It’s no secret that Americans all over the country are watching Alabama this week. The candidacy of former Alabama judge Roy Moore for the vacant U.S. Senate seat, particularly in light of appalling allegations raised by several women, has made the state the epicenter for our national conversations about not just politics, but race, the rule of law, and even basic morality.

But the Senate is quietly considering another critical issue that impacts Alabama and the rest of the country too: the nomination of a 36-year-old man named Brett Talley for a lifetime seat on the federal district court in Alabama.  

As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Alabama’s only member of the Congressional Black Caucus, we are deeply concerned – disturbed even – by the prospect of Mr. Talley becoming a federal judge in Alabama, and we believe all Americans should be, too.

First, the context and history of the seat Mr. Talley is nominated for in the Middle District of Alabama is critical to understanding why his potential confirmation could be so damaging.

The Middle District of Alabama has played a central role in our nation’s progress on civil rights over the past half century.  For example, it was a decision from the Middle District of Alabama that allowed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s marchers to continue their journey to Montgomery.  It was a decision from the Middle District of Alabama that declared Montgomery’s segregated buses unconstitutional following the boycotts galvanized by Rosa Parks’ arrest.  The Middle District of Alabama ruled that African American men and women must be allowed to serve on Alabama juries, struck down Alabama’s poll tax, and mandated integration of public schools.

It is within this context and history that we must view the nomination of Mr. Talley, whose background and lack of experience are, frankly, shocking. 

Mr. Talley’s behavior and history outside of the courtroom paints a portrait of someone almost uniquely unfit to serve as a federal judge in Alabama.  Thousands of Internet posts and comments – which Mr. Talley failed to even disclose – reveal a prejudice that has no place in the nation’s judiciary.

If you find yourself at the intersection of Eighth and Market Streets in downtown Wilmington during the week, you’ll be surrounded by a flurry of people and activity. If you head a block or two up the street for lunch, chances are that you’ll have to wait if you’re not there early. 

All around that part of town, businesses are busy, and lines extend out the door with lawyers and paralegals, secretaries and couriers — people from all walks of life. 

It’s not a coincidence that the area around 8th and Market is one of the busiest in our city. It’s because it’s home to Delaware’s federal bankruptcy court, one of the key pillars of our local economy and a big reason for all of the other successful businesses nearby.

Unfortunately, two of my colleagues in the U.S. Senate are now aiming to take that economic pillar away from us, and we’re going to have to fight back. 

Senators John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., recently introduced a bill that would deny most American businesses the ability to work with Wilmington’s nationally known bankruptcy courts and skilled bankruptcy lawyers. That’s unfair to American businesses in all 50 states, and it would deal a significant blow to our local economy because our courts are a key reason that corporations want to do business in Wilmington.

Let’s step back and talk about what the bankruptcy court does and why it’s so important to Delaware.

After President Trump announced plans to levy tariffs, which basically serve as a large tax, on a quarter of all Chinese products, China responded that it would, in turn, impose penalties on American food and agricultural products that are exported to China, including several that are produced in Delaware. While we agree with President Trump that we need to stop China’s unfair trade practices, and we are encouraged that he wants to take action, we are concerned that applying these specific tariffs will hurt Delaware farmers and all American consumers who rely on their products.

Thankfully, we’ve so far been able to avoid further threats of escalation, but we have to be very careful in the weeks and months ahead to ensure that we don’t find ourselves in an all-out trade war that would ultimately benefit no one. Instead, we should direct our efforts toward clear policy solutions that benefit everyone involved, especially American workers, manufacturers, and growers.

Specifically, a trade war with our largest agricultural customer, China, has the potential to cause a great deal of damage to the agricultural sector here in the United States. For example, American soybean producers rely on China for more than half of their total foreign sales. In 2016 alone, China purchased $14 billion in American soybeans, so proposed Chinese tariffs would be a real problem for our farmers, who, even if they sell the soybeans here in the U.S., rely on a strong export market to maintain prices. In fact, last year, Delaware was one of nine states to break a record high yield for the soybean harvest, so these tariffs couldn’t come at a worse time.

But it’s not just soybean farmers. The entire agricultural economy would suffer from back-and-forth hostile trade actions between the United States and China. Family farmers who produce corn, grain, and livestock would be negatively impacted, and if the situation escalates, potential Chinese tariffs on aluminum and steel would also hurt the agricultural community by raising prices of farming equipment like trucks, machinery, and irrigation systems.

The same goes for the dairy industry, already dealing with all-time low prices for dry whey, milk, hard cheese, butter, and dry milk products, and the poultry industry, which is on the cusp of finally gaining access to Chinese markets.  Those industries have enough issues to deal with without contending with a hostile China.

The bottom line is simple: at a time when family farmers’ profits are razor thin, we simply cannot afford to risk an escalating trade war with China. 

Our trade relationship with China, though, isn’t the only one we need to manage carefully.  After China, Canada, and Mexico are our second and third largest agricultural trading partners, respectively, and both are extremely important to the American poultry, fruit, and vegetable industries.

The mid-Atlantic region has particularly close trade relationships with Canada and Mexico – the Port of Wilmington is the largest gateway for fresh fruit and juice concentrates, and the fruits and vegetables that Delaware family farms produce, including sweet corn and watermelon, ship as far north as Canada – and our region deserves access to open markets in those countries through the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). So, as the President and Administration officials look at ways to improve NAFTA, we need to be sure that we don’t make changes that will harm farmers here in the mid-Atlantic. 

Delaware is part of a vibrant regional agricultural community that has a significant impact on our economy. Last week’s annual Delmarva Poultry Industry dinner brought over 1,000 people together to honor both partners in the community and outstanding growers, and served as a reminder of the dedication our farmers have to feeding the world starting at home.

We owe it to our family farmers in Delaware and farmers throughout the country to set smart, responsible trade policies that foster economic growth with our agricultural trade partners. Trade wars, on the other hand, are bad for the global market, and worse for the local farmer. We can do better.

Less than two weeks ago, tens of thousands of people attended the NFL draft and millions more followed on TV and online. Similarly, when top high school athletes commit to attend a college that’s recruiting them, there’s often an elaborate signing event with family, friends, and even the media. 

All of that is great, and we should continue to celebrate young men and women pursuing their athletic dreams after high school, but we should also recognize other students making similar commitments for what they’ll do after Graduation Day.

That’s why last week, we were honored and excited to partner together for the New Castle County Vocational-Technical (Vo-Tech) School District’s own version of “Draft Day,” where a group of 13 high school seniors who have worked and studied for careers in the building trades, information technology, and health care, accepted full-time job offers from local employers.

These students may not run the 40-yard dash in less than five seconds, but they have natural talent and hard-earned skills of their own that we should celebrate, too. These students, representing hundreds more just like them, earned their job offers because of their performance in high-quality, skill-based curricula in their high school career and technical programs.

Thanks to their hard work, they now have industry-recognized credentials that, coupled with the valuable work experience they gained during their senior-year co-op placement, make them career ready right away as high school graduates.

For 50 years, Delaware’s Vo-Tech high schools have prepared tens of thousands of graduates for the workplace. This year alone, New Castle County Vo-Tech will graduate 1,100 seniors who have earned certifications in one of 40 different career programs of study. What’s more, 70 percent of them will have participated in co-op job placements, which don’t come easy.

In order to be eligible for a co-op placement, students must meet GPA requirements and demonstrate that they’ve mastered specific career program skill sets.

The rest of Delaware is keeping up the pace, too. Polytech in Kent County has 270 seniors earning credentials in one of 20 different career programs this year, and Sussex Tech has 356 seniors in one of 17 career programs offered there.

Because of their skills and work experience, many of these seniors will be hired to work for local, regional, and national companies, and others will begin apprenticeships in the construction and mechanical fields. They will continue to earn certifications while they are earning good wages and receiving full benefits, and many of them will begin to get promoted in stable, upwardly mobile industries.

We hear all the time from local companies that are looking to fill open positions offering good salaries and benefits, but they struggle to find applicants with the skills and work ethic required to fill those jobs.  The shortage of the right candidates for those jobs is known, nationwide, as the ‘skills gap,’ and filling that gap is a fantastic opportunity for our economy.

Thankfully, we have excellent programs here in Delaware to train students for these promising careers, but we need more students and families to take a good look at what vocational and technical training can offer, because too often, most Americans think their option to advance their career is an expensive, and not always practical, four-year degree.

The simple truth is that a four-year college degree isn’t the only option for high school graduates, and it isn’t always the best one, either.

That’s why this week, the stars of the show “This Old House,” along with companies like Marvin Windows and Doors and Electrical Training Institute, will be in Washington to join Sen. Coons and a bipartisan group of Senators for a discussion about the importance of apprenticeships and how we can close the skills gap in Delaware and all around the country. Several Delawareans, including recent Delcastle Technical High School graduates, will attend and hear just how valued their skills are.

Last week, the seniors who signed their job offers at our event in Delaware were flanked by their new employers, career teachers, co-op coordinators, school administrators, and proud parents. These young men and women beginning their vo-tech careers are off and running toward a long, rewarding, lucrative career that can support a family and make an impact in our communities.

Next year, we hope to make “Draft Day” an even bigger event, and until then, we’ll be helping students and their families see all the options they can pursue after graduation.

In Washington, the most common conversation topic should be a simple one: jobs.

How do we create more of them? How do we prepare Americans for the jobs that are already available? How do we ensure those jobs provide a decent wage and good benefits?

In Congress, these conversations often lead to discussions on the importance of expanding early childhood education, strengthening our public schools, and making college more affordable. And to be sure, those investments are critical.

But let’s not forget about another straightforward, proven way to train Americans for well-paying jobs and lifelong careers: apprenticeships, sometimes called “the other four-year degree.” 

According to the National Skills Coalition, there are 5.9 million job openings in the United States, and 6.6 million unemployed Americans. The skills gap is a major reason why these jobs continue to go unfilled, especially for those jobs that don’t require a four-year college degree. But apprenticeships can help address this. 

As a U.S. senator from Delaware who spent ten years in county government, and as the expert craftsmen and women of This Old House, we’ve seen firsthand that apprenticeships can help address these issues. Apprenticeships are one of our oldest forms of education—and still one of the smartest investments we can make. 

An apprenticeship is basically a degree that nearly guarantees you a well-paying job and a clear career path after graduation. It’s a program that gives you experience that employers demand and teaches you skills that last a lifetime. It’s a program that provides a paycheck while you’re still in training and doesn’t rack up debt while you’re at it.

Sure, you might have to work weekends and nights. You might have to complete thousands of hours of on-the-job training and hundreds of more hours in the classroom. It doesn’t sound like a typical college or university curriculum, right? That’s because it’s not. 

Apprenticeships are programs that provide on-the-job training and instruction for workers in highly-skilled occupations across a range of industries, such as manufacturing, construction, health care support, and information technology. After apprentices complete their programs, they receive industry credentials and are set up for a job with the employer union or association that sponsored the program.

These programs are challenging, time-intensive, and competitive. But they work. 

Ask Steve Dignan from Delaware. More than 30 years ago, he entered the construction industry as an apprentice at his company. He worked his way up to the title of project manager and eventually bought the company that he worked for. Today, he is the president and CEO of that company, Nickle Electrical Companies.

Ask Nathan Gilbert from East Bridgewater, Mass. He built his career around on-the-job learning, starting with five years of Seabee overseas, followed by apprenticing with the experts at This Old House and their program, Generation Next. Today, Nathan runs his own carpentry business, completing millwork installation for homes in Martha’s Vineyard.

Steve and Nathan aren’t the exceptions; they’re the rule. Right now, students across the country with career and technical education are more likely to be employed than their counterparts with academic credentials. In fact, more than 90 percent of those who complete apprenticeships land jobs with annual wages that exceed $60,000. 

Data shows that apprenticeships provide an important option for today’s students. The thousands of hours of on-the-job experience produce apprentices with a keen understanding of the techniques and the tools they need to do their jobs—making them safer, more skilled, and more productive employees.

Nevertheless, despite the many benefits of apprenticeships, many programs are underfunded due to a poor understanding and negative perceptions of the skilled trades. Employers in industries that haven’t traditionally had apprenticeship programs still remain skeptical about incorporating apprenticeships as a means to recruit, train and hire new employees.

Because of these barriers, it is essential that policymakers and businesses find ways to support apprenticeship programs in their states. Too often in the Senate we define “education” too narrowly. We talk about education as a ticket to the middle class—but we don’t include apprenticeship programs. That has to change. 

We need to find ways to dramatically increase the number of apprenticeships in the United States. That’s why I’m proud to announce my new initiative to grow and expand highly successful Apprenticeship Hubs across America, which work to create new registered apprenticeship programs in high growth industry sectors. These hubs will help to address local economic needs and fill local skill gaps—issues that every member of the Senate should advocate for.

My home state of Delaware recognizes the value of apprenticeships, and has initiated Delaware Pathways, an Apprenticeship Hub that convenes education and workforce leaders in the state and leverages community support to broaden career pathways for youth by developing new apprenticeship programs in a variety of occupations. 

Apprenticeships have a huge return on investment, with some analyses indicating returns of $23 for every dollar spent by the government. Budgets are tight, and all of us in the federal government are looking for smart, cost-effective investments that create jobs and help revitalize the American economy. That’s why apprenticeship programs deserve our continued support.

John McCain was a rare breed. He was humble and passionate, determined and unyielding, a man deeply in love with his country and its promise. He was optimistic that tomorrow would be better than today and he was always grateful for the chance to serve a cause greater than himself. 

I was privileged to have John as a colleague for eight years, to get to know him as a traveling companion and mentor, and in recent years, to count him as a friend. We didn’t always or even often agree on a wide range of policy issues, but when it came to standing up for America’s values, I deeply admired him and followed his lead as best I could.

John was convinced that what makes America great and what has always made America great is its values and principles.  He believed that what defines us apart from other powerful nations is that we’re willing to fight not just for our interests but for our values, for the things that make us a democracy: human rights, freedom of speech and religious expression, a free press, an independent judiciary, open and fair elections, and a deep commitment to human liberty. 

John also challenged his colleagues to be our better selves, to put country above party, put down the tools of petty partisanship and work together to fashion better solutions to the problems of our day. I worked with John on many issues in recent years, but it was an honor to be his lead cosponsor on his last immigration reform bill earlier this year, which offered a bipartisan way forward for our long-broken immigration system. 

Indeed, from immigration to health care, national security to foreign relations, John pushed us to act in ways more worthy of the Senate and its history as the “greatest deliberative body on Earth.”

I also had the honor of traveling with John, where I truly saw him at his best. Visiting a refugee camp in Jordan, where hundreds of Syrians had just arrived fleeing the butchery of Assad’s troops, he wept with compassion and promised to fight for them and their cause. On a visit to Afghanistan and Egypt, I witnessed how he could challenge foreign leaders and encourage our own troops in harm’s way with equal passion.

Just after President Trump’s inauguration last year, at a security conference in Halifax, Canada, I saw how he commanded respect from political and military leaders from across more than a dozen countries and I heard him reassure European allies and partners that we would keep our commitments, defend our shared values, and stand by their young democracies in the face of Russian aggression. 

Finally, on an unforgettable trip to Vietnam last June, I got to visit the “Hanoi Hilton” with John and hear his description of the deprivations of his long captivity.  Then, I saw the high regard the people and leaders of Vietnam have for him as a warrior and peacemaker, a statesman and a healer of the wounds of war.

Working with John, I admired him for all these things, but I also admired his ability to fight passionately without making things personal, for the kindness he showed my family, and for pushing me relentlessly to defend and explain my positions and votes.  

Most importantly, John was genuinely humble. He didn’t have the false modesty of a popular politician. John had the kind of real humility of someone who knows he is flawed — as all of us are — and sets about being open and accountable for his shortcomings.   

John also used his hardest personal experiences to make some of his most important contributions. Having himself survived imprisonment and torture at the hands of his Vietnamese captors, John could have easily returned home to serve out his time in the Navy and retire in comfort and honor. Instead, he continued his service to our nation, working tirelessly to champion the cause of those unjustly imprisoned around the world. Dissidents and activists who spoke up for freedom and against dictators knew no more dedicated friend than Senator McCain.  

So how can we honor this man who loved and fought for freedom? 

First, we should fight the dreaded, cruel disease that took him from us — as with Senator Ted Kennedy and our own Beau Biden, who was taken too soon —and discover and develop a cure for brain cancer.

We should rename the Senate office building where John McCain served in his honor and keep his memory alive for generations.

We should also strengthen and invest in national service. I can think of no better way to honor the spirit of service in which John lived his life than by making it possible for all young Americans to serve their country in some way – whether through military or civilian service – to develop their skills, learn about their nation, and earn tuition funds for college.

Lastly, we should continue John’s way of reaching across the aisle, listening to each other, working together, and pushing one another to be better.

I won’t soon meet another man like John McCain. I only hope to someday deserve the friendship he extended to a young and inexperienced Senator and to follow his example of humility, dedication, and passion in tirelessly serving the greatest nation on Earth and the best hope of freedom in our world. 

Joe Biden, John’s close friend of forty years, said it best at his Phoenix memorial: John lived by a timeless code of honor, duty, and character, and “we shall not see his like again.”

Rest well, my friend. May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

From my earliest memories, newspapers have been part of my daily life. Ever present on my family’s kitchen table growing up, those black-and-white pages provided a window to the community and the world around me, exposing me to new ideas and viewpoints, and offering a greater understanding of the world.

Today, as newspapers have evolved, and as more coverage has shifted from the pages delivered to our front doors each morning to online and video content, the critical role journalism plays in our nation remains, and is more important than ever.  The free and independent press is, and has always been, an essential pillar of our democracy.

It is our watchdog – holding our leaders accountable, guarding against government overreach, and striving always for truth and accuracy.

Local papers like the Cape Gazette are also the heartbeats of our communities. They keep us connected, informed and aware.

Indeed, for the past 25 years, the Cape Gazette has done that and more for Sussex County. Led since its founding by Publisher Dennis Forney and Editor Trish Vernon, the paper has earned a well-deserved reputation as a reliable source of news, sports, and information for and about the region.

As Dennis wrote in the inaugural issue on May 28, 1993, the paper is designed “to celebrate the lives and times of the people who live and own property in what many people consider one of the most beautiful and unique areas along the eastern seaboard.”

For the past quarter-century, the team at the Cape Gazette has covered community festivals and town council meetings; they’ve kept a watchful eye on our coastline, our most precious natural resource, and reported on issues that impact our families, including education, infrastructure, and health care.

From the beaches of Rehoboth, Dewey and Bethany, to the agricultural communities of Georgetown, Harbeson and Millsboro, this paper and its team of dedicated journalists work hard to connect us, no matter where we live.

Things have changed a bit for Dennis, Trish and their team since the first edition of the Cape Gazette was published in 1993. For starters, the newsgathering operation is more robust, now boasting 11 full-time editors and reporters on staff. A second mid-week edition was added to the paper in 2004, and circulation now reaches 23,000.

But a constant remains: the paper’s commitment to the people it serves and to its role as a crucial pillar of our democracy. As the Cape Gazette’s slogan reads: “The price of liberty is eternal vigilance.” That idea is woven into the fabric of our nation. At the time of its founding, Thomas Jefferson said, “Our liberty depends on freedom of the press, and that cannot be limited without being lost.” 

At a time when journalism is under attack, we should remember these words, and stand up for and celebrate journalism. We should stand up for journalism when the president is attempting to brand mainstream, credible news outlets as “fake news” and “the enemy of the people” when they disagree with him.

We should stand up for journalism when reporters are being targeted for violence as they were in Annapolis this summer, when a gunman opened fire on a newsroom and left five dead, and we should stand up for journalism when journalists continue to be jailed around the world for doing their jobs.

Today, more than ever, we must stand up for and celebrate journalism, and uphold the United States’ role as a defender of a free press, as our founders intended.  So on the 25th anniversary of the Cape Gazette, I want to thank Trish and Dennis and their team for working hard to tell the stories that matter, and striving always to perform the paper’s crucial function to our democracy.

We support you and stand with you. I wish you 25 more years of success.

Over recent weeks, as the Senate and our nation have wrestled with the serious allegations of sexual assault made against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, I’ve been reminded of the famous words from Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan: “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not to their own facts.” 

Last week, the country witnessed a difficult, emotional hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee during which both Christine Blasey Ford, a psychology professor at Palo Alto University, and Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court nominee, testified that they were each 100 percent certain of the facts they presented regarding an alleged sexual assault more than 30 years ago — facts that cannot easily be reconciled.

As a result, senators on the committee were divided not only by our passionately clashing opinions but also by different sets of facts altogether that have torn the committee apart. That’s why Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) and I worked to strike a compromise to delay the Senate’s final vote on Kavanaugh’s confirmation by one week to allow the FBI to investigate all credible current allegations before the committee and, hopefully, to give senators one set of facts to work from.

Make no mistake: The FBI is up to the task of making real progress in investigating these thorny allegations within a week. But it can do so only if FBI agents are given the resources and authority to pursue parallel investigations and to follow up on leads promptly so that they can, as President Trump recently said, “interview whoever they deem appropriate, at their discretion” and take all logical investigatory steps in pursuing the allegations before the committee.

The United States must infuse its relationship with India with a renewed sense of energy and purpose. India’s rise is one of the most significant geopolitical developments of the twenty-first century. With astute policies, the United States could be one of the greatest beneficiaries of India assuming its rightful place as a leading global power. However, putting India policy on auto-pilot based on the faulty assumption that a strategic partnership will blossom on its own could lead us to miss an historic opportunity.  

India is poised to have the world’s largest population by the middle of the next decade. With economic growth at over 7 percent, India is the fastest growing major economy, outpacing China. It now ranks as the sixth largest economy and is on track to be the third largest by 2030 and the second largest by 2050. Moreover, India’s military is the world’s third largest and its capabilities are steadily improving. 

A stronger India offers the prospect of a more stable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific, the world’s most economically dynamic region which stretches from the eastern shores of Africa to the west coast of the Americas. India’s democratic model of development presents a stark contrast to China’s authoritarianism for emerging nations in Africa and beyond. And its steady rise into the ranks of great powers offers the prospect of a potent amplifying voice that shares our fundamental values.

The read the full article, click here.

At a time when Congress, the White House, and the nation seem hopelessly divided, there is one critical, even difficult issue on which many Republicans and Democrats, conservative and progressive groups, and President Trump agree: criminal justice reform.

The American criminal justice system is broken, and it has been for a long time. The mass incarceration explosion resulting from the “war on drugs” and “tough on crime” policies of the last four decades has left us with prisons that are overcrowded and costly and inmates that are often unfairly sentenced and forgotten. 

For too long, our system has focused too much on criminalization and incarceration and too little on justice and rehabilitation.

Recognizing the urgent need to address this disparity, a remarkable bipartisan coalition in Congress has worked together for several years to craft legislation that would make the criminal justice system fairer, and now, we’re ready to vote on the bill and have the president sign it into law.

In the Senate, I partnered with colleagues including Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) to include key sentencing provisions in a prison reform bill that passed the House of Representatives earlier this year. The Senate compromise bill, the revised First Step Act of 2018, recognizes that reducing recidivism is important, but it’s not enough. Our bill acknowledges the need to do more on the front end to reduce the number of people going to prison and the amount of time they spend incarcerated. 

To read the full column, click here.