Debbie Stabenow
The Public Record
Debbie Ann Stabenow is a United States Senator from Michigan, serving since January 3, 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she has been a prominent advocate for various issues including healthcare, agriculture, and women's rights. Throughout her tenure, Stabenow has focused on policies aimed at improving access to healthcare, supporting farmers, and promoting gender equality in the workplace. She has also played a significant role in discussions surrounding food security and education.
Most widely reported
by number of sources- On April 12, I led an hour of debate on the topic of prescription drug coverage for senior citizens. I read three letters from around the state from seniors who shared their personal stories. On the 12th, I made a commitment to continue to read a different letter every week until the House enacts reform. This week I will read a letter from Julia Kanopsky of Livonia Michigan. In conjunction with Mother's Day, the Older Women's League (OWL) published a report entitled, ``Prescription for Change: Why women need a Medicare Drug Benefit.'' The report describes the special problems older women face in obtaining prescriptions. More than one in three women on Medicare lack prescription drug coverage. In 1997, 2.6 million women on Medicare spent more than $1200 a year on their medications and another 2.4 million women spent between $612 and $1200 a year on pharmaceuticals therapies. The high costs of prescription drugs are especially hard on older women, most of whom live on fixed incomes.4 sources2000govinfo.gov
- I rise today to speak about an urgent and truly tragic situation in Flint, MI, and ask my colleagues in the Senate to look very hard at what has happened here and to help us address this issue. This is a public health emergency on a massive scale. It is unprecedented. I don't know of any other American city where families in the entire city--in the entire city--can't drink their water, can't cook with their water, can't bathe their children with the water. We need to be very clear. This morning, as every other morning now going on 2 years, people in Flint took showers by pouring bottled water over their heads. They didn't have the dignity of clean water coming out of their taps. They had to use bottled water to drink, to make breakfast for their children, to make a pot of coffee--the things we all use water for and the things that all of us take for granted every single day. They will not have clean water until the pipes get replaced. Up until now, we have had what we thought was a good series of negotiations. We thought we had an agreement. I have been very hopeful about the bipartisan discussions to help these families, and we have been incredibly flexible, Senator Peters and I. We just want to get this done. We are not interested in the politics or making this partisan. We want to get something done for the people of Flint. We understand that money doesn't grow on trees.…3 sources2016govinfo.gov
- I believe ``home'' is one of the warmest words in the English language. At the end of a long day, I think the favorite phrase of every hardworking working man and woman in this country is: ``Well, I'll see you tomorrow. I'm going home now.'' That is why I rise today to introduce the First Time Homebuyers' Tax Credit Act of 2003. The bill I am introducing will spread that warmth by opening the door to homeownership to millions of hardworking families, helping them cover the initial down payment and closing costs. This initiative is in keeping with our longstanding national policy of encouraging homeownership. Owning a home has always been a fundamental part of the American dream. We, in Congress, have long recognized the social and economic value in high rates of homeownership through laws that we have enacted, such as the mortgage interest tax deduction and the capital gains exclusion on the sale of a home. Over the life of a loan, the mortgage interest tax deduction can save homeowners thousands of dollars that they could use for other necessary family expenses such as education or health care. These benefits, however, are only available to individuals who own their own home. It is important also to note that owning a home is a principle and reliable source of savings as homeowners build equity over the years and their homes appreciate. For many people, it is home equity--not stocks--that help them through the retirement years.3 sources2003govinfo.gov
- today I am introducing the ``Keep the Promise of Medicare Act'' of 2005, and am pleased to be joined by my colleagues Senators Kennedy, Boxer, Lautenberg, Rockefeller, Dayton, and Corzine. Our Medicare beneficiaries were greeted in the New Year by the largest premium increase in Medicare's history--17.5 percent. At the same time, the Social Security COLA increased by only 2.7 percent. What are the implications of such a discrepancy? More than 2 million beneficiaries nationwide have lost their entire COLA to the Medicare premium increase, and almost 13 million seniors and disabled Americans will have over 50 percent of their COLA consumed by the Medicare premium increase. This dramatic increase could have been avoided--CMS Administrator McClellan has acknowledged that provisions included in the 2003 Medicare law designed to privatize the program directly contributed to the premium increase. Therefore, my legislation will limit, retroactively, the 2005 Part B premium increase to the same level as the Social Security COLA. The result will be nearly a $10 monthly savings for our seniors--the Bush Administration has given seniors a monthly $78.20 premium; under our legislation the premium would be $68.40. Older Americans have been struggling under the relentless increases in the cost of their health care and prescription drugs. Rather than alleviating the challenges they are facing, the 2005 premium increase has made their situation even direr.3 sources2005govinfo.gov
- I rise today in support of S. 1251, the Growing Climate Solutions Act. I first want to thank my partner in this landmark legislation, Senator Braun, and my partner and ranking member on the committee, Senator Boozman, for his leadership and helping us improve this bill and getting it to where we are right now. Our farmers and ranchers are battling the consequences of carbon pollution and other greenhouse gases every day. They are on the frontlines every day. Producers are having to deal with higher highs and lower lows more so than ever before. Even as we speak, the Southeast is recovering from catastrophic flooding as a result of Hurricane Claudette, and the West is facing record heat that threatens the health of farmers and farmworkers in an unprecedented wildfire season. Nearly half of the country is in drought, including 90 percent of my home State of Michigan--90 percent. It could not be clearer that climate is in crisis. The good news is that farmers and foresters are already leading the way on the climate crisis, as my colleagues have said, through their many conservation efforts. They work to reduce their impact every day through conservation practices that cut down on emissions and store carbon in their soil and trees. According to the National Academies, scaling up these climate-smart agriculture and forestry practices in the United States could offset the annual emissions of nearly 110 million cars. And I am from the car State, Madam President.…2 sources2021govinfo.gov
- I rise today to strongly support the nomination of Susan DeClercq, whom President Biden nominated to serve as the U.S. District judge for the Eastern District of Michigan; and we will be having that vote shortly. One of the things that people consistently say about Ms. DeClercq is how warm and personable she is. She is, in a word, kind, but don't let that fool you. She can go toe-to-toe with anyone in the courtroom. Ms. DeClercq is a proud graduate of the University of Michigan and Wayne State University School of Law. Her first job out of law school was serving as a clerk to U.S. District Judge Avern L. Cohn. Judge Cohn was a force of nature who spent 40 years on the Federal bench, retiring at age 95. He was a bit gruff, but he had an open mind and an open heart--two attributes Ms. DeClercq has carried throughout her career that spans the public and the private sectors. Currently, she is director and counsel for special investigations at Ford Motor Company. Before that, she spent 18 years in the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Michigan in a variety of leadership roles, including as Chief of the Civil Division. She has fought to protect people's civil rights over and over and over again--an example: a Michigan family that was literally kicked out of a restaurant because their children suffered from a genetic skin disease. She successfully represented an auxiliary firefighter, a U.S.…2 sources2023govinfo.gov
Mar 12, 2025
I predict a very good Democratic year in 2026 regardless of what happens in a Democratic primary.
Dec 19, 2024
in a few moments, I will be asking unanimous consent for a really special person to be the Federal Cochair of the Great Lakes Authority, but let me speak a little bit, first, about him. Matthew Kaplan has been nominated to serve as the…
Dec 18, 2024
I rise today to pay tribute to a wonderful staffer who has been indispensable to me and the entire Stabenow team. She has left us now; so she is in the Gallery, rather than sitting next to me. But I am so grateful for Anne Stanski and her…
Dec 18, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the mandatory quorum call with respect to the cloture motion on the motion to proceed to H.R. 82 be waived. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The…
Dec 4, 2024
there is one more thing that I would like to do. And I want to thank so many people for their kind words--so many ``kinds'' today. I am so grateful for that. But I have one more really important thing that I want to do before I relinquish…
Dec 4, 2024
first of all, I have to say, wouldn't you know I would get laryngitis, and for somebody who is in elected office, we know that that is not a good thing, so please bear with me; and I want to thank Chuck so much for his comments this…
Dec 2, 2024
if there is no further business to come before the Senate, I ask that it stand adjourned under the previous order. There being no objection, the Senate, at 7:45 p.m., adjourned until Tuesday, December 3, 2024, at 12 noon…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the committee-reported substitute amendment be withdrawn; that the Peters substitute amendment, which is at the desk, be considered and agreed to; that the bill, as amended, be considered read a third time and…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that when the Senate completes its business today, it stand adjourned until 12 noon on Tuesday, December 3; that following the prayer and pledge, the Journal of proceedings be approved to date, the morning hour be…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the bill be considered read a third time and passed and that the motion to reconsider be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered. The bill (H.R. 7438)…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Veterans' Affairs be discharged from further consideration of S. 3746 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the motion to reconsider with respect to the Murphy nomination be considered made and laid upon the table. The PRESIDING OFFICER (Ms. Smith). Without objection, it is so ordered. ____________________
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the Senate proceed to the immediate consideration of Calendar No. 492, S. 4305. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the bill by title. The legislative clerk read as follows: A bill (S. 4305) to improve…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the Senate consider the following nominations en bloc: Calendar Nos. 815 and 827; that the Senate vote on the nominations en bloc without intervening action or debate; that the motions to reconsider be…
Dec 2, 2024
I ask unanimous consent that the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs be discharged from further consideration of H.R. 7438 and the Senate proceed to its immediate consideration. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report the…
Nov 18, 2024
Well, first of all, let me say the basic program is called SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is about $6 a day for an individual. So a mom gets $6; her child gets $6.
Nov 18, 2024
There is no question. And we also have extensive evidence that when a bill is put forward on the floor that cuts the nutrition title, it never passes--2012 in the House, 2018 in the House. When Republican colleagues only put a bill on the…
Nov 18, 2024
for more than 2 years, I have been working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to pass my sixth farm bill, the third one that I have either been chair or ranking member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and…
Nov 18, 2024
Well, if we do nothing, then a number of programs revert to what is called a Depression-era policy, and there is something called the dairy cliff that everybody is always worried about because it goes back to a pricing structure that would…
Nov 18, 2024
Not when you go to the grocery store, no, that is certainly not. And then we add support for food banks. We add additional assistance and incentives if you are buying fresh fruits and vegetables. We do, you know, some other kinds of…
Nov 18, 2024
Yes. Now, we could pass an extension again and throw this into the lap of everyone next year. That doesn't create any more certainty for farmers. Those who want to just do some ad hoc payments, you know, that is not going to work. And so…
Nov 18, 2024
The current farm bill expires at the end of December. So we have to do something before we leave in December.
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