Senator Coons: Support Tunisia, the Arab Spring’s sole success

WASHINGTON – In case you missed it, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees, published an oped in today’s edition of The Hill urging Congress to fully fund the President’s request for bilateral funding to assist and reinforce Tunisia’s transition to democracy, stability, and prosperity.

Support Tunisia, the Arab Spring’s sole success

By Chris Coons

http://thehill.com/blogs/congress-blog/foreign-policy/260603-support-tunisia-the-arab-springs-sole-success

Almost five years ago, the Arab Spring swept through cities like Tunis, Cairo, Tripoli, and Sana’a, threatening and even toppling dictators and oppressive governments across the Arab world. Since those exciting and hopeful days, we’ve seen Syria and Yemen descend into bloody civil wars and watched the authoritarian regimes of Muammar Qaddafi in Libya and Hosni Mubarak in Egypt fall, only to be replaced by instability and competing governments.

Despite the many disappointments in the wake of the Arab Spring, though, one nation has held onto the hope of the movement and today continues to advance the principles that inspired millions of Arabs to call for greater legitimacy and transparency in their governments. 

This lone success story is Tunisia, the birthplace of the region’s fight for democracy, freedom, and the rule of law. As Congress decides in the coming weeks how to use our annual spending bill to encourage peace and stability around the world, we cannot overlook the importance of adequately supporting the extraordinary progress the Tunisian people have already made.

Since the Jasmine Revolution toppled former President Zine El Abedine Ben Ali and ended his decades of authoritarian rule, Tunisia has managed to avoid civil war and the forces of authoritarianism and instability that plague so many of its neighbors. Rather than succumbing to political and sectarian squabbling, the Tunisian people resolved their differences at the ballot box. In the summer of 2013, the Islamist-led post-revolutionary leadership worked together with opposition parties to promote a peaceful political process rooted in consensus, the rule of law, and respect for human rights. 

These peaceful negotiations were led by the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet, a coalition of civil society organizations that offered a viable alternative to violence, political assassinations, and civil unrest. The Quartet’s pluralistic process led to the adoption of a new, progressive constitution in early 2014, followed later that year by free and fair elections that formally ended a string of transitional governments in the capital of Tunis. In October 2015, the international community recognized the impressive work of the Quartet by awarding it the Nobel Peace Prize.

Now, thanks to a budget agreement reached by the White House and bipartisan congressional leaders, the United States has an opportunity to support the promising but still tenuous Tunisian democracy by providing critical financial aid at a time when Tunis needs it most. In his fiscal year 2016 budget, the President requested $134 million in bilateral assistance for Tunisia. House leaders have fulfilled that request in their appropriations bill, but the Senate has failed to match that commitment, allocating only $87 million for Tunisia, not even two-thirds of the President’s request. 

Just last month, a group of 114 foreign policy experts – including a bipartisan group of former Sens. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), Tom Daschle (D-S.D.), and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) – urged both chambers of Congress to fully fund bilateral assistance for Tunisia and specifically noted that the funding shortfall proposed by Senate appropriators has drawn intense public scrutiny in Tunisia, where it has been perceived as a sign of waning U.S. commitment. 

At a dangerous and unstable time for North Africa and the Middle East, we should not squander any chance to reinforce the foundations of a fledgling democracy that needs support to sustain itself and grow. U.S. aid allows Tunisia to continue to provide greater security for its people at a time when the institutions the Quartet worked so hard to build remain under threat. Despite their progress, the Tunisian people face serious challenges in solidifying their democracy. Their leaders must implement major, politically difficult economic reforms to combat high inflation and widespread unemployment, especially among youth. They must also begin to address security threats from violent extremist groups operating within their borders and in neighboring Libya.

I visited Tunisia in April, a few weeks after terrorists linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) killed 22 people at the Bardo Museum. This tragedy was followed in July by an ISIL-inspired attack on a beach in Sousse, which killed 38 people. These attacks not only threaten the tourism sector upon which the Tunisian economy depends but also pose a grave threat to the stability the Tunisian people deserve.

This violence shows clearly that the dangerous political and economic forces plaguing the rest of the region also threaten Tunisia’s democratic transition. If the violence and economic stagnation in Tunisia persist or worsen, and the government is unable to offer stability and economic opportunity to its citizens, its democracy may stagnate or collapse. Such a result would discredit the promise of democratic government not only in Tunisia, but throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It would also send the wrong message to the people of Tunisia who rose up in support of democracy, transparency, and accountability.

In the United States, we believe strongly in the roles of democratic institutions, in the importance of religious freedom and economic opportunity, and in the sanctity of human rights. That’s why it is in America’s interest to see that a pluralist democracy and a vibrant economy develop in Tunisia. Our leadership role in global affairs demands that our actions back up our words, so we must fully fund the President’s request for bilateral funding to assist and reinforce Tunisia’s transition to democracy, stability, and prosperity.

Tunisia has made extraordinary progress and proved true the old Tunisian proverb that “the multitude is stronger than the king.” America was founded on the same conviction. Now it is up to us to show that this principle still rings true.

Coons is Delaware’s junior senator, serving since(D-Del.) serves as a member of the Foreign Relations and Appropriations Committees. He traveled to Tunisia in April.

VIDEO: Senator Coons: “Unacceptable” to use Appropriations process to roll back Wall Street reform

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), the top Democrat on the Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) Appropriations Subcommittee, today spoke on the Senate floor to urge his colleagues to pass a full omnibus spending agreement that adheres to the bipartisan budget deal agreed to in October between Democrat and Republican leaders and the White House without adding ‘poison pill’ riders, specifically those that would dismantle Wall Street reform.

Excerpts from Senator Coons’ remarks below:

“Now, barely three weeks later, barely three weeks since bipartisan majorities approved the agreement – in both letter and spirit– here we are again, staring down a potential government shutdown we all thought we’d avoided because there are some insistence here, some colleagues who are insisting on poisoning the very appropriations bills with policy riders that they know are opposed and that would undermine the ability of the federal government to function.

“Let’s be clear – the policy riders we’re discussing, the policy riders I’m objecting to, don’t represent a good-faith policy debate. These are predominately partisan political priorities that Republicans are otherwise unwilling to otherwise bring to the floor of this chamber because they know they aren’t popular with the American people.

“As the Ranking Member of the Financial Services Appropriation Subcommittee, I want to be clear that it’s particularly unacceptable to me to use the appropriations process to roll back the many of the critical Wall Street reforms put in place over five years ago in response to the financial crisis that was devastating to the economy, to families, and to businesses throughout Delaware and the country. 

“If the Majority wants to bring a bill to the floor that rolls back some of the key consumer protections put in place in the Dodd-Frank bill – then let’s have that debate. Frankly, it is a debate we have been at times engaged in on large- and small-scale issues.

“The problem for my colleagues is that they don’t have enough support in the Senate to pass these changes in a standalone bill. That’s why they’ve taken the troubling step of jamming a 200 page bill, an entire banking bill, loaded with controversial riders right into a must-pass, last-minute government funding bill.

Senator Coons’ full remarks below: 

“Mr. President, just three, short weeks ago, many of us, many of my colleagues, enthusiastically welcomed the budget agreement reached between the White House and Congressional leaders of both parties.

“It was a budget agreement that put aside the short-term, shutdown politics and gave us the opportunity to finally give American families and businesses the longer-term economic certainty they need and deserve.

“It was a budget agreement that made balanced increases in both defense and non-defense discretionary spending – increases that were fully paid for. 

“It was a budget agreement that was negotiated in good faith by Republican and Democratic leadership and the White House. 

“It was just a preview of what we might be able to accomplish if we put the politics of the moment, the partisan politics of the 2016 campaigns and other issues aside and actually focused on getting some things done.

“Now, barely three weeks later, barely three weeks since bipartisan majorities approved the agreement – in both letter and spirit– here we are again, staring down a potential government shutdown we all thought we’d avoided because there are some insistence here, some colleagues who are insisting on poisoning the very appropriations bills with policy riders that they know are opposed and that would undermine the ability of the federal government to function.

“Let’s be clear – the policy riders we’re discussing, the policy riders I’m objecting to, don’t represent a good-faith policy debate. These are predominately partisan political priorities that Republicans are otherwise unwilling to otherwise bring to the floor of this chamber because they know they aren’t popular with the American people.

“For example, we should not be using, in my view, the appropriations process to try and dismantle or sideline the Environmental Protection Agency and put clean air, and clean water, and climate action at risk. 

“If the Majority wants to make devastating cuts to Planned Parenthood – which more than 8,000 residents of my home state of Delaware rely on for health care and family planning – I think my colleagues should bring it to the floor in a separate bill so the American people know that that is the focus of the legislation. 

“Mr. President, I join my colleagues today to make it clear that we’re not going to use the appropriations process to pass narrow, ideological riders that would not otherwise have been considered on this floor and not made it through the appropriate process.

“As the Ranking Member of the Financial Services Appropriation Subcommittee, I want to be clear that it’s particularly unacceptable to me to use the appropriations process to roll back the many of the critical Wall Street reforms put in place over five years ago in response to the financial crisis that was devastating to the economy, to families, and to businesses throughout Delaware and the country. 

“If the Majority wants to bring a bill to the floor that rolls back some of the key consumer protections put in place in the Dodd-Frank bill – then let’s have that debate. Frankly, it is a debate we have been at times engaged in on large- and small-scale issues.

“The problem for my colleagues is that they don’t have enough support in the Senate to pass these changes in a standalone bill. That’s why they’ve taken the troubling step of jamming a 200 page bill, an entire banking bill, loaded with controversial riders right into a must-pass, last-minute government funding bill. 

“Mr. President, ask my colleagues – it is my hope, my expectation that many of my Republican colleagues would say that I give honest and thorough consideration to new policy proposals – even ones I’m disinclined to agree with.

“And I’m open to discussing ways to improve existing reforms so we don’t unfairly burden, for example, small community banks that were not responsible for the financial crisis. No legislation is perfect, but compromising and improving is what authorizing bills, policymaking bills are all about. But the examples that I just referenced are a few of many areas that should not be jammed into an appropriations bill last minute without being thoroughly and carefully vetted by the authorizing committee.

“It would be difficult for me today to address all the different policy riders that are in the various pieces of the appropriations bill currently under consideration. They range from education, health, labor, natural resources, environment, civil rights, justice, housing, immigration, voting rights, telecommunications  – to name just a few.

“But Mr. President, our budgets, how we spend the taxpayers’ dollars, are a reflection of our priorities. But there’s a substantial difference between using the appropriations process to support a specific program or department or federal activity, and using it to sneak around the legislative process and to jam new, big changes into last minute appropriations bills.

“So instead of manufacturing another crisis here in the days ahead, instead of having to look over the cliff of a government shutdown, let’s get back to a regular order, to fulfill our responsibility to responsibly fund the government, and – separately – engage in positive discussions about how we can make the policy changes we need to ensure that our economy is competitive, that our country is innovative, and that our society continues to benefit from the work we all do here together.    

“Mr. President, Paul Ryan has barely had time to set up his new office and settle into his new role – and we’re already back in crisis mode, walking back an agreement that, as I said at the outset, a majority of this Congress supported. And a majority of America cheered. 

“So I urge my colleagues to put the middle class and the stability and future of our economy ahead of partisan politics. Let’s negotiate a clean, honest, a clear, omnibus spending bill that is free of poison pill policy riders that only serve to divide this body and unite special interests that at times work against us. 

“Thank you, M. President. I yield the floor.”

Senators Coons, Carper urge highway bill conferees to shorten multi-year transportation bill, maximize investments in crumbling infrastructure

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons and Tom Carper (both D-DE) today sent a letter to House-Senate conferees negotiating a final Highway and Transportation Bill compromise, urging them to focus on our nation’s crumbling infrastructure by shortening the authorization period for the bill and using the savings to maximize annual investment levels for all surface transportation programs. 

Sens. Booker (D-NJ), Bennet (D-CO), Blumenthal (D-CT), Cantwell (D-Wash), Cardin (D-MD), Casey (D-PA), Feinstein (D-CA), Franken(D-MN), Gillibrand (D-NY), Kaine (D-VA),  King (I-ME), Klobuchar(D-MN), Manchin (D-WV), Merkley(D-OR), Markey (D-MA), Menendez(D-NJ), Murphy (D-CT), Peters (D-MI), Reed(D-RI), Sanders (D-VT), Schatz (D-HI) Stabenow(D-MI), Udall (D-NM), Warner(D-VA), Warren (D-MA), and Whitehouse (D-WI) also joined the letter. 

“As you begin conference negotiations to reconcile House and Senate proposals for a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, we urge you to consider the urgent need for an increase in infrastructure investment around the country, and report a final proposal that can best address these needs by maximizing annual investment levels for all surface transportation programs over a shorter authorization period… The impact of underinvestment on American businesses and families is real. The average driver spends 42 hours in traffic each year – the equivalent of an entire workweek, while burning through 2.9 billion gallons of gasoline. The poor conditions of our roadways increases auto repair and maintenance costs by over $500 per vehicle. American businesses pay $27 billion a year in extra freight transportation costs, increasing shipping delays and raising prices on everyday products. Despite record ridership levels, on-time performance of many passenger rail routes continues to decline due to lack of federal investment, causing frequent delays for millions of passengers. Our crumbling infrastructure is also a serious safety concern. Poor roadway conditions were a significant factor in approximately one-third of the more than 33,000 traffic fatalities last year, ”the Senators wrote.

The Senators conclude, “While the proposed Senate investment levels exceed baseline funding, they would still only be sufficient to cover expected increases in construction materials costs. These funding levels are certainly insufficient to rebuild and modernize our nation’s transportation infrastructure.”

Full text of the letter follows: 

Dear Conferees:

As you begin conference negotiations to reconcile House and Senate proposals for a multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill, we urge you to consider the urgent need for an increase in infrastructure investment around the country, and report a final proposal that can best address these needs by maximizing annual investment levels for all surface transportation programs over a shorter authorization period.

Both the House and Senate versions of the legislation contain numerous policy reforms that will help to address America’s infrastructure challenges.  However, no set of policy reforms can substitute for what is truly needed to make significant progress toward rebuilding and modernizing our nation’s infrastructure: funding.

Over the past 20 years, total federal, state, and local investment in transportation has fallen as a share of GDP, while population, congestion, and maintenance backlogs have increased. In fact, America’s investment in transportation as a share of GDP is at its lowest point in decades, falling more than 50 percent since 1962. Sixty-five percent of America’s major roads are rated in less than good condition, one in four bridges require significant repair or cannot handle today’s traffic, and forty five percent of Americans lack access to transit.

The impact of underinvestment on American businesses and families is real. The average driver spends 42 hours in traffic each year – the equivalent of an entire workweek, while burning through 2.9 billion gallons of gasoline. The poor conditions of our roadways increases auto repair and maintenance costs by over $500 per vehicle. American businesses pay $27 billion a year in extra freight transportation costs, increasing shipping delays and raising prices on everyday products. Despite record ridership levels, on-time performance of many passenger rail routes continues to decline due to lack of federal investment, causing frequent delays for millions of passengers. Our crumbling infrastructure is also a serious safety concern. Poor roadway conditions were a significant factor in approximately one-third of the more than 33,000 traffic fatalities last year.

As others have pointed out, prior to MAP-21, each successive transportation package contained significant increases in annual funding levels. While the proposed Senate investment levels exceed baseline funding, they would still only be sufficient to cover expected increases in construction materials costs. These funding levels are certainly insufficient to rebuild and modernize our nation’s transportation infrastructure.

With all this in mind, we strongly urge you to finalize a surface transportation conference report that can provide the maximum amount of benefits to American families and businesses by prioritizing increased investment for all surface transportation programs over the length of the authorization.

Senator Coons’ statement on University of Delaware President Announcement

Wilmington, DE — U.S. Sen. Chris Coons released this statement following the news that the University of Delaware’s Board of Trustees voted today to name Dennis Assanis president of the university:

“Congratulations to the University of Delaware community on the naming of the University of Delaware’s new president, Dennis Assanis,” said Sen. Coons.

“I want to thank interim president Nancy Targett for taking up the position and holding the office during the search. She has done an excellent job in helping to guide the process. I look forward to working with her and her team again when she returns as the head of the College of Earth, Ocean & Environment.

“I welcome President Assanis to Delaware and to the University community. I look forward to working with him and his administration on advancing the University’s academic excellence and internationally known research facilities as well as working together to address challenges at UD,  such as college accessibility, affordability, and student diversity.”

Bipartisan bill encourages Americans to complete ‘advance directives,’ plan for life-sustaining health decisions

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) and U.S. Representatives Diane Black (R-Tenn.), Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) today introduced legislation to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to create electronic advance directives, legal documents that allow patients to clearly articulate their preferences for their medical care should they suffer from a debilitating illness or condition. The Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act would offer a small, one-time financial incentive to encourage Medicare beneficiaries to provide clear legal guidance to their medical providers and family members should they become incapable of speaking for themselves.  With recent attention on the announcement from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to pay physicians for advance care planning, this legislation would incentivize Medicare beneficiaries themselves to create and register a certified and secure advance directive online.  In addition, the bill would provide beneficiaries with access to a website with model advance directives representing a range of options.

According to a 2006 study by the Pew Research Center, 70 percent of Americans have thought about their health care preferences should they be faced with a life-threatening illness or injury, but only one-third have completed an advance directive. Under the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act, Medicare beneficiaries would be able to voluntarily create and register an electronic advance directive with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) at any time. Advance directives would be created through, and maintained by, outside organizations certified by CMS, and could be modified or terminated at any time by the beneficiary. An advance directive would include any written statement that outlines the kind of treatment and care a beneficiary wants or does not want under certain conditions, and can include identification of a health care proxy. Beneficiaries would also receive a small, one-time incentive for registering an electronic advance directive.

To address concerns about confidentiality, the Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act requires both CMS and outside groups maintaining advance directives to hold the highest standards for privacy and security protection as well as system functionality. CMS would only keep track of the certified organization through which a beneficiary has created an advance directive and would not keep a database of these documents. The bill does not interfere with any state laws governing advance directives.  

Read a one-page summary of the legislation here: http://1.usa.gov/1OdT2Qn

“Every American deserves the opportunity to make his or her own health care decisions, but too often, people don’t make plans for their medical care in a situation where they cannot speak for themselves,” Senator Coons said. “Too many Americans leave their medical wishes to chance or rely on distraught family members to make decisions for them. This bill will encourage more Americans to make proactive choices about their medical care, reducing confusion and heartache and empowering individuals to spend their final days on their own terms. I’m proud of the broad coalition of palliative care experts and religious organizations that support our bill and understand the overwhelming need to encourage people to have these difficult, but critically important conversations.”

“As a long-term care nurse, I saw the pain that so many experienced while grappling with medical decisions for a loved one who can no longer speak for themselves. That is why I am proud to sponsor this legislation incentivizing Medicare beneficiaries to make a plan that puts them in charge of life-sustaining health care decisions, not a faceless government bureaucrat looking for a quick way to cut costs. By encouraging seniors to create an advance directives document, we can ensure their wishes are honored and that, even amid catastrophic circumstances, the sanctity of life is preserved and protected,” said Congressman Diane Black.

“With this legislation, patients are more likely to decide beforehand how they wish to be treated at the end of their life. This allows the patient to communicate to her or his doctor and to their family their end of life wishes,” said Dr. Bill Cassidy.

“Every person has a right to determine their own end-of-life care,” said Rep. Thompson. “This bill will help put Medicare patients in charge their own end-of-life health care decisions by providing patients with the tools they need to direct their own care. I worked on this issue in the California State Senate and I am proud to continue this work to empower patients.”

“The National Right to Life Committee supports the ‘Medicare Choices Empowerment and Protection Act’ because the bill provides for neutrally enabling older Americans and others clearly to state their wishes concerning the provision of life-saving medical treatment. The pro-life movement has been concerned that advance care planning is too often used, in an effort both to cut health care spending and advance the quality of life ethic, to ‘nudge’ people to agree to reject life-saving measures (including assisted feeding) using unbalanced, distorted, and even false data. By contrast, this bill would create and promote a government website that gives a choice of alternative advance directive forms, including those that direct treatment and assisted feeding, like our own ‘Will to Live.’ It would ensure that the online providers of advance directives to be promoted by Medicare must ensure their documents comply with State laws, including those that contain important informed consent safeguards.  The bill would require that Medicare beneficiaries be told, ‘You should not feel pressured to violate your own values and preferences, and you are entitled to implement them without discrimination based on age or degree of disability.’ We urge swift Congressional passage to bring safeguards and balance to federally funded advance care planning,” said Burke Balch., director of the National Right to Life Committee’s Powell Center for Medical Ethics.

“Advance Care Planning is becoming increasingly important due, in part, to increasing numbers of us living longer with advanced illness or infirmity often losing decision making capacity along the way,” said John Goodill, MD, Director, Palliative Care Education and Outreach at Christiana Care Health System. “We must find ways to integrate advance care planning into our usual health care delivery systems.  Advance Care Planning is a process of conversations, decision-making, and documentation.  It is not, simply, about a piece of paper or form.  A well-done advance directive guides and empowers surrogate decision makers and health care providers to choose and provide the type of medical care and individual would want.  This leads to better outcomes for all involved.” 

“Today’s legislation empowers millions of Americans to take control of their healthcare decisions through an advance care plan. We commend Senators Coons and Cassidy and Congressman Black and Congressman Thompson for taking this bold legislative step that encourages all Americans to capture their healthcare wishes in the event they cannot make decisions for themselves,” said Jeff Zucker, CEO of MyDirectives, the world’s first completely free advance care planning tool. 

The bill is supported by The American College of Emergency Physicians, MyDirectives.com, Hospice Foundation of America, Third Way, American Nurses Association, The Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, Delaware Hospice, The Delaware End-of-Life Coalition, The Delaware Academy of Medicine/Delaware Public Health Association, and the Delaware chapter of American College of Emergency Physicians.

The full text of the bill is available here: http://www.coons.senate.gov/download/coons-cassidy-medicare-choices-empowerment-and-protection-act

VIDEO: Senator Coons: “We should move forward to continue accepting refugees”

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to discuss the Obama Administration’s plans to accept 10,000 thoroughly vetted refugees from Syria in the wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris, Beirut, and elsewhere.

On accepting Syrian refugees:

Senator Coons: “We need to do our homework and have a responsible, bipartisan conversation about what is the refugee screening policy, what are the weaknesses or threats that we now need to assess in light of this Paris attack, and what more should we be doing to fund and support the Department of Homeland Security so it can keep us safer and so it can make sure – as the federal agency principally responsible for making sure that those who come to this country are appropriately vetted – that we’ve dealt with any new threats.

…

Joe Scarborough: “Is the vetting process good enough to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees as the President wants over the next year?”

Senator Coons: “We have a thorough and detailed vetting process, and actually later today there’s going to be a bipartisan classified briefing for the Senate so we all are working from the same common set of facts.”

Joe Scarborough: “Should we continue with the President’s plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees over the next year?”

Senator Coons: “We should be working first to make sure that the vetting process is thorough and secure as we are told it is.  We should reassure ourselves that it actually is as secure as we understand it to be, and we should move forward to continue accepting refugees that have been thoroughly vetted and pose no risk to the United States.”

On debating an Authorization for the Use of Military Force against ISIS:

Senator Coons: “We have been at war against ISIS since August of last year when we began running military actions – taking air strikes against ISIS, first in Iraq, then in Syria – remember the Yazidis who fled up Sinjar Mountain. The President sent an Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) up to Congress in February of this year, and we haven’t taken it up, we haven’t debated it, and we haven’t authorized it” 

Joe Scarborough: “Should we?” 

Senator Coons: “We should. I think that’s our constitutional responsibility.  It’s difficult for us to come to consensus around our policy and our strategy, but we should.  Second, we need to do our homework and have a responsible, bipartisan conversation about what is the refugee screening policy, what are the weaknesses or threats that we now need to assess in light of this Paris attack, and what more should we be doing to fund and support the Department of Homeland Security so it can keep us safer and so it can make sure – as the federal agency principally responsible for making sure that those who come to this country are appropriately vetted – that we’ve dealt with any new threats.”

AUDIO: Senator Coons on accepting Syrian refugees to the United States

WASHINGTON – Following the terrorist attacks in Paris and Beirut, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) today joined Marty Moss-Coane on WHYY Radio (Philadelphia) to discuss how the United States should address the Syrian refugee crisis. Senator Coons also discussed the need for the Senate to take up and debate a new Authorization for the Use pf Military Force (AUMF) for the fight against ISIS.

Excerpts from the interview below:

“We need to be appropriately vetting refugees who we welcome into our country from whatever background and whatever country they may come, and I do think there is a balance to be struck here between ensuring that we carry our part of the burden of welcoming refugees from around the world and making sure that we are ensuring that the safety and security of the American people, which is our first obligation, is met.” 

“I recently sat and met with leaders of the Delaware Muslim community, and they have, I think, legitimate concerns about backlash against the Muslim community in the United States, which is an overwhelmingly skilled and sophisticated, loyal, and engaged community of Americans who’ve come here as a part of the diaspora from other parts of the world.” 

“The idea that we have a Muslim-American community that has legitimate concerns about how they are viewed and their safety, I think that is something we have to be mindful of and we have to help engage and educate a broader American audience so they can distinguish between an extremist, radical cult that claims to be Muslim in ISIS and the law-abiding, loyal American communities that include many mosques and many folks who are eager to serve and support the United States.”

Senator Coons joins northeast senators to call for saving essential funding for the most densely travelled region in US

WASHINGTON – Citing the devastating impact of a House provision in the Surface Transportation bill on the most heavily travelled and densely populated corridor in the U.S., Senators from across the Northeast Corridor have united in an urgent request to Senate leaders on the conference committee asking them to stand firm and preserve Senate language on critical funding for bus service in high density regions. The letter, led by Senator Ben Cardin (D-Md.), was signed by Senators Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand (Both D-N.Y.), Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren (Both D-Mass.), Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy (Both D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), , Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), Tom Carper and Chris Coons (Both D-Del.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Warner and Tim Kaine (Both D-Va.). At least $1.6 billion over six years could be cut from formula funding for states that have the greatest need for bus-related funding. Sudden and severe cuts in funding to these high density regions could have a serious impact on safety, capacity and reliability in communities that are most reliant on public transportation.

“Transit systems in this region account for approximately half of all trips taken nationwide, and the region supports 20 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. The urban areas negatively impacted by the House provision face unparalleled congestion that cannot be addressed by building new highway infrastructure alone,” the Senators wrote. “Continued access to high-quality transit alternatives is a necessary priority that requires the funding provided through the Section 5340 program … [W]e urge Conferees to reject the short-sighted House provision.” 

The letter can be downloaded here. The full text is below.

November 13, 2015

Dear Chairs and Ranking Members,

We are writing to urge you to recede to the Senate position regarding Section 5340 transit apportionments. This formula provides a core investment for some of the most congested and transit dependent Urbanized Areas (UZAs) in the country.

During the House consideration of H.R. 22, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act, an amendment was adopted to eliminate the Section 5340 density apportionments and further increase funding for a competitive bus grant program. While many of us support the concept of increasing funding for a discretionary grant program for bus and bus facilities, it makes no sense to slash existing commitments to transit agencies to do so. Elimination of the density formula would be disastrous for our States and the entire Northeast Corridor. Funding for transit systems that serve Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia would be cut by at least $1.6 billion over six years. Some transit agencies would see their overall apportionments cut by nearly one-third.

The Northeast Corridor is the most heavily travelled and densely populated corridor in the U.S., and having safe and efficient transportation is critical to not only the region, but also to our nation as a whole. Transit systems in this region account for approximately half of all trips taken nationwide, and the region supports 20 percent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. The urban areas negatively impacted by the House provision face unparalleled congestion that cannot be addressed by building new highway infrastructure alone. Continued access to high-quality transit alternatives is a necessary priority that requires the funding provided through the Section 5340 program. 

For these reasons, we urge Conferees to reject the short-sighted House provision and recede to the Senate position.

Respectfully,

[VIDEO] Senator Coons renews call for AUMF, cites unknown cost of war against ISIS

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) joined Steve Kornacki on MSNBC yesterday to discuss why Congress should take up and debate a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) in the fight against ISIS. 

Excerpts from the interview below:

“I think we should be taking up and debating a new Authorization of the Use of Military Force against ISIS. We’re more than a year, almost 15 months, into this conflict and now that President Obama has deployed 50 Special Forces troops into Syria, and has announced his plans to proceed with that on the ground troop deployment, I think it’s even more urgent than ever.”

“We have a constitutional role in Congress to look squarely in the eye at the hard questions of when and whether we should go to war.”

“There was no provision made for how to pay for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I think we owe it to the American people, to our veterans, and to those we’re sending into harm’s way to have a clear-eyed and searching debate about strategy, about cost, and about the legal authorization for this conflict against ISIS.”

Carper, Coons, Carney announce list of companies participating in upcoming job fair

WILMINGTON, Del. – Committed to continuing to help out-of-work Delawareans find employment, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and U.S. Representative John Carney announced the list of companies who are looking to fill full and part time positions throughout the state. More than 40 companies will be looking to fill more than 200 positions like CNAs, drivers, mechanics, finance, law enforcement, education, customer service, administrative assistant, security, corrects, and much more.

Prior to the job fair, the delegation hosted a free and open to the public job readiness workshop on Thursday, November 12 at Ezion Fair Baptist Church. The workshop featured resume reviews, interview skills development, wardrobe selection and personal presentation skills. The skills workshop was co-hosted with Goodwill of Delaware, One Village Alliance, Career Team, Delaware Department of Labor and Delaware Division of Transportation.

The final job fair this fall will be held at Delaware Technical Community College (400 Stanton-Christina Road, Newark) on Monday, November 16 from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

The participating companies are Advanced Student Transportation, Inc., Arbor Management, LLC, Black Star Security Inc., Delaware Department of Labor, Delaware Department of Transportation, Delaware Department of Labor/Employment & Training, Delaware Department of Technology and Information, State of Delaware, Delaware Air National Guard, Discover Financial Services, Delaware Technical Community College, Griswold Home Care, Greater Wilmington Road Association, Home Instead Senior Care, Inspiration Space at Delaware Libraries, Kelly Services, Lincoln Heritage, Lowe’s, Leon N. Weiner & Associates, Inc., Liberty Mutual Insurance,  Metro Merchant Services, Mountaire Farms,  N.K.S Distributors, New York Life, One Hour Heating and Cooling, Pepco Holdings, Inc., Philadelphia Police Department, Prominent Insurance Services, Saint Francis Life, Suburban Propane, Synerfac Technical Staffing, Securitas Security Services USA, Inc., Sea Watch International, LTD., Tech Impact/Zip Code, The Delaware State Police, The Delaware Air National Guard, University of Delaware, University of Delaware, Professional and Continuing Studies, University of Delaware Alternate Routes to Certification for Teachers, Wilmington University, WSFS Bank, Waddell & Reed, Financial Advisors, and Wilmington Police Department .

Since 2011, the Congressional delegation has hosted 27 job fairs in Delaware, including seven specifically for veterans.

For more information on how to participate as an employer or job seeker, please call Senator Coons’ office at 302-573-6345, or email workshop@coons.senate.gov. Pre-registration is not required.