Senator Markey takes stock

In two weeks, the 118th Congress begins its 2023 session, after a tumultuous and surprising mid-term election. In 2023, Ed Markey will have served the Commonwealth for fifty years — first in the Massachusetts House, then in the United States House, and since 2013 as United States Senator.

He was one of eleven Senators(*) — Democrats and Republicans — who voted against $857 billion National Defense Authorization Act, which he noted is $45 billion more than President Joe Biden proposed. He objects to the “bloated military budget” because it is so much more than the 117th Congress was willing to spend on issues Senator Markey believes to be crucial to the safety and security of the nation: climate change, the opioid epidemic, poverty, hunger, and disease. In his statement, Senator Markey said, “Instead it doubles down on the failed approach of pouring money into a bloated, inefficient, and sometimes counterproductive national security machine underwritten by an army of lobbyists and gold-plated contractors that fails to deliver on the needs of the American people. I simply cannot support it.”

On the other hand, Senator Markey’s Children and Media Research Advancement (CAMRA) Act is now part of the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus package. The Senator, a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, has pushed for online privacy protection for children. Colleagues on both sides of the aisle supported the Act “that directs the National Institutes of Health and Health and Human Services to lead a research program on technology and media’s effects on infants, children and adolescents in core areas of cognitive, physical and socio emotional development,” according to a press release announcing CAMRA’s inclusion.

At the same time, his Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) — a bill he wrote and has the bipartisan support — was not included in the appropriation. COPPA would ban ads targeted at children; extend existing privacy protections for children and teens; and create a Youth Marketing and Privacy Division at the Federal Trade Commission and an FTC study of the COPPA safe harbor program to be sure it is protecting children. Senator Markey intends to continue his push for passage of COPPA when the 118th Congress convenes on January 3rd. Lamenting Congress’s failure to include COPPA and Big Tech’s threat to children, he vowed to “continue to stand with Young people and fight until we’ve delivered them the rights and protections.”

Ask Massachusetts residents what they know about Ed Markey, and they will probably name the Green New Deal. Many of his comprehensive climate control initiatives are now part of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, which brings $10 billion to Massachusetts for solar, wind, and battery energy storage and other climate control measures. (Senator Markey first proposed a comprehensive climate control bill in 2009, which passed in the House but failed in the Senate.) Through his efforts, $60 million will go to expanding environmental justice in urban areas where residents suffer disproportionately from high level greenhouse gas emissions, heat islands, toxic substances in housing and schools; making streets safer and more walkable; and addressing inadequate public transportation. Along with the provisions for the range of environment and climate initiatives, the IRA includes appropriations for job creation to support the new industries.

Commenting on a renewed discussion of nuclear fission power plants to replace fossil fuels, Senator Markey said, “the economics don’t work over solar wind, geothermal. Renewables are cheaper and easier to install.” Although, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory recently announced a breakthrough in generating energy through nuclear fusion, Senator Markey said that a pilot nuclear fusion program would not be online until the 2030s. Solar, wind, and other renewables will be the major source of electricity by then.

Reflecting on the climate in Congress, Senator Markey pointed to 2022 accomplishments: “even with only fifty votes we got a lot done. Now [that] we have the votes in the Senate we can start a process of continuing gun safety laws, continue to advocate for funding for Covid because it is continuing.”

Although Senator Markey concedes there is an “element in the GOP that wants to cut back support for Ukraine,” he predicts bipartisan support for the country will prevail. At the same time, “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has increased support for renewable energy as an alternative to fossil fuels.”

For himself, Sen. Markey said, “I want to work with my colleagues to pass progressive legislation.”

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(*) Ten other NO votes in the Senate on the National Defense Authorization Act: Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Mike Lee (R-UT), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), and Rand Paul (R-KY)