Standing Guard on All Fronts

Hey folks. Here’s a message from my team on my work this week. Enjoy the weekend. – MRW

Happy Friday from the Warner press office! This week, Sen. Warner was working hard to crack down on Trump’s latest ploy to line his own pockets, defend federal workers from looming cyber threats, highlight the urgent need to strengthen protections for our hardworking coal miners, and ensure the safety and security of our upcoming elections.

There’s a lot to get into, so without further ado…

NO PAY-TO-PLAY FOR GOVERNMENT INFORMATION

While Virginians are struggling to afford everyday necessities – you know, health care, groceries, gas, and energy – President Trump appears more focused on lining his own pockets than lowering costs for working families.

Last weekend, his latest scam went live. Trump’s Truth Social launched a new subscription service, charging companies and other subscribers $100,000 for early access to the president’s posts. We all know that Trump rules by Truth Social posts… announcing new tariffs, military actions, and other market-moving government decisions by simply firing off a quick couple of sentences online. With advance access to Trump’s market-moving posts, large firms with the rare ability to pay $100,000 for a single service will make millions. After all, the president has made it clear that he operates a pay-to-play system, especially if that payment is going to his own, personal bank account.

BUT just because that’s the way things are, does not mean it’s the way they should be.

So this week, Sen. Warner introduced the Senate’s first bill to roll back this latest Trump scheme and crack down on his corruption.

The NO PROFITS Act would make it illegal for social media companies to sell prioritized access to government employees’ accounts that communicate material information. This legislation would also make it illegal for a person to knowingly trade in securities, commodities, swaps, or prediction market contracts if the person is doing so based on material information obtained through access to a prioritized account.

Sen. Warner breaks it down a bit more in this video:

He also had this to say about his new bill:

“The president’s company selling prioritized access to the president’s market-moving posts is corrupt and erodes public confidence. Americans should have free and equal access to public statements made by U.S. government officials. My bill would make sure social media companies can’t sell prioritized access to government employees’ accounts and that someone can’t knowingly trade with information obtained through access to those accounts. Early access to government information should not be sold to whoever will pay the price.”

ICYMI… when reporting of this money-making scheme broke late last month, Sen. Warner pressed leaders from across the financial services industry urging them not to participate.

Sen. Warner will continue to work tirelessly to combat Trump’s corruption.

KEEPING FEDERAL WORKERS PROTECTED

More than a decade ago, two cyberattacks on the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) compromised the personal data of about 22 million federal government employees and contractors. Over 4 million federal government employees were exposed, including their Social Security numbers, addresses, financial details, and security clearance files. And the background investigation records of about 21.5 million individuals were also exposed.

To this day, much of that stolen data has not publicly resurfaced. That raises serious concerns that the malicious actors responsible for the attacks are saving the information for future cyber operations. It means that the millions of federal workers who were exposed – many of them Virginians – are still at risk.

Back in 2017, Congress provided identity protect to the victims of these attacks for ten years… but that protection is set to expire at the end of September. The privacy of millions of individuals is still in jeopardy, and they urgently need new protections.

Well, Sen. Warner is on the case. He and Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton introduced the Reducing the Effects of the Cyberattack on OPM Victims Enduring Response and Protecting Identifiable Information Act (RECOVER PII Act). It’s bicameral legislation to provide lifetime identity protection coverage to federal employees whose personal information was compromised in the 2015 OPM cyberattacks. Their bill would also reimburse affected federal employees and contractors for privacy software and other eligible tools used to reduce the exposure of their personal information online.

Here’s what Sen. Warner had to say about his new legislation:

“More than ten years after the OPM data breach exposed the personal information of millions of federal employees, the threat remains. The data stolen included workers’ most sensitive and personal information – from Social Security numbers to security clearance records – and once that information is in the hands of a bad actor, you don’t get it back. We have a responsibility to stand by the federal workers who were put at risk through no fault of their own. This legislation will ensure those affected continue to receive the identity protection they need, while helping better safeguard personal information from future exploitation.”

MINERS DESERVE BETTER

Throughout his time in office, Sen. Warner has been tirelessly fighting for the protection and benefits of miners and their families. Coal miners quite literally risk their lives to power our nation, and Sen. Warner has never swayed from the conviction that we owe them the health care and benefits they deserve.

In case you forgot about his legislation, Sen. Warner has introduced the Relief for Survivors of Miners Act and the Black Lung Benefits Improvement Act to remove barriers to benefits and ensure that miners and their families receive the compensation they are entitled to. He also previously spoke out against the Trump administration’s decision to pause enforcement of a Department of Labor rule to protect miners from silica dust, which is contributing to a significant uptick in severe black lung disease, particularly among younger miners in their thirties and forties.

This week, a new report found that coal miners in Appalachia are suffering from black lung at the highest rates in nearly 50 years. Specifically, it found that among miners in Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky with at least 25 years in the mines, almost 33% tested positive for black lung. This is the highest recorded rate since 1978. The report also found that miners with at least 15 years underground are developing black lung at rates not seen in nearly 4 decades.

Sen. Warner highlighted the need to strengthen protections for miners, saying…

“Coal miners in Appalachia are getting sicker and at younger ages, and this new data that black lung rates are at their highest in nearly 50 years is devastating. The administration’s decision to cut funding for programs that protect miners’ health and pause enforcement of the silica dust rule is leaving miners at greater risk. Miners have risked their lives to fuel and power our nation. I am proud to fight for coal miners in Appalachia and across the country, and we must do right by them. Congress must enact legislation to ensure miners can access the medical care, compensation, and benefits they have earned.”

ELECTION MONITORS… NOT MEDDLERS

Folks, the midterms are just 89 days away, and President Trump has only been turning up the heat on his threats to “nationalize,” “militarize,” and otherwise interfere with our elections. For months, Sen. Warner has been sounding the alarm on Trump’s threats from writing about growing threats to our elections coming from inside our own government… to calling out the president on his false claims about the integrity of the 2020 election… to pressing the administration time and time again on whatever their ploy of the day is.

Sen. Warner recently took to social media to call out Trump’s bogus claims of election fraud:

This week, Sen. Warner continued the pressure. He led a group of his colleagues in pressing the Department of Justice (DOJ) on their compliance with federal voting laws and cautioning against the misuse of any federal election monitors and actions that could interfere with voting or with state and local officials’ administration of elections.

Sen. Warner and his colleagues wrote,

“Federal election monitors have been present at election sites on Election Day for decades and play a critical role in assessing if state and local elections are administered in compliance with federal civil and voting rights laws, including the laws that guarantee equal access to the polls, language assistance, and disability accommodations. The election monitors program has been implemented under Democratic and Republican administrations alike and has largely operated without incident or controversy. It is important that American voters trust that the U.S. Department of Justice’s election monitors will focus only on their statutory ambit and will not target jurisdictions in a partisan manner; discourage voter participation or interfere with the voting process; or pressure, harass, or interfere with state and local election officials as they do their jobs.”

Free, fair, and secure elections depend on public trust, and that trust requires that federal election monitors remain nonpartisan and operate strictly within the law. Sen. Warner’s letter to the DOJ follows the agency’s July 7 announcement that it would deploy election monitors to 15 jurisdictions, including several in Virginia, during the 2026 primary season… with plans to expand for the general election. DOJ may claim that their actions are routine and nonpartisan, but the monitors are being disproportionately assigned to jurisdictions in states led by Democrats. That’s not suspicious at all as Trump continues to perpetuate unsupported claims about fraud in the 2020 election.

Sen. Warner’s letter demanded answers from the DOJ on how deployment decisions are being made and what safeguards are in place to ensure the program remains impartial. He reminded the agency that federal election monitors have played an important role under both Democratic and Republican administrations, helping ensure compliance with federal voting rights laws. He also emphasized that federal elections monitors must NEVER be used to advance partisan interests, intimidate voters, or interfere with state and local election officials carrying out their responsibilities. The Constitution clearly gives states the primary responsibility for administering elections. Any federal role must be limited, lawful, and respectful of that framework.

Sen. Warner will continue fighting against the Trump administration’s attempts to interfere in our upcoming elections and to ensure every eligible voter is able to cast a ballot free from intimidation and harassment.

GRAB BAG

USPS WINS: Sen. Warner celebrated legislation to establish a unique ZIP code for Fairlawn, VA, as well as three of his bills to rename USPS offices in Loudoun County, Fairfax, and New Kent, passing out of committee.

COMBATTING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN: Sen. Warner announced more than $5 million in federal grant funding to help law enforcement, court personnel, and victim services organizations support victims of sexual assault and their families, enhance victim protection and safety, and curb violent crimes against women.

MATCH IT: Sen. Warner introduced the Patient Matching and Transparency in Certified Health IT (Match It) Act, bipartisan legislation to help decrease patient misidentification and promote interoperability in the health care system.

BOOSTING PUBLIC SAFETY, PROTECTING LAW ENFORCEMENT: Sen. Warner announced federal funding to help local law enforcement agencies across Virginia strengthen public safety through upgraded equipment, specialized training, and enhanced emergency response capabilities.

HAZARDING ON AI: Sen. Warner pressed the Trump administration for answers on its unpredictable oversight of frontier AI models and unclear standards for evaluating a model’s risk to national security.

THE WEEK AHEAD

The Senate will be in recess the rest of August. Later this month, Sen. Warner will be traveling around the Commonwealth meeting with Virginians.

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