NEWTOWN, Pa. – Governors of Delaware, New York and Pennsylvania, comprising a majority of the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC), announced today that they had voted in favor of a resolution put forward by the commission to issue draft regulations to permanently ban hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas in the Delaware River Basin.

The DRBC vote was three to one with one abstention in passing the resolution for promulgating regulations that would prohibit any water project in the Delaware River Basin proposed for developing oil and gas resources by high-volume hydraulic fracturing.

Delaware Governor John Carney said that the DRBC resolution is consistent with the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act, a bill introduced by Carney and passed by Congress in 2016, by helping to ensure that the water resources of the basin will be protected for present and future generations. “Fracking could diminish water resources in the Delaware River Basin, both through consumption and degraded water quality,” said Governor Carney. “We are pleased to join both New York and Pennsylvania in voting in favor of this resolution, which will protect public health, and a precious water supply. This action will guarantee that fracking for oil and gas will not threaten water resources in the Basin.”

“Protecting and preserving our water resources is paramount to ensuring the health and wellbeing of New Yorkers and of all residents living within the Delaware River Basin,” Governor Cuomo said. “With this resolution, the DRBC builds on New York’s leadership to protect the environment and public health from hydraulic fracturing, while protecting this vital water source that millions of people depend on every day. ‎I am proud to stand with my colleagues from Delaware and Pennsylvania in approving this critical resolution and we will continue to work on developing the necessary regulations to codify this commonsense resolution.”

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said he was pleased to see the DRBC take a step forward after years of study. “Today, we are acting to protect a watershed that supplies drinking water to more than 15 million people in one of the most densely populated areas of the country. I believe this resolution preserves water quality and water supply for the residents of the watershed, and will protect this precious resource for generations to come,” said Governor Wolf. “I have supported this resolution since I was a candidate for Governor of Pennsylvania, and I am proud that we have worked collaboratively to move this process forward after almost a decade of work at the DRBC.”

The Delaware River Basin, which drains from portions of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware, supplies drinking water to more than 15 million people. Governors of the four basin states and a federal representative serve as Delaware River Basin Commissioners, tasked with overseeing a unified approach to managing the river system without regard to political boundaries. The commission has oversight in the basin for water quality protection, water supply allocation, regulatory review (permitting), water conservation initiatives, watershed planning, drought management, flood loss reduction, and recreation.

The DRBC resolution comes after Congressional passage last December of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. As jointly authored by then-Congressman Carney and Delaware US Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act requires federal, state and local partners to work together and preserve the basin. Congress passed the Act as part of a larger national legislative package known as the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act.

Development of oil and gas using hydraulic fracturing in the Delaware River basin has been an issue since 2010, when the DRBC’s five commissioners voted unanimously to “postpone consideration of well pad dockets until regulations are adopted.” This action effectively placed a de facto, temporary moratorium on drilling for natural gas in several Pennsylvania counties and parts of southern New York. Since 2011, the DRBC and the signatory parties have undertaken extensive discussion and research efforts related to unconventional shale gas drilling which resulted in the resolution passed today.

In addition, to ensure protection of water resources in the Basin and beyond, Pennsylvania and New York have both developed comprehensive programs to effectively manage wastes and waste products produced as a result of high-volume hydraulic hydro-fracturing operations. These protections are an aspect of state programs to manage solid and hazardous wastes, as well as to treat wastes in accordance with the federal Clean Water Act and analogous state clean water programs.

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Dover, Del. –  The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) annual August redistribution has resulted in Delaware receiving and addition $20,049,671 in federal funding for infrastructure projects. The redistribution dollars represent federal transportation improvement funds that were allocated, but not used by other states.

“These additional funds will allow DelDOT to move forward with several needed projects throughout our state sooner than originally planned, creating more jobs and addressing infrastructure needs,” said Governor John Carney.

“DelDOT values every dollar it receives from FHWA, and we are happy that we responded quickly to this opportunity to further support our robust infrastructure improvement program,” said Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan.

DelDOT will obligate these additional funds for specific projects no later than September 26, 2017. These projects include the SR 1 NE Front Street grade separated interchange in Kent County, paving and rehabilitation work of Route 54 and Fenwick/Lighthouse Road in Sussex County, bridge painting on the Red Clay Creek bridge on Kirkwood Highway and design work for a rehab project of the SR 141 bridge over Kirkwood Highway in New Castle County.

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney said Friday that Delaware will submit a proposal to Amazon, which is seeking a location to open its second North American headquarters. The Governor intends to bring together Delaware’s federal delegation, leadership of all four caucuses in the General Assembly, the New Castle County Executive, and the Mayor of the City of Wilmington, as the state develops a proposal presenting Delaware as the ideal location for Amazon.

“Delaware is extremely well-positioned to be the site of Amazon’s second North American headquarters,” said Governor Carney. “We have a world-class workforce, and communities that are ideal places to live, work, and raise a family. Delaware is centrally located, with easy access to international airports, extensive railroads, shipping ports, and major interstates. Combine our location with the state’s ability to work quickly and collaboratively with government, business, and academic leaders, and it becomes clear why Delaware would be an attractive option for Amazon. The company is already creating jobs in Delaware, and our bottom line is this: Delaware stands ready to help businesses create good-paying jobs and grow right here in our state. We look forward to making our pitch directly to Amazon, and giving Delaware the best chance to secure the new headquarters.”

“Delaware may be small, but that’s what makes us so nimble when it comes to creating a nurturing environment for business,” said U.S. Senator Tom Carper. “With our first-class workforce and easy access to major highways like I-95 and the northeast corridor railway, the First State would make a great location for Amazon’s second North American headquarters. Moreover, employees look for a place that their families can grow and thrive. Great communities, good schools, pristine beaches, proximity to major cities, and friendly people are hallmarks of Delaware and make it a great place to call home.”

“Delaware is the best place for Amazon’s second HQ because Amazon’s corporate values of excellence, agility, diversity, and inclusion mirror what we value and practice in Delaware,” said U.S. Senator Chris Coons. “I’m proud of our business-friendly economy, our world-class workforce and ample space for commercial development. Which is just the reason why companies like Incyte, Bank of America, Chemours, and others chose to either have their corporate headquarters in Delaware, or a substantial presence in the First State. Amazon already has an impressive footprint in Delaware, and I highly encourage Mr. Bezos to continue to invest in Delaware by locating their second North American headquarters in Delaware.”

“Delaware, coined the ‘Diamond State’ for our central location and accessibility, has so much to offer Amazon’s expansion,” said U.S. Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester. “We feature a dynamic workforce, forward thinking leaders, and opportunity for growing businesses to thrive. Our size allows us tremendous flexibility and interconnectedness. We have diversity, arts, and cultural opportunities for employees to enjoy. Political and local leaders have a history of working together for our community, our businesses, and our neighbors. As our state economy continues to transition, Delaware is investing in jobs for the future and creating an ecosystem for growth.”

“We are pleased to work in partnership with the State and County governments and our Federal delegation to bring Amazon to Delaware,” said Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki. “Naturally, I have a preference for the company coming to Wilmington, but this is a huge opportunity to provide employment for our City residents as well as those who live beyond Wilmington’s borders and to boost our local economy. Amazon will find that Wilmington and all of Delaware welcomes and supports business and knows how to help businesses grow and prosper. We appreciate this opportunity to show Amazon why coming here is the best move it can make.”

“Delaware is the premier destination for Amazon to tap into an exceptional workforce, extraordinary location, high quality of life and a responsive and responsible public sector,” said New Castle County Executive Matt Meyer. “New Castle County is where Amazon should build for the future, and we look forward to collaborating to make that case.”

“Delaware has a well-earned and longstanding reputation as an excellent place to live and to do business,” said Delaware Senate President Pro Tempore David McBride. “Fortune 500s like Amazon flock here for our business-friendly attitudes and legal system, but we offer far more than the world’s foremost Court of Chancery. We also have one of the most skilled, educated workforces in America. We have easy access to I-95, rail, and the Port of Wilmington, in addition to the country’s best digital infrastructure. We’re within two hours of four major cities, and twenty minutes from Philadelphia International Airport. And we have a small, nimble government that values its employers and constituents, and can act quickly when they need something. Amazon knows that firsthand, since they already have two successful fulfillment centers open here. I speak for my colleagues when I say that I’ll do everything in my power to support our efforts to bring them to Delaware.”

“Delaware has been home to some of the best and most innovative companies in the world,” said Delaware House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf. “It’s my hope we can add a giant like Amazon. Being home to its second national headquarters would mean good-paying careers for residents. We have the advantage of location and flexibility. Being a state of neighbors, we can respond to any issues or questions they might have. I hope Amazon sees that and it gives us a leg up.”

“I am eager to begin work with all governmental agencies, including our municipalities, counties and State to achieve what I hope will be a long-term relationship between Delaware and the Amazon corporation,” said Delaware Senate Minority Leader Gary Simpson. “Our strong business reputation for getting things done quickly and efficiently has always been rooted in our unique ability to work together to achieve results for the businesses that choose to call Delaware home.”

“Our size is an advantage,” said Delaware House Minority Leader Danny Short. “We can literally bring all the players to the table in a single room and be more responsive than perhaps any state in the nation. When DuPont and Dow merged, not many people would have believed we would be able to land the headquarters of two of the three resulting businesses, but that’s what happened. I think we have the same type of opportunity here.”

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WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney and ten other Governors on Thursday sent a letter to Congressional leaders, urging Congress to pass legislation that will allow young adults subject to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA) to remain in the United States. Below is an excerpt from the letter:

“The action President Trump has taken to rescind the DACA program is not an answer to our nation’s ongoing need for permanent and comprehensive immigration reform. The nearly 800,000 DACA-recipients, who are currently working in the United States or attending a university or college, should not be penalized for the gridlock in Washington that has blocked real solutions from moving forward. They are hard-working individuals who are contributing to their communities, paying taxes, and in, in many cases, even serving in the U.S. military.

“Rescinding DACA will not only put these young people in limbo, it will also harm businesses in our states who have hired, trained and invested in them…

“We are a nation of laws, but we are also a nation of immigrants, compassion and common sense. We strongly urge you to work together to take immediate action to ensure that these young people can continue to live, work and contribute to the country they have called home for most of their lives.”

Click here to view the full letter.
 
Today, Governor Carney will express his support for DACA students at the following events:

Governor Carney Visits DACA Students at Delaware State University
WHAT:          Governor John Carney will attend a luncheon and meet with DACA students at Delaware State University.

WHO:           Governor John Carney
Dr. Harry Williams, President, Delaware State University
Tony Allen, Provost, Delaware State University
Donald Graham, Chairman, Graham Holdings Company
Delaware State University students, staff and faculty

WHEN:        12:15 p.m., Friday, September 8, 2017

WHERE:        Delaware State University, Martin Luther King Student Center
1200 N. Dupont Highway
Dover, DE 19901

Silent Vigil and Rally to Support DACA
WHAT:          Governor John Carney will join advocates and community members at a Silent Vigil and Rally to support DACA. The rally will begin outside the Dover offices of U.S. Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons. Procession will then begin down Loockerman Street, turning right onto Legislative Avenue and ending outside of the Governor’s Office at the Tatnall Building.

WHO:            Governor John Carney
Delaware Civil Rights Coalition
Delaware Alliance Community Advancement
Community Members

WHEN:          4:50 p.m., Friday, September 8, 2017

WHERE:      The event will begin at 500 W. Loockerman Street, Dover, DE 19904
Procession to the Tatnall Building, 150 Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, South, Dover, DE 19901

HJR 7 will establish health care spending benchmark linked to economic growth 

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Thursday signed House Joint Resolution 7 granting authority to the Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) to establish a health care spending benchmark for Delaware with a growth rate linked to the overall economy of the state. The signing ceremony comes less than three months after a federal analysis found Delaware had the third-highest per capita level of health spending of all the states.

House Joint Resolution 7, sponsored by House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst and Democratic leadership, and supported by both parties, authorizes DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker to establish the benchmark as a way to evaluate the total cost of care of health care in the state. The benchmark also will serve as a major step in transforming Delaware’s health care system to a more outcome-driven system and away from a system that pays for care based solely on the number of room days, visits, procedures and tests. Co-sponsors of the resolution included Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf and Rep. John Viola, and Senate President Pro Tem David McBride and Sens. Margaret Rose Henry and Nicole Poore.

Delaware’s per capita health care costs are more than 27 percent above the U.S. average, ranking the state third-highest in the country, behind only Alaska and Massachusetts, according to spending data released in June by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The CMS analysis of all insurance payers – Medicare, Medicaid and private – found that per capita spending in Delaware for 2014 was $10,254, compared to the U.S. average of $8,045. Without changes, the analysis estimates that Delaware’s total health care spending will more than double from $9.5 billion in 2014 to $21.5 billion in 2025.

“The health care spending path we are on is unsustainable,” said Governor Carney, who signed the resolution during a ceremony at Saint Francis LIFE in Wilmington, which provides all-inclusive care for more than 220 eligible seniors who continue to live in the community. “If these health care spending rates were to continue to increase at this pace, we would price too many Delawareans out of the health care system, put too high a financial burden on employers, and eat up larger and larger portions of the state government budget. We can’t afford any of those scenarios. The health care spending benchmark will provide us with the opportunity to transform the way we pay for health care and link that cost to the state’s overall economy. The two should go hand in hand.”

“Health care, both access to quality care and rising costs, is a priority and concern that affects all Delawareans,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long. “With over 80 percent of the health care costs going to 20 percent of the population, we must invest more in outreach and prevention to make quality health care more affordable for everyone. It especially places an unfair burden on our senior population. As a nurse, I believe this benchmark is a crucial first step and I applaud the legislators, stakeholders, and Secretary Walker for working to provide affordable quality health care for all Delawareans.”

“Health care costs account for a significant chunk of Delaware’s total budget – about $1 billion – and they continue to rise. It’s time to analyze those costs and find substantial ways to improve the overall health of Delawareans without such a burdensome price tag,” said House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, prime sponsor of House Joint Resolution 7. “It’s my hope that this resolution will help bring a variety of health care stakeholders and perspectives together to create a benchmark that will improve the quality of health services in our state at a lower cost. We have the chance to change the trajectory of health care in Delaware, and support our residents in becoming healthier and more successful throughout their lives.”

“Saint Francis LIFE, a program of all-inclusive care for the elderly (PACE), is a strong example of how the state can provide quality care in the community, improve the patient experience and reduce cost,” said David A. Ricci, President and CEO of Saint Francis Healthcare in Wilmington. “We are proud to be a model of this ‘triple aim’ of health care in Delaware.”

The joint resolution sets up a planning year for the health care spending benchmark in Fiscal Year 2018 in which Secretary Walker will plan with health care stakeholders how to establish the benchmark, determine the sources of data and collect actuarial certification. The resolution details that benchmark planning will include an assessment of health care costs and payment reform efforts, and the development of processes to evaluate and implement the benchmark.The benchmark will allow the state to look at the growth of costs associated with hospitals, physicians, other health care providers, pharmaceuticals and insurers by comparing their growth rate to the growth rate of the state’s overall economy. This is the first step in providing transparency and accountability among payers and providers in health care.

DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker, who has been leading a statewide discussion on accelerating health care payment reform, said the increased demand for health care, as well as inefficiencies in the supply of that care, have led to the high per-capital spending in Delaware.

“Unfortunately, while we spend more on care, our investments have not led to better health or better outcomes for Delawareans,” she said. “The spending benchmark will improve the quality of health care in Delaware and reduce costs throughout the system by means of increased transparency, better efficiencies and system-wide innovation. I look forward to continuing my work with stakeholders to establish the benchmark.”

Delaware ranks 31st among states in America’s Health Rankings, exceeding the national average in cancer deaths per capita, cardiovascular deaths per capita, diabetes per capita, infant mortality and premature death.

“Now is the time for Delaware to embrace the concept of a benchmark for health care spending that will ultimately drive our efforts toward value-based care and better outcomes for our citizens and away from volume of care and high utilization,” Secretary Walker said.

Of the $10,254 per capita figure in Delaware, the federal analysis found this breakdown of spending:

• $4,078 for hospital care;
• $2,259 for physician and clinical services;
• $1,525 for drugs and other medical nondurables;
• $1,438 for nursing home, home health and other personal care;
• $757 for dental and other professional services;
• $197 for medical durables.

In all six categories, spending in Delaware was higher than the national average, ranging from a high of 37 percent higher for drugs and other medical nondurables, to a low of 18 percent higher for nursing home, home health and other personal care.

In a health care spending benchmark, all of the costs in the health care system are measured – commercial health coverage, Medicaid, Medicare and out-of-pocket spending by consumers. A rate of growth is set, usually by an independent government commission, to the growth of the overall state’s economy.

Along with the leadership of the Delaware Center for Health Innovation (DCHI), Delaware has been moving toward a more integrated and coordinated health care system that is team-based, especially for people with the most complex chronic conditions, has strong primary care, integrated behavioral health care, and can share information across settings to reduce waste and avoidable health care utilization. In a value-based systems, consumers and employers are given information about price and quality so they can engage in more decisions about their own care.

“The philosophy of Saint Francis LIFE is that it’s better for seniors to continue living in the community as long as medically possible,” said Amy Milligan, Executive Director of the program which now serves 223 New Castle County seniors. “LIFE’s team of health care experts provides coordinated, comprehensive care for this vulnerable population to help them achieve this goal.”

LIFE, which stands for Living Independently for Elders, is one of more than 100 PACE programs in the United States that offer this unique model of care, and the only one in Delaware. In partnership with CMS and the DHSS’ Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance, the LIFE program serves individuals who are 55 or older; live in the New Castle County service area; are certified as needing long-term care services and supports; and can live safely at home with the support of the LIFE team. LIFE operates under the umbrella of Saint Francis Healthcare, which is a member of Trinity Health, the second largest faith-based health care ministry in the United States.

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