National Security

Some of Senator Coons’ accomplishments on national security include: 

• As the lead Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, Senator Coons is the primary Democrat in the Senate overseeing our nation’s entire defense budget, working to preserve our alliances, deter China, and support our military.
• Senator Coons has worked with Republicans and Democrats to counter Chinese influence, creating the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation to give nations an alternative to China for financing infrastructure projects, helping both their economies and the United States’ to grow.
• Senator Coons’ Global Fragility Act was signed into law in 2019, providing targeted investments to potential partners abroad in areas with ongoing conflicts, preventing critical countries from becoming failed states, and creating a safer and more stable world.
• As the former Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing the State Department and our foreign aid budget, Senator Coons ensured that the 1% of federal money we spend on foreign aid was spent efficiently in ways that aligned with America’s values and national interests.
• Senator Coons has secured $39 million for construction of a new aircraft maintenance hangar at Dover Air Force Base, $42 million for a new operations center, and $30 million for a new facility that will ensure our armed forces deployed overseas can receive blood donations when sick or injured. He also delivered $17.5 million for the Delaware Air National Guard’s new fuel cell hangar that will allow them to maintain larger aircraft.
• Senator Coons closed the benefits pay gap for National Guard and Reserve members during overseas deployments. Through the FY19 defense budget, he ensured that those servicemembers would receive a monthly allowance if deployed for the long-term or multiple deployments within a year.
• As the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Malaria and Neglected Tropical Diseases Caucus, Senator Coons keeps Delawareans safe by working to stop the spread of diseases before they reach our shores. He has supported funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and other global health initiatives to combat HIV, malaria, Ebola, and more.
• Senator Coons knows that when we engage with the world, we make Americans safer, healthier, and more prosperous. As a senator, he’s traveled to over 100 countries on more than 70 separate trips with colleagues from across the aisle to engage directly with global leaders, building alliances, protecting our security, and bringing international investment to the United States.