Press Releases

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Bob Bennett (R-UT), the Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, today announced an agreement on bipartisan legislation that would require electronic voting systems used in federal elections to produce an independent voter-verified record of each...

Washington, DC – The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, chaired by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), today approved the nomination of three new members to the Federal Election Commission. “This vote means the FEC is one step closer to restoring a working quorum. This vote comes not a moment too soon. It is...

Washington, DC –U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today praised the Smithsonian for making needed improvements to its leave and compensation policies, making its operations more transparent and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of the Board of Regents, all of which were detailed in a new Government Accountability Office report...

Washington, DC –U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) today expressed concern about a new directive by the Veterans Health Administration that appears to reverse an earlier proposal to provide greater voter registration access to veterans in the department’s care. On April 25, the Department of Veterans Affairs issued...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) today called a directive handed down by the Veterans Health Administration a major step forward in providing voter registration access to veterans in the department’s care. “The VA Directive seems to be a dramatic turnaround in granting veterans...

Washington, DC The Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, chaired by U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), today held a hearing about in-person voter fraud, and whether requiring photo identification disenfranchises vulnerable voters. The hearing, entitled, “In-Person Voter Fraud: Myth and Trigger for Disenfranchisement?”...

Washington, DC U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chair of the Rules and Administration Committee, and John Kerry (D-Mass.) are urging Veterans Affairs Secretary James B. Peake to ensure that all veterans in VA facilities are able to participate in voter registration efforts. Many veterans live at VA facilities and some, especially those...

We've all heard the stories: families being awakened in the middle of the night by a computer-automated telephone call from a political campaign. Or voters receiving call after call in the days before a primary. In one particularly egregious case, a political campaign got hold of a Pennsylvania woman's personal cell phone number. Not only was this...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee, and Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today introduced legislation to regulate robocalls. The measure introduced by Feinstein and Specter would not ban robocalls, but instead places sensible restrictions on how and when the calls can be...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee, has sent a letter to Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) requesting that he withdraw an amendment that is currently holding up passage of S. 223, legislation to require Senate campaign finance reports to be filed electronically. Following...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Representative Robert Brady (D-Pa.) and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) have filed an amicus curiae brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that Indiana’s photo-identification requirements for federal elections are inconsistent with federal law and create unfair obstacles...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced that she has co-sponsored legislation to name the Great Hall in the new Capitol Visitor Center “Emancipation Hall.” The name would serve to recognize the end of slavery in the United States, and to pay tribute to the enslaved people who helped to construct...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, has called on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents to respond to the latest news of continued maintenance and security issues at their facilities, which were detailed in a new Government Accountability Office...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Chairman of the Rules and Administration Committee, today attempted to move common sense legislation that would require Senate campaign finance reports to be filed electronically. And for the third time this year, the effort was blocked by a Republican Senator. Senator Feinstein spoke...

Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales calling for further explanation of changes made to the federal election crime prosecution manual, and rejecting Department of Justice explanations as inadequate. Senator Feinstein questioned Attorney General Gonzales during...

Washington, DC—The U.S. Senate today approved a comprehensive ethics and lobbying reform bill, the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act, by a vote of 83-14. Among its many provisions, the bill will slow the revolving door between Congress and the lobbying world, require disclosure of lobbyists who bundle campaign contributions, and...

Washington, DC—Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senators Dianne Feinstein and Joe Lieberman, chairmen of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, today announced final agreement with the House on the text of the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. This bicameral...

Washington, DC – Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), chairman of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee, today urged the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents to move rapidly on a reform package recommended by an independent investigative committee. She expressed her concern that the top positions at the Smithsonian need to...

Washington, DC – Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) have introduced legislation to help ensure the accuracy of vote counts in federal elections and institute important new reforms in the administration of elections. Other cosponsors include Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Barack Obama (D-IL), Patrick J. Leahy...

The 2006 vote count in Sarasota County, Fla., exposed major weaknesses in our nation's voting system. Nearly 240,000 voters cast ballots on Nov. 7. But when their votes were tallied, things didn't square up: There were 18,000 fewer votes in the 13th Congressional District than were recorded in other contests on the same ballot. So-called undervotes...