Statement from Senator Coons on visit to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay

Senator Coons announces more than $200,000 from National 4-H Council for UD and DSU Cooperative Extensions

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons announced Thursday that the National 4-H Council has awarded $205,000 to University of Delaware Cooperative Extension and Delaware State University Cooperative Extension in support of the 4-H National Mentoring Program. The grant is part of a national effort to strengthen, expand, and implement youth mentoring activities to improve the lives of millions of young Americans.

“Every young Delawarean deserves a chance to succeed, and for many, mentoring is what ensures they get that chance,” Senator Coons said. “This grant from the National 4-H Council will help more young Delawareans get the guidance they need to stay in school, and our communities will be stronger as a result. This funding is an excellent opportunity for Delaware’s Cooperative Extension program, and I congratulate both University of Delaware and Delaware State’s staff for earning it.”

The grant will provide funding to facilitate 4-H mentoring programs in Delaware to keep kids safe and prevent youth delinquency. These programs were developed in partnership with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Children, Youth and Families at Risk Program, which drives innovation in community-based educational programs for children, youth, parents and families.

“Although recent data reveals an 80 percent national high school graduation rate, disparities still exist as dropout rates remain high among underrepresented populations,” National 4-H Council President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo said. “This significant grant will allow 4-H program staff the opportunity to replicate proven 4-H mentoring programs that are producing positive outcomes in underrepresented communities across the country including reduced school drop-out rates and strengthened family relationships.”

According to The Mentoring Effect: Young People’s Perspective on the Outcomes and Availability of Mentoring, 76 percent of at-risk young adults who had a mentor aspire to enroll in and graduate from college versus half of at-risk young adults who had not had a mentor. As of 2013, the 4-H National Mentoring Program has served over 31,000 youth, resulting in significant outcomes in areas such as family relationships, perceptions of social support, and social competence.

4-H, the nation’s largest youth development and empowerment organization, cultivates confident kids who tackle the issues that matter most in their communities right now. In the United States, 4-H programs empower six million young people through the 109 land-grant universities and Cooperative Extension in more than 3,000 local offices serving every county and parish in the country. Outside the United States, independent, country-led 4-H organizations empower one million young people in more than 50 countries. National 4-H Council is the private sector, non-profit partner of the Cooperative Extension System and 4-H National Headquarters located at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture within the United States Department of Agriculture.

Senator Coons urges president of Burkina Faso to respect constitutional term limit

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, issued the following statement following demonstrations by tens of thousands of Burkinabé Tuesday against attempts by the president of Burkina Faso, Blaise Compaoré, to amend the constitution to allow for a third term in office.

“Democratic constitutional processes are vital to ensuring free and fair societies,” Senator Coons said. “President Compaoré and Burkina Faso’s National Assembly should withdraw their plans to amend Article 37 of the country’s constitution, which currently limits elected Presidents to two terms. President Compaoré stood for reelection in 2010 knowing he was eligible to serve for only one more five-year term. He should adhere to the existing constitutional limitation and agree to hand over power following next year’s planned election. 

“The African Union Charter on Democracy, Elections, and Governance explicitly rejects constitutional changes in order to maintain power for the benefit of the incumbent as ‘illegal’, and an amendment to Article 37 is a clear violation of this principle,” Senator Coons continued. “The Burkinabé marching in the streets of Ouagadougou on Tuesday want their leaders to follow the rules. It is important that the government of Burkina Faso enforces a fair and credible democratic process and respects the term limits set forth in its constitution. The United States supports countries that have enshrined democratic principles, and which abide by transparency, accountability, and participation of the electorate in government institutions. It is critical that Burkina Faso’s leaders make the right choice and end this effort.”

Senator Coons applauds President’s new actions to boost U.S. manufacturing

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), who leads the Manufacturing Jobs for America campaign in the Senate, praised President Obama’s announcement Monday of new executive actions aimed at strengthening U.S. advanced manufacturing and spurring innovation. 

“President Obama’s new actions to strengthen American manufacturing are important steps for our nation’s economic growth and competitiveness,” Senator Coons said. “American manufacturing is experiencing a revival, but we can and must do more to invest in our workforce, enable innovation, and create the environment for businesses to thrive. The new initiatives announced by President Obama today will introduce new ways to train manufacturing workers, make new tools available to businesses to research and innovate, and focus investments on promising new technologies that are central to our future.”

Among the actions announced Monday is:

• More than $300 million in investments in three emerging technologies the AMP identified as critical to U.S. competitiveness: advanced materials including composites and bio-based materials, advanced sensors for manufacturing, and digital manufacturing.
• A set of steps taken by the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy, and NASA to connect industry and universities on research and development and develop ‘technology testbeds’ within federal research facilities where companies can design, prototype, and test a new product or process.
• A new $100 million American Apprenticeships Grant Competition to spur new apprenticeship models and scale effective ones in high-growth fields like advanced manufacturing.  
• A pilot competition within the Manufacturing Extension Partnership for $130M over five years across ten states to help small manufacturers adopt new technologies and bring new products to market.

“Congress should build on these efforts and come together to focus on America’s manufacturing workers,” Senator Coons said. “The Administration rightly recognizes that we can do more to connect the capacities of our national labs with the private sector and announced a strong initiative today to open our state-of-the-art lab facilities to manufacturers. The bipartisan America INNOVATES Act, which I introduced with Senator Rubio earlier this year, would take additional steps to reform the labs and build new partnerships with the private sector along every stage of the research and development pipeline.

“Additionally, competitive grants to spur new apprenticeship programs will be a great way to ensure our workers can thrive in manufacturing,” Senator Coons said. “The bipartisan Manufacturing Skills Act, which I introduced with Senator Ayotte last month, would take this new competition a step further to encourage wholesale job training reforms in cities and states across the country.”

“We can and must do more to strengthen American manufacturing and invest in our workers,” Senator Coons said. “The President’s actions today are strong steps, and I look forward to working with my colleagues to continue manufacturing’s momentum and lay the foundation for growth for our future.”

Led by Senator Coons, more than 25 senators have contributed more than 30 bills to the Senate’s Manufacturing Jobs for America initiative since its launch last October. Seven provisions from the campaign have become law.

Sen. Coons, Gov. Markell, WNBA Superstar Elena Delle Donne launch Vision To Learn Delaware

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons, Gov. Jack Markell and WNBA superstar Elena Delle Donne joined Vision To Learn founder and chairman, Austin Beutner, to launch the organization’s first public/private partnership to bring free mobile eye exams and free glasses to school children in low-income communities in Delaware. The event culminated in the distribution of free eye glasses to 35 school children at the Evan G. Shortlidge Academy.

Vision To Learn selected Delaware as the first state in a nationwide rollout to show how a close collaboration of state government, health care providers, school districts, and philanthropy can work together to meet the vision needs of school children in low-income communities.

“When you can improve the vision of a child, you open up an entire new world to them,” Senator Coons said . “Too many Delaware children who need glasses go without, so I was proud to help bring Vision To Learn to Delaware so students who are in need of glasses receive them to help them achieve their full potential.”

“From providing high-quality early learning opportunities to increasing access to college and job training, we must be committed to ensuring cost is not an obstacle for Delaware’s students to receive a great education,” Governor Markell said. “But that’s not possible if our children can’t see what their teachers are showing them in class. I want to thank Austin and his team for their commitment to this important initiative and Senator Coons for his leadership in making vision services available to kids who need them the most. Together, we will help develop a roadmap for all children to see a clear and bright future.”

“Today’s event kicks off a new chapter for Vision To Learn, combining private philanthropy and Medicaid reimbursement to provide the funds necessary to ensure all children get the glasses they need,” Mr. Beutner said. “Our efforts in California have been funded entirely by private donations, so this marks a new and exciting public/private partnership model for our organization and for the future.”

Students who can’t see have a more challenging time learning. As many as two million children across the United States lack the eye glasses they need to succeed in school and life. Vision To Learn’s common sense approach allows optometrists and opticians, working out of a state-of-the-art mobile clinic, to provide service directly to the schools and the students. Established in 2012 by the Beutner Family Foundation, Vision To Learn has already helped more than 25,000 children in California receive free eye exams and free glasses.

Photo courtesy of Saquan Stimpson/Vision To Learn

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Senator Coons applauds EU’s increased commitment to stopping Ebola and rejection of travel ban

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, issued the following statement Tuesday after the European Union pledged to increase its contribution to $1.27 billion in assistance to fight the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

“Yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cleared 43 Americans who had been quarantined in Texas after coming into contact with Thomas Eric Duncan, the World Health Organization announced that Nigeria is now Ebola-free, and Emory University discharged a third American who had been infected with Ebola while in West Africa. These three milestones were important steps in the worldwide response to Ebola. We can defeat this virus if we work together.

“The European Union today doubled its commitment to stopping the Ebola epidemic, taking a more appropriate level of responsibility for halting the spread of this virus. EU member countries now must heed that call, step up, and deliver. These countries and others in the international community have the resources to do more and a responsibility to prevent this outbreak from spreading. 

“The EU also did what the U.S. should continue to do: reject a travel ban. Leaders in the EU recognized that a ban on air passengers from West Africa would only make it harder to identify and isolate those traveling with the virus. The Obama Administration should similarly resist politicized calls for a ban here in the United States.”

Senator Coons welcomes appointment of an Ebola coordinator

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, welcomed the President’s appointment of Ron Klain as the coordinator of the U.S. government’s response to the spread of Ebola. Senator Coons had urged the President to appoint an Ebola coordinator in a speech on the Senate floor on September 11, 2014.

“The sheer enormity of the challenge of protecting Americans from the spread of Ebola in the United States and stopping the outbreak in West Africa requires a clearly defined coordinator tasked with managing our response. Coordinating the government’s massive international response to this situation needs to be someone’s full-time job, not a task competing for attention with other global crises.

“Ron Klain is a qualified and capable leader respected throughout the government. He is a brilliant strategist and is known for his ability to manage large, complex operations. Ron also understands the importance of clear communications to the containment of a crisis like this. Ron has my trust and confidence, and I’m glad the President has selected him for this critical responsibility.”

Senator Coons praises WTO ruling in favor of U.S. poultry

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and chair of the bipartisan Senate Chicken Caucus, praised the World Trade Organization’s ruling Tuesday that India had illegally blocked imports of U.S. poultry based on unfounded claims about avian influenza. Experts estimate that India’s restrictions are preventing the export of approximately $300 million in U.S. chicken annually.

“Delaware has long been a global leader in the production of poultry products that adhere to the most rigorous and comprehensive of safety measures,” Senator Coons said. “India’s unsubstantiated claims about the risk of avian influenza in American poultry have prevented Delaware chicken-growers from exporting their high-quality products to an important and growing market. Exports play a critical role in the health of America’s poultry industry, making it important that the United States fight the unfair protectionist policies of some of the biggest markets in the world. While today’s WTO ruling doesn’t mean automatic access to the Indian market, it is an important step forward in that fight. Delaware’s poultry community is one of the largest employers in the state, providing jobs for thousands of Delawareans and generating billions of dollars for our economy. My seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee affords me a unique opportunity to fight for Delaware’s poultry growers abroad, and I am committed to using that opportunity to help open new markets and increase exports. I will work with the U.S. Trade Representative and my colleagues in the Senate to ensure that this ruling is fully implemented and that these barriers to fair trade are torn down.”

Delaware’s poultry industry supports more than 13,000 jobs and contributes more than $3.2 billion to the state’s economy.

“India’s ban was thinly veiled protectionism,” said USA Poultry & Egg Export Council President James Sumner and National Chicken Council President Michael Brown. “This ruling should send a signal to India and other countries that have placed similar bans on U.S. poultry that they are inconsistent with WTO rules and with guidelines established by the World Organization for Animal Health.

In May 2012, Senator Coons hosted Indian Ambassador to the U.S. Nirupama Rao in Delaware to meet with Delaware poultry companies, as well as state and federal agriculture officials, and visit the University of Delaware College of Agriculture’s Allen Lab for poultry science research. The trip was designed to show the high quality and integrity of Delaware’s poultry businesses and research institutions.

In 2011, Senator Coons — with Senator Tom Carper and a bipartisan group of 17 of their colleagues — urged the Office of the United States Trade Representative to resolve India’s longstanding, non-scientifically based policies against U.S. poultry during a meeting with India’s senior government leaders. More on that letter is available here: http://1.usa.gov/1Chq4XE

Senator Coons joins Catholic Charities to call on US Health and Human Services for faster release of LIHEAP relief

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons joined Richelle Vible, Catholic Charities Executive Director, and family case workers to request the release of Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funds from Health and Human Services Department.

For more than 25 years, Catholic Charities has been the official state agency to administer LIHEAP funds for the state of Delaware which provides energy assistance funds for those qualifying for the program.

A letter signed by 45 Senators across party lines was sent to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Sylvia Burwell, stressing that LIHEAP is the main federal program helping low-income households and seniors with their energy bills. LIHEAP funding is for the at-risk members of our community (over 19,000 state wide), and its absence could mean a choice between medicine, groceries, or heating the home.

While the Delaware Energy Assistance Program does not pay for all heating costs, it provides a critical supplement – on average, a family receives about $600 to help with heating.

“Choosing between heating your home and buying medication for your family is a choice no one should ever have to make,” said Sen. Coons. “Today we called on the HHS department to release LIHEAP funds sooner so families who qualify can receive the help that they need.”

“Our clients have been filing in for the past three weeks registering for their Delaware Energy Assistance Program benefit,” said Vible. “Having these funds being released from Health and Human Services as soon as possible allow us to begin serving our constituents in a timely fashion.”

Senator Coons is committed to protecting funding for LIHEAP, as well as investing in other energy efficiency programs, such as weatherization, that can keep heating costs down for Delaware families.

If you or someone you know are in need of assistance to heat your home this winter, please call Sen. Coons’ constituent services representatives at 302-573-6345. 

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Carper, Coons, Carney host seasonal job fair at Christiana Mall for 400+ job seekers

NEWARK, Del. – The third annual Holiday Job Fair, hosted by U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and U.S. Representative John Carney, drew more than 400 job seekers to the Christiana Mall Tuesday afternoon. The fair, which featured more than 35 employers, was designed specifically to connect potential new hires with retail and other mall outlets looking to meet increased staffing demands ahead of the busy holiday season. 

The dozens of stores were seeking to fill of positions not just for the holiday retail season, but for full-time positions as well. Retailers such as JCPenney, Macy’s, and Target sought to hire more than 100 employees each, and new movie theatre Cinemark Christiana was hoping to fill at least 80 part-time and full-time job vacancies.

Other participants included LL Bean, Delaware State Police, Champs, Hallmark, GameStop, American Eagle, Sprint, Sephora, Cabela’s, Kitchen Magic, Loft, Pottery Barn, JCREW, Bebe, Barnes & Noble, Banana Republic, Chick-Fil-A, Invicta and Armani Exchange. Retailers received hundreds of applications, conducted on-the-spot interviews, and in some cases, even extended job offers.

“The uptick in business during the holidays is a great opportunity to pick up extra work, and today’s fair put job candidates in front of businesses looking to hire. There is even opportunity for these jobs to turn into permanent, full-time positions,” said Sen. Carper. “The Congressional Delegation will continue to hold these job fairs for all types of industries and careers so that businesses are fully staffed and more Delawareans are back to work.”

“The turnout today is proof that there are unemployed or underemployed Delawareans who are ready and willing to work if given the opportunity, and there are places who need employees,” said Senator Coons. “We were also pleased with the number of stores looking to fill positions continue to participate in these job fairs, demonstrating that there is a continued value meeting those looking for work.”

“Today was a chance to connect Delawareans with job opportunities through the holiday season,” said Congressman Carney. “Retailers up and down the state look for hard workers to help them out during the busiest time of year. More needs to be done to get Delawareans into permanent jobs, which is why we’ll continue hosting our regular job fairs. In the meantime, seasonal jobs are a great way to earn some extra income while continuing to search for long-term opportunities.”

Since 2011, the congressional delegation has hosted 25 job fairs in Delaware, of which, this is the third seasonal job fair and seven specifically for veterans. For more information on how to participate in the upcoming job fair as an employer or job seeker please call Senator Coons’ office at 302-573-6345, or email workshop@coons.senate.gov.

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