Corker, Coons Introduce Bill to Modernize U.S. Approach to Development Finance

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today introduced bipartisan legislation to promote sustainable growth in developing economies through U.S. business investment and provide more accountability for taxpayers at no expected cost. The Better Utilization of Investments Leading to Development Act of 2018 (BUILD Act) will establish a single, full-service, self-sustaining international development finance entity to reform and streamline the tools of multiple agencies with an emphasis on free-market principles. The concept was outlined in the president’s FY 2019 budget request (Pg.81). The development finance corporation will leverage the U.S. private sector’s expertise and investment capital to generate economic growth in the developing world that will support American interests. 

“Taking a free-market approach to development finance will provide more accountability for taxpayers at no expected cost, create new opportunities for U.S. businesses to invest overseas, and expand American influence around the world,” said Corker. “The president embraced this concept in his budget because sustainable growth in the developing world promotes U.S. interests in security and stability while expanding markets for American companies. I am proud to join Senator Coons in this effort and look forward to working with my colleagues to make it a reality.”

“The bipartisan BUILD Act will create a 21st century development finance institution with the full suite of tools to attract private sector investment to low income countries,” said Coons. “This new institution will make targeted investments to reduce poverty in countries that are critical to our national security. I look forward to working with my cosponsors to pass a strong bill that helps make markets work throughout the developing world.”? 

The BUILD Act will establish the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (IDFC), assuming the activities of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), USAID’s Development Credit Authority, USAID’s Enterprise Funds, and USAID’s Office of Private Capital and Microenterprise.

The IDFC will operate in low and lower middle-income countries where it furthers the U.S. national security and economic interests and where the project can be shown to have a demonstrable development outcome. Congress will maintain oversight of the IDFC by reviewing the agency’s public reports on its development impact and through independent audits and the establishment of an inspector general in the corporation. 

The IDFC will have the authority to: issue direct loans, including local currency loans; issue guaranties, including local currency guaranties; provide political risk insurance; fund first losses; participate in equity investments; provide technical assistance; make limited grants to unlock larger investments; and attract private sector talent.

In addition to Corker and Coons, the BUILD Act is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Johnny Isakson (R-GA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Todd Young (R-IN), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).

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[VIDEO] What Sen. Coons told Delaware high school students about gun safety efforts: “don’t change the subject, don’t go away, stay at it”

Sen. Coons: “I expect we will act if the people of America in particular the teenagers of America hold our feet to the fire and insist we take action”

Sen. Coons also discussed his recent CODEL trip to Israel, Jordan, the U.K., and Greece

WASHINGTON – This morning, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss efforts in Congress to reduce gun violence and his recent bipartisan Senate delegation travel to the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, and Greece.

“Yesterday, I had a chance to visit one of Delaware’s high schools and to hear from 500 high school students. The number one issue they wanted to talk about was gun safety, gun violence. What it’s meant to them to have grown up in an environment where they go through school lockdown drills, active shooter drills and their angry insistence that we in Washington listen to them and take action,” said Senator Coons. “I’ve been talking to Republican colleagues both on the trip I just mentioned and last night and this morning about what bills we can introduce that have a chance of moving forward, I remain hopeful that we will take up and vote on common sense bills that will strengthen the enforcement of existing laws and put in place new laws but the political reality is pretty harsh and when the kids in Delaware asked me yesterday what can we do to be more effective in lobbying Congress for action I said don’t change the subject, don’t go away, stay at it, keep coming, push us.” 

Full video and audio available here. 

Excerpts from the interview are below:

Senator Coons on his recent CODEL: Well, Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina led a bipartisan delegation: four Republicans and three Democrats. We went to the United Kingdom, Jordan, Israel, Greece, met with defense foreign ministers, prime ministers, in the case of Jordan, the king. We heard significant concern about the escalating violence in Syria. I’ll just remind you, it’s Vladimir Putin’s Russia that has made possible the butcher of Damascus, Bashar al-Assad staying in power and opening a window for Iran’s revolutionary guard forces and for Hezbollah to gain a foothold throughout Syria. We went to the Golan Heights in Israel and observed actions on the ground in the near distance right up against Israel’s border by both ISIL, which still has an active pocket there in southwest Syria and Assad’s forces backed up by Iranians. Our Israeli allies, our Jordanian allies, are deeply troubled by the chaos in Syria and how close it’s getting to the borders and our allies in the UK and in Greece are interested in tighter, closer security partnerships and in having a clearer path forward. President Trump has led a number of our core allies to question the forcefulness and clarity of our commitment both because of his statements and budget which proposed a dramatic cut in humanitarian aid and in the State Department and USAID. I think it’s important that we showed a bipartisan message of support for our key allies in the Middle East. 

Senator Coons on North Korea: There has been real debate about whether to pursue a so-called bloody nose strike against North Korea. I personally think that would be very risky. I think in North Korea you’ve got not as much a regime as a cult of personality where Kim Jong-un understands that anything that diminishes his credibility is a direct assault on his regime. And so, one of the things I worry about is that our president who as a candidate said he would aim to be unpredictable has succeeded in being unpredictable for our regional allies, so my concern is that Japan and South Korea who would bear the brunt of any counterattack don’t know where our president is going. We don’t have ambassadors in a number of key countries. We don’t have an ambassador in Jordan, we don’t have an ambassador in South Korea, so it’s hard for the sometimes-unpredictable messages put out by our president to be deciphered by our core allies. 

Sen. Coons on gun violence: Yesterday, I had a chance to visit one of Delaware’s high schools and to hear from 500 high school students. The number one issue they wanted to talk about was gun safety, gun violence. What it’s meant to them to have grown up in an environment where they go through school lockdown drills, active shooter drills and their angry insistence that we in Washington listen to them and take action. I’ve been talking to Republican colleagues both on the trip I just mentioned and last night and this morning about what bills we can introduce that have a chance of moving forward, I remain hopeful that we will take up and vote on common sense bills that will strengthen the enforcement of existing laws and put in place new laws but the political reality is pretty harsh and when the kids in Delaware asked me yesterday what can we do to be more effective in lobbying Congress for action I said don’t change the subject, don’t go away, stay at it, keep coming, push us because what I saw when I was in Israel at the CNN town hall of high school students from Parkland confronting currently serving senators was really compelling, very powerful and I expect we will act if the people of America in particular the teenagers of America hold our feet to the fire and insist we take action. 

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Sens. Coons and Hatch statement on today’s oral argument in landmark Supreme Court data-sharing case

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) continue to work together to address the problems presented in United States v. Microsoft, also known as the Microsoft Ireland case. This is a critically important case concerning law enforcement’s authority to obtain electronic data stored abroad. In January, Senators Hatch and Coons led a group of bipartisan senators and submitted an amicus brief in this case. The brief argues that this is a policy question for Congress, rather than an issue for the courts to decide. This amicus brief can be accessed here.  

Senators Hatch and Coons are also leading co-sponsors of the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, alongside U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), to create a framework for law enforcement cross-border data requests relating to email and cloud computing. The CLOUD Act boasts support from law enforcement and endorsements from a variety of tech providers. The bill can be read here.

“Tuesday’s argument will raise important questions about privacy and cross-border data access that can be adequately resolved only by Congress,” said the legislation’s sponsor, Senator Hatch. “As I explained in the amicus brief I submitted to the court, the issue of when and where law enforcement can compel disclosure of data stored abroad is a policy question for Congress, not the courts. That’s why I recently introduced bipartisan, bicameral legislation with a number of my colleagues to clarify the rules of the road in this area. Our bill, the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, would resolve the question currently before the Court in a way that balances consumer, law enforcement, and privacyinterests. This commonsense legislation has the full-throated support of both law enforcement and the tech community and deserves swift enactment.”

“The rapid advancement of technology like cloud-sharing has rightly prompted concerns over data disclosure, as we’re seeing this week in United States v. Microsoft” said Senator Coons. “With decades-old laws still governing data access in 2018, it’s no surprise that law enforcement, businesses, and private citizens are running into serious problems.  We can solve the question before the court and bring our data sharing laws into the 21^st Century by passing the CLOUD Act.”

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Sen. Coons, bipartisan Senate delegation travel to UK, Israel, Jordan, & Greece to reaffirm U.S. bipartisan commitment to key allies

Washington, D.C. – Last week, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, traveled to the United Kingdom, Israel, Jordan, and Greece as part of a bipartisan Senate delegation. The Senators met with officials in each country to assess the impacts of U.S. foreign aid to Jordan and Israel and the ability of U.S. support to achieve stability in the Middle East.

The Senators participated in bilateral meetings with heads of State and senior government officials including British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, King Abdullah II bin Al-Hussein and Queen Rania Al-Abdullah of Jordan, and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.

Senator Coons was joined by U.S. Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Bill Cassidy (R-Louis.), Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.).

“It was useful for me to listen to how we can best advance the interests and values we share with the countries we visited,” said Senator Coons. “I’m eager to work with members of the strong bipartisan Senate delegation to turn what we learned in these meetings into action back here in Congress. I am committed to ensuring that our allies in Europe and the Middle East maintain their security and grow their economies.”

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With new tax law in place, Sens. Coons, King, Portman urge Trump Administration to discharge outstanding federal student loans for totally & permanently disabled Americans

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), and Angus King (I-Maine) are leading an effort to urge the U.S. Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos, the U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs, David Shulkin, and the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, Nancy Berryhill, to immediately discharge outstanding federal student loans for totally and permanently disabled Americans, including veterans. 

Under the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, federal student loans that are discharged by the Department of Education due to the death or total and permanent disability of a borrower or the death of a borrower’s child are no longer required to be included in the gross income of the borrower.  Therefore, loan forgiveness in these cases is tax exempt.  Now that Congress has removed the potential tax consequence associated with this type of loan forgiveness, the Senators are urging the Department to immediately begin discharging student loans for eligible individuals. 

In addition to Coons, Portman, and King, the letter was also signed by U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-Maine), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), along with U.S. Representatives Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Peter Roskam (R-Ill.).

The full letter is available below.

February 15, 2018 

The Honorable Betsy DeVos 

Secretary of Education

400 Maryland Ave., SW

Washington, D.C. 20202

The Honorable David Shulkin

Secretary of Veterans Affairs

810 Vermont Ave., NW 

Washington, D.C. 20571

Ms. Nancy A. Berryhill

Acting Commissioner of Social Security

6401 Security Boulevard

Baltimore, MD 21235 

Dear Secretary DeVos, Secretary Shulkin, and Acting Commissioner Berryhill, 

We write to urge the Department of Education to immediately discharge outstanding federal student loans for totally and permanently disabled Americans, including veterans.                

Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, individuals who develop total and permanent disabilities are eligible to have their outstanding federal student loans forgiven.  However, until recently, loan discharges were required to be included in the gross income of a borrower, which could possibly result in significant income tax liability.  This potential tax liability has prevented the Department of Education from automatically discharging loans for individuals that meet the eligibility criteria for loan forgiveness. 

Under the recently enacted Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1), federal student loans that are discharged by the Department of Education due to the death or total and permanent disability of a borrower or the death of a borrower’s child are no longer required to be included in the gross income of the borrower.  Loan forgiveness in these cases is tax exempt.  Now that Congress has removed the potential tax consequence associated with loan forgiveness, the Department should immediately begin discharging student loans for eligible individuals.  

Moving quickly in discharging these student loans is especially important given that the Department of Education is well aware of a significant number of Americans who qualify but have yet to receive loan forgiveness.  In 2016, the Department of Education and Social Security Administration identified approximately 387,000 borrowers who were eligible for loan forgiveness due to total and permanent disability but had yet to receive it.  These borrowers are collectively still making payments on over $7 billion in outstanding student loans for which they are currently eligible to discharge.  These Americans should no longer face costly delays or bureaucratic barriers to receiving a benefit that they are entitled to under law.

We also strongly encourage the Departments of Education and Veterans Affairs to prioritize a data match to identify veterans with service-connected disabilities who may be eligible for discharge of federal student loans.  Senators Coons, Portman, and King previously sent the Departments a letter in 2016, which is enclosed, requesting a data match.  We are disappointed to learn that the data match has not occurred.  Veterans who have served our country with honor and sustained a debilitating service-connected disability are still facing the burden of payments on debt that is eligible to be forgiven.  Delaying benefits owed to our veterans due to a lack of coordination among federal agencies is unacceptable.  We strongly urge the Departments to take immediate action to conduct a data match and subsequently discharge outstanding federal student loans for all eligible veterans. 

We appreciate your attention to this important matter and look forward to receiving an update from you on the steps your Departments are taking to immediately prioritize and address this issue.

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Delaware Senators Push Interior Secretary to Restart Key Study of Offshore Drilling Safety Enforcement

Wilmington, DE – Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) have sent a letter urging Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to resume a study of the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s (BSEE) inspection program for offshore oil and gas development. The study, which was being conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, has been underway since 2016 and has already had $100,000 invested. The final report would include recommendations for how best to minimize risks associated with drilling operations, and help the Bureau make needed improvements to its safety and environmental stewardship programs that the Government Accountability Office (GAO) says have fallen short.  

The letter was sent just a day after the Bureau announced an investigation into the death of a worker on an offshore drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico, and weeks after the Trump administration moved to dramatically expand permitting for oil and gas drilling off America’s coasts. 

Joining Sens. Carper and Coons in signing the letter are Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Jack Reed (D-RI), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI).

Full text of the Senators’ letter is below. 

Dear Secretary Zinke:

On December 7, 2017, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) ordered the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NAS) to stop its work on a study ordered by the agency in 2016.  The 21-month study by the NAS would evaluate and make recommendations to the BSEE on its inspection program for offshore oil and gas development, including how best to minimize risks associated with these drilling operations.  At the time of the cancellation, BSEE had already spent $100,000 on the study.  The NAS had formed a committee of experts, held its first meeting, and started planning its second study meeting.  BSEE did not give a cause or explanation for stopping this study. 

As senators representing coastal states, we are acutely aware of the threats offshore drilling can pose to ocean and coastal wildlife, habitats, and communities.  The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill demonstrated how devastating a leak can be from an improperly inspected and managed offshore rig.  In the months following the spill, we learned the Deepwater Horizon rig had missed a third of its required federal inspections in the 28 months prior to the disaster.  Eleven people lost their lives, 3-4 million barrels of oil spilled into the ocean, around 1,300 miles of the Gulf shoreline were oiled, and the Gulf of Mexico’s commercial fishing industry lost upwards of $1.6 billion in sales and salary.

The administration’s January 4, 2018 announcement that it would open up additional areas of our coasts to drilling makes it more important than ever that the federal government is using best practices to monitor the safety of these rigs.  BSEE has been criticized in the past for failing to make significant progress in improving its safety and environmental stewardship programs.  Last March, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a performance audit report, “Oil and Gas Management: Stronger Leadership Commitment Needed at Interior to Improve Offshore Oversight and Internal Management,” which noted that “since 2013, BSEE leadership has started several key strategic initiatives to improve its internal management, but none have been successfully implemented.”^[3]  Among the failed safety initiatives, the GAO found that “BSEE has not successfully implemented [a] supplemental risk-based inspection capability in the 5 years since taking over the initiative from MMS.” 

BSEE should continue its efforts to respond to GAO’s concerns and improve its inspection program.  This should include soliciting impartial input from the experts through the NAS.  BSEE’s sudden cancellation of this review does not instill confidence as the administration tries to broaden offshore drilling opportunities. 

The stop-work order submitted by BSEE allows for the restart of the NAS’s work within 90 days of its issuance.  We urge BSEE to authorize the NAS to complete the study immediately.  Please do not hesitate to contact our staffs to discuss this matter further. 

Senator Coons’ statement on Senate failure to pass bipartisan immigration legislation

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement after the Senate failed to pass any immigration legislation today, including a bipartisan compromise bill that would have protected Dreamers and strengthened border security.  Senator Coons was an original co-sponsor of that bill, which received the most support of the four bills considered today, though not enough to advance. 

“I’m disappointed that the Senate failed to advance a bipartisan, compromise immigration bill that would have provided a pathway to citizenship for 1.8 million Dreamers, made robust investments in border security, and ensured that family reunification remained one of the core values of our immigration system,” said Senator Coons. “While this wasn’t the bill I would have drafted myself, I believe this was a good, honest compromise that deserved to pass the Senate. Passing this type of bill, the product of long, difficult, bipartisan negotiations, is exactly what the American people expect us to do, and I’m disappointed that too few of my Republican colleagues supported it.  It’s also clear that President Trump has, throughout his campaign and his Presidency, made immigration issues more, not less difficult, and made the politics surrounding immigration more divisive than ever before.

“I’m very concerned about the fate of Dreamers in Delaware and across the country who now face an uncertain future with real risk of deportation, and I will continue working across the aisle to try and find a solution however I can.”

Sens. Coons, Tillis introduce resolution recognizing critical work of human rights defenders

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), co-chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, introduced a resolution recognizing the critical work of human rights defenders in promoting human rights, the rule of law, democracy, and good governance. The resolution also condemns threats to human rights defenders, encourages all countries to recognize their duties to protect fundamental freedoms, and calls on the President and Secretary of State to maintain U.S. leadership in promoting human rights.

“As a co-chair of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, I stand with human rights defenders around the world who face threats to their safety and to their right to advocate for the protection of human rights,”said Senator Coons. “I will continue working with Senator Tillis to promote accountability for human rights abuses and to pass this resolution in honor of those who have lost their lives advancing the fundamental freedoms of all people.”

“Every day, millions of people around the world face human rights abuses and threats to their freedoms, and human rights defenders play a courageous role in standing up in opposition,” said Senator Tillis. “Since 1998, an estimated 3,500 human rights defenders have been killed advocating on behalf of oppressed people, and I am proud to introduce this resolution in their honor. The United States must continue to be a leader in protecting human rights, and I will work with Senator Coons and the Senate Human Rights Caucus to speak out against any abuses that occur.” 

The full resolution is available here.

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons: “Some might think criminal justice reform is a partisan issue, but it’s not.”

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today voted to help pass the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act out of the Judiciary Committee, a historic step. 

This legislation narrows the scope of mandatory minimum prison sentences to focus on the most serious drug offenders and violent criminals, while broadening and establishing new outlets for individuals with minimal non-violent criminal histories that may trigger mandatory minimum sentences under current law. Senator Coons is a cosponsor of the Act.

Full audio and video of Senator Coons’ remarks are available here. 

Senator Coons’ remarks, as delivered, are below:

As many have commented, the American criminal justice system is badly broken, and I commend Senator Tillis for his hard work and leadership in North Carolina, and so many other of my colleagues here. And in particular you, Mr. Chairman, for bringing this forward today and for being clear-eyed, that it is the Senate that should be acting in passing laws and the administration should then enforce the laws we enact. I will be brief. 

Bryan Stevenson, the author of a great book, Just Mercy, and a fellow Delawarean said memorably, “We must not define people by the worst thing they’ve ever done.” And for too many years, now three decades, we have steadily increased the percentage of young Americans who go to prison rather than probation, who have no real prospect of rehabilitation and where we’ve steadily increased the federal prison population of those who have committed low-level drug crimes. Mandatory minimums have led to a disastrous outcome and the impacts have been overwhelmingly born by communities of color. 

Some might think criminal justice reform is a partisan issue, but it’s not. It enjoys strong support and engagement from senators on both sides. And over the last couple of years, I have been encouraged as Senators Lee and Durbin, and many others have worked hard on this task here. 

I have an amendment that I will not call up today, that Senator Durbin has principally been the leader on, to reduce the use of solitary confinement in prisons. Solitary confinement should be a tool of last resort, not routine management in our prisons for disciplinary and safety challenges. And this amendment would prevent the overuse of solitary confinement for minors, the mentally ill, pregnant women, and LGBT Americans. I think it is one of many issues, including bail reform and others, that we should be moving to. 

We cannot let the perfect be the enemy of the good. This committee should be taking up, crafting, and moving forward bipartisan legislation– and I am glad you are giving us that window today. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

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Senators introduce bipartisan bill to ensure servicemember death benefits are paid during government shutdowns

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) introduced The Families of Fallen Servicemembers First Act. 

When servicemembers perished during government shutdowns in 2013 and 2018, their families were initially denied military death benefits. This legislation would provide a permanent appropriation of funds to immediately pay military death benefits to survivors of servicemembers killed during any future government shutdown. 

The longstanding purpose of the military death gratuity payment is to assist families of deceased servicemembers in meeting their financial needs during the period immediately following a servicemember’s death and before other survivor benefits become available.

The benefits covered by this legislation include:

·         Death gratuities for survivors of deceased military service members

·         Funeral and burial expenses

·         Authorized funeral travel, including to dignified transfer ceremonies

·         A temporary continuation of a basic allowance for housing (BAH) for dependents 

Representatives Gerry Connolly (D-VA) and Tom Rooney (R-FL) introduced the same bill in the House of Representatives.

“We have a duty as Americans to support those who serve and their families,” said Senator Coons.  “In the words of President Lincoln, we must meet our sacred commitment to those ‘who have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.’  I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this bill into law and ensure that these benefits are never subject to Congressional inaction.”

“When our servicemembers make the ultimate sacrifice protecting our freedoms, we must make certain no grieving family is subjected to delayed benefits due to Congressional stalemate,” said Senator Moran.“No Congressional disagreements should prevent our heroes’ families from quickly receiving the benefits they are owed. I look forward to working with my colleagues to pass this bill and see it signed into law.” 

“In 2013 when the government shutdown, more than a dozen brave servicemembers were killed in action and I was outraged when their military death benefits were denied,” Senator Manchin said. “That’s why I’m joining my colleagues in introducing this bill to make sure that when the government shuts down, military death gratuities would never lapse and would always be immediately paid. These days, government shutdowns are all too common here in Washington and the families of these servicemembers should never pay the price.”

“Our men and women in uniform fight tirelessly to defend our nation and preserve our values,” said Senator Ernst. “It is essential that we ensure the families of our servicemembers who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country are provided with benefits and assistance they need without delay – regardless of the debate happening inside the halls of Congress. While nothing can ever relieve the families of the pain, we can ensure they receive the promised assistance, and that their loved one is buried with honor.” 

“Providing for our service members and their families should be above partisan fights in Congress,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “There should never be any question of our commitment to honor our troops, particularly those who have made the ultimate sacrifice. That is why I am proud to ensure that their families receive the necessary support and financial assistance they need during such a tragic time as the loss of a loved one. A government shutdown should not stand in the way of military family members getting the support they deserve.”

“Our brave servicemen and women sacrifice so much to defend our country and keep Americans safe and free—selflessly putting their lives on the line every day,” Senator Capito said. “There are many consequences of a government shutdown, but it’s unacceptable that we would put ourselves in a position to deny military benefits to the families of fallen service members. This bipartisan legislation will ensure that whether the government is open or not, these families receive the benefits they’ve been promised for their loved one’s sacrifice.”

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