In the News
MiBiz: Peters’ bill to encourage use of remanufactured parts signed into law
by John Wiegand
New federal legislation signed into law this week could significantly reduce the cost of maintaining U.S. government agencies' vehicle fleets by requiring those groups to encourage the procurement of remanufactured parts for repairs instead of new components. Proponents of the Federal Vehicle Repair Cost Savings Act, introduced in February by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., say the new legislation could both spur job growth in the remanufacturing industry as well as help reduce the cost of federal v… Continue Reading
10.01.15
Grand Haven Tribune: EDITORIAL: Pipeline act on the right track
by Grand Haven Tribune Editorial Board
... The "Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act" calls for a ban on shipping of crude oil by vessel on the Great Lakes. Currently, no crude oil is transported by vessel on the Great Lakes. However, passage of this legislation would write that prohibition into law. Additionally, the bill calls for a "comprehensive, top-to-bottom review of hazardous pipelines in the region," and would assess the "current status of oil spill response and cleanup plans." It would also require ice cover to… Continue Reading
09.30.15
Detroit Free Press: Peters wants more Syrian refugees resettled in U.S.
by Todd Spangler
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Gary Peters sent a letter to the White House on Wednesday asking that the U.S. accept no fewer than 100,000 refugees fleeing bloodshed from Syria and Iraq in the coming years, including 30,000 during the next fiscal year. In his letter to President Barack Obama, Peters, D-Mich., urged the resettlement of Syrian refugees as well as of persecuted religious minority refugees from both Syria and Iraq. The Obama administration had previously set a goal of resettling 85,000 ref… Continue Reading
09.30.15
Detroit News: Sen. Peters: Triple Syrian refugees accepted into U.S.
by Melissa Nann Burke
Washington - U.S. Sen. Gary Peters wants the Obama administration to triple the number of refugees from war-ravaged Syria that it will accept next year and to give higher priority to resettling persecuted minorities from both Syria and Iraq in the United States. The Bloomfield Township Democrat, who visited the Zaatari Syrian refugee camp in Jordan as part of a five-nation Middle East tour in September, said the refugees' plight is the "major humanitarian crisis that's occurring in the world to… Continue Reading
09.30.15
Interlochen Public Radio: Peters touts bill banning oil tankers on Great Lakes
by David Cassleman
The bill would require a review of all pipelines in the Great Lakes region, plus it would ban transporting crude oil on tanker ships. That's something that doesn't happen at all right now, but Sen. Gary Peters says it could be a threat in the future. "This has been a possibility that's being discussed," Peters says. "It has not been done up to this point because people frankly believe that it's just unacceptable." The bill is partially a response to widespread concern over the 60-year old oil … Continue Reading
09.28.15
Detroit Free Press: Congress supports use of rebuilt auto parts
by Todd Spangler
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., got his first piece of legislation as a senator approved by the U.S. House on Monday and sent on to President Barack Obama to be signed into law. The legislation, which was passed on a voice vote in the House, pushes federal agencies to use remanufactured or rebuilt parts for repairs to vehicles when doing so lowers costs, maintains quality and does not compromise safety. Remanufactured auto parts are often less expensive than new ones. According to… Continue Reading
09.28.15
Detroit News: Bill to cut repair costs for federal vehicles passes
by David Shepardson
The U.S. House on Monday approved a bipartisan bill to cut federal vehicle repair costs. The measure, proposed by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township and Bill Huizenga, R-Zeeland, is aimed at reducing the nearly $1 billion in annual federal vehicle repair costs by encouraging the use of remanufactured auto parts. The bill will be sent to President Barack Obama for his signature. The bill was the first introduced by Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, who took office in early January. The measur… Continue Reading
09.23.15
Detroit News: Michigan’s senators push oil tanker ban on lakes
by Jim Lynch
The environmental threat to the Great Lakes posed by the transport of oil on and underneath its waters has prompted two Michigan's U.S. senators to craft a bill aimed at reducing the likelihood of a catastrophic spill. The legislation calls for a ban on tankers and barges transporting crude oil through the Great Lakes, but U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, said Wednesday no crude oil is currently being shipped through the lakes. The bill also requires a "top-to-bottom" review of th… Continue Reading
09.23.15
Grand Rapids Press: Bill would ban Great Lakes crude oil shipping, boost federal pipeline scrutiny
by Garret Ellison
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Michigan's two Democratic U.S. senators have introduced federal legislation to ban shipping crude oil by vessel on the Great Lakes and add the basin to a "high risk" regulatory category with greater safety thresholds for oil pipelines. The Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act - "a top-to-bottom review of hazardous pipelines in the region" - was introduced Sept. 23 in the U.S. Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on which Sen. Gary Peters, (D-Bloomfield Hi… Continue Reading
09.23.15
Petoskey News-Review: Legislation calls for Great Lakes crude shipment ban, studies on alternatives to Line 5
by Mark Johnson
As hundreds prepare to gather for an oil spill response drill in the Mackinac Straits, Michigan's two U.S. senators announced new legislation introduced in hopes of preventing such a spill in the Great Lakes. In a conference call Wednesday, U.S. Sens. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow announced their proposed Pipeline Improvement and Preventing Spills Act, which if put into effect would examine alternatives to Line 5 - twin oil pipelines running through the Mackinac Straits - and ban the shipping… Continue Reading
09.23.15
Arab American News: Sen. Peters: The U.S. should do its part to help refugees
by Ali Harb
DEARBORN - After witnessing the hopelessness at Jordan's Zaatari refugee camp, the temporary home of 80,000 Syrians, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich), believes the United States should come to the aid of the struggling people of Syria. "It was quite an intense experience - one that made it very clear to me that the United States needs to do its part to help Syrian refugees," Peters told The Arab American News in a phone interview. The Obama Administration announced Monday that the United States will … Continue Reading
09.21.15
MSU State News: U.S. Sen. Gary Peters tours the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams to ensure federal funding
by Alex Kurrie
U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) toured the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams or FRIB on Monday as part of his bipartisan effort to continue funding to the project and help shape new legislation regarding nation-wide research. Peters is the Ranking Member on the Space, Science and Competitiveness Subcommittee and met with researchers and academic officials from MSU in order to gain input on how research will be conducted as well as the benefits these studies will reap, namely in the medical field. … Continue Reading
09.15.15
MiBiz: Distillery excise tax reform to benefit
by John Wiegand
Pending legislation could help level the playing field for craft distilleries by reducing the excise tax that a distiller must pay on its spirits. The Distillery Excise Tax Reform Act (DETRA) aims to significantly cut the current excise tax rate in order to make small distillers more competitive, as well as spur community investment and job creation. "That reduction will mean more capital investment and will mean more jobs," said U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), during a tour, today, of Grand Rap… Continue Reading
09.15.15
WSJM: Possible Excise Tax Cut Good for Business
by Pat Moody
Local distillers in Michigan's Great Southwest concur with Michigan Senator Gary Peters that a proposed federal reduction in the excise tax on alcoholic spirits by small distilleries will mean more capital investment and more jobs for the local economy. Peters visited Grand Rapids-based Long Road Distillers yesterday and cited the potential gains for the local economy under the proposed Distillery Excise Tax Reform Act, or DETRA. The legislation before the U.S. Congress would lower the excise t… Continue Reading
09.14.15
Grand Rapids Press: Sen. Gary Peters visits Grand Rapids distillery, wants lower taxes on craft liquor
by John Serba
GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Those in the craft distillery business call the federal excise tax on liquor a "hangover from Prohibition." Flanked by a pair of bronze distillers in Long Road Distillery's production facility Monday morning, Sept. 14, 2015, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) said he hopes to significantly lower the sin tax on liquor, and therefore put distillers on the same footing as beer and wine makers. In May, Peters and fellow Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introd… Continue Reading
09.01.15
Detroit Free Press: Peters to visit Middle East before returning to D.C.
by Todd Spangler
WASHINGTON - U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., will travel to the Middle East this week to meet with officials in Iraq, Jordan and elsewhere to discuss ongoing efforts to combat ISIS. Peters, a member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, will travel with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The senators also will visit the United Arab Emirates and Qatar and visit a refugee camp in Jordan. "Michigan service members are among … Continue Reading
08.19.15
Manistee News-Advocate: Peters talks small business, Great Lakes
by Dylan Savela
MANISTEE - On Wednesday, United States Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) paid a visit to the Manistee News Advocate office, which sits a block away from a recently revitalized River Street and a mere mile from Lake Michigan. Fittingly, Manistee represents much of what the first-term senator considers priority in his public service to the state. On what's considered Start-Up Day Across America, Peters spoke to the News Advocate about his focus on small businesses and the economic impact of waterfront c… Continue Reading
08.15.15
Houghton Daily Mining Gazette: Sen. Peters pushes for another big icebreaker
by Dan Roblee
The past two winters have been tough ones for Great Lakes freighters, and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield, is pushing for a new heavy icebreaker to ease their springtime passages. According to a release from Peters' office, he has sent a letter urging House and Senate congressional committees to authorize funding for a new heavy icebreaker. "In 2006, the USCG took a positive step towards combating Great Lakes ice by launching a heavy icebreaker called the USCGC Mackinaw," Peters said in th… Continue Reading
08.11.15
Marquette Mining Journal: Beer tour
by Elizabeth Bailey
MARQUETTE - U.S. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Hills, learned about the beer brewing process and highlighted legislation he has co-sponsored while touring Blackrocks Brewery in Marquette Monday afternoon. "This is a great industry for Michigan like we see here in Marquette, this (Blackrocks Brewery) is a business that hires people, puts folks to work and it also adds to tourism," Peters said. If approved, the Small BREW Act Peters co-sponsored would reduce excise taxes for small breweries. Th… Continue Reading
08.11.15
Escanaba Daily Press: Senator addresses issues in Escanaba
by Jordan Beck
ESCANABA - As part of a four-day visit to the Upper Peninsula, U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D) visited Escanaba to discuss issues affecting the U.P. and the rest of the country. In an interview with the Daily Press, Peters said one of the key goals of his visit is to meet with people in the Upper Peninsula to talk about the area's problems and advantages. "We look forward to having a close working relationship," Peters said. In order to work toward this goal, Peters plans to attend several meeti… Continue Reading
