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.
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 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 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.
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.
A member of the Senate Budget Committee and Senate Appropriations Committee, Senator Coons released his six-page letter to the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee detailing his priorities for their effort to reform the nation’s tax code.
As part of their “blank slate” approach to comprehensive tax reform, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) gave their colleagues the opportunity to submit letters explaining the tax “expenditures” they’d like to see preserved or added to the tax code. Although senators were given the opportunity to submit their letters confidentially, Senator Coons volunteered to make his letter public.
"America’s tax code is too long, too complex, and unfair," Senator Coons wrote. "It stifles economic growth and the government’s ability to efficiently collect the revenue it needs. We badly need reform that broadens the tax base and lowers tax rates, simplifying a process that wastes too much time and money, and hurts our global competitiveness. We can achieve this kind of reform by following three broad principles: a new code must maintain or increase progressivity, raise revenue to reduce our deficits, and spur economic growth."
The letter highlghted Senator Coons' eight priorities, saying Congress should:
Preserve and strengthen the social safety net;
Encourage savings for retirement;
Protect access to affordable housing and home ownership for families, while making renting more affordable for low-income households;
Incentivize state and local investment in infrastructure, public facilities, and community development;
Make college more affordable;
Broaden access to health insurance, especially by helping small businesses offset the cost of insurance for their employees;
Support policies that help families and caregivers pay for dependents; and
Promote a robust network of non-profit and charitable organizations.
With the Senate considering an appropriations bill that includes funding for Amtrak this week, Senator Coons stuck up for the passenger rail service in a speech on the Senate floor Wednesday. Later in the day, he filed an amendment to the Transportation/Housing and Urband Development appropriations bill calling for additional investment in Amtrak to help it make progress on the nearly $6 billion backlog of deferred capital improvements to infrastructure assets already beyond their designed life.
The amendment would increase the appropriated amount by $113 million. While the Senate bill would already provide $862 million for capital grants (as opposed to the House's $400 million), it is still not enough to perform any infrastructure upgrades, let alone start much-needed multi-year projects, like tunnel and bridge replacements.
"Now is not the time, in my view, given all these standards of progress that they have met, to gut Amtrak, as our counterparts in the House seem determined to do," Senator Coons said. "Now is the time to help Amtrak build on its steady gains and continue to grow. Amtrak is a vital part of hundreds of communities across this country, so, in my view, to invest in Amtrak is to invest in those communities and their future."
Senator Coons cited the work of the late Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey, who fought tirelessly for Amtrak for decades in the Senate. "He fought harder than anybody to build Amtrak into what it is today because he saw that with our population steadily growing, we needed to be prepared and to provide reliable, safe, affordable transportation, in particular here in the eastern region."