Carper's Corner
Tips to Avoid Holidays Scams
December 14, 2007Washington, D.C. -- The holiday season is a wonderful time of the year for most of us! Like many of you, I look forward to spending time with friends and family, enjoying good food and holiday cheer, and sharing gifts and memories with loved ones. Holiday shopping accounts for roughly 20 percent of all annual consumer spending. This year, Americans will spend about $475 billion during the holiday season. Now is also the time for charitable giving and Americans will donate almost $300 billion to charitable organizations this year. It is a time to open our hearts and our pocketbooks but unfortunately, our loved ones or favorite charity are not the only ones who may benefit.
A Comprehensive Energy Bill
November 26, 2007Wilmington, DE -- As this year comes to a close, our dependency on foreign oil continues to grow. The price of a barrel of oil hovers close to $100. Roughly a third of our nation's $750 billion annual trade deficit is attributable to our addiction to foreign oil. Our planet continues to grow warmer largely because of our dependence on fossil fuels, and the air in too many parts of our country remains unhealthy to breathe. When Congress returns to session on December 3, we have an opportunity to make progress on all of these fronts. It's imperative that we do so.
Clean Air, Clean Energy and Energy Independence
November 12, 2007Washington D.C. -- It's been a while since my last entry here at Carper's Corner. I'd like to use this blog to share with you a little bit of what my staff and I have been working on this fall. Much of our time has focused on clean air, clean energy and energy independence. Since arriving in the Senate over six years ago, I've worked to reduce the emission of four harmful air pollutants from power plants. Taken together, our American power plants spew about a quarter of our nation's nitrogen oxide emissions, 40 percent of our mercury, 40 percent of our carbon dioxide and almost two-thirds of all sulfur dioxide emissions into our air.
Health Care Concerns and Ideas for Addressing Them
August 23, 2007Wilmington, DE -- Earlier this year, I wrote about breaking a bone in my right foot when I stepped on a rock about one mile into running my 25th Caesar Rodney Half-Marathon. A couple of weeks later, when the fracture hadn't healed on its own, an orthopedic surgeon in Delaware inserted a two-and-a-half-inch screw into my foot. A month later, when x-rays showed the break was on the mend, my doctor cleared me to begin easing into running. That's what I did, slowly increasing my mileage until I felt almost as good as new.
Recess Business
August 6, 2007Wilmington, DE -- When I was a kid in elementary school, people would sometimes ask me what my favorite subject was. Without hesitation, I would reply, "recess." Now that I serve in the United States Senate, when people ask me what I like most about working there, I still occasionally reply — with tongue in cheek — "recess." And speaking of recess, the Senate began its traditional August recess just before midnight this past Friday night, just a few days ago. We'll come back into session the day after Labor Day.
Addressing Climate Change on the Local Level
August 1, 2007Washington, D.C. -- Speaking of the White House, few things are getting less action from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but more action at the state and local level, than climate change. In 2005, Seattle Mayor Greg Nickles encouraged cities across America to begin taking little steps on their own to address climate change. He knows, and we know, that climate change can't be solved if one city — even a big city like Seattle — buys a few hybrid busses. But, what began with a small handful of mayors has grown today to include over 600 cities that represent 70 million Americans.
DLC's National Conversation Wrap-Up
July 31, 2007Washington, D.C. -- After sitting on the ground for five hours at the Philadelphia airport this past Sunday, I finally flew on to Nashville, Tennessee to participate in the last part of an annual event hosted by the Democratic Leadership Council, of which I serve as vice-chairman. It's called the DLC's National Conversation, and it offers a forum for hundreds of state and local elected officials — including governors, mayors, county executives, legislators, and other state and local officials — to learn how moderate Democrats in other parts of the country are grappling with some of the same thorny issues they are facing.
Modernizing the C-5 Aircraft
July 20, 2007Washington, D.C. -- As a former naval flight officer, I am a great admirer of the C-17 aircraft. It is a highly reliable workhorse whose mission capable rate hovers around 85 percent. It can land on large airfields and small airstrips. The Dover Air Force Base now receives a squadron of 13 of these fine aircraft. In Delaware, we're excited and enthusiastic about their arrival. Having said that, let me add that the cost of modernizing a C-5 is roughly one-third the cost of purchasing a new C-17. Moreover, a C-5 can carry twice as much cargo as a C-17. By modernizing a C-5, we buy twice as much hauling capacity for a third of the cost.
Modernizing Our Strategic Airlift Fleet
July 19, 2007Washington, D.C. -- The Congress is working on legislation to best equip our armed forces, meet our national security threats and keep America safe. Determining our nation's defense priorities is one of the foremost responsibilities of the House and Senate. And our armed forces are charged with providing our commander-in-chief with flexible options to respond to a wide variety of threats. Right now, in Iraq, our armed forces are trying to hold back a civil war and protect civilians from terrorists. In Korea, our armed forces guard borders and deter aggression from a large conventional military. In the Pacific and the Persian Gulf, our armed forces protect America's interests through naval power and carrier-based air power.
Our Unhealthy Addiction to Foreign Oil
July 4, 2007Wilmington, DE -- On this Independence Day, 2007, I'd like to pause for a few minutes to reflect on our growing dependence on foreign oil. Almost two-thirds of the oil America consumes today comes from abroad, and much comes from nations that don't like us very much. I'm convinced some of the money I spent filling up the tank of my venerable Chrysler Town & Country minivan last weekend may well be used to hurt our nation in some way. I don't know about you, but that doesn't make much sense to me. America needs to get on a path that will eventually free us of that foreign oil dependence, and the sooner the better.
General Petraeus's Report to Congress
June 28, 2007Wilmington, DE -- In September, under legislation signed by the President last month, General Petraeus must report progress to the Congress on 18 benchmarks laid out it the funding bill that supports our efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan through September. One of the biggest hurdles we face in Iraq is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to make the tough decisions, including those outlined above.
My Visit to the Middle East
June 25, 2007Wilmington, DE -- I returned home a week ago from a four-day congressional delegation mission to Iraq and Kuwait. I arrived back in Delaware just in time on a Monday morning to participate in the sendoff of 150 members of a military police unit of the Delaware National Guard at Fort Dix, headed to Iraq. The situation awaiting them in Iraq remains dangerous, and the challenges our troops face there are daunting. The assessment we received in an hour-and-a-half-long meeting with General David Petraeus and U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker was sobering, but it was not devoid of hope.
Father's Day Thoughts
June 17, 2007Wilmington, DE -- I was pleasantly surprised when The News Journal recently invited me - along with another half-dozen or so Delaware fathers — to participate in a story that they were compiling about Father's Day. Each of the fathers was asked to answer the same three questions relating to fatherhood. Let me acknowledge upfront that it's hard to capture in three relatively short paragraphs the blessing that our sons are to us every day. Having said that, I thought that on this Father's Day, I might use my blog to share with fathers (and mothers) what the newspaper asked us and how I responded. I hope you enjoy reading what I had to say and that in doing so, it causes you to reflect a bit on this day on your own father or on your role as a father to your own children or step-children.
Visiting a Wastewater Treatment System, Then and Now
June 8, 2007Milford, DE -- In 1976, three years out of the Navy and one year out of business school at the University of Delaware, I got to run for state treasurer because a lot of other people weren't clamoring to run. At the time, I was working at what is now the Delaware Economic Development Office. When I was unable to secure an unpaid leave of absence for a five-month campaign, I resigned from my post, and hit the trail full-time, never looking back. During the five months that followed, I covered just about every square foot of our state. Where two or three were gathered together, there I was, more often than not. I knocked on thousands of doors, walked most of our towns, campaigned at the State Fair, church carnivals, picnics, swimming pools, festivals, plant gates, office complexes, bowling alleys, supermarkets, senior centers and, even, a hospital or two.
Tough, Smart, and Comprehensive Immigration Reform
June 7, 2007I would like to comment on the immigration reform debate we focused on in the Senate in the last couple weeks. We debated about what we need to do to secure our borders, what we need to do to make sure employers are not knowingly hiring illegal immigrants, and what to do about the 12 million people here undocumented, roughly 60 percent of whom came here illegally. Unfortunately, in my view, the worst thing we can do, is do nothing. I don't believe the status quo is acceptable. It was the status quo that last summer found as many as 10,000 people coming across our borders illegally every week, mostly seeking work.
Reducing CO2 Emmissions at a Delaware Poultry Farm
April 9, 2007Wilmington, DE -- The past week has been an eventful one on several environmental fronts, both here and abroad. Some of the most interesting developments in the United States and on the Delmarva Peninsula, as well as around the world, centered on climate change and global warming. Defining the odds, the Supreme Court and ruled on a 5-4 vote that under the Clean Air Act the Environmental Protection Agency already has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. The justices said the EPA's refusal to regulate greenhouse gases from automotive vehicles was not justifiable under the Clean Air Act. That means no change is needed in the law. "EPA, you are free to regulate automotive emissions of carbon dioxide starting tomorrow," the court essentially said.
Fixing a Break
April 2, 2007Wilmington, DE -- After graduating in 1968 from Ohio State University, where I had been a Navy ROTC midshipman, I headed for Pensacola, Florida. There, I began training to eventually become a naval flight officer and mission commander of the Navy's P-3 aircraft, used in low-level surveillance missions off the coasts of Vietnam and Cambodia, as well missions involving Soviet nuclear submarines throughout the world. Before we set foot in any aircraft in Pensacola, however, we put our bodies to the test in a rigorous physical conditioning regimen that lasted the better part of a month. I was in decent shape when I arrived in Pensacola, thanks to an active youth playing baseball, basketball and football. But by the time I left Pensacola and headed west to my next training squadron, I was arguably in the best shape of my life. I made a vow to myself to try to maintain that level of physical condition for as long as the good Lord would let me. That is a promise I have kept, and the Lord has been — well — good to me.
Recycling Around Delaware
March 15, 2007Georgetown, DE -- As some of you may know, I am passionate about recycling. I serve as co-chair of the Recycling Caucus in the United States Senate. I've blogged before about recycling here on my website, but, if you'll forgive the pun, I think it is a topic that bears - well - recycling. My family recycles just about everything. Our recycling is picked up in front of our home every other week. I also make occasional trips to the local recycling igloos near our home. Earlier this week, however, I used the igloos at the Delaware Solid Waste Authority landfill just outside of Georgetown, Delaware to recycle some household batteries and a bunch of plastic bags that I'd been carrying around in the back of my Chrysler minivan.
The Future of DaimlerChrysler in Delaware
February 14, 2007Washington, DC -- DaimlerChrysler today announced plans to cut its North American workforce by 13,000 employees over the next several years. One of the two shifts at the Newark, Delaware plant -- numbering 700 employees -- would be "idled" at the end of June. A number of those employees would be transferred to a "Job Bank" and continue to draw most of their pay and benefits for the next year or so. The plant and most of its remaining 1,400 employees would continue to operate with one shift until the end of calendar year 2009, building Durangos and Chrysler Aspens all the while. If no new products were identified for the plant by then, the plant itself would be "idled."
Birthday Musings
January 28, 2007Wilmington, DE -- It isn't every day that a guy turns 60, but that's exactly what happened to me last Tuesday. As I rode the train from Wilmington to Washington, D.C., on the Monday morning before my birthday, I perused my schedule for the week ahead and mused to myself that it had the makings to be one of my most interesting weeks in the Senate to date. Looking back, that's exactly what it turned out to be. Thanks to a couple of impromptu birthday celebrations, sandwiched between a high-stakes Banking Committee hearing focusing on Delaware's credit card industry, a week of debate and votes in the Senate on a proposal to raise the minimum wage and cut taxes for small businesses, and the President's State of the Union address followed by his visit to Delaware, last week more than lived up to my expectations.
Subscribe to the feed