Sen. Warner Opening Remarks on Virtual Currencies at Banking Cmte. Hearing

Nov 19, 2013 - 04:30 PM

I'm pleased to co-chair this hearing on the present and future impact of virtual currency. My friend Senator Merkley and I appreciate the work Senator Heller has done. Senator Kirk will be joining us as well. We're going to do this a little different: Because this is a joint subcommittee hearing, I will chair the first panel, and Senator Merkley will chair the second.

The uses of virtual currencies have proliferated in recent years. My hope for this hearing is to educate members of the Senate and the public about virtual currencies, including the potential and drawbacks. I also hope to explore how regulators are keeping up with this technological innovation to protect consumers.

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I've been following this development of bitcoins for the last two months. I'm only just starting to wrap my head around the potential upside, downside, regulatory issues, monetary policy issues, taxation issues, and consumer protection issues that this innovation represents. I'll point out to the witnesses that back in 1982 I had the opportunity to be part of a venture in an entirely  new industry, at that point what was the cutting edge of an industry called cellular telephones. All of the experts at that point thought it would take the world 30 years to build-out a wireless network. And at the end of the first five years, maybe about 30% of Americans would use cellular phones. Luckily for me, the experts were wrong, and now these devices transform our lives.

Getting it right from all the regulatory, financial, and consumer points around virtual currencies could pose great challenges as well as great opportunities. And my hope is that this will be the beginning of an effort to hear about the potential and significant ramifications around monetary policy, around taxation.

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Think about all of these notions with  21 million bitcoins that could be created. As we see acceptance, the FEC has allowed political contributions to be made in bitcoins. This is a development that's already in process. But if this becomes a standard currency or tool, it could radically and dramatically transform the role of central banks and monetary policy. It has enormous security concerns, which is why I am very, very interested about this topic as a member of the Intelligence Committee. I'm concerned as well about the potential abuse of this development. But I think, as we see now, somewhere between 10 to 12 million bitcoins have been mined. And, based on the reactions yesterday from Senator Carper's hearing, where I believe bitcoins spiked at over $700 per unit, we're talking about a currency that already is being monetized. We as policymakers have to catch up. 

Sen. Warner Outlines Three Goals at First Mtg of Budget Conference Cmte

Oct 30, 2013 - 02:00 PM

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-VA), a member of the Fiscal 2014 Budget Conference Committee, outlined his goals during today’s first meeting of House and Senate budget negotiators.  Sen. Warner said he wants to end the recent fiscal practice of lurching from crisis to crisis, find a way to replace the damaging, across-the-board spending cuts mandated by sequester, and look for opportunities to make responsible investments that will strengthen the economic recovery and promote American competitiveness. Negotiators have until December 13 to find a budget compromise.

The text of Sen. Warner’s prepared remarks is below, and video can be accessed here.

“There are three touchstones that I hope come out of this effort:

First, do no harm -- which would mean that acknowledging that another government shutdown, or threatening the full faith and credit of the United States, does no good and presents enormous economic crisis. We all have the numbers on what the price was. We all have fun factoids. Mine is the fact that during the shutdown we furloughed three American Nobel Prize winners in physics. You wonder what the governments of Russia, India, China and around the rest of the world were thinking when we furloughed these kinds of American assets. I can assure you, they did not put their research on hold during our period of dysfunction.

Second, sequestration was supposed to be so bad  that no rational group of people would let it happen. I think there is a way that we cannot only  protect savings but find ways to replace sequester. I know some of my colleagues think it hasn’t been that bad, but I believe it’s almost like a cancer inside. I can tell you, in Virginia, we are a little bit like Ground Zero because of the federal workforce and military personnel that live here. What we are doing in terms of hurting military readiness, costing taxpayers money because we the Department of Defense cannot do long-term purchase contracts, is totally irresponsible.

I know a lot of us around this table like to cite our business experience. I am proud that I have been a business guy longer than I have been a political guy. My time in business was mostly spent as an investor.  When you are an investor looking at a business plan, you look at the company’s plan for its workforce, its investments in plant and equipment, and how they plan to stay ahead of their competition. Countries have a business plan, too: it’s called the federal budget. We have those three items, too: ‘workforce’ is called education and training – ‘plant and equipment’ is infrastructure – and ‘staying ahead of the competition’ is research and development.

And while I strongly believe most of our job growth is going to come from the private sector, the government does provide a framework in those three areas which allows the private sector to prosper.  Unfortunately, if we go forward with an approach that indiscriminately cuts those areas of investment in infrastructure, education and R&D, we are not going to have a business plan that allows our country to prosper over the long-term. So I hope we can find common agreement to replace the sequester and make investments in those areas.

Third, and I know this may be a bit off-script, but I hope that we actually might be able to exceed expectations. I think we’ve done an appropriate job of lowering expectations, so that simply avoiding a crisis may be viewed as a success. But I think that while we may not be able to get to the so-called grand bargain, we ought to use this opportunity to recognize that if we keep coming back to the discretionary bucket, whether it’s on the defense side or the non-defense side, it becomes a zero-sum game after a period.

I would say, as somebody who acknowledges we need to look at entitlements, when we hear these constant references to 50-year revenue totals, I just think it refuses to recognize some of the fundamental changes in our economy right now.  I’ll just cite two:  the dramatic transfer of research and development from the private sector to the public sector. That’s not just happening in America. It’s all across the world. There is no such thing as Bell Labs anymore. And increasingly, for us to stay competitive, the public sector is going to pick up R&D. And because we’ve been blessed with a much longer lifetimes, entitlement costs – even with entitlement reform – are going to be greater than we’ve seen in the past because life expectancy now exceeds 80. So we all know what we’re going to have to deal with: Democrats are going to have to deal with entitlement reforms, and Republicans are going to have to deal with revenues, and we ought to be willing to at least approach those areas.

I would close by simply saying we all  have lots of ideas about how we can build our economy. I think there would be nothing that would do more for job creation and economic growth than removing this fiscal overhang of governing by crisis.

I hope that we can exceed expectations and do that.”

Sen. Mark Warner floor speech on shutdown, debt limit

Oct 12, 2013 - 10:30 AM

Transcript below:

MR. PRESIDENT, I WANT TO FOLLOW UP ON THE COMMENTS OF MY COLLEAGUES,  SOME OF THE SENATORS WHO HAVE SPOKEN BEFORE ME. IT SEEMS LIKE WE'VE ACCEPTED THIS NEW NORMAL, THAT SHUTTING DOWN THE OPERATIONS OF THE LARGEST ENTERPRISE IN AMERICA IS ACCEPTABLE. 

I WANT TO CONCUR WITH MY COLLEAGUE, THE SENATOR FROM ALASKA, ABOUT THE REAL STORIES AND REAL PAIN THAT'S TAKING PLACE BECAUSE OF THIS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. AND I COMMEND SOME OF MY COLLEAGUES' COMMENTS WHO WHEN WE READ THESE TRAGIC STORIES, WHETHER IT'S AROUND N.I.H., AROUND OUR VETERANS, AROUND OUR PARK SERVICE, OH, BUT THAT PART OF THE GOVERNMENT WE REOPEN. DOES THAT MEAN EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF GOVERNMENT REMAINS CLOSED UNTIL WE CAN FIND THAT STORY?

I POINT OUT TO MY COLLEAGUES STORIES THAT WERE IN BOTH "THE WASHINGTON POST" AND "THE NEW YORK TIMES" TODAY, A STORY THAT WE SHOULD BE CELEBRATING ABOUT THREE AMERICAN NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS. WELL, DOES THAT MEAN WE SHOULD NOW REOPEN THE N.S.F. BECAUSE IF THE NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION ISN'T FUNDED, THERE MAY NOT BE A NEXT GENERATION OF AMERICAN NOBEL PRIZE WINNERS? WE HAVE TO BRING IN A STORY ABOUT SOME CHILD BEING HURT BECAUSE OF THE FOOD OR THE MEAT OR THE FISH WASN'T INSPECTED CORRECTLY?

I'VE GOT TO TELL YOU I SPENT A LOT LONGER IN BUSINESS THAN I HAVE IN POLITICS, AND I'VE BEEN INVOLVED IN A LOT OF BUSINESS NEGOTIATIONS. BUT I'VE NEVER BEEN INVOLVED IN A NEGOTIATION THAT SAYS DURING THE NEGOTIATION WE HAVE TO SHUT DOWN THE OPERATION OF OUR BUSINESS AND INFLICT PAIN NOT ONLY UPON OUR EMPLOYEES, BUT UPON THE GENERAL ECONOMY ACROSS THE BOARD. THAT IS NOT THE WAY TO GOVERN. 

AND I WOULD AGREE WE'VE TALKED ABOUT STORIES WITH FEDERAL WORKERS, BUT I WOULD AGREE WITH THE SENATOR FROM ALASKA, IT IS ALSO THE HOTEL OWNERS ALONG THE SKYLINE DRIVE IN OUR STATE OF VIRGINIA, THE GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS WHO START AND STOP BECAUSE THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO OPERATE.

THIS PIECEMEAL EFFECT, THIS PIECEMEAL APPROACH TO REOPENING GOVERNMENT MAKES NO SENSE. WHAT MIGHT BE BETTER, IS WE HEAR FROM SOME OF THOSE FOLKS WHO WANT TO HAVE THIS PIECEMEAL EFFECT, MAYBE THEY SHOULD TELL US WHAT PARTS OF THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD STAY CLOSED?

THIS IS NOT THE WAY TO OPERATE. WE OUGHT TO REOPEN THIS GOVERNMENT, PUT OUR PEOPLE BACK TO WORK, GET THIS ECONOMY GOING AGAIN, AND CONTINUE THE VERY REAL CONVERSATIONS WE'VE GOT TO HAVE ABOUT GETTING OUR FISCAL HOUSE IN ORDER.

AND WHAT MAKES THIS, TO ME, IN THE FOUR AND A HALF YEARS I'VE BEEN IN THE SENATE, DIFFERENT THAN THESE PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS AND DEBATES IS THAT WE HAVE THIS, FIRST IN MY TENURE IN THE SENATE, GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WHICH DISPROPORTIONATELY IS HURTING VIRGINIA AND MARYLAND BUT IS LITERALLY HURTING EVERY COMMUNITY  ACROSS AMERICA. BUT WE HAVE THIS TRAGEDY, THIS CATASTROPHE MERGING NOW INTO A DEADLINE THAT'S GOING TO HIT US NEXT WEEK WHERE THERE ARE CERTAIN MEMBERS OF CONGRESS WHO SAY IT'S OKAY IF AMERICA DEFAULTS.

I FIND THAT STUNNING.

IF YOU LOOK BACK, THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A MAJOR INDUSTRIAL COUNTRY IN MODERN HISTORY THAT HAS DEFAULTED. AS A MATTER OF FACT, THE LAST MAJOR COUNTRY TO DEFAULT WAS ARGENTINA BACK IN DECEMBER OF 2001. THE AFTERMATH OF THAT DEFAULT, THEY HAD OVER 100% PER ANNUM INFLATION. EVERY FAMILY IN ARGENTINA SAW LITERALLY 60% OF THEIR NET WORTH DISAPPEAR WITHIN A FEW WEEKS. AMERICA IS NOT ARGENTINA. BUT WHY WOULD WE EVEN GET CLOSE TO THAT KIND OF POTENTIAL ECONOMIC CATASTROPHE?

AND HAS BEEN MENTIONED ALREADY, AMERICA HOLDS A RECORD AS RESERVE CURRENCY FOR THE WORLD. WHEN CRISES HAPPEN AS HAVE HAPPENED AROUND THE WORLD RECENTLY, PEOPLE AND CAPITAL FLOWS INTO THE DOLLAR. THAT'S BECAUSE THE DOLLAR AND THE UNITED STATES FULL FAITH AND CREDIT HAS NEVER BEEN SUSPECT. IT'S NEVER BEEN A QUESTION OF WHETHER WE'RE GOING TO HONOR OUR COMMITMENTS.  WELL, MR. PRESIDENT, NEXT WEEK OR VERY SHORTLY AFTER THAT HISTORY IS GOING TO BE PUT POTENTIALLY IN JEOPARDY.

AND I'M JUST GOING TO TELL YOU I HEARD THOSE WHO SAY WE CAN PRIORITIZE PAYMENTS. THERE IS NO BUSINESS GROUP IN AMERICA AND NO ECONOMISTS THAT I KNOW OF, FROM THE LEFT OR RIGHT, WHO BELIEVES THAT SOMEHOW AMERICA CAN PARTIALLY DEFAULT AND PRIORITIZE PAYMENTS: WE'RE JUST GOING TO PAY INTEREST, WE'RE JUST GOING TO PAY OUR TROOPS…

THOSE OF US WHO SERVED AT STATE LEVELS REALIZE THAT SOMETIMES OUR BUDGETS ARE CLOSE TO 50% PASS-THROUGH FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. THE PRESIDING OFFICER, THE GOVERNOR FROM THE GREAT STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA, HOW LONG BEFORE WEST VIRGINIA DEFAULTS IF AMERICA STARTS PRIORITIZING ITS PAYMENTS? HOW MANY DETROITS WOULD THERE BE ALL ACROSS AMERICA IF WE WERE TO TAKE THIS TYPE OF IRRESPONSIBLE ACTION?  AND EVEN IF THERE WAS SOME POSSIBILITY THAT THERE MIGHT BE SOME CHANCE OF SOME LOGIC BEHIND THIS PARTIAL PAYMENT SCHEME, IT'S NEVER BEEN TRIED BEFORE. NO INDUSTRIAL COUNTRY HAS EVER GOT THIS CLOSE TO A DEFAULT.

WHY WOULD WE TAKE THE CHANCE? WHY WOULD WE PLAY RUSSIAN ROULETTE WITH ONLY ONE BULLET AND TWO CHAMBERS? THAT IS SOMETHING THAT AT THIS MOMENT FOR OUR NATIONAL ECONOMY AND THE WORLD ECONOMY CAN BE DEVASTATING.

SO, MR. PRESIDENT, I KNOW WE SEEM TO BE REPEATING OURSELVES ON BOTH SIDES, BUT TO ME IT SEEMS VERY EASY TO GET TO NEGOTIATION. WE'VE GOT DIFFERENCES. I WOULD SAY TO MY COLLEAGUES, I PROBABLY MAKE FOLKS ON MY SIDE MORE ANGRY THAN ANYONE ELSE ON THESE ISSUES AROUND GETTING OUR COUNTRY'S BALANCE SHEET IN ORDER. I'M ANXIOUS TO CONTINUE THOSE DISCUSSIONS ABOUT TAX REFORM, ABOUT ENTITLEMENT REFORM, ABOUT BRINGING OUR DEBT TO G.D.P. RATIO DOWN.

BUT WE CANNNOT HAVE THAT KIND OF NEGOTIATION WHILE YOU'VE GOT THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN AND THE FULL FAITH AND CREDIT OF THE UNITED STATES IN JEOPARDY. LET'S OPEN THE GOVERNMENT NOT JUST BECAUSE WE HEAR SOME TRAGIC STORY ABOUT ONE COMPONENT OF THE GOVERNMENT, NOT JUST BECAUSE WE NEED TO COME AND MAKE THAT CASE ABOUT FOOD INSPECTORS, ABOUT NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION, ABOUT NASA LANGLEY WHERE WE DO AERONAUTICS RESEARCH -- 3,500 SCIENTISTS, AND LAST WEEK THERE WERE SEVEN ON THE JOB.     CHINA, INDIA, OTHER NATIONS ARE S NOT STOPPING THEIR RESEARCH BECAUSE WE CAN'T GET OUR ACT TOGETHER.

OPEN THIS GOVERNMENT, TAKE OFF THE TABLE THE IDEA THAT AMERICA WOULD DEFAULT. THEN I AM ANXIOUS TO JOIN WITH COLLEAGUES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE TO GET OUR COUNTRY'S BALANCE SHEET IN ORDER. BUT TO CONTINUE TO HOLD THIS ECONOMY AND THESE STORIES OF THESE AMERICANS' LIVES IN THIS LIMBO IS IRRESPONSIBLE BEYOND WORDS. SO, MR. PRESIDENT,

LET'S GET THIS GOVERNMENT OPEN. LET'S MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE GOING TO HONOR AND PAY OUR DEBTS, AND LET'S GET TO THE VERY, VERY REAL, IMPORTANT QUESTIONS OF HOW WE GET OUR NATION'S BALANCE SHEET RIGHT.

Sen. Warner on the shutdown's impact

Oct 11, 2013 - 10:30 AM

Sen. Warner has heard from a Virginia contractor with 5,500 employees, built over 25 years, who faces bankruptcy in a matter of weeks due to the government shutdown. This is causing havoc in the economy.

Statement on National Healthcare Decisions Day

Apr 16, 2013 - 01:00 PM

Mr. President, I rise today to recognize that today, April 16th, 2013, is National Healthcare Decisions Day.

National Healthcare Decisions Day exists to inspire, educate & empower the public & providers about the importance of advance care planning. It began as a local, grassroots effort seven years ago in the Commonwealth of Virginia, started by a Virginia Attorney, and it became an annual event in 2008.

It now is recognized across all 50 states as an annual imitative to provide clear, concise and consistent information on health care decision making to the public and providers. This year over national 100 organizations, including groups like the AARP, Volunteers of America, government groups like the Veterans Health Administration, providers like the hospital company HCA, American College of Nursing, and American Academy of Nursing, along with faith-based groups like B’nai B’rith International have all pledged to participate today to spread the word on the value of conversations about our goals and values and preferences about medical treatment.

I know how important this is, not just from my time serving both as a Governor and as a Senator, but also through the eyes of a loved one who struggled with these issues. My mother suffered from Alzheimer’s disease for 10 years, and for 9 of those years, she couldn’t speak. My father, sister and I found grappling with the challenges of caring for her difficult. The difficulty was greater because, when she was first diagnosed, my family didn’t take the opportunity to talk in a frank and fully informed way with her and her health care providers about the full array of health care options available or about what her priorities would be during the final years of her life.

It is so frustrating that some have labeled advance care planning as efforts to take way choice from patients. This is ignorant and is disrespectful to those struggling will illness and caregiving. In fact, what we are trying to do is the opposite, give patients and their families the ability to make decisions when they can and provide enough support and information so that they can make informed choices based upon their own values and goals.

It is not easy, this is a subject that most people do their best to avoid: who will decide how we will live when we are unable to make our own decisions. But it is critical.

Most of us, more than 80 percent, will be unable to make decisions about what medical treatments we will receive for some period in our lives. The lucky will regain decision-making ability, but most of us will lose it for good.

Family or friends are then asked to step in. Sometimes they are asked to make routine decisions, like using antibiotics to treat an infection. Sometimes it's more significant. Would a hip replacement improve quality of life when you're physically pretty healthy, but substantially impaired by Alzheimer's or another dementia? Or would it cause more harm than good?

Often proxies are forced to choose between terrible options. Should they consent to an amputation of a gangrenous leg of a loved one who can no longer get out of bed, communicate, or recognize family for the remote chance that doing so will slow, but not cure, the progression of vascular disease?

State laws and Supreme Court decisions direct proxies to make the decision that a now-incapacitated loved one would have made.

But research says this often doesn’t work. It might not work, for example, because a widow never told her adult children what she would want.

Maybe she assumed that her children knew.

Maybe she feared that they would disagree with her preferences.

Whatever the reason, those who make decisions for her do so blind-folded with their hands tied behind their backs.

Too often, proxies are left with guilt, anxiety, and depression.

But some are at peace because they know what the person wants. They know because they talk about how decisions should be made and who should make them. They talk about when a decision best honors the person by pulling back on treatments designed to treat the disease and instead forge ahead with aggressive symptom control. They talk about when a hospital bed at home is the right choice over tubes and needles and monitors in the ICU, or vice versa.

After talking, they write it down in an advance directive.

Each of us has an obligation to our families and friends to think about what we want, to talk to them about what we want, and to document our choices.

In the last two sessions of Congress, I have introduced a bill to help patients, providers, and caregivers get the support and education they need. Among other things, it will make advance directives more accessible, and it will make it easier for providers to follow them. I am planning on introducing bill, the Senior Navigation and Planning Act, in the coming weeks.

However, today, I urge you all, on this National Decisions Day, to discuss your preferences and goals with your family and friends. Fill out an advance directive. Think of it as a gift.

Sen. Warner on Great Federal Employees Jeanne Vertefeuille and Sandy Grimes

Jan 23, 2013 - 03:00 PM

Mr. President:

 Today I would like to continue a tradition that our former colleague, Ted Kauffman of Delaware, began in 2009 during the 111th Congress. 

Senator Kauffman would appear here on the Senate floor on a regular basis to highlight the great work performed every day by members of our federal workforce.

It is a tradition I proudly carried through the last Congress, and one that I will carry forward into the current session.

And the two great federal employees I wish to celebrate today – both Virginians, I might add -- also serve as excellent role models. They represent the thousands of professionals who work quietly every day across our intelligence community to keep our nation safe.

Very often, these professionals work in anonymity, and many risk their lives in trouble spots far away from the limelight. And this is as it should be.

Mr. President, for their service - for the late nights and early mornings away from their families - for the risks they take and the sacrifice they make every day -  and because they do not hear this nearly enough – allow me to say, “Thank you.”

Today, I would like to briefly tell the remarkable stories of two extraordinary women who built their careers at the Central Intelligence Agency.

Jeanne Vertefeuille passed away on December 29th at the age of 80, after a brief illness. 

In announcing her death to the CIA family, Acting Director Michael Morell appropriately described Ms. Vertefeuille as “an icon” within the agency.

If her story were not true, it would read like something from a spy novel.  

Jeanne joined the CIA when she graduated from college in 1954. At a time when America’s intelligence community could best be described as a “boys club,” she was hired at CIA as a GS-4 typist.

But over a career that stretched nearly a half-century, Jeanne Vertefeuille  blazed a trail for women in the national clandestine service.  

She methodically worked her way up to leadership positions. There were overseas postings in Ethiopia, Finland and The Hague. She became an expert in Soviet intelligence and spycraft, and she retired as a member of the Senior Intelligence Service in 1992.  

But even after her retirement, she continued her work for the Agency as a contractor, making still more valuable contributions and working without a day’s break in service until she became ill last summer.

As her obituary reads, “She remained a quiet agency soldier… purposefully nondescript and selflessly dedicated.

“She lived alone and walked to work. 

“But if she was a gray figure at the agency, Ms. Vertefeuille was also a tenacious and effective one, and in October 1986 was asked to lead a task force to investigate the disappearance of Russians whom the CIA had hired to spy against their own country.”

Together with her colleagues at the CIA, she invested years in the methodical and painstaking hunt for a mole.

And it was through her efforts, and the good work of many others, that we ultimately unmasked the notorious traitor Aldrich Ames in 1994.

Aldrich Ames turned out to be one of the most dangerous traitors in the history of our nation.  

Thanks in large measure to Ms. Vertefeuille’s efforts, he was convicted of espionage and he is now serving a life prison term without parole.

But Jeanne Vertefeuille’s story does not end here.

The Washington Post recently described how one of her colleagues, Sandy Grimes, another Virginian who worked with her on the Ames task force, stepped-up over the past year to care for Jeanne as she was battling cancer.

Sandy Grimes, a career CIA employee whose parents worked on the Manhattan Project, ultimately served as Jeanne’s primary caregiver. 

She sat with her each day during the final three months of her remarkable life.

She monitored Jeanne’s care, and tried to make sure she remained comfortable. She often brought personal messages of support and appreciation from their former CIA colleagues.

‘I felt an obligation to be there with her,’ Grimes said.  ‘I can’t imagine not doing it. I was the one Jeanne would accept. I owed it to her as a friend.’”

Now, by all accounts, Jeanne Vertefeuille was an intensely private woman, and she doubtless would recoil at the attention she is now receiving.

But one cannot help but be inspired by this true-life story of service – and patriotism -- and friendship -- demonstrated by these two great federal employees, Sandy Grimes and the late Jeanne Vertefeuille.

Their service reflects well on the work of thousands of other intelligence professionals whose names can never be revealed. Both of them deserve our recognition and thanks.

Mr. President, during the last Congress, I joined 14 Senators in a Joint Resolution to mark U.S. Intelligence Professionals Day. 

This was an effort to bring respectful attention to these quiet professionals who keep our nation safe every day, without any thought of recognition. 

I look forward to working with my colleagues to reintroduce this resolution here in the new Congress.

And, Mr. President, I would like to conclude my remarks today by once again expressing my deep respect and sincere appreciation for the service of Sandy Grimes and the late Jeanne Vertefeuille.

Each of these women has earned the thanks of a grateful nation. 

Thank you, and I yield the floor.

Senator Warner's Virginia Tech Class of 2012 Commencement Speech

May 11, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Madame First Lady, President Steger, members of the Board of Visitors, Virginia Tech faculty and staff, parents, friends:

Today, we gather to acknowledge and celebrate the success of over 5,000 college graduates – students who know that orange and maroon always look good together -- the Virginia Tech graduating class of 2012.

I understand Governor McDonnell is also here today, celebrating the graduation of a daughter. Congratulations, Governor and Mrs. McDonnell.

Mrs. Obama, I want to assure you, I ate a healthy breakfast, exercised for an hour before coming up on stage … and I am ready to take you on in a sack race right after this ceremony.

… Welcome to your first visit to Virginia Tech.

I recall the first time I was here, in this very stadium.

It was a Saturday night football game, and there’s nothing quite like it.

The atmosphere -- the band -- the students -- the noise: I was hooked.

It is always good to be back among friends in Blacksburg.

* * *

When President Steger announced in March that I would be one of your commencement speakers today, an engineering student named Miles Goff tweeted this:

“I am honored to have you speak at graduation. I hope it’s a good speech – not too awful long, though…”

Thanks, Miles.

With that in mind, I will follow Winston Churchill’s advice to public speakers: ‘Be clear, be concise -- and then be seated.’

* * *

On the day that I sat where you are, I was the first person in my family to graduate from college. And I knew that I would be able to do things and go places that my parents only dreamed about.

Today, you share that promise – and you can realize those dreams.

You have been well prepared with a Virginia Tech degree, but that investment brings a responsibility.

Your obligation is to strive – to reach – and to not be afraid to fail.

Remember, you graduate from a university whose first student walked 13 miles simply to enroll.

So you, too, must be brave, and daring and courageous. That is what drives our nation.

This is the unique spirit of America.

I know the challenge can be daunting. For me, some of my most important life lessons have come from moments most people would consider failures:

  • I failed in two businesses before I was 30 years old: my first business failed in six weeks, and the second one went bust after six months.
  • I was sleeping on friend’s couches and living out of my car when a friend told me about this new technology – technology that just might lead to an entirely new industry – the cellular telephone.
  • My Harvard Law School classmates who were practicing at big fancy law firms laughed. “Warner, you’re crazy,” they said. “Who’s going to want a telephone in their car? Go get a real job!”

Those friends? Most of them are still practicing law, and billing by the hour.

* * *

Going for it, and being willing to fail, but then picking yourself up and getting right back in the game – that’s what is so great about America.

Never forget that.

But remember: along with that responsibility to yourself, you also have an obligation to your community.

You’re graduating during an election year, and the political and policy debates already are pretty intense.

I urge you to participate in our nation’s debates in a respectful manner, because today we’re living in a nation that engages in too much confrontation and too little conversation.

And we wonder why Americans have become cynical, distrustful and alienated from their government?

While we’ve become better connected, we seem to be even more divided.

You graduates can access more information on your smartphones every day than your grandparents could access in a year – maybe even their entire lifetimes.

Yet in this age of the iPhone and the iPad, we seem to find it harder and harder to look beyond the “I.”

Don’t misunderstand me: Disagreement and rigorous debate about the big issues of the day and the challenges we face is both healthy and proper.

But we should be able to debate these critical issues without questioning each other’s motives or our shared commitment to America’s success.

No one in politics – and I mean no one – has a monopoly on virtue, or patriotism, or on the truth.

For America to remain a nation of great destiny, your generation must step forward and embrace the motto of this university – “That I may serve” -- a motto that many of you already have accepted in your everyday lives:

  • For instance, we know that almost all of the members of the Corp of Cadets who graduate today will enter America’s military service. We honor their commitment to our freedom.
  • Let me just add, Mrs. Obama, that all of us applaud your personal commitment to America’s military men and women and their families. You and Dr. Biden have set a great example for the nation in encouraging stronger community support for our returning veterans and our military families.

Graduates, your time here at Virginia Tech has been marked with great moments of celebration and awful moments of reality.

In the months that followed that tragic April day in 2007, when some people were asking “Who will go to Virginia Tech now?” -- you raised your hands and said, “I will.”

And time and time again, America has watched you – and each time, we have been impressed.

It is that spirit – and your example – that will lead the way forward.

So no matter the distance you travel in the days ahead, remember the lessons you learned on this campus.

“That I may serve:” Always stay true to the Hokie spirit that makes this such a great university.

* * *

And now I come to my final piece of advice, and this might be the most important lesson I leave with you today:

Call your mother.

Because, if you’re honest with yourself, you know you did not get here alone.

So call your mother. Call your father. Call your grandparents, girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands and wives.

Seek-out that special person who has encouraged and supported you on this journey, and tell them “thank you.”

Don’t just text them, or tweet it, or post it on Facebook: call them and tell them.

You should cherish your friends and your family as if your life depends on it -- because it does.

* * *

Graduates, as you reflect today on the past four, five or six years of your life, you no doubt have memories of very special moments you will carry for a lifetime.

But to me, this year provides one vivid Hokie memory in particular:

Danny Coale -- I don’t care what the officials said -- you caught that ball!

So, Virginia Tech Class of 2012, as you prepare to leave this great campus, let me summarize my advice today:

  • First: Don't spend a lot of time worrying about your failures. I've learned a whole lot more from my mistakes than from all of my successes.
  • Second: Always remember that, as a nation, we are at our best when we work together, and when we are honest and respectful of each other.
  • And, finally, there’s this: never, ever, forget to call your mother.

Congratulations graduates.

Now, let’s go Hokies!

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Speaking from the Floor: Urging Reauthorization of VAWA

Apr 27, 2012 - 12:00 AM

Remarks as prepared for delivery: 

Mr. President, I rise today to add my voice in support of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, of which I am proud to say I am a cosponsor.

In Virginia, this Act has doubled the resources available for prevention and intervention of sexual violence in communities and on campus. The funding provides crisis services in nearly every locality in Virginia.

Funds have helped develop state databases like the protective order registry in the Virginia Criminal Information Network (VCIN) and the I-CAN system housed with the Virginia Supreme Court. These databases have helped improve responses across the Commonwealth to sexual and domestic violence.

I would like to share some startling Virginia domestic and sexual violence incidence statistics, which highlight just how critical this legislation is to anyone in my state and across the country who may find themselves in need of help.

Virginia has seen a 12% increase over the past two years in the number of men, women and children staying in domestic violence emergency shelters on an average night.

Nearly 1 million women and more than 600,000 men in Virginia have experienced rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner and a third of Virginia’s homicides involve family and intimate partner violence.

According to the State’s medical examiner, 1 in 3 homicides in Virginia are due to family or intimate partner violence.

As these statistics show, the services authorized through VAWA continue to be a necessity. It is important that we continue to support access to these vital services that will provide significant benefits to those most in need of assistance.

For the Violence Against Women Act to truly work as intended, we must have effective accountability. Particularly in times of tight budgets, it is important to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent wisely.

It is critically important that we continue to advance effective, comprehensive policies that will provide appropriate preventive and supportive services that many in my state, as well as across the country, will benefit from.

The accountability measures included in this bill are patterned after proposals offered by my Republican colleagues for other grant programs, and these accountability measures have been tailored to VAWA to make sure that funds are efficiently spent and effectively monitored.

The bill authorizes the Department of Justice’s Inspector General to audit grantees to prevent waste, fraud and abuse. It gives grantees a reasonable amount of time to correct any problems that were not solved during the audit process, but imposes severe penalties on grantees that refuse to address the problems identified by the Inspector General.

Rather than Congress mandating a set number of audits, the Office of Inspector General will have the ability to set the appropriate number. This will give the experts in the Inspector General’s office the ability to more effectively perform important oversight.

The Department of Justice has taken significant steps to improve monitoring of VAWA grant awards by updating grant monitoring policies and incorporating accounting training for all grantees.

The bill has also taken the important step of holding the Department of Justice accountable when using Federal funds to host or support conferences.

These new accountability provisions are an integral piece in this process and a meaningful additional check to ensure the appropriate use of taxpayer dollars for these important programs.

I encourage you to join me in support of the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

Senator Warner Floor Speech on Keystone XL

Mar 8, 2012 - 03:30 PM

Mr. President, I'd like to follow up on the comments of my friend, the Senator from Texas, on an issue that we will be voting on this afternoon regarding the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline.

Mr. President, I've been frustrated by the debate around this issue. Unfortunately, we are going to be confronted again with a bifurcated choice here that doesn't move us to the possibility of actually putting in placea comprehensive energy policy that will remove this nation's dependence upon foreign oil, start to look at our ability over the longer haul to bring down fuel prices at the pump, and to make sure that we are truly a participant in the opportunities of a growing, multifaceted energy policy going forward.

Mr. President, I support the construction of the Keystone pipeline because I believe that we need to have an energy policy that has an all-of-the-above approach. I believe there are appropriate regulatory reviews that need to be made, and I frankly think that construction of a Keystone pipeline should take into consideration the very serious environmental considerations that particularly affect the state of Nebraska so that we can find a route for this pipeline that would avoid that potential environmental damage.

However, because of the way this process is being played out, I will not be voting for the Keystone amendment today because, by making this a straight up-or-down issue without taking advantage of the opportunity to put together the beginnings of an energy package, we're missing a great opportunity.

As I've mentioned, if we are truly serious about energy security and if we are truly serious about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, we need an energy policy that has an all-of-the-above approach. Yes, that means more domestic oil and gas, but it also means that when we have an opportunity like this one regarding

Keystone, that we could have taken this opportunity to take a more rational approach, with appropriate environmental reviews, that gets us to a positive answer on Keystone by linking it with other energy policies that make sense.

I know, for instance, that the presiding officer has got in his state a number of wind facilities and solar facilities. Those also need to be part of our energy mix, yet the tax treatment that allows those projects to move forward has been put in limbo because of the failure of Congress to extend those favorable tax provisions going forward has been put in limbo. As a matter of fact, I was just visiting with some folks right before coming to the floor today who have a variety of wind projects

that have been stopped dead in their tracks because of this uncertainty regarding whether Congress will act.

The ability to get a Keystone pipeline passed in combination with passing an extension of these appropriate renewable energy tax credits could have begun to build the kind of bipartisan consensus around energy policy that is needed.

I also think the lowest-hanging fruit in terms of a rational energy policy in this country means a much greater involvement with energy conservation. There is a very strong bipartisan energy conservation bill -- the Shaheen-Portman bill -- that could have been included in this package as well.

I think if we're going to get serious about reducing our dependence on foreign oil, if we're going to make sure that we give American taxpayers a vision that in the future we're going to see an ability to reduce our dependence upon foreign oil that’s fueling higher gas prices, we could have put together a better proposal: a truly bipartisan consensus included construction of Keystone with the appropriate environmental reviews, inclusion of the energy tax cuts and tax provisions that would continue to allow wind and solar and other renewable energy production to continue in this country, and a meaningful and bipartisan Shaheen-Portman energy conservation bill.

Those three policies linked together, I believe, would have resulted in a vote that would have been overwhelmingly bipartisan. It would have been a demonstration to the American people that we're willing to get out of our respective foxholes and put in place the beginnings of a truly comprehensive energy policy.

Unfortunately, we're not going to have that opportunity. We're going to have a straight up-and-down vote on Keystone that dismisses any of the appropriate review process, that doesn't include the so-called energy tax extenders, and that doesn’t include bipartisan energy conservation legislation that was put together by Senator Shaheen and Senator Portman. We're going to end up with one more vote that, for the most part, will likely break-down on partisan lines.

I'm disappointed in that. I do believe that we need the construction of the Keystone pipeline. I believe we need meaningful energy conservation legislation. I believe we need meaningful tax policy that promotes renewable energies -- wind, solar, biomass – but unfortunately we’re going to miss an opportunity today to send that strong signal of a comprehensive, all-of-the-above energy policy that actually would move this nation forward.

My friend, the Senator from Texas, is no longer here in the chamber. But I would tell him I could have supported a package that was more comprehensive, that would have allowed the Keystone project to move forward, in conjunction with these other efforts. But that's not going to happen.

Perhaps later in the year, or in a future debate, we'll have the ability to cobble together something that includes more of an all-of-the-above energy policy and we can get around to making sure we have a national energy policy that includes all of the above, because there is no silver bullet on this.

We need to make sure we take advantage of all the potential energy resources that we have in this country -- oil and gas, offshore oil with appropriate revenue sharing for states like mine, nuclear, energy conservation, and greater use of renewables as well. The sooner we get to that kind of debate, the sooner we can build the kind of bipartisan coalitions that will allow that to move forward.

Speaking from the Floor: Urging swift action on debt reduction

Dec 6, 2010 - 02:51 PM

Mister President, just 72 hours ago, a bipartisan majority of the members of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform endorsed a package of proposals to reposition our nation on a more responsible fiscal course.

I want to commend my legislative colleagues who served on the Commission -- Senators Baucus, Coeburn, Conrad, Crapo, Durbin and Gregg.

I also want to thank the other economists, policymakers and thinkers who invested the time and effort and courageously grappled with these difficult choices.

On Friday, 11 of the 18 members of the Commission voted to support a tough, bipartisan prescription for fiscal health. I regret that the 11 “yes” votes fell just short of the 14 votes required to forward this plan to Congress for our consideration.

In the hours leading up to Friday’s vote, I was proud to work with 13 of my Senate colleagues to draft a joint letter to the White House and to the bipartisan Congressional leadership.

This letter, ultimately signed by 14 Senators and distributed before the Commission’s final meeting on Friday, requested that the panel’s recommendations come to Congress for our consideration regardless of the outcome of the Commission’s final vote.

Mister President, I ask consent to place a copy of this joint letter in the Record.

I have a reason for coming here to the floor today and drawing attention to our letter once again, and it is this.

The seriousness of our nation’s fiscal challenges – the compelling need to address these issues in a responsible and bipartisan way -- did not suddenly dissipate or magically disappear over the course of the weekend that just ended.

In fact, since the Commission’s final meeting ended on Friday afternoon, the national debt – the running tally of what the U.S. government owes -- has increased by at least $15 billion - and our national debt totals a staggering $13.8 billion.

Let me repeat that: our national debt is now approaching $14 trillion.

Remarkably, we’re still writing checks. That we’re still allowed to have a checkbook may be even more remarkable.

You know, every day you can listen to a lot of talk from people in this town about deficit reduction.

But as I said when the Commission first unveiled its proposals one week ago, while I would have made some different choices, we were being presented with a unique opportunity to finally get real about deficits and debt.

Actually, I was more blunt than that: I said that the time had come to put up -- or shut up.

This Commission earned credibility by describing our fiscal challenges in stark and honest terms.

They deserve our respect for crafting a clear roadmap to help steer our nation back to a more responsible fiscal path.

The Commission’s leaders and its members made difficult decisions, and they did not shy-away from examining both expenditures and revenues.

They concluded, correctly, that our nation’s fiscal challenges are too serious, and the fiscal hole we’ve dug for ourselves is too deep, to be solved by looking at only one side of the ledger.

To be sure, there is something for everyone to dislike in these recommendations, but that is simply a reflection of how large the problem really is.

Whether you look at this report and are concerned about the viability of Social Security, or tax rates, levels of defense spending or any other specific government program or service, it becomes clear our options ultimately only get worse with time.

Nonetheless, the Fiscal Commission produced a bipartisan plan that could strengthen our economic recovery today -- and help stabilize our long-term debt tomorrow.

They came forward with a framework for improving our country’s global economic competitiveness while still maintaining our shared commitment to protect our most vulnerable citizens.

And they deserve credit for recognizing that the hard work of getting our nation’s fiscal house in order also is an urgent matter of national security.

Because it is clear that America cannot be a leader in the world, projecting strength and promoting democracy, if we are weakened at home by our own deficits and debt.

Mister President, ever since this economic downturn began, individual Americans and their families have been required to make tough choices of their own about how to make ends meet.

It is time for those of us here in Washington to do the same.

Many of you know that I came to public service after a pretty successful career in business. In the business world, investors and shareholders have a reasonable expectation that, at the end of the day, a healthy company’s books will be balanced.

I also had an opportunity to serve as Governor of Virginia, where I worked in a bipartisan way with an opposition legislature to make the tough choices required to balance our state budget during tough economic times.

Now, I’ve only served in this body for about two years so far, but one thing I’ve already learned is this: if Washington can find an excuse to punt on a difficult decision, it almost always will.

And, most days, it’s a lot easier to just retreat to our partisan corners and default to the political gamesmanship you see every day on cable TV.

But Mister President, as the current economic upheaval in Europe so clearly demonstrates, we cannot simply ignore this challenge because it’s inconvenient -- or because the choices are just too tough.

Our competitors around the world certainly are not waiting for America to get its act together.

Now is the time to make these tough choices – not when the bond markets finally lose their patience, and their confidence, in our long-term economic viability, which is what recently happened to Greece and Ireland.

The fact is, if interest rates were not at historic lows today, we truly would be in a world of hurt right now. As it is, if we do not take action soon to stabilize our debt, we could be spending upwards of one trillion dollars a year just on debt service by the year 2020.

So now is the time for us to agree that we will not allow the perfect to be the enemy of the good.

And our own political discomfort should not be used as an excuse to delay holding an honest and long-overdue discussion about the complicated fiscal choices confronting us today.

Every day, every week, every month that we put-off that discussion, our options become more limited and the choices get even tougher.Resolving America’s fiscal problems must be our top priority.

Yes, it will require difficult decisions. No, there is no quick fix, no easy way out.

But those of us who are sent here to serve must be willing to step-up and lead the way.

Thank you.

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