Press Releases
Peters and Portman Statement on Widespread Cyber-Attacks, Plan Hearings & Legislation in Early 2021
WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Rob Portman (R-OH) issued the following statement on the ongoing cyber-attacks against our federal agencies, U.S. companies, and some state governments. Peters and Portman have been leaders in the Senate on legislative efforts to strengthen the federal government cyber response. They will lead the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee in th… Continue Reading
12.18.20
Peters Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Representation for Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Sectors in the Development of Federal Drone Policies Heads to President’s Desk
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. House today passed bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) to ensure the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s chief drone policy committee includes representation for agriculture, forestry, and rural America. The Drone Advisory Committee for the 21st Century Act, which Peters introduced with Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Pat Roberts (R-KS), who serves as the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition Committee, would ensur… Continue Reading
12.18.20
Peters Bipartisan Bill to Help Great Lakes Communities Address Shoreline Erosion Heads to President to be Signed into Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, applauded House passage of his bipartisan bill to address rising water levels and shoreline erosion. The bill, which passed the Senate earlier this week, would provide support for local communities facing rising water levels, coastal erosion, and flooding that have put homes, property, and communities at risk, and caused millions of dollars in damages. The Safeguarding To… Continue Reading
12.17.20
Peters Delivers Floor Remarks on Urgent Need to Pass Bipartisan COVID-19 Relief
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today spoke on the Senate floor on the need for the Senate to come together to pass urgent bipartisan COVID-19 relief to support small businesses, workers, families and health care providers suffering from the ongoing pandemic. In his remarks, Peters emphasized the need for bipartisanship and how the Senate can only achieve progress on pandemic relief and other key priorities by working together across the aisle. "This past year, I'm proud to say w… Continue Reading
12.16.20
House Passes Peters Bipartisan Legislation to Protect the Apollo Landing Sites
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. House of Representatives today passed a bipartisan bill introduced by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) to permanently protect the Apollo landing sites on the moon. The One Small Step to Protect Human Heritage in Space Act, which Peters introduced with U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), would enact first-of-its-kind legal protections for the Apollo sites by making NASA's preservation recommendations a requirement for future activities on the Moon. "As a child, I watched the ach… Continue Reading
12.16.20
Peters Bill to Improve VA Caregiver Program Heading to President’s Desk to be Signed into Law
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today applauded House passage of his bipartisan bill to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) caregiver program. The Transparency and Effective Accountability Measures for (TEAM) Veteran Caregivers Act, which Peters introduced with U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), now goes to the President's desk to be signed into law. The legislation would take a number of steps to strengthen transparency and communication for veterans and caregiver… Continue Reading
12.16.20
Peters Statement on President-elect Biden’s Secretary of Transportation Designate
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) today released the following statement on President-elect Biden's nomination of Pete Buttigieg to be Secretary of Transportation: "The next Secretary of Transportation will have no shortage of challenges: from rebuilding our crumbling roads and bridges - to ensuring that the United States remains at the forefront of mobility innovation. In particular, we must have a federal framework in place that can safely usher in self-driving vehicle technologi… Continue Reading
12.15.20
Peters & Stabenow Press Administration on Decision Not to Purchase More Coronavirus Vaccines
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Debbie Stabenow (MI) joined several of their colleagues to press Dr. Moncef Slaoui, Chief Advisor of Operation Warp Speed, and General Gustave Perna, Chief Operating Office of Operation Warp Speed, about recent reports that earlier this year the Trump Administration declined to purchase additional doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine when given the opportunity. The dec… Continue Reading
12.15.20
Peters Announces Former CISA Director Krebs to Testify at Wednesday HSGAC Hearing
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, announced today that Christopher Krebs, former director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), will testify at a committee hearing on Wednesday on election security and national security. The hearing, convened at the direction of Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI), will likely underscore false narratives that seek to undermine public trust in the ou… Continue Reading
12.14.20
Two More Peters Standalone Bills Heading to President’s Desk to be Signed into Law, Another Two Peters Bills Pass Senate
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) continued advancing his legislative priorities through Congress, with two more bills now going to the President's desk to be signed into law and two additional bills passing the Senate. The bills on their way to the President's desk - which will update Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps for the Great Lakes and close security loopholes in the federal leasing process - would mark the 7th and 8th bills enacted under President Trump - more than … Continue Reading
12.11.20
Senate Passes Peters’ Bipartisan Bill to Ensure Representation for Agriculture, Forestry, and Rural Sectors in the Development of Federal Drone Policies
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Senate passed bipartisan legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) to ensure the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)'s chief drone policy committee includes representation for agriculture, forestry, and rural America. The Drone Advisory Committee for the 21st Century Act, which Peters introduced with Senators John Thune (R-SD) and Pat Roberts (R-KS), who serves as the Chairman of the Senate Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition Committee, would also ensur… Continue Reading
12.11.20
Senate Passes National Defense Bill with Peters Supported Measures to Provide Servicemembers a Pay Raise, Strengthen National Security & Michigan’s Defense Sector
WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. Senate today approved the final national defense bill that includes provisions U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI) authored and supported to benefit servicemembers and their families, support Michigan's defense sector and strengthen our national security. It includes a pay raise for our men and women in uniform and Peters-led provisions to strengthen the medical supply chain and increase support for missile defense. The National Defense Authorization Act, which sets policy fo… Continue Reading
12.11.20
Peters and Portman Introduce Bill to Modernize and Increase Transparency in U.S. Response to Cyber-Attacks on Federal Agencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced a bipartisan bill that would increase transparency and modernize how the government responds to cybersecurity incidents on federal information systems. According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), federal agencies' information technology systems continue to face increasing risks. "Our federal information systems are… Continue Reading
12.11.20
Peters Bipartisan Bill to Fix Security Vulnerability Posed By Foreign Ownership of Federally Leased Properties to Be Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bipartisan bill authored by U.S. Senators Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, that requires the federal government to determine if office space it leases is owned by foreign entities is headed to the White House to be signed into law. "Our foreign adversaries continue to try and exploit loopholes in our security systems in order to access sensitive information. This legislation will make it harder for them to access… Continue Reading
12.10.20
Peters Bipartisan Bill to Update Great Lakes Environmental Sensitivity Index Maps Heads to President’s Desk to be Signed Into Law
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters' (MI) bipartisan legislation to update the Environmental Sensitivity Index (ESI) maps in the Great Lakes is headed to the President's desk to be signed into law. The legislation, which he introduced with U.S. Senator Todd Young (R-IN), requires the Great Lakes Region ESI maps to be updated for the first time in over two decades, joining maps for the East coast, West coast, and Gulf coast that have been updated more recently. Companion legislation was led… Continue Reading
12.10.20
Peters Calls for Increased Funding to Help Protect Houses of Worship from Terror Attacks
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and a bipartisan group of his colleagues called on the Senate Appropriations Committee to ensure that the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) receives adequate funding to meet the needs of houses of worship and other nonprofit organizations that want to help secure their facilities against potential terrorist attacks. In recent years, there have been a significant num… Continue Reading
12.10.20
Senate Passes Peters Bipartisan Bill to Help Great Lakes Communities Address Rising Water Levels, Shoreline Erosion
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A bipartisan bill led by U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has passed the Senate to address rising water levels and shoreline erosion. Introduced earlier this year, the bill would provide support for local communities facing rising water levels, coastal erosion, and flooding that have put homes, property, and our communities at risk, and caused millions of dollars in damages. U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow… Continue Reading
12.09.20
Peters Statement Following Meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director-Designate Neera Tanden
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, issued the following statement after meeting with President-elect Joe Biden's Office of Management and Budget Director-Designate Neera Tanden to discuss issues faced by working families in Michigan and across the nation: "Families in Michigan and across the country are facing trying circumstances brought on by the Coronavirus pandemic, and they need Congress and the inco… Continue Reading
12.08.20
Peters Statement on President-elect Biden’s Secretary of Defense Designate
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), a former Lieutenant Commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve, today released the following statement on President-elect Joe Biden's announcement that he plans to nominate retired General Lloyd Austin as Secretary of Defense. "Our nation faces extraordinary challenges and a series of evolving security threats and we need a steady, experienced leader at the Department of Defense. As we move forward, the Department of Defense will play a critical role in… Continue Reading
12.08.20
Peters Presses Top Trump Administration Officials to Ensure Nation is Prepared for Coronavirus Vaccine Distribution
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Gary Peters (MI), Ranking Member of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is pressing Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller for information on their preparations to meet the enormous challenge of coordinating the wide distribution of Coronavirus vaccines to Michiganders and all Americans once cleared by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). "I write to ensure our nation is prepare… Continue Reading
