Press Releases
Cortez Masto Applauds Over $4 Million in Grant Funding to Improve Washoe County Public Transportation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced $4,080,000 in Department of Transportation (DoT) grant funding for the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe Country (RTC Washoe) to upgrade its public bus fleet. Senator Cortez Masto wrote a letter in support of this grant award. "As Nevadans safely return to work, this grant funding will help ensure Washoe County's public transportation infrastructure has the resources it needs to make upgrades, and health and … Continue Reading
August 07, 2020
Cortez Masto, Wyden Introduce Bill to Improve Emergency Response to Mental Health Crises
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) proposed a new bill to help states adopt mobile crisis response teams that can be dispatched when a person is experiencing a mental health or substance use disorder (SUD) crisis instead of immediately involving law enforcement. "For individuals experiencing a behavioral health crisis, the assistance of trained health care and social workers is more effective than interventions from law enforcement in … Continue Reading
August 06, 2020
Cortez Masto Applauds $7 Million Initiative to Prevent Domestic Violence and Aid Survivors in Nevada
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced today that the Department of Justice, through the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Office of Violence Against Women (OVW), and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), is awarding nearly $7 million in grant funding to assist law enforcement agencies, tribes, victims of domestic violence, and local and state government in Nevada in combating domestic and sexual violence. The grant awards will fall under the title "Project … Continue Reading
August 06, 2020
Cortez Masto Fights to Provide Mental Health Care for American Indian & Alaska Native Youth During Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) recently joined U.S. Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Senate colleagues in demanding accessible, comprehensive, and culturally competent mental health care and related services for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth during the coronavirus pandemic. "We must act quickly to ensure that Tribes, Native communities, and the schools serving Native students - whether at the early childhood, primary, secondary, or … Continue Reading
August 06, 2020
Cortez Masto Statement on the 55th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today released the following statement on the 55th anniversary of the day President Lyndon Johnson signed the monumental Voting Rights Act into law in 1965. "Representative John Lewis often reminded us that the right to vote was democracy's most precious, powerful tool. Yet until President Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law 55 years ago, millions of Black, Latino, Asian and Native Americans were shut out of the … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
Cortez Masto Celebrates Senate Passage of Olympics Reform Legislation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) celebrated the Senate's passage, by unanimous consent, of the bipartisan Empowering Olympic and Amateur Athletes Act. Senator Cortez Masto is a proud cosponsor of this legislation that will improve oversight and accountability at the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee so that athletes are better protected against sexual abuse and intimidation. "The passage of this legislation will help hold the U.S. Olympic & … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
Cortez Masto Calls for More Support for Schools, Broadband During Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spoke today on the Senate floor about the need to support schools in upcoming coronavirus legislation. She also emphasized the importance of funding critical broadband access at a time of social distancing. Senator Cortez Masto's remarks are available in VIDEO FORMAT. Below are her remarks as prepared for delivery: In a couple of weeks, students in Nevada and around the country are going to begin their studies again. I want … Continue Reading
August 05, 2020
Cortez Masto Introduces Legislation to Help School Nutrition Programs Best Serve Students through Upcoming School Year
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Child Nutrition Relief Act to extend waiver authorities for school nutrition rules granted to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) through the upcoming school year. These waivers for school nutrition programs, originally granted in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, have provided school districts in Nevada and across the country with the flexibility to deliver meal services to kids even when schools are … Continue Reading
August 04, 2020
Cortez Masto Highlights Urgent Need for More Funding for States, Cities, and Tribes During Coronavirus Pandemic
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) spoke today on the Senate floor about the need for funding to address critical shortfalls in state, local, and tribal government budgets. She called on Senate colleagues to pass additional coronavirus legislation to help governments pay for essential first responders, health care, education, and other critical services. Senator Cortez Masto's remarks are available in VIDEO FORMAT. Below are her remarks as prepared for … Continue Reading
August 04, 2020
Cortez Masto Introduces Legislation to Fund Virtual Peer Support Behavioral Health Programs
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) introduced the Virtual Peer Support Act to help boost the capacity of peer behavioral health support programs by transitioning them to an online setting. Specifically, this bill would provide $50 million in grants through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to eligible organizations to fund the implementation of new virtual peer support programs and the expansion of existing online services to … Continue Reading
August 03, 2020
Cortez Masto Urges Coronavirus Relief Package Negotiators to Ensure Arbitration Clauses are Not Attached to Needed Relief Payments for Americans
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined U.S. Senator Bob Menendez and fellow Democratic Banking and Finance Committee members in a letter to Senate Leadership urging for the next COVID-19 stimulus package to prohibit the Federal Government from attaching forced arbitration agreements to any form of benefit payments to Americans. Last March, the pre-paid debit cards IRS sent to four million Americans, loaded with CARES Act stimulus payments, also contained a … Continue Reading
August 03, 2020
Cortez Masto Applauds $300,000 to Support Nevada Businesses
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today announced that the Economic Development Administration (EDA) has awarded $300,000 to the Nevada System of Higher Education in Reno to fund a response to the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. "These funds will go to help Nevada businesses respond to the COVID-19 pandemic by providing technology, training, and research to retrain workers, adapt business plans, and develop new … Continue Reading
August 03, 2020
Cortez Masto Introduces Bill to Address Mental Health Equity and Access for Communities of Color
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) led a group of Senate colleagues in introducing the Mental Health Equity Act of 2020 to address the issues of suicide and mental health in youth with a focus on those in socially and economically disadvantaged communities. Senator Cortez Masto recently introduced a bicameral resolution to designate July as BIPOC Mental Health Awareness Month. The legislation is cosponsored by Sens. … Continue Reading
August 03, 2020
Cortez Masto, Colleagues to McConnell: Immigrants Are Essential and Deserve Support in Coronavirus Legislation
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and 24 of their colleagues in a letter urging Majority Leader McConnell to support tax-paying immigrant families who have Individual Tax Identification Numbers (ITIN) by ensuring they have access to economic relief payments provided in the CARES Act and any future coronavirus relief package. An estimated 20 million immigrants work in essential industries. These … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
Cortez Masto Urges Senate to Reject Conditioning Federal Funds to Schools on Reopening In-Person
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), along with 28 of her Senate colleagues, in urging Senate leadership to reject the Trump Administration's desire to condition education funds in the next coronavirus relief package on the reopening of elementary and secondary schools for in-person instruction. In a letter to Senate leadership, the Senators said that the Senate should not be complicit in President Trump's demands that would risk … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
Cortez Masto Applauds More Than $6 Million to Fight Substance Use Disorders in Nevada
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) announced that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded $6,731,119 to help fund Nevada's Overdose Data to Action programs, which conduct data-driven research into substance use disorders. "I'm glad to see these funds get to the state of Nevada to help us learn more about substance use disorders in our state. With this data, we can improve treatments and … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
Cortez Masto Joins Bipartisan Effort to Support Physician Training Programs in Rural Communities
Washington, D.C. - As COVID-19 cases continue to rise throughout the nation, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) joined Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.), Michael Rounds (R-S.D.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), in calling on the Trump administration to support physician training programs in rural communities to strengthen and maintain a physician workforce for the … Continue Reading
July 31, 2020
Cortez Masto: Congress is Failing Struggling Nevada Workers & Families As $600 Pandemic Unemployment Compensation Program Lapses
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today released the following statement urging Congress to immediately pass legislation to continue the enhanced unemployment insurance programs established in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which has provided an extra $600 in monthly unemployment benefits to struggling Nevadans, expires today. Yesterday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell brought … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Cortez Masto Statement on the Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid
Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) today released the following statement on the 55th anniversary of the day President Lyndon Johnson signed Medicare and Medicaid into law in 1965. "Although Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965, calls to create a program to protect Americans' health go back over a century. From Teddy Roosevelt to Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson to Richard Nixon, American presidents have long understood that we have an essential obligation … Continue Reading
July 30, 2020
Cortez Masto Stresses Importance of Increased Production of PPE, More Mental Health Support for Frontline Workers in Senate Finance Committee Hearing
Washington, D.C. - During this week's Senate Finance Committee hearing on the reliability of the U.S. medical supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) questioned panelists about why the Administration has not fully invoked the Defense Production Act to ensure the United States has adequate personal protective equipment and medical supplies, and stressed the importance of more funding for mental health support for frontline health care workers. "I … Continue Reading
