in the trash. So, I fought to stop the damaging cuts and reckless firings. I put a spotlight on the heartbreaking stories of patients—pushed out of clinical trials and researchers forced to halt groundbreaking work. I made clear the stakes if we let Trump succeed in undermining lifesaving research happening at world class institutions like the ones represented here today. I refused to let any of my Republican colleagues look away.

“Some fights—we were able to win quickly, We got some research back on track, we got some attempted cuts reversed, we got some funds unfrozen so folks could get back to work. We also blocked Trump’s plan to slap sudden, arbitrary caps on research expenses—something I helped write into our laws years ago. But of course, with Trump and RFK Jr. at the wheel—there is always another attack on our medical researchers we have to be ready for.

“So I have been lacing up my tennis shoes—and fighting the good fight every single day. Last year, I helped lead a hearing in Washington D.C.—focused specifically on biomedical research, and the damage Trump was doing. We heard powerful testimony from Emily Stenson, a mom and patient advocate, whose daughter Charlie, was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer at just three years old, but who got lifesaving care here at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Charlie had care that would not have been possible without NIH clinical trials—including an alternate treatment regimen that avoided side effects like hearing loss. And now she is cancer free.

“Shortly after that hearing—I came here, and held a roundtable a Seattle Children’s—to hear from more voices on the ground. The excellent doctors and researchers here in our state. And another young patient—Olivia, who was diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder several years ago and got incredible care here.

“I carry those stories back with me in the other Washington, and I bring them with me into the negotiating room, so I can make sure patients like Charlie and Olivia have their voices heard in the halls of power. And—last week—those voices were heard.

“Because last week we won a huge victory for medical research across the country: a spending bill that said no to Trump’s war on research and yes to lifesaving breakthroughs. I’ll repeat myself because it’s good news and we need more of that: We said no to Trump’s plan to ax medical research by a whopping 40 percent.

“We once again said no to Trump’s indirect cost cap proposal that would devastate biomedical research institutes across the country. And we said no to Trump’s new ‘lump sum’ grant scheme which was just one more attempt to rob researchers of grant award opportunities, and leave patients with fewer chances for a cure. ‘No’ may not be something President Trump hears often enough. But we said it clearly in our funding bill—and we made him sign it into law.

“So, I could not be more thrilled to come back here and share that good news with everyone. And I could not be more excited to see what good work our researchers are able to do with these new investments. Because I know, we have people across Washington state fighting some heroic battles against deadly diseases. And I will keep fighting for them every day in the other Washington.

“I hear their stories all the time—and we will hear from some of them today as well. And my message to all our brave patients, and dedicated researchers—I know you are never giving up and I’m not either! Because this is about so much more than the economic activity and the science—all of that matter tremendously, yes, but it’s also about hope.

“Hope for kids like Charlie and Olivia. And hope for kids like Camden, and his parents Chris and Brianne. Brianne, Camden, I read about your incredible story. Thank you for being here. I can’t wait for everyone to hear from you.

“So I’ll close with this: As long as I have anything to say about it—and as Vice Chair of Appropriations I do have a lot to say about it. We are going to keep funding—and keep finding—lifesaving cures.”

###


As Trump Abandons Workers, Senator Murray, Reps. Pressley, Garcia, & Strickland, Reintroduce BE HEARD Act to Protect Workers From Harassment and Abuse

The BE HEARD Act is comprehensive legislation to prevent workplace harassment, strengthen and expand key protections for workers, and support workers in seeking accountability and justice

ICYMI: Senator Murray Sounds Alarm Over Trump’s EEOC Eliminating Anti-Harassment Guidance, Abandoning Robust Enforcement of Workplace Sexual Harassment

Senator Murray forcefully opposed Andrea Lucas’s nomination and Trump’s illegal firings of Commissioners Burrows & Samuels; In July hearing, Murray grilled Andrea Lucas on EEOC’s shocking dismissal of discrimination cases under her tenure—MORE HERE

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member and former Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, reintroduced the Bringing an End to Harassment by Enhancing Accountability and Rejecting Discrimination (BE HEARD) in the Workplace Act of 2026, alongside Congresswomen Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-07), Sylvia Garcia (D-TX-29), and Marilyn Strickland (D-WA-10), who introduced the bill in the House. In response to Trump and Andrea Lucas, Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), eliminating workplace anti-harassment guidance and attacking transgender workers for using the locker rooms, bathrooms, and private spaces, this bill takes critical steps to address workplace harassment, protects against discrimination based on gender identity and sexuality, and ensures workers can seek accountability and justice. These moves come at a time when the Trump administration has repeatedly shielded abusers including refusing to the release the Epstein files without an act of Congress. Murray first introduced the BE HEARD Act in 2019.

Earlier this year, Andrea Lucas and Trump’s EEOC moved to rescind the EEOC’s Enforcement Guidance on Harassment in the Workplace—comprehensive anti-harassment guidance that was issued in April 2024, and was the EEOC’s first update on harassment since 1999. The 2024 guidance made much-needed and long-overdue updates to better reflect Congress’s intent, including addressing online harassment, and responding to the Supreme Court’s decision in Bostock v. Clayton County recognizing that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination based on gender orientation and sexual discrimination. Senator Murray applauded the updated guidance when it was issued under the Biden administration.

The BE HEARD Act includes key reforms including ending mandatory arbitration and pre-employment NDAs to help ensure transparency and expanding civil rights protections for workers—including independent contractors and interns, extending the time limit for reporting and challenging harassment, and ending the tipped minimum wage—a key reform to ensure workers don’t have to endure harassment from customers because their wages depend on tips.

“The Trump administration has proven time and time again that they couldn’t care less about workers, women, or victims of abuse—as they fired EEOC Commissioners, and got rid of important enforcement guidance to protect workers against harassment,” said Senator Murray. “I’m proud to re-introduce the BE HEARD Act, because whoever you are or wherever you work—everyone deserves to be treated fairly, respectfully, and with dignity at their job. While Trump helps giant corporations sweep abuse and discrimination under the rug, I will continue to push for this important legislation to expand protections for workers to ensure they get accountability and justice. I will always stand with women, with workers, and for fairness. I will keep fighting to make sure people feel safe in their workplace and get the justice they deserve.”

“Every worker should be safe and respected in their workplace, this shouldn’t be controversial,” said Rep. Pressley. “Under the Trump Administration, the EEOC is weakening protections and exposing workers to discrimination, harassment, and abuse at their jobs. The BE HEARD Act would take critical steps to confront workplace harassment and ensure workers can seek the accountability they deserve when their rights are violated.”

“When the Trump administration guts enforcement, workers pay the price. No one should have to choose between a paycheck and their dignity,” said Rep. Garcia. “The BE HEARD Act restores real accountability by ending the tricks that keep abuse in the dark, stopping retaliation from being the cost of speaking up, and making sure every worker has protections, no matter their job title or paycheck.”

“Everyone deserves to be treated fairly and with respect in their workplace,” said Rep. Strickland. “This bill ensures that workers have the tools they need to address workplace harassment.”

Andrea Lucas has served as a member of the EEOC since she was first nominated by President Trump in 2020 and was appointed as Chair in November after being confirmed to a second term on the Commission in July (Senator Murray forcefully opposed her confirmation). Earlier last year, Ms. Lucas served as Acting Chair after President Trump illegally fired EEOC Commissioners Charlotte Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels at the beginning of his term. Under Ms. Lucas, the EEOC has retreated from longstanding civil rights enforcement work, attacked law firms over their diversity efforts, and targeted the rights of trans workers in particular. At a HELP Committee hearing in July on Andrea Lucas’s nomination, Senator Murray grilled Ms. Lucas on EEOC’s shocking and indiscriminate dismissal of discrimination cases involving people based on their gender identity. Senator Murray has been a leading voice sounding the alarm on Trump’s EEOC eliminating anti-harassment guidance and abandoning enforcement of workplace sexual harassment.

The BE HEARD Act will:

Strengthen understanding of workplace harassment and help businesses prevent it: The BE HEARD Act invests in research about the economic impact of workplace harassment, requires regular reporting on the prevalence of workplace harassment, and ensures that workers have access to more information and training about what constitutes harassment and their rights if they are harassed.

Help ensure transparency: The BE HEARD Act puts an end to mandatory arbitration and pre-employment non-disclosure agreements, which prevent workers from coming forward and holding perpetrators and businesses accountable.

Broaden and expand civil rights protections to all workers: The BE HEARD Act builds on and strengthens existing civil rights laws by expanding protections for workers, while also safeguarding existing antidiscrimination laws and protections. It strengthens civil rights protections for all workers and makes clear that the Civil Rights Act protects against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the context of workplace discrimination. It also ensures that no matter where you work—and whether you are an independent contractor or an intern—your rights are protected.

Empower workers who come forward with reports of harassment or retaliation to ensure they get support: The BE HEARD Act allows workers more time to report harassment, authorizes grants to support legal assistance for workers who have low incomes, invests in delivering more resources to the state level to help workers ensure their rights are protected, and lifts the cap on damages when workers pursue legal action and win their cases.

Eliminate the tipped sub-minimum wage: The BE HEARD Act eliminates the tipped minimum wage, because tipped workers are disproportionately vulnerable to sexual harassment and discrimination by both clients and supervisors.

In addition to Senator Murray, the Senate bill is co-sponsored by: Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR).

In addition to Reps. Pressley, Garcia, and Strickland the House bill is co-sponsored by: Rashida Tlaib (MI-12), Yvette Clarke (NY-11), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC), Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05), Summer Lee (PA-12), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), Chellie Pingree (ME-1), Lateefah Simon (CA-12), Julia Brownley (CA-26), Mark DeSaulnier (CA-10), Judy Chu (CA-28), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-25).

The legislation has been endorsed by: National Women’s Law Center Action Fund, A Better Balance, AFL-CIO, American Association of University Women (AAUW), American Civil Liberties Union, Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), California Women’s Law Center, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP), Chicago Women in Trades, Clearinghouse on Women’s Issues, Coalition on Human Needs, Equal Rights Advocates, Feminist Majority, Gender Equality Law Center, Human Right Campaign, Human Rights Campaign, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Jewish Women International, Justice for Migrant Women, Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), Legal Momentum, The Women’s Legal Defense and Education Fund, Lift Our Voices, MomsRising, National Action Network, National Alliance to End Sexual Violence, National Black Worker Center, National Council of Jewish Women, National Employment Law Project, National Employment Lawyers Association, National Institute for Workers’ Rights, National Network to End Domestic Violence, National Organization for Women, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Taskforce on Tradeswomen’s Issues, PowHer New York, Reproductive Freedom for All, Service Employees International Union, Solar for Women, The Sikh Coalition, Vermont Works for Women, Women Employed, Women In Non Traditional Employment Roles, WorkLife Law.

As the former chair and a senior member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and a champion of gender equality her entire career, Senator Murray has long been a leader when it comes to fighting workplace harassment. In 2018, Senator Murray spearheaded a historic report on how workplace harassment is impacting workers in industries across the country. She pressed the Secretaries of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services under the Trump administration on what they were doing to prevent harassment at their workplaces and pressed trade associations representing industries with some of the highest rates of sexual harassment to be more transparent and accountable. Murray was also a lead advocate for the confirmation of Kalpana Kotagal and Jocelyn Samuels as EEOC Commissioners, delivering a pro-worker majority on the EEOC for the Biden administration. When President Trump illegally fired EEOC Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows at the beginning of his term, Senator Murray forcefully condemned the move, led Senators in a letter demanding their immediate reinstatement, and continued to press the issue publicly at every opportunity.

Senator Murray also leads the Wage Theft Prevention and Wage Recovery Act, comprehensive legislation to put hard-earned wages back in workers’ pockets and crack down on employers who unfairly withhold wages from their employees. Murray also helped reintroduce the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to protect workers’ right to join and form a union in order to demand better pay, benefits, and working conditions—legislation she first introduced in the 116th Congress. Murray also introduced the Children Harmed in Life-threatening or Dangerous (CHILD) Labor Act last Congress, new legislation to protect children from exploitative child labor practices and hold the companies and individuals who take advantage of them accountable.

A one-pager of the bill is HERE.

###


Padilla, Wyden Demand Accountability After IRS Admits Improper Disclosure of Taxpayer Data to ICE

Padilla and Wyden sound alarm that IRS errors improperly exposed private taxpayer information to ICE

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senators Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, demanded answers and accountability from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) after the agency admitted in a court filing that the flawed system it adopted to transfer people’s home addresses to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) potentially led to thousands of records being shared improperly in violation of taxpayer privacy laws. In a new letter to Acting IRS Commissioner Scott Bessent and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, the Senators also raised grave concerns that the automated system the Trump Administration created to transfer taxpayer data to ICE may have misidentified a large but unknown number of taxpayers — possibly including American citizens — in response to ICE inquiries, potentially exposing them to immigration enforcement actions at a time when serious questions are being raised about how such actions are being carried out.

“The IRS failed to properly verify that the information it disclosed to ICE belonged to the correct taxpayers. Instead, it used a faulty, automated verification system to identify the taxpayers whose information it thought it could disclose under the terms of the agency’s data-sharing agreement, which it reached last year with the Department of Homeland Security,” wrote the Senators. “… The IRS now admits that this system led to exactly the kinds of grave mistakes our taxpayer privacy laws were designed to prevent, and that Congress as well as IRS employees previously warned could happen under this data-sharing agreement.”

Senators Padilla, Wyden, and additional Senate Democrats warned early last year that the data-sharing agreement between the IRS and ICE would result in serious errors and violate taxpayer privacy. They demanded details about the status and potential misuse of the data sharing program as recently as January 30 of this year.

“The risk to innocent people was entirely predictable once taxpayer data was used for immigration enforcement,” continued the Senators. “Because the administration ignored the warnings, we now face the extraordinarily troubling likelihood that in some significant, unknown number of cases, the IRS not only provided return information to ICE in violation of strict taxpayer privacy laws, but it also provided information about the wrong taxpayers. Those individuals may have been injured by ICE, improperly detained or imprisoned, or improperly deported.”

In their letter, the Senators called for explanations of exactly how many taxpayer records were shared improperly, who was responsible and what accountability measures will be taken, whether anyone has been wrongly detained or deported based on shared data, and what steps the Trump Administration is taking to notify taxpayers whose information was improperly disclosed. The letter was also signed by Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.).

Last spring, Senators Padilla, Wyden, and Cortez Masto condemned the IRS’ plan to provide sensitive taxpayer information to the Department of Homeland Security to locate suspected undocumented immigrants. The Senators also led a March 2025 letter to IRS and DHS leadership raising the alarm on reports that DHS and the Department of Government Efficiency illegally requested sensitive taxpayer information from the IRS.

Full text of today’s letter is available here and below:

Dear Acting Commissioner Bessent and Secretary Noem:

We write with alarm following up on our January 29, 2026, letter to Acting Commissioner Bessent regarding the IRS’s disclosure of 47,289 taxpayers’ return information (including “last known addresses”) to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials. Validating our fears expressed in that letter, an IRS court filing made on February 11, 2026, confirms that thousands of these disclosures may have been improper.

The government has argued that it was permitted to disclose tax return information with respect to specific taxpayers who were under active investigation by ICE. That premise is subject to litigation, and ICE’s initial claim that it had more than a million active investigations underway is absurd. Furthermore, the IRS failed to properly verify that the information it disclosed to ICE belonged to the correct taxpayers. Instead, it used a faulty, automated verification system to identify the taxpayers whose information it thought it could disclose under the terms of the agency’s data-sharing agreement, which it reached last year with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). This agreement was signed by Secretaries Bessent and Noem. The IRS now admits that this system led to exactly the kinds of grave mistakes our taxpayer privacy laws were designed to prevent, and that Congress as well as IRS employees previously warned could happen under this data-sharing agreement.

Because it is common for multiple taxpayers to have similar or identical names and because not all ethnic groups follow the same naming conventions, the IRS needs more than an individual’s first and last name to ensure it does not disclose information about the wrong taxpayer in violation of Internal Revenue Code (IRC) section 6103.

In its recent court filing, the IRS admits it provided return information, including the taxpayers’ “last known addresses” (which may be current addresses unknown to ICE), even in many cases where ICE’s request for taxpayer information included a name but not a complete or accurate address.

As an example, if ICE requested the last known address of “John Doe” at “Unknown Address, 99999” the IRS’s automated system would disclose the last known address for a person named John Doe to ICE. This is because the IRS system only looked to see if the address field in ICE requests was or was not populated, not whether it was populated with an address that matched IRS records.

The IRS estimates that up to five percent of its 47,289 disclosures to ICE may have involved insufficient address data. In other words, thousands of taxpayers’ information may have been disclosed in violation of section 6103, including those who are not targets of immigration investigations.

The risk to innocent people was entirely predictable once taxpayer data was used for immigration enforcement. Because the administration ignored the warnings, we now face the extraordinarily troubling likelihood that in some significant, unknown number of cases, the IRS not only provided return information to ICE in violation of strict taxpayer privacy laws, but it also provided information about the wrong taxpayers. Those individuals may have been injured by ICE, improperly detained or imprisoned, or improperly deported.

That would be an unimaginable nightmare for those wrongly targeted people and their families. Conditions in ICE facilities are horrific, and 32 people died in ICE custody last year, meeting the record last reached in 2004, and another 8 have died this year alone. The Trump administration has deported people to foreign torture prisons, third countries they have no ties to, or back to their home countries, despite having pending asylum claims. Exposing people to such risk because of an improper sharing of tax information is unconscionable.

As noted in our prior letter, penalties for 6103 violations are severe. IRC section 7213 requires responsible employees to be terminated, and IRC section 7431 allows a taxpayer to bring a civil lawsuit for damages.

Injured taxpayers will not know they can sue until the government informs them of their rights. The government is required by section 7431 to inform the victims when a person is criminally charged with a violation of section 6103 or when the IRS proposes an adverse action against an employee.

Accordingly, please respond no later than March 15 to the following questions:

1. Exactly how many taxpayers’ return information was disclosed in circumstances that the IRS now considers improper or potentially improper?

a. How and when did you find out about the inappropriate disclosures?

b. Who at the IRS first became aware that the inappropriate disclosures were made?

2. Which officials are responsible for approving, executing, and supervising the disclosures now considered to be improper or potentially improper?

3. Has any IRS or DHS employee been investigated, charged, disciplined, placed on administrative leave, or otherwise held accountable in connection with any improper disclosures?

a. If not, explain why not.

b. If so, please identify the employee and describe the accountability measure taken.

4. Have DHS or ICE accessed, reviewed, relied upon, copied, or further disseminated the affected data before remediation efforts began?

5. What specific steps have DHS or ICE taken to prevent further disclosure or dissemination of the data?

6. What specific steps are DHS and ICE taking to dispose of data improperly disclosed by the IRS?

7. Have any of the 47,289 taxpayers whose information the IRS provided to ICE been questioned, arrested, detained, or deported?

a. If so, how many are among the subset of individuals whose information the IRS shared improperly with ICE?

b. What steps are the IRS and DHS taking to make this determination?

c. What plan has the IRS and DHS put in place to remedy any detainments or deportations made in error?

8. Have any affected taxpayers been notified that their information has been improperly disclosed?

a. If not, when will the notification occur?

b. If the IRS has concluded that such notice is not required, provide the legal basis for that determination.

We look forward to your prompt and complete response.

Sincerely,

###


Michigan Democrats to President Trump: “It’s Essential that the Gordie Howe International Bridge Open as Planned”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and U.S. Representatives Debbie Dingell (D-MI-6), and Haley Stevens (D-MI-11), Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI-8), Shri Thanedar (D-MI-13), and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-12), reiterated the importance of opening the Gordie Howe International Bridge as scheduled this year in a letter to President Donald Trump. The letter comes after President Trump threatened to stop the opening of the new United States-Canadian border crossing between Detroit and Windsor. The Michigan delegation members outlined how the new bridge will be a significant economic driver for Michigan and the entire country.

“This critical conduit of international commerce will bring jobs to the United States and support our long-standing relationship with Canada. Your recent comments put those benefits and years of bipartisan work towards the opening of the bridge in jeopardy,” the lawmakers wrote.

The letter underscored the critical trade partnership between the United States and Canada, where initial figures from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis show more than $660 billion in goods were traded across the border in 2025. The lawmakers highlighted how the relationship is particularly significant to Michigan businesses and workers.

“No state better embodies this relationship than Michigan, where –for the first eleven months of 2025 – our state imported nearly $40 billion in Canadian goods while exporting more than $19 billion in goods to Canada, continuing a multi-decade trend in which Michigan has been one of the top two states for exports to and imports from Canada,” the lawmakers continued. “With the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge allowing more capacity for trade flow, it is not far-fetched to suggest that those figures will only increase, cementing Michigan as the most economically significant state to the trade relationship between the United States and Canada.”

The lawmakers also expressed their “shock” at President Trump’s comments given his previous record of support for the project dating back to his first administration.

“In 2020, during your first term, the U.S. General Services Administration negotiated and entered into an agreement with Canada’s Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority for the facilities that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will operate from at the bridge. And just weeks ago, on January 30, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a rule formally establishing the Gordie Howe International Bridge as a port of entry for both immigration and customs purposes and describing the importance of the project,” the lawmakers wrote. “Not only have you seemingly approved of this project, but you have also taken every step to ensure its success and operation.”

The lawmakers concluded by reiterating their willingness to work with the administration to maintain a strong US-Canada trade relationship, but that it cannot come at the cost of the safe, timely opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge.

“As members of Congress from Michigan, we understand and share your desire to reduce offshoring of U.S. businesses while increasing the supply of good-paying American jobs. For our state, these opportunities are our lifeblood and have supported generations of Michiganders. Often times, our unique and highly integrated relationship with Canada has contributed to that economic development,” the letter concluded. “We implore you to work with the Canadian government, including Prime Minister Carney, to address our ongoing trade relationship as a separate issue, for which we stand ready to assist. But as these discussions move forward, it is essential that the Gordie Howe International Bride open as planned later this year.”

Read the full text of the letter here.

###


VIDEO: Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Peters Shares His Parents’ Unique Love Story

WASHINGTON, DC — In a new video, U.S. Senator Gary Peters and Colleen Ochoa Peters celebrate Valentine’s Day by sharing the story of how Senator Peters’ parents fell in love. Peters’ father, Herb, served as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in France during World War II. Peters’ mother, Madeleine Vignier, grew up in Reims, France and survived the harsh occupation by Nazi Germany. Peters’ parents met during his father’s military service in France during World War II. Following the end of the war, they got married and moved back to Michigan together to start a family.

“My father spoke very little French, and my mother spoke very little English. It definitely is an example of love having a language of its own,” said Senator Peters. “My love parents loved being American citizens. They both instilled in me the notion that nothing is free in life. You have to fight for it, and you have to keep fighting for what’s right. And that lesson has always stuck with me. I think of them often and think, what would my parents do in this situation? I know they would stand strong.”

To watch the full video of Peters’ parents’ story, click here.

Madeleine Vignier grew up in Reims, France and was just 15 years old when the Nazis invaded her hometown. During the evacuation, German Luftwaffe fighter aircraft targeted the French soldiers, putting the civilians like Madeleine in imminent danger. After surviving this attack, Madeliene would temporarily move to multiple French cities before returning to Reims, where she lived under Nazi occupation for several years.

After the Allied Forces liberated her home, she met an Army First Lieutenant named Herb Peters, who was stationed in Reims and served in Eisenhower’s Headquarters following the invasion of Normandy. They got married and moved to Michigan. Madeleine worked as a nurse’s aide and became a union steward for the SEIU. Herb became an accomplished teacher and reporter, and also became a proud union member of the Michigan Education Association. They were married for nearly 65 years.

Madeleine Vignier Peters’ oral history of her experience during World War II was recorded for the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, and can be viewed by clicking here.

###