Tom Carper

Senators' Legislation Provides Certainty & Fairness, While Being More Fiscally Responsible

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Sens. Tom Carper (D-Del.) and George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio) today reintroduced fiscally responsible bipartisan legislation to exempt families, farms and small businesses from the estate tax burden.

The legislation, which also reflects proposals advocated by President Obama, would freeze the estate tax at its current 2009 levels. Under the bill, the value of any estate above $7 million per couple or $3.5 million per individual will be taxed at a 45 percent rate. That rate will remain constant, while exclusion amounts will be adjusted upward each year to account for inflation.    » read more »

November 17, 2009 -- WASHINGTON -- The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today proposed tighter controls for dangerous sulfur dioxide emissions, winning the support of Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Clean Air and Nuclear Safety subcommittee.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2) is a dangerous air pollutant that can travel long distances and results when sulfur-containing fuels such as coal, oil or diesel are burned. Each year, manmade sources emit more than 14 million tons of sulfur dioxide nationwide

“Current federal standards simply fail to protect public health,” said Sen. Carper. “I have long supported tighter SO2 controls that protect Americans with lung diseases like asthma, and especially children and older adults.”    » read more »

Carper, Kaufman, Castle urge Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider plan

November 12, 2009 -- WILMINGTON, DE – In a November 10 letter to Jo-Ellen Darcy, Assistant Secretary of the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), Delaware’s congressional delegation objects to the Corps’ plan to proceed with the deepening of the Delaware River without required permits, urging her to reconsider.

Bypassing a congressional directive that requires the Corps to obtain appropriate permits from Delaware, the Corps intends to commence a $300 million project as early as next month to deepen the Delaware River shipping channel – a project that has not yet received environmental clearance from the state.    » read more »

November 9, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Delaware congressional delegation – Democratic Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman and Republican Rep. Mike Castle – hailed the NRG Energy Inc. announcement today of its purchase of Bluewater Wind:

“This is great news for the future of off-shore wind power in our nation and in our state.

“Both parties agree that the added financing capability comes at a critical juncture for Bluewater Wind — an established developer with promising projects already underway. Delaware is now better poised than ever to be the first state in the nation to have an off-shore wind farm.    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.) today voted to extend federal unemployment insurance for up to 14 additional weeks for the state’s jobless, noting additional benefits are needed in Delaware where unemployment stands at more than eight percent. Late today, the Senate passed the Workers, Home Owners, Business Assistance Act (H.R. 3548) by a vote of 98 to 0.    » read more »

November 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.) today voted to extend federal unemployment insurance for up to 14 additional weeks for the state’s jobless, noting additional benefits are needed in Delaware where unemployment stands at more than eight percent.

Late today, the Senate passed the Workers, Home Owners, Business Assistance Act (H.R. 3548) by a vote of 98 to 0.    » read more »

Carper Amendment in Interior Appropriations Bill Directs the EPA to Study Black Carbon Emissions to Improve Public Health & Reduce Global Warming

October 29, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – A plan to help reduce black carbon emissions, authored by Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), was included in the final Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (H.R. 2996), which passed the Senate this evening by a vote of 60-40.

The Carper provision directs the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to study the environmental impact of dangerous black carbon, and to determine the most cost-effective ways to reduce its emissions to improve public health and reduce global warming.    » read more »

October 26, 2009 -- NEWARK, DE – Senators Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.) and Governor Jack Markell, among others, announced today that the State of Delaware has reached the $1 billion mark for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA, a.k.a. ‘stimulus’) funds committed to the State of Delaware. Gov. Markell also announced that nearly 1,000 jobs had been created over the last 8 months thanks to the Recovery Act funding.

“What an exciting announcement,” Sen. Carper said. “When I voted for the bill I hoped it would improve lives, create jobs, and help rebuild our economy. Stimulus funding has done all of those things and made a big difference in Delaware and I am excited about all of the opportunities.”    » read more »

October 14, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) issued the following statement in response to the release of a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) study that shows mercury control technologies at coal-fired power plants are achieving substantial emissions reductions at low costs.

Sen. Carper has carefully monitored mercury pollution issues as chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, and he requested this GAO report to examine costs and reductions achieved by power plant mercury control technologies.

Sen. Carper said:    » read more »

October 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) voted in support of major health care reform legislation that passed out of the Senate Finance Committee today and will move to full Senate consideration in the coming weeks.

Below is the final statement Sen. Carper delivered in the Senate Finance Committee today:

I want to commend Chairman Baucus on the work he has done on this bill.

I believe that with the passage of this bill, we will begin to transform the health care system that costs more than any on earth, does not provide better outcomes, results in 14,000 people losing coverage every day, leaves over 40 million people without coverage, and puts American companies at an enormous competitive disadvantage with their business rivals around the world.    » read more »

Bipartisan amendment will incentivize Americans to participate in healthy behaviors

September 30, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – Senators John Ensign (R-NV) and Tom Carper (D-DE), members of the Senate Finance Committee, today won strong support from both sides of the aisle for an amendment to the Senate Finance Committee’s healthcare reform bill that will incentivize Americans to lead healthy lifestyles in order to lower their overall healthcare costs. The amendment passed with overwhelming support from both parties with a vote of 18-4.    » read more »

September 15, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) issued the following statement praising the proposed federal rule released today by the U.S. Department of Transportation and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to establish an historic national program to improve vehicle fuel economy and reduce greenhouse gases.

As chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s Clean Air and Nuclear Safety Subcommittee, Sen. Carper said:    » read more »

July 8, 2009 -- WASHINGTON - Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) said today that reports of cyber attacks by North Korea are another example of why the United States needs to be better armed to fight these alarming 21st century security threats.

As chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security, Sen. Carper has been pushing to increase protections against just such cyber attacks as those reported this week against U.S. and South Korean government websites.    » read more »

June 23, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Delaware congressional delegation, Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman (both D-Del.) and Rep. Mike Castle (R-Del.), issued the following statement in response to Vice President Joe Biden’s announcement today of an Executive Order creating the White House Council on Automotive Communities and Workers and naming Ed Montgomery as the executive director of recovery for auto communities and workers.

The goal of this new inter-agency council is to help communities and workers hit hardest by auto plant closings.    » read more »

June 18, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), a senior member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, praised an agreement signed today that would give more counternarcotics authority to immigration agents to help reduce illegal drugs entering American communities.

In response to the signing of this Interagency Cooperation Agreement that increases cooperation and information sharing between the Department of Health And Human Services’ Immigration Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) and the Department of Justice’s Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Sen. Carper said:    » read more »