Senator Coons Statement on National Police Week

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, issued the following statement today to mark the start of National Police Week, which runs through Saturday, May 21:

“The men and women who protect and serve our neighborhoods in Delaware and across the country deserve our thanks, but more than that, they deserve representation in the Senate who recognize the fact that the more we put into our law enforcement officers, the more they’re connected to our neighbors and the more they help to sustain our communities. As a co-chair of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus, I’ve worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to ensure our peace officers have the tools they need, whether that’s securing increased funding to hire law enforcement officers in the American Rescue Plan, introducing bipartisan legislation to address PTSD among officers, or working with our state’s congressional delegation to ensure that every officer in Delaware will be equipped with a body camera. This week and every week, I promise I’ll continue funding the police and working to get the support and resources they need to serve and protect every Delawarean.”

Coons, Cornyn bill to apply STOCK Act requirements to federal judges signed into law

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) released the following statements after their Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, which would require online publication of financial disclosure reports for federal judges and mandate they submit periodic transaction reports for certain securities transactions, was signed into law:

“Every American who has their day in court deserves to know they’ll be treated fairly by their judge, and now that the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act is law, they can be more confident than ever that they’re getting equal and unbiased treatment. By signing this bipartisan measure into law, President Biden has brought badly needed transparency to federal judges’ finances,” said Senator Coons. 

“Excluding federal judges from the same disclosure requirements as other federal officials under the STOCK Act was a mistake, and I’m glad we could right this wrong,” said Senator Cornyn. “Thank you to my colleagues in Congress and the Biden Administration for acting quickly to make this the law of the land so we can prevent conflicts of interest and reassure litigants that they will receive a fair trial.”  

The legislation is cosponsored by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Ranking Member Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Senators John Kennedy (R-La.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), and Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.).

Background:

The Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act will require that federal judges’ financial disclosure reports be made publicly available online and require federal judges to submit periodic transaction reports of securities transactions in line with other federal officials under the STOCK Act. The bill will amend the Ethics in Government Act of 1978 to:

• Require the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts to create a searchable online database of judicial financial disclosure forms and post those forms within 90 days of being filed, and
• Subject federal judges to the STOCK Act’s requirement of filing periodic transaction reports within 45 days of securities transactions over $1,000.

Importantly, the bill also preserves the existing ability of judges to request redactions of personal information on financial disclosure reports due to a security concern.

Under ethics guidelines and federal law prior to the Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act, federal judges were prohibited from hearing cases that involve a party in which they, their spouse, or their minor children have a financial interest. Federal judges were instead supposed to disqualify themselves in any proceeding in which their impartiality may be questioned. Despite this, a recent report from the Wall Street Journal found that between 2010 and 2018, more than 130 federal judges failed to recuse themselves in nearly 700 cases in which they or an immediate family member held stock in a company involved in the case. 

While federal judges were required to submit financial disclosure reports, the law did not provide sufficient transparency or certainty for litigants to discern if the judge has a conflict of interest. The process for obtaining judicial financial disclosure forms was often cumbersome and took months or even years. By contrast, financial disclosure reports for the President, Members of Congress, and Presidential-appointed and Senate-confirmed officials are readily available online. 

Litigants need real-time access to judges’ financial disclosures and securities transactions in order to preserve the integrity of the proceedings and ensure a recusal when there’s a potential conflict of interest in their case. The Courthouse Ethics and Transparency Act will enact necessary updates to disclosure rules and provide litigants and the public with greater confidence in the judicial system.

###

Sen. Coons applauds confirmation of Dr. Lisa Cook to Federal Reserve Board of Governors

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement today after the Senate voted to confirm Dr. Lisa D. Cook to serve on the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve:

“In the three decades that I’ve known Dr. Lisa Cook—first as fellow Truman Scholars—I’ve admired her brilliant mind, her passion for public service, and her broad range of professional experience, from teaching at Michigan State University to advising world leaders at home and abroad on their economic policies.

“Lisa has built world-class expertise in economics, innovation, and banking, and she understands not just abstract economic theory but how those theories impact Americans and their families in all walks of life. I’m glad that the Senate has finally confirmed such a well-qualified nominee to this critical role for the U.S. and global economy. I look forward to voting for President Biden’s remaining nominees as they come to the floor to ensure that our government can work at full capacity to best serve the American people.”

###

Senator Coons on House Passage of Ukraine Supplemental

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs (SFOPS), released the following statement today after the House of Representatives passed a $39 billion emergency spending bill to aid the Ukrainian people, nearly half of which is SFOPS funding:

“The House of Representatives’ passage of nearly $40 billion for military, economic, and humanitarian aid last night is a clear demonstration of the strong and bipartisan U.S. commitment to standing behind the Ukrainian people as they resist Russia’s brutal and unjust military invasion. There is more that should have gone into this bill, including funding to continue fighting the COVID-19 pandemic around the world and a pathway to permanent residency for our Afghan allies who have evacuated their own country after helping U.S. forces at great personal risk.

“With that said, this is a strong bill, especially with more than $5 billion that has been made available in the package to prevent and address food insecurity. Ukraine, the bread basket of Europe, will produce at least one-third less wheat this year, and the United States must take steps to prevent a regional and global hunger crisis as a result of the conflict. I look forward to working with my Senate colleagues to swiftly take up and pass the House package so the flow of lifesaving aid to Ukraine can continue.”

###

Sen. Coons on vote to codify access to reproductive health care

WASHINGTON – Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement today after the Senate failed to invoke Cloture on the Women’s Health Protection Act.

“Today, I voted in favor of the Women’s Health Protection Act because every woman in every state deserves guaranteed access to reproductive health care, including abortion. I’m disappointed that this legislation didn’t pass. The American people overwhelmingly support Roe, and the Senate must find a way to defend a woman’s right to make her own choices about her life and her future. This is not the end of the fight, and I will continue to work to codify Roe and ensure every woman has the right to the reproductive health care services they need.”

###

Delaware Congressional Delegation Stands Firmly with Delaware State University Community

Delaware Congressional Delegation Stands Firmly with Delaware State University Community

WILMINGTON,  Del. – Today,  U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester (all D-Del.) issued the following statement aftervideo emerged of the Delaware State University Women’s Lacrosse Team’s bus being stopped and searched by law enforcement in Georgia. 

“The story reported in The Hornet and images captured on video by the Delaware State University women’s lacrosse team during a Georgia traffic stop are deeply disturbing. No one should be made to feel unsafe or humiliated by law enforcement or any entity who has sworn to protect and serve them. That’s especially true for students who have sought out HBCUs like Delaware State University with a long history of empowering communities of color that have far too often faced discrimination and other barriers to opportunity. We strongly support Dr. Allen’s decision to ‘go wherever the evidence leads’ him and his administration as they explore all possible options in response. Our offices stand ready to assist the Delaware State community however we can as it deals with the impact of this episode, and hope there will be a swift, just resolution.”

###

Coons, Ernst Push Effort to Cut Red Tape, Lower Costs, Expedite Food Aid

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chair of the Senate State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) Appropriations Subcommittee and a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) are pushing an effort to reduce bureaucratic red tape, lower costs, and expedite food aid to Ukraine and other countries affected by Putin’s unjust invasion. Ernst and Coons’ bipartisan resolution would temporarily waive a requirement under current law mandating 50 percent of U.S. food aid exports to be shipped on U.S. flagged vessels.

“In what was once considered the breadbasket of Europe, Ukrainian farmers can’t plant or harvest their crops without risking death at the hands of Russian shelling. The consequences of Russia’s brutal invasion on food supplies are being felt across the world today, and when tens of millions of lives depend right now on the swift, effective delivery of American food aid, we can’t allow our emergency response to be held up by red tape that forces us to spend more money on shipping our food aid than on the food itself,” said Senator Coons. 

“Ukraine is the breadbasket of Europe, and Putin’s unjust, unprovoked invasion is causing a humanitarian crisis and threatening global food security. We need to take immediate action to expedite delivery of food aid to our friends and partners around the world and this temporary, narrowly-crafted measure will allow the United States to flow aid faster, and save taxpayer dollars and countless lives around the world,” said Senator Ernst.

Background:

Cargo preference requirements force 50 percent of Title II food aid shipments (by tonnage) to be carried on US flagged vessels, staffed by crews in which at least 75 percent of the sailors are U.S. citizens. According to a report from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), this law increased shipping costs by an average of $52.6 million per fiscal year between 2013 and 2018 (on average). The United States Agency for International Development in a fact sheet titled “Food Aid Reform: Behind the Numbers” stated that eliminating the mandatory cargo preference reimbursements will reduce the deficit by an estimated $50 million per year. Just last week, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said that the cost of shipping the food commodities overseas is often higher than the actual costs for the grain and other products themselves right now.

Under current law, the President of the United States, Secretary of Defense, or Congress can waive the 50 percent requirement temporarily. This bipartisan measure would declare a state of emergency and waive the cargo preference requirements on food aid exports to Ukraine and other countries directly impacted by the war until February 2025.

Senator Coons has been active in fighting for increased food aid as chair of the SFOPs subcommittee, and met with leaders from the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the International Fund for Agricultural Development while leading a congressional delegation visit to Rome last month.  

###

Sens. Coons, Cornyn Introduce Bill to Extend Security and Protection for SCOTUS Justices & Families

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, today introduced the Supreme Court Police Parity Act, which would allow the Supreme Court of the United States Police to provide the families of Supreme Court Justices with around-the-clock security protection.

“Millions of Americans who tuned into Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearing couldn’t miss seeing her husband and daughter on national TV,”said Senator Coons. “If the families of Supreme Court Justices have the same profile and exposure as the highest ranking officials in our government, they deserve the same level of protection. We must take threats that come from extremes on both sides of the political spectrum against Supreme Court Justices seriously, and that makes this bill an unfortunate necessity.”

“The events of the past week have intensified the focus on Supreme Court Justices’ families, who are unfortunately facing threats to their safety in today’s increasingly polarized political climate,” said Sen. Cornyn. “We must act to ensure Justices and their families are protected from those who wish to cause them harm by extending Supreme Court police security to family members.”

If enacted, the Supreme Court Police Parity Act would extend security protection to Supreme Court Justices and their families in line with what is provided to certain Article I and Article II officers and their families. Sections from an earlier draft of this bill were removed prior to introduction, citing free speech concerns.

###

Sen. Coons Statement on vote for Lankford motion

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued the following statement today after voting for Senator James Lankford’s (R-Okla.) motion to instruct conferees for the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act and America COMPETES Act: 

“As part of a series of non-binding motions, I joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in voting yes on a motion sponsored by Senator Lankford signaling that any future agreement with Iran should address its nuclear weapons program and should not delist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization because of its gross human rights violations and destabilizing support for regional proxies. I supported this motion in order to encourage the Biden administration’s negotiations to push for the strongest possible deal that addresses Iran’s nuclear weapons program and many other malign activities. My vote on this provision does not undermine my continuing support for the administration’s efforts to negotiate an agreement, and I maintain an open mind towards any potential outcomes from negotiations in Vienna.”

Sen. Coons chairs Judiciary subcommittee hearing on transparency around social media platforms

WASHINGTON – Today, Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chair of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology and the Law, chaired a hearing focused on understanding the impact of social media. He discussed his bipartisan bill, the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act (PATA), to increase transparency around social media companies. The full hearing can be seen here.

His full opening remarks are below:

“Social media companies, as we all know, play an enormously important role in our lives and in our society. They have helped to connect billions of people across the world and deliver a whole range of new and innovative services, in ways that provide tremendous value to individuals, families and communities.

At the same time, there are critical questions about the potential negative effects these platforms may have, concerns about propagation of misinformation, incitement of violence or serious impacts on their self-concept or mental health. 

A central issue that we face in confronting these questions, whether as a consumer, as a parent, or as policymakers, is what are the facts? What are the actual facts? 

Right now, we don’t really have a well-grounded, data driven understanding of how social media platforms are impacting us in our society. 

The reality is the vast expanses of human interaction that occur on any given large social media platform can be studied and analyzed really only by that platform. It’s a problem, and it’s why in my view, we need to promote greater transparency. And transparency is important for consumers and the public, who should know how a platform they’re choosing to engage with is potentially affecting them. 

Transparency is important for policymakers so we can better write whatever rules will regulate these platforms going forward. 

And transparency, I would argue, is important for platforms themselves. Because transparency itself is a positive means to change. 

Greater transparency can address the deeply-rooted market failure of imperfect information. We’ve seen how public disclosure of internal research or other data can create a conversation, can alter consumer behavior or lead to regulatory scrutiny and then initiate market pressure that then leads these platforms to adjust their behavior in potentially positive ways. 

On top of all that, I think pursuing greater transparency is and should be nonpartisan. All signs, all points along the political spectrum, have questions that can be answered by greater transparency. Some of the most pressing topics like the effects platforms have on our children’s mental health, transcend political affiliation. This hearing will explore how to bring about greater transparency. 

What are the right pathways? What are the questions that we have? We need to ask and answer them. 

Last winter, late last winter, I released the discussion draft of the Platform Accountability and Transparency Act, known by the catchy acronym PATA, with Senators Portman and Klobuchar. That draft bill would provide for transparency by creating the first provision to require platforms to make certain key information available to the public on an ongoing basis, high levels of ads, algorithms, and widely-viewed content. Second, a mechanism for data access by truly independent researchers through the National Science Foundation, Federal Trade Commission, and third a safe harbor so researchers conducting research in the public interest need not hear legal action. 

We released this though as a discussion graph knowing that it raises important questions. I look forward to this hearing, to discussing those questions as well as many others alongside my ranking member. 

I think those questions include making sure we are striking the right balance between privacy and transparency, and appropriately also, again, when colleagues are doing on these issues in Europe, and what legislation may arise in the states. Of course PATA is not the only goal out there to address these issues. I want to thank some of my colleagues, Senator Blumenthal, Blackburn, for example, for their work on the Kids Online Safety is also relevant to this discussion. With Senator Sasse’s cooperation we’ve assembled an all-star panel with a diversity of views and perspectives to grapple with these questions today. I look forward to it. I will introduce you shortly, but now I’m going to turn to my colleague ranking member Senator Sasse. 

###