The Senate recently passed bipartisan legislation I helped introduce to accelerate the development of commercial fusion energy. Fusion energy has the potential to produce abundant clean electricity without harmful side effects like carbon emissions or long-lived radioactive waste.

The Fusion Energy Act, which was incorporated into the Fire Grants and Safety Act, will codify the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s regulatory authority over commercial fusion energy systems to streamline the creation of clear federal regulations to support the development of commercial production facilities.

The legislation, which previously passed the U.S. House of Representatives, now heads to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

Click here and here to read more.

I want to thank Hoosier students who participated in a summer internship in my Washington, DC office. They assisted with daily activities and special projects related to legislation, communications, and constituent services.

The intern class included (from left) Lurilla Bereveskos, a senior from Indianapolis attending American University; Erik Johansen, a senior attending the University of Notre Dame; Jonathan Williams, a sophomore from Valparaiso attending Indiana University; Amadou Barry, a senior attending Purdue University; William Hare, a senior attending DePauw University; and Andrew Bruner, an Upland native who recently graduated from Taylor University.

My office offers internship opportunities year-round, in both my Indiana and Washington, D.C. offices. Students who are interested in applying can click here or call 202-224-5623 to learn more.

Hoosiers Participate in National History Day

I enjoyed visiting with students and families from Indiana who were recently in DC for the National History Day’s National Contest. I appreciate the Indiana Historical Society’s support of these young Hoosiers and commitment to sharing our state’s story.

I recently reintroduced the Student Protection and Success Act to address the mounting student debt crisis by increasing higher education institutions’ accountability for their students’ ability to repay their loans and requiring institutions to have a vested interest in the success of their students. According to the U.S. Federal Reserve, student loan debt has more than doubled in the last two decades, yet there has been little recent bipartisan collaboration on how to address affordability for the long term.

This bill will help ensure colleges and universities are preparing hard-working students for meaningful careers that will better enable graduates to repay their student loans. This legislation would remove federal student loan eligibility from all colleges and universities where less than 15 percent of their students are able to begin repaying their loans within three years of graduating or leaving school. It would also require schools to pay a “risk-sharing fee” based on the total loan volume their students are not able to repay, and the Department of Education would allocate those funds to support schools that are better assisting low-income students.

Click here to read more.

I joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing the TAKE IT DOWN Act to protect and empower victims of non-consensual intimate image (NCII) abuse—also known as “revenge pornography.” This bill would criminalize the publication of revenge porn, including AI-generated NCII, and require social media and similar websites to have procedures to remove such content upon notification from a victim.

The internet is awash in this abhorrent imagery, in large part from new generative AI tools that can create lifelike AI images—also known as “deepfakes.” Disturbingly, this trend is increasingly affecting minors and a number of high-profile cases have involved young girls targeted by their classmates. Up to 95 percent of all internet deepfake videos depict NCII, with the vast majority targeting women and girls. The spread of these images—possibly in perpetuity if allowed to remain online—is having a profoundly traumatic impact on victims. 

By requiring a notice and takedown process from websites that contain user generated content, including social media sites, the TAKE IT DOWN Act will ensure that, if the content is published online, victims are protected from being retraumatized again and again. 

Click here to read more.

Last week, a bill I introduced – the JUDGES Act of 2024 – unanimously passed the Senate Judiciary Committee and now heads to the full Senate for a vote. This legislation would address judicial emergencies and shortages across the country by increasing the number of federal district judges in the most overworked regions of the country, including the Southern District of Indiana.

Too many Hoosiers and Americans are being denied access to our justice system due to an overload of cases and a shortage of judges. This bill will help alleviate this shortage and ensure all Americans have the opportunity to have their day in court.

Click here and here to read more.

Local News

Northwest Indiana Times: Young wins Senate approval for federal fusion energy policies 

WNIN: Todd Young's bill to add more federal judges advances through U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee

The Hamilton County Reporter: Sen. Young reintroduces bipartisan bill to address student debt crisis by improving institutional accountability

Thank you for the continued privilege to serve you in the U.S. Senate. My mission is to fight on behalf of Hoosiers and the interests that are unique to our state. I look forward to working with you, and sharing our progress, in the days ahead. 

In Service,