Carper & Coons Call for Urgent Evacuation of Afghan Partners

WILMINGTON, Del. – This week, U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons (both D-Del.), joined Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), and 49 of their colleagues in urging the Biden Administration to address the quickly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, which threatens the lives of tens of thousands of Afghan partners.  

In the letter, the bipartisan group of senators call for the urgent evacuation of Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants and their families, as well as the full and immediate implementation of legislation to expand the Afghan SIV program and streamline the application process. The senators urge the Administration to enforce strategic agency coordination and hold the Hamid Karzai International Airport to ensure the safety of Afghan partners and their families, in addition to U.S. citizens. The letter marks the latest congressional response to the Taliban’s takeover and the danger posed to Afghan allies who served alongside the U.S. mission. 

“The Taliban’s rapid ascendancy across Afghanistan and takeover of Kabul should not cause us to break our promise to the Afghans who helped us operate over the past twenty years and are counting on us for assistance. American inaction would ensure they become refugees or prime targets for Taliban retribution,” the Senators wrote.  

“Specifically, we urge continued coordination between the Departments of State and Defense to secure and hold Hamid Karzai International Airport, including to allow for the continuation of military flights and the resumption of commercial and charter flights. We also urge your Administration to assist with the passage of individuals to the airport to safety – both those within Kabul and those outside of the capital – as well as to consider cases where Afghans fleeing quickly may not have been able to collect or gather appropriate documents,” the Senators added. 

You can find a copy of the letter here and below.   

Dear Mr. President,   

We write to urge the immediate and full implementation of recently-passed legislation amending the process and eligibility for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program and for the urgent evacuation of SIV applicants whose service to the U.S. mission has put their lives in jeopardy. As you know, this critical program provides safety for the brave Afghans who served alongside United States troops in support of the U.S. missions in Afghanistan. As the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates, these individuals face increased danger at the hands of the Taliban that has sworn retribution. For this reason, Congress provided additional authorities to improve and expedite the application process while maintaining the program’s security and integrity. We implore your Administration to expeditiously implement these changes and immediately evacuate our Afghan allies to safety.    

The United States led coalition forces in Afghanistan for nearly twenty years following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. Our mission safeguarded the American homeland safe from terrorist attacks, eliminated Osama bin Laden, and delivered freedom and education to a generation of Afghan women and children. At every step of the way, our mission was supported by Afghans who fought alongside us for a better future for their country. They risked their safety and the well-being of their families to work with the United States. With the departure of U.S. forces and Taliban rule in place, the safety and security of our Afghan allies who put their lives on the line to help our service members and diplomats must be a top priority. 

For this reason, we urge you to continue the expeditious evacuation of SIV applicants and their families. At your direction, on July 17 the United States launched Operation Allies Refuge in order to evacuate SIV applicants in danger from the Taliban’s advances. We appreciate that this effort has already brought 2,000 Afghans, including primary SIV applicants and their families, to the United States. However many more remain. The Taliban’s rapid ascendancy across Afghanistan and takeover of Kabul should not cause us to break our promise to the Afghans who helped us operate over the past twenty years and are counting on us for assistance. American inaction would ensure they become refugees or prime targets for Taliban retribution.   

Specifically, we urge continued coordination between the Departments of State and Defense to secure and hold Hamid Karzai International Airport, including to allow for the continuation of military flights and the resumption of commercial and charter flights. We also urge your Administration to assist with the passage of individuals to the airport to safety – both those within Kabul and those outside of the capital – as well as to consider cases where Afghans fleeing quickly may not have been able to collect or gather appropriate documents.   

Additionally, the support and protection of our Afghan allies is why Congress recently passed, with broad bipartisan support, legislation to make extensive changes to the SIV program. We did so with the goal of improving the process for applicants while maintaining our national security. We were pleased that you immediately signed this legislation to make extensive improvements to the SIV program into law three weeks ago, and now ask that you move just as quickly to ensure it is properly and fully implemented ensuring applicants and their families can get out of harm’s way.    

To this end, we respectfully request that your Administration immediately implement all aspects of the statute as Congress intended, including:  

1.      Updating internal and external guidance to reflect the change in the employment requirement for eligibility from two years of service to one. This adjustment of eligibility must be applied to all pending applications, including those on appeal which have been denied on the basis of insufficient duration of service but whose appeal is still eligible to be re-adjudicated. To ensure that this change is fully implemented, we ask that all staff who are charged with processing applications receive training to apply the 12 month standard to all pending applications and appeals.  

2.      The issuance of special immigrant visas to all applicants and their qualified family members that have passed all steps of the visa process and only await a medical exam. The adjustment of status conferred by a SIV is preferable both to the processing of visas and to the applicants than paroling evacuated individuals into the country, thus requiring additional filings to confer the statuses included in a SIV.   

3.      Full and immediate repeal of the “sensitive and trusted” requirement for individuals employed by or on behalf of the NATO-led military mission in Afghanistan, as required by the Emergency Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021, as well as those employed by or on behalf of the United States government. Congress repealed the “sensitive and trusted” requirement from U.S. government employment in December 2019, but as of this date we are not satisfied that it has been fully implemented. We expect the Department of State to implement the removal of “sensitive and trusted” activities from NATO-led forces support immediately, re-open the cases of any U.S. government employees who have been denied Chief of Mission approval for lack of “sensitive and trusted employment” since December 2019, and expeditiously update internal and external guidance to reflect this change.  

4.      The process for appeals of denials. As newly amended, the law now allows that, if an appeal is denied for a reason not listed in the initial denial, the applicant must be allowed an opportunity to address the new denial ground. This allowance is due to the high success rate for appeals when the cause of denial is known to the applicant. As with other changes to the law, we request that your Administration ensure that this change applies to all applications within the appeal period. This spares applicants the time and effort of re-applying and conserves the precious processing resources of the U.S. government. 

5.      Prioritization of applications based on date of the initial application. We once again clarify that the “prioritization” scheme that was introduced in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2019 is no longer law. In addition, all application processing must comply with the Congressionally-mandated nine month processing requirement.  

6.      Full transparency and adequate guidance for applicants. This includes, but is not limited to, updating all public websites maintained by the relevant U.S. government authorities to provide applicants with complete information about eligibility and process for applying. Most applicants do not have access to legal counsel for the sake of understanding the current process. All changes in program eligibility must be readily accessible and all changes that impact current applicants must be communicated directly to applicants.   

We appreciate the efforts that you and your Administration have made on behalf of Afghans who worked in support of the U.S. in Afghanistan. We must now concentrate all U.S. efforts on supporting and protecting our Afghan allies. Anything short of full implementation results in grave security implications. You have the strong support of both chambers of Congress to ensure that no additional Afghan lives are needlessly lost.   

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[VIDEO] Sen. Coons on situation in Afghanistan

WILMINGTON, Del. – Today, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, released a video message to Delawareans on the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. To watch online, click this link. A full transcript is below. 

Message to Delawareans on Situation in Afghanistan – August 19, 2021

With the unfolding situation in Afghanistan, many of you have reached out to me and my office, and I want to speak to you as my constituents, including especially our veterans, members of our military, Gold Star families, and those with friends and family in Afghanistan currently in harm’s way.

Like all of you, I’m deeply concerned that we get every American out safely, as well as ensuring the evacuation of as many of our Afghan partners as possible — particularly military translators, journalists, advocates for democracy and the rights of women and girls, and others at risk for working alongside us.

To the hundreds of thousands of American veterans, active service members, and NATO allies, those who bravely served in Afghanistan alongside our Afghan partners, including the aircrews from Dover Air Force Base currently helping with evacuations, you have my gratitude.

As we heard directly from President Biden this week, when he first came into office, he engaged in a thorough and deliberate review of the current facts on the ground in Afghanistan and the global security threats facing our country. President Biden faced a choice between continuing into a third decade of conflict, which would have meant sending thousands of additional American troops back into Afghanistan and deepening our military commitment with no end in sight and a likely renewal of casualties. Or he could continue on the path chosen by the previous administration and end our military presence. He decided that escalating our military engagement was not the right choice for the American people, and he ordered that we complete our withdrawal from Afghanistan.

In the weeks ahead, there will be plenty of time for pointing fingers, for doing a thorough after-action review about the strikingly rapid fall of the Afghan military and government, the planning and coordination for an evacuation, and the alarming crush of Afghans and Americans now urgently seeking to leave Kabul.

But in the days ahead, we first need to urgently focus our efforts on pulling together and saving as many lives as we can by securing safe passage for Americans and our Afghan partners. I’m committed to ensuring our military and State Department have the resources and support they need for this urgent and vital effort. 

If you have information, questions, or concerns about evacuating a friend, loved one, or someone at risk in Afghanistan, please contact my Wilmington office at (302) 573-6345, provide as much detailed information as you can, and we will get back to you and pass this information forward to the State Department clearinghouse for Afghanistan. 

This war in Afghanistan was not a wasted effort, as some have been saying. Over 20 years, our brave troops and our allied partners decimated al Qaeda and the Afghan branch of the Islamic State. 

They gave us breathing room to strengthen our own defenses here at home. And over the last two decades, we’ve built a global network of partners to continue fighting terrorism and promote our security, and we have improved the lives of the Afghan people. 

Going forward, it’s critical we maintain effective counterterrorism capabilities to limit risks to our homeland, similar to our operations in Libya and Yemen, where we don’t have any ongoing U.S. troop presence on the ground. That’s what we need to do in Afghanistan, and we need to continue working with our regional and global security partners.

For 20 years, Americans killed in action while serving in Afghanistan have first returned to the United States through Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware. I’ve stood there on the flight line alongside many American families, including Delaware families, as they welcome home and honor their fallen heroes. 

We owe it to them to do what we can in the coming days to safely evacuate as many Americans and Afghan partners as possible, and in so doing, to honor the service and sacrifice of those Americans who have served and fallen in Afghanistan, which has meant so much to our nation.

Thank you.

Senators ask Secretary Blinken to expand Afghan visa eligibility for U.S. partners

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), and Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee (SASC), sent a letter with 15 of their Senate colleagues to Secretary of State Antony Blinken urging the secretary to expand the State Department’s interpretation of eligibility for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program, which the senators contend is being too narrowly applied, limiting the travel eligibility of Afghan partners who supported U.S. interests and values in the country over the past twenty years.

“These brave Afghan nationals, a high percentage of them women, who risked their lives through their association with U.S. democracy and civil society programs should have the same pathway to safety as those currently deemed eligible for the SIV program,” the senators wrote. “We strongly urge the Department of State to expand its interpretation of eligibility for the Afghan SIV program to include those who participated in grants or cooperative agreements. Regardless of how the SIV statute was applied in the past, we ask that the Biden administration recognize the compelling national interest in interpreting the law to apply to Afghans who also risked their lives by participating in or implementing U.S.-funded programs.”

The letter is also signed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), SFRC Chair Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), as well as Senators Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), and Jon Tester (D-Mont.).

The full text of the letter is available here and below.

Dear Secretary Blinken,

We write today with extreme concern regarding the ongoing civilian situation in Afghanistan as U.S. forces withdraw. As the Taliban rapidly seizes control of cities across the country, we strongly urge the Department of State to also swiftly expand its overly narrow interpretation of eligibility for the Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) program to include not only those staff members who have worked under U.S. government contracts, but also those employed under and associated with grants or cooperative agreements.

Throughout the United States’ engagement in Afghanistan over the last two decades, five U.S. democracy organizations, including the International Republican Institute (IRI), National Democratic Institute (NDI), the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), Internews, and the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) have actively engaged with Afghan partners to support the development of women’s political leadership, civil society and inclusive governance. Although employees of for-profit contractors working to expand democratic principles are eligible for SIVs, the Department of State has determined that those who worked on U.S. Government-funded democracy support projects under grants or cooperative agreements to non-profit organizations are not. As a result, approximately 900 Afghan current and former staff members of these democracy organizations who are at identical risk are being treated less favorably and afforded less protection than their colleagues employed through for-profit contractors. Afghan employees of many other U.S.-funded NGOs are in similar circumstances, as are high profile judges, scholars, journalists and others associated with U.S. media organizations, human rights defenders, and others, many of them women, whose identities are known for having openly participated in such U.S.-funded NGO programs. This is unfair and wrong.

We applaud the recent and broadly bipartisan legislation to amend the Afghan Allies Protection Act to expand access to the Afghan SIV program and welcome the administration’s subsequent announcement of a Priority 2 “P-2” designation in the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program to permit resettlement in the United States to at-risk Afghans who do not qualify for SIVs. However, we remain very concerned that the Department of State’s overly narrow interpretation of SIV eligibility requirements imposes significant additional burdens and dramatically increases the risk for Afghans involved in U.S. efforts through a grant or cooperative agreement. Additionally, at a time when intra-Afghanistan travel is dangerous and unpredictable – yet a prerequisite for P-2 eligibility – we believe this pathway is increasingly untenable as an alternative option. These brave Afghan nationals, a high percentage of them women, who risked their lives through their association with U.S. democracy and civil society programs should have the same pathway to safety as those currently deemed eligible for the SIV program.

Again, we strongly urge the Department of State to expand its interpretation of eligibility for the Afghan SIV program to include those who participated in grants or cooperative agreements. Regardless of how the SIV statute was applied in the past, we ask that the Biden administration recognize the compelling national interest in interpreting the law to apply to Afghans who also risked their lives by participating in or implementing U.S.-funded programs. Thank you for your prompt consideration of this request. 

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Sen. Coons, colleagues seek to create new domestic manufacturing investment corporation

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Michael Bennet (D-Colo.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) introduced the Industrial Finance Corporation Act, new legislation which would establish the Industrial Finance Corporation of the United States (IFCUS). The corporation would use a one-time appropriation from Congress to finance investments in high-tech manufacturing – helping to promote innovation and create good jobs through domestic production.

Though the United States has historically led the world in research and development with a combination of government-funded research and private capital, our manufacturers today lack access to the funds needed to deploy advanced manufacturing technologies and build the factories of the future. The supply chain weaknesses exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic are just one symptom of these investment gaps, which also result in the offshoring of good manufacturing jobs and expose our overreliance on production in rival nations. The uncertainty that accompanies investments at the technological frontier—combined with their large upfront investment costs—makes them too risky for many private investors. IFCUS would provide strategic, patient investments to U.S. manufacturing projects with a positive return-on-investment for workers, local economies, and our national security.

“This new investment in U.S. manufacturing will help create good jobs, rebuild key industries, and allow manufacturers to overcome barriers to funding so they can continue to lead the world in innovation,” said Senator Coons. “By establishing the Industrial Finance Corporation, we will address gaps in our supply chain that have resulted in the offshoring of high-paying manufacturing jobs. Our international competitors—particularly China—have invested heavily in capturing the commercialization of the next generation of critical technology. This bill responds by deploying strategic investments that amplify our own economy’s strengths and serve American workers.”

“In an increasingly crowded global market, I’m committed to supporting America’s manufacturing industry and workers and will continue pushing for policies that ensure our long-term economic vitality,” said Senator Klobuchar. “This legislation will help our country stay competitive by supporting resilient supply chains and promoting strong environmental and labor standards.”

“The security of our country and the strength of our economy depends on our ability to manufacture certain strategic products here at home,” said Senator Van Hollen. “To foster growth in key manufacturing sectors, we must address supply chain disruptions and create new pathways for innovation. The Industrial Finance Corporation Act will strengthen the resiliency of our critical supply chains, promote the development of advanced technologies, and provide support for commercialization by increasing access to capital. This legislation will help to ensure our country remains competitive on the global stage while also strengthening domestic manufacturing and generating good paying jobs.” 

“Our international competitors know something I’ve repeatedly said: you cannot be a great country if you don’t make things,” said Senator Peters. “We need to continue making investments in domestic manufacturing to strengthen our manufacturing capabilities, address vulnerabilities in our supply chain and bring jobs back to Michigan and the U.S., and this legislation would help boost our manufacturers and economic competitiveness.”

“Manufacturing is critical to American security and prosperity, yet our national approach for supporting this sector has failed to keep pace with innovation,” said Senator Bennet. ”The new Industrial Finance Corporation created by our legislation will provide much-needed capital to boost manufacturing at home, create good-paying jobs, and secure our supply chains.”

“I am glad to join my colleagues in introducing this measure, which if passed will bring more focus and resources to our efforts to bring more crucial manufacturing back to the U.S. and create the highly-skilled, good paying jobs that go with it,” said Senator Warner. “I look forward to working on this further to help execute a key part of President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda.”

The legislation has been endorsed by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the Niskanen Center, the Berggruen Institute, MForesight, The Engine, and the National Defense Industrial Association.

“ITIF fully endorses the Industrial Finance Corporation Act, which would establish an Industrial Finance Corporation for the United States providing a much-needed alternative source of (non-market-competing) capital helping U.S. manufacturers needing capital scale expanded operations, invest in upgraded plant and capital equipment, pursue R&D and innovation efforts, and strengthen domestically sourced supply chains across a range of advanced technology  industries, from biotechnology and semiconductors to green manufacturing,” said Stephen Ezell, Vice President of Global Innovation Policy at ITIF. “Competitors such as Germany have long benefitted from similar entities providing a source of industrial capital, and introducing a similar facility in the United States represents an important step in revitalizing America’s industrial competitiveness.”

“Public support for manufacturing was core to America’s national economic development,” said Samuel Hammond, Director of Poverty and Welfare Policy at the Niskanen Center. “As that tradition was lost, deindustrialization, stagnant wages, and rising inequality ensued. The Industrial Finance Corporation Act is a bold proposal to begin to reverse these trends. With a nimble and dynamic governance model, a new Industrial Finance Corporation is just we need to level-up America’s economy, respond swiftly in the face of crisis, and make the patient investments required to secure U.S. technological leadership in the 21st century and beyond.”

“This bill addresses a critical gap in our innovation ecosystem by providing patient capital to assure that what is invented in the U.S. is actually manufactured in the U.S.,” said Sridhar Kota, Director of MForesight: Alliance for Manufacturing Foresight.

“For startups scaling up to commercial deployment wherein technical risk has been removed but economic validation at scale has not yet occurred, currently the private capital market is failing,” said Katie Rae, Managing Partner and CEO of The Engine. “Without project finance or traditional private debt at this very critical stage, many of these companies will fail, or worse, be forced to go overseas for capital. IFCUS could fill this void without stepping on or being redundant to currently available private capital. As investors in Tough Tech startups with the potential to be the future anchor companies for the 21st century economy, we support this as a viable way to enable company growth all the way from lab to full commercialization.”

“The Berggruen Institute strongly believes that the creation of new sources of public financing is critical to building a more equitable and productive capitalism for the twenty-first century—for this reason, we are proud to support the creation of the Industrial Finance Corporation of the United States as a crucial pathway to create the technological capacity necessary to revitalize our industrial base,” said Dr. Yakov Feygin, Associate Director of the Future of Capitalism program at the Berggruen Institute. “It and other new forms of public financing are necessary to ensure that technical innovation benefits the American people through the creation of high paying jobs and a strong public stake in the future direction of the economy.”

“IFCUS provides an opportunity for long-range investments to support innovative small businesses manufacturing critical technologies,” said Wes Hallman, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Policy of the National Defense Industrial Association. “The formation of the corporation provides the potential to help mitigate adversarial capital challenges small companies may encounter, particularly in the defense industry, thereby supporting national security through secure government investments.”

A summary of the bill can be found here. Bill text is available here. 

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Coons-backed bipartisan infrastructure bill passes Senate with major wins for Delaware

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a member of a bipartisan group of 22 senators who negotiated the bipartisan infrastructure deal, voted to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which makes the largest long-term investment in U.S. infrastructure and competitiveness in nearly a century.

“Today’s passage of the bipartisan infrastructure deal shows what we can accomplish when we work together,” Sen. Coons said. “This investment is going to lay the foundation for years of infrastructure improvements on everything from roads and rail to clean water, climate resiliency, and access to high-speed internet in Delaware and across the country. It will create good-paying jobs in communities across our state without raising taxes, and I urge the House to act swiftly so we can send it to the president’s desk to be signed into law.”

The $1 trillion infrastructure package supports high-paying jobs, vital projects, and internet connectivity in Delaware and throughout the country. Major investments include:

• Roads and Bridges: In Delaware, there are 19 bridges and over 250 miles of highway in poor condition. The bill invests $110 billion in roads, bridges, and other significant projects. This investment will repair and rebuild roads and bridges focusing on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians.
• Transit System: The infrastructure bill provides $39 billion to modernize our nation’s transit system and make public transportation more accessible.
• Rail: The bill provides $66 billion for rail, including the largest investment in passenger rail since Amtrak’s creation. Within this funding, $22 million would be provided as grants to Amtrak, $24 billion as federal-state partnership grants for Northeast Corridor (NEC) modernization, $12 billion for partnership grants for intercity rail service, $5 billion for rail improvement and safety grants, and $3 billion for grade crossing safety improvements. The rail funding will allow NEC service providers, including Amtrak, to make necessary capital investments. The NEC is one of the busiest and most complex rail lines globally and runs through New Castle County with stops at Wilmington and Newark. The state-of-good-repair backlog in the NEC has climbed to over $40 billion, and Amtrak and other infrastructure owners lack the long-term funding to address it. Senator Coons has been leading an effort in the Senate to address this issue.
• Ferries: The bill includes $250 million for a new low-emission ferry pilot program. Delaware’s ferry system, run by the Delaware River & Bay Authority, connects Lewes to Cape May, N.J.
• Clean Energy: The bill invests $73 billion in our nation’s energy infrastructure, including much-needed modernizations to our electric grid and funding for Senator Coons’ Storing CO2 And Lowering Emissions Act, which supports the buildout of CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure. As the nation’s first comprehensive CO₂ infrastructure bill, it would drive deployment of carbon capture, utilization, and storage technology and create thousands of jobs. The bill also includes $3.5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program, which has helped lower energy costs for thousands of low-income Delawareans.
• Clean Water and Pollution Remediation: Over the next 20 years, Delaware’s drinking water infrastructure will require about $1 billion in additional funding. The infrastructure bill calls for $55 billion for clean drinking water in the country, including significant funding to address PFAS contamination. The bill contains $21 billion for environmental remediation, including funds to clean up Superfund and Brownfield sites.
• Resilience: From 2010 to 2020, Delaware experienced 10 extreme weather events, costing the state up to $2 billion in damages. The bipartisan infrastructure bill invests $46 billion for resilience across the country, including $26 million for the Delaware River Basin Restoration Program, $238 million for the EPA Chesapeake Bay Program, and $200 million for the NOAA Marine Debris Program.
• Broadband: The infrastructure bill authorizes $65 billion to connect every American, including those in rural areas of Delaware, to high-speed internet. Almost 4% of residents in Delaware live in areas where, by one definition, there is no broadband infrastructure that provides minimally acceptable speeds. Even where broadband infrastructure is available, broadband may be too expensive to be within reach. More than 10% of Delaware households do not have an internet subscription.
• Ports and Airports: The bill calls for $17 billion for port infrastructure and $25 billion for airports to reduce congestion and emissions and address maintenance backlogs.
• School Buses: $5 billion for electric and low-carbon school buses to reduce the exposure of students in Delaware and around the country to pollution.
• Reconnecting communities: The bill provides $1 billion for a new program to reconnect communities divided by the interstate highway system and other transportation infrastructure, as called for in the Reconnecting Communities Act, which Senator Coons cosponsored. This would help fund projects like a highway cap on I-95 in Wilmington.

Sens. Coons, Klobuchar, Warner press Facebook on decision to remove independent researchers from platform

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.), Chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law, Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), and Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg asking about Facebook’s decision to terminate the ability of researchers at New York University’s Ad Observatory Project’s to access its platform. 

The independent researchers were studying political advertising on Facebook. Their research has produced several key discoveries including highlighting a lack of transparency in how advertisers target political ads online on Facebook. 

“We were surprised to learn that Facebook has terminated access to its platform for researchers connected with the NYU Ad Observatory project. The opaque and unregulated online advertising platforms that social media companies maintain have allowed a hotbed of disinformation and consumer scams to proliferate, and we need to find solutions to those problems,” the senators wrote.

The senators continued: “…independent researchers are a critical part of the solution. While we agree that Facebook must safeguard user privacy, it is similarly imperative that Facebook allow credible academic researchers and journalists like those involved in the Ad Observatory project to conduct independent research that will help illuminate how the company can better tackle misinformation, disinformation, and other harmful activity that is proliferating on its platforms.”

The full text of the letter can be found here and below.

Dear Mr. Zuckerberg, 

As you know, we are committed to protecting privacy for all Americans while eliminating the scourge that is disinformation and misinformation, particularly with regard to elections and the COVID-19 pandemic.

We were surprised to learn that Facebook has terminated access to its platform for researchers connected with the NYU Ad Observatory project. The opaque and unregulated online advertising platforms that social media companies maintain have allowed a hotbed of disinformation and consumer scams to proliferate, and we need to find solutions to those problems. The Ad Observatory project describes itself as “nonpartisan [and] independent…focused on improving the transparency of online political advertising.” Research efforts studying online advertising have helped inform consumers and policymakers about the extent to which your ad platform has been a vector for consumer scams and frauds, enabled hiring discrimination and discriminatory ads for financial services, and circumvented accessibility laws. Such work to improve the integrity of online advertising is critical to strengthening American democracy.

We appreciate Facebook’s ongoing efforts to address misinformation and disinformation on its platforms. But there is much more to do, and independent researchers are a critical part of the solution. While we agree that Facebook must safeguard user privacy, it is similarly imperative that Facebook allow credible academic researchers and journalists like those involved in the Ad Observatory project to conduct independent research that will help illuminate how the company can better tackle misinformation, disinformation, and other harmful activity that is proliferating on its platforms.

We therefore ask that you provide written answers to the following questions by August 20, 2021:

1. How many accounts of researchers and journalists were terminated or otherwise disabled during 2021, including but not limited to researchers from the NYU Ad Observatory?
2. Please explain why you terminated those accounts referenced in question 1. If you believe that the researchers violated Facebook’s terms of service, please describe how, in detail.
3. If the researchers’ access violated Facebook’s terms of service, what steps are you taking to revise these terms to better accommodate research that improves the security and integrity of your platform?
4. Facebook’s public statement about its decision to terminate the Ad Observatory researchers’ access said that research should not “compromis[e] people’s privacy.” Please explain how the researchers’ work compromised privacy of end-users.
5. The Ad Observatory project asked Facebook users to voluntarily install a browser extension that would provide information available to that user about the ads that the user was shown. Facebook’s public statement says that the extension “collected data about Facebook users who did not install it or consent to the collection.” Were these non-consenting “users” advertisers whose advertising information was being collected and analyzed, other individual Facebook users, or both?
6. Facebook has suggested that the NYU researchers potentially violated user privacy because the browser extension could have exposed the identity of users who liked or commented on an advertisement.  However, both researchers at NYU and other independent researchers have confirmed that the extension did not collect information beyond the frame of the ad, and that the program could not collect personal posts.  Given these technical constraints, what evidence does Facebook have to suggest that this research exposed personal information of non-consenting individuals?
7. Facebook’s public statement explaining its decision to revoke access for the NYU researchers states that Facebook made this decision “in line with our privacy program under the FTC Order.” FTC Acting Bureau Director Samuel Levine sent you a letter dated August 5, 2021 in which he noted that “Had you honored your commitment to contact us in advance, we would have pointed out that the consent decree does not bar Facebook from creating exceptions for good-faith research in the public interest. Indeed, the FTC supports efforts to shed light on opaque business practices.” 
   1. Why didn’t Facebook contact the FTC about its plans to disable researchers’ accounts?
   2. Does Facebook maintain that the FTC consent decree or other orders required it to disable access for the Ad Observatory researchers? If so, please explain with specificity which sections of which decree(s) compel that response.
   3. Are there measures Facebook could take to authorize the Ad Observatory research while remaining in compliance with FTC requirements?
   4. In light of Mr. Levine’s statement that the FTC Order does not require Facebook to disable the access of the Ad Observatory researchers, does Facebook intend to restore the Ad Observatory researchers’ access?
8. In its public statement, Facebook highlighted tools that it offers to the academic community, including its Facebook Open Research and Transparency (FORT) initiative.  However, public reporting suggests that tool only includes data from the three month period before the November 2020 election, and further that it does not include ads seen by fewer than 100 people.

8. 1. Why does Facebook limit this data set to the three months prior to the November 2020 election?
   2. Why does Facebook limit this data set to ads seen by more than 100 people?
   3. What percentage of unique ads on Facebook are seen by more than 100 people?

We look forward to your prompt responses.

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Sen. Coons applauds Capital One’s partnership with DSU at Wilmington Riverfront

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.), co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus, released the following statement on Capital One’s new partnership with Delaware State University in Wilmington. Capital One has donated a $4.7 million facility at the Wilmington Riverfront to the university and will create more opportunities for Delaware State students to pursue Capital One careers in fields including business analysis, tech, and product development.

“This generous donation from Capital One to Delaware State University will invest in the prosperity of students and elevate the stature of one of America’s premiere public HBCUs. Right now, I’m working hard in the Senate to pass the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, a landmark bipartisan bill that would repair and modernize HBCU campuses that serve as gateways to success for thousands of students. As we work to deliver this transformational support for campus infrastructure, I’m thrilled to see Capital One and Delaware State partnering to pave the way for future generations of Hornets to learn and grow along the Wilmington Riverfront.”

Both Capital One and Delaware State University are strong advocates for passage of the IGNITE HBCU Excellence Act, bipartisan legislation led by Senator Coons, making historic federal investments in HBCUs and strengthening public-private partnerships to enhance and grow these world-class institutions.

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Sen. Coons’ statement on passing of AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following statement on the passing of Richard Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO):

“Richard Trumka was a passionate, effective, tireless advocate for working people in this country. Rich spent his life devoted to labor rights, and for more than a decade, championed workers as the president of the AFL-CIO. There was no better friend to labor or tougher negotiator than him. Annie and I send our prayers to Barbara, Rich Jr., and his family and friends.”

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Sen. Coons continues bipartisan effort urging Education Secretary to discharge outstanding student loans for Americans with a permanent disability

For years, Sen. Coons has been leading a bipartisan, bicameral effort to improve the student loan debt relief process for borrowers with a total and permanent disability (TPD)

TPD borrowers face costly delays and bureaucratic barriers to receiving a benefit they are entitled to under the Higher Education Act of 1965

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) led a bipartisan, bicameral letter urging U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to move forward swiftly with rulemaking to automatically discharge the outstanding student loans of more than 517,000 Americans with a total and permanent disability (TPD). The letter is also signed by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-Ohio), Angus King (I-Maine), and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) and U.S. Representatives Ron Kind (D-Wis.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).

While the Higher Education Act of 1965 allows individuals with a TPD to have their outstanding federal student loans forgiven, these borrowers face significant challenges that are both administratively burdensome and unnecessary in the application and income monitoring process. Unfortunately, this has resulted in hundreds of thousands of eligible borrowers not getting the debt relief they are entitled to. Many of these rules in place however are not specified under law, meaning the Department of Education has authority to change the regulations of the TPD program and make student loan discharges automatic for borrowers with a TPD upon being identified.

“While the Department has made improvements to the TPD process in recent years, more can be done to resolve inequities and burdens in the program. Therefore, we continue to lead a bipartisan, bicameral effort so that Americans will no longer face costly delays or bureaucratic barriers to receiving a benefit that they are entitled to under the law,” wrote the lawmakers. “The Department can eliminate unnecessary paperwork and provide swift relief to borrowers with an interim final rule to automate discharges under the TPD program. We continue to urge the Department to act on our request as soon as possible.”

Since 2016, Sen. Coons has been leading the bipartisan, bicameral effort to fix this issue for Americans. In 2017, his Stop Taxing Death and Disability Act, a bill to remove the federal tax penalty for federal student loans that are discharged due to death or total and permanent disability, was passed into law. Sen. Coons led several letters, sent on February 15, 2018 and October 9, 2019 respectively, to the Department of Education urging the department to streamline the student loan discharge process and make it automatic upon a borrower being identified through matching agreements the with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Social Security Administration (SSA). On December 5, 2019, Sen. Coons led a bipartisan group of lawmakers in urging the Department of Education’s acting inspector general to investigate the discharge process for Americans with a TPD in response to an alarming report from National Public Radio that found that between March 2016 and September 2019, only 28% of borrowers identified through the SSA data match as eligible for TPD discharge actually had their loans discharged or were on track for that to happen.

The letter is available here and is copied below.

Dear Secretary Cardona:

We write to urge the U.S. Department of Education (“Department”) to move forward expediently to automatically discharge the loans of more than 517,000 student loan borrowers that have been identified by the Social Security Administration (SSA) as having a total and permanent disability (TPD).  Under Section 437(a) of the Higher Education Act 1965, individuals who have a TPD are eligible to have their outstanding federal student loans forgiven.  Under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, federal student loans that are discharged due to death or TPD are exempt from federal income tax.  Furthermore, through the Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education Act of 2019 (FUTURE Act) , the Department is required to streamline the TPD student loan discharge process.  While the Department has made improvements to the TPD process in recent years, more can be done to resolve inequities and burdens in the program.  Therefore, we continue to lead a bipartisan, bicameral effort so that Americans will no longer face costly delays or bureaucratic barriers to receiving a benefit that they are entitled to under the law.

The Department currently utilizes data provided through matching agreements with the SSA and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to identify disabled federal student loan borrowers who may be eligible for TPD student loan discharge.  Once notified, those borrowers must apply for discharge, and if the borrower was matched through the SSA, must then undergo an income monitoring period of three years to verify that they continue to have no earnings and must submit additional paperwork to complete the process.  If the borrower does not satisfy the income requirements or fails to provide the required paperwork, the Department will reinstate the borrower’s obligation to repay the discharged loans.  However, the requirements to submit applications and undergo income monitoring are not specified by the statute.  As such, the Department has full authority to change the regulations and make student loan discharges automatic for borrowers with a TPD.

On August 21, 2019, President Trump signed a Presidential Memorandum that directed the Secretary of Education and Secretary of Veterans Affairs to change regulations and automatically discharge federal student loan debt for veterans with a TPD.  The Department was able to swiftly issue new rules and “determined that there is good cause for interim final rulemaking and that such action is in the public interest.”  However, the memorandum did not apply to the hundreds of thousands of borrowers matched through SSA data, despite facing the same circumstances.  It is unnecessary and contrary to the public interest to undergo lengthy negotiated rulemaking to provide student loan discharges to borrowers with severe disabilities, as they are entitled to by law, when information is already on file with the federal government to verify their eligibility.

Therefore, the Department should issue an interim final rule as soon as possible that (1) provides automatic student loan discharges to those who have a TPD designation on file with SSA through eliminating the application process, and (2) eliminates the monitoring period.  Eligible borrowers should then receive their loan discharges quickly after their initial disability determination is certified by SSA and not later than 90 days.  Eliminating the application and monitoring period will align the process for borrowers with an SSA designation with the process that applies to borrowers with a VA designation.

The Department can eliminate unnecessary paperwork and provide swift relief to borrowers with an interim final rule to automate discharges under the TPD program.  We continue to urge the Department to act on our request as soon as possible, and ask for a response to this letter no later than August 30, 2021.  For your awareness, we have enclosed the letters from February 15, 2018, October 9, 2019, and December 6, 2019 that we sent to the previous administration.

Sincerely,

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Coons, Shaheen, colleagues warn Polish government against pursuing legislation that targets free media, jeopardizes U.S. investments

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-Del.) issued the following joint statement with Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and Ben Cardin (D-Md.) and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jim Risch (R-Idaho) in response to legislation being considered by Poland’s parliament that would infringe on a free, independent media and jeopardize U.S. media investments in Poland.

“The Polish government’s continued democratic backsliding, most recently through efforts designed to undermine independent media and one of the largest U.S. investments in the country, is deeply concerning. As a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators, we want to make clear to the Polish government that we are watching these events carefully. We are monitoring legislation under consideration in the Polish parliament that, if passed and signed into law, would discriminate against non-EU companies and likely force out of Poland a major U.S. investor employing several thousand people. This legislation, coupled with Poland’s refusal to renew the license for the firm TVN, continues a troubling trajectory for Poland’s democracy. This is not the way to attract foreign investments and would further undermine media freedoms for which Poles have long fought,” said the senators.

They continued, “These and other steps, which Poland — a NATO ally and close friend and partner of the United States — has recently taken, do not reflect the shared values that underpin our bilateral relationship. Any decision to implement these laws could have negative implications for defense, business and trade relations. We urge the Polish government to pause before acting on any measure that would impact our longstanding relationship.”

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