WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) has cosponsored a bill to raise the federal minimum wage for the first time in five years. The Minimum Wage Fairness Act would increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour over three years, boosting the earnings of more than 78,000 Delawareans and lifting more than 11,000 Delaware families out of poverty.
The bill would provide for automatic annual increases to the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation and would also gradually raise the minimum wage for tipped workers — which currently stands at just $2.13 an hour — for the first time in more than 20 years.
“While our economy has grown over the last four years, minimum-wage workers have been left behind,” Senator Coons said. “The purchasing power of the minimum wage has declined by more than 30 percent over the last four decades, leaving millions of full-time workers and their families living in poverty. If we want to continue on the path to sustainable, long-term growth, we have to expand economic participation by helping workers climb out of poverty and ensuring access to a fair, living wage into the future. Raising the minimum wage is the right thing to do for our economy, our businesses, and our middle class, and I hope my colleagues in the Senate will come together to get it done this spring.”
The minimum wage today pays just $15,000 per year — $3,000 below the poverty level for a family of three. The Minimum Wage Fairness Act would boost the annual minimum wage to $21,000, lifting millions of families above the poverty line.
Nationally, the Minimum Wage Fairness Act would increase the wages of more than 30 million American workers, more than half of whom are women. In Delaware, where women make up nearly two-thirds of all minimum wage workers, 47,000 women would receive a raise, helping to close the state’s longstanding gender wage gap.
In January 2014, the Delaware legislature passed — and Governor Markell signed into law — legislation raising the minimum wage in Delaware to $8.25 per hour over two years. Beginning in June 2014, the state’s hourly minimum wage will go up 50 cents to $7.75, increasing again to $8.25 in June 2015.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) testified before the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration on Wednesday about his bill to make substantial improvements to the administration of elections and to make voting faster and more accessible to all voters. The Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely (FAST) Voting Act would create a competitive grant program to encourage states to aggressively pursue election reform. The states that demonstrate the most comprehensive and promising reform plans would earn a greater portion of the grant funding.
“Voting is the ultimate civil right in our free society, and we should treat it accordingly,” Senator Coons testified. “The November 2012 elections were a wake-up call. Tens of thousands of Americans, including Republicans and Democrats in both ‘red states’ and ‘blue states,’ saw their fundamental right to vote for the candidate of their choice eroded by exceptionally long lines and confusing procedures in well over a dozen states. It does not have to be this way. We can pass the FAST Voting Act to accelerate the adoption of efficient and effective practices for administering elections.”
“This bill creates incentives for a ‘Race to the Top’ structure to encourage states to adopt many of the best practices, and I think that’s a great idea too,” Rules CommitteeChairman Chuck Schumer said. “To have the states compete to do better and give them a reward for doing better worked very well in Race to the Top, and I think it will work very well in elections too, where you have the same idea: federal interest, but basically state laws governing.” Watch the Chairman’s opening remarks here: http://bit.ly/1g9NKRK
The bill was originally introduced in November 2012, just over a week after an Election Day that saw extraordinarily long lines and a myriad of voting issues in more than a dozen states, including Florida, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Ohio, New York, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Virginia, South Carolina, Montana, Tennessee, Hawaii, Arizona, Rhode Island, and more.
This bill authorizes a federal program that would award grants based on how well applicant states are able to improve access to the polls in at least nine specified ways, including:
Providing flexible registration opportunities, including same-day registration;
Providing early voting, at a minimum of 9 of the 10 calendar days preceding an election;
Providing absentee voting, including no-excuse absentee voting;
Providing assistance to voters who do not speak English as a primary language;
Providing assistance to voters with disabilities, including visual impairment;
Providing effective access to voting for members of the armed services;
Providing formal training of election officials, including state and county administrators and volunteers;
Auditing and reducing waiting times at polling stations; and
Creating contingency plans for voting in the event of a natural or other disaster.
The program also requires an assessment of steps the state has taken to eliminate statutory, regulatory, procedural and other barriers to expedited voting and accessible voter registration.
The New York Times offered its support for the FAST Voting Act in November 2012: http://nyti.ms/T5DvnK, as did the Washington Post in December 2012: http://bit.ly/TmwS6b
Senator Coons’ full testimony is below:
– As Delivered on March 12, 2014 –
Thank you, Chairman Schumer, and thank you Ranking Member Senator Roberts for inviting me to testify. Thank you especially Senator Warner, for his leadership and advocacy for the legislation I am here to present on – the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely – (FAST) – Voting Act.
I also thank Senator Warner, for his leadership and advocacy for the legislation I am here to discuss – the Fair, Accurate, Secure and Timely – (FAST) – Voting Act.
The FAST Voting Act draws on the framework of the successful Race to the Top education reform program to reward states that make substantial improvements in the administration of their elections to make voting faster and more accessible to all citizens.
The legislation incentivizes states to put forward their best efforts to improve elections. As a competitive grant program, the best proposals with the greatest impact are rewarded with the seed money to make it happen.
The critical metrics of this evaluation are clear – Indeed, the bipartisan Presidential Commission on Election Administration (PCEA) report highlights the need for all states to improve in the following areas, which are also enumerated in the FAST Voting Act:
Online voter registration to enhance both accuracy of the voter rolls and efficiency; Early Voting – either by mail or in-person voting so that all people who work can also vote; Improving the ability of military and overseas voters to access ballots and other voting materials; Electronic pollbooks – for greater accuracy and efficiency; Enhancing training of poll workers; and Addressing the needs of voters with disabilities and those with limited English proficiency.
We know what needs to be done. Now it’s time to get moving. The November 2012 elections were a wake-up call.
Tens of thousands of Americans, including Republicans and Democrats in both “red states” and “blue states,” saw their fundamental right to vote for the candidate of their choice eroded by exceptionally long lines and confusing procedures in well over a dozen states.
We saw errors on voter rolls in Ohio and delays in counting ballots in Arizona.
We saw voters waiting in line five hours in Virginia and eight hours in Florida.
In Colorado, voters said they checked the box on the touchscreen panel to vote for Mitt Romney, but that the machine kept switching their pick to President Obama, while in Pennsylvania, voters reported the same problem in reverse – that their selection of President Obama was registered as a vote for Governor Romney.
This is unacceptable. Voting is the ultimate civil right in our free society, and we should treat it accordingly.
When a polling station runs out of ballots, our friends and our neighbors are effectively disenfranchised. Likewise, when the lines at a polling station are too long, our fellow citizens are forced to choose between losing their job and forfeiting their right to vote.
It does not have to be this way. We can pass the FAST Voting Act to accelerate the adoption of efficient and effective practices for administering elections.
While many states are struggling, there are also good examples for others to follow.
In my home state of Delaware, we have an exceptional State Election Commissioner, Elaine Manlove, who has helped lead the way through her tireless efforts to improve the voting experience in Delaware. An instructive example is her leadership on e-Signature, or electronic signature. eSignature is a voter registration method that can be implemented at registration sites – including Departments of Motor Vehicles – to streamline the process through which many Americans register to vote.
In the old system, the need for a signature was accomplished on a paper application, which would then be collected from DMV locations, transferred to the Election Commission, reviewed, entered by another person, and then archived. Now, with an electronic signature available on the same interface as DMV transactions, the data is transmitted directly and error-free to the voter rolls.
Because of Elaine Manlove’s leadership, Delaware voters will experience fewer errors, less wait time, and lower costs.
We owe it to our fellow citizens to help spread the technology, the policies, and the lessons learned in states like Delaware to make elections run better everywhere.
Our Democracy is the oldest in the world, and currently it is showing its age. We cannot stand idly by as our elections become a ritual in embarrassment.
Let’s continue to be a leader in the free world, and help our states conduct the elections our constituents deserve.
I look forward to working with this committee to pass the FAST Voting Act.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) participated in a roundtable discussion with women business leaders in the Capitol on Wednesday focused on job creation, STEM education, and fostering women’s leadership. Amy Ericson, President of Alstom, Inc. and a Wilmington, Delaware native, was among the participants and briefed senators on Alstom’s groundbreaking work in the power generation and rail transportation sectors. As the female head of a major U.S. company, she also offered her perspective on the need to expand opportunities for qualified women to take on business leadership positions.
“If America is to lead the world in innovation, manufacturing, and business, we need to utilize the talents of all of our citizens,” Senator Coons said. “Though more women are leading companies today than ever before, they are still in the vast minority, particularly in critical STEM fields. Business leaders like Amy Ericson are proof positive that women make strong and capable executives in every field. As a father, I am thankful for the example Amy and her peers set for my daughter, and I look forward to continuing to work with them to expand opportunity for all American workers.”
“As a leader of an energy and rail transport technology company, and mother of four daughters, economic recovery is a constant focus for me at work and at home,” said Amy Ericson, President of Alstom, Inc. “Innovation is critical to driving economic recovery and growth and yet we’ve been slow to expand the nation’s pool of innovative thinkers. We need to break from traditional recruitment methods and significantly broaden our efforts so we attract a new and diverse mix of students and business leaders.”
Alstom is a global leader in power generation, power transmission, and rail infrastructure. The company employs 7,000 workers in the U.S., including 50 in Delaware, where its New Castle maintenance and supply facility services both of Delaware’s Amtrak facilities and the Acela train sets. Alstom’s global services include integrated power plant solutions for energy sources including hydro, nuclear, gas, coal and wind, as well as a wide range of solutions for power transmission, with a focus on smart grids. The company has produced 7,000 of the nation’s subway and rail transit vehicles and is responsible for developing the world’s fastest train and highest capacity automated metro.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) voted Monday to approve reforms to the military justice system aimed at addressing the crisis of sexual assault in the military. The Victims Protection Act of 2014, which would reform the military justice system to better protect victims and prevent sexual assault, was approved by a unanimous vote of 97-0. Senator Coons was a cosponsor of an alternative bill, defeated in the Senate on Thursday, which would have would have reformed the justice system by removing the prosecution of all crimes punishable by a year or more in confinement from the chain of command, except crimes that are uniquely military in nature.
“Our servicemen and women put their lives on the line to protect our country, but they should never have to fear for their safety within their own ranks. The crisis of sexual assault in our military has shaken faith in one of our most respected institutions and revealed tragic shortcomings in the code of military justice that must be addressed. The bill passed by the Senate today, together with reforms passed by Congress last year, represents an important step forward to strengthen protections for victims of sexual assault and increase accountability in the chain of command. These reforms will give victims greater input into where cases are tried and greater recourse to address instances of possible retaliation. They will ensure perpetrators cannot use good military character as a defense and that commanding officers are held accountable for the treatment of victims in their respective units. I am grateful for the progress made today and for the leadership of Senators McCaskill and Gillibrand in elevating this critical issue. The men and women who dedicate themselves to keeping us safe deserve the same unwavering commitment from us in return.”
WASHINGTON- Today, Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Representative John Carney (all D-Del.) announced an award from the Emergency Management Performance Grant Program (EMPG) by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Awards from the grant are used to enhance emergency response capabilities of states. In FY 2014, Delaware will be awarded $3.2 million, an increase from $3.06 million in FY2013.
“The Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Emergency Management Performance Grant Program is a critical source of funding for our state’s first responders and emergency management personnel,” said Senator Carper, Chairman of the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. “As a low-lying, coastal state, Delaware has seen its share of natural disasters, particularly in the past few years. The funds from the grant will help to ensure that our emergency management agencies are prepared to take on whatever may come next and save lives.”
“The safety of our communities depends on the investments we make in emergency-preparedness,” said Senator Coons. “As the lowest mean elevation state in the country, Delaware and our coastal communities are often among the hardest hit when extreme weather occurs. This funding will help us continue to invest in making our state more resilient and will ensure our first responders have the resources they need to protect Delawareans in an emergency.”
“Delaware’s emergency responders work hard to protect us. They often put themselves in danger to ensure the health and safety of others,” said Congressman Carney. “This funding helps provide the equipment and training they need to be successful. It’s an investment that pays off for our entire state.”
The EMPG is an annual grant from the Department of Homeland Security that provides resources to assist state, local, tribal, and territorial governments in preparing for disasters. Total funding for the program in the FY2014 is $350,100,000. Funding from the program is supposed to be put towards planning, operations, equipment acquisitions, training, exercises, construction and renovation in enhancing and sustaining a state’s disaster response capabilities. For more information about the grant, visit FEMA’s website: http://www.fema.gov/grants.
WILMINGTON, Del – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, hosted more than 1,200 attendees Monday at the third annual Opportunity: Africa conference at the Chase Center on the Riverfront. The conference, highlighted by former President Bill Clinton’s keynote address, brought Delaware businesses, faith communities, and individuals together with top experts on Africa to share insights on trade opportunities and issues including human rights challenges, sustainable development, food security, and global health.
This year’s conference focused on the key opportunities and challenges facing Africa today: addressing energy poverty, promoting business development, combatting wildlife trafficking, and empowering women leaders.
“When I began hosting this conference two years ago, I did so with the intention of uniting Delawareans focused on Africa, to help connect and cultivate the community among us,” said Senator Coons. “Today, a diverse group of individuals from five different countries and 18 different states came together to hear from some of the most extraordinary experts, including former President Bill Clinton, about the incredible opportunities and ongoing challenges presented by the continent of the 21st century – Africa.”
The Clinton Foundation invests heavily in programs to strengthen African health systems and expand access to lifesaving treatments; to provide African farmers with the tools they need to increase their incomes and strengthen their communities; and to address climate change by working to improve energy efficiency, reverse deforestation, and help cities to develop sustainably.
While in the White House, President Clinton signed into law the landmark African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which has supported the growth of an African middle class, reduced dependence on development assistance, and further opened African markets to American companies.
President Clinton discussed some of the key issues impacting Africa and how the United States can be a force for growth and empowerment on the continent. He cited the impact the U.S. has already made through AGOA and efforts to expand access to HIV/AIDS treatment, and emphasized the important work that must continue to expand access to opportunity, improve agricultural productivity, and combat the crisis of wildlife trafficking throughout Africa.
“My belief is that we live in an interdependent world that is full of possibilities, but that the world we live in is being severely constrained by too much inequality – inequality in access to education and healthcare, employment, training, and capital – and by too much insecurity, ” President Clinton said.
Despite the security challenges we face across the continent, Clinton said, “we dare not let ethnic and tribal conflicts overwhelm the staggering human potential in Africa.”
“No American official has demonstrated a greater commitment to Africa than President Bill Clinton, whose leadership on health, gender equality, trade, and food security began with his presidency and continues today with the Clinton Global Initiative and Clinton Foundation,” said Senator Coons.
WILMINGTON, Del. – A job fair hosted by U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and U.S. Representative John Carney in conjunction with Brandywine Counseling and Community Services drew more than 2,000 job seekers to the Chase Center on the Riverfront to meet more than 90 employers from Delaware.
Companies such as AAA Mid Atlantic, Amazon, Bank of America, DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown, and Mountaire Farms received hundreds of applications and in some cases conducted on-the-spot interviews with candidates. Attendees also participated in workshops presented by the Office of Personnel Management on how to apply for federal jobs as well as a motivational and personal branding seminar by author S. Renee Smith.
“We just learned yesterday that jobless claims in the U.S. have fallen to the lowest level in three months,” said Senator Carper. “I’m encouraged by that and what I’m hearing from employers and job seekers across the state. However, I realize a lot of people are still unemployed and still hurting. I’m optimistic that our job fair today helped some of our unemployed or under-employed get on a path to gainful employment. I will keep working with Senator Coons and Congressman Carney to create a nourishing environment for job growth until we’ve got everyone back to work.”
“Even with unemployment in Delaware at a five-year low, many of our neighbors are still looking for work,” said Senator Coons. “We have a strong, dedicated workforce, ready and willing, as evidenced by today’s turnout, to fill open positions at our local businesses. These job fairs are a simple way to help connect Delawareans with real job opportunities and make a positive difference in our neighbors’ lives.”
“Today’s job fair connected nearly 2,000 job seekers with employers ready to hire,” said Congressman Carney. “It’s an important opportunity for those who attended and walked away with information and connections that will help in their job search. It also shows that we have a lot more to do so that every Delawarean has the chance to work and support their family. I look forward to our next job fair later this year in Sussex County.”
Since 2011, the Congressional delegation has hosted 19 job fairs in Delaware, including five specifically for veterans.
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, issued the following statement Wednesday following his vote against the nomination of Debo Adegbile for Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.
“Protecting the civil rights of every American is one of the Department of Justice’s most important responsibilities, requiring the Assistant Attorney General who leads the Civil Rights Division to be uniquely qualified. I have met with Debo Adegbile and have listened to his strong advocates in the Administration, in the Senate, and in the national civil rights community. There is no question that Mr. Adegbile has had a significant and broad career as a leading civil rights advocate, and would be an asset to the Justice Department, but at a time when the Civil Rights Division urgently needs better relations with the law enforcement community, I was troubled by the idea of voting for an Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights who would face such visceral opposition from law enforcement on his first day on the job.
“The vote I cast today was one of the most difficult I have taken since joining the Senate, but I believe it to be right for the people I represent. Last month, I voted in the Judiciary Committee to move his nomination to the Senate floor because I believed his nomination should be debated and considered by the full Senate. As a lawyer, I understand the importance of having legal advocates willing to fight for even the most despicable clients, and I embrace the proposition that an attorney is not responsible for the actions of their client.
“The decades-long public campaign by others, however, to elevate a heinous, cold-blooded killer to the status of a political prisoner and folk hero has caused tremendous pain to the widow of Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner and shown great disrespect for law enforcement officers and families throughout our region. These factors have led me to cast a vote today that is more about listening to and respecting their concerns than about the innate qualifications of this nominee.”
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Budget Committee and Appropriations Committee, released the following statement Tuesday on President Obama’s budget proposal:
“At a time of tight budgets and tough fiscal choices, our priorities must remain focused on job creation and investments in the middle class. This is the core theme of the President’s budget proposal, which takes important steps to strengthen American manufacturing, promote innovation, invest in workforce development, and support low-income families, while making significant progress toward reducing our deficits and long-term debt.
“To promote advanced manufacturing and regional economic growth, the President’s budget includes a bipartisan proposal I cosponsored in the Senate to create a national network of manufacturing innovation institutes. These institutes serve as regional manufacturing hubs, leveraging resources from universities, businesses, and the public sector to accelerate innovation, commercialize R&D, and create manufacturing jobs. The budget proposal also enhances investments in federal research and development in critical areas, including cybersecurity, science, and technology.
“I was also glad to see investments in the President’s budget aimed at improving job training and employment services for American workers. The investments proposed by the President will equip more American workers with the skills employers are looking for, strengthen vital STEM education in our schools, and support new public-private partnerships to help the long-term unemployed return to work.
“The President’s proposal also includes key Delaware infrastructure priorities, including $35 million in funding for the Delaware River Deepening Project, which will support thousands of jobs in the region and ensure the Port of Wilmington can continue to compete when the Panama Canal is expanded by 2015. Additionally, increased funding for Amtrak included in the proposal will help the service begin making headway on critical infrastructure improvements. This is a good start, and I will continue working to find innovative financing methods to address Amtrak’s $6 billion backlog in investments needed to fix aging tunnels, bridges, and tracks.
“Though I do not agree with everything included in this proposal, it is, overall, a strong blueprint for job creation, economic growth, and increased middle class opportunity. I look forward to carefully reviewing this proposal in detail and working with my colleagues in the Senate to advance the important priorities laid out by the President today.”
WASHINGTON –Today, U.S. Senators Bob Casey (D-PA) Tom Carper (D-DE) and Chris Coons (D-DE) announced that the newly released budget by the Obama Administration for FY 2015 contains $35 million in funding for the Delaware River Main Channel Deepening Project, which will allow larger commercial ships to access vital Delaware River ports. This $15 million increase from FY 2014 is a significant step forward, and is the highest level of funding this project has received in any administration budget. The senators have urged the administration to dedicate sufficient resources to this project that will create jobs and anchor the region’s economy. Their efforts have helped to put this project on a pathway to completion in the next few years.
“Among our most important jobs as U.S. Senators is to create a nourishing environment for business,” Senator Carper said. “With the expansion of the Panama Canal on schedule for completion by the end of 2015, the trend is toward larger commercial ships. The funding proposed by the president to improve the Delaware River shipping channel will help to accommodate these vessels and increase business at the Port of Wilmington and ports throughout the region, helping to grow local commerce. This project is an excellent example of how investments in transportation infrastructure can be one of the surest ways government can invigorate our economic recovery by boosting commerce and creating jobs. Additionally, this increase in funding sets us on a path to complete the project on schedule, so that Delaware River ports will remain an efficient and competitive part of America’s trade network.”
“The Delaware River Deepening Project is critical to keeping our ports and our region competitive in the global marketplace,” said Senator Coons. “With the coming expansion of the Panama Canal, our ports must be prepared to accommodate larger cargo ships or risk losing business to our competitors. Deepening will bring new trade, investment, and thousands of new jobs to the Port of Wilmington and the Delaware Valley. I am thankful for the strong support the President’s budget proposal has shown for this project and will continue fighting to ensure its completion.”
“$35 million in funding for the Delaware Deepening Project in the President’s budget is a major victory for job creation in Philadelphia and the entire region,” Senator Casey said. “As the budget was in formulation I spoke directly to Vice President Biden on this issue and made clear the economic potential that this project has for the region. I’m pleased that the Administration has taken this step and I will work to protect these funds as we go through the budget process.”
“As a leader of an energy and rail transport technology company, and mother of four daughters, economic recovery is a constant focus for me at work and at home,” said Amy Ericson, President of Alstom, Inc. “Innovation is critical to driving economic recovery and growth and yet we’ve been slow to expand the nation’s pool of innovative thinkers. We need to break from traditional recruitment methods and significantly broaden our efforts so we attract a new and diverse mix of students and business leaders.”