Speaking on the Senate floor on Wednesday, Senator Coons voiced his support for the Rebuild America Jobs Act, which was introduced Monday to help address America’s jobs crisis by investing in America’s crumbling infrastructure. Senator Coons is an original cosponsor to the bill.
At a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs hearing this afternoon, Senator Coons will walk through a series of charts that compare the strategies of China and the United States in Africa. You can take a sneak peek below. Click to go see the chart at full resolution in our Flickr photostream.
Monday, October 31 at 11:00 a.m. – The Senator will speak at the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Leadership Summit. The 2011 Summit will feature Senator Coons’ view on how EMS as a profession is currently perceived by his colleagues and how EMS leaders can improve the effectiveness of their advocacy. An estimated 100 EMS Chiefs from across the country are expected to be in attendance. Washington, DC – Closed to press.
Monday, October 26 at 2:00 p.m. – The Senator will preside over Senate. Washington, DC – Open to press who wish to sit in the Senate Gallery.
Tuesday, November 1 at 10:00 a.m. – The Senator will attend the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism hearing on organized crime. The hearing is entitled, “Combating International Organized Crime: Evaluating Current Authorities, Tools, and Resources.” 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC – Open to press.
Tuesday, November 1 at 3:00 p.m. – The Senator will chair the Senate Foreign Relations Africa Subcommittee Hearing on China’s Role in Africa. The hearing is entitled, “China’s Role in Africa: Implications for U.S. Policy” and will consider how China’s rapidly increasing role in Africa is affecting U.S. foreign and economic policy. It will feature three witnesses: The Honorable David Shinn of George Washington University; Dr. Deborah Brautigam, Senior Research Fellow for the International Food Policy Research Institute; and Mr. Stephen Hayes, President and CEO of The Corporate Council on Africa. 419 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC — Open to press
Wednesday, November 2, at 9:00 a.m. – The Senator will attend the Senate Steering and Outreach Committee meeting with top economists. The meeting will include dozens of economists from labor groups and business trade associations who will provide an outlook on future economic trends and how Congress can act to help spur job creation. S-207 United States Capitol, Washington, DC – Closed to press.
Thursday, November 3 at 10:00 a.m. – The Senator will attend a Judiciary Committee business meeting. The Respect for Marriage Act (S.598) and the Discount Pricing Consumer Protection Act (S.75) are on the agenda to be discussed, as well as several nominees to district and circuit judgeships. 226 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC — Open to press.
Thursday, November 3 at 1:00 p.m. – The Senator will preside over Senate. Washington, DC – Open to press who wish to sit in the Senate Gallery.
Friday, November 4 at 1:00 p.m. – The Senator will be a panelist at a forum on Social Security hosted by Delaware First Media. The forum is entitled, “Understanding Social Security: A Forum on Social Security’s Roots, Issues and Future.” Senator Coons will join Jo Anne Barnhart, the former Commissioner of the U.S. Social Security Administration, on the forum’s third panel, which will focus on options for making Social Security sustainable for the future. University of Delaware, 2800 Pennsylvania Avenue, Wilmington, DE — Open to press.
Note: Schedule is subject to change.
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In another step toward securing the equality due all Americans, today the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of eight married same-sex military couples seeking access to the same benefits available to married opposite-sex military couples.
Though you can be gay or lesbian and serve in the military now because of the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, your spouse can’t get a military identification card, he or she can’t access any programs for military families, housing benefits, health insurance, or surviving spouse benefits.
The suit is a constitutional equal protection challenge to the Defense of Marriage Act and seeks marriage recognition for every legally married military spouse. Specifically, it challenges DOMA, as well as other statutory definitions of “spouse” in Title 10, Title 32 and Title 38 of the U.S. Code.
Just as repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell was about restoring balance and equality in access to the responsibility of service, the suit seeks to restore balance and equality in access to the benefits of service.
Learn more at sldn.org.
From the Associated Press: Since the ratification of the 19th Amendment nearly a century ago, women have broken numerous societal barriers and are leveling the occupational playing field in areas that were once considered “male professions,” including law and medicine.
Our current economic environment has hurt many job sectors and forced companies to lay off workers. Senator Coons and many others agree that, in order to improve our economy and ensure its future success, we must invest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, which has always been at the heart of American innovation.
Women are currently still lagging behind men in earning higher degrees in the profitable STEM fields. Fortunately, women are making steady strides, thanks, in part, to an increased push by secondary education teachers to encourage girls to pursue careers in these fields.
With two-thirds of all undergraduate degrees and 60 percent of master’s degrees now going to women, many believe it’s only a matter of time before that trend influences the upper echelons of the STEM fields.
Already, statistics from the Council of Graduate Schools show that women, overall, earned slightly more than half of the doctorates handed out in all disciplines in the United States in 2009 and 2010. When it comes to the STEM fields, women have been most successful in medicine and biology – and least successful in engineering, math and computer science.
But experts hope that, too, will change. A recent report from the American Association of University Women notes that, 30 years ago, the ratio of seventh- and eighth-grade boys who scored more than 700 on the SAT math exam, compared with girls, was 13 to 1. Now it’s 3 to 1.
One of Senator Coons’ terrific constituent advocates took her service a step further yesterday, volunteering at KYW3’s phone bank for those with questions about Medicare as we enter the open enrollment period. Beverly Flannigan is an expert on Medicare and is always available to help Delawareans with questions or problems about the program. You can reach her during business hours at 573-6345.
Click here to watch KYW’s story on the phone bank to learn a little more about the Medicare open enrollment period.
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — Senator Coons joined regional representatives from the Small Business Administration (SBA), and members of the Delaware business community on Tuesday in congratulating Admiral Hotel owners Chad and Elyse Moore for running the first business in Delaware to be approved for a SBA commercial refinancing loan. Senator Coons was joined by State Senator George Bunting, Mayor Sam Cooper, and Delaware Community Development Corporation’s Bill Aberna.
The hotel, which is located right off the beach in Rehoboth Beach and employs about 25 people, had a near-record year last summer, but still had a hard time getting a loan from any banks, so they turned to the SBA and Fulton Bank for help.
The 504 SBA commercial mortgage refinance loan came out of the American Jobs Act of 2010 and permits small businesses to lock in long-term, stable financing and improve cash flow.
The Moores will use the loan from Fulton bank, backed by the SBA, to refinance the hotel’s existing mortgage into a 20-year fixed rate, as well as make necessary renovations, including the construction of a café on the premise, which will create 10 new jobs.
“During this difficult economic time, we must provide assistance to small businesses that are trying to expand and create jobs,” Chris said. “The Admiral Hotel was seeking help in refinancing its mortgage and making necessary repairs, and I applaud the Small Business Association’s willingness to lending a helping hand. I encourage all Delaware small businesses that are looking to refinance their mortgage to take advantage of this loan program.”
The SBA 504 refinance program is only for businesses that can demonstrate that their loans are current and that they have successfully made all required payments under original or modified bank terms. There is a new, independent appraisal required for all projects and existing 504 projects and government-guaranteed loans are not eligible to be refinanced.
To click here to learn more about the SBA 504 loan.
BRIDGEVILLE, Del. — In a visit Tuesday to the T.S. Smith & Sons’ farm in Bridgeville — the only solar-powered Century Farm in Delaware — Chris reiterated his commitment to helping small agricultural businesses integrate renewable energy into their operations. Senator Coons has introduced legislation that would extend the federal renewable-energy program that financed part of the T.S. Smith & Sons solar project.
“T.S. Smith & Sons is a pioneer in sustainable agriculture and a leader in Delaware’s farming community,” Chris said. “I’m sure Thomas Sterling Smith would be proud of the investments his great-grandsons have made to ensure that their farm remains a profitable, sustainable, and environmentally sound business. That’s why I feel so strongly about supporting the extension of the successful 1603 Treasury Grants Program to help businesses finance alternative energy resources. Without this kind of program, farms like these would have much greater difficulty financing clean energy investments.”
First introduced as part of the American Recovery Act of 2009, the U.S. Treasury Department’s 1603 Program is used to reimburse eligible businesses for a portion of the cost of installing specified energy projects. A one-year extension of the 1603 Program is a key part of Senator Coons’ Job Creation Through Innovation Act, which he introduced in April.
After meeting with representatives from Solair Energy at the University of Delaware’s 2010 Agriculture Week, the Smith family decided it wanted to pursue investments in solar energy on its farm. In May 2011, the farm publicly unveiled 178 ground-mounted Solair solar panels that were manufactured at Motech Solar’s plant in Newark. The solar panels produce around 43 kw of power, drastically reducing the farm’s $25,000 annual electric bill.
“The fact that T.S. Smith & Sons is running on solar panels that were manufactured in Delaware is a great testament to the strength of the renewable energy sector in our state,” Chris said. “I look forward to continuing my work with members of Delaware’s energy community to encourage more businesses powered by clean energy to set-up shop in the First State and bring good-quality jobs to our communities.”
Founded in 1907 by Thomas Sterling Smith, T.S. Smith & Sons is an 800-acre farm that grows a wide variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, selling them to retail locations and restaurants in the surrounding area. The current, fourth-generation owners are: Matt, Charlie and Tom Smith and Susan Hayes. In addition to solar power, the farm makes a conscious effort to employ technologies that conserve water and soil.
Click here to learn what’s new at T.S. Smith & Sons.
Click here to learn more about Chris’ work for Delaware’s agriculture community.
SMYRNA — Senator Coons visited John Bassett Moore Intermediate School today to congratulate fifth-grade teacher Amber Augustus on being named Delaware Teacher of the Year.
He presented her a copy of a statement he entered into the Congressional Record honoring the achievement and took questions from students.
Hurricane Irene had a significant impact on our state, damaging buildings and forcing many Delaware small business owners to worry about how they would finance repairs. Fortunately, after a request from Governor Markell on October 18, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is now making low-interest disaster loans available to Delaware small businesses, small agriculture cooperatives, small aquaculture businesses, and most private non-profit organizations.
An application must be completed in order for small businesses and non-profit organizations to receive Economic Injury Disaster Loans from SBA. These loans will help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster with the rates on these loans at 3 percent for non-profit organizations and 4 percent for businesses with terms up to 30 years. Please note, the SBA determines eligibility for the loans based on the size and type of business and its financial resources. Eligible entities may qualify for loans up to $2 million. The deadline to return economic injury applications is July 20, 2012.
For more information on the SBA Disaster Loan Program and Applications Delawareans are welcome to call the SBA’s Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by send an e-mail to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. Furthermore, loan applications can be downloaded at www.sba.gov.
Please be sure to return completed applications to the Center or mailed to: U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and Disbursement Center, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX 76155.