Carper, Coons, Carney announce $480,000 for youth suicide prevention

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Representative John Carney today announced a total of $480,000 in federal funding for the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and its Families for the Delaware State Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention Project. The grant will expand the project’s capacity for crisis intervention and response, increase knowledge and awareness of youth suicide and prevention among secondary school teachers, administrators, students, and parents.

“We have a responsibility to give all young people and their parents, teachers and caregivers across Delaware the necessary tools to help prevent this loss of life,” Senator Carper said. “This grant demonstrates our state and nation’s commitment to preventing suicides, and providing high-quality health programs to at-risk, yet often overlooked middle-school aged youth. This important funding for the Delaware Department of Services to Children, Youth and their Families will give teachers, parents and community leaders the resources they need to fill this void of critical life-saving mental and behavioral health services for Delaware’s middle school population.”

“It’s when Delaware’s young people find it hardest to reach out for help that our schools and communities must be prepared to reach out to them instead,” Senator Coons said. “By educating students and adults on the behavior that tends to precede youth suicide, we will help prevent more of our children from tragically taking their own lives. This grant to the Delaware State Suicide Prevention and Early Intervention project will help save lives in our communities.”

“No one should feel like help isn’t available or that their challenges are too large to solve,” Congressman Carney said.  “Suicide, particularly by young people, is a very serious issue that impacts every community in our state.  This grant will help state agencies, non-profit organizations, school leaders, and young people better understand suicidal behavior and connect those who may be considering suicide with the help and support they need.”

The grant, which is funded through July 2014, will increase the state’s capacity for crisis response, which will directly reach middle school students across the state using an evidence-based intervention known as Lifelines. The system will provide educators and parents with essential information about suicide risk and how to intervene when a youth is suspected to be at risk.

Outreach to adults who work with youth in Delaware’s communities statewide will be provided through the Mental Health Association of Delaware and Family Voices, educating parents, medical practice, and community juvenile justice staff in suicide prevention.

The grant will also support a communications campaign to help increase awareness about suicide prevention with an emphasis on military families.

Suicide prevention awareness and training will be provided to at least 6,250 middle school students and 6,000 adults over a three-year period.

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Senators Carper, Coons highlight federal funding for Amtrak

WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons (D-Del.) highlighted nearly $450 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to Amtrak for development towards a high-speed rail corridor and other construction projects along the Northeast Corridor (NEC). 

This funding will upgrade catenary, power, track and signal systems on the NEC between Trenton and New Brunswick, NJ and will improve western approach tracks in New York Penn Station. The improvements funded by the Federal Railroad Administration, using money provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will position Amtrak to accomplish train speeds of 186 mph for 24 miles in New Jersey, the fastest speeds in North America, while making Amtrak Acela and Northeast Regional service more reliable. Commuter trains from New Jersey to Philadelphia and New York will also utilize the improved infrastructure. 

“This federal funding for rail service along the Northeast Corridor is truly unprecedented,” said Sen. Carper. “These investments in our passenger rail system will help reduce our dependence on foreign oil, cut harmful air emissions, ease traffic congestion and create jobs. As a near-daily rider of Amtrak, I know that the projects these grants will support will improve service and reliability up and down the Northeast Corridor. They will also help to lay the groundwork for future improvements, both in Delaware and other states, which will accelerate the Northeast Corridor’s continuing evolution as a true high speed rail option.”

“It’s been seven months since Florida’s governor turned his back on these funds, but I was glad that Amtrak and Delaware’s neighbors in the Northeast Corridor were able to take advantage,” said Sen. Coons. “What’s good for the Northeast Corridor is not only good for Delaware’s economy, but for the nation’s. I’m glad to see these funds are now on their way to these important projects.”

The $449,944,000 in funding is part of $795 million reassigned to the NEC from Florida. In February 2011, Sens. Carper, Coons and other Northeast Corridor senators wrote to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary LaHood to request that $2.4 billion in federal high speed rail funding rejected by Governor Rick Scott of Florida go to the NEC. The $795 million in funding will be used to upgrade some of the most heavily-used sections of the corridor. The investments will allow the top speed of trains on the corridor to increase on critical segments, improve on-time performance, and add more seats for passengers. Wilmington is the 12th busiest station on the NEC, with 1900 passenger a day. Amtrak employs 1,099 Delaware residents and Amtrak placed orders valued at $9,517,581 for goods and services in Delaware in Fiscal Year 2010.

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Delaware Delegation announces award to support landmark manure-to-energy project

WASHINGTON – Today, Sens. Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Rep. John Carney (all D-Del.) announced $848,424 to help Delaware farmers convert manure to energy to generate income and improve water quality in the Chesapeake Bay. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) funding, which will be distributed by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania and West Virginia, is one of 52 grants totaling $22.5 million awarded to the winning 2011 Conservation Innovation Grants (CIG) proposals. 

The CIG program was created to help agricultural and conservation businesses and organizations invest in innovative conservation technologies and approaches that address a broad array of existing and emerging natural resource issues. In addition to the manure-to-energy project, the 2011 CIG award supports proposals that address erosion prevention and other natural resource issues, demonstrate new ways to reduce odors from poultry and livestock operations, reclaim mining lands, develop ecosystem markets and expand solar energy use on farms. 

“Delaware’s agricultural community – from poultry to soybeans to corn – makes up an invaluable part of our state’s economy and culture,” said Sen. Carper. “This most recent grant from the Department of Agriculture helps Delaware’s farmers and growers to continue to be good stewards of our land and water and supports their innovative efforts to generate energy from manure.  This is an ingenious win-win-win that helps our agriculture community generate more energy and income while conserving our state’s – and nation’s – precious resources that make the agricultural sector thrive. In particular, this grant continues to support Delaware’s leading nutrient management program, which is a first-rate model for agricultural communities across the United States.” 

“Finding innovative solutions for restoring the Chesapeake Bay are important as Delaware and other states in the watershed continue to work to protect this national treasure,” Senator Coons said. “I want to congratulate the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation on winning this grant, which will not only help farmers manage nutrients in the watershed, but will create a profitable and renewable energy source that will generate additional on-farm income.”

“This innovative project will allow Delaware farmers to convert waste to energy while simultaneously enhancing the water quality in the Chesapeake Bay,” said Rep. Carney. “By partnering our agriculture community with conservation efforts, we are strengthening the economy, improving the environment and enhancing water quality in a way that’s good for business and good for Delawareans. I look forward to watching this program grow and develop in the coming years.”

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Senator Coons confronts rate of veteran unemployment in first jobs roundtable

WILMINGTON, Del. — U.S. Senator Chris Coons hosted a roundtable discussion with some of Delaware’s leading voices on jobs for veterans this afternoon in New Castle to generate new ideas for confronting the staggering 21.1 percent unemployment rate amongst post-9/11 veterans.

“For months I’ve been meeting with military leaders, veterans who are looking for work, business leaders, and government officials, and the message I’m hearing from everyone is the same — we need to do more to boost hiring rates of those who’ve served,” Senator Coons said. “To help returning veterans get into the workforce we need to do two things simultaneously.  First, we need to get our economy moving again in order to create jobs, and second, we need to help businesses recognize the value in the leadership and technical skills our veterans gained from their service.”

Monday’s roundtable included 19 participants from around the state, from the military, public, private, medical, and academic sectors. Senator Coons led a 90-minute-long discussion on the unique challenges veterans face after returning home and on opportunities to help ease their transition to the workforce.

“There are things we can do in Washington to make it easier for veterans to get jobs when they’re ready to re-enter the civilian workforce,” Senator Coons said. “Maybe it’s through the VA or maybe it’s through the Pentagon. Maybe it’s through programs like ESGR and Hardhats to Helmets. Or maybe it’s directly with employers, like Summit Aviation or JPMorgan Chase or Dupont. There has got to be more we can do.”

In May, Senator Coons introduced the Hire America’s Heroes Act to try to tackle some of the major issues facing America’s veterans as they re-enter the civilian workforce. The bill would:

• Extend part of the Wounded Warrior Act for job training for severely injured or ill members of Armed Services until 2014
• Allow the Dept. of Veterans Affairs to begin on-the-job training payments for employers earlier
• Provide solutions for veterans with service-connected disabilities who have exhausted state or federal unemployment benefits
• Make it mandatory for the Dept. of Defense to provide the Transition Assistance Program to all eligible personnel
• Provide for follow-up contact after job training programs to gauge effectiveness for the program and assist veterans
• Establish $4.5 million in grants for a collaborative veterans training mentoring and placement program with non-profit organizations
• Put in place several programs to help establish for employers, the government, and veterans equivalencies in skills and credentials developed in the Armed Forces with the civilian public and private sector
• Make it easier for the federal government to hire veterans after an honorable discharge

Monday’s roundtable was the first of three Senator Coons will host this month to engage Delawareans in a candid conversation about strategies for helping businesses create much-needed jobs. Next month, Senator Tom Carper and Representative John Carney will join Senator Coons in organizing a third job fair for Delawareans. That job fair will be on September 26th in Georgetown.

Participants in Monday’s roundtable included:

• Jeffrey Ansley, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
• Jeffery Brown, Human Resources, Tidewater Utilities
• Laura Coseglia, Director of the 512th Reserve, Airman and Family Readiness Center, Dover Air Force Base
• Patricia R. Edwards, Community Readiness Consultant at the Airman and Family Readiness Center, Dover Air Force Base
• Robert Fitzpatrick, Summit Aviation
• Shannon Freeze-Flory, Global Manager, Talent Acquisition Center of Expertise, DuPont
• Antonio “Tony” Davila, Director, Delaware Veterans Commission
• Harry Gravell, President, Delaware Building Trades Council, Helmets to Hardhats
• Wendelin Henry, Coordinator for Veterans Affairs, Delaware State University
• Tim Keefe, Military and Veterans Affairs Communications, JPMorgan Chase
• Christine F. Kubik, Executive Director, Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, Delaware
• Sheila Mittucci, Human Resources, Saint Francis Hospital
• James M. Provo, Veterans Representative, Business Development Specialist, and Public Information Officer, Small Business Administration
• David B. Rich, State Director for VETS, United States Department of Labor
• Victor Santos, Government Affairs Liaison, Delaware State University
• Wesley Schroeder, Director of USG-DOD Programs, Summit Aviation
• Edward Scully, Vice President, Summit Aviation
• Jim Tribbitt, Division of Employment and Training, Delaware Department of Labor
• Sarmite Tyus, OEF/OIF/OND Program Manager, Wilmington VA Medical Center
• Daniel Young, Founder, Delaware Military Community Partners
• James S. Webb, Military Affairs Coordinator, Wilmington University

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Delaware Congressional delegation announces transportation training grants

WILMINGTON – Today, Sens. Tom Carper, Chris Coons and Rep. John Carney (all D-Del.) announced that Delaware received two grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation for training and consulting in the transportation industry in Delaware.

The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) received $171,108 in funding to continue improving business opportunities for certified Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms on federally assisted projects. The grant will assist DelDOT in an initiative to provide networking opportunities with prime contractors and consultants to facilitate the development of positive business relationships. It will also provide individualized targeted financial consulting to improve the financial posture of selective DBE firms.

DelDOT received another grant in the amount of $99,972 to improve minority and female representation in the highway construction industry at the pre-career, entry-level and managerial levels.

“Investing in the people who build and operate America’s transportation network is as important as investing in the infrastructure itself,” said Sen. Carper. “These investments to assist women and minority-owned transportation industry firms are an important step toward building a stronger workforce. They also ensure that the best and brightest are working to rebuild America and will help businesses to grow and thrive in a way that will allow our nation’s economy to continue to recover.”

“A level playing field is important, both within our government agencies and in accessing government contracts,” said Sen. Coons. “Our state’s talented workforce has so much to offer that efforts to expand communication and knowledge-sharing will improve efficiency and the delivery of services. The government must be a leader in expanding opportunity for all and I am pleased that these grants will help do just that.”

“As we’re investing in the infrastructure that makes up the backbone of our economy, we also need to invest in those Americans who design and build these projects,” said Congressman Carney.  “Ensuring equal access to government projects helps us take better advantage of our state’s skilled workforce and the innovative ideas that Delawareans can provide.”  

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Carper, Coons, Carney announce more than $48,900 to boost energy efficiency practices in rural businesses

WILMINTON, Del.  – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Representative John Carney (all D-Del.) today announced a total of $48,912 in U.S. Department of Agriculture funding to four agricultural producers and small businesses in Kent and Sussex counties. The grants are designed to encourage the integration of renewable energy sources and implementation of energy efficiency measures in their operations to reduce dependence of foreign oil, promote job creation, and spur the economic competitiveness of rural communities.

“It is important that we continue to support Delaware’s farmers, who work hard every day to put food on our tables and keep our economy going,” Senator Carper said. “Grants like these from the USDA are a great example of how the government and businesses can partner to improve our environment, help farmers save money, and create jobs along the way.”

“By investing in clean energy technology, Delaware’s rural businesses are investing in a sustainable, profitable future that will help them compete on a global level,” Senator Coons said. “Encouraging farmers and small businesses to increase their energy efficiency can have a positive ripple effect for the entire country. I congratulate the winners of these grants and applaud the President for leading in this effort to strengthen our agricultural communities.”

“With this funding, Delaware farmers and rural small business owners will be able to cut costs while bringing in the renewable energy technology to help them compete in a global economy,” Representative Carney said.  “There are tremendous opportunities for American businesses to create jobs and become more energy independent through green, renewable technology, and I’m confident that the businesses receiving this funding will soon take advantage of the benefits and possibilities of this emerging industry.”

The grants, which were announced earlier this week during President Obama’s rural economic bus tour, are being provided through the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). REAP offers funds for farmers, ranchers and rural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy-efficiency improvements. These federal funds leverage other funding sources for small businesses, financing up to 25 percent of a project’s cost.

Wellspring Farms, Inc., of Laurel received $6,972 in funding for an energy efficiency project. R. Stanley Collier & Son, Inc. in Harrington received $20,000 for an energy efficiency project; Clothes to You Cleaners in Rehoboth Beach received $9,640, and Kiber Corporation in Selbyville received $12,300 for a solar energy project.

“These investments enable our farmers, ranchers and rural small business owners to develop renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements that will save them thousands of dollars in energy costs each year,” U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said. “This funding is an important part of the Obama Administration’s plan to conserve natural resources, create jobs and lead our country on the path to becoming more energy independent.”

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Congressional Delegation announces more than $1.2 million in funding for highway construction projects

WILMINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Representative John Carney today announced $1,284,811 to DelDOT from the U.S. Department of Transportation to assist with construction, safety improvements, and planning assistance along Delaware highways.

“These grants will promote innovative new practices that will help improve the experience of those travelling on Delaware’s roads and scenic byways,” said Sen. Carper. “The projects made possible by these grants are an important investment in Delaware’s transportation system that will take advantage of state-of-the-art design methods to best serve residents and visitors alike, and to do so at a reasonable cost.”

“These grants to the Department of Transportation will help ensure that Delaware’s families will continue to get to their destinations in a safe, timely fashion,” Senator Coons said. “Delawareans trust DelDOT to maintain our state’s highway system, and to provide accessible and safe driving routes. These grants will help DelDOT keep up with growing communities and changing traffic patterns, maintaining the performance and safety of our roads at the high-quality level Delawareans expect and deserve. ”

“This funding will go a long way towards helping DelDOT complete important transportation projects for the state,” said Congressman Carney.  “Roads, bridges, and other infrastructure are the backbone of our economy, and they are critical to creating jobs.   I’m confident that DelDOT will be able to use this funding to improve the safety and accessibility of roads that Delaware businesses and residents depend on every day.”

These projects include:

• Environmental planning for the Garasches Lane project, connecting Business US 13 to US 13 in Wilmington – $521,760
• Bridge construction using innovative pre-stressed concrete beams on West Avenue Railroad over Isaac Branch in Wyoming – $300,000
• Improvements of signs and safety indicators along Delaware byways – $271,400
• Development of Corridor Management Plan for Lewes Byway Corridor – $99,312
• Assistance in planning Hometown Overlay District in Greenville – $92,339

“Transportation investments like these will create jobs and improve the quality of life for Delaware residents as well as strengthen the state’s economy,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “The demand from the states for these funds shows just how critical the need is for infrastructure investment.”

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Senator Coons to host series of constituent roundtables on job creation

WILMINGTON, Del. – U.S. Senator Chris Coons will host three roundtables with constituents in the next two weeks to listen to Delawareans’ concerns about the economy and their ideas for creating jobs. The roundtables will focus on Delaware’s veterans, its high-tech and R&D sector, and its community-based businesses.

“Helping our neighbors get back to work continues to be my top priority,” Senator Coons said.  “After working for years in the private sector and local government, I know that the best ideas for creating jobs are going to come from the people on the front lines of the economic recovery.  I talk with out-of-work Delawareans and small business owners just about every day, but these roundtables will facilitate a more dynamic group discussion that I hope will generate new ideas that we can apply in Washington to help create jobs for Delawareans.”

Three roundtables have been scheduled for before the Senate reconvenes in early September:

Monday, August 22 at 1:30 p.m.
Senator Coons’ Roundtable on Jobs for Delaware’s Veterans
The unemployment rate for young veterans just back from Iraq or Afghanistan is 22 percent and amongst all veterans, it is over 13 percent.  What can Congress do to help our nation’s heroes come home to job opportunities worthy of their sacrifice?
Location: Delaware National Guard Headquarters Building, Loeffel Room, 2600 Spruance Drive, New Castle, DE 19720

Thursday, August 25 at 10:00 a.m.
Senator Coons’ Roundtable on Jobs in Delaware’s High-Tech and R&D Sector
Delaware’s most innovative emerging businesses have the opportunity to drive the next generation of our state’s manufacturing economy.  What can Washington do to help Delaware’s young high-tech firms grow and create jobs?
Location: Delaware Technology Park, 15 Innovation Way, Newark, DE 19711

Wednesday, August 31 at 3:00 p.m.
Senator Coons’ Roundtable on Jobs in Delaware’s Community-Based Businesses
The locally owned small businesses that line Delaware’s main streets feel every bump in our nation’s economy while employing tens of thousands of our neighbors. What are Delaware’s small businesses doing to survive and thrive in the recession and what can Washington do to help them create jobs?
Location: Newport Town Hall, 226 North James Street, Newport, DE 19804

Participants at each of the roundtables are being invited by Senator Coons’ office and local organizations. All three are open to press. More information, including press logistics, will be provided prior to each roundtable. 

Since taking office, Senator Coons has hosted two job fairs that combined have attracted more than 3,500 job seekers and over 100 employers.  A third job fair will be held at Delaware Technical and Community College in Georgetown on September 26th. 

“The economic recovery of our communities is directly tied to levels of employment,” Senator Coons said.  “We must ensure that we are doing everything we can to help out-of-work Delawareans have opportunities to get back to work and that those who are employed are able to keep their jobs.” 

In Washington, Senator Coons has introduced a series of bills designed to stimulate job creation, including the Job Creation Through Innovation Act, which is designed to jumpstart domestic manufacturing and create conditions to help businesses grow and create high-quality, high-paying middle-class jobs.  The Job Creation Through Innovation Act would expand, simplify and make permanent the Research & Development Tax Credit, create a new Small Business Innovation Tax Credit and a new Domestic Manufacturing Tax Credit, extend the 1603 Treasury Grants Program, and invest in the Advanced Energy Manufacturing Tax Credit. 

Senator Coons offers support for President Obama’s jobs initiatives for rural America

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) offered his support today for a series of initiatives unveiled by President Obama this week to grow the economy and create jobs in rural communities.

“Washington can and must do more to help America’s businesses create jobs,” Senator Coons said. “The initiatives the President unveiled this week to help rural businesses are consistent with what I’m hearing from Delaware’s small business owners, who need better access to capital to grow and expanded health care services in their communities to keep costs down. I look forward to seeing these ideas implemented and finding other ways we can help our neighbors get back to work.”

To help small businesses get better access to capital, President Obama this week proposed to double the Small Business Administration’s investment funds for rural small businesses over the next five years as part of its Startup America Initiative. The President is also launching a series of conferences nationwide to connect private equity and venture capital investors with rural start-ups.

To help out-of-work Americans find jobs, President Obama announced a partnership between the Department of Labor and the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to increase access to existing job search and job training opportunities by making them available at USDA’s 2,800 field offices nationwide.

And to help improve access to and lower the costs of health care services in rural communities, President Obama announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will expand eligibility for the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program, which will make it easier for small hospitals to recruit urgently needed physicians. The addition of one primary care physician in a rural community generates approximately $1.5 million in annual revenue and creates 23 jobs annually. The President also announced a partnership between USDA and HHS to link rural hospitals and clinicians to existing capital loan programs to help them purchase software and hardware needed to access the benefits of health information technology.

“This is a thoughtful, multi-pronged approach to helping the economies of our rural communities grow and the President deserves credit for leading on it,” Senator Coons said. “There is so much that Washington can do to help our small businesses create jobs and strengthen our workforce, and I hope that these efforts are just the tip of the iceberg. I look forward to working with the President and my colleagues in the Senate over the coming weeks on even more initiatives that will help grow our economy by getting more Americans back to work.”

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Carper, Coons, Carney announce more than $590,000 to combat infectious diseases

WILMINGTON – U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons and Representative John Carney today announced a total of $594,379 for the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to strengthen local health departments’ capacity to conduct research on the prevention of infectious diseases.

“Advancing preventative medicine and technology is one of the best ways to keep Delawareans healthy now and into the future,” Senator Carper said. “This grant is a common-sense approach to reducing our nation’s health care costs by stopping preventable and infectious illnesses before they start. This grant to the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services will strengthen Delaware’s ability to prevent and combat infectious diseases before they spread, while creating good jobs. This is just the win-win situation I had in mind when I supported the Affordable Care Act in the Senate.”

“The best way we can keep our state healthy is by preventing Delawareans from getting sick in the first place,” Senator Coons said. “America has historically been on the cutting edge of medical research breakthroughs, and this funding will ensure that we remain a world leader. I welcome these job-creating grants to the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services and look forward to continuing my work with Delaware’s medical community to keep the First State healthy.”

“Prevention is key to protecting Delawareans’ health and addressing the threats of infectious diseases before they spread,” Congressman Carney said.  “The funding announced today will allow the Delaware Department of Health & Social Services to continue making critical advancements in this area, while creating jobs for Delaware workers.  I’m confident that the developments of this research will move us toward greater health and protection for all Americans.”

The grants, which are partially supported by the Affordable Care Act, are designed to improve the quality of health care and strengthen the public health infrastructure by providing resources to states’ epidemiology and laboratory work, detecting and preventing healthcare-associated infections, and supporting immunization programs. This is double the national spending for the same programs in 2010.

“This funding will be used to create jobs, enabling the hiring and training of epidemiologists, laboratory scientists and health information specialists in the field of infectious diseases,” said Dr. Thomas Frieden, MD, MPH, Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “These are experts who often work behind the scenes in health care to fight disease and keep us healthy. These grants will also make it easier for health departments to better manage and exchange important information.”

Specifically, Delaware Department of Health & Social Services received $427,600 in funding for epidemiology and laboratory capacity, $66,700 for healthcare associated infections, and $100,000 from non-Affordable Care Act funds for epidemiology and laboratory capacity.

“Investing in public health is a key part of the Affordable Care Act,” U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said. “It helps transform our nation’s health care system from one based on when people get sick to one that prevents disease in the first place.”

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