Senator Carper in New Castle County on Monday, June 26, 2006

Wilmington, DE – Senator Tom Carper will spend Monday, June 26, 2006, in New Castle County. The Senator will start his day by participating in the Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention’s teen pregnancy summit. A panel of experts will examine the economic and personal costs of teen pregnancy. They will also be reviewing the status of teen pregnancy in Delaware and make recommendations for the future of teen pregnancy prevention programming in the state. Teen birth rates in Delaware, although they continue to decline, are not declining at the same rate as rates in most other states. Delaware currently ranks 40th out of 50 states (with 1 being best) for teen births. High rates of births to black and Hispanic teens are also a major concern for Delaware. Lead governor during the overhaul of the nation’s welfare reform system in 1996, Carper instituted a successful welfare reform policy in Delaware that reduced teen pregnancy and cut the state’s welfare rolls by over 50%. Senator Carper will then head to the VA Medical Center in Elsmere to give the keynote address at the re-release of the U.S. Postal Service’s new first class 39-cent rate Purple Heart stamp. The stamp image features a photograph by Ira Wexler of one of the two Purple Hearts awarded to James Loftus Fowler of Alexandria, Virginia. Fowler was a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Marines and was serving as battalion commander of the Third Battalion, Fourth Marines when he received his Purple Heart in 1968 following an action close to the Ben Hai River on the border between North and South Vietnam. The stamp is a nationwide issuance, and is being unveiled in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Senator Carper sits on the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Postal Service. Monday, June 26, 2006 11:00 am – 11:30 am Alliance for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Teen Pregnancy Summit Christiana Care Health, Eugene DuPont Preventive Medicine & Rehabilitation Institute at Pelleport 3506 Kennett Pike Room 100 Greenville 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Postal Recognition Ceremony VA Medical Center 1601 Kirkwood Highway Elsmere