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Sen. Coons, bipartisan colleagues demand Ed Dept. IG investigation into loan forgiveness process following alarming NPR report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Education urging the department’s acting inspector general, Sandra Bruce, to investigate the federal student loan discharge process for Americans with total and permanent disabilities (TPD). The members’ letter comes after an alarming report from National Public Radio (NPR), aired earlier this week, that found that hundreds of thousands of Americans with qualifying disabilities have not received the student loan relief they are entitled to by law. In addition to Senator Coons, the letter was signed by U.S. Senators Angus King (I-Maine), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Rob Portman (R-Ohio) along with U.S. Representatives Ron Kind (D-Wis.), Jim Langevin (D-R.I.), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), and Don Young (R-Alaska).
 
Since 2016, Senator Coons has been the leading voice in the Senate on this issue. In 2017, his Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act, a bill to remove the federal tax penalty for federal student loans that are discharged due to death or total and permanent disability, was passed into law. Senator Coons has led several letters, sent on February 15, 2018 and October 9, 2019 respectively, to the Department of Education urging the department to make the student loan discharge process automatic upon a borrower being matched in the database.
 
“We are alarmed by the findings in this NPR investigation, the reported extremely low rate of loan discharges for eligible borrowers, and the contrast between the NPR report and the information previously provided by ED,” Senator Coons and his colleagues wrote. “We are also concerned by ED’s lack of transparency with Congress and failure to provide timely, verifiable information. Most importantly, it appears that ED’s process for TPD loan discharges is failing to provide student loan relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans, including veterans, who are entitled to this relief under the law.”
 
The letter is copied below and available here. 
 
December 5, 2019
 
The Honorable Sandra D. Bruce
Acting Inspector General
Office of Inspector General
U.S. Department of Education
550 12th Street, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20202
 
Dear Acting Inspector General Bruce:
 
We write with serious concern about the Department of Education’s (ED) process to discharge federal student loans for totally and permanently disabled Americans, including veterans.
 
Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, individuals who are totally and permanently disabled (TPD) are eligible to have their outstanding federal student loans forgiven. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, federal student loans that are discharged due to death or TPD are exempt from federal income tax. ED currently utilizes data provided through matching agreements with the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify disabled federal student loan borrowers who may be eligible for TPD loan discharge. In August 2019, the Trump Administration announced that borrowers identified through VA data would automatically have their loans discharged. Yet borrowers matched with SSA data, including veterans with non-service-connected disabilities, still must submit a discharge application. As we have said before, despite the existing legal benefit for loan discharge and the removal of the federal tax penalty two years ago, many borrowers, in applying for relief, face significant challenges that are both administratively burdensome and unnecessary.
 
We wrote to ED on a bipartisan basis several times urging the Administration to automatically discharge these federal student loans, including in letters sent on February 15, 2018, and October 9, 2019. Our letter in October cited data provided to our staff by ED that as of March 2019, only 40% of eligible borrowers identified in the SSA match have had their loans discharged. However, according to a National Public Radio (NPR) report that aired on December 4, 2019, that is not the case[1]. The investigation found that between March 2016 and September 2019, 555,000 borrowers were identified through the SSA data match as eligible for TPD discharge and were sent a letter in the mail. Ultimately, only 156,000, or 28%, of those borrowers had their loans discharged or are on track for that to happen. These numbers do not include borrowers matched through VA data, information we still have not seen.
 
We are alarmed by the findings in this NPR investigation, the reported extremely low rate of loan discharges for eligible borrowers, and the contrast between the NPR report and the information previously provided by ED. We are also concerned by ED’s lack of transparency with Congress and failure to provide timely, verifiable information. Most importantly, it appears that ED’s process for TPD loan discharges is failing to provide student loan relief to hundreds of thousands of Americans, including veterans, who are entitled to this relief under the law. We urge ED’s Office of Inspector General to investigate the TPD loan discharge process immediately and answer the following questions:
 
  1. How many individuals in total have been identified through ED’s data match with the SSA and the VA since March 2016? Please list the numbers for SSA and VA separately. 
  2. How many of these matched borrowers have received a loan discharge?
  3. Of those borrowers who were matched but ultimately did not receive a loan discharge, what are the reasons the discharge did not occur? How many borrowers are associated with each reason, including income monitoring?
  4. Why has the Administration rejected bipartisan calls to pursue automatic discharge for Americans with non-service-related disabilities?
  5. How can ED improve its data system for the TPD process and ensure this information is communicated with Congress in a transparent and timely manner? 
  6. What steps does ED need to take to make this process automatic, meaning once a borrower is flagged as eligible, the discharge is not contingent upon administrative work by the borrower at the point of discharge or any point thereafter?
 
Enclosed are the cited letters from February 15, 2018, and October 9, 2019. We appreciate your attention to this important matter and request a commitment to investigate these questions by December 31, 2019.
 
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Permanent funding for DSU: Sen. Coons’ bipartisan bill, backed by Sen. Carper, to permanently fund DSU and other HBCUs, passes the Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Senate passed a bipartisan agreement brokered by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and several leading Republican and Democratic Senators, also supported by Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), to make permanent $255 million in annual funding for historically black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions like Delaware State University. The legislation will also simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for 20 million American families, and streamline income-driven repayment for nearly 8 million borrowers. Funding for the institutions had lapsed on September 30.
 
“This is a historic day for Delaware State University and HBCUs across the country, which have played a critical role in helping to ensure that every Delawarean and every American is able to access higher education,” Senator Coons said. “HBCUs like Delaware State are among our nation’s most important and cherished institutions, and I’m proud that we were able to reach a bipartisan agreement to permanently provide them with the federal funding they deserve.”
 
Senator Coons added: “This bill doesn’t only support DSU and HBCUs – it will also simplify the federal student aid process so that millions of American students can access the federal student aid available to them.”
 
“I’m pleased that this bipartisan agreement is now one step closer to being signed into law. It will bring permanent federal funding to Delaware State University and other HBCUs across the country and enable these universities to focus on what they do best: educating our students in the classroom and preparing them for lasting careers in today’s workforce,” said Senator Carper. “In Delaware, we know that the money provided through the Higher Education Act is a smart investment that will bolster our workforce and our economy. Last month, I visited Delaware State University and heard directly from students and faculty members about how important this federal funding is to the university’s success. I want to thank my colleagues Senators Murray and Alexander, as well as Senators Jones, Coons, Scott and Burr, and members of their staffs, for working in good faith to reach a bipartisan agreement that provides our HBCUs and students with the funding they deserve.”
 
Senators Carper and Coons have been outspoken in their support of funding for Delaware State University and HBCUs.  Last month, Carper and Coons joined 34 of their colleagues in letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to call for immediate passage of the FUTURE Act reauthorization bill. They each spoke out on the Senate floor late last month urging Senators on both sides of the aisle to support this critical, permanent funding extension. In October, Carper hosted a roundtable at DSU to discuss critical funding for HBCUs and urged Congress to immediately extend funding.
 
Background on the legislation that passed today:
  • Permanently reauthorizes and provides $255 million in annual mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions
  • Is fully paid for by including the FAFSA Act which passed the Senate unanimously last year and which:
  • Allows Providing Tax Information only Once—Students do not have to give their tax information to the federal government twice
  • Eliminates up to 22 Questions—Students give permission to the Department of Education to request tax return data already given to the Internal Revenue Service, which reduces the 108 questions on the FAFSA by up to 22 questions
  • Eliminates Verification Nightmare—For most students, eliminates so-called “verification” which is a bureaucratic nightmare that 5.5 million students go through annually to make sure the information they gave to the Department of Education is exactly the same as they gave to the IRS
  • Eliminates $6 Billion in Mistakes—According to the Department of Education, helps taxpayers by eliminating up to $6 billion each year in mistakes (both overpayments and underpayments) in Pell grants and student loans
  • Enables 7 million applicants who are currently unable to access their IRS data for their FAFSA to verify that they do not file taxes without requesting separate documentation from the IRS
  • Streamlines student loan repayment by eliminating burdensome annual paperwork for 7.7 million federal student loan borrowers on income-driven plans
  • According to the Congressional Budget Office, the FAFSA Act saves taxpayers $2.8 billion over ten years which will be used to pay for the permanent funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.
    •  

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    Tillis, Coons, Cassidy & Hirono Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Seize Counterfeit Products and Protect American Consumers and Businesses

    WASHINGTON, D.C – Today, U.S. Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC), Chris Coons (D-DE), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced bipartisan legislation to authorize U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize imported merchandise that infringes a design patent and harms U.S. consumers and businesses.
     
    According to a recent study, the estimated value of international and domestic trade in counterfeit and pirated goods was over $1 trillion in 2013 and the estimated value is projected to reach nearly $2 trillion in 2022. The Counterfeit Goods Seizure Act of 2019 would help reduce the flow of counterfeit goods entering the United States and protect U.S. consumers and businesses from dangerous, harmful, and illegal products.
     
    “The inflow of counterfeit goods into the United States is an issue that affects American consumers and business alike and results in the American economy losing billions of dollarsevery year,” said Senator Tillis. “I am proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation to give U.S. Customs and Border Protection the authority to seize merchandise that infringes on design patents so we can take steps to stem the flow of counterfeit goods and protect American interests.”
     
    “Counterfeit goods brought into the United States from overseas cheat Americans who don’t get the products they expect with their money,” said Senator Coons. “They also pose serious safety risks, line the pockets of organized crime, damage the reputations of legitimate American businesses, and rob them of hard-earned revenue.  I am proud to introduce this bipartisan bill that will empower U.S. Customs and Border Protection to seize products for design patent infringement and safeguard American businesses and consumers.”
     
    “Counterfeit products undermine American businesses and put families in danger,” said Dr. Cassidy. “Criminal organizations sell counterfeit goods to fund illegal activity. This Legislation better enables American law enforcement to combat criminal groups and protect Americans.” 
     
    “Counterfeit products from China and other countries flood our country at an alarming rate. These products steal sales from American companies and damage the brands those companies have worked so hard to build. Even more concerning, counterfeit products put the health and well-being of American consumers at risk,” Senator Hirono said. “While Customs and Border Protection has the authority to seize products that infringe copyrights and trademarks at the border, it lacks this same authority for products that infringe a design patent. Counterfeiters exploit this loophole by importing counterfeit products separately from labels containing an infringing trademark, only attaching the label once the counterfeit product has cleared customs. The Counterfeit Goods Seizure Act of 2019 closes this loophole by giving CBP the authority to seize counterfeit products that infringe design patents at the border. This simple change will go a long way toward protecting American consumers and businesses from harm.”
     
    The Intellectual Property Owners Association and American Intellectual Property Law Association wrote a letter of support here. The International Trademark Association also wrote a letter of support here.
     
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    Sen. Coons: “When you’re guilty, the last thing you want is a long trial…because inevitably your defense falls apart”

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined CNN’s Alisyn Camerota to discuss the impeachment inquiry and possible Senate trial.

    “I think a full-blown defense that says this is a hoax and that there is absolutely nothing to it will be difficult for them to sustain. When you’re guilty, the last thing you want is a long trial with lots of witnesses because inevitably your defense falls apart.” said Senator Coons. 

    “I think it is ridiculous that [Republican Senators] are suggesting calling the former Vice President, who is the leading opponent of President Trump for the 2020 presidential election, in order to grill him about his alleged role in Ukraine,” continued Senator Coons. “I suspect Republicans would quickly come to regret giving him the opportunity to speak up about President Trump’s role in interfering with Ukraine in such an unprecedented way.”

    Video and audio available here. 

    Excerpts from the interview:

    Have you heard any rumblings about what Speaker Pelosi is going to say at 9 a.m.?

    Senator Coons: I don’t know what Speaker Pelosi is going to say this morning, but I must say I have been impressed over the last few months as she has handled this very difficult, challenging issue of impeachment and how to continue passing meaningful bills that actually speak to the real issues facing Americans month in and month out. After President Trump was revealed by a whistleblower to have demonstrably interfered in our upcoming elections by asking a vulnerable ally, Ukraine, to do him a favor, I believe Speaker Pelosi did the right thing in opening an impeachment inquiry and I think following the conclusion of the House Intelligence Committee hearings over the last couple of weeks – it has now been referred to House Judiciary – I strongly suspect Speaker Pelosi will announce a timeline for an impeachment vote by the end of the year, but I think we will all have to stay tuned for the 9 a.m. announcement. 

    What are your GOP colleagues planning for the Senate impeachment trial? Will there be live witnesses?

    Senator Coons: Well, I think there is a vigorous debate going on within the Republican caucus between those who think they should simply allow the House managers to come over and make their case and a representative for the President to briefly make his case and then simply vote to dismiss it, which would take all of a week, perhaps. Or those who agree with the President that he should engage in a full on, vigorous defense on the floor of the Senate that could take weeks and would involve calling a series of live witnesses. I think it is ridiculous that they are suggesting calling the former Vice President, who is the leading opponent of President Trump for the 2020 presidential election, in order to grill him about his alleged role in Ukraine. There has been no evidence offered by any person who testified in the House or by any credible news source that there be a reason to call the former Vice President, and I suspect Republicans would quickly come to regret giving him the opportunity to speak up about President Trump’s role in interfering with Ukraine in such an unprecedented way. 

    What happens if they do call Joe Biden?

    Senator Coons: Well bluntly, because the Republicans have the majority in the Senate and they ultimately could set the rules for this impeachment trial by a bare majority, there is very little Democrats in the Senate could do to stop them. We will be relying on a small number of Republicans who are pushing back against this idea and who recognize that impeachment is a serious, significant, constitutional moment. There are, I believe, a few Republicans who recognize that what President Trump did here was demonstrably impeachable, but who are very concerned about the political consequences for them and their party. Those of us who were watching just heard Charlie Dent, former House Republican member, former Chairman of the House Ethics Committee, who is a well-regarded, long-serving, centrist Republican say that it is obvious that President Trump did something seriously wrong here, and so I think a full-blown defense that says this is a hoax and that there is absolutely nothing to it will be difficult for them to sustain. When you’re guilty, the last thing you want is a long trial with lots of witnesses because inevitably your defense falls apart. 

    How are Democrats preparing for Republicans’ strategy? 

    Senator Coons: Well first, we continue to legislate. Later this morning, a bipartisan group of six senators is coming to the floor, I believe we are going to be passing a significant bill for higher education, for funding Historically Black Colleges and fixing the federal aid for student assistance, the FAFSA form. This is something that will be significant for thousands of Americans and I am joining with a bipartisan group in calling for an inspector general inquiry into how the Department of Education is failing in their mission to provide student loan relief for hundreds of thousands of Americans, who are totally and permanently disabled, something I’ve worked with Senator Portman on now for several years. So frankly, we are continuing to do work to get bills passed and we are having conversations about how we’ll respond, but there hasn’t been a serious beginning of negotiations between Republicans and Democrats in the Senate about what the rules will be. I’ll remind you that during the Clinton impeachment, ultimately, the rules for proceeding were adopted unanimously after a meeting in the old Senate chamber of the entire Senate. It is my hope that after this morning’s announcement by Speaker Pelosi, if it’s clear that the trial is likely to be moving forward, that we will see prompt negotiations between Majority Leader McConnell and Minority Leader Schumer, but we should be setting fair and serious ground rules for us to conduct this important, constitutional role for the Senate. 

     

    Sen. Coons reaches bipartisan deal, backed by Sen. Carper, to permanently fund DSU and other HBCUs, simplify student aid process

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) reached an agreement with Senate Education Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Senators Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Doug Jones (D-Ala.), Richard Burr (R-N.C.), supported by Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) to make permanent $255 million in annual funding for historically black colleges and universities and minority serving institutions like Delaware State University, simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, for 20 million American families, and streamline income-driven repayment for nearly 8 million borrowers. Funding for the institutions had lapsed on September 30.
     
    “HBCUs like Delaware State University have played a critical role in helping to ensure that every Delawarean and every American is able to access higher education,” Senator Coons said. “I’m thrilled that we’ve reached a bipartisan agreement to ensure that Delaware State and HBCUs across the country will be permanently funded and supported.” He continued, “I’m also proud that our agreement provides students a simpler path to accessing federal student aid and streamlines repayment processes for millions of student borrowers.” 
     
    “I want to thank my colleagues Senators Murray and Alexander, as well as Senators Jones, Coons, Scott and Burr, and members of their staffs, for working in good faith to reach a bipartisan agreement that provides our HBCUs and students with the funding they deserve,” said Senator Carper. “In Delaware, we know that the money provided through the Higher Education Act is a smart investment that will bolster our workforce and our economy. Last month, I visited Delaware State University and heard directly from students and faculty members about how important this federal funding is to the university’s success. I’m pleased that today’s bipartisan agreement will bring permanent federal funding to Delaware State University and other HBCUs across the country and enable these universities to focus on what they do best: educating our students in the classroom and preparing them for lasting careers in today’s workforce.”
     
    Senators Carper and Coons have been outspoken in their support of funding for Delaware State University and HBCUs.  Last month, Carper and Coons joined 34 of their colleagues in letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to call for immediate passage of the FUTURE Act reauthorization bill. They each spoke out on the Senate floor late last month urging Senators on both sides of the aisle to support this critical, permanent funding extension. In October, Carper hosted a roundtable at DSU to discuss critical funding for HBCUs and urged Congress to immediately extend funding.
     
    Background on the Amendment:
  • Permanently reauthorizes and provides $255 million in annual mandatory funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority Serving Institutions
  • Is fully paid for by including the FAFSA Act which passed the Senate unanimously last year and which:
  • Allows Providing Tax Information only Once—Students do not have to give their tax information to the federal government twice
  • Eliminates up to 22 Questions—Students give permission to the Department of Education to request tax return data already given to the Internal Revenue Service, which reduces the 108 questions on the FAFSA by up to 22 questions
  • Eliminates Verification Nightmare—For most students, eliminates so-called “verification” which is a bureaucratic nightmare that 5.5 million students go through annually to make sure the information they gave to the Department of Education is exactly the same as they gave to the IRS
  • Eliminates $6 Billion in Mistakes—According to the Department of Education, helps taxpayers by eliminating up to $6 billion each year in mistakes (both overpayments and underpayments) in Pell grants and student loans
  • Enables 7 million applicants who are currently unable to access their IRS data for their FAFSA to verify that they do not file taxes without requesting separate documentation from the IRS
  • Streamlines student loan repayment by eliminating burdensome annual paperwork for 7.7 million federal student loan borrowers on income-driven plans
  • According to the Congressional Budget Office, the FAFSA Act saves taxpayers $2.8 billion over ten years which will be used to pay for the permanent funding for HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions.
    •  

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    Sen. Coons featured in breaking NPR report: ‘Student Loan Borrowers With Disabilities Aren’t Getting Help They Were Promised’

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – A National Public Radio (NPR) investigation has found that hundreds of thousands of totally and permanently disabled (TPD) Americans have not received the student loan relief they are entitled to by law. U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), the leading voice on this issue in the Senate, was featured in the report that was published this morning. Senator Coons expressed his concern that the Department of Education is failing to provide financial relief to hundreds of thousands of eligible TPD borrowers and hasn’t provided adequate transparency to Congress in the process.
     
    “I just don’t understand why the Department of Education continues to fail to make good on this opportunity to make a lasting difference in the lives of Americans who’ve already suffered enough,” Senator Coons told NPR. “The Department of Education simply needs to match up social security numbers and full names and send a notice of discharge, rather than make folks jump through another hoop and another layer of bureaucratic red tape.”
     
    Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, individuals who are TPD are eligible to have their outstanding federal student loans forgiven. Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, federal student loans that are discharged due to death or TPD are tax exempt. The Department of Education utilizes data provided through matching agreements with the Social Security Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs to identify disabled federal student loan borrowers who may be eligible for TPD loan discharge. If identified in the match, borrowers are notified through a letter in the mail and must complete and submit a discharge application. Despite the existing legal benefit for loan discharge and the removal of a federal tax penalty two years ago, many borrowers, in applying for relief, face significant challenges that are both administratively burdensome and unnecessary. According to NPR’s investigation, only 28% of eligible borrowers identified between March 2016 and September 2019 have either had their loans erased or are on track for that to happen.
     
    Senator Coons’ efforts in the Senate:
    In April 2016, Senator Coons introduced the Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act to exempt from tax federal and private student loans that are discharged due to the death of a child or TPD. Also, in 2016, Senator Coons called on the Education Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs to conduct a data match to identify permanently disabled veterans with outstanding student debt, just as the Education Department agreed to do with the Social Security Administration. Since the Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act was passed into law in December 2017 as part of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, Senator Coons has led several letters, sent on February 15, 2018 and October 9, 2019 respectively, to the Department of Education urging the department to make the student loan discharge process automatic upon a borrower being matched in the database. On multiple occasions, Senator Coons and his staff have requested data from the Education Department that includes number of borrowers matched and number of loans discharged.
     
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    Senator Coons’ statement on House Intelligence Committee impeachment report

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement on the release of the House Intelligence Committee report on the impeachment inquiry. 

    “During two weeks of testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, career diplomats, decorated veterans, and President Trump’s own appointees all presented a consistent, straightforward set of facts: The President clearly, intentionally abused his power to pressure Ukraine to investigate his political opponent – and he used foreign aid money as a bribe to do it.

    “The hearings made clear that this wasn’t ‘just a phone call.’ It was an organized, coordinated campaign by the President and his inner circle to pressure Ukraine into helping him win reelection, all while undermining U.S. national security in the process. 

    “The question now is how Congress will respond. This isn’t business as usual, and it is profoundly dangerous for any of us to pretend otherwise. It is my hope that my colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the Senate will take a moment and think about what role they want to play at this moment in our country’s history. I hope the Senate will put fidelity to the country and the Constitution over loyalty to the President, consider the facts, and treat this inquiry with the seriousness it deserves.”

    Sens. Carper, Coons Stand Up for Constitutionally Protected Reproductive Rights; File Amicus Brief in Critical Supreme Court Case

    WASHINGTON, D.C.  – Today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.), along with 34 other Senators and 161 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, filed an amicus brief in the case of June Medical Services LLC v. Gee, which is currently pending before the Supreme Court of the United States and represents a direct challenge to the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in Roe v. Wade. 
     
    June Medical Services LLC v. Gee addresses the impact of Louisiana’s Act 620, an extreme anti-abortion law that forces abortion providers to obtain admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their clinic. The law provides no medical benefit and would harm patients by stifling access to abortion care. If the law goes into effect, only one clinic and one abortion provider would remain in Louisiana – a state with over 360,000 women of reproductive age.
     
    “Act 620, disguised as an effort to promote women’s health, provides no medical benefit and instead will only create significant obstacles for women seeking abortions,” the lawmakers wrote in the brief. 
     
    Lawmakers emphasized in the brief that, just three years ago in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, the Court struck down a materially identical Texas law because it imposed significant burdens on abortion access without providing health or safety benefits. Since then, the facts, the law, and the Constitution have remained the same. Lawmakers urged the court to uphold its precedent in Roe, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and Whole Woman’s Health and strike down Act 620.
     
    “There is no compelling reason here to upend this settled precedent, and no change of circumstances between Whole Woman’s Health and this action that justifies a different outcome … Laws like Act 620, enacted in defiance of this Court’s constitutional pronouncements, undermine our nation’s confidence in the legislative process and the rule of law,” wrote the lawmakers in the brief.
     
    Read the amicus brief here.  
     
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    Sen. Coons: After this week’s testimony, “the President’s defense stands in tatters”

    WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined CNN’s Erin Burnett to discuss the impeachment inquiry.

    “[It is] very clear that this was not just one phone call from President Trump to President Zelensky. This was an organized, coordinated campaign to serve the domestic political benefits of President Trump against his strongest domestic political opponent, former Vice President Biden. Something that was, as Dr. Fiona Hill put it, a domestic errand that put our national security at risk,” said Senator Coons. 

    “[T]hat’s what I hope my Republican colleagues will be reflecting on over this Thanksgiving break is how, in our nation’s history, back in 1974, it was Republican senators, like Howard Baker of Tennessee, who put country over party and having heard the kind of evidence against President Nixon, that I think has now been presented against President Trump, went to him and said, ‘You really should rethink whether you can survive a trial in the Senate.’”

    Video and audio available here. 

    Excerpts from the interview:

    Have you talked to any of your Republican Senate colleagues today? What have they told you?

    Senator Coons: I have a number of friends in the Republican caucus in the Senate and when I try to bring up the subject of the testimony of this week, the striking developments in the House, all of them have either changed the subject or simply said they’d really rather not talk about it. It is a very difficult, sensitive subject, and one where, frankly, it has been quite difficult to get anyone to concede that the president’s defense stands in tatters after this week’s testimony in the House. 

    Chairman Schiff compared Trump to Nixon in his closing remarks saying, “The difference between then and now is not the difference between Nixon and Trump, it’s the difference between that Congress and this one…Where are the people who are willing to go beyond their party to look to their duty?” Do you think those people exist?

    Senator Coons: Well, that’s what I hope my Republican colleagues will be reflecting on over this Thanksgiving break is how, in our nation’s history, back in 1974, it was Republican senators, like Howard Baker of Tennessee, who put country over party and having heard the kind of evidence against President Nixon, that I think has now been presented against President Trump, went to him and said, “You really should rethink whether you can survive a trial in the Senate.” I don’t see any movement like that among my Republican colleagues now. It is entirely possible they are having private conversations given the really devastating testimony this week in the House. But there’s nothing I’ve heard that suggests that sort of a change in heart or spirit in the other caucus this week. 

    Should the House try to get those who have not yet spoken to testify, or do you think it’s time for them to drop the articles of impeachment, vote, send it to you all for you all to possibly have those interviews?

    Senator Coons: I think they should make every effort possible to demand testimony from a number of the most senior figures in the Trump administration who have been directly implicated. Ambassador Gordon Sondland’s testimony yesterday was striking, was very clear that this was not just one phone call from President Trump to President Zelensky. This was an organized, coordinated campaign to serve the domestic political benefits of President Trump against his strongest domestic political opponent, former Vice President Biden. Something that was, as Dr. Fiona Hill put it, a domestic errand that put our national security at risk. I do think that they should make every effort to secure that testimony. But if they don’t succeed, they need to proceed.

    Even if this takes us into the New Year?

    Senator Coons: No, I think that time has virtually run out. They should make one more serious effort, but it’s clear the president and his senior advisors, so far, have blocked all testimony by those who were in the room, other than Gordon Sondland, and, frankly, they should give them one more chance, and move on.

    Would Senate Democrats be able to stop Republicans from calling witnesses that Chairman Schiff blocked, like Hunter Biden?

    Senator Coons: It’s entirely possible that rules for the conduct of the trial in the Senate will be passed by a bare majority. I hope not. Ultimately, during the Clinton impeachment, Republicans and Democrats were able to come to an agreement about witnesses and where and how they testified and so forth. I do think it would be a complete farce to bring Hunter Biden in front of the Senate. The theory under which that’s been advanced has been dismissed and disproven by every journalistic outlet that’s investigated it that’s serious. And that’s just another conspiracy theory of the sort that Dr. Fiona Hill, today, was dismissing in her testimony. So, I hope they won’t come to that, but it is entirely possible.

    Sen. Coons “very hopeful” that Financing Our Energy Future Act will pass this year after being included in House package

    WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Bloomberg Television to discuss the Financing Our Energy Future Act, a bipartisan bill that levels the playing field for clean and renewable energy projects. The bill was included this week in a major clean and renewable energy incentive package put forward by the House Ways and Means Committee. Senator Coons also discussed government funding and trade. 

    “There is a big tax finance advantage that oil and gas and pipelines get, it’s called master limited partnerships. It has been in place 40 years. This bipartisan bill opens that up to all forms of energy, renewable and non-renewable,” said Senator Coons of the Financing Our Energy Future Act. “[I]t is included in what I think is the most promising package for renewables and for energy financing generally for this Congress.”

    Video and audio available here. 

    Excerpts from the interview:

    Tell us about your bipartisan bill that would tweak the IRS code as it relates to energy policy.

    Senator Coons: That’s right. It’s the Financing Our Energy Future Act and it takes my Republican colleagues at their word that as we look at energy of all kinds, we should have an all-of-the-above energy strategy that doesn’t pick winners and losers. There is a big tax finance advantage that oil and gas and pipelines get, it’s called master limited partnerships. It has been in place 40 years. This bipartisan bill opens that up to all forms of energy, renewable and non-renewable, and in a package that just came out of the Ways and Means Committee, it is included in what I think is the most promising package for renewables and for energy financing generally for this Congress.

    Are you confident that this gets done by the end of the year?

    Senator Coons: I am very hopeful. This is a bill that in the Senate has a half dozen Republican sponsors as well as Democratic sponsors, including the Chair of the Energy Committee. It’s had a hearing, it’s had a markup, it’s been scored. I think this is exactly the sort of commonsense, manageable package of legislation that could really be a part of the end of year bill.

    Can you give us an update on government funding and the USMCA?

    Senator Coons: I am hopeful as an appropriator that we don’t have a shutdown and that we don’t throw up our hands and simply continue with exactly the funding levels we had from last year. That’s what’s called a CR, or a continuing resolution. The subcommittee I’m the ranking Democrat on, Financial Services, we had a great markup, we have a good package. I am really hopeful we won’t have a shutdown and before the end of the year we will actually pass the rest of the appropriations bills here and in the House. On USMCA, the new free trade agreement for North America, I am hoping that it will move through the House. There were some important revisions to it that were being sought by House Democrats that I would support. We are running out of time, so it is my hope that they will resolve those negotiations.

    Poultry is a big deal in Delaware, these farmers are being hit by these tariffs.

    Senator Coons: The tariffs that are a key part of Trump’s strategy in the trade war with China are impacting American companies and American consumers. The tariffs are not all being paid by the Chinese, they are largely also being paid by American consumers and American companies. I am hopeful that we are going to have an abundant Thanksgiving. The turkey growers, the chicken growers in Delaware are looking forward to a hungry America that they can really help feed next Thursday.