Sen. Coons applauds wildlife trafficking arrests under the END Wildlife Trafficking Act

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), the co-author of the END Wildlife Trafficking Act, applauded indictments of four members of a wildlife trafficking network brought by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Department of Justice, and the Drug Enforcement Agency.

The four men were charged last week for participating in conspiracy to traffic in rhinoceros horns and elephant ivory, in addition to intent to commit money laundering and intent to distribute more than 10 kilograms of heroin. This is the first time the U.S. Government has utilized the Eliminate, Neutralize, and Disrupt (END) Wildlife Trafficking Act (P.L. 114-231) to charge money laundering for wildlife trafficking violations.  Senator Coons and then-Senator Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.)introduced the END Wildlife Trafficking Act in 2016 before it passed the Senate unanimously and was signed into law by President Obama.

“It’s a mistake to think about wildlife trafficking as just a conservation challenge when it increasingly involves heavily armed, well-organized, criminal networks that threaten the safety and development of communities,” Senator Coons said. “These indictments send an important message to wildlife traffickers around the world that the United States will not tolerate this international criminal activity.”

Secretary of the Interior, David Bernhardt said “Wildlife trafficking will not be tolerated. It is often intertwined with other major types of criminal activity including conspiracy, smuggling, money laundering and narcotics – all of which are included in the indictment today.  The U.S. Department of the Interior remains committed to combating the illegal wildlife trade through the END Wildlife Trafficking Act and the President’s Executive Order on Transnational Organized Crime.”

The END Wildlife Trafficking Act combats wildlife poaching and trafficking by strengthening domestic and global enforcement, reducing the demand for illegally traded wildlife, and working with international partners, local communities, NGOs, private industry, and others to combat poaching and illegal wildlife trade.

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Sen. Coons backs bipartisan bill to address the humanitarian crisis at U.S. southern border, ensure humane care for migrants

Package provides funding to improve conditions for migrant children and families in U.S. government care, for immigration judge teams, grants to nonprofits who care for migrants, and case management for unaccompanied children 

Appropriations Committee Democrats ensured that no funding in this supplemental package can be transferred for any other purpose, including for President Trump’s proposed border wall or immigration enforcement

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, worked with his Democratic and Republican colleagues in the committee to provide funding to process and care for migrants at the U.S. southern border. A summary of Senator Coons’ priorities that were included in the package is below. 

“Today, Republicans and Democrats on the Appropriations Committee took important steps to address the real humanitarian crisis at the U.S. southern border and improve the U.S. government’s capacity to humanely process cases of migrant children and families,” said Senator Coons. “I’m proud that we were able to work in a bipartisan manner to ensure migrants are treated in a way that is consistent with U.S. values.” 

Taking Care of Children at ORR: The bill includes $2.88 billion for the Office of Refugee Resettlement to care for migrant children and help place children with sponsor families. Senator Coons and his Democratic colleagues added important conditions to this provision to ensure the children in U.S. custody are treated humanely and provided appropriate care, including $100 million in post-release services, child advocates, and legal services; $9 million to move children quickly and safely from institutional care to family sponsors; and $5 million for the HHS Office of Inspector General for program oversight. 

Addressing the Humanitarian Crisis at the Border: The bill includes $1.3 billion to improve conditions at the border, and alleviate overcrowding and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) facilities. Senator Coons and his Democratic colleagues secured a provision in the bill to prohibit this money from being used for any purpose other than what was appropriated, including for the wall or enforcement efforts, such as ICE detention beds. The bill includes $793 million for new migrant care and processing facilities to address overcrowding at CBP facilities on the southwest border, $112 million for food, supplies, equipment and medical care for migrants in CBP processing facilities, and $83 million for safe transportation of migrants. 

Funds to address the Asylum Backlog and Improve Legal Services: The bill includes $65 million for the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) to improve the asylum process, including $45 million to hire 30 additional Immigration Judge Teams; $10 million for courtroom space and equipment to improve judicial adjudication; and $10 million for Legal Orientation Program, nearly doubling the amount appropriated for this program in FY 2019. 

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Coons & Tillis Press Federal Agencies To Do More To Combat Intellectual Property Theft

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Chris Coons (D-DE), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, sent letters to the Department of Justice (DOJ), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the United States Copyright Office seeking additional information on their ongoing efforts to combat intellectual property infringement that harms American businesses and consumers, as well as our nation’s larger innovation economy.

The letters follow testimony Senators Tillis and Coons heard from multiple witnesses at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property hearing on the role of intellectual property in sports and public safety. Specifically, witnesses testified about the significant economic losses caused by rampant copyright infringement through illicit streaming and the significant public safety risks posed by counterfeit goods flowing into the United States from China.

In their letter to the CBP, the Senators stressed the importance of government cooperation with industry partners to address the public safety risks posed by counterfeit goods and the economic harm counterfeit goods cause to the American economy. The Senators also expressed concerns about counterfeit goods shipped into the country that infringe design patents and asked the CBP to provide input on how best to close this loophole in the current law and protect American consumers.  

“We encourage CBP to maximize the partnership with industry rights holders by sharing as much information as possible,” wrote the Senators to the CBP.

In the letters to the DOJ and the U.S. Copyright Office, the Senators highlighted the proliferation and economic impact illegal online streaming of copyrighted content has on the American economy. The Senators called on the DOJ to prioritize enforcement against entities that provide copyrighted content to stream without authorization.

“The Department should consider all tools currently available to effectively deter illicit streaming. Failing to prioritize enforcement could cost the American economy millions of dollars a year,” wrote the Senators to the DOJ.

The Senators also asked the U.S. Copyright Office to provide input on the interpretation of current laws and how they apply to illegal streaming.

“Ambiguity about when the unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content infringes the distribution right emboldens infringers and harms America’s innovation economy,” wrote the Senators to the U.S. Copyright Office.

Read the letter to DOJ HERE.

Read the letter to CBP HERE.

Read the letter to the U.S. Copyright Office HERE.

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Sens. Coons, Moran, Reps. Thompson, Estes introduce bipartisan, bicameral legislation to level the playing field for clean energy

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Representatives Mike Thompson (D-CA-05) and Ron Estes (R-KS-04) re-introduced bipartisan legislation to level the energy playing field by giving investors in a range of clean energy projects access to a decades-old corporate structure whose tax advantage is currently available only to investors in fossil fuel-based energy projects. The Financing Our Energy Future Act is a straightforward, powerful modification of the federal tax code that could unleash significant private capital by helping an emerging class of energy-generation and renewable fuel companies to form master limited partnerships, which combine the funding advantages of corporations and the tax advantages of partnerships. 

“Clean energy technologies have made tremendous progress in the last several decades, and they deserve the same shot at success in the market as traditional energy projects have experienced through the federal tax code,” said Senator Coons. “By updating the code, the bipartisan Financing Our Energy Future Act levels the playing field for a broad range of domestic energy sources — clean and traditional alike — to support the all-of-the-above energy strategy we need to power our country for generations to come. This practical, market-driven solution will unleash private capital and create jobs, and that’s why it has earned broad support from Republicans and Democrats in Congress as well as think tanks, business leaders, and investors.  Updating the tax code in this way will help increase parity and ensure that these energy technologies can permanently benefit from the incentives that traditional energy sources have depended on to build infrastructure for more than 30 years.”

“The United States has the largest and most efficient capital markets in the world, yet our renewable energy companies rarely have access to those markets,” said Senator Moran. “In order to grow our economy and increase our energy security, sound economic tools like master limited partnerships (MLPs) should be expanded to include additional domestic energy sources. The Financing Our Energy Future Act will allow the renewable energy sector to utilize the MLP structure for project development making it accessible to a broader and deeper investment pool that can drastically reduce the time and cost associated with deploying new energy technologies.”

“Harnessing the potential of renewable energy sources is a key part of reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Master limited partnerships are tax structures that allow energy projects to get access to capital at a lower cost, making them more competitive to private investment. But these structures are currently only available to the oil, gas and coal industries,” said Representative Thompson. “That’s why I’ve joined colleagues from both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate to introduce the Financing Our Future Energy Act, a bill to expand MLP access to renewable energy projects in order to attract new investment. This will help create more jobs in the renewable energy sector, allowing us to better tackle the threat of climate change.”

“The Financing Our Energy Future Act updates our tax code to allow renewable energy projects to have equal access to capital,” said Representative Estes. “As a supporter of an all-of-the-above energy strategy for our country, I’m proud to sponsor this bill that will extend vital resources to renewable energy initiatives, creating jobs and contributing to our nation’s dominance in energy production and innovation. I look forward to helping secure passage of this bill in Congress.”

A master limited partnership (MLP) is a business structure that is taxed as a partnership, but whose ownership interests are traded like corporate stock on a market. By statute, MLPs are currently only available to investors in energy portfolios for oil, natural gas, coal extraction, and pipeline projects. 

These projects get access to larger and more liquid sources of capital than are available for traditionally financed energy projects, making them highly effective at attracting private investment. Investors in clean energy projects, however, have been explicitly prevented from forming MLPs, starving a fast-growing portion of America’s domestic energy sector of the capital it needs to build and grow. 

Newly eligible energy resources would include solar, wind, hydropower, marine and hydrokinetic energy, fuel cells, energy storage, combined heat and power, biomass, waste heat to power, renewable fuels, biorefineries, energy efficient buildings, and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS).

In the Senate, the Financing Our Energy Future Act is cosponsored by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Tom Carper (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Michael Bennet (D-CO).

The Financing Our Energy Future Act is endorsed by American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), Advanced Biofuels Business Council, the Algae Biomass Organization, the Alliance for Industrial Efficiency, the Alliance to Save Energy, Amazon, Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), BPC Action, Carbon180, Carbon Capture Coalition, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions (C2ES), Ceres, Clean Air Task Force, Covanta Energy, Energy Storage Association, Growth Energy, International District Energy Association, Master Limited Partnership Association, the National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO), National Hydropower Association, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), National Wildlife Federation, Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), and Third Way. Quotes from endorsers can be found here. 

Sens. Coons, Rosen introduce legislation to increase college access and graduation rates

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) reintroduced legislation to incentivize colleges to expand access for low-income students and increase graduation rates for all students. 

The Access, Success, and Persistence In Reshaping Education Act, or ASPIRE Act, will spur the nation’s institutions of higher education to enroll more low-income students and to ensure that these students actually graduate with a degree. The bill devotes resources to help boost completion rates at institutions that serve disproportionately high numbers of low-income students. 

“In today’s economy, access to higher education is one of the best ways to provide students from all backgrounds a ladder to success,” said Senator Coons. “That’s why the federal government invests significant resources into helping low-income and first-generation college students succeed in college. Yet despite this investment, our higher education system is failing to deliver results for the students who need it most. Our graduation rates are too low and too many resource-rich colleges have failed to expand access to qualified students who come from low-income backgrounds. Our bill will address both of these issues by holding selective colleges accountable on improving low-income student access, and by providing resources to increase graduation rates at colleges struggling to support their high numbers of low-income students.  Especially considering the inequities in college access that have come to light in recent months, we must do more to address resource disparities and ensure colleges help all students access and complete a high-quality education.”

“As the first person in my family to receive a college degree, I understand the challenges that first-generation college students go through. While a record number of students from low-income families are attending college across the country, more must be done to ensure these students successfully graduate with a degree,” said Senator Rosen. “This legislation would dedicate more resources towards helping low-income and first-generation college students graduate. I’m proud to support the ASPIRE Act, which would create a new grant program that prioritizes eligible minority-serving institutions, such as UNLV, and help these students get the support they need to succeed.”

Currently, the U.S. government spends roughly $160 billion each year in federal student aid and tax benefits to help low- and middle-income students. This aid comes with little accountability or basic benchmarks to be met. In addition to that loose framework, the federal government does not do a good job targeting resources to where they are needed most.  Despite the significant federal investment in the higher education system, U.S. college graduation rates are currently among the lowest in the developed world. 

The Access, Success, and Persistence In Reshaping Education Act would help set benchmarks and priorities while also rewarding institutions that are already on the right track when it comes to access and completion. The bill would make additional competitive funding available for completion efforts, with priority for minority-serving institutions and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Finally, it enables high-performing institutions on access and completion to apply for non-financial rewards, such as bonus points in federal competitive grants or a reduced regulatory burden.

Highlights of the Access, Success, and Persistence In Reshaping Education (ASPIRE) Act:

• Completely self-financing, requiring no new appropriations.
• The bottom 5 percent of institutions based on percentages of enrolled first-time, full-time Pell Grant recipients are given at least four years to improve access, or risk paying a penalty.  Penalties collected are then used to fund completion improvement efforts.
• The bottom 5 percent of nonprofit and public institutions based on six-year graduation rates that choose to opt-in to the bill’s completion standards would receive significant funding and at least five years to develop and implement plans to improve completion, or risk paying back that funding plus a fine.
• Up to $200 million a year would be devoted to graduation efforts.
• Institutions would not prescribe improvement strategies—institutions must create their own plans. 

Click here for the full bill text.

Click here for a one-pager on the bill.

Click here for a section-by-section summary of the bill.

Click here for quotes from various stakeholders. 

The Access, Success, and Persistence In Reshaping Education Act is supported by Education Reform Now, the Institute for Higher Education Policy, the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, the National Education Association, the Southeast Asia Resource Action Center, The Education Trust, Third Way, the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the Delaware Charter Schools Network, Delaware State University, Goldey-Beacom College, Wesley College, Widener University, Wilmington University, the University of California, Peer Forward (formerly College Summit), South Carolina State University, and Lincoln University.   

VIDEO: AG Barr to Sen. Coons: Contact FBI if given foreign oppo research

Senators Coons, Collins Introduce Bipartisan Bill to End Preventable Maternal and Childhood Deaths

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Chris Coons (D-DE) introduced the Reach Every Mother and Child Act to strengthen the United States’ efforts to end preventable deaths of mothers, newborns, and young children in developing nations around the world. 

Every day, approximately 800 women, almost entirely from developing countries, die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth.  In addition, more than 15,000 children under five years old die each day of treatable conditions such as prematurity, pneumonia, and diarrhea — with malnutrition being the underlying cause in nearly half of those deaths. 

“Although progress has been made in improving the health of mothers and children, it is a tragedy that so many preventable deaths still occur,” said Senator Collins. “Our bill aims to reach these mothers and children with simple, proven, cost-effective interventions that we know will help them survive.  I urge my colleagues to join me and Senator Coons in supporting this legislation that will save the lives of mothers and children around the world.” 

“Over the last decade, we have made tremendous strides in reducing global mortality rates for mothers and their children, but preventable illnesses like diarrhea, malaria, and pneumonia still account for the vast majority of deaths among young children, and malnutrition remains the underlying cause of 45 percent of preventable child deaths. For too many women and families, pregnancy and childbirth are risky, life-threatening conditions that are filled with stress and fear rather than joy and expectation,” said Senator Coons. “The Reach Act directs USAID to deliver a comprehensive strategy that prioritizes high-impact, evidence-based interventions to prevent these tragic deaths. This bipartisan bill will bring relief to mothers who can safely carry, deliver, and raise their newborns knowing that the care they need is now available.” 

The United States has been a global leader in reaching mothers and children in developing countries with life-saving interventions, including skilled birth attendants, basic resuscitation options for newborns, vaccinations, and other cost-effective, evidence-based interventions. 

The Reach Act has been endorsed by CARE International, PATH, RESULTS, Save the Children Action Network, and WorldVision. The bill would provide the focus and tools necessary to accelerate progress toward ending preventable maternal and child deaths by: 

Establishing the goal of ending preventable maternal, newborn, and child deaths by 2030; 

Requiring the Administration to implement a strategy to achieve this goal by scaling up the most-effective evidence-based interventions; 

Permitting USAID greater flexibility to use “pay-for-success” financing models where foreign aid is only expended for results rather than inputs, and 

Establishing a permanent Maternal and Child Survival Coordinator at USAID who would be focused on implementing the strategy and verify that the most effective interventions are scaled up in target countries. 

Senators Collins and Coons’ legislation is cosponsored by Senators Pat Roberts (R-KS), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Ed Markey (D-MA), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Ben Cardin (D-MD), John Cornyn (R-TX), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Todd Young (R-IN), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) Mike Enzi (R-WY), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Jack Reed (D-RI). 

Click HERE to read the bill.

Coons, Graham, Kaine, Gardner, Lowey, Fortenberry introduce Partnership Fund for Peace

Sens. Coons, Gardner Introduce Energy Efficiency Legislation

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Cory Gardner (R-CO), along with U.S. Representatives Peter Welch (D-VT) and Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), introduced the Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act of 2019, legislation that encourages the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESCs) in federal buildings.

Mandatory federal audits already outline energy savings projects for federal facilities aimed at reducing energy consumption and saving tax dollars; however, federal agencies are currently not required to implement these changes. This legislation changes that by requiring that the projects be done, and that at least half of the projects be paid for by ESPCs or UESCs. It also expands the types of savings that can be used to repay the contracts to keep pace with changes in technology and energy markets.

ESPCs and UESCs are innovative public-private partnerships in which private companies use their own money and resources to make energy efficiency upgrades to federal buildings. In exchange for making energy efficient upgrades, those private companies receive a portion of the money saved as a result of the increased efficiency in federal buildings. ESPCs and UESCs create private sector jobs upgrading the federal government’s estimated three billion square feet of office space at no real cost to taxpayers.

“Increasing energy efficiency and saving taxpayer dollars through public-private partnerships makes good sense and is an area with bipartisan support,” said Senator Coons. “I’m proud to introduce legislation that simultaneously supports local jobs, reduces the energy and water bills of the federal government, and invests in a more sustainable future.”

“More than 50 percent of the emissions reductions the United States has achieved since 2005 have been through gains in energy efficiency, and the federal government is the largest consumer of energy in America,” said Senator Gardner. “Using ESPCs and UESCs to make the federal government more efficient while creating private sector jobs is the kind of commonsense solution that members of both parties can get behind. I’ve worked on this issue going back to my time in the House of Representatives, and I’m proud to join with my colleagues today and continue leading this effort that will help create private sector jobs, save American taxpayer dollars, and promote a cleaner environment.”

“The federal government is the largest energy consumer in the country,” said Representative Welch. “By making federal buildings energy efficient, this bipartisan bill will save taxpayer dollars, improve the environment and create jobs. In this Congress, we’ll be working to get this practical energy efficiency legislation to the President’s desk.”

“We cannot continue to operate these outdated, energy inefficient federal facilities,” said Representative Kinzinger. “Our bipartisan, bicameral legislation is a commonsense solution to help end wasteful spending on inefficient energy buildings in order to deliver savings to the American taxpayers who are footing these energy bills.”

The Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act of 2019 is supported by the Federal Performance Contracting Coalition, the National Association of State Energy Officials, and the National Association of Energy Service Companies.

Sens. Coons, Braun, Sinema, & Rick Scott introduce the Student Loan Tax Elimination Act