Press Releases
Cortez Masto: Transportation and Infrastructure Funding in Spending Agreement Will Help Drive Nevada’s Economy
Las Vegas, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement highlighting the infrastructure priorities she fought for in the omnibus spending agreement: "Nevada is leading the way in technology innovation that will help propel us towards a smarter, cleaner future. The federal government plays a crucial role in fostering this 21st century economy and the appropriations bill restores much needed funding to important transportation and infrastructure programs. … Continue Reading
April 02, 2018
Cortez Masto Calls on Tri-Source Pharma to Explain 1,400% Price Spike of Decades-Old Cancer Drug
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), and Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) sent a letter to Robert DiCrisci, the CEO of Tri-Source Pharma, seeking additional information on a significant price spike for the 40-year-old, off-patent cancer drug lomustine. NextSource Biopharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Tri-Source Pharma, acquired lomustine and increased the price 1,400 percent over a four-year period. "…[W]e want to learn more about NextSource … Continue Reading
March 29, 2018
Cortez Masto Tours Renown Regional Medical Center
Reno, NV - Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement after touring Renown Regional Medical Center facilities today: "Renown Health plays a crucial role in providing Northern Nevada residents with first-rate primary, urgent, long-term and emergency health services. The talented and compassionate staff at Renown know what it means to provide personal and quality care to every patient, and I thank them for their dedication and service," said Cortez Masto. "Renown's … Continue Reading
March 28, 2018
Cortez Masto, Colleagues Call on Banking Committee to Hold Hearing on the SAFE Banking Act
Reno, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) led her colleagues in sending a letter to the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing & Urban Affairs Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), urging them to hold a legislative hearing on S. 1152, the Secure And Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would allow cannabis and cannabis-related businesses that are legal under state law to access financial services in the banking system and give law … Continue Reading
March 28, 2018
Cortez Masto: Omnibus Wildfire Funding a Win for Nevada
Reno, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement detailing the appropriation of additional federal money to address wildfire funding shortfalls and support Nevada's brave firefighters. "In the past year, the U.S. Forest Service and Department of the Interior spent nearly $2.9 billion on fighting wildfires, the most expensive fire season on record. In Nevada, there were 658 wildfires in 2017, burning a total of 1.19 million acres across the state. As … Continue Reading
March 28, 2018
Cortez Masto, Women Colleagues Call on Senate Leadership to Bring Forward Legislation to Reform Sexual Harassment and Discrimination Rules in Congress
Reno, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), a member of the Senate Rules Committee Working Group along with Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) and Deb Fischer (R-Neb.), joined all twenty two Democratic and Republican women of the U.S. Senate today to call on Senate leadership to bring legislation that would update and strengthen the procedures available to survivors of all forms of sexual harassment and discrimination in congressional workplaces before the full Senate. The House of … Continue Reading
March 28, 2018
Cortez Masto Warns CFPB Against Repeal of Rule Cracking Down on Predatory Payday Lending Schemes
Reno, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in sending a letter to Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Acting Director Leandra English and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney, urging them to end any efforts to undermine and repeal the CFPB's payday lending rule, which represents an important step in reining in predatory business practices by payday lenders nationwide that are designed to exploit the financial … Continue Reading
March 27, 2018
Cortez Masto Tours University of Nevada, Reno
Reno, Nev. - U.S. Senator Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today toured the campus of the University of Nevada, Reno. Highlights of her tour included visiting the University's School of Medicine, the William N. Pennington Student Achievement Center and the Innevation Center. Senator Cortez Masto also hosted a roundtable with current university students where participants discussed issues of diversity, inclusion and affordability in higher education. "The University of Nevada, Reno has a proud history … Continue Reading
March 27, 2018
Cortez Masto Tours Food Bank of Northern Nevada
McCarran, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) toured the Food Bank of Northern Nevada (FBNN) and hosted a roundtable where she highlighted the importance of SNAP and food bank programs in the state. Cortez Masto also discussed issues concerning hunger and poverty in Nevada, and commended the FBNN for its leadership in helping Nevadans struggling with hunger. "The Food Bank of Northern Nevada provides an invaluable support system to both our urban and rural communities, not … Continue Reading
March 27, 2018
Cortez Masto: The 2020 Census Must Remain Non-Partisan
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement criticizing the Commerce Department's decision to politicize the non-partisan 2020 Census by including a question on citizenship: "I am alarmed that the Trump Administration is politicizing the Census by the addition of a citizenship question. This decision trades the accuracy of a census designed to provide complete count of the entire nation's population for a political win for President Trump. … Continue Reading
March 26, 2018
Cortez Masto: Spending Agreement Will Help Ease Affordable Housing Crisis in Nevada
Reno, Nev. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement highlighting the omnibus spending agreement priorities on affordable housing that she fought for and secured for the people of Nevada: "This spending agreement rejects the Trump Administration's proposal to eviscerate federal support to help low-income elderly, people with disabilities, veterans and families afford their rent. The appropriations bill restores funds to proven affordable housing programs … Continue Reading
March 26, 2018
Cortez Masto: Transgender Service Members Devote Their Lives To Serving & Protecting Our Country
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement criticizing President Trump for moving forward with his ban on transgender Americans serving in the military: "President Trump has attacked Americans based on the color of their skin, their immigration status, their lack of wealth, their physical ability and their gender identity. We should not be fooled by the new version of this ban - let's be clear, it still aims at undermining the ability of … Continue Reading
March 23, 2018
Cortez Masto: I am Proud to Fight for Nevada’s Priorities
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement after the President signed the omnibus legislation, which secures crucial funding for critical issues impacting the State of Nevada. "Nevadans have waited for far too long for this Republican Congress to step up and act to address important priorities. I am proud to have fought for provisions that secured additional funding to increase the supply of affordable housing, funded opioid addiction … Continue Reading
March 23, 2018
Cortez Masto, Colleagues Urge DOE to Investigate Jim Manning’s Potential Conflicts of Interest
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) led her colleagues in sending a letter to U.S. Department of Education (DOE) Ethics Official Marcella Goodridge-Keiller, raising concerns over James "Jim" Manning's potential conflicts of interest due to concurrently serving roles as DOE Acting Under Secretary and the Acting Chief Operating Officer of Federal Student Aid. Because Manning is effectively in charge of all major policy and operations governing student loans, grants, … Continue Reading
March 23, 2018
Cortez Masto Cosponsors Bill to Prevent Trump Administration from Politicizing Census with Citizenship Question
Washington, D.C. - In response to the Trump Administration's efforts to include a question on citizenship in the non-partisan 2020 Census - likely depressing participation among immigrant households - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) to introduce the Every Person Counts Act of 2018 (S. 2580) that would prohibit the Census Bureau from asking a question on citizenship or immigration status. … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Cortez Masto Presses DHS IG to Investigate Allegations of Separation of Children from Asylum-Seeking Parents
Washington, D.C. - Following recent reports of the case of a seven-year-old girl and her mother from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) who were separated for more than four months after presenting themselves at the U.S. border and seeking asylum, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) in a letter, pressing the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Acting Inspector General to investigate allegations that DHS is separating the children of … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Cortez Masto Questions HUD Secretary Carson on Affordable Housing Crisis, LGBTQ Housing Discrimination
Washington, D.C. - At today's Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) questioned Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson on his plan to address the nation's affordable housing crisis and followed up on his lack of response to a letter she sent last summer about HUD's withdrawal of its LGBTQ guidance for shelters from their website. Cortez Masto highlighted the nation's affordable housing crisis, … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Cortez Masto’s Amendment to Include Investor Protections for Indian Tribes Passes Senate
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) released the following statement after her amendment to include increased investor protections for Indian tribes was adopted into the Indian Economic Enhancement Act of 2017 and passed out of the Senate: "It has always been one of my top priorities in Congress to ensure that tribal leaders are empowered to make the changes they want to see in their communities. This legislation will expand access to key economic development … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Cortez Masto Seeks Information on Closing of EPA’s Las Vegas Laboratory
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) sent a letter to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt, urging him to explain the agency's decision to expedite the closing of its Las Vegas laboratory facilities, located within leased space at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). "This decision leaves more than 50 employees in Nevada weighing relocation, retirement, or resignation. Additional information indicates that 28 contractors would also … Continue Reading
March 22, 2018
Cortez Masto Discusses Smart Cities & 5G with Axios’ Mike Allen
(Senator Catherine Cortez Masto participates in a discussion with Axios' Mike Allen on Smart Cities & 5G) Washington, D.C. - Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Axios' Mike Allen this morning to discuss her "Innovation State" initiative. In her conversation, the Senator highlighted the innovative work happening throughout the state of Nevada, including by the state DOT and Washoe and Southern Nevada RTC's, talked about the autonomous shuttle in Las Vegas, highlighted the … Continue Reading
