PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Senator Mark Warner is once again expressing his concern when it comes to the delayed implementation of the Ashanti Alert Act.
The alert is named after Ashanti Billie, the 19-year-old college student abducted from Joint Expeditionary Base Little Creek. Billie’s body was found days later in North Carolina.
The Ashanti Alert Act was implemented in Virginia within three months. It was signed into law by President Trump last year.
H.R.5075 creates a nationwide alert network similar to the Amber Alert for missing adults between the ages of 18-64. The bill was proposed in February 2018 by outgoing Congressman Scott Taylor of Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District, and passed in both houses of Congress in December.
Senator Mark Warner sponsored the Senate version of the bill. But there’s a problem, according to Senator Mark Warner: inaction by the Department of Justice.
“The Department of Justice hasn’t followed through in terms of a plan to bring the Ashanti Alert into practice across the nation. I’ve written letters to the Attorney General, I’ve met with people at the Department of Justice who are responsible with implementing this program and candidly, we’ve got gibberish,” said Warner.
He’s putting forward an amendment that would require the Department of Justice to come forward with a plan in 30 days, then show how they will implement it within 90 days.
In the Thursday discussion, Sen. Warner also touched on the Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund.
Virginia’s U.S. senators have introduced a bill that they hope will help provide financial relief to the families of victims of the Virginia Beach mass shooting.
Senators Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine said the “Virginia Beach Strong Act” would encourage donations to the Virginia Beach Tragedy Fund by making them tax deductible.
“It’s unfortunate that the fund wasn’t set up correctly in stage one, but we now have this corrective legislation and my hope is that we can get it through the House, get it through the Senate on a unanimous consent basis,” said Warner.
In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Virginia Beach, community members created a fund to help the victims and their families.
“What they did was name the victims in the fund, and that’s different from what has happened in other communities,” Warner said.
But Senator Warner said due to a technicality, the donations made are currently not tax-deductible.
Lawmakers can’t undo the tragedy, but supporters hope to provide financial relief to those helping the grieving families.
