Senators Carper, Coons, Isakson concerned with South Africa’s failure to meet key deadline for resuming import of U.S. poultry, urge immediate action

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) and Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) today expressed concern after South Africa missed an October 15 deadline to allow U.S. poultry exports to South Africa to resume and urged South Africa to act immediately.  A settlement was reached in the longstanding poultry dispute between the United States and South Africa on June 8, 2015, after negotiations in Paris led by the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Department of State, U.S. Ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard and trade experts from industry. The agreement was welcome news for the entire U.S. poultry industry, including the large poultry operations in the Senators’ home states – Georgia and Delaware. 

Since the settlement was reached, South Africa has been slow to fulfill the obligations agreed to in Paris, including the commitment to resolve sanitary barriers to poultry hindering the successful implementation of the agreement. Last month, Senators Coons and Isakson called on President Zuma to act quickly to address the unresolved issues in the agreement. South Africa agreed to finalize both a trade protocol for avian influenza and a health certificate for U.S. poultry by October 15th. Despite assurances by high-ranking South African officials that those issues would be resolved by the deadline, they have not. Important differences remain on the health certificate and trade protocol. The U.S. has insisted that South Africa follow World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines to use a regional approach for avian influenza.

“We are concerned that South Africa has not followed through on its promise to address key issues by October 15, preventing full implementation of the deal,” said the Senators. “South Africa failed to finalize both the trade protocol and health certificate for U.S. poultry despite the Administration’s intense engagement with South Africa over the past year to resolve these issues. We believe this inaction must be factored into the out-of-cycle review of South Africa’s AGOA eligibility and urge the Administration to take appropriate action. South Africa must take the necessary steps to resolve outstanding barriers to U.S. poultry immediately if its AGOA benefits are to be preserved. Hardworking poultry farmers in our home states and across the country should not have to wait any longer to participate in the South African market.”

Senators Coons and Isakson, both members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Carper, a member of the Senate Finance Committee, have pressured the South African government for over a year to end the antidumping duties on U.S. poultry. Most recently, the senators secured language in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) that would put pressure on South Africa to remove unfair limits on American poultry imports. The bipartisan amendment introduced by Isakson and co-sponsored by Carper and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., would require the USTR to conduct an out-of-cycle review of South Africa’s trade practices, specifically antidumping duties on U.S. poultry. The senators look forward to seeing South Africa resolve this issue so they can focus on other important areas of collaboration. 

Coons and Isakson are the co-chairs of the Senate Chicken Caucus, of which Carper is a member. 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.

Senator Coons to host fourth annual Opportunity: Africa conference in Wilmington

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a member of Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, will host the fourth annual Opportunity: Africa conference on Friday, November 6 at the Sheraton Wilmington South.

“As a world of economic and social possibilities continues to unfold in Africa, the continent also faces new challenges,” said Sen. Coons. “The fourth annual Opportunity: Africa conference will provide key insights into some of these challenges, including expanding entrepreneurship, increasing access to electricity, implementing lessons learned through the Ebola pandemic, supporting African farming, and protecting political rights while combatting violent extremism.”

The annual conference links Delaware businesses, faith communities, and Delawareans interested in Africa with top experts. Through panels, forums, and keynote lectures, Opportunity: Africa provides insights into a diverse array of topics, from trade opportunities to broader issues such as human rights, sustainable development, food security and global health. Last year’s conference drew more than 1,000 attendees.

Past keynote speakers include President Bill Clinton; Dr. Raj Shah, Administrator, U.S. Agency for International Development; Daniel Yohannes, CEO, Millennium Challenge Corporation; Michael Gerson, Columnist, Author, and Senior Advisor to the ONE Campaign; Eric Goolsby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator; and, His Excellency Elkanah Odembo, Kenyan Ambassador to the United States.

“I am pleased to welcome an outstanding group of panelists who will share their perspectives and their areas of expertise throughout the day,” Sen. Coons added. “We will also welcome two exciting keynote speakers: internationally known businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa, and Reuben Brigety, former U.S. Ambassador to the African Union and current Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University. I look forward to welcoming them to Delaware and am eager for them to share their outlook and experiences in working to harness African opportunity.”

In 2014, Mr. Masiyiwa was named by CNN/Fortune Magazine as a member of the “World’s 50 Greatest Leaders.” In 2015, Forbes Magazine named Masiyiwa one of the “10 Most Powerful Men in Africa.” He is the chairman and founder of Econet, a diversified telecommunications group with operations and investments in Africa, Europe, North America, Latin America and the Asian Pacific. Mr. Masiyiwa is known for his extensive philanthropic endeavors, which includes participation in the Giving Pledge and financial support for the Higher Life Foundation, which provides scholarships to over 42,000 African orphans. He serves on a number of international boards, including the Rockefeller Foundation, the Africa Against Ebola Solidarity Trust, the Council on Foreign Relations’ Global Advisory Board, the Africa Progress Panel, the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board for Sustainable Energy, Morehouse College and the Hilton Foundation’s Humanitarian Prize Jury. He is one of the founders, with Sir Richard Branson, of the global think tank, the Carbon War Room, and a founding member of the Global Business Coalition on Education.

In September 2013, Ambassador Brigety was appointed Representative of the United States of America to the African Union and Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN Economic Commission of Africa. Prior to this appointment, Ambassador Brigety served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of African Affairs and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. In this capacity, he supervised U.S. refugee programs in Africa, managed U.S. humanitarian diplomacy with major international partners, and oversaw the development of international migration policy.

Opportunity: Africa 2015 will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Friday, November 6 at Sheraton South Wilmington located at 365 Airport Road, New Castle. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. It is free and open to the public. Lunch will be provided. To register online, visit http://www.coons.senate.gov/opportunityafricaconference.

Photos from last year’s conference are available here: http://bit.ly/LQPZlV

[VIDEO]: Senator Coons says Benghazi hearing is the “worst sort of politically motivated fishing expedition”

WASHINGTON – Just days before former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is scheduled to testify at a public hearing in front of the House committee investigating the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) today joined CNN’s New Day to discuss the ongoing House committee investigation.  

“They’ve had more than a dozen hearings on Benghazi in the House and the Senate, open hearings, classified hearings, and I don’t see that this select committee on Benghazi has done anything other than waste millions of dollars in taxpayers’ money in continuing to grind over the same ground.”

“I frankly think this is the worst sort of politically motivated fishing expedition at this point.” 

“In both open and classified sessions, I’ve gone over the details of what happened, and although truly tragic, the incidents in Benghazi that cost the lives of four Americans, including our Ambassador, I don’t believe have been concealed through some conspiracy led by the Secretary. I think the real question ought to be why did the Congress not invest more in Embassy security, why have we not yet fully addressed some of the issues that were raised in the earliest hearings about Benghazi.”

Senator Coons also discussed the possibility of Vice President Joe Biden entering the 2016 presidential race.

Sens. Carper, Coons join senate colleagues to extend PTC implementation deadline to avoid rail delays

WASHINGTON – As the Dec. 31, 2015, deadline for our nation’s freight and passenger railroads to implement positive train control (PTC) technology looms, U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined 41 of their Senate colleagues in a letter urging Senate leadership to extend the deadline for completing the implementation.

A recent Government Accountability Office study reported that railroads are unable to meet the deadline at the end of this year, which could potentially cause disruptions to our national rail network. According to the Federal Railroad Administration, PTC is a system designed to prevent train-to-train collisions, derailments caused by excessive speeds and more. For example, PTC can force a train to a stop before it passes a signal displaying a stop indication, or before diverging on a switch improperly lined, thereby averting a potential collision. 

“Full implementation of PTC is critical to the safety of the men and women who operate our nation’s trains, the millions of passengers that move around the country and the thousands of manufacturers, farmers and ranchers that depend on rails to move world-class products to market,” the letter states. “That is why it remains essential for Congress to hold railroads accountable to efficiently complete the PTC requirements set forth in RSIA (Rail Safety Improvement Act) … Railroads play a vital role in our nation’s economy. We cannot afford a disruption of rail service, which could occur if Congress does not extend this deadline.”

RSIA, which was enacted on October 16, 2008, and the corresponding regulations issued by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) require passenger and major freight railroads to implement PTC on most major track lines by December 31, 2015.

A pdf of the letter can be found here, and the text is included below:

September 30, 20 15

Dear Leader McConnell and Leader Reid:

We write to address the approaching statutory deadline for the full implementation of positive train control (PTC) safety technology. As reported in a recent GAO study, it is increasingly clear that our nation’s freight and passenger railroads are unable to meet the December 31, 2015 implementation deadline. We believe it is important to ensure that the railroads complete implementation of PTC in an expeditious manner without any unnecessary disruptions to our national rail network. With this in mind, Congress must act now to extend the looming deadline to provide certainty to businesses and individuals that rely on the railroads while providing a clear timeline for meeting the PTC requirements set forth in the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (RSIA).

When implemented, PTC will be a critical safety component of our national rai l network. Full implementation is critical to the safety of the men and women who operate our nation’s trains, the millions of passengers that move around the country and the thousands of manufacturers, farmers and ranchers that depend on rails to move world-class products to market. That is why it remains essential for Congress to hold railroads accountable to efficiently complete the PTC requirements set forth in RSIA. We must also do so in a way that acknowledges current constraints as the Senate did when it passed the bipartisan DRIVE Act.

Railroads play a vital role in our nation’s economy. We cannot afford a disruption of rail service, which could occur if Congress does not extend this deadline. Myriad businesses rely on dependable service and would be unnecessarily hurt by a slowdown in service, whether it is a farmer looking to sell this year’s harvest, a sawmill moving logs or an energy company delivering fuel. Additionally, millions of passengers that depend on reliable service to commute locally as well as nationally will face preventable challenges.

It is important that we extend this deadline in a responsible way that ensures smooth implementation of this new technology with measurable benchmarks. It is also imperative that Congress take up this issue immediately, as railroads will begin to alter their service standards weeks before the actual deadline.  We appreciate your attention to this time-sensitive manner, and stand ready to work with you.

Sincerely,

Sen. Coons, colleagues call for full implementation of mental health parity law

WASHINGTON —Today, Senator Coons (D-Del.) joined a bipartisan group of senators in calling on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to take immediate, overdue action to fully implement and enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). In a letter addressed to HHS Secretary Sylvia Mathews Burwell and DOL Secretary Thomas E. Perez, the senators emphasized that implementation of MHPAEA – a law enacted more than seven years ago to ensure that health insurance plans cover behavioral and physical health equally – has been incomplete and inconsistent. The senators warned that parity is still not a reality for individuals living with mental illness and addiction, and that health plans routinely refuse to disclose medical management information making it impossible for consumers and providers to determine if the plans are treating behavioral and physical health equally. Noting that HHS and DOL are chiefly responsible for implementation and enforcement of the law, Senator Coons and his colleagues requested that the agencies conduct thorough audits and issue additional parity guidance so that individuals seeking recovery and treatment for mental health disorders and substance abuse can access the benefits promised to them under MHPAEA.

The senators wrote, “We are writing to urge you to take immediate action to implement and enforce the MHPAEA. It has now been over 7 years since MHPAEA was passed and signed into law by President Bush, but our constituents continue to report denials of care and great difficulties in accessing substance use and mental health disorder treatment and services. We look forward to working together to ensure individuals in and seeking recovery from substance use and mental health disorders can access the benefits promised to them under the law.”

U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kelly Ayotte (D-N.H.), John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Dianne Feinstein (D-Cali.), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Angus King (I-Maine), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Barbara Mikulski (D-Md.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) also signed onto the letter.

The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Secretary Burwell and Secretary Perez,

We are writing to urge you to take immediate and overdue action to implement and enforce the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA).

It has now been over 7 years since MHPAEA was passed and signed into law by President Bush. This important legislation was enacted to ensure that health insurance plans cover behavioral and physical health equally. However, parity is still not a reality for individuals living with mental illness and addiction today. Our constituents from across the country continue to report denials of care and great difficulties in accessing substance use and mental health disorder treatment and services.

One of the primary complaints we receive is the failure of health plans to disclose how they make coverage decisions. As you know, consumers and providers have the right to request information on medical management practices and criteria from their health insurance plans for both behavioral and medical and surgical care. Without this information, it is impossible to determine if the plan is in compliance with the law or if a parity violation has occurred. Yet, consumers and providers report that plans routinely refuse to give this information or simply refer consumers to a website or provide a general statement that lacks specificity with respect to how criteria are applied to both medical and surgical and behavioral health.

As your agencies are chiefly responsible for the implementation and enforcement of MHPAEA, we request that you report to us on the following:

1.     How many audits has your Department conducted to determine compliance with MHPAEA? What were the results of those audits? Will de-identified results of the audits be made available on your website? If audits have not been conducted, will your Agencies be conducting them in the future?

2.     Does your Department plan to issue additional parity guidance to health plans and issuers on what documents and analyses they must conduct and disclose in order to demonstrate compliance with MHPAEA? If so, by what date?

3.     When will Medicaid parity final regulations be released? When will enforcement for parity under Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program begin?

We look forward to working together to ensure individuals in and seeking recovery from substance use and mental health disorders can access the benefits promised to them under the law. Please have your staff contact our staff with any questions. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

Senator Coons, colleagues to FCC: End exorbitant phone rates for prison inmates and their families

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) today joined U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and colleagues on a letter to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Thomas Wheeler applauding the Commission’s proposal to cap intrastate prison phone rates.  Senators Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Bob Casey (D-PA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Sheldon Whitehouse, (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), and Gary Peters (D-MI) also joined the letter.

The Senators commended FCC Chairman Wheeler and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn for their leadership and encouraged the Commission to move forward with its proposal, while continuing to monitor the prison telecommunications market.

“Keeping incarcerated people connected with their family support systems reduces recidivism and prison violence. Currently, 2.2 million Americans are incarcerated and more than 2.7 million children in the United States have an incarcerated parent. These children are often only able to connect with their parents by phone, as prisons and jails are often far away from where family members live. Despite falling telecommunications costs, phone calls between inmates and their families remain unreasonably high. In many states, a 15 minute call has an average cost of more than five dollars. In extreme cases, when all associated fees are incorporated in the aggregate cost, a phone call can cost as much as fourteen or fifteen dollars for a single minute,” the Senators wrote.

The Senators concluded, “It is of utmost importance that the FCC move forward with its proposal to curb intrastate calling rates for inmates. We applaud the FCC’s discouragement of commissions paid by phone providers to institutions and continued oversight of this matter. We also are encouraged by the Commission’s decision to review the market again in a few years, including a review of potential abuses in the video visitation telecommunication services market. These changes will enable families to stay connected and allow inmates to be better prepared to reenter society once their time has been served.”

Full text of the letter follows:  

The Honorable Thomas Wheeler

Chairman

Federal Communications Commission

445 12th Street, SW

Washington, DC 20554

Dear Chairman Wheeler, 

We commend you on the recently proposed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rule to cap intrastate prison phone calling charges and urge the passage of this proposal. We appreciate your work on this issue and the leadership of Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, who successfully took measures to cap interstate calling rates in 2013. The current proposal is a critical step forward in ensuring fair and just calling rates for incarcerated individuals. 

Keeping incarcerated people connected with their family support systems reduces recidivism and prison violence. Currently, 2.2 million Americans are incarcerated and more than 2.7 million children in the United States have an incarcerated parent. These children are often only able to connect with their parents by phone, as prisons and jails are often far away from where family members live. Despite falling telecommunications costs, phone calls between inmates and their families remain unreasonably high. In many states, a 15 minute call has an average cost of more than five dollars. In extreme cases, when all associated fees are incorporated in the aggregate cost, a phone call can cost as much as fourteen or fifteen dollars for a single minute. 

Unfortunately, in many cases state prisons can receive a commission or “kick-back” from contracts with phone service providers, thus incentivizing a regime in which prisons profit from charging inmates higher rates. What may come as a financial benefit to institutions comes at a serious social cost, since many incarcerated people find the high costs of calling home prohibitive, and the high rates can prevent them from keeping in touch with loved ones. 

For these reasons, it is of utmost importance that the FCC move forward with its proposal to curb intrastate calling rates for inmates. We applaud the FCC’s discouragement of commissions paid by phone providers to institutions and continued oversight of this matter. We also are encouraged by the Commission’s decision to review the market again in a few years, including a review of potential abuses in the video visitation telecommunication services market. These changes will enable families to stay connected and allow inmates to be better prepared to reenter society once their time has been served. 

Thank you for your attention to this matter. 

Sincerely,

Senators Coons, Hatch urge colleagues to pass bipartisan bill to protect trade secrets

WASHINGTON –  U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) yesterday spoke on the Senate floor to urge their colleagues to pass bipartisan, bicameral legislation to help stop the theft of trade secrets that costs American businesses hundreds of billions of dollars each year. The Defend Trade Secrets Act would empower companies to protect their trade secrets in federal court by creating a federal private right-of-action. 

“The failure to fully protect trade secrets has threatened American innovation and economic growth for too long,” said Senator Coons. “I’m proud to join Senator Hatch to urge our colleagues to give trade secrets the same legal protections that other forms of critical intellectual property enjoy by passing the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015. The longer Congress waits to act, more and more companies across the country risk losing jobs and revenue because they lack the ability to defend their trade secrets under federal civil law. Senator Hatch and I have worked hard to strengthen this bill to gain bicameral, bipartisan support, and I urge my colleagues to act now while we have the momentum.”

“At a time when cyber theft of trade secrets is at an all-time high—particularly as it involves Chinese competitors—it is critically important that U.S. companies have the ability to protect their trade secrets in federal court,” said Senator Hatch. “I am not aware of any stakeholder opposition to this bill. Those who operate businesses in the real world and have to protect their trade secrets on a regular basis are strong supporters of the Defend Trade Secrets Act. The list of companies and associations that have endorsed the Act is diverse and impressive. If you talk to any of the companies that were initially on the fringes but are now supporters of the bill, I think they will agree that you and I are willing to address all legitimate concerns. So work with us.” 

“I commend the much-needed leadership of Senators Hatch and Coons on the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2015,” said Victoria Espinel, President and CEO of BSA | The Software Alliance. “The theft of trade secrets undermines American companies by stealing their hard-earned research and development, and is a serious threat to the innovation economy. This legislation will create a uniform federal standard with a well-balanced private right of action that allows trade secret owners to take action when their intellectual property is misappropriated. BSA and its member companies look forward to working with the House and Senate to pass meaningful trade secrets legislation this Congress.”

Electrify Africa bill passes Senate Foreign Relations Committee

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), and Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), all members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today praised committee passage of the Electrify Africa Act of 2015 (S.2152), which was also cosponsored by Senators Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). With nearly 600 million Africans without electricity, this legislation will leverage private sector resources through loan guarantees to extend electricity access throughout Africa to help 50 million Africans with first-time access to electricity and to add 20,000 megawatts of electricity to the grid by 2020. Providing access to electricity will stimulate economic growth while also improving access to education and public health.

“I am pleased that this committee is coming together in a strong, bipartisan way to help the people of sub-Saharan Africa gain greater access to reliable, affordable, and sustainable power to reduce poverty and drive economic growth,” said Senator Coons.  “I have seen some of these Power Africa projects firsthand, from solar farms in Rwanda to off-the-grid power solutions in Ethiopia.  These projects are unlocking opportunities in medicine and education and removing a binding constraint to economic development and growth in Africa. I’d like to thank my fellow members of the committee, especially Chairman Corker and Ranking Member Cardin, for their work on this bill.  I hope we can see it pass the Senate floor by unanimous consent.” 

“With limited foreign aid resources, we need to focus on innovative ways to tackle big challenges that can be self-sustaining and have a transformative impact on millions of lives,” said Senator Corker, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “Creating a favorable environment for private investment to bring reliable, affordable electricity to millions of people in Africa for the first time can be a real game changer in development throughout the region. By establishing an-all-of-the-above approach for expanding power generation in Africa through private capital, we can help reduce poverty and fuel economic growth.”

“Access to electricity remains one of the fundamental development challenges in Africa, with direct impacts on public health, education, and economic growth,” said Senator Cardin. “That’s why this bipartisan legislation passed today draws upon American leadership and ingenuity to provide first-time access to clean, affordable, sustainable energy, and consultation with local African communities.  By working with African governments to attract private sector investment and partnering with American firms that are on the cutting edge of the power solutions Africa seeks, we can make great strides in addressing African energy poverty and promote inclusive economic growth for communities in Africa and at home.” 

The legislation requires the president to create a comprehensive strategy for United States’ engagement with sub-Saharan Africa in developing a broad mix of power solutions to increase electricity access and reliability. It encourages the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), USAID, the U.S. Department of Treasury, U.S. Trade and Development Agency, World Bank, and African Development Bank to prioritize loans, grants, and technical support that promote private investment in projects designed to increase electricity access and reliability.

Text of the bill as introduced is available here. The version reported out of committee with amendment will be posted later here.

Senator Coons, Representative Massie highlight problems with patent reform bills in Google Hangout event

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) participated in a bipartisan online Google Hangout to discuss their concerns with patent legislation (S. 1137 and H.R. 9) currently under consideration in Congress.  Patent expert Gene Quinn moderated the discussion and the members took questions from online viewers via Twitter.

Coons and Massie have led opposition to H.R. 9, titled the Innovation Act, and S. 1137, the Patent Act, including holding a joint bicameral press conference in July to highlight the broad opposition to both bills. H.R. 9 was originally scheduled for a vote this summer but has been delayed because of strong opposition from inventors, small businesses, venture capitalists, startup communities, as well as manufacturing, technology, and life sciences companies.

Coons is the author of targeted patent legislation, STRONG Patents Act, that would make it harder for firms to be targeted with frivolous patent lawsuits, level the playing field between small inventors and large companies, and ensure the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has the resources it needs to ensure patent quality.  STRONG Patents Act is co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), David Vitter (R-La.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Tom Cotton (R-Ark.).

“Today’s event was an important opportunity to continue to shine a light on why these two bills would be destructive to our innovation economy,” said Senator Chris Coons. “A strong patent system is one of the critical ways we distinguish ourselves from competing economies around the world, and we cannot afford to rush into passing a bill that would further weaken our innovation economy, which is exactly what both H.R. 9 and S. 1137 would do by making overbroad changes that fail to protect all patent holders. Representative Massie and I have been leading the charge to make sure our colleagues in both the House and the Senate know exactly why a wide spectrum of stakeholders, from universities to life saving drug manufacturers, oppose these bills, and we will continue to work to ensure overreaching patent legislation does not become law.” 

“As a small inventor with 29 U.S. patents, I oppose H.R. 9 and S. 1137 because they threaten American inventors, particularly individual inventors and those working at small businesses and startups,” said Representative Massie. “Everything these bills do to so-called patent trolls they also do to legitimate inventors. In Article 1, Section 8 of our Constitution, the Founding Fathers (some of whom were inventors themselves), gave Congress the authority to protect the discoveries of inventors. Inventors rely on this protection as they create new products. Without the strong congressional protection mandated by our Constitution, inventors and the investors who back them will lose confidence that their work and ideas will be safeguarded. This loss of confidence will cause invention and investment to wither, hurting our economy. Senator Coons and I will continue to fight to protect small inventors and their constitutional intellectual property rights that have helped make our nation the most prosperous on Earth.”

Senators Carper, Coons urge passage of historic bipartisan chemical safety reform legislation

WASHINGTON – In a press conference today, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.) joined a bipartisan group of their colleagues, Bonnie Lautenberg, widow of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.), and other supporters of chemical safety reform to urge the Senate to act to pass a historic bill to reform the broken Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (TSCA). 

Written by Senators Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and David Vitter (R-La.), the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act would overhaul the 39-year-old law to better protect the public while still protecting American business and innovation. The proposal is based on a bill authored by chemical safety champion former-Senator Lautenberg before he passed away, which he wrote with Senator Vitter. It now has broad bipartisan support, with 60 Senate cosponsors representing 38 states. 

“By failing to update our decades-old chemical safety laws, we’ve endangered public health and the environment for too long,” said Senator Chris Coons. “Before he passed away, Senator Lautenberg worked tirelessly to reach this groundbreaking reform bill, and Senator Udall has taken up the mantle since then to improve and strengthen the bill to adequately protect human health and the environment. I am proud that the bill also includes a section that reflects my Sustainable Chemistry R&D Act, which creates a federal interagency effort to support R&D, commercialization, education and training, and industry-academic partnerships in sustainable chemistry. We now have a bill that will finally ensure our country has a regulatory framework that works for the 21^st century by protecting human health and the environment, while also providing certainty and predictability for consumers and industry. I urge the Senate to take up this bill immediately while we have wide bipartisan support, or risk losing all the hard work that’s been done to reach this historic compromise.” 

“Our strategy to keep American families safe from toxic substances has failed for nearly four decades, and it’s time to fix the problem,” said Senator Tom Carper. “This legislation will, for the first time, require that every chemical used in consumer products is assessed for safety. At the same time, it will offer businesses a predictable and manageable review process for chemicals that do not pose a safety hazard. Bipartisanship is hard to find in the Senate these days, especially on issues that affect the environment. But in this case, Democrats and Republicans are coming together to improve a failed law that doesn’t work for consumers and doesn’t work for businesses. Today, we are closer than we’ve ever gotten to reforming our toxics law because both sides have compromised on policy without compromising their principles. We must now show the American people we can do what’s right for this country and move this bill across the finish line.” 

Senator Carper worked closely with the Senators Udall and Vitter for more than a year, leading a group of Democratic colleagues in discussions to secure enhanced protections for public health and the environment, including provisions that would protect children, pregnant women, and workers from toxic risks, ensure EPA has access to information to assess safety risks, and allow states to enforce federal toxic safety. He joined the legislation as a cosponsor of the compromise proposal, introduced in March. Since its introduction, Senator Carper has worked hard to further improve the bill and is proud of the strong bipartisan process that has moved this legislation forward with broad support from both sides of the aisle.  

The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21^st Century Act includes provisions from Senator Coons’ sustainable chemistry bill that he introduced earlier this year with Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine). These provisions would encourage the design, development, and commercialization of high-preforming chemicals, products, and processes that reduce or eliminate risk to human health and benefit the environment.