Nearly two months ago, I gave Senator Chris Coons (D. DE) a big shout out for this:
http://www.dailykos.com/...
Standing on the steps of the New Castle County Courthouse amid more than 40 police officers from a dozen different police agencies, including two officers who were saved from a gunman’s bullets in February, U.S. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., called on Congress to reauthorize a program to help fund bulletproof vests for local police agencies.
Coons said Congress let the program expire last summer and a U.S. senator put an anonymous “hold” on reauthorizing it, potentially ending a federal subsidy that pays for up to 50 percent of the costs of body armor for local police officers.
Coons said the program is “a life-saver, and we need to save it to keep saving lives.”
Sgt. Michael Manley of the Capitol Police – who was hit near the heart by a shot fired by New Castle County Courthouse shooter Thomas Matusiewicz on Feb. 11 after Matusiewicz had shot and killed Christine Belford and Laura Mulford – said his bulletproof vest that was partially paid for by the federal program saved his life.
Manley said he was not a politician and would not guess at why some in Washington would oppose it but said that it “would be the height of absurdity” if a fellow police officer lost his or her life in the future because Congress could not come to an agreement on this program.
Capitol Police Cpl. Steve Rinehart, whose life also was saved on Feb. 11 by a vest that was partially paid for by the program, agreed. He said for his first few years with the New Castle County Police Department – before he joined the Capitol Police – he served without a vest because neither he nor the county could afford one.
“I can say without a doubt that if I had not been wearing my vest on Feb. 11, I would not be standing before you here today,” he said. - The News Journal, 5/31/13
This is personal to me because I happen to have a few relatives who were police officers in Delaware and I thought it was ridiculous that Congress canceled this program. I'm happy to see Coons is still taking up this good fight:
http://www.wdde.org/...
Delaware’s junior senator, Chris Coons (D-Delaware), isn’t giving up on reauthorizing a federal program that subsidizes bulletproof vests for local police agencies.
Thursday morning, the Senate Judiciary Committee had the Bulletproof Vest Partnership Grant Program on its meeting agenda, but failed to take it up before recessing. Under the initiative, local police agencies pay for half of the vests’ price tag, while the federal government picks up the rest of the tab.
Coons, a Judiciary Committee member, says his colleague Sen. Tom Coburn of Oklahoma blocked the bill last year because he doesn’t believe the federal government should fund local programs. Coons says that’s a mistake.
“The federal government plays a key, catalytic role providing groundbreaking studies, delivering new technology and providing leverage that encourages local governments, local agencies to move ahead in either policy or in equipment,” said Coons.
Coons adds he’s ready to work to change Coburn’s mind. - WDDE 91.1 FM, 8/1/13
Thank you Senator Coons for keeping up the good fight.
More below the fold.
I have to say I've been impressed the mark Coons has been making for himself in the U.S. Senate:
http://www.delawareonline.com/...
After less than three years in the U.S. Senate, the Delaware Democrat is suddenly on his way to becoming a Washington player, with key committee assignments including a seat on the influential Appropriations Committee. He’s the first Delawarean to serve on the panel in 40 years.
The assignment puts him in the company of far more senior members and gives him a better opportunity to help Delaware and potentially himself with voters.
Such key positions don’t come easily in Washington. Some say it shows he’s being rewarded for playing an insider’s game, serving as a “rubber stamp” for his party. Others say he earned it because of his reputation as a workhorse and relationships that he’s developed with Senate leaders..
“I think he’s done a lot of things to position himself to get the seat, like being a great caucus member, working hard, showing his colleagues he’s a team player and he’s a really effective communicator,” said Jonathan Jones, a former chief of staff for Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., who now lobbies for Delaware. - Delaware Online, 8/1/13
Coons and the Delaware delegation have been helping the first state build up it's clout on the Hill:
http://www.delawareonline.com/...
Applying science to a parlor game, the newspaper Roll Call has used a formula since 1990 to track each state’s potential influence on national affairs. Delaware’s ranking of 27th represents a major surge since it was ranked 49th in 2009, when Joe Biden left the Senate for the vice presidency.
Delaware’s most recent increase is attributable to Democratic Sen. Tom Carper’s chairmanship of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and to the state’s eighth-place ranking in per-capita federal spending ($12,750), based on the most recent census data.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons’ recent appointment to the Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to give the state another boost next year.
David Hawkings, Roll Call’s senior editor, said the state got credit this year for Delaware Democratic Rep. John Carney’s seat on the House Financial Services Committee but lost credit because Carney is in the chamber’s minority party. - Delaware Online, 7/31/13
Coons has also found a good ally in Senator Patrick Leahy (D. VT):
http://www.courthousenews.com/...
Two Democratic senators introduced a bill that would create 91 new federal judgeships in two federal circuits and 32 judicial districts across 21 states.
The Federal Judgeship Act of 2013 relies on the recommendations of the Judicial Conference of the United States, the national governing body for the federal courts.
It was sponsored by Sen. Patrick Leahy, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Christopher Coons, chair of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Bankruptcy and the Courts.
The 9th Circuit applauded the bill's introduction Wednesday, noting that it would significantly expand its federal bench, which takes in nine western states and two Pacific Island jurisdictions.
It says the bill provides the 9th Circuit with four additional permanent judgeships and one new temporary judgeship. - Courthouse News Service, 7/31/13
Another key issue Coons will be addressing on the Senate floor is the affect the sequester has had on the justice system:
http://blogs.delawareonline.com/...
Coons sequester speech delayed by floor vote until at least Thursday, spokesman Ian Koski says.
The mandatory budget cuts that have produced widespread unpaid furloughs of federal workers will be addressed by Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., during an early afternoon a speech on the Senate floor that was slated for Wednesday, but delayed. Koski hopes it will go off Thursday; ”fingers crossed,” he said.
Coons will focus on the impact on justice and the courts, an issue examined July 22 by colleague Sean O’Sullivan in The News Journal. - Delaware Online, 7/31/13
Until then, Coons will be hosting a jobs fair for veterans with his colleagues:
http://www.wdde.org/...
Senators Tom Carper (D-Delaware) and Chris Coons (D-Delaware), along with Congressman John Carney (D-Delaware) are hosting a job fair for vets at the Bridgeville Library in Sussex County. It runs from 10 in the morning until 2 Friday afternoon.
25 employers are expected to be on hand. There will also be resume-building workshops for those who attend.
The delegation has another veterans job fair scheduled later this month in New Castle County. That will be August 12th at the Middleton Fire House.
The three lawmakers have already hosted a series of job fairs for Delaware residents this year, holding one in each county to date. Those three job fairs attracted a combined 2,800 job seekers and nearly 200 employers. - WDDE 91.1 FM, 8/1/13
For more information about the jobs fair, you can e-mail jobfair@carper.senate.gov or call (302) 674-3308. If you would like to get involved or donate to Coons' campaign, you can do so here:
http://www.chriscoons.com/