Education

• Educational Training
• Educational Funding
  • Last year, Warner voted in favor of adding an additional $9.6 billion for federal education and Health and Human Services (HHS) projects over what President Bush had originally requested in the Labor-HHS-Education spending bill. The extra funds were slated to go to various programs meant to increase investments in America's educational system, including the American Competitiveness Scholarship Act of 2007 (S. Amdt. 1223). The scholarship would provide up to $15,000 for “associate, undergraduate, or graduate level degrees in mathematics, engineering, health care, or computer science.” Though the bill passed the Senate by a vote of 75-19, President Bush vetoed the legislation, citing Congressional overreach and the need to cut federal spending.
• Teaching Evolution/Intelligent Design
  • Nothing posted to date

Energy

• Clean Coal Technology
  • During consideration of the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6) in the Senate, two competing amendments regarding coal-to-liquid fuels were proposed. S. Amdt. 1628 would have provided a minimum standard in the amount of coal-to-liquid fuels to be used in "covered fuels" (aviation fuel, motor vehicle fuel, home heating oil, and boiler fuel) beginning in 2016. While the amendment mandated the clean coal fuel to emit 20% less life-cycle greenhouse gases than gasoline, opponents objected to the comparison of coal to liquid fuel as similar to gasoline. They argued that liquid fuels derived from coal are more similar to diesel-based fuel, and emit up to 150% more greenhouse gases than petroleum-based diesel fuel. S. Amdt. 1628 failed passage with a vote of 39-55. Senator Warner voted for this amendment.
  • The competing amendment, Amdt. 1614, would have provided up to $10 billion worth of loans for projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions from coal gasification (or other transformation processes) by at least 75% and ensure that greenhouse gas emissions are at least 20% below the conventional baseline. Challengers criticized the 75% sequestration requirement as too high and voiced concern that the loan money would end up disbursed to other projects (read the debate). S. Amdt. 1614 also was rejected, with a final tally of 33-61. Senator Warner voted against this amendment.
• Fuel Economy Standards
  • Warner publicly stated he opposed an amendment by Sens. Pryor, Bond, and Levin during debate on comprehensive energy legislation in 2007 that would have weakened proposed increases in Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards. Warner told The Washington Post that "he decided to vote against the amendment." A deal was eventually reached to increases CAFE standards for all cars, SUVs, and trucks and Warner voted for the legislation which passed in June 2007 by a 65 to 27 vote. An amendment introduced by Warner to allow exploration for natural gas off the Virginia coast failed during debate. Final energy legislation, H.R. 6 (featured below), was signed into law in December of 2007 and set fuel economy standards to 35 miles per gallon by 2020.
• Nuclear Power
  • Nothing posted to date
• Renewable Energy
  • After a lengthy debate in June of 2007, the Senate passed the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), which seeks to increase America’s energy independence through the development of renewable fuels and the fostering of energy efficiency. The legislation would mandate the use of 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022, require an increase in the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards to 35 mpg by 2020, and establish a carbon capture and storage research program. Senator Warner voted for the final version of H.R. 6, which passed with a vote of 65-27.
    
    In the face of a veto threat from President Bush, the House passed the Senate version of H.R. 6 with amendments by a vote of 235-181 on December 6, 2007.The final Senate rendering of the bill, which passed with a vote of 86-8, still included language raising CAFE standards to 35 mpg by 2020. Senator Warner voted for the revised version of this bill. The final version of the bill passed in the House with a vote of 314-100 and was signed into law by President Bush on December 19, 2007.
    
  • During debate of the Renewable Fuels, Consumer Protection, and Energy Efficiency Act of 2007 (H.R. 6), the Senate also passed S. Amdt. 1693. This amendment would revise the Clean Air Act to provide short-term and long-term studies on the effects of the increased use of renewable fuels on the environment. It also allows the administrator of the study to create regulations that would mitigate any negative effects on air quality that did occur as a result of the increased use of these fuels. The amendment passed with a vote of 58-34. Senator Warner voted against S. Amdt. 1693. The amendment, however, did not make into the final version of H.R. 6, which was passed by the Senate on December 13, 2007.

Environment

• Warner sits on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Currently pursuing legislation to combat climate change (featured below), he voted against curbing emissions in both 2003 and 2005 and against including oil & gas smokestacks in mercury regulations in 2005. But last December, The Washington Post called Warner an 'environmental maverick' for his sudden reversal on favoring an emissions cap.

Climate Change

• In Spring of 2008, Sens. Warner and Lieberman introduced a bill to decrease greenhouse gas emissions by setting a cap-and-trade system that would gradually decrease CO2 emissions to 2005 levels by 2012, 30% of that by 2030, and 70% of by 2050. The bill would create a Carbon Market Efficiency Board which oversee the carbon trading market and temporarily increase emissions allowances. Critics of the bill say that the bill would raise gas prices by 48 cents by 2030. The bill has received endorsements from several notable organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters, the Environmental Defense Fund, and many others. On June 6th, 2008, with a vote of 48-36 (Yea - Nay), the cloture motion to end the filibuster was rejected. A vote of 60 or greater was needed for the cloture.

• On December 5, 2007, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works passed the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, by an 11-8 vote. The bill, S. 2191, was introduced by Warner and Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) in October and aims to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency to establish a program to decrease emissions of greenhouse gases. According to The Washington Post, "a price would be placed on carbon through a declining cap in greenhouse gas emissions each year between 2012 and 2050. For the right to pollute, companies in the manufacturing, transportation and electric-power sectors would have to purchase and trade allowances. Such a price would discourage emissions and encourage efficiency and the development of new technologies." This market based, centrist approach faced both praise and criticism from environmental groups and industry. Market Watch quotes The Sierra Club as saying the bill is "a significant political step forward for the U.S. Congress, but unfortunately...still falls short of what is demanded by the science and the public."
• With a vote of 51-42 the Senate rejected S. Amdt 1094 to the Water Resources Development Act of 2007 (H.R. 1495). This amendment would have required the Army Corp of Engineers to account for the long-term and short-term effects of global climate change in all feasibility studies or reevaluation reports. Supporters of S. Amdt. 1094 focused especially on the dangers associated with increased hurricane intensity and rising sea levels. Opponents criticized the amendment as being too expensive to implement and refuted any relationship between hurricane intensity and global warming (read the floor debate). Senator Warner voted for this amendment.

Health

• Healthcare
  • The Senate passed the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2007 (H.R. 493) with a vote of 95-0. After the House passed the bill in April 2007, Senator Coburn placed a hold on the bill because he wanted to clarify language to allow for "business necessity exemptions." The bill passed by the Senate was amended to reflect changes Senator Coburn wanted. After passage in the House, President Bush signed GINA into law on May 21, 2008.
  • On August 2, 2007, the Senate passed the final version of the “Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2007” (H.R. 976) with a vote of 68-31. This bill would have increased funding for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by $50 billion dollars over five years. Opponents saw the bill as too costly and were critical of the funding methods for the program, including a cigarette tax increase (read the floor debate). Senator Warner voted for this legislation. On October 3, 2007, President Bush vetoed H.R. 976, citing that the bill moved too many children towards federally funded healthcare. The House attempted to override the President’s veto, but the measure failed to pass with a vote count of 273-156. On December 29, 2007, President Bush signed the Medicare, Medicaid, SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (S. 2499) which extends funding for SCHIP through March of 2009, but does not significantly expand the program.
  • On July 15, 2008, both Houses of Congress voted to override President Bush’s veto of the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act (H.R. 6331), a bill to put off an almost 11% cut of payments to doctors who care for Medicare patients. The legislation offset putting off the payment cuts for doctors by reducing reimbursements to insurance companies that include Medicare patients in their managed-care programs.[1]. The Senate voted 70 to 26 in favor of a veto override. Senator Warner did not vote on this legislation.
• Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In April of 2007, Congress passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (S. 5), which would have overturned President Bush's ban on the use of federal funding for research on embryonic stem cell lines created after August 9, 2001. Senator Warner voted for the legislation. The bill passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 247-176 and the Senate with a vote of 63-34. President Bush vetoed both this legislation and an identical bill that was passed by Congress in 2006.
• Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
  • In December 2005, Congress passed the Stem Cell Therapeutic and Research Act of 2005 (H.R. 2520), which President Bush signed on December 20, 2005. The law "creates a new Federal program to collect and store cord blood, and expands the current bone marrow registry program to also include cord blood." Senator Warner voted for this bill. The legislation passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 431-1 and passed the Senate by unanimous consent.

Innovation

• On August 9, 2007, President Bush signed the America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education, and Science (COMPETES) Act (H.R. 2272) into law. The law authorizes the doubling of funding for the National Science Foundation over the next seven years, increased funding for the National Institute of Standards and Technology and competitive grants for teachers and schools with the goal of strengthening the quality of education in science, math, and critical foreign languages. The bill was passed with unanimous consent in the Senate and was agreed to by a vote of 367-57 by the House after being reconciled in a conference committee. Senator Warner voted for this legislation. The America COMPETES Act was not fully funded in 2008.

Research and Research Management

• Funding
  • In 2003, Warner co-sponsored the 21st Century Nanotechnology Research and Development Act (S. 189) that funds nanotechnology research and expands government work in nanotechnology. The bill was signed into law in December of 2003.