Following is a statement from U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) as Florida prepares for Hurricane Irma:
“I’ve talked to Brock Long, the head of FEMA, he’s ready and is prepositioning people and supplies around the state. I’m talked to the commandant of the Coast Guard, Admiral Zukunft, and he is already prepositioning ships and aircraft to come in right after the storm hits. I’ve talked to Col. Kirk with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, he’s ready and says Lake Okeechobee still has the capacity to hold another three feet of water before this hurricane would threaten the dike. I spoke to General Calhoun with the Florida National Guard. They are ready and prepositioned.And I’ve talked to the secretary of transportation, Elaine Chao, and asked her to urge the state to go ahead and lift the tolls on South Florida’s roadways, particularly I-95 and Florida’s Turnpike, to make it easier for folks who are starting to evacuate.”
Senator Bill Nelson
Nelson urges administration to keep Florida panther on endangered species list
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson is urging the Trump administration to keep the Florida panther on the federal endangered species list.
The move comes as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced recently that it is conducting a review of whether to maintain the Florida panther’s current listing under the Endangered Species Act.
“As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts its review of the Florida panther’s Endangered Species Act listing, I strongly urge you to maintain the endangered classification and intensify efforts to preserve the Florida panther,” Nelson wrote in a letter today to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
“Some good progress has been made,” Nelson continued. “Unfortunately, many of the original threats to the panther’s survival continue to pose a threat today.”
In his letter, Nelson noted that more than 140 Florida panthers were killed by cars in the last decade. He says additional measures such as wildlife crossings and roadway fencing will be needed to further protect panthers from vehicle collisions.
The Endangered Species Act requires the Fish and Wildlife Service to review the status of each species on the federal endangered list at least once every five years to determine whether any species should be removed from the list, reclassified or maintained at its current classification.
On June 29, FWS announced that it was reviewing the classifications of 22 endangered species, including the Florida panther.
Following is the text of Nelson’s letter to Zinke.
August 29, 2017
The Honorable Ryan Zinke
Secretary
U.S. Department of the Interior
1849 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20240
Dear Secretary Zinke,
I’m writing to update you on the current threats facing the endangered Florida panther, particularly habitat loss and vehicle collisions. As the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service conducts its review of the Florida panther’s Endangered Species Act listing, I strongly urge you to maintain the endangered classification and intensify efforts to preserve the Florida panther.
Four decades ago, there were only about twenty panthers left in existence. Conservationists, federal researchers, and community leaders came together to develop a recovery plan that determines the panther population will be considered recovered when there are three established populations each consisting of at least 240 individuals.
Some good progress has been made. In March of this year, we celebrated a new milestone in the panther’s recovery when a female panther and her kittens were spotted north of the Caloosahatchee River for the first time since the species was listed in 1973.
Unfortunately, many of the original threats to the panther’s survival continue to pose a threat today.
In the last decade, at least 140 panthers were killed by cars. That’s about the same number of panthers as the size of the entire adult population today. Clearly, there is a need for additional resources to protect the panther from vehicle collisions. Wildlife crossings and roadway fencing are a tried and true way to do this while also preventing habitat fragmentation. I encourage you to work with the U.S. Department of Transportation and state and local governments to recommend and pursue new crossings.
Additionally, the panther—like many endangered species in Florida—faces habitat loss from encroaching development. It is critical that future development effectively balances the panther’s needs.
I look forward to discussing the panther’s recovery with the nominee to be U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director. In the meantime, I hope you will continue to dedicate resources to ensuring the survival and further recovery of the Florida panther.
Thank you for consideration of these comments.
Sincerely,
Congress approves seven new VA facilities in Florida
The U.S. Senate late last night unanimously approved legislation authorizing seven new major VA medical facilities in Florida.
The legislation, approved by a voice vote yesterday, included language originally sponsored by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) authorizing the General Services Administration to execute 28 new leases for major VA medical facilities around the country, including seven in Florida.
The new Florida facilities will be located in Daytona Beach, Jacksonville, Ocala, Tampa, Lakeland and two in Gainesville.
“We have a duty to care for the brave men and women who have served in our nation’s military,” Nelson said. “Getting these seven new VA clinics opened here in Florida will make it easier for some of our veterans to access the care that they need.”
By law, Congress must approve any U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs lease that would result in an average rental payment of more than $1 million per year. Congress has not authorized a major VA medical facility lease since 2014.
The legislation authorizing the new Florida facilities was included in a broader veterans’ health care bill, known as the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017, which the Senate approved yesterday. The measure, which was approved by the House last week, now heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
Here’s the list of Florida facilities and the amounts authorized for each:
- A replacement outpatient clinic, Daytona Beach, Florida, an amount not to exceed $12,198,000.
- A new outpatient clinic, Gainesville, Florida, an amount not to exceed $7,891,000.
- An outpatient mental health clinic, Gainesville, Florida, an amount not to exceed $4,320,000.
- A replacement outpatient clinic, Jacksonville, Florida, an amount not to exceed $18,623,000.
- A replacement outpatient clinic, Ocala, Florida, an amount not to exceed $5,026,000.
- A replacement mental health clinic, Tampa, Florida, an amount not to exceed $13,387,000.
- A replacement outpatient clinic, Lakeland, Tampa, Florida, an amount not to exceed $10,760,000.
Nelson's remarks on Venezuela
Sen. Bill Nelson just finished speaking on the Senate floor about the situation in Venezuela. Below is a rush transcript and here’s a link to watch video of Nelson’s remarks:
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
Remarks on the Senate floor
July 31, 2017
Sen. Nelson: Madam President, we have chaos in Venezuela. It’s a protracted crisis in Venezuela which took yet another turn for the worse yesterday.
Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro pushed ahead with a vote despite so many people, including the opposition, to try to have him avoid and became a sham vote. Only about 10% of the population voted. The opposition stayed home. It was a vote — no wonder why people stayed home. It was a sham vote to form a constitutional assembly despite the vehement opposition of the Venezuelan people and the overwhelming international criticism.
Plain and simple: The vote was illegal and it was rigged. And once again on the streets and at the ballot box, the Venezuelan people have made themselves loud and clear.
Two weeks ago more than seven million Venezuelans voted against even holding this vote, and yesterday the numbers are millions stayed home. Maduro wants to rewrite Venezuela’s constitution so that he can cling to power.
And yesterday’s vote was only the latest attempt to undermine, if not to completely undo, Venezuela’s democracy. He continues to crack down on protesters. They’ve killed more than 100 and injuring and arresting thousands more. His thugs have raided homes, terrorizing the opposition’s families. He’s tried to strip the National Assembly of its powers, undercut the attorney general, and he has co-opted the courts. His thugs attacked the National Assembly, injuring opposition lawmakers. He blocked a lawful referendum to recall his election. His cronies steal the country’s money and enrich themselves.
All the while the Venezuelan people suffer. The people go hungry. Children are malnourished. There are no staple products, no medicines, no medical supplies for the people. Of course you know who gets the food and the medical treatment. It’s the privileged few, the Maduro ones that he protects.
Now this is Venezuela’s tragic reality. Maduro has made himself dictator and he and his cronies are bent on turning Venezuela’s once-vibrant democracy and once-vibrant economy into a Cuban-style regime.
Nevertheless, the Venezuelan people in the face of violence, oppression and deprivation, they continue to fight for their democracy, for the little bit of freedoms that they have left. They’re doing everything they can at great risk to themselves and their families to save their democracy and, thus, to save their country.
Well, the task just got a lot harder. So the issue before us, Mr. President, is: what can we do to support them since Maduro has now installed himself with this fake referendum on a national assembly? What can we do to support Maduro from being the dictator that he is. And so what we need to do is condemn the constitutional assembly as the sham that it is. It also means the United States increasing the pressure on the Maduro regime.
I’ve just spoken this afternoon with the Treasury Department, and the United States has announced a little earlier this afternoon, has frozen Maduro’s assets. I expect at least two other countries to follow suit, and probably more after they do. This is an important step, and I hope it’s the first in what, I hope, will be the strongest possible economic sanctions to stop Maduro.
It’s time that we consider cutting the imports of Venezuelan oil also.
Now what have we done thus far? Well, there were already a group of Maduro’s cronies, some in the private sector, some in the government, that the sanctions have been slapped on.
You say, well, what does that do? What good does that do? Listen, all of these cronies of Maduro, they love to come to Miami. They love to have offshore bank accounts and all kinds of assets stashed overseas. And if not in the U.S., perhaps in some of those other countries that are going to follow suit.
So we do that with his cronies. Now, what we have done today by the announcement from the Treasury Department is that we have frozen Nicolás Maduro’s assets. And if other countries follow suit, they’re going to freeze his assets as well.
Maybe we should take the next step. The next step is Venezuela exports a lot of its oil to the United States. It’s such a heavy, dirty crude, a good part of that has to go to the refineries in the U.S. because those refineries are the ones that are capable of refining that heavy, dirty crude. Maybe we just ought to stop our imports of the Venezuelan oil, absorb that percentage of loss of oil coming into the U.S. from Venezuela, clearly on the world marketplace, which oil is fungible. Maybe that’s what we ought to do.
We are now dealing with a Cuban-style dictator that’s the head of Venezuela. I think going forward, the United States must insist on the release of all political prisoners, that Venezuela has got to go back to when it was a thriving democracy, the rule of law. That was back when they respected human rights and the people had some freedoms.
And we ought, as the United States, to help rally the nations of the Organization of American states and to rally the support of the world to bring about a meaningful end to this crisis because it’s just going to get worse and worse.
The violence that you’ve seen on the TV yesterday and today, it’s going to continue as you continue to squeeze the people to starve them, to take away all semblance of human decency, what do you think they’re going to do? They’re going to revolt. And the violence isn’t going to stop.
Now, Mr. President, there is a role for Congress and there is an opportunity for the Congress to lead. The president’s budget eliminated funding for democracy programs in Venezuela that support the old National Assembly and civil society and those same democracy programs that promote human rights and the encouraging of an independent media.
Recently, I wrote to the Senate Appropriations Committee, along with a number of other senators, urging that the committee continued that funding for those democracy programs in Venezuela. In May, this senator joined Senators Cardin and Rubio and seven others in introducing the Venezuelan Humanitarian Assistance and Defense of Democracy of Democratic Governance Act. That bill addresses the many aspects of the crisis in Venezuela. It codified targeted sanctions on regime officials, something that we are now implementing, and thank goodness for the announcement by this administration. I give them kudos for that. That act would authorize badly needed humanitarian assistance. It would back the OAS efforts to bring about an end to the crisis and it funds election-observation organizations and groups working to defend democracy in Venezuela.
These are bipartisan efforts and I would urge our colleagues to support them. And I would urge that we bring them up as soon as possible. The situation is terrible in the country and the situation and that chaos, especially what we’ve seen in Caracas, is going to get worse. Time is of the essence.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Nelson Urges Administration to Act on Fee Refunds for Delayed Bags
More than a year after Congress passed a law requiring airlines to issue prompt fee refunds for delayed bags, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) wants to know why it’s taking so long for the administration to act.
In a letter sent today to Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, Nelson called on her to immediately issue rules needed to carry out the law.
“As we enter the heart of the summer travel season, each further day of delay causes substantial consumer harm,” Nelson wrote. “I urge you to act now to give the flying public the protections they were promised in last year’s FAA extension.”
The FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act, which passed Congress and was signed into law in July 2016, gave the Department of Transportation (DOT) one year to develop rules requiring fee refunds for delayed luggage and mandated a review of airline family seating policies. Specifically, the law required DOT to adopt rules requiring the airlines to issue prompt baggage fee refunds when checked luggage is not delivered within 12 hours after the arrival of a domestic flight or 15 hours after the arrival of an international flight. Additionally, it mandated that DOT review current airline policies on family seating and, if appropriate, require them to seat families with children under the age of 13 together.
According to DOT statistics cited by Nelson, the top 13 U.S. airlines collected at least $4.2 billion last year in baggage fees – resulting in passengers being charged as much as $11.4 million per day in bag fees.
Below is the text of Nelson’s letter to Secretary Chao.
July 20, 2017
The Honorable Elaine C. Chao
Secretary
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave., SW
Washington, DC 20590
Dear Secretary Chao:
I write today regarding the status of regulations that were due by July 16, 2017, implementing two critical aviation consumer protections contained in last year’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) extension.
As you know, the FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of 2016 passed Congress last year with broad bipartisan support. In addition to extending the FAA’s operating authority for one year, the bill also contained two provisions designed to help commercial air travelers. The first provision (Section 2305) generally required automated refunds for any baggage fees when checked luggage is not delivered within 12 hours after the arrival of a domestic flight or 15 hours after the arrival of an international flight. The second provision (section 2309) directed the Department of Transportation (DOT) to review and, if appropriate, establish policies directing air carriers to seat children 13 or under adjacent to the seat of an accompanying family member over the age of 13.
By statute, the DOT was required to take final action on both of these regulations no later than one year after enactment of the bill – or July 16, 2017. Unfortunately, neither regulation has been finalized by the deadline.
As we enter the heart of the summer travel season, each further day of delay causes substantial consumer harm. According to DOT statistics, in 2016, the top 13 U.S. carriers collected almost $4.2 billion in ancillary baggage fees. This works out to approximately $11.4 million in checked baggage fees per day. And, even assuming that only two percent of paid checked baggage is not delivered within the deadlines, that amounts to almost $229,000 in refunds that consumers are not receiving every day this rule is delayed.
Furthermore, the failure to promulgate the family seating regulation also causes substantial consumer harm. This summer, almost all flights are completely full. When a family is not able to obtain adjoining seating for children 13 or under, it causes undue stress and discomfort as family members are often forced to beg other passengers to move so they can sit next to a young child.
In recent months, the DOT has spent a substantial amount of time on issues, such as privatization of the FAA’s air traffic control function, that appear to be taking away resources from statutory mandates – like these important aviation consumer protection requirements. I urge you to act now to give the flying public the protections they were promised in last year’s FAA extension.
Thank you in advance for your assistance with this important matter.
Sincerely,
Senator Bill Nelson
Sen. Bill Nelson: 'Let's stop this war on science.'
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) took to the Senate floor today to call for an end to the “blatant, coordinated effort by some elected officials to muzzle the scientific community.”
“Just last month, in the state of Florida,” Nelson said, “the Florida Legislature passed and the governor signed into law a bill that allows any resident of the state, regardless of whether or not they have a student in school, to challenge what is being taught in the public schools.”
“The seas have risen eight inches in South Florida – that is a fact,” Nelson continued. “But if there are some who object to that climate science, then, under this new law just signed by the governor, they are going to be able to object to that subject being taught in our public schools.”
“This is the most brazen attack on science that we’ve seen in a long time,” Nelson added. “And it is a blatant attempt to cover up the truth. Instead of accepting the fact that the seas are rising … they want to literally rip the subject right out of our children’s textbooks.”
“I’ve filed legislation to protect scientists’ right to speak publicly about their research, not to let them be muzzled, and to ensure that all federal agencies maintain their scientific integrity,” Nelson concluded. “I hope we can stop this nonsense of hiding the truth. Let’s stop this war on science. Let’s accept facts as they are, and then debate the issues, the policy. The American people deserve an open and honest government that works for them, not a government that distorts the truth to match its rhetoric.”
Following is a rush transcript of Nelson’s remarks and here’s a link to watch video of his speech: https://youtu.be/bTsA21MflT0.
US Sen. Bill Nelson
Remarks on the Senate Floor
July 17, 2017
Sen. Nelson: … this senator came here to talk about another thing that is equally disturbing because there is a blatant coordinated effort by some elected officials to muzzle the scientific community. And when you start muzzling scientists, you don’t come up with the facts, you don’t come up with the truth, and what is being presented as facts doesn’t really match the truth and certainly the rhetoric doesn’t match what’s happening.
For example, just last month in the state of Florida, the Florida Legislature passed and the governor signed into law a bill that allows any resident of the state, regardless of whether or not they have a student in school, can challenge what is being taught in the public schools.
So, if a single resident objects to a certain subject that students are being taught having to do with science — a subject such as what’s happening in the climate and the changes and the fact that the sun’s rays come in and reflect off the earth and go back, reflect out and radiate the heat back into space. But when you start putting in what are known as the greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide and methane up there, they suddenly act as a ceiling, a greenhouse gas ceiling having a greenhouse effect — trapping the heat, causing the earth to heat up.
Two-thirds of the earth is covered with water, the oceans, most of that heat is absorbed in the oceans. And what happens to water when it is heated? It expands. And so that is a fact.
Sea-level rise in South Florida is a fact. It’s a measurement over the last 40 years. The seas have risen eight inches in South Florida. That is a fact. But if there are some who object to that climate science, then, under this new law just signed by the governor, they are going to be able to object to that subject being taught in our public schools and a single hearing officer will determine — a single hearing officer – will determine — lord only knows who that officer is appointed by — that single person will determine under the new law if the objection is justified and they can force a local public school to remove the subject from its curriculum.
Does that sound a little bit strange? And does that sound a little bit scary?
It seems like this is the most brazen attack on science that we’ve seen in a long time and it is a blatant attempt to cover up the truth.
Instead of accepting the fact that the seas are rising and what is going to be a very real threat, and already is to a coastline like Florida, they want to literally rip the subject right out of our children’s textbooks while at the same time silencing the teachers and the scientists.
I don’t think we can sit back and allow our public schools to become political battlegrounds. And we shouldn’t allow politicians to silence our teachers and scientists just because they don’t happen to like that part of the science.
While this bill was just enacted in Florida, it may be one much the most egregious examples of hiding the truth, but unfortunately, I’m sad to report, it is not the only one.
In fact, in 2015, Florida’s governor went so far as to reportedly ban state officials from even using the term climate change in their reports. Doesn’t that sound like muzzling?
Yet, the effect of sea-level rise is still painfully evident in south Florida. What about the water washing over the curbs on Miami Beach at the seasonal high tide? What about the water that’s coming over the streets in the Las Olas section of Fort Lauderdale at the seasonal high tides?
In just a month, the new head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency fired several members of the Board of Scientific Counselors, the very people responsible for overseeing the agency science and research programs. These were scientists at the top of their fields working on behalf of the American people, and suddenly in one fell swoop, the new head of the EPA fired them all and wants to replace them with — you guessed it — industry representatives. Scientists from the very industries that EPA is supposed to monitor and oversee.
Now, if this is not what completes the picture of putting the fox in charge of the henhouse, I don’t know what is, and the henhouse is not just climate science but includes basic research in all fields, including health care, NIH by the way, thank goodness a head of NIH, a guy who broke the code on the human genome, Dr. Collins. It includes the fields of astronomy, how about NASA, and it includes the origin of the universe, quantum physics in multiple agencies.
This disturbing trend of hiding the truth if it doesn’t match their rhetoric is a trend that’s spreading across all levels of government. If information can’t be removed from the public domain all together, then guess what they try to do? Try to discredit.
So look, for example of what’s been done right now in an effort to pass this disastrous Republican health bill. Instead of, as I just made our comments preparatory to this science subject, instead of trying to work together on a bipartisan bill aimed at improving our nation’s health care system, some on the other side of the aisle have resorted to attacking who? Attacking the nonpartisan congressional budget office after it said the bill will take health care coverage away from tens of millions of people.
The nonpartisan CBO is just that. It’s nonpartisan. It’s responsible for eliminating the costs and effects of nearly — of estimating the cost and effects of nearly every bill that Congress considers. And yet, suddenly, when its conclusion in CBO don’t match the rhetoric coming from one side, they turn their attacks on the scientists and the mathematicians who release the findings.
Listen to this quote: “I have a lot of yes about our accuracy of the CBO,” one of our Republican colleagues said here in the senate. CBO’s time has, quote, “Come and gone,” end of quote, the White House budget director said earlier this year. Quote, “We disagree strenuously with this report,” HHS Secretary Price said. Quote, “The CBO’s reports coverage numbers defy logic.” Quote, “If you’re looking for the CBO for accuracy, you’re looking in the wrong place,” said the press secretary down at the White House. And if that’s not enough, just last week the White House itself released a video saying that the CBO score of the Republican health care bill is based on “faulty assumptions and bad math,” end of quote.
Mr. President, it’s kind of clear what’s going on. This administration’s war on science is not a myth. It is not fake news. If you want to know an administration’s true priorities, you need to look no further than their budget. If you look at the president’s most recent budget request, you’ll see dramatic cuts to some of our most important scientific agencies.
This senator has seen that in the jurisdiction of the commerce committee, in the NOAA programs, in the NASA programs. So the president’s budget calls for more than a 30% cut to EPA. It calls for the firing of nearly a quarter of its staff and its elimination of all funding for programs aimed at fighting climate change.
And climate change isn’t just about Florida or a coastal state problem. It’s a problem of the entire country. The extreme weather events caused by climate change affect us all. Droughts come more frequent, floods more severe, major storms, hurricanes, tornadoes become stronger and even more deadly.
And so the scientists at NOAA, the National Weather Service, NASA, and most of the other agencies, including our military who study climate change aren’t trying to create a mythical problem that doesn’t exist. They’re trying to solve real life problems that affect all of us and affect them in the carrying out of their duties. And they work at federal agencies across the country with one goal in mind: to make credible, valid data publicly available for researchers and academic institutions and businesses who use that information to better understand things.
I see the leader is here to speak. I will just conclude with a couple of thoughts.
These scientists know that we can’t just stick our heads in the sand. Science doesn’t work like that. Facts are facts. And the fact is that the earth is heating up, and there’s a reason for that that I explained.
And if we don’t do something about it, the communities that are already affected in my state are going to be communities all over the world.
These here are not alternative facts.
And yet, instead of helping these scientists do their work, some political leaders are using their positions to hide this information and to make it unavailable.
And we ought to be speaking out against it. And that’s what this senator is trying to do.
And so I’ve filed legislation to protect scientists’ right to speak publicly about their research, not to let them be muzzled, and to ensure that all federal agencies maintain their scientific integrity.
And I hope we can stop this nonsense of hiding the truth. Let’s stop this war on science. Let’s accept facts as they are and debate then the issues, the policy.
The American people deserve an open and honest government that works for them, not a government that distorts the truth to match its rhetoric.
And I thank the Senate for indulging me. I thank the leader for listening patiently.
And, Mr. President, I yield the floor.
Nelson, others urge Trump to continue search for Bob Levinson
A bipartisan group of nearly twenty U.S. lawmakers today urged President Trump to continue the previous administration’s efforts to locate Bob Levinson, a Florida resident and retired FBI agent who went missing off the coast of Iran over 10 years ago.
In a letter led by U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the lawmakers urged the president to “maintain pressure on Iran to see that [Bob] is returned as soon as possible.”
“Bob is still not home, and despite repeated promises, Iran has yet to cooperate in any meaningful way,” the lawmakers wrote. “Iran is responsible – if Iranian officials don’t have Bob, they know where to find him.”
The lawmakers requested that the president “re-engage with Iran and make clear that continued delay in returning Bob … is another obstacle Iran must overcome if it wants to improve relations with the United States.”
They also urged the president to meet with the Levinson family and designate a senior White House official to provide them regular updates on the administration’s efforts to bring Levinson home.
In addition to Nelson, the letter was signed by Sens. Corey Booker (D-NJ), Richard Burr (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Bob Corker (R-TN), John Cornyn (R-TX), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Mark Warner (D-VA) and Reps. Ted Deutch (FL-22), Mario Diaz-Balart (FL-25), Eliot L. Engel (NY-16), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (FL-27), Ed Royce (CA-39) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23).
Below is the full text of the lawmakers’ letter and a PDF can be found here.
July 11, 2017
President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We write regarding former FBI agent Robert Levinson. Bob, a beloved husband, father, and grandfather, was detained in Iran more than ten years ago, making him the longest held civilian in our Nation’s history. He deserves to be reunited with his family immediately.
We appreciate your commitment to Bob and his family. We urge you to meet with Bob’s wife, Christine, and their seven children to hear first-hand their struggle and tireless efforts on Bob’s behalf.
As you know, our Government has long pressed Iran to return Bob. After ten years, Bob is still not home, and despite repeated promises, Iran has yet to cooperate in any meaningful way. Iran is responsible—if Iranian officials don’t have Bob, they know where to find him.
Bob’s return is an urgent humanitarian issue. It is critical that the United States maintain pressure on Iran to see that he is returned as soon as possible. To that end, we request that you re-engage with Iran and make clear that continued delay in returning Bob—in addition to the very serious disagreements the United States has with Iran about its missile program, sponsorship of terrorism, and human rights abuses—is another obstacle Iran must overcome if it wants to improve relations with the United States. We also request that you designate a senior White House official to regularly inform Bob’s family of your Administration’s efforts.
Bob has suffered long enough. We must never rest until he is returned to his family. We owe them nothing less.
Sincerely,
Nelson to file bill to cut student loan rates, allow borrowers to refinance
Less than one week after the federal government increased interest rates on federal student loans, U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) says he’s filing legislation to cut student loan rates across the board and allow borrowers with existing student loans to refinance to new lower rates.
On Saturday, federal student loan interest rates for undergraduate students increased from 3.76 percent to 4.45 percent. If approved, Nelson’s bill would cap rates for undergraduates at 4 percent, and allow borrowers with existing student loans that have a rate higher than 4 percent to refinance their loans to the new lower rate – a move that’s currently barred under existing law.
“If we really want to make higher education more accessible in this country, we have to make it more affordable,” Nelson said. “If you can get a home loan at 4 percent, why can’t students get an education for the same rate?”
More than 43 million Americans currently have outstanding student loan debt. In Florida alone, students graduating with a four-year degree leave college with more than $24,000 in student loan debt on average.
In addition to capping student loan rates, Nelson’s bill would also eliminate the “loan origination fees” charged to students to process their loans. These fees are often taken out of a student’s original loan amount before they receive it. For example, a student taking out a $10,000 loan may receive only $9,600 from their lender but still be responsible for paying back the full $10,000 after they graduate. Nelson’s bill would eliminate that $400 fee.
Once they are set each year, student loan interest rates are fixed for the lifetime of the loan and cannot be refinanced, even if rates go lower. Borrowers who took out loans between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2013, likely have a fixed rate of 6.8 percent. And despite a significant drop in interest rates since 2013, current law bars those borrowers from refinancing their existing loans. Nelson’s bill would change that by allowing any borrower with an existing federal student loan to refinance their loans one time to a new lower rate.
In addition to capping undergraduate rates at 4 percent, Nelson’s legislation would cap rates for graduate students at 5 percent and the rates for parents of undergraduates at 6 percent.
Nelson says capping interest rates, ending loan origination fees and allowing borrowers to refinance existing loans would help to make education more affordable for Florida students.
The Florida Democrat plans to file his bill when Congress returns from recess next week.
Key Senate panel advances legislation to protect Olympic athletes from sexual abuse
Florida Sen. Bill Nelson co-authors measure requiring independent investigations
The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved a bill today giving an independent entity the power to investigate alleged incidents of sexual abuse against aspiring Olympic athletes.
The measure, sponsored by U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and John Thune (R-SD), comes in response to recent reports of widespread sexual abuse in USA Gymnastics, USA Taekwondo and other national sports governing bodies.
“We must do everything we can to protect our aspiring Olympic athletes from heinous acts of abuse and prevent attempts to sweep such crimes under the rug,” said Nelson, who serves as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees sports-related issues.
Among other things, the measure would give the newly created U.S. Center for Safe Sport the power to independently investigate allegations of sexual abuse against athletes governed by the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) and other national sports governing bodies. The center would also be required to develop policies that the USOC and the governing bodies must use to prevent the emotional, physical and sexual abuse of amateur athletes, including reporting requirements when child abuse is alleged or suspected.
The bill now heads to the Senate floor for consideration. Click here for the text of the legislation.
Sen. Nelson's remarks on the Senate floor this evening
A group of Democratic senators took to the Senate floor this evening to offer a series of bills aimed at fixing our nation’s health care system and to urge their Republican colleagues to work with them on a bipartisan approach to health care.
“Why can’t we work together?” U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) asked his colleagues. “We do in our committees … Why can’t we do it with health care?”
Nelson introduced legislation earlier this month that would lower health insurance premiums for some Floridians by as much as 13 percent. That bill would create a permanent reinsurance fund to cover larger-than-expected insurance claims and help stabilize the market. The additional stability created by the bill would, according to one Florida insurer, lower premiums in Florida by up to 13 percent.
“Every one of us has a suggestion out here,” Nelson said. “You put all of these suggestions together and you’re talking about really fixing the current law.”
Following is a rush transcript and here’s a link to video of Nelson’s remarks:
U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson
Remarks on the Senate Floor
June 28, 2017
Sen. Nelson: Mr. President, all over Florida people walk up to me and say, “Bill, what’s going on? Why can’t congress get together? Why can’t we work together?” We do in our committees. We usually work together. We certainly do with Senator Thune who is the chairman of the Finance — of the Commerce Committee. This senator is the ranking member. We get a lot of things out. We’re going to mark up the FAA bill tomorrow. There are a lot of controversial issues. We’re going to get that out. Why can’t we do it with health care?
So last night I had a telephone town hall meeting in my state of Florida, 6,000 people joined. And they asked questions for an hour. And often they would get through asking their question, and they’d say, “I wish you guys could work together.” So that’s what you’ve been hearing in all of these speeches. Well, let me give you one suggestion that would lower premiums on the existing bill of the — not the existing bill, the existing law, the Affordable Care Act, 13%. I had it costed out in Florida.
Okay. You know, every now and then you’re going to have a catastrophic loss. It’s kind of like when I was the elected insurance commissioner of Florida and I inherited the mess after the monster hurricane. It was — Hurricane Andrew was such a monster hurricane that it took down a number of insurance companies because the losses were so big. So we had to try to get insurance companies to come back into Florida. We created a reinsurance fund. We called it the Florida Hurricane Catastrophic Fund that would reinsure or insure the insurance companies against catastrophic loss.
That’s what you can do right here. You could be like my poor constituent Megan who fought cancer for two years with two transplants and ultimately lost the battle, but the bill was $8 million. That’s hard for any insurance company to swallow, but those are going to be limited, isolated cases. So why don’t we create a reinsurance fund for the marketplace in the Affordable Care Act to help the insurance companies in catastrophic loss? I ask them, if we did that in Florida, with the Florida marketplace, what would it mean? It would reduce the insurance premiums under the marketplace Florida 13%.
Now, that’s just one suggestion. Every one of us has a suggestion out here. You put all of these suggestions together and you’re talking about really fixing the current law, instead of this roadway that we see our friends on the other side of the aisle going down, a solution that’s going to take coverage away from 22 million people, and it’s going to cut $800 billion out of Medicaid and eviscerate Medicaid, or it’s going to charge older Americans over younger Americans five times as much as the younger? We don’t have to do that. Let’s come up with the creative ideas to fix the existing law.
Mr. President, I yield the floor.
