WASHINGTON – As part of his commitment to engaging with Delawareans, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) today debuted his first set of 10 video responses to constituent questions on a variety of issues. The monthly series -- known as “Correspondence from the Commute” -- will be recorded into a laptop during the Senator’s near-daily train rides to and from Washington when the Senate is in session.

“I use the time spent commuting not just to prepare for votes, hearings and meetings, but to read correspondence from Delawareans who write to me to express their opinions on the issues facing our state and our nation,” Senator Coons said. “Responding to questions individually on-camera is something we tried during the campaign with great success. We found it allowed us to better engage with Delawareans and we decided to continue the practice here in the Senate.”

Senator Coons will record video responses to between five and 10 constituent questions or comments selected from among those submitted each month. The videos will be posted publicly to Senator Coons’ website and to his official YouTube channel at http://youtube.com/senatorchriscoons.

The first 10 videos, released today, were recorded earlier this month in the café car of an Amtrak Northeast Regional train to Washington. Topics include job creation, Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, deficit reduction, gun control, offshore oil drilling, autism research, food safety, and the debt ceiling.

Watch as the Senator introduces the project: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5z0_UFtHcss

“It’s important to me that every Delawarean who writes to me or my office knows that his or her letter is being read and their concerns heard,” Senator Coons said. “I have great respect for the opinions of my fellow Delawareans and genuinely want to hear what they have to say. I wish we were able to respond to every letter with a personal video, but I hope this will inspire more folks to write in and engage with me on the issues most important to them.”

Video responses released today:

Delawareans are encouraged to express their opinions and submit questions for Senator Coons online at http://coons.senate.gov/contact/ or via mail to 383 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.

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