DOVER — Senator Coons toured the Pittsburgh Plate Glass (PPG) paint factory in Dover this morning. The visit began with a briefing by Mitch Magee, the plant manager, who told Chris about the various glass, chemical, paint and coatings that PPG makes around the world, and described the thousands of different types of paint made in Dover.
Chris also toured the part of the plant where the manufacturing takes place, talking with factory workers as he got an up-close look at the paint manufacturing and packaging processes.
The company has been doing business in Delaware for several decades and has over 90 employees. Chris was impressed to hear that 40 percent of the company’s workforce has been at the Dover facility for over 20 years.
“Small businesses like PPG play a major role in the economic recovery,” said Chris. “I’m encouraged to hear that they are currently looking to hire skilled mechanics.”
PPG began as a plate glass company in 1883, and has since diversified into manufacturing fiberglass, paint, chemicals and coatings. The Dover facility primarily makes interior and exterior paints—what PPG refers to as Architectural Coatings. Lowe’s sells PPG paint under the Pittsburgh®, Olympic®, Porter®, and Lucite® labels.
While waiting for word on a deal to avert default last weekend, Senator Coons recorded a new installment of his Correspondence from the Commute series. This month’s videos all focused on constituent letters about spending cuts, the debt ceiling, and the deficit negotiations.
Just days after chairing a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs looking into the growing famine and drought crisis in the Horn of Africa, Senator Coons joined Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry today in calling for the administration to license additional humanitarian groups to distribute aid in Somalia.
“In the Horn of Africa today, over 12 million people are in desperate need of food and water amidst the worst drought in three generations,” the two senators said in a joint statement. “In Somalia alone, approximately 3.2 million people are in need of immediate life-saving assistance, half a million children are acutely malnourished, and more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have tragically died. The drought has blasted an already hostile landscape, but the actions of the terrorist group al-Shabaab and the shortcomings of the Somali government have turned a natural disaster into a human catastrophe.”
Hundreds of thousands of Somalis, displaced by years of civil war, already live in difficult conditions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, and Eritrea, and they have been hard hit by the famine and drought. For Somalis still living in areas controlled by al-Shabaab, limited access by international aid organization has made it extremely difficult both to measure the famine’s effects and provide assistance. For years the United States has maintained tight restrictions on American organizations operating in areas under al-Shabaab control, due to the groups designation as a terrorist organization. While praising the administration’s efforts, both senators believe more can be done to ease suffering while preventing aid from ending up in the hands of the al-Shabaab.
“We encourage the administration to consider additional ways to ease and expedite the provision of aid. Specifically, it should explore expanding the pool of those licensed to provide assistance in southern Somalia to include U.S. humanitarian groups funded by private donors or other countries. While it is absolutely imperative to restrict the flow of resources to al-Shabaab, we must draw on all available resources as we balance security concerns with pressing humanitarian needs.”
Senator Coons spoke with sixty education doctorial students at Wilmington University’s New Castle campus on August 5 during a doctoral leadership seminar.
During the seminar, Chris talked about his work representing Delaware in the Senate and provided a glimpse into life on Capitol Hill. Chris took questions from students, about leadership, success, and the federal government.
Following up on the Wilmington job fair hosted by Senator Coons in April, and a delegation job fair in Dover in May, the delegation is teaming up again for another job fair on September 26 – this time to be held in Georgetown. It will be held at Delaware Technical and Community College, and its central location in Sussex County is aimed at making it easy for county residents looking for jobs to meet employers looking to fill open positions.
“We can’t wait for Washington to move on legislation that will help get people back to work,” Chris said. “These job fairs give us the opportunity to connect Delawareans with employers already offering high-quality, sustainable jobs. Helping our neighbors get back to work continues to be my top priority in the Senate, and for as long as these job fairs are successful in doing that, we’ll continue to organize them. I encourage all Delawareans who are looking for jobs to come out to the fair and engage with employers who are ready to hire.”
Chris’ job fair in Wilmington this past April helped connect more than 2,200 people looking for work with potential employers, and another 1,100 came to the job fair in Dover at the end of May.
Businesses looking to hire at the job fair should contact Latisha Bracy in Senator Coons’ office at 302-573-6345. Delawareans interested in attending should call 302-573-6345 or email workshop@coons.senate.gov for more information or to pre-register.
Senator Coons chaired a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs Wednesday with witnesses from from the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and representatives of humanitarian organizations to examine conditions in the Horn of Africa following the worst regional drought in 60 years. Currently, the United States is the largest donor of humanitarian assistance and emergency relief to the stricken region, which includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda, and Djibouti.
Click here for a map of the affected areas and the aid organizations at work in each country.
Since receiving record low rainfalls over the past several months, which have caused drought and contributed to reduced crop yields and the lost of livestock, these countries – and Somalia in particular – are experiencing a growing humanitarian crisis that has jeopardized the lives of millions of people. Children are especially susceptible to the effects of hunger and malnutrition that accompany famine and drought, and UNICEF has estimated that 2.3 million children in the region are acutely malnourished and half a million are at risk of imminent death. Last month, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance (UNOCHA) declared the conditions on the Horn of Africa to be a major, large-scale emergency and the UN declared a famine in five regions of Southern Somalia. They are expected to declare the entire Southern area of Somalia as a famine zone within the next six weeks, and famine is expected to persist across Southern Somalia until the end of the year.
Ensuring critical aid reaches those in need has been especially difficult in Somalia, where areas in the South are controlled by al-Shabaab, a U.S.-designated terrorist organization with ties to al-Qaeda. Al-Shabaab has obstructed access to areas of Southern Somalia, and the Obama administration recently provided legal assurances to aid groups in order to ease the flow of emergency relief. “Just yesterday, the U.S. government announced an easing of restrictions on humanitarian organizations operating in Somalia in order to facilitate the delivery of aid”, Chris said in his opening statement. “I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses about this new policy, which aims to provide additional guidance and legal assurances to U.S. partner organizations operating Southern Somalia.”
Testifying on the first of two panels at today’s hearing were Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, Principle Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs; Nancy Lindborg, Assistant Administrator of USAID for Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance; and Dr. Reuben Brigety, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration. Testifying on the second panel were Wouter Schaap, Assistant Country Director for CARE International; Jeremy Konyndyk, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Mercy Corps; and Dr. J. Peter Pham, Director of the Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council. UNICEF submitted a statement for the record.
As drought and famine conditions have worsened, thousands of Somali refugees have fled to already overcrowded refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia each day, many in need of critical medical care and emergency food relief. In the hearing, Senator Coons called on the United States and international community to continue to partner with regional governments to provide essential humanitarian aid.
“Americans have demonstrated great leadership helping those in need both domestically and abroad,” Chris noted, “and I am confident we will continue to partner with the international community to save lives and protect future generations in the Horn of Africa.”
After the hearing, Chris appeared on MSNBC’s Mitchell Reports to discuss the situation and the findings of the hearing. You can watch that below.
Senator Coons appeared on CNBC Monday afternoon to discuss the proposed deal to raise the nation’s debt ceiling and avert a default crisis that would have devastating impacts on Americans. He was joined by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas) in the interview.
In a win-win-win for the environment, the nation, and consumers, the White House on Friday announced an historic agreement with 13 major automakers to pursue the next phase in the Administration’s national vehicle program, increasing fuel economy to 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light-duty trucks by Model Year 2025. This will go a long way as we try to decrease our dependence on petroleum and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
The President was joined in the agreement by Ford, GM, Chrysler, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Jaguar/Land Rover, Kia, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Toyota and Volvo – which together account for over 90% of all vehicles sold in the United States – as well as the United Auto Workers (UAW), and the State of California, who were integral to developing this agreement.
These new standards will save American families money at the pump, for a total of $1.7 trillion in fuel savings over the life of the program. The standards will cut our oil dependence, reducing oil consumption by an estimated 2.2 million barrels a day in 2025 (eventually reaching more than 4 million barrels a day as the fleet turns over), and saving 12 billion barrels in total over the lifetime of the program. And they will clean up our environment, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 6 billion metric tons over the life of the program, while reducing pollutants like air toxics, cause soot, and smog.
In addition to saving fuel, the new standards will help spur the development of advanced vehicle technology such as the plug-in hybrid electric vehicles to be produced in the new Fisker production facility in Delaware. The Fisker Karma pictured below is the world’s first premium plug-in hybrid electric vehicle.
Chris was on MSNBC Friday afternoon talking with Martin Bashir about Speaker Boehner’s decision to change his debt-ceiling bill in a way that would make a potential compromise even less likely.
Monday, August 1 at 4:00 p.m. – The Senator will preside over the Senate. Washington, DC – Open to press who wish to sit in the Senate gallery.
Wednesday, August 3 at 10:00 a.m. – The Senator will attend the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on cybersecurity.226 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC – Open to the press.
Thursday, August 4 at 10:00 a.m. – The Senator will attend the Senate Judiciary Committee business meeting. Among the bills that are tentatively slated to be discussed by the committeeis S.657, which is cosponsored by Senator Coons and would encourage, enhance, and integrate “Blue Alert” plans throughout the United States for disseminating information when a law enforcement officer is seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.234 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC – Open to press.
Thursday, August 4 at 2:15 p.m. – The Senator will chair the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs Subcommittee hearing on responding to the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa.419 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC – Open to press.
Friday, August 5 at 8:30 a.m. – The Senator will speak at the Food Bank of Delaware’s morning reception. Feeding America President and CEO Vicki Escarra will visit the Food Bank of Delaware in order to help raise awareness of the news that even though the Food Bank of Delaware ran the nation’s largest food bank-operated Summer Food Service Program for children in 2010, food donations in Delaware were down by three million pounds last fiscal year. Food Bank of Delaware, 14 Garfield Way, Newark, Delaware 19713 – Open to press.
Friday, August 5 at 10:00 a.m. – The Senator will welcome home members of the Delaware Air National Guard. Smyrna Readiness Center, 103 Artisan Drive, Smyrna, DE – Open to press.
Friday, August 5 at 5:00 p.m. – The Senator will speak to a leadership class at Wilmington University. Wilmington University’s Wilson Graduate Center, 31 Reads Way, New Castle, DE – Closed to press.
Saturday, August 6 — The Senator will attend the Wyoming Peach Festival.Wyoming, DE.
