[VIDEO] Sen. Coons on Boente resignation: “It makes me concerned about Robert Mueller”

WASHINGTON – This morning, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees, joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe to discuss yesterday’s election results, the latest on tax reform, and the resignation of Dana Boente. 

“I just was troubled that immediately following the release of indictments given reporting that has suggested Mr. Boente was running a fairly active component of the Mueller investigation that he was fairly abruptly asked to resign,” said Senator Coons. “I just wanted to ask some questions about the timing given the troubling pattern of the president’s personal intervention by interviewing candidates for U.S. Attorneys in several key jurisdictions and given everything else going on, it makes me concerned about Robert Mueller and his security. Dana Boente would have been the fourth in succession in the Department of Justice. I think it’s an important feat and an important role that he played that deserves some oversight.”

Video and audio available here.

Excerpts from the interview:

Senator Coons on Trump’s trip to Asia: I’m encouraged by the tone and tenor of the trip, obviously the self-promotion notwithstanding to have President Trump move towards a more diplomatic tone after some early bluster. Now that we have prepositioned three aircraft carrier groups, personnel, and material in the region, I think that President Trump is striking the right balance between having previously being overly threatening and now pursuing diplomatic alternatives – there has to be an off-ramp for North Korea to consider taking, he’s going to have to be strong with Xi Jinping the next couple of days—that’s going to be crucial—but all of us worry about our security and the human consequences and a potential confrontation going wrong have to be encouraged by President Trump’s tone. 

Senator Coons on last night’s election: I think that’s right, that’s a great question. There is a lot of attention paid to the big wins in Virginia and New Jersey, just across the Pennsylvania state line for me are a series of counties, so-called “collar counties” of Philadelphia, where at the county level there were big wins for Democrats in Bucks county, in Delaware county, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, there has never been a county elected Democrat since the 1700s and Democrats swept the county offices that were up for election. What does that mean? I think it means members of the House that represent the suburban districts who are Republicans will have to begin moving towards the middle. I think it will make it clear to the president or at least members of his team that if they don’t begin some real outreach to Democrats on tax reform and other priorities they have, they will not get their legislative agenda through. I think the president slowing a sideways grenade back at Ed Gillespie after his loss last night isn’t very encouraging for Republican electeds like Susan Collins who I think will now look forward and say their path towards legislative success will rely on working across the aisle here in Congress rather than counting on President Trump to necessarily lead them forward as a coherent party. 

More on elections: Well the Democratic senators who are incumbents up for election this time in the five states are referencing states like Indiana, North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, West Virginia are terrific, active, engaged, local campaigners, they’re very authentic people. They connect well in their home states. I’d say to them, avoid letting your campaign be nationalized. Don’t really make this about Democrats versus Republicans, make it about you, your leadership, and your capabilities. These are folks willing to meet with President Trump to consider working with him across the aisle where it makes sense, but they’ve also stood firm in sticking to core principles on things like defending the ACA and access to good, quality health care for folks in their states. We had a meeting with a group. There were about 12 Democratic senators yesterday evening who met with Gary Cohn, the chief economic adviser to President Trump. The president called in from Asia. I think it’s important that these Democrats running for reelection in deeply red states show that they continue to try to legislate responsibly across the aisle. 

More on the Cohn meeting: The president said a number of things and I, frankly, just appreciated the opportunity to sit down with some of his chief advisers and that he took the time from his trip to Asia to call in. It was an interesting conversation. He touched on a number of different topics, but if there was one theme from our side, it was we should have been included and consulted earlier. We’ve got ideas, we want to work across the aisle to strengthen the middle class, to support manufacturing, to make our country more competitive and the folks on the other side of the table, including the president calling in from Asia said, just wait, you will see a different tax bill in the Senate than the House, we’re at the beginning of a process, not at the end. 

Senator Coons on Boente: Well, Dana Boente is a career federal prosecutor who was not just running the Eastern District of Virginia but the acting head of the national security division in the Department of Justice. I just was troubled that immediately following the release of indictments given reporting that had suggested Mr. Boente was running a fairly active component of the Mueller investigation that he was fairly abruptly asked to resign. I just wanted to ask some questions about the timing given the troubling pattern of the president’s personal intervention by interviewing candidates for U.S. Attorneys in several key jurisdictions and given everything else going on, it makes me concerned about Robert Mueller and his security. Dana Boente would have been the fourth in succession in the Department of Justice. I think it’s an important feat and an important role that he played that deserves some oversight. 

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Sen. Coons presses AG Sessions on forced resignation of U.S. Attorney Dana Boente

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, sent a letter yesterday afternoon to Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein requesting additional information regarding the resignation of U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Dana Boente. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia is reportedly connected to the Manafort and Flynn investigations and also has a record of handling sensitive national security cases, with jurisdiction over the Pentagon, the CIA, and Dulles airport. 

The text of the letter is below:

Dear Attorney General Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rosenstein:

I am writing to request additional information regarding the resignation of U.S. Attorney and Acting Assistant Attorney General for the National Security Division Dana Boente.  I was disappointed to learn that Mr. Boente submitted his resignation to the President last week, but since that news, I have become deeply concerned by reports that Mr. Boente wanted to remain in his position but was forced to resign by President Trump.

I recognize that U.S. Attorneys serve at the pleasure of the President, and it is customary to request the resignations of U.S. Attorneys appointed by previous presidents.  However, this reported demand for a single U.S. Attorney’s resignation, the sudden nature of its timing, its proximity to the indictments issued by Special Counsel Mueller, and reported connections between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia to the investigations of Paul Manafort and Michael Flynn, leave me concerned that this is not business as usual.

Moreover, I have become increasingly troubled during this administration that the President does not comply with the norms that honor the independence of the Department of Justice, which is vital to our democratic system of government.  From the prior dismissal of 45 U.S. Attorneys without any successors in place, to President Trump’s interviews with U.S. Attorney candidates in jurisdictions with oversight of his and his family’s businesses, to the President’s attempts to cultivate loyalty relationships with former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and former FBI Director James Comey – before firing both of them when they refused to accommodate him – I cannot take on faith that this dismissal was normal or justified.  

Mr. Boente is a career prosecutor and public servant who has served in the Department of Justice since 1984, when he joined as part of the Attorney General’s Honors Program.  When President Obama nominated Mr. Boente to serve as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Senate confirmed him by voice vote.  The Department of Justice and the White House should provide their reasoning for why someone like this, who was initially asked to continue serving in his important role, was suddenly forced to resign.

Please provide the reason that the President asked for Mr. Boente’s resignation and when that request was made as soon as possible but no later than November 21, 2017.

Sincerely, 

Christopher A. Coons

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Reuters: Sen. Coons seeks explanation for career prosecutor Boente’s abrupt resignation

Reuters: Senator seeks explanation for career U.S. prosecutor’s abrupt resignation

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-russia-prosecutor/senator-seeks-explanation-for-career-u-s-prosecutors-abrupt-resignation-idUSKBN1D735P

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A Democratic Senator said on Tuesday he wants answers from top Justice Department officials about why a career prosecutor was asked to resign days before a special counsel unveiled the first criminal charges in an investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 U.S. Election.

Dana Boente was asked to quit in late October as the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, whose district has played an important role in the investigation.

Just days later, Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators charged President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide, Rick Gates, with conspiring to launder money and other charges.

It was also announced on Oct. 30 that a third former Trump adviser, George Papadopoulos, had pleaded guilty earlier in the month to a charge of lying to the FBI.

U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was writing to U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein to ask if Boente’s departure was “normal or justified.” 

“I‘m concerned about the abrupt departure of Dana Boente after a career as a federal prosecutor … There’s a lot of circumstances that connect the ongoing Mueller investigation to the Eastern District,” Coons said in an interview.

A Department of Justice spokesman said the agency does not comment on personnel matters.

Boente could not immediately be reached for comment.

Investigations into whether Republican Trump’s campaign associates colluded with Russia last year to help him defeat Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton for the presidency arose after U.S. intelligence agencies concluded Russia carried out a campaign of hacking and propaganda to interfere in the election.

Russia has repeatedly denied meddling allegations and Trump has denied any collusion. 

A Justice Department veteran, Boente has stepped in to help stabilize the law enforcement agency in frequent periods of turmoil during the first year of the Trump administration. 

Boente has also been temporarily serving as the acting assistant attorney general for the department’s National Security Division. He previously was acting attorney general after Trump fired the prosecutor in that post, Sally Yates. After that, Boente also briefly was acting deputy attorney general.

A person familiar with the matter confirmed that Sessions, a former Alabama Republican senator and close Trump ally, asked Boente to tender his resignation in late October. 

Boente will step down as head of the National Security Division once Trump’s nominee John Demers is confirmed by the Senate. After that, Boente will continue as head of the Eastern District in Alexandria, Virginia, until he is replaced.

Trump has not yet nominated anyone for that post. 

The Eastern District post is the fourth most powerful position in the department’s line of succession.

A judge in the district approved the search warrant for the Alexandria, Virginia home of former Trump campaign manager Manafort in July. 

A grand jury in the district earlier this year became part of Mueller’s probe of former national security adviser Michael Flynn, who is under scrutiny for his work as a lobbyist for a Turkish businessman.

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Sens. Coons, Tillis statement on President Trump’s trip to Asia

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), co-chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, released the following statement in response to President Trump’s trip to Asia.

“President Trump is in the midst of a trip to Asia with several important goals, including addressing the threat of North Korea’s nuclear program and promoting U.S. exports throughout the region.  We have been pleased to see the President reaffirm our economic and security partnerships with our allies in Japan and South Korea.  In the coming days, the President will also visit China, Vietnam, and the Philippines – three countries that fail to respect the human rights of all their citizens.  In China, activists are detained and the political opposition is silenced.  In Vietnam, basic rights such as freedom of the press and freedom of religion are restricted.  In the Philippines, a ‘war on drugs’ has resulted in over 7,000 deaths, many via unlawful executions and extrajudicial killings.  As co-chairs of the Senate Human Rights Caucus, we urge President Trump to raise these human rights concerns and to promote the United States’ commitment to human rights and democratic values during his meetings with President Xi Jinping in China, President Tran Dai Quang of Vietnam, and President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. The United States must continue to stand up for the oppressed around the world.”

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons: “I do think [Trump] should sit down with Vladimir Putin”

Sen. Coons: “Without help from China and Russia, we don’t stand a chance of a peaceful resolution of this confrontation with North Korea”

Sen. Coons on the Texas shooting: “It’s important for us to try to honor the tragedy here, the loss here, by finding a way to come together as a country and address the very real mental health, public safety, and gun safety issues that our Congress and federal government has failed to address so far”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary and Foreign Relations Committees, yesterday joined CNN’s Erin Burnett OutFront to discuss the Texas shooting and President Trump’s trip to Asia.

“The last time President Trump met with Putin, it was on the sides of a major conference. He did so without anyone else from the US government, without the use of a translator. I don’t think he should follow that pattern,” said Senator Coons. “I think he should have his aides with him. But, I do think he should sit down with Vladimir Putin to make clear to him directly that if he interferes in our next election the way he interfered in our last election, he will face serious consequences. And, I do think it’s important for President Trump to call on Vladimir Putin to work with Xi Jinping from China and the United States and our allies to bring North Korea to account for its reckless aggressive actions with its missile program and its nuclear weapons program. Without help from China and Russia, we don’t stand a chance of a peaceful resolution of this confrontation with North Korea. So, I’m one Democrat who will say I think he should try to engage with Vladimir Putin, but do it in a responsible and measured way.”

“I think it’s important that as we all try to come to grips with this one of the most brutal shootings in a house of worship in America’s history, that we also look straight-on at the fact that Congress should not be paralyzed and unable to act in the face of yet another event,” said Senator Coons. “It seems clear that there was a breakdown in the background check system that the Air Force didn’t forward to federal officials the fact that this shooter was convicted of a domestic violence incident, one that led to him being imprisoned for a year. Our president has said that this is a mental health issue; yet, in February of this year, he repealed a step taken by the previous administration to prevent 70,000 Americans with a history of mental health problems from being able to access weapons.”

Full video and audio available here.

Senator Coons on the Texas shooting: I think it’s too early to come to any conclusions about what this particular shooter’s motive was. But I think, as has been the case tragically so often, we see a pattern in elected officials saying we need to send our thoughts and prayers to the families, to the victims, but then not proposing any action. I think it’s important that as we all try to come to grips with this one of the most brutal shootings in a house of worship in America’s history, that we also look straight-on at the fact that Congress should not be paralyzed and unable to act in the face of yet another event. It seems clear that there was a breakdown in the background check system that the Air Force didn’t forward to federal officials the fact that this shooter was convicted of a domestic violence incident, one that led to him being imprisoned for a year. Our president has said that this is a mental health issue; yet, in February of this year, he repealed a step taken by the previous administration to prevent 70,000 Americans with a history of mental health problems from being able to access weapons. After the Las Vegas shooting, Senator Feinstein introduced a bill, which I’ve co sponsored, dozens of senators have co-sponsored, but it hasn’t moved to ban so-called bump stocks or trigger cranks, the tools that the shooter in Las Vegas used. I think it’s important for us to try to honor the tragedy here, the loss here, by finding a way to come together as a country and address the very real mental health, public safety and gun safety issues that our Congress and federal government has failed to address so far. 

More on the shooting: I think we need to do a better job of funding mental health and of funding our national background checks system. There are a number of holes or flaws or weaknesses in our background check system. After the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, a bipartisan bill attempted to address some of the flaws in the current background checks system. There have been other proposals put forward. This particular incident may point to another weakness where the UCMJ or the military criminal justice system here, there was a breakdown in conveying the information from the Air Force to civilian authorities. I also get the impression that in Texas you don’t have to have a permit to purchase and carry a long gun, this particular rifle that this shooter was using. He was denied a concealed carry permit for a handgun. I do think we need to do more to enforce the laws that we have on the books. But, I also think there are loopholes and weaknesses in how the current laws work that may require further legislation from Congress. 

Senator Coons on whether President Trump should meet with Putin: The last time President Trump met with Putin, it was on the sides of a major conference. He did so without anyone else from the US government, without the use of a translator. I don’t think he should follow that pattern. I think he should have his aides with him. But, I do think he should sit down with Vladimir Putin to make clear to him directly that if he interferes in our next election the way he interfered in our last election, he will face serious consequences. And, I do think it’s important for President Trump to call on Vladimir Putin to work with Xi Jinping from China and the United States and our allies to bring North Korea to account for its reckless aggressive actions with its missile program and its nuclear weapons program. Without help from China and Russia, we don’t stand a chance of a peaceful resolution of this confrontation with North Korea. So, I’m one Democrat who will say I think he should try to engage with Vladimir Putin, but do it in a responsible and measured way.  

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Sens. Carper, Coons join Senate Democrats in calling for comprehensive approach to disaster recovery

WILMINGTON, DE – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) have joined Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in calling on the Trump administration to put forward a comprehensive package to help several areas of the country recover from the onslaught of natural disasters in recent months. The administration has committed to releasing such a package in the coming weeks.

In a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney, Senate Democrats outlined what must be included in a comprehensive package that would ensure adequate investments in infrastructure, health, housing, education, agriculture, and conservation needs that will mitigate further damage in future disasters and make our communities more resilient. 

The text of the letter is available HERE: https://www.leahy.senate.gov/download/omb-supplemental-request-11-3-17.   

In October, the Senate passed a $36.5 billion emergency supplemental that contained $18.7 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Disaster Relief Fund, $16 billion for National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) debt forgiveness, $1.27 billion for nutrition assistance for Puerto Rico, and $576.5 million to combat wildfires.

In September, the Senate passed a $15.25 billion emergency supplemental package that contained $7.4 billion for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund and $450 million for the Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan Program. In addition, the legislation provided $7.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding through the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

In addition to Carper, Coons, Schumer and Leahy, other senators to sign the letter included: Senators Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif), Kirsten Gilibrand (N.Y.), Edward Markey (D-Mass.), Kamala Harris (D-Calif), Christopher Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Benjamin Cardin (D-Md.), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Michael Bennet (Colo.), Tom Udall (D-N.M.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

Sens. Carper, Coons call for Trump Administration to support additional funding to combat opioid epidemic

WILMINGTON, DE – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) signed on to a letter to President Donald Trump with 21 other senators calling on the President to support additional funding necessary to combat the opioid epidemic.

The letter, led by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) reads, “We appreciate your formal declaration that the opioid epidemic is a National Public Health Emergency. While this is a positive step forward, more action must be taken in order to craft a timely and effective national strategy that will achieve long term solutions to this crisis. Specifically, we are concerned that your declaration does not yet include any additional funding resources for key programs and initiatives that will help our patients, providers, first responders and researchers who desperately need more assistance.”

The senators continued, “Researchers, providers, patients, first responders, experts and policy makers agree that investing sufficient and timely resources are of paramount importance in order to allow our communities to effectively combat this epidemic. The President’s Commission on Combatting Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis agrees. The final Commission report released this week recommends that your Administration increase access to treatment and recovery programs, as well as expand the capacity for medication-assisted treatment and first responder access to overdose reversal drugs. As such, we encourage your Administration to work closely with Congress to swiftly provide the necessary additional and sustained funding to carry out a multi-faceted approach that supports activities related to research, education, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation.”

Earlier this year, Senator Carper joined law enforcement, first responders, health care industry leaders, addiction treatment representatives and patient advocate groups to discuss the opioid epidemic in Delaware and how a repeal of the Affordable Care Act would undermine the efforts Delaware is making in combating addiction.

Senator Coons has been an outspoken leader in Congress on combating the opioid crisis, having hosted with Sen. Carper former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Michael Botticelli, last summer for an opioid crisis roundtable, convened a town hall discussion with former Attorney General Loretta Lynch on federal resources to combat law enforcement challenges, and penned a column in the Delaware News Journal to ensure opioid crisis funding remains a federal priority.

The letter to President Trump can be read here.

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Sen. Coons, Colleagues Call for ACTION to Expand Opportunities for National Service

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In an effort to tackle national priorities and help young Americans strengthen their communities and our nation while reducing the burden of student debt, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-DE), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the America’s Call To Improve Opportunities Now (ACTION) for National Service Act.  The bill would increase opportunities for service across the country and provide young Americans with the chance to select a service program in a variety of fields.  In exchange for their national service, students would get help paying for college.

The ACTION for National Service Act calls for elevating the Corporation for National and Community Service to a cabinet-level agency and providing resources to help support up to one million national service positions annually, enhancing participation in notable national service programs such as AmeriCorps and Senior Corps.

Currently, about one percent of Americans serve in either the military or a national service program.  Retired General Stanley A. McChrystal, who serves as Chairman of the Board for the nonprofit Service Year Alliance, has stated that expanding national service options could go a long way toward uniting Americans and bridging the military-civilian divide by fostering a better understanding of shared sacrifice.  General McChrystal noted: “Right now, less than one percent of our population serves in the military and, in my view, we need to rethink and create a system where young Americans have an opportunity to serve their nation in other ways. We need to create a culture of service where we are all invested in our nation’s future and feel a shared sense of responsibility to our nation and to each other.”

Since 1994, over 1 million individuals have served through the AmeriCorps program, and roughly 245,000 seniors over the age of 55 volunteer annually through the Senior Corps programs.  These individuals have addressed critical community needs in education, economic development, health, and many other areas, coming to their fellow citizens’ aid in times of national disaster, including thousands who have been deployed in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.  The bill seeks to enhance the nation’s capacity to support all those who want to serve their communities and the nation.   

“Expanding national service opportunities for young Americans strengthens our communities, broadens the worldview of our next generation of American leaders, and instills in our young men and women a sense of pride in themselves and their country that can only be gained through giving back,” said Senator Coons.  “As we work to make college more accessible and give our young people the opportunities they deserve to succeed, national service has to be part of the equation. I’m excited to introduce this bill and expand the impact of national service in the United States.”

“As Americans, we take inspiration from those who have answered the call to serve, whether in defense of our nation abroad or to strengthen our communities at home.  This bill will grow our capacity to enlist, equip, and empower young people to address pressing challenges and give back to our nation while they earn money toward their education.  It will increase volunteerism and strengthen our nation,” said Senator Reed.   “Today, young people are eager to find ways to serve, and we need to do a better job of providing them with opportunities to give back.  This willingness to make common cause with our fellow citizens and serve a purpose greater than ourselves is a hallmark of our nation.  It’s also crucial that we invest in the education and professional development of those who have sacrificed and given so much to our nation.  That’s why I’m pleased to introduce this legislation with my colleagues to help ensure that every American who wants to serve has the opportunity to do so, as well as future opportunities to get an education and build a better life.  I commend Congressmen Larson, Lewis, and Kennedy for their leadership on this issue and longstanding commitment to expanding national service opportunities for all.”

“From the corners of Connecticut to disaster relief zones in Puerto Rico, I have seen the invaluable impact of individuals who have answered the call for their country with fundamentally American acts of service,” said Senator Blumenthal.  “National volunteer service programs improve the lives of all Americans by protecting the environment, strengthening education, responding to disasters, supporting public health and safety, and providing assistance to at-risk communities.  I am proud to support the ACTION for National Service Act, which would elevate and protect the spirit of service embodied in AmeriCorps and other federal service programs to inspire a new class of young leaders nationwide.”

Specifically, the ACTION for National Service Act:

•       Gives all those who wish to serve the opportunity to do so by providing the necessary federal funding to support at least one million service positions nationwide.

•       Significantly reduces student loan debt burdens by ensuring that individuals who serve two full terms of service are rewarded with an education benefit equivalent to four years of the average in-state tuition at a public, four-year college.  Current law limits the award’s value to the maximum amount of a Federal Pell Grant at the time of the individual’s service.

•       Makes the education benefit free from federal taxation.  Currently, education benefits count as income for tax purposes.

•       Elevates the existing Corporation of National and Community Service (CNCS) to a Cabinet-level federal agency, and appoints a Director of National Service with the same rank as Cabinet Secretaries. Existing CNCS programs like AmeriCorps and Senior Corps would be preserved and strengthened.

•       Maintains the authority and programmatic responsibilities of state and local boards to direct federal resources to best meet community needs and be responsive to local priorities.

•       Allows participants in programs outside of existing CNCS programs to be evaluated for eligibility for enhanced education benefits.

•       Establishes a National Service Foundation to encourage private sector and philanthropic investment in expanding national service opportunities.

U.S. Representatives John B. Larson (D-CT), John Lewis (D-GA), and Joe Kennedy III (D-MA) have introduced similar legislation, the ACTION for National Service Act (H.R. 3140), in the U.S. House of Representatives.

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons: “Why has it taken Facebook 11 months to come forward and help us understand the scope of this problem?”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned an official from Facebook on election meddling at a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism hearing entitled, “Extremist Content and Russian Disinformation Online: Working with Tech to Find Solutions.”

“This is an ad that was run on Facebook in May of 2016 – a key moment in the primary campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, when both were closing in on the nomination,” said Senator Coons. “A group that claimed to be ‘Heart of Texas,’ but was in fact paid for by Russians in Rubles used this ad to target Americans based on their professed characteristics like an interest in patriotism or supporting veterans. The ad claims that Hillary Clinton is ‘only one politician except Barack Obama who is despised by the overwhelming majority of American veterans.’ And, it says if Clinton were elected president, the ‘army should be withdrawn from her control according to amendments to the Constitution.’ This ad is nothing short of the Russian government directly interfering in our elections, lying to American citizens, duping folks who believe they are joining and supporting a group that is about veterans and based in Texas, when in fact it’s paid for in Rubles by Russians. Should Facebook be allowed to be a platform that foreign adversaries can use to run political ads?”

Full audio and video available here.

Senator Coons’ Q&A, as delivered, is below:

Senator Coons: Thank you, Chairman Graham and Ranking Member Whitehouse, and I’d like to thank our three witnesses for joining us today. I think what you’ve presented today is truly troubling evidence of the scope and reach of Russia’s interference in our last election and the ways in which Americans who typically expect to know when they’re consuming a political advertisement were mislead and what are very troubling slow, halting steps by your otherwise compelling and innovative companies to come forward and to work with us and to help us understand the scope and consequence of this. Mr. Stretch, let me start, if I could, with a political ad from Facebook. This is an ad that was run on Facebook in May of 2016 – a key moment in the primary campaigns of both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, when both were closing in on the nomination. A group that claimed to be ‘Heart of Texas,’ but was in fact paid for by Russians in Rubles who used this ad to target Americans based on their professed characteristics like an interest in patriotism or supporting veterans. The ad claims that Hillary Clinton is “only one politician except Barack Obama who is despised by the overwhelming majority of American veterans.” And, it says if Clinton were elected president, the “army should be withdrawn from her control according to amendments to the Constitution.” This ad is nothing short of the Russian government directly interfering in our elections, lying to American citizens, duping folks who believe they are joining and supporting a group that is about veterans and based in Texas, when in fact it’s paid for in Rubles by Russians. Should Facebook be allowed to be a platform that foreign adversaries can use to run political ads? 

Mr. Stretch, General Counsel, Facebook: Senator, that advertisement has no place on Facebook and we are committed to preventing that sort of behavior from occurring again on our platform – it’s something that we take incredibly seriously. I think you are right to surface it, it’s upsetting, it makes me angry, and it makes everyone who works at the company angry. When I said we are doubling our teams from 10,000 to 20,000 in order to address safety and security on Facebook, that’s exactly the sort of thing I’m talking about.

Senator Coons: Mr. Stretch, thank you for that answer. Let me show you another example – there’s been a lot of attention on ads, but I think we also ought to focus on events. Russians also used Facebook to make up and promote political events. A group called ‘Being Patriotic’ – see upper left – shared their event, a ‘Miners for Trump’ rally to users in Pennsylvania. But, this political event was in fact a fraud, organized, funded, and supported by Russians – Russians trying to influence our election duped Americans in Pennsylvania into coming to an event that was nothing but a fake. Help me understand, if I might, Mr. Stretch, you’ve said that these things are vile, upsetting, and cynical, and that you take responsibility for changing. Yet, I’m concerned that we are now nearly a year after the election; ten months after the election, September 6, Facebook acknowledged $100,000 worth of ads were bought by a Russian company linked to the Kremlin, amounting to about 3,000 ads. But, if I understand your testimony here today, it’s that 80,000 posts by the Russian-linked Internet research agency were seen by 29 million Americans and may have reached an estimated 126 million people. Why has it taken Facebook 11 months to come forward and help us understand the scope of this problem, see it clearly for the problem it is, and begin to work in a responsible and legislative way to address it when former President Obama cautioned your CEO literally nine days after the election last November that this was a big problem and Facebook needed to come forward?

Mr. Stretch: Thank you, senator, I appreciate your question, one clarification when President Obama and Mr. Zuckerberg met and spoke, they were speaking about fake news generally, there was no discussion about foreign interference. But, I think your larger point around our efforts to investigate and understand what we now see as a sophisticated and systemic effort to interfere in the election is one I do want to address. We actually published a white paper in April of 2017 that detailed our findings to that point. When the Office of the Director of National Intelligence issued its assessment in January, we weren’t sitting around, our threat intelligence team, which I mentioned earlier, had been looking at what we could learn from the 2016 election, and on the basis of that assessment, which we saw in January, started looking hard at the question of disinformation on Facebook and identified a number of practices that we thought would be helpful for the industry to be aware of and for the public to be aware of, so we publicly issued that white paper in April. Now, as you roll the clock forward and we continued our investigation, we did further analysis and we did then discover the ads associated with the Internet research agency, and, at that moment, we brought those advertisements and our learnings to Congress. We issued a public blog post telling the public what we had found. And, we committed to continuing our investigation and continuing to commit to share what we learned with Congress, and I’d like to make one additional point if I may, on that content that you exhibited, what to me is so interesting about that is it reflects the sophistication in my view about what we’re dealing with. So, this is not just an online attack. This is an online attack that affects multiple companies, multiple platforms, and it’s also paired to offline activity. This is a national security issue, and it’s one we are taking very seriously, I know my colleagues here are taking very seriously, and we need to work together to make sure we understand the scope of the threat and we need to continue to work with law enforcement to make sure we’re sharing information and expertise to really address this thoroughly. 

Senator Coons: I appreciate your response to my questions and I’m grateful to Senators Graham and Whitehouse for today’s hearing, to Senator Klobuchar for her leadership in putting forward legislation to try and tackle the significant challenge, but gentlemen, I wish we had the executives of your three companies before us today, and I look to forward hearing in more concrete ways the steps your organizations are taking to address these very real threats to our democracy. Thank you.

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Sens. Carper, Coons, Rep. Blunt Rochester announce open enrollment date, encourage Delawareans to sign up for health care coverage

WILMINGTON, DE –U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) are reminding Delawareans that open enrollment begins today, November 1. The Open Enrollment period closes on December 15, 2017. Constituents should use www.Healthcare.gov or attend one of three open enrollment events being held throughout Delaware starting this weekend. Thanks to financial assistance, most consumers can find plan options with premiums from $50 to $100 per month.

“I encourage everyone to use the marketplace open enrollment period to get their free help from navigators up and down the state and review their options for coverage in 2018,” said Senator Carper. “Tax credits are available to help cover the cost of the premium, and some may find out they are eligible for Medicaid. Despite partisan politics down in Washington, the Affordable Care Act is still the law of the land, so don’t delay in getting covered.”

“Open enrollment is a great opportunity for Delawareans to shop around in the Health Insurance Marketplace and find a plan that works best for them, regardless of age, background, or pre-existing conditions,” said Senator Coons. “I would encourage everyone – whether you already have health insurance or not – to visit the Marketplace and explore plans and financial assistance that may be available.”

“As families budget for 2018, the beginning of health care open enrollment marks the time to shop around, research what discounts may be available, and select coverage for the upcoming year,” said Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. “The health care exchange is a valuable resource for all families in accessing quality care, and a number of Delaware families may qualify for financial assistance in meeting their insurance costs. With a shortened open enrollment period this year, I recommend all Delawareans act now to explore what plans are available to them and to find out how to take advantage of free, in-person help in navigating the health care marketplace.”

There will be three special face-to-face events to help enroll Delawareans in all three counties beginning this week. Event details here:

• Saturday, November 4 (9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.) at the Wilmington Public Library
• Saturday, November 11 (10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.) at Dover Public Library
• Saturday, November 18 (9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.) at Milford Public Library

Key Reminders About Open Enrollment:

• Sign up by December 15. Open Enrollment begins November 1, but you must take action by December 15, no matter if this is your first time getting covered or if you are returning to shop and save. Beat the rush and sign up early.
• Coverage could be cheaper than you think. Last year, 8 in 10 people qualified for financial help to make their monthly premiums more affordable.
• Shop and save. If you had coverage through HealthCare.gov for 2017, you should come back to update your information and compare your options for 2018. Every year, plans and prices change.
• Those who choose to go without health insurance may have to pay a penalty. There is minimum penalty of $695 for not having health insurance.
• Free help is available. If you have questions about signing up or want to talk through your options with a trained professional, free help is just a call or a click away. 1-800-318-2596 or visit localhelp.healthcare.gov.

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