Senators Coons, Isakson announce arrival of first U.S. poultry to South Africa in 15 years

Senators Coons, Isakson announce arrival of first U.S. poultry to South Africa in 15 years

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), co-chairs of the Senate Chicken Caucus, today applauded the news that the first U.S. poultry in more than 15 years has arrived in South Africa. Today’s news is the outcome of a June 2015 agreement reached between the United States and South Africa that required South Africa to eliminate longstanding barriers to U.S. poultry imports.

See photos of U.S. poultry products arriving in South Africa (courtesy of the U.S. Chicken Council) here:http://bit.ly/1Lqq426

“We are thrilled that after more than 15 years of South Africa illegally blocking imports of U.S. poultry, chicken from Delaware, Georgia, and states around the United States will finally reach the dinner tables of South Africans,” said Senators Coons and Isakson. “Today’s news is the result of years of hard work and negotiations led by our poultry producers and U.S. trade officials, and we are proud to have also played a part. This is a significant win for poultry farmers in Delaware and Georgia and for South Africans who will now have access to our healthy, affordable, and high-quality poultry.”

Senators Coons and Isakson and have been pressuring the South African government for more than a year to end the anti-dumping duties and unfair food safety and health trade policies on U.S. poultry. The senators met on numerous occasions with South African President Jacob Zuma and other South African officials to discuss this issue over the last several years.

They also secured language in last year’s African Growth and Opportunity Act reauthorization to require an out-of-cycle review of South Africa’s benefits due to the persistence of these issues. The bipartisan amendment was introduced in the Senate Finance Committee by Isakson and co-sponsored by Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va.

On June 8, 2015, a settlement was reached between the United States and South Africa after negotiations in Paris led by the United States Trade Representative, the Department of State, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard, and trade experts from the poultry industry.

Since the settlement was reached, South Africa repeatedly failed to fulfill the obligations agreed upon in Paris. In response to the delays, Senators Coons and Isakson called on President Zuma in September to act quickly to address the unresolved issues in the agreement. In November 2015, President Obama issued a 60-day notice of his intent to suspend AGOA benefits for South Africa’s agricultural products if South Africa continued to fail to eliminate trade barriers to U.S. poultry, beef, and pork as a result of the out-of-cycle review. That notice expired on January 4, 2016, and shortly thereafter, South Africa announced it would comply with the terms of the settlement.

Senators Coons and Isakson are the co-chairs of the Senate Chicken Caucus, of which Senator Carper of Delaware and Senator Perdue of Georgia are also members. Both Delaware and Georgia have large poultry industries and are major exporters of poultry. The poultry industry annually contributes over $15.1 billion to the Georgia economy. Delaware’s poultry industry supports more than 14,000 jobs and contributes more than $4.6 billion to the state’s economy, according to the National Chicken Council.

Ahead of Iranian elections tomorrow, Senator Coons: “Iran’s elections…are neither free nor fair”

Sen Coons: “These elections are likely nothing more than a guise to give the international community the impression that Iranians have a real voice in choosing their elected officials. While we should hope for future moderation, we should expect the status quo because at its core, Iran remains a revolutionary regime that supports terrorism as a central tool of its national foreign policy.”

WASHINGTON – Ahead of Iran’s elections tomorrow, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today delivered a speech on the Senate floor reminding the Administration, Congressional colleagues, and the American people that merely holding elections does not mean Iran’s revolutionary regime is reforming in any meaningful way.  The people of Iran may be voting for members of the Parliament and the Assembly of Experts tomorrow, but most moderate, reform-minded candidates have already been disqualified and will not appear on the ballot.

Senator Coons’ full remarks below:

Mr. President, tomorrow the people of Iran will go to the polls and elect a so-called Assembly of experts, which is the body that will eventually choose the successor to the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

Last December Secretary of State John Kerry cautioned that “having an election does not make a democracy.” I think his words are equally fitting this week.

Iran’s elections, in truth, are neither free nor fair. Iran is not a democracy. Power brokers in Iran have already rigged these elections, and the results — and even the results of a potential run-off in April – will really not tell us much we don’t already know about the Iranian regime or its foreign policy objectives in the Middle East.

Some observers do hope that moderate voices will make some progress in Iran, and I agree that that is good to hope for. 

But I remain deeply skeptical. In many ways, tomorrow’s elections are nothing more than a rubber stamp because an unelected Guardian Council — which vets all candidates for office — has already prevented most moderates from even running.

Let me explain. Aspiring candidates for Iran’s national parliament and the Assembly of Experts must be approved by the unelected Guardian Council before they can appear on any ballot. Unless they make it through a multi-week vetting process — unless they are deemed sufficiently loyal and conservative — these aspiring candidates won’t get a chance to be candidates at all.

That’s why the candidate list for tomorrow’s election has already told us more about Iran’s intentions than the election results will. A willingness to allow reform-minded or moderate Iranians to stand for election would have suggested some real hope for genuine reform — for real change — in the Iranian regime.

Sadly, the disqualification of both female and reformist candidates indicates that Iran instead is doubling down on its decision to avoid long-awaited and much-needed democratic reforms and instead to continue to isolate itself from broader membership in the international community. 

Sixteen women applied to run to serve on the Assembly of Experts. All were prohibited from running.

3,000 reform-minded candidates sought to run for the Iranian parliament. Only one percent of those 3,000 were approved.

Even Hassan Khomeini — the grandson of Ayatollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic of Iran — was rejected as a candidate for being too moderate.

These disqualifications reflect the regime’s rejection of basic democratic norms — and serve as a reminder of the urgency with which we have to continue to scrutinize Iran’s behavior.

Tomorrow’s elections won’t change Iran’s aggressive behavior in the region or transform the political power structure within the Islamic Republic of Iran, which is still dominated by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Despite what some may hope, the Supreme Leader seems unwilling to allow even a modicum of dissent inside Iran.

These elections are likely nothing more than a guise to give the international community the impression that Iranians have a real voice in choosing their elected officials. While we should hope for future moderation, we should expect the status quo because at its core, Iran remains a revolutionary regime that supports terrorism as a central tool of its national foreign policy. U.S. policymakers have to remain clear-eyed about that reality as we seek to effectively and aggressively enforce the nuclear deal and push back against Iranian aggression in the region.

Mr. President, I urge my colleagues, the Administration, and the American people to pay close attention not just to tomorrow’s Iranian elections, but to Iran’s actions in the weeks, months, and years to come.

I commend the Administration for one action it took this week. It indicted four individuals who violated previously existing U.S. sanctions against Iran. This decision sends another important signal that, despite the nuclear deal, sanctions that remain on the books, and companies who violate them remain a significant barrier, and that companies should not rush to do business with Iran.

Only by continuing to enforce existing sanctions — only by continuing to hold Iran to its commitments in the nuclear agreement — only by pushing back against Iran’s support for terrorist proxies, its human rights abuses, and its illegal ballistic missile tests — will we demonstrate that we’re serious about holding the regime accountable for its actions. 

Only by viewing Iran through the right lens — a lens of wariness and suspicion, not trust — can we continue to protect our national security and the safety of our regional allies, especially Israel.

A nuclear deal with a nation like Iran does not make that regime our ally or our friend, and having an election does not make a democracy.

But it does make a statement.

VIDEO: Ignoring SCOTUS nominee ‘an elementary-school response, not a grown-up response,’ says Senator Coons

Senator Coons: “For the Senate of the United States to simply go ‘nah nah nah nah’…that’s not ‘advise and consent.’”

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” this morning to discuss the vacant Supreme Court seat and Senate Republicans’ intentions to ignore any consideration of a nominee for the seat.  

Transcript from this morning’s broadcast:

Jonathan Capehart: “The question is about the Supreme Court and the President’s potential nominee and just to get your reaction to what Leader McConnell said yesterday and the Senate Judiciary Chairman, Senator Grassley, basically saying to the President: ‘Fine, nominate someone, but that nominee won’t even get a hearing, won’t even be welcomed in the Capitol’… 

Senator Coons:

“This is a sad development. This is a striking development. In the century since the Judiciary Committee was formed in the Senate, every single nominee has gotten a hearing, has gotten a vote on the Senate floor and in the committee.

Just because this is the eighth year of the President’s two term Presidency doesn’t mean that there’s anything in the Constitution that says he doesn’t have a right to send up a nominee and that we don’t have a role to perform advise and consent.

“And for the Senate of the United States to simply go ‘nah, nah, nah, nah’…that’s not advise and consent. That’s an elementary-school response, not a grown-up response.”

Sen. Coons says Obama should nominate a centrist for the Supreme Court

Delaware Senator also says critics of then-Senator Biden’s 1992 speech are “wildly over-reading”

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) told reporters this morning that he believes President Obama should nominate a centrist judge for the vacant seat on the Supreme Court.  He also discussed misguided criticism of remarks regarding the Supreme Court confirmation process made by then-Delaware Senator Joseph R. Biden in 1992.

Excerpts from The Washington Times’ article:

“[Sen. Coons] pressed Mr. Obama to nominate a balanced, centrist nominee who both parties can rally behind, saying it would be misguided to push for a liberal firebrand who serves as a mirror image of Scalia, the outspoken conservative. ‘I don’t think this moment calls for that,’ Mr. Coons said.”

“Mr. Coons said that critics are ‘wildly over-reading’ Mr. Biden’s lengthy speech, saying the then-senator left the door open to a compromise nominee who would be moderate enough to win his support.  He also said Mr. Biden, as chairman of the Judiciary Committee, confirmed a series of circuit and district judges all the way up to September in an election year, so his actions should speak louder than his words that day. ‘Regardless of the debate over what was said, I point towards what he did,’ said Mr. Coons, who was elected in 2010 to succeed Ted Kaufman, the caretaker senator who held the Delaware seat after Mr. Biden rose with Mr. Obama in 2008.”

“Mr. Coons said he thinks there are plenty of Senate Republicans who want to hold hearings on Mr. Obama’s eventual nominee — even beyond Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois and Susan Collins of Maine, who have said as much. He also challenged Mr. McConnell to stick by his promise to open up the Senate floor.”

Read the full article here: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/feb/23/chris-coons-supreme-court-pick-chance-heal-senate/  

Senator Coons op-ed: Fifty years later, our march for equality and justice continues

Senator Coons to host civil rights icon and Congressman John Lewis in Delaware March 4 for town hall on civil rights issues

Senator Coons: “I know of no stronger voice for equality and justice in all forms than John Lewis, and there is no one I’d rather welcome to Delaware to discuss how far we’ve come since that day in Alabama, and how far we have yet to go”

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) authored an op-ed in the News Journal on today’s ongoing civil rights challenges. Senator Coons argues America must work to restore the Voting Rights Act, restore police-community relations, and reform our criminal justice system. Senator Coons also honors Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) and his dedication to fighting for civil rights.

Congressman Lewis will travel to Wilmington, Delaware on March 4th to join Senator Coons and Congressman John Carney (D-Del.) for a town hall discussion on civil rights issues.

The discussion will be held at the DoubleTree Hotel (700 North King Street, Wilmington). The event is free and open to the public, but RSVP is required: http://www.coons.senate.gov/johnlewis

News Journal: Fifty years later, our march for equality and justice continues

By Senator Chris Coons 

Over fifty years ago, 600 demonstrators gathered at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, to begin a long march to the Alabama State Capitol to demand that Governor George Wallace tear down barriers to voting.

In what became known as Bloody Sunday, police officers and a posse of local sheriff’s deputies on horseback armed with guns, tear gas, and clubs wrapped with barbed wire stood waiting at the bridge’s far side. While the marchers didn’t make it across the bridge that day, in many respects, their efforts took them – and our nation – further than they could have hoped.

Few know that as well as John Lewis, then a college organizer and chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, who was brutally beaten and had his skull fractured that morning. Since 1987, he’s represented Atlanta in Congress, and on Friday, March 4 – nearly 51 years to the day since he led that march in Selma – I’m honored to welcome Congressman Lewis to Delaware.

I know of no stronger voice for equality and justice in all forms than John Lewis, and there is no one I’d rather welcome to Delaware to discuss how far we’ve come since that day in Alabama, and how far we have yet to go.

When Congressman Lewis, Hosea Williams and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. marched in Selma, they knew that the fight for civil rights was not a Southern debate, but an American one. These leaders understood that real progress would only be possible by challenging the entire country’s conscience, and the national mobilization they led ignited President Lyndon Johnson’s push for the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which became law only months later.

Fifty years later, however, that same Voting Rights Act has been gutted by a Supreme Court decision premised on the false belief that restrictive voting laws are a thing of the past. Since that 2013 decision, jurisdictions across the country have enacted voting laws previously deemed illegal, cutting short early voting and registration periods, and redrawing districts in ways designed to elect fewer African-Americans.

In Congress, I’ve partnered with Congressman Lewis and a number of our colleagues in both the House and Senate to introduce a new Voting Rights Act, but our work is about more than just fair access to the ballot box. From the deaths of unarmed African-Americans in Ferguson, Baltimore, and other cities across the country, to the ongoing violence plaguing our hometown of Wilmington, the events of 2015 remind us that continuing our nation’s civil rights journey demands the engagement of every American.

For one, we have to repair the strained relationship between many police departments and the communities they serve. Especially in minority communities, police officers have sometimes come to be seen more as an occupying force than as a partner. The erosion of trust between law enforcement and citizens undermines the safety of both the community and the officers called to protect us.

We must also reform a criminal justice system that has too often trapped young men of color early in their lives, making it exceedingly difficult for them to get back on their feet even after they’ve paid their debt to society. Delaware’s population is 22 percent black, but African-Americans make up nearly 60 percent of sentenced prison inmates, a discrepancy that is even greater among young men. Mass incarceration tears families apart, denies economic opportunity to our most depressed communities, and ultimately prevents 1 in 13 African-Americans nationally from exercising the right to vote.

This reality is unwise and unjust. We must take action by restoring the Voting Rights Act and improve police-community relations. In addition, several bipartisan bills to reform our criminal justice system – which I have supported and cosponsored – have been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee, but have waited too long for a vote by the full Senate.

Still, today’s ongoing civil rights challenges have not happened in isolation. It is no coincidence that communities struggling with drugs or violence are often saddled with poorly performing schools and suffer from limited economic opportunity. When the zip code in which a child is born largely determines that child’s future, we are not fulfilling our fundamental promise to give every American the opportunity to succeed.

At the end of the day, we are all neighbors and must embrace these challenges as our shared responsibility to each other. As Congressman Lewis put it recently, “we have come a great distance in this country in the [last] 50 years, but we still have a great distance to go before we can fulfill the dream of Martin Luther King, Jr.”

The fearless marchers in Selma awakened the country by reminding us of the gross injustices that threatened the American experiment. We have come a long way since Bloody Sunday, but our work is far from finished. I hope you’ll join us March 4th to hear directly from one of those marchers, a man who was beaten and arrested more than 40 time during the civil rights struggle, one of its greatest leaders, and yet someone who continues to march on to this day.

Chris Coons is a U.S. Senator representing Delaware. 

Sen. Coons’ statement on DuPont and Dow plans to locate headquarters of post-merger agriculture company in Delaware

DuPont and Dow announced today in a joint release that Delaware will be the location for the headquarters of the Agriculture company they intend to create after completion of their proposed merger. The headquarters will include the CEO office and key corporate support functions. Once it is officially created, the new company will be a global leader in the Agriculture industry and will be well positioned for significant future growth.

In December, DuPont and Dow announced that they would also be headquartering in Delaware the Specialty Products business that would be established after the merger. Today’s decision means that the headquarters of two out of the three companies being created as a result of the planned separations following the merger of Dow and DuPont will be located in Delaware. The total combined revenue of the Agriculture and Specialty Products businesses will be greater than the revenue of DuPont today.

“We needed some good news today, and we got it,” said U.S. Sen. Chris Coons. “Today we learned that DowDuPont will locate headquarters for their post-merger agriculture business in Delaware, which is a testament to DuPont’s world-class workforce in Delaware. This is a positive step for the continuing relationship between Delaware and DowDuPont. While we aren’t entirely out of the woods yet, this is a positive sign that the leadership of DowDuPont remains committed in this important sector to their roots as a Delaware company. Despite this good news, it’s important to remember that many Delawareans are nonetheless being laid off or otherwise negatively impacted by this merger, so I will remain vigilant in protecting retirees’ benefits and pensions and working with laid off DuPont employees now searching for new employment.”

Senator Coons, Congressman Carney to host town hall discussion in Wilmington with civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis

WILMINGTON, Del. – Civil rights icon and U.S. Representative John Lewis (D-Ga.) will travel to Wilmington, Delaware on March 4^th to join U.S. Senator Chris Coons for a town hall discussion at the DoubleTree Hotel (700 North King Street, Wilmington) at 1:30 p.m. Senator Coons and Representative Lewis will discuss a wide range of civil rights issues, including his historic role in the civil rights movement in America.

The event, titled, “50 Years After Selma: Civil Rights in America,” is cosponsored by the Metropolitan Wilmington Urban League Young Professionals and Bank of America.

The event is free and open to the public, but guests are required to RSVP at coons.senate.gov/johnlewis.

“The civil rights movement that started in the 1950s and 1960s with heroes like Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis continues today in Washington, DC, Wilmington, and communities across the country,” said Senator Coons. “I am honored to have John Lewis join us in Wilmington for a day to discuss his lifetime of work leading the civil rights movement and the challenges we still face today.”

Rep. John Lewis has dedicated his life to protecting human rights, securing civil liberties, and building what he calls “The Beloved Community” in America. His dedication to the highest ethical standards and moral principles has won him the admiration of many of his colleagues on both sides of the aisle in the United States Congress. John Lewis has been called “the conscience of the U.S. Congress,” and Roll Call magazine has said, “John Lewis…is a genuine American hero and moral leader who commands widespread respect in the chamber.”

Senator Coons oped in The Guardian: It’s a nuclear agreement, not a business opportunity

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, penned an oped for today’s edition of one of Europe’s largest newspapers, The Guardian, in which he urged European countries to be cautious in signing multi-billion-dollar business deals with Iran and strengthening economic ties with the Iranian regime. 

Read the oped online here: http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/16/iran-deal-signatories-its-a-nuclear-agreement-not-a-business-opportunity

Excerpts:

“While every business deal with Iran is not inherently dangerous, I’m increasingly concerned that in some quarters, the nuclear agreement is viewed less as a matter of keeping Iran from building a nuclear weapon, and more as a business opportunity. The headlines in recent weeks have been startling.”

“We must all remember that the most important contract with Iran is the one we’ve already signed: the nuclear agreement. Until we can enforce that contract, we must not rush to sign new ones that put the effectiveness of the first one in jeopardy.”

The full oped is below:

Iran deal signatories: it’s a nuclear agreement, not a business opportunity

By U.S. Senator Chris Coons

In a testament to the power of multilateral diplomacy and the enduring strength of the transatlantic alliance, the international community came together last summer to craft a complex agreement to restrain Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

As the Iran deal moves forward, I recognize that European companies will pursue business opportunities there. But I urge these companies to keep in mind three important points.

First, US and UN sanctions against Iran for its human rights abuses, ballistic missile program and support for terrorism remain on the books, and the United States continues to enforce them.

Second, preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon must remain a higher priority than pursuing commercial opportunities. The United States will continue to rely on the stated shared commitments from our European partners to deal with Iran in the same way.

This brings me to my third point: Iran remains a revolutionary regime, and companies eager to do business with Iran and its state-owned enterprises must proceed with the utmost caution.

While every business deal with Iran is not inherently dangerous, I’m increasingly concerned that in some quarters, the nuclear agreement is viewed less as a matter of keeping Iran from building a nuclear weapon, and more as a business opportunity. The headlines in recent weeks have been startling.

The New Yorker declared that “Iran is Back in Business”, and did so with good reason.

During a visit to France just days after “Implementation Day” of the agreement – when the international community certified that Iran had complied with many of the terms of the deal, triggering a lifting of economic sanctions – a smiling Hassan Rouhani, the Iranian president, welcomed investments totaling more than €420m ($473m) from French carmaker Peugeot. Iran also reached an agreement to purchase 114 aircraft from France-based Airbus for its state-backed carrier, Iran Air.

In Italy, businesses quickly signed multibillion-dollar contracts with the Iranians. Italian oil and gas giant Saipem has already reached an agreement to revitalize Iran’s Pars Shiraz and Tabriz oil refineries, and according to CNN the Italian manufacturer Danieli said it signed agreements worth €5.7bn ($6.4m) “to supply heavy machinery and equipment to Iran”.

Though the UK was not part of Rouhani’s tour, British foreign secretary Phillip Hammond’s rhetoric foreshadowed similar intentions: “I hope British businesses seize the opportunities available to them through the phased lifting of sanctions on Iran.”

To be certain, the lifting of crippling economic sanctions that brought Iran’s economy to a standstill over the past several years was the primary incentive for Iran to agree to the nuclear deal in the first place. Still, the willingness of a number of nations to economically embrace the Iranian regime must not keep us from enforcing Iran’s important commitments to limit its nuclear program.

America alone could not have forced Iran to the negotiating table and pressured it to agree to the terms of the nuclear deal. That required an international commitment, and we’re grateful for the partnership of our allies in Europe. As we move forward, let us do so cautiously and wary of the potential need to reinstate sanctions should Iran violate the terms of the agreement.

The mechanism by which sanctions can “snap back” into place under the nuclear agreement is clear: if any of the signatories of the agreement have any reason to believe that another party is not upholding its commitments under the agreement, that party can refer the issue to a joint commission for resolution and seek to reimpose full or partial sanctions.

Iran will continue to seek economic relief and test our willingness to enforce the terms of the nuclear agreement. In the months to come, I encourage the permanent members of the UN security council, Germany and the European Union to acknowledge that certain sanctions remain in place, and importantly, I ask that we restate publicly our shared commitments to put national security before economic interests.

At the same time, I call upon our European allies and all member-states of the International Atomic Energy Agency to work with the United States to provide sustained funding to allow the organization to effectively monitor and inspect Iran’s nuclear program. As a US Senator and a supporter of the nuclear agreement, I will continue to press my colleagues and the administration to do our part to fund the IAEA and reassure our Middle Eastern allies that we remain steadfastly committed to their safety.

We must all remember that the most important contract with Iran is the one we’ve already signed: the nuclear agreement. Until we can enforce that contract, we must not rush to sign new ones that put the effectiveness of the first one in jeopardy.

Sen. Coons’ statement on passing of Justice Scalia

Senator Coons presented with “Champion of the Inventor” award from Innovation Alliance

Wilmington, DE – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del) was recognized today by Innovation Alliance a “Champion of the Inventor” in celebration of National Inventors’ Day, and for his support for the American inventor and strong U.S. Patent System.

“America’s patent system has long been the bedrock of our country’s ability to innovate and grow our economy,” said Senator Coons. “I’m honored to be recognized by the Innovation Alliance, an organization that has worked tirelessly to protect America’s inventors large and small. I’m proud of the progress we’ve made in the Senate from raising serious concerns about overbroad patent reform to passing bipartisan legislation out of committee to help American businesses protect the trade secrets that drive their growth. I will continue to fight for patent reform that works for all inventors and strikes the right balance between incentivizing innovation and promoting collaboration.”

“The American inventor has always been important to our nation’s success,” said Brian Pomper, Executive Director of the Innovation Alliance. “Senators Ayotte and Coons have long supported inventors and the strong intellectual property rights that drive U.S. innovation and competitiveness.  As we celebrate National Inventors’ Day, it is appropriate that we honor these two Congressional champions of American inventors.”

“Companies like ours that make long-term investments in R&D depend on a strong U.S. patent licensing system, and we’re very proud that our home-state senator, Chris Coons, is so instrumental in leading the effort to preserve the strength of American innovation and its economic contributions,” said William J. Merritt, President and CEO of InterDigital, Inc. “As an innovator himself and an advocate for American ingenuity, Chris Coons has been at the forefront of a level-headed, fact-based approach to intellectual property policy.”   

President Ronald Reagan designated February 11 as National Inventors’ Day in honor of inventor Thomas Edison’s birthday and in “recognition of the enormous contribution inventors make to the nation and the world.”