IN THE STATES: Senate Democrats Highlight How They’re Fighting For Working Families During State Work Period 

During the recent state work period, voters in key Senate battlegrounds were reading and watching a wave of coverage highlighting how Senate Democrats are fighting to address working families’ most pressing priorities – like creating jobs, expanding access to veterans’ healthcare, and improving their state’s broadband access. 

See for yourself: 

MT – Billings Gazette: Tester meets with healthcare professionals, veterans advocates

• With a key deadline approaching for veterans exposed to the burn pits, U.S. Sen. Jon Tester huddled with healthcare professionals and advocates to talk about simplifying participation for veterans. It’s estimated that the number of Montana veterans exposed to toxic substances is as high as 60,000, which is two-thirds of the veterans living in the state today.
  
  
• There’s a lot on the line for Tester in making sure the burn pit benefits come through for Montana veterans. The senator is chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. In 2020, Tester introduced a toxic exposure bill that didn’t advance far enough. Then, in 2021 he partnered with Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, of Kansas, and got the PACT Act passed.

MT – Daily Inter Lake: Glacier Park International Airport receives $7 million for expansion

• Glacier Park International Airport has received a $7.3 million federal grant to put toward its ongoing expansion and modernization project.
  
  
• Tester called the award a victory for Montana. “Expanding transportation infrastructure is critical for supporting Montana’s rural communities — especially in places like Glacier, where folks rely on tourism and the recreational economy to make a good living,” said Tester in a statement. “Expanding Glacier Airport will have a real positive impact on small businesses in the Flathead and across Northwest Montana, and I’m proud to have secured federal dollars to get this done.”

MT –  KPAX: Sen. Jon Tester discusses new bills to improve Montana’s broadband access

• U.S. Sen. Jon Tester told MTN News the ARPA will bring broadband high-speed internet opportunities for over 61,000 people in Montana that currently do not have access to that type of internet. “It’s a great bill. It’s a great bill for Montana and rural America,” Sen. Tester said.
  
  
• Sen. Tester also said the bills are also meant for business and economic opportunities in the Treasure State. “…you’re going to see economic activity, jobs created, businesses created, businesses expanded like I’ve never seen before in my life,” Tester said.

MT – Missoula Current: Mountain Line lands $39M grant for new maintenance, operations facility

• Mountain Line’s plans to build a new maintenance and operations facility in Missoula to house its growing fleet of electric buses got a boost this week from a $39 million federal infrastructure grant.

• Sen. Jon Tester was a prominent player in drafting the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act that freed up money for Mountain Line and the downtown transportation project. Sen. Steve Daines voted against the measure, though he did write a letter of support for Mountain Line’s grant.

NV – KUNR: Senator Rosen hears concerns from Northern Nevada women veterans

• Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen listened to concerns from women veterans in Northern Nevada on July 7. During the roundtable in Reno, the women veterans voiced concerns about the difficulty of getting help when they return home from deployment.

NV –  KTVN: Senators Rosen, and Cortez Masto Help Secure More Than $10 Million to Modernize Nevada’s Electric Grid 

• On Monday, U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) announced Nevada has been awarded $10.5 million to help modernize and strengthen the state’s energy grid with affordable, reliable clean energy. The funding … was created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto both helped draft and pass into law.

• Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto have worked to ensure Nevada receives funding to upgrade its energy infrastructure. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto helped pass, includes robust funding to strengthen the country’s electrical grids, as well as two of Senator Rosen’s bills that would strengthen cybersecurity efforts related to our electric grid.

NV – Tahoe Daily Tribune: Cortez Masto, Rosen announce over $3.4 Million to fund new low-emission buses in Lake Tahoe

• U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) announced that Northern Nevada will receive over $12 million from the Federal Transit Administration to fund new clean public transportation. The Tahoe Transportation District will receive $3,400,000 to fund their Clean Transit Initiative which is making transit in the Lake Tahoe Basin cleaner and more sustainable.
  

NV – The Nevada Independent: How $416 million in federal funds could help boost rural broadband access in Nevada

• Nevada is set to receive $416 million to build out broadband networks that target the least-served areas first. It’s a huge tranche of funds — the single largest broadband investment in U.S. history — that has accelerated the state’s timeline for ensuring every Nevadan has access to affordable, high-speed internet.
  
  
• In her five years in the Senate, Rosen said broadband access remained a persistent issue she heard about when traveling the state — particularly during COVID.

• “In order to have success in school, in order to be sure you stay healthy, in order to market your business, telework, you need the internet,” Rosen said. “It’s the same as running water, it’s the same as electricity. It is a utility that we all need — not just to survive, but to achieve.”
  

NV – KTVN: $500,000 to help Connect Tribal Community in Nevada to High-Speed Internet 

• U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) announced that the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone has been awarded $500,000 from the Tribal Broadband Connection Program to help deploy high-speed internet services. Funds for the program came from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that Senators Rosen and Cortez Masto helped pass into law.

• Senator Rosen [said], “I’m proud to see that the funding I secured through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help connect Tribal communities in Nevada to high-speed internet, which is increasingly critical to everyday life.”

OH – WKRC: Sen. Brown announces new anti-fentanyl bill that would sanction Chinese companies, Mexican cartels 

• U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) touted his ‘FEND off Fentanyl’ bill on Wednesday. Now, it’s making its way through Congress in an attempt to combat the deadly drug that continues to make up an overwhelming share of fatal overdoses, both locally and nationally.

• The bill calls for major provisions, such as economic sanctions against Chinese companies making the chemicals used to create fentanyl, and the Mexican cartels who actually make the drug and smuggle it into the U.S. “You stop this stuff from being made by going after the chemical makers in China and the drug makers in Mexico,” Brown said.

• “This bill, it’s 100% bipartisan, passed out of our committee that I chair. There are agreements endorsed by every organization possible, police organizations, civil rights organizations.”
  

OH – WTOV: Sen. Brown on Norfolk Southern’s $25 million investment in East Palestine: It’s not enough 

• Norfolk Southern is planning to spend more than $25 million on East Palestine’s city park. According to Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, it’s not enough. “They need to do way more than $25 million,” Brown said.
  
  
• “Keep this in mind, this is one of those companies that follows the Wall Street model of the last quarter century, and that is you lay off people, your stock price goes up, you pay the executives more, and some of the biggest stockholders make more. And at the same time, you undermine safety, you weaken consumer protections, you damage the environment — all the things that this company did to enrich the executives. Well, that part worked but it didn’t work for the public.”

OH – WRGT: Sen. Brown visits local building trades camp, highlighting future opportunities in Ohio manufacturing

• U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) visited seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students at a Montgomery County summer building trades camp that he helped organize. Brown spoke with the students who are learning about Ohio manufacturing, letting them know that there will be even more available manufacturing jobs in the upcoming years.

• Brown’s office started organizing summer manufacturing camps in 2013, and since then, has organized more than 160 camps throughout the state. This year, Brown’s office helped organize at least 36 camps in 26 counties. Brown said that this is important because while some students want to go to college, others prefer to go straight into the trades.

• “That’s really what we need to do in this country, some kids want to go to Wright State, you want to go to Central State, or Wilberforce or Sinclair, that’s good. Some kids want to go straight into the trades and that’s good, with a good middle class living wage and good benefits for the rest of their lives,” said Brown.

OH – WTAP: Sen. Sherrod Brown addresses broadband expansion in Ohio

• Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown held a virtual press conference Tuesday to discuss how federal funds for broadband expansion will affect Ohio. Ohio is receiving over $700 million through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to improve and expand internet access across the state.

• Communities in the southeastern parts of the state are often the hardest hit by lack of reliable internet access, Brown said. He thinks these communities have often been overlooked. 

PA – Gant News: Casey Highlights $1.6 Million from Infrastructure Law to Goldenrod Bridge

• U.S. Senator Bob Casey on Thursday joined PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll and North Central PA Regional Planning and Development Commission Executive Director Jim Chorney at the Goldenrod Bridge restoration project in Clearfield.

• The project is funded by $1.6 million from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Casey fought to pass. “Community members have long raised concerns with this bridge and the infrastructure law is providing the funds to fix it. That means people will have a more reliable commute and a safer route to take daily,” said Casey. “This is just one example of the many infrastructure projects that will help people get around faster, safer and more efficiently across the region.”

PA – Politics PA: Casey, Wild Announce Special Financial Assistance For PA Union Pensions

• Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey and Rep. Susan Wild (D-07) announced today new Special Financial Assistance (SFA) protecting union workers’ and retirees’ pensions in Pennsylvania, made possible by the American Rescue Plan.

• This investment totals over $860 million in Special Financial Assistance to the National Integrated Group Pension Plan (NIGPP), benefitting more than 48,000 workers and retirees in the manufacturing industry, including approximately 6,700 in Pennsylvania. Prior to this investment, the plan was projected to run out of money in 2034.

• “The promise of a pension is a promise we’re supposed to keep,” said Casey. “Unfortunately for too many Americans, that promise has been taken away or never fulfilled. With today’s announcement, thousands of Pennsylvania steelworkers and auto workers can rest easy knowing that the benefits they’re owed will be waiting for them when they retire.

PA – The Clarion News: Pa. to receive $1.16 billion grant for high speed internet 

• U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) announced that Pennsylvania is receiving $1,161,778,272 from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to expand high-speech internet access across Pennsylvania.
  
  
• “High-speed internet is a necessity today and without it, Pennsylvanians are left at a disadvantage. Our rural communities are particularly impacted by a lack of reliable, high-speed internet access.,” Senator Casey said. “This record-setting investment from the infrastructure law will help ensure Pennsylvania students have every opportunity to learn, families to stay connected, and small businesses stay competitive in an increasingly digital world.”

PA – MyChesCo: Casey, Fetterman Announce $50 Million in Transportation Grants for Philadelphia’s Safety and Transit Improvements 

• U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) this week announced two $25 million grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) for SEPTA’s trolley modernization project and for the City of Philadelphia’s school zones traffic safety project in North Philadelphia. 

• “Because of the infrastructure law, the City of Philadelphia will be safer and more accessible for children, pedestrians, public transit users, and drivers,” Senator Casey said. 

PA – WFMZ: Casey-sponsored ‘Pregnant Workers Fairness Act’ takes effect 

• “It took 10 years of fighting to get this passed, but today, the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act is now the law of the land,” Casey said in a press release.
  
  
• “This law is simple: it ensures that pregnant workers have the right to reasonable accommodations, like a stool or water bottle, while at work. Women in Pennsylvania and around the country can breathe easy knowing they do not have to choose between their jobs and a healthy pregnancy.”

WV – Lootpress: Manchin Announces $19.8 Million for Five West Virginia Head Start Programs

• U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, revealed today that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will be allocating $19,881,651 to five Head Start programs in West Virginia.
  
  
• In a statement, Senator Manchin emphasized the importance of equal access to quality education for all children in West Virginia, regardless of their background or geographical location. He lauded the positive impact of the Head Start initiative, which equips children with the necessary skills and foundation for a promising future. Senator Manchin expressed his satisfaction with HHS’s decision to invest almost $20 million in supporting the crucial efforts of these five programs across the Mountain State.

WV – Hampshire Review: Capito, Manchin announce $1M for health services in West Virginia 

• United States Senators Shelley Moore Capito and Joe Manchin announced $1,962,042 for cardiovascular disease and diabetes health services throughout West Virginia.

• The funding was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is designed to help the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services to support programs that help manage and treat cardiovascular disease and diabetes for those at risk.

WV – WSAZ: West Virginia to receive $1.2 billion in federal funding for broadband access

• A historic day for West Virginia and for the more than 250,000 West Virginians that lack access to high speed internet. Today, Senator Joe Manchin held a virtual press conference alongside Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, to discuss the Bipartisan Infrastructure Laws Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program (BEAD).

• The program would give West Virginia $1.2 billion of federal funding to ensure that everyone in the state has access to affordable and reliable internet. “This has been a major, major movement for us for a long time,” Senator Manchin said. 

WV – WBOY: FSU’s Aviation Center receives $270,000 grant

• Fairmont State University’s Aviation Center of Excellence is set to receive $270,000 from Senator Joe Manchin’s Congressionally Directed Spending Funds.
  
  
• FSU’s Aviation Center of Excellence (ACE) plans to use the funding for materials that will not only increase the overall throughput and graduation rates. ACE will use the money for an AETD simulator, two new engines for aged aircrafts and an aerobatic trainer.

WI – WSAW: Sen. Baldwin announces over $1B to go toward high-speed internet for Wisconsin

• U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin has announced that Wisconsin is receiving $1.05 billion in federal funds through the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment program to connect more Wisconsinites to high-speed internet.

• Funding comes after Sen. Baldwin successfully pushed the Federal Communications Commission to release an updated National Broadband Map that provided a more reliable and accurate depiction of broadband availability across Wisconsin.
  
  
• “It’s the biggest investment in high-speed Internet ever because for today’s economy to work for everyone, internet access is just as important as electricity or water or other basic services,” said Sen. Baldwin.

WI – Monroe Times: Baldwin announces $23 million in funds to support dairy industry 

• U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) announced $23 million in grant funding is available to support dairy businesses’ processing capacity expansion, on-farm improvements, and technical assistance services under the Dairy Business Innovation Initiatives grant program.
  
• Senator Baldwin authored the bill creating the Dairy Business Innovation Initiative program, successfully shepherding its passage in 2018 and securing funding in the subsequent years since.

WI – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Menominee Nation among first tribes to get funding to build small businesses

• The Menominee Nation is among the first tribes in the country to receive funding from the White House’s American Rescue Plan for small business support. The tribe is receiving $2 million to build a lending program for small businesses owned by tribal members, chartered by the tribe or located on the reservation.

• “In the United States and in tribal communities, small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy,” said Sen. Tammy Baldwin during a press conference about the program.They described the first State Small Business Credit Initiative Tribal award program as historic and part of the largest direct federal investment in Indian Country in history.

WI – NBC 15: New replacement hospital construction begins, serving southwest Wisconsin

• Memorial Hospital of Lafayette County is ready to begin construction in Darlington on July 15. Kraus-Anderson will construct a new $64.8 million replacement hospital and clinic on a 36-acre site at the intersection of WI State Hwy. 23 and County Hwy. K.

• “Memorial Hospital provides essential care for Southwest Wisconsin, serving Wisconsinites who otherwise would face long drive times to access critical health care…” said Senator Tammy Baldwin.

WI – The Daily Reporter: Nearly $35 million in federal grants to improve streets, highways in Milwaukee County and Kenosha

• U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced Friday that Milwaukee, Kenosha and the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) will receive nearly $35 million in federal grants. 

• The projects will receive funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Discretionary Grant Program, which stems from Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, officials said. Baldwin was a supporter of the law, which was signed by President Joe Biden in November of 2022.

• “I voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law because it is updating our crumbling infrastructure to keep Wisconsinites safe, strengthen our supply chain, and create good-paying jobs…” Baldwin said.

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