Senator Coons expressed his strong support for legislation passed unanimously by the Senate Thursday night reiterating that the United States stands with Israel as it faces an onslaught of rocket fire from Gaza.The resolution also recognizes Israel’s right to self-defense in the face of terror.
“With rockets raining down on innocent Israelis, the Senate tonight stood united in condemning these acts of terror and insisting that Israel has the right to defend its citizens from acts of terrorism,” Chris said. “The United States remains unwavering in its ironclad commitment to Israel’s security, and reaffirms that Hamas and other Gaza-based terrorist organizations must end the barrage of rocket and missile attacks.”
Approximately 900 missiles have entered Israel from Gaza since the beginning of the year.
Chris was an early co-sponsor of the bipartisan legislation, which was introduced by Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). It follows President Obama’s recent phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, where he reiterated the United States’ strong support for Israel’s right to self-defense.
Chris is a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Frustrated by the Senate's inability to pass the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 and determined to confront the growing threat of cyber attacks on our nation's critical infrastructure, Senator Coons teamed up with Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) to send a letter to President Obama Tuesday urging him to issue an executive order to take the first steps on implementing a voluntary system to increase information-sharing in the private sector.
"We remain committed to the passage of this important legislation, and are continuing our efforts to resolve differences regarding the appropriate role of government in the protection of critical infrastructure,” the senators wrote. “We write today to stress, however, that the failure of Congress to act should not prevent the executive branch from taking available steps to counter the enormous and growing cyber threat."
Working with the Cybersecurity Act’s authors, Senators Coons and Blumenthal were part of a bipartisan effort to build consensus around a voluntary system for owners of key power, transportation, and communication facilities to coordinate with the federal government on the strengthening of their cyber defenses. In their letter today, the senators urge President Obama to instruct Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano “to convene an inter-agency group that will develop, in close collaboration with the private sector, voluntary standards for digital safeguards for our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
“We recognize that an order directing the promulgation of voluntary standards cannot and should not be the final word in cybersecurity,” the senators wrote. “An executive order, for example, would not be able to provide the types of incentives for participating companies that Congress can establish. A well-crafted set of voluntary standards could, however, be an important step towards improving the cybersecurity of our nation’s critical infrastructure.”
The New York Times published an editorial on Tuesday on the importance of increasing our nation’s cybersecurity. The article endorses the Cybersecurity Act of 2012, which would strengthen our nation’s cybersecurity to prevent cyber-crime and cyber-attacks. Senator Coons has been a fierce advocate of this bill. He spoke three times in the last two weeks on the floor urging his colleagues to pass this critical legislation.
Relentless assaults on America’s computer networks by China and other foreign governments, hackers and criminals have created an urgent need for safeguards to protect these vital systems. The question now is whether the Senate will provide them. Senator John McCain, a Republican of Arizona, and the Chamber of Commerce have already exacted compromises from sponsors of a reasonably strong bill, and are asking for more. Their demands should be resisted and the original bill approved by the Senate.
Two hours after the Senate voted 84-11 on Thursday to proceed to the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 — a bill Senator Coons worked aggressively to shape — the Senator introduced an amendment to add a "sunset" to the legislation that would cause provisions that allow expanded systems monitoring and information sharing to expire five years after the legislation is enacted.
Sunsets are written into often written into new legislation to ensure that Congress revisits the issue and deliberately reauthorizes the law. This gives Congress an explicit opportunity to update the law to take into account lessons learned and best practices, ultimately making the law better. While House-passed cybersecurity legislation includes a five-year sunset of the expanded systems-monitoring and information-sharing provisions of the legislation, the Senate's Cybersecurity Act does not.
Senator Coons' amendment was cosponsored by Senators Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii), Al Franken (D-Minn.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Tom Udall (D-N.M.). The full text is below.
Thursday wasn't the first time Senator Coons came out swinging to protect Americans' right to privacy, but the day certainly highlighted Chris' reputation as one of the Senate's emerging privacy leaders.
The first moment came during the Senate Judiciary Committee's debate over several amendments to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act Sunset Extensions Act. (Seriously, that's what the bill is called.)
Quick background: FISA was passed in 1978 after President Nixon was found to have used federal intelligence resources to spy on political enemies. It defined the role of the courts and of Congress in setting parameters for use of those spy tools. Fast forward to post-9/11 2001, when the PATRIOT Act expanded FISA to include the new threat of non-state-sponsored terrorism. Those powers were expanded again in 2007, when Congress removed the requirement of a court-issued warrant for the government to surveil foreign intelligence targets in the United States. Abuses of these new powers during the Bush Administration resulted in the FISA Amendments Act in 2008. That law is scheduled to expire ("sunset") in 2012, and the Senate is now considering legislation to extend it, either to 2015 or 2017 (depending on which version passes).
Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah), with whom Senator Coons rarely agrees, proposed an amendment that would have prohibited the U.S. government from using communications obtained through wiretaps and foreign intelligence operations to search for information on U.S. citizens without a warrant. Put another way, let's say you're an American citizen your name happens to appear in records the intelligence community collected while surveilling a suspected terrorist. You're not suspected of terrorism, but for some reason, you're name is dragged into it. This measure would prevent the government from searching for your name and using what it found against you without a court order.
"The FISA Amendments Act is an important and valuable law for our national security," Senator Coons said. "But its use needs to be watched closely to prevent abuses like the ones we saw in 2008."
Senator Coons voted for Senator Lee's amendment. As did Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), but they were the only three to vote for this privacy-protection measure, and the amendment failed, 15-3.
The second moment Thursday came as the Senate was winding down for the week. Senators Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) have been working on the Cybersecurity Act of 2012 for quite some time, and after studying it earlier this year, Senator Coons determined it lacked the privacy protections a bill of this importance should have.
He was determined not to let Congress repeat some of the mistakes of the previous decade, when it dramatically expanded the government's power to spy on U.S. citizens, but didn't include sufficient protections for Americans' privacy.
"For months," Senator Coons said, "I have worked with several of my colleagues on language that strikes a better balance between than what was proposed in earlier drafts of the legislation, which would have enabled greater information sharing, but at too significant a cost to personal privacy. Senators Lieberman and Collins have worked with us with in earnest to find a better balance, and with the version introduced today, S.3414, I believe we have found it."
The new version of the legislation features an array of improvements for which Senator Coons appealed, centering on the information-sharing provisions under Title VII of the bill. The result is a stronger version of the Cybersecurity Act, and a significantly stronger bill than the House-supported CISPA.
For a first-term freshman, Senator Coons is certainly starting to show he deserves a seat at the table on the most complex privacy issues facing our nation. Thursday was evidence of that.
From the Associated Press: Over the weekend, Senator Chris Coons traveled to Liberia with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and others as part of the official U.S. delegation to the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. The Associated Press ran a story detailing efforts by Liberia and other countries in West Africa to develop into stable, prosperous, democratic nations.
Senator Coons, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs, has been a strong advocate for American investment in Africa’s rapidly expanding economy. He believes that working with Africa will not only make the continent more stable and increase global security, it will also create jobs and economic opportunity here in the United States. With China making significant headway in the region, America can’t afford to be left behind.
Excerpt from the article:
Across town and above the stunted concrete edifices of Liberia's capital stood the nearly as new Chinese Embassy, a reminder of the Asian power's growing commercial and diplomatic clout in Africa. With diamonds and timber, and possibly even offshore oil, Liberia is typical of many African countries waiting for a surge in prosperity and a partner to share in the spoils of its increased development.
"We're missing an important strategic opportunity for the United States," warned Sen. Christopher Coons, D-Del. "China is taking advantage of our absence as a major funder of infrastructure and is advancing their economic and, I think, policy agenda across the continent."
Click here to read Chris’ opening statement from the Senate Foreign Relations African Affairs Subcommittee hearing he chaired, entitled “China’s Role in Africa: Implications for U.S. Policy.”
Whether your interest is humanitarian or commercial, the opportunities for Delawareans to engage in Africa have never been as plentiful or productive.
Six of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world are in Africa, making the continent one of the most appealing emerging markets in the world for U.S. businesses. The continent is enormously complex, however, with significant health, justice, and development challenges to be navigated.
Since being named chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs a year ago, I've talked with dozens of Delawareans with connections to Africa, many of whom are looking for assistance engaging in African countries or with U.S. organizations working on the ground in the region. Many of the advocates, entrepreneurs, and faith leaders I've met are not connected with other Delawareans who share their interest and engagement in the very same issues.
I'm hosting the Opportunity: Africa conference in Wilmington on January 18 to give Delawareans a seat at the table, the ability to make new connections with other advocates, and the chance to talk directly with experts on sustainable development, trade, humanitarian assistance, and global health. More information about the conference is below, and you can click here to RSVP.
I hope to see you there!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012from3to8 p.m. University of Delaware - Wilmington Campus
Senator Coons' inaugural Opportunity: Africa Conference will give Delawareans a seat at the table with some of the nation's leading voices on sustainable development and trade with Africa. The half-day conference will look at how Delaware's businesses, faith communities, and individuals can engage in Africa mindful of human rights challenges, sustainable development, food security, and global health.
CONFERENCE AGENDA
3:00 p.m. Welcome from Senator Coons
3:15 p.m. Opening Keynote: Sustainable Economic Development and Trade with Africa Millennium Challenge Corporation Chief Executive Officer Daniel Yohannes
4:00 p.m. Workshop A: Economic Opportunity: Introduction to Doing Business in Africa World Trade Center Delaware, the Delaware Office of International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce Foreign Commercial Services Office
Workshop B: Connecting Communities: Opportunities for Diaspora Leaders U.S. Department of State Global Partnership Initiative
5:30 p.m. Break
5:45 p.m. Keynote: Africa's Future – Moving from Aid to Prosperity U.S. Agency for International Development Director Dr. Raj Shah
6:30 p.m. Workshop A: Human Rights Challenges: War and Reconciliation, Trafficking and Child Labor
Workshop B: Sustainable Development and Food Security: Preventing the Next Famine
Workshop C: Global Health and a Healthier Future for Africa
DOVER – Senator Coons on Tuesday helped celebrate the production of ILC Dover’s 100th Persistent Threat Detection System (PTDS). Chris and Senator Carper got a first-hand look at how the lighter-than-air vehicles, called aerostats, are manufactured at the company’s Dover facility, which opened in the spring of 2010.
While in Afghanistan last February, Chris saw one of ILC Dover’s PTDS vehicles in action. PTDS is a highly effective, combat-proven, aerostat-based intelligence system used for surveillance, reconnaissance and communications in support of force-protection and counter-IED (improvised explosive devices) missions. Used by the U.S. Army since 2004, the systems provide around-the-clock coverage of broad geographic areas for weeks at a time with multi-mission sensors. The height at which they fly and their construction make them difficult targets for ground-based attacks.
ILC Dover is also designing and manufacturing the Resilient Tunnel Plug (RTP), which inflates to isolate sections of transit or rail tunnels in response to an event such as flooding, release of chemical or biological agents, or other threats. The multi-phase project has closely coordinated with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to develop plugs that meet their operational and technical requirements.
As ILC Dover employees and management gathered in front of the RTP, Chris took the opportunity to emphasize that the future of manufacturing is directly tied to quality STEM education. He emphasized that the manufacturing industry plays a key role in the economic recovery of our nation.
As Chris told WHYY, "We're doing everything we can to make sure that products like these that are invented in Delaware are manufactured in Delaware, and that our schools and our community continue to support high-quality, high-tech manufacturing businesses.”
Helping to create an environment where women not only have a seat at the table, but also play an equal role in maintaining peace and stability in their countries is critical to our national and global security. That’s the idea behind the first-ever U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security, which President Obama issued this week.
Senator Coons, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs and an ardent supporter of gender equality, praised the Obama Administration for launching the plan and advancing women’s participation in preventing conflict and keeping the peace. The Plan, which was signed by President Obama as an Executive Order, represents a fundamental change in how the U.S. will approach its diplomatic, military, and development-based support to women in areas of conflict, by ensuring that their perspectives and considerations of gender are woven into the fabric of how the United States approaches peace processes, conflict prevention, the protection of civilians, and humanitarian assistance.
The Plan contains commitments from the Departments of State, Defense, Justice, Treasury, and Homeland Security, the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of the United States Trade Representative targeted at meeting explicit national objectives.
Click here to learn more about the White House’s U.S. National Action Plan on Women, Peace, and Security.
Still in Washington for votes on Saturday morning, Senator Coons appeared on MSNBC's Up with Chris Hayes to discuss the controversial detainee provisions in the National Defense Authorization Act approved by the Senate earlier in the week.
Earlier in the week, Senator Coons entered an in-depth statement into the Congressional Record detailing his objections to the detainee provisions. Click here to read it.
The first moment came during the Senate Judiciary Committee's debate over several amendments to Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments Act Sunset Extensions Act. (Seriously, that's what the bill is called.)
