Senator Coons supports bill to protect U.S. helium supply

Though most Americans associate helium with balloons, a potential shortage of this critical element would mean more than just the loss of a popular party fixture – it would do real damage to our economy. That’s because helium has important applications in our everyday lives, with uses in arc welding, scientific research, microchip production, MRI scans, fire extinguishers, and tires. It is also used in nuclear reactors, space exploration, superconducting magnets….and yes, blimps and birthday parties. That’s why Senator Coons was proud to support legislation that passed the Senate on September 19th to ensure that a stable supply remains available for critical industrial, medical, and scientific activities dependent on the gas. 

On October 2nd, President Obama signed the Helium Stewardship Act to guarantee the continued federal management of the nation’s helium reserves, located in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The program was set to expire on October 7th. Chris is pleased that both the House and Senate were able to act in time to provide continued management of this critical resource.

The existing Federal Helium Reserve (FHR), managed by the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, stores 42 percent of the nation’s supply, about one-third of global helium reserves. The FHR is the world’s only helium gas stockpile, and is located just outside of Amarillo, Texas. The Helium Stewardship Act permits the BLM to continue to sell helium from the national reserve to the private sector, relieving Delaware’s many industrial, medical, and university users of the fear of a national helium shortage.

The Federal Helium Program was created in 1925 to secure supplies of a safer, non-combustible alternative to hydrogen for use in buoyant aircraft for the military. As further uses were discovered for the gas in the post-WWII period, the U.S. Government began to purchase helium and store it in an empty gas reserve in Texas. The stockpile of unrefined “crude” helium has been stored at the Bush Dome Reservoir in Amarillo, Texas since the establishment of the conservation program with the passage of the Helium Act Amendments of 1960.  The FHR was established as part of the country’s cold war efforts, recognizing helium’s historic strategic importance in lighter-than-air aviation in the 1920’s. The FHR was intended to provide a ready supply of helium for the rapidly expanding needs of defense, the space program, and scientific research.

Fitch Ratings warns of U.S. credit downgrade

As the United States lurches closer to the debt ceiling deadline, Fitch Ratings, one of three major ratings agencies, has placed the United States credit rating on a Rating Watch Negative.  Ratings are placed on rating watch to notify investors that there is a reasonable probability of a ratings change.  According to Fitch, the federal credit was placed on negative watch because “political brinkmanship and reduced financing flexibility could increase the risk of a U.S. default.”  Some of the other reasons include:

• The United States Treasury Department may have a limited capacity to make payments after October 17^th, but the inflows and outflows will be volatile.  Delays in payments of obligations would damage U.S. creditworthiness and the economy.
• The prolonged negotiations are undermining confidence in the role of the U.S. dollar as the global reserve currency.
• The repeated brinkmanship over raising the debt ceiling damages confidence in the U.S. government and political institutions. 

Asked about the possibility of a first time U.S. default, Senator Coons told reporters Tuesday, “We are coming bracingly close to the edge. I think we’re looking over it now. We’re in very dangerous territory.”

During the last debate over paying our bills in July 2011, another ratings agency, Standard and Poor’s (S&P) issued a Negative Credit Watch.  Following a protracted debate which extended into August 2011, S&P announced a downgrade from AAA to AA+, where our credit rating stands today. 

According to S&P in 2011, “The political brinkmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America’s governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously believed.  The statutory debt ceiling and the threat of default have become political bargaining chips in the debate over fiscal policy.”  In response to S&P downgrading the United States’ creditworthiness, the S&P 500 dropped 6.7 percent in a single day, marking one of the largest drops in history.  Globally, investors lost $1.35 trillion in one day.

United States Treasury Secretary Jack Lew has said that the government will exhaust its ability to reliably pay our obligations on October 17^th.  If the debt ceiling is not raised, nonpartisan analysts expect the U.S. Treasury to run out of cash to pay our bills sometime in the two weeks following October 17^th. 

“I’m stunned,” Senator Coons said. “I think this is really reckless. There is no better option for us going forward than to reopen the government, pay our national debt on time, raise the debt ceiling, and honor our obligations as a country.”

Video: Senator Coons warns about threat of default

Senator Coons spoke on the Senate floor again on Monday, this time warning Delawareans about the looming threat of defaulting on our nation’s debts. It was a sober and, at times, chilling look at what will happen, when it will happen, and what our potential paths forward really look like. He explains why “prioritizing” our debt, as some in Congress have recklessly suggested was a way to bypass the debt ceiling, would actually do more harm than good to our economy and our communities.

Video: Senator Coons warns of shutdown’s impacts on Judicial Branch

Senator Coons, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts, spoke on the Senate floor Thursday about the government shutdown’s impact on the Judicial Branch of the United States, which will run out of reserve funds next Tuesday. As Subcommittee chair, Senator Coons is responsible for oversight of the nation’s federal court system and has been reaching out to federal judges and clerks over the last week to find out how they are planning to move forward after funds are depleted Tuesday. On Thursday, the head of the Third Circuit, which includes Delaware, announced that almost all personnel would be deemed “essential” — a decision Senator Coons endorsed in his speech.

Video: Senator Coons speaks about Democrats’ compromise in shutdown debate

Senator Coons spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday, sharing another letter written by a furloughed Delawarean, and walking through the events leading up to the government shutdown, including the Senate’s passage of a budget, progress on Appropriations bills, the sequester, and now this manufactured crisis. Senator Coons explained how we arrived at this point, and the ways in which Democrats have compromised and tried to negotiate, only to be rebuffed, blocked, or otherwise prevented from making reasonable progress.

Senator Coons returning salary from shutdown

Senator Coons tweeted on Wednesday confirmation that he did not think Congress deserved to be paid during the government shutdown, and that he would send a check to Treasury for the amount he was paid during it.

Congress does not deserve to be paid while the gov’t is shut down. I will return my salary to the Treasury afterward. #netDE

— Senator Chris Coons (@ChrisCoons) October 2, 2013

Senator Coons also cosponsored legislation introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif) that would prevent Members of Congress from being paid during future lapses in funding, like this one.

Video: Senator Coons talks about shutdown’s impact on our economic recovery

Senator Coons spoke on the Senate floor Wednesday about the government shutdown’s negative repercussions for our nation’s economic recovery, especially for our manufacturing sector, which could see its recent growth endangered by another financial crisis. 

Video: Senator Coons speaks about the government shutdown

Senator Coons spoke on the Senate floor Tuesday about the consequences of Congress’ inability to avert a federal government shutdown. In his speech, Senator Coons shared three letters he’s received from Delawareans affected by furloughs and the suspension of important government services and called on Speaker Boehner and House Republicans to take up and pass the bill that would reopen the government.

Shutdown

Barring a last-minute change of heart by members of the House of Representatives, at midnight tonight, the government of the United States of America will shut down for the first time in 17 years.

It is as embarrassing as it is frustrating.

There is no reality where the Senate and President Obama agree to repeal the Affordable Care Act — which was passed by Congress, upheld by the Supreme Court, and sustained in the last presidential election — but the House of Representatives has been unrelenting in its drive to tear it down. They know that shutting down the government won’t stop the new health insurance marketplace from opening tomorrow, but are determined to make their point, no matter the cost to our nation.

Delawareans deserve better than this.

There are too many important things Congress should be working on — helping businesses create jobs and grow our economy, first among them — for it to be wasting its time on these needless partisan conflicts.

Congress should be working together to invest in our nation’s aging infrastructure, revitalize our schools, and keep our communities safe.

It can’t seem to pass laws anymore, but Congress has become very good at manufacturing crises. This one was months in the making, and completely preventable.

I’m a member of the Senate Budget Committee and am proud to have helped write a budget that not only fairly replaces the sequester and responsibly reduces the deficit, but still invests in economic growth. The full Senate debated and ultimately approved that budget, but a few Senate Republicans have blocked negotiations with the House from moving forward — ensuring that the federal government will operate without a budget for the fifth straight year.

I’m also a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, which has passed 11 spending bills for the Senate to consider. We tried to pass one of them earlier this year — the bill funding the departments of Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, which had bipartisan support in Committee — but Senate Republicans blocked even debate of the measure.

It is insanely frustrating.

I’m doing what I can to bring the Delaware Way to Washington, steering clear of needless partisanship, working with my Republican colleagues on constructive legislation, and generally trying to put our nation’s interests above our political priorities.

I regret that some in Congress have once again delivered us to the doorstep of an economic crisis, but I will continue to do everything I can to bring us back.

If the government does shut down, my offices in Wilmington and Dover will be closed and most of my team will be furloughed. If you wish to weigh in on the shutdown, you can call my Washington office at 202-224-5042. For those in need of individual help with a federal agency, my website will be updated with the direct contact information of those who can help.

‘Prayer answered,’ Senator Coons salutes safe return of Delaware National Guard unit

Senator Coons had the honor of welcoming home more than 120 members of the Delaware National Guard’s 153rd Military Police Company on Saturday. More than 1,000 family members, friends, and supporters gathered at historic Fort DuPont in Delaware City to greet and offer thanks to service members returning from their nine-month deployment in Afghanistan.

“I am so grateful to God almighty, to your friends and family, to the veterans who have supported you, to the prayers that have lifted you up, to the National Guard who has trained and sustained and supported you, and to the men and women of this community that you are here home safe today,” Senator Coons said. “You are a prayer answered.”

The 153rd participated in nearly 400 missions, many in concert with the Afghan Uniformed Police. The unit responded to significant acts on the western side of Kandahar City, conducted combat patrols, protected power plants, and operated checkpoints that netted six known Taliban members.

Among the ranks were Master Sergeant Marvin Hackett, Staff Sergeant Sidney Baker, and Sergeant Richard Whalen, who completed their fourth tours of duty, as well as Specialist Luis Toledo-Reyes, who recently earned his United States citizenship while in Afghanistan.

The 153rd arrived at the ceremony accompanied by the Patriot Guard Riders, a nationally known motorcycle brigade whose mission is to honor those who risk their lives for America’s freedom and security.

“The Patriot Guard Riders brought you in with style and with courage and they remind us that every veteran deserves a welcome home,” Senator Coons said. “We are thankful they were able to give the 153rd that welcome home today.”

Senator Coons closed his remarks with a message of gratitude for Delaware’s servicemen and women. “You are a remarkable group, not just of soldiers, but of citizens; not just of citizens, but of patriots. We are grateful to God for your service and your safe return home.”