Sen. Coons says Trump’s travel ban is “unconstitutional and does not make us safer” as Fourth Circuit hears arguments today

WASHINGTON – This afternoon, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement as the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments later today on President Trump’s travel ban on people entering the United States from Libya, Iran, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

“Throughout his campaign for President, Donald Trump promised that, if elected, he would ban Muslims from entering the United States.  So, we shouldn’t be surprised that he’s attempting to do just that now that he’s in the White House,” said Senator Coons.  “This travel ban is unconstitutional and does not make us safer.  It violates both the letter and the spirit of our nation’s most important founding principles.  I’m encouraged that each of President Trump’s attempts to implement a ‘Muslim ban’ have been rejected by federal judges, and I hope the Fourth Circuit will do the same.”

On April 19 and 21, 2017, 165 members of Congress, led by Senator Coons and Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) filed friend-of-the-court briefs in, respectively, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, supporting those challenging President Trump’s travel and refugee ban.  District court judges in both cases have preliminarily enjoined implementation of the ban, and Trump has appealed. The Fourth Circuit has ordered the appeal to be heard by the full court, and is scheduled to hear oral argument in IRAP v. Trump today.  A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit is scheduled to hear oral argument in State of Hawaii v. Trump on Monday, May 15, 2017. 

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons on GOP health care bill: “It’s my hope that they’re going to start all over again”

Sen. Coons: “I’m worried there will be administrative actions by the Trump administration in the coming weeks and months that will drive the existing marketplaces into the death spiral they talk about. They’re not currently in a death spiral but could be there.”  

Sen. Coons on French election: “As all of us work to confront Russian aggression, we need our allies [like France]. I think there is no doubt that Russia intentionally interfered in French elections. … All of us in Western democracy should sit up and take notice.”

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning to discuss the House Republicans’ health care bill and the results of the French elections.

“Once we get a CBO score for it and know what it costs, I’m hopeful Republicans in the Senate will take a hard run at trying to put together a bill that works, conclude they can’t do that on their own, and then begin working across the aisle to find a way together to fix the parts of the Affordable Care Act that don’t work and move forward together. So far, I’m not very encouraged. The working group in the Senate isn’t reaching out,” said Senator Coons. “I’ve made repeated overtures to Republicans, as have many other Democrats in the Senate. At the end of the day, if we focus on those who advocate for America’s health—AARP, American Nursing Association, the American Medical Association—if we look at their view of this House bill, they’ve all panned it, they all think it’s going to hurt Americans and we should make our focus what is going to make Americans healthier and find a way to come together and pass a bill that fix things that actually need to be improved in the Affordable Care Act.”

Video and audio available here.

Excerpts from the interview:

Senator Coons on the House Republicans’ health care bill: It’s my hope that they’re going to start all over again, because, as you heard, the folks on the TV shows this Sunday made outrageous claims for the bill that’s been passed out of the House. At the end of the day, this is about people. What I’m hearing from Delawareans up and down the state — I was here this weekend — is real concern, folks with pre-existing conditions, folks who already pay too much for their out-of-pocket costs or for their insurance, are anxious about the provisions in the bill that passed the House. Once we get a CBO score for it and know what it costs, I’m hopeful Republicans in the Senate will take a hard run at trying to put together a bill that works, conclude they can’t do that on their own, and then begin working across the aisle to find a way together to fix the parts of the Affordable Care Act that don’t work and move forward together. So far, I’m not very encouraged. The working group in the Senate isn’t reaching out. I’ve made repeated overtures to Republicans, as have many other Democrats in the Senate. At the end of the day, if we focus on those who advocate for America’s health—AARP, American Nursing Association, the American Medical Association—if we look at their view of this House bill, they’ve all panned it, they all think it’s going to hurt Americans and we should make our focus what is going to make Americans healthier and find a way to come together and pass a bill that fix things that actually need to be improved in the Affordable Care Act.

More on the health care bill: Well, first, we would have to actually keep the promises that have been made, both by President Trump and by Republicans over the weekend, as they characterized the bill. Retain the national protection for pre-existing conditions, for example. There are things about how the insurance market is working that just aren’t sustainable. Small businesses, for example in Delaware, have told me over and over that they can’t afford the Affordable Care Act in states like Delaware where there’s just not enough competition. We need to work together to find ways to increase competition, to keep insurance companies in the market and to not drive them out. I’m worried there will be administrative actions by the Trump administration in the coming weeks and months that will drive the existing marketplaces into the death spiral they talk about. They’re not currently in a death spiral but could be there. We should come together to propose ways to fix insurance before it becomes a crisis.

More on the health care bill: My guess is that Leader McConnell is going to take some time here and while he may ultimately pass a bill in the Senate, I think he will send it to conference with the House. That conference will go on for a very long time, and we won’t actually see a final product until after the 2018 elections. 

Senator Coons on the French elections: As an American, as someone who values democracy and European allies, I did breathe a sigh of relief as I found out about the outcome. And you make a good point. I think part of the reason Le Pen lost is her performance in the one-on-one debate against Macron where she was just poisonous. She engaged in the sort of mud slinging that characterized her father’s career in politics more than hers. And the nation looked at it and said she’s not ready to run the country and her values do not reflect France’s political values. Macron is young and contested, and it is very possible that he will try to face up to the security and economic challenges that France faces and fail and that there will be another round of populism. I think you’re right: we shouldn’t take too much comfort from this. But, if you look at the Austrian, Dutch and now the French elections, there is a reassuring trend of a willingness, barely, for these countries to stay in the E.U, to stay in the common project of NATO. And I think as all of us work to confront Russian aggression we need our allies. I think there is no doubt that Russia intentionally interfered in French elections. They engaged in the sort of big stack dump of lots of e-mails and fake news just before the election that was also, I think, a key part of their interference in our election and all of us in Western democracy should sit up and take notice.  

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Senator Coons’ statement on reports that Trump will withdraw U.S. from Paris Agreement

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) released the following statement in response to reports that the Trump administration is considering withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement on climate change.

“I am deeply concerned by reports that the Trump administration is threatening our long-held position as a global leader in the fight against climate change by withdrawing the United States from the Paris climate change agreement. This misguided action, combined with recent steps backward on the Clean Power Plan, vehicle fuel economy standards, and clean air regulations, suggest an intention to systematically undermine our commitments to fight climate change and embrace a clean energy future. Leaving this agreement would signal that the United States intends to remain on the sidelines while the rest of the world works to combat climate change. Whether or not the administration chooses to remain in the Paris agreement, I am committed to supporting clean energy research and defending our global scientific leadership so that Americans remain competitive, prosperous, and secure.”

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Senator Coons secures extension of two Delaware federal bankruptcy judgeships in 2017 funding bill

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Senate passed the federal government’s annual funding bill for Fiscal Year 2017, which includes funding for several key programs secured by U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.). Sen. Coons serves on the critical Appropriations Committee that authors the annual spending bills to fund federal programs.

Included in the annual package was a key extension for two federal bankruptcy judgeships in Delaware.    

“I am pleased that today’s bipartisan bill keeps two federal bankruptcy judgeships in Delaware from expiring at the end of this month,” said Sen. Coons. “Delaware is home to the busiest bankruptcy court in the country, so retaining these judgeships is imperative. The loss of these judgeships would be detrimental to the citizens, municipalities, and businesses in Delaware, who as creditors or debtors, seek timely disposition of their bankruptcy cases. Today’s bill is just the first step and I continue to work for a more permanent and comprehensive solution to ensure that there are enough bankruptcy judges in jurisdictions, like Delaware, that need them.”

Background on Bankruptcy Court judgeships:
Delaware has five temporary bankruptcy judgeships that were set to expire on May 25, 2017. By being extended in the Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus, two of these judgeships are now protected for another year or until a bankruptcy judgeship authorization bill, which Sen. Coons recently re-introduced in the Senate, is enacted. These extensions are critical because Delaware is the busiest bankruptcy court in the nation in terms of weighted filings per judgeship with a current caseload of 2,772 filings per judgeship.  Losing these judgeships would cause caseloads to skyrocket and result in unacceptable delays in the adjudication of bankruptcy cases in Delaware.

[VIDEO] Senator Coons to FBI Dir. Comey: How do we protect our democracy and our allies’ democracies?

Sen. Coons: “You stated that you fully expect Russia to continue to be engaged in efforts to influence our elections and you expect them to be back in 2018 and in 2020. What more should we be doing?”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned FBI Director James Comey at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on FBI oversight.

“You stated that you fully expect Russia to continue to be engaged in efforts to influence our elections and you expect them to be back in 2018 and in 2020,” said Senator Coons. “What more should we be doing both to defend our election infrastructure and our future elections against continuing Russian interference, and what more are you doing–is the agency doing–to help our allies in countries like France and Germany that have upcoming elections where there is every reason to believe the Russians are actively interfering there as well?”

“I also appreciate the work the FBI continues to do to push back and to strengthen our defenses, but I think there’s more to do,” said Senator Coons. “You certainly as you’ve testified before made a great deal of news just before our own election, and I’m struck that you chose to make public statements about one investigation, and not another. The investigation that we now know was ongoing into the Trump campaign and the investigation ongoing into Secretary Clinton. I’m concerned about what the future practice will be.” 

Full video and audio available here.

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

Senator Coons: Thank you, Chairman Grassley, and thank you, Director Comey, for your service and for your return in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. I want to start by asking about a letter–and, Mr. Chairman, I will submit this for the Record if I might–Senator Whitehouse and I in early August last year sent a letter to our colleague, Senator Cruz, who then served as the Oversight Subcommittee Chairman expressing our grave concern about the potential for foreign interference in our upcoming presidential election. We asked for an oversight hearing to consider whether existing federal criminal statutes and court jurisdiction were sufficient to address conduct related to foreign entities posing a threat to our election. We didn’t have that hearing, but I’d like to ask you that same question now. Are existing federal criminal statutes sufficient to prosecute conduct related to foreign entities that seek to undermine our elections?

Director Comey: I think so is my answer, but someone smarter than I may have spotted something where there’s a gap, but my reaction is we have the statutory tools, it’s a question of gathering the evidence and then applying it under those statutory tools. 

Senator Coons: Well, in response to questions from Senator Sasse and Senator Graham earlier, you stated that you fully expect Russia to continue to be engaged in efforts to influence our elections and you expect them to be back in 2018 and in 2020. What more should we be doing both to defend our election infrastructure and our future elections against continuing Russian interference, and what more are you doing–is the agency doing–to help our allies in countries like France and Germany that have upcoming elections where there is every reason to believe the Russians are actively interfering there as well? 

Director Comey: Thank you, senator. I think two things we can do and that we are doing both in the United States and with our allies is telling the people responsible for protecting the election infrastructure in the United States everything we know about how the Russians and others try to attack those systems–how they might come at it, what IP addresses they might use, what phishing techniques they might use–and that we’ve shared the same thing with our allies. One. Two, to equip the American people and our allies to understand that this is going on. There’s a big part about what the Russians did was pushing out false information, echoing it with these troll farms that they use, and I think one of the most important things we can do is tell the American voter this is going on. You should be skeptical, you should ask questions, you should understand the nature of the “news” that you’re getting, and we’ve delivered that same message to our European colleagues and an interesting thing is happening: the marketplace of ideas is responding to this, because it’s not a role for government. People are out there using the power of social media to push back against this kind of thing in France, in The Netherlands, in Germany, and I hope it will happen here in the United States where ordinary citizens will see this bogus stuff going on and push back kind of troll armies pushing back the other way so the marketplace of information is better educated frankly. 

Senator Coons: Well, that’s an optimistic vision, and I appreciate it. I also appreciate the work the FBI continues to do to push back and to strengthen our defenses, but I think there’s more to do. You certainly as you’ve testified before made a great deal of news just before our own election, and I’m struck that you chose to make public statements about one investigation, and not another. The investigation that we now know was ongoing into the Trump campaign and the investigation ongoing into Secretary Clinton. I’m concerned about what the future practice will be. How has the approach taken, with regards to the Clinton investigation, been memorialized and have you modified in any way FBI Department procedures regarding disclosure of information regarding investigations, particularly close to an election? 

Director Comey: We have not. And, the reason for that is, everything that we did–that I did–was, in my view, consistent with existing Department of Justice policy. That is, we don’t confirm the existence of investigations except in unusual circumstances. We don’t talk about investigations that don’t result in criminal charges unless there is a compelling public interest. And, so those principles should still govern. We also, whenever humanly possible, avoid any action that might have an impact on an election. I still believe that to be true, an incredible and important guiding principle, it’s one that I labored under here. Frankly, as I said earlier, I didn’t think I had a choice because I could only have two actions before me. I couldn’t find a door labeled ‘no action.’ So, those principles still exist, they’re incredibly important. The current investigation with respect to Russia, we’ve confirmed it, the Justice Department authorized me to confirm that it exists, we’re not going to say another word about it until we’re done. Then I hope in league with the Department of Justice, we’ll figure out, if it doesn’t result in charges, what if anything will we say about it and we’ll be guided by the same principles.

Senator Coons: Well, director, I do think there was a third door available to you in late last year, just before the election, and that was to confirm the existence of an ongoing investigation into the Trump campaign, which I think was of compelling interest and was an unusual circumstance, an activity by a known adversary to interfere in our election. Had there been public notice that there was a renewed investigation into both campaigns, I think the impact would have been different. Would you agree?

Director Comey: No. I thought a lot about this, and my judgment was– we have to separate two things. I thought it was very important to call out what the Russians were trying to do with our election, and I offered in August myself to be a voice for that in a public piece calling it out. The Obama administration didn’t take advantage of that in August, they did it in October, but I thought that was very important to call out. That’s a separate question from do you confirm the existence of a classified investigation that has just started to try and figure out are there any connections between that Russian activity and U.S. persons. It started in late July. And, remember, the Hillary Clinton investigation– we didn’t confirm it existed until three months after it started, and it started publicly. So I thought the consistent principle would be, we don’t confirm the existence of certainly any investigation that involves a U.S. person, but a classified investigation in its early stages, we don’t know what we have, what is there. So my judgment was consistent on the principles I’ve always operated under, that was the right thing to do. Separately, I thought it was very important to call out and tell the American people the Russians are trying to mess with your elections. 

Senator Coons: Well, I hope that in the future, that attempt to draw attention to Russian interference in our election, which you’ve testified you expect to continue, will be effective. Let me ask one last question if I might. There are a lot of ways that the FBI helps state and local law enforcement. One I’ve been grateful for was the Violence Reduction Network through which the FBI provided much-needed assistance to the Wilmington Police Department–this is my hometown–where we’ve had a dramatic spike in violence. I’d be interested in hearing how you imagine or how you intend that the FBI will continue to assist local law enforcement in combatting unprecedented spikes in violent crime in a few of our communities, such as Wilmington, where they’ve happened.

Director Comey: I thank you for that, senator. The VRN–the Violence Reduction Network–was piloted in Wilmington and a small number of other places, and we believe it works. Where the FBI brings to a fight that’s primarily a state and local fight our technology, our intelligence expertise, figuring out how to connect the dots and which of the bad guys we should focus on, and then our enforcement, our agents, and their ability to make cases. So we’re trying to do what we’ve done in Wilmington in cities around the country–those cities that are seeing spikes in violence and the depressing fact is about half of America’s biggest cities saw another rise in violence the first quarter of this year, and so we’re trying to lean forward and do what we’ve done in Wilmington in those places as well.

Senator Coons: We appreciate your efforts to support local law enforcement. Thank you, director.

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons, FBI Dir. Comey discuss Wilmington violent crime reduction efforts

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today questioned FBI Director James Comey at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing about efforts to reduce violent crime in Wilmington.

“I’d be interested in hearing how you imagine or how you intend that the FBI will continue to assist local law enforcement in combatting unprecedented spikes in violent crime in a few of our communities, such as Wilmington, where they’ve happened,” said Senator Coons.

Video and audio available here. 

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

Senator Coons: There are a lot of ways that the FBI helps state and local law enforcement. One I’ve been grateful for was the Violence Reduction Network through which the FBI provided much-needed assistance to the Wilmington Police Department–this is my hometown–where we’ve had a dramatic spike in violence. I’d be interested in hearing how you imagine or how you intend that the FBI will continue to assist local law enforcement in combatting unprecedented spikes in violent crime in a few of our communities, such as Wilmington, where they’ve happened.

FBI Director Comey: I thank you for that, senator. The VRN–the Violence Reduction Network–was piloted in Wilmington and a small number of other places, and we believe it works. Where the FBI brings to a fight that’s primarily a state and local fight our technology, our intelligence expertise, figuring out how to connect the dots and which of the bad guys we should focus on, and then our enforcement, our agents, and their ability to make cases. So we’re trying to do what we’ve done in Wilmington in cities around the country–those cities that are seeing spikes in violence and the depressing fact is about half of America’s biggest cities saw another rise in violence the first quarter of this year, and so we’re trying to lean forward and do what we’ve done in Wilmington in those places as well.

Senator Coons: We appreciate your efforts to support local law enforcement. Thank you, director.

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons on Comey: ‘It is important for us to understand why the current FBI director chose to insert himself in the last days of the election’

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, joined CNN New Day this morning ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing today on FBI oversight with FBI Director Comey. 

“I will ask him about why he chose to comment on one and not the other, and, in particular, how he sees the future of the FBI and what they’re going to learn from the impact it had. Look, in an election that was as close as 2016, there’s lots of different factors that determined the outcome, and I don’t think it is possible to point to one specific thing and say this determined the outcome of the election,” said Senator Coons. “There were just 160,000 votes across three states that ultimately determined the outcome. Hillary Clinton did win the popular vote by 3 million votes. But, it is important for us to understand why the current FBI director chose to insert himself in the last days of the election the way he did.”

Full video and audio are available here. 

Excerpts from the interview:

Senator Coons on FBI Director Comey’s Clinton letter last October: It is certainly striking that at the time there were ongoing investigations on both candidate Trump and candidate Clinton and that the FBI director chose to comment on one, but not to comment on the other. I am interested in hearing from the FBI director what lessons he’s learned from the consequences of that decision. I’m less interested in relitigating the 2016 election than I am figuring out how we secure our next elections from foreign interference and what lessons the FBI director and the FBI as an organization has learned about the deviations from the historic practice of not making comments on investigations. Particularly those that are explosive so close to an election. 

Senator Coons on today’s hearing: I’m confident that question will be asked. I am one of the more junior members of the committee, so by the time it gets to me, I suspect that question will have been asked four or five times. I will ask him about why he chose to comment on one and not the other, and, in particular, how he sees the future of the FBI and what they’re going to learn from the impact it had. Look, in an election that was as close as 2016, there’s lots of different factors that determined the outcome, and I don’t think it is possible to point to one specific thing and say this determined the outcome of the election. There were just 160,000 votes across three states that ultimately determined the outcome. Hillary Clinton did win the popular vote by 3 million votes. But, it is important for us to understand why the current FBI director chose to insert himself in the last days of the election the way he did. 

More on today’s hearing: Well, as I said, what I want to ask will have already been asked several times. What I would ask if I were the first questioner: why did you choose not to comment on the ongoing investigation into candidate Trump and potential collusion with Russia, but you did chose to comment in the waning days of the election on what you thought might be new evidence? This difference on how you treated one candidate, one campaign versus the other is pretty striking, and what lessons have you and the FBI learned about that impact on the election.

Senator Coons on the budget deal: That is pretty hard to square with reality. President Trump is the one who actually tweeted earlier this week that the government needs a good shutdown in September. I don’t think there is any Democrat who wanted a shutdown. What we wanted is what we got, which was a good, balanced, bipartisan negotiation where the Senate Republicans and Democrats work together to keep the government functioning. There is no funding for a big new wall that the president wanted and insisted on, but that both Republicans and Democrats did not see the wisdom in that funding. There is no cut off in funding to Planned Parenthood. I’m personally thrilled there’s $860 million in new money invested in fighting opioid addiction, a terrible scourge that is affecting every state in the country. I’m encouraged we’re continuing to invest in medical research. I frankly think the president ought to be taking a victory lap and saying he played a role in getting a great deal instead of having his OMB director wag his finger at Democrats and say that we somehow were lusting after a shutdown. I just think it is silly. 

Senator Coons on the border wall: We did approve money for border security. It is expressly not for the construction of a 2000-mile new wall. And, frankly, I think we are dithering here. We did pass a big bipartisan immigration reform bill two years ago that I voted for that would have invested in upgrading border security. It did not fund nor did this new deal fund building a 2,000-mile, big, beautiful wall. President Trump threatened to veto this bill if it didn’t include his vision of a border wall. It doesn’t include his vision of a border wall. We will see if he vetoes it. I don’t think he will.

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Carper, Coons re-introduce comprehensive LGBT non-discrimination legislation

Washington, D.C. – Today 46 Senators, including Senators Carper and Coons (both D-Del) re-introduced historic, comprehensive federal legislation to ban discrimination against LGBT Americans. The legislation was filed simultaneously in the U.S. House of Representatives by 194 Representatives.

“One of my core values, whose power I am reminded of time and time again, is the Golden Rule. I believe we have a moral obligation to treat others the way we would want to be treated,” said Sen. Carper. “The Equality Act is about the Golden Rule, ensuring that all Americans—regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity—have equal protection under the law from unfair discrimination. I’m proud to cosponsor this historic bill, and I’ll keep working with my colleagues in Congress to coalesce the strong bipartisan support it needs to become law of the land.”

“Fair and equal treatment for all includes sexual orientation and gender identity,” said Sen. Coons. “Re-introducing this act is a critical step toward ending discrimination in the workplace. By expanding protections for employees you are helping to ensure that all Americans get an equal opportunity to succeed ensuring companies use fair employment practices.”

Despite major advances in equality for LGBT Americans, including nationwide marriage equality, the majority of states still do not have explicit LGBT non-discrimination protection laws. The Equality Act of 2017 would ensure full federal non-discrimination equality by adding sexual orientation and gender identity to other protected classes, such as race or religion, in existing federal laws.

The bill would explicitly ban discrimination in a host of areas, including employment, housing, public accommodations, jury service, access to credit, and federal funding.

The bill would also add protections against sex discrimination in parts of anti-discrimination laws where these protections had not been included previously, including in public accommodations and federal funding.

In addition to Carper and Coons, the legislation is cosponsored in the Senate by Sens. Michael Bennet (D-CO), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Bob Casey (D-PA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Al Franken (D-MN), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Tom Udall (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Mark Warner (D-VA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).

The full text of the Equality Act of 2017 is available here. 

[VIDEO] Sen. Coons continues to discuss Wilmington JCC threats, religious hate crimes with civil rights experts

WASHINGTON – Today, May 2, 2017, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a second round of questioning to civil rights experts about religious hate crimes, protecting religious freedom, and improving reporting of these crimes. 

“As I said in my previous round of questioning, Delaware saw, as did so many other states, bomb threats against our Jewish Community Center back in February and March, I was encouraged that a broad range of Delawareans rallied at the JCC to stand up to such hate and to such threats and terrorism, and similarly when there were threats and inappropriate statements about Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim earlier in the year,” said Senator Coons. “I’m also concerned about threats that really target houses of worship. We’ve seen mosques targeted by arsonists and JCCs receiving bomb threats. What more should the government do, what more should this committee do to ensure that federal resources are available to support institutions that are seeing significant threats to their security?”

Full audio and video are available here.

Senator Coons’ second round of questioning, as delivered, is below:

Senator Coons: Thank you, Senator Feinstein. I’d like to thank our terrific panel for your service, leadership, and your testimony here today. Dr. Singh, your individual testimony about both your experiences and your advocacy and work was deeply compelling. Chief, thank you for what you’re doing in the leadership of your department and elsewhere. Ms. Gupta and Mr. Greenblatt, both in your current roles and your previous roles, you’ve been terrific and effective voices against hate and hate crimes. Let me see if I can get one question into each of you in the brief amount of time that I have. 

As I said in my previous round of questioning, Delaware saw, as did so many other states, bomb threats against our Jewish Community Center back in February and March, I was encouraged that a broad range of Delawareans rallied at the JCC to stand up to such hate and to such threats and terrorism, and similarly when there were threats and inappropriate statements about Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim earlier in the year. 

Mr. Greenblatt, if I might, you’ve talked about pushing back on the scourge of online hate; I was encouraged by your answers about that. I’m also concerned about threats that really target houses of worship. We’ve seen mosques targeted by arsonists and JCCs receiving bomb threats. What more should the government do, what more should this committee do to ensure that federal resources are available to support institutions that are seeing significant threats to their security?

Mr. Greenblatt: Let’s start with making sure that local law enforcement is adequately trained to provide support for houses of worship and other faith-based centers be that JCCs or Islamic Centers, etc. It’s critical that local law enforcement appreciate the complexity and sensitivity in ensuring that the congregants in these houses of worship have adequate protection. Secondly, I think, speaking up at the local level really matters as well. So, as I’ve heard about the stories and what happened in Delaware because we were tracking these JCCs, the fact that local elected officials stood up and spoke out in defense of the Jewish Community Center, I think was really vital in sending a signal. I know there has been some debate about some consideration of additional funds to harden the institutions themselves, we certainly appreciate that some would want additional resources. We have some concern about that, because of the fungibility of funds, the difficulty of tracking such dollars, the competition that can ensue at the local level, really muddying the church-state divide that we think investing in our law enforcement agencies to ensure they can provide adequate training and support for local faith-based communities is an appropriate response. 

Senator Coons: Thank you, Mr. Greenblatt. Chief Johnson, if I might, what training and tools are currently available to make sure that we are able to train and support local law enforcement in understanding how to appropriately respond to threats against houses of worship and to make sure we are moving forward with bias-free policing. In my view, having well trained and well supported local law enforcement and having them, in particular, trained in how to respond against houses of worship and trained in how to respond to hate crimes and how to conduct bias-free policing makes it more likely that we will have more thorough reporting, more timely and appropriate investigation, and thus more effective prosecution. What’s your view, Chief?

Chief Johnson: Yes, sir, thank you for the question, and I would agree that there are a variety of different avenues in which we can focus our training, much of the testimony today spoke about the partnership with the different agencies that are represented at the panel and how we have collaboratively worked on this topic, particularly with the model policy for IACP with ADL to make sure that the initial response and that the investigation is thorough and achieves the shared goal. I’ll also take the opportunity to celebrate the funding and resources that comes through the Department of Justice COPS Office that helps us to provide focused and dedicated training materials and support for topics that are supportive of this, inclusive of procedural justice, bias-based policing, policing in minority and disenfranchised communities, and also addressing hate crimes, but I would close with–well, what I would argue is our highest need. Law enforcement is confronted with unprecedented challenges in terms of the variety of different topics, hate crimes being one, elevated violent crimes, the ability for bond and grand juries and prosecution and mental health, and all these different things touching law enforcement, which is bringing us in different directions. We need to pass a National Crime Commission and be able to have a holistic review of all of these different threats and issues confronting our communities, and be able to address it systematically from all different aspects, not just from the law enforcement perspective. 

Senator Coons: I agree with you, Chief, and I appreciate your speaking up about the need for a law enforcement commission, and I also frankly think that we should sustain the COPS program and sustain investments that make it possible for state and local law enforcement from the academy through the whole career of service of law enforcement officers to get the sort of training and research with ADL and with other organizations that have terrific curriculum materials. My last question, Ms. Gupta, these issues really shouldn’t be partisan. And you heard earlier that a hundred senators joined in sending a letter to the attorney general urging a prompt response, an effective response to the JCC bombing threats earlier this year. Are there Civil Rights Division initiatives that you hope to see continued that would be effective in combating hate crimes and promoting inclusiveness during this administration? 

Ms. Gupta: Yes, thank you senator. There was, as I said before, enforcement obviously and robust enforcement of our hate crimes laws is vital, but it is insufficient to address and meet the needs right now. It is really incumbent on the Justice Department to continue very aggressive outreach with particularly vulnerable communities. When I was the head of the Civil Rights Division, we went all corners of the country to have interfaith conversations, to talk about the relationship between school bullying and hate crimes, and understand what some local solutions are and what local communities are doing. We invested in training–federal, state local law enforcement training–the Justice Department made that a priority, and I will say there was not a single local law enforcement agency that was not starved for specific training and they were terrific partners with the FBI, with the US Attorney’s offices and specific hate crimes identification prove how you build trust. And those kinds of trainings are vitally important; they were also with community-based organizations, and this I just want to close with. It is really important, of course, that in order to have any effective enforcement, both for local law enforcement and for the Justice Department, there needs to be trust between the most vulnerable communities and these very important institutions. And, so, the ongoing work of ensuring trust that victims don’t feel that they are chilled in reporting, that they don’t trust police who were often the face of government in communities or the government themselves is vitally important. So that ongoing work that is a broader thing than just the hate crimes piece, there needs to be an ongoing investment in the kinds of programs that the Justice Department engages in to rebuild trust where it has been vitally eroded, but also to recognize that words and policies that come out of any government entity carry and can have their own impact on the ability for law enforcement to be able to address and prevent crime. It is a multifaceted effort, the prevention efforts out of the Justice Department are vitally important, and my hope is that they will continue very robustly.  

Senator Coons: Thank you, Ms. Gupta. I look forward to working with you in your new role at LCCR, I look forward to continuing to work with IACP, and, in particular, want to thank the Anti-Defamation League, your resources and materials have been very helpful in Delaware as our local law enforcement has done improved training to be more conscious of these issues, and as we step up to try and advocate for and defend our Sikh community, our Muslim community, our Jewish community, everybody in our state who has need of the protection of the law enforcement to be able to worship freely and as our First Amendment protects. 

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons discusses Wilmington JCC threats and the rise in hate crimes with top Justice Dept. official

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, May 2, 2017, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, questioned Eric Treene, Special Counsel for Religious Discrimination, Office of the U.S. Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, about religious hate crimes, protecting religious freedom, and improving reporting of these crimes. 

“In Delaware, I’ve been alarmed to see our Jewish community targeted with multiple bomb threats and to see our Muslim-American neighbors and friends fearful as a result of the toxic rhetoric and instances of violence around the country,” said Senator Coons. “And you, sir, have testified that there has been a noticeable uptick in violent crimes, hate crimes against Muslims and those who are perceived to be Muslim. In my home state, we’ve had a period of positive rallies, promoting tolerance at our JCC, at our main mosque, at our General Assembly. But, citizens from my state are asking for a clear, unified message from federal law enforcement and our federal government.”

Full audio and video are available here. 

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

Senator Coons: As you’ve heard from my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, we are deeply concerned about the rise in hate crimes targeting religious minority faiths in the United States and their steady rise.

In Delaware, I’ve been alarmed to see our Jewish community targeted with multiple bomb threats and to see our Muslim-American neighbors and friends fearful as a result of the toxic rhetoric and instances of violence around the country. And you, sir, have testified that there has been a noticeable uptick in violent crimes, hate crimes, against Muslims and those who are perceived to be Muslim.

In my home state, we’ve had a period of positive rallies, promoting tolerance at our JCC, at our main mosque, at our General Assembly. But, citizens from my state are asking for a clear, unified message from federal law enforcement and from our federal government. 

And you and the administration have gotten that message: 100 senators joined a letter back in March calling for DOJ, DHS, FBI to take swift response to widespread bomb threats against JCCs and, I’ll just submit for the record, it’s pretty rare that 100 of us agree on anything, and in April, Chairman Grassley, Ranking Member Feinstein led a letter to Attorney General Sessions saying that the DOJ needs to directly address the steadily increasing number of religiously-motivated hate crimes. 

So, Mr. Treene, I have two questions for you. First would be, how do you establish priorities when there are so many different groups that are feeling unsafe, they feel threatened, they feel that the proportion of threats against them as a percentage of the population as you suggest in your testimony is steadily going up? And, how do we pursue prosecution, and how do we change the temperature? 

My second question, frankly, follows up on what Senator Franken asked. I am encouraged by your statement that you’ve gotten a consistent message from Attorney General Sessions to keep prosecuting hate crimes. But, this is in response to a significant deficit, created in the course of the campaign, where I’ll suggest that then-candidate Trump in rally after rally and Senator Franken cited one that happened in Minnesota, made statements about a Muslim ban, about immigrants, about those of minority faiths, that I think led to an inflaming of passions in an unconstructive way. And I do think that the continued presence of Steve Bannon as one of his most senior advisers continues to send mixed messages. So, while I’m encouraged, sir, that you say the Attorney General has sent a consistent message–that’s good–I am concerned that there is a mixed message being sent to our country; that President Trump last week at the Yom HaShoah event made positive appropriate statements about combatting religiously-motivated hatred and violence. But, there is a lot of work to do to overcome an accumulated deficit, a message that was spread far and wide during the campaign, and that Steve Bannon’s presence in the White House continues to reinforce, that is a mixed message.

How do you set priorities, sir, and how do you set those priorities that deals with this deficit in confidence among some religious minorities in this country who feel that they were targeted in the course of the campaign? 

Mr. Treene: We want to be able to ensure that every hate crime that occurs in the United States is punished with a just punishment. And that’s something that the federal government alone cannot do, but we have 94 US Attorneys working with state and local law enforcement, and it’s a very complex, our system of government is very complex. But, it’s a complex system of working with state and locals, finding cases, if maybe we don’t think they’re pursuing it strongly enough and then stepping in and having a tough discussion, or more often, having a give and take about where and who should be prosecuting this case. It’s complex, but we’re a country with 50 different states, a web of Federalist laws, so that’s how we do it. But it’s something that I think we can do better and that’s part of the purpose of this task force and the summit we’re having in June. On the question of messaging, one of the things we’re always trying to do is we send a message in our actions when we are prosecuting a case, Tom Wheeler has been very strong in his press statements, and the US Attorney’s press statements in these hate crimes, especially the Muslim gate crimes, saying that an attack on one faith is an attack on our fundamental principles, and that we as Americans, cannot stand as one group is attacked. And I think that messaging is very important coming from the Civil Rights Division coming from the Attorney General and the whole Justice Department. 

Senator Coons: Thank you, sir, I suspect at some point this administration will advance a nominee to head the Civil Rights Division, and I am hopeful that this Committee will send a unified message that we expect the prosecution of hate crimes particularly against religious minorities, particularly against those when there has been a steady uptick in both hate speech and hate crimes against them, will be high in his or her priorities. 

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