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Dear Friend,
I’m here with an update on new federal funding coming into our state, another summer of free museums for kids, and more. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
Addressing Gaps in Broadband Access
High-speed internet is a vital resource for every household and small business. It connects people to education, careers, commerce, and loved ones. Still, in 2023, hundreds of thousands of people and tens of thousands of small businesses in our state don’t have access to reliable, affordable broadband – and the issue is particularly acute in rural areas.
This week, I joined my colleagues and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to announce $144 million in federal funding is coming to Connecticut to improve broadband infrastructure and affordability.
This funding comes straight from the Infrastructure Law we passed in 2021 and is another example of its once-in-a-generation investments in Connecticut that set our towns up to thrive in the 21st century. Click here to read more about this week’s announcement.
Another Round of Federal Resources for First Responders
This week, I announced another round of federal Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) for the Willimantic Fire Station and the Gales Ferry Fire Company to make critical equipment upgrades. Equipment upgrades for first responders can be costly and often outside of our towns’ budgets. The AFG program helps makes them possible.
In Willimantic, Chief Marc Scrivener and his team will use a $74,000 grant to purchase a new vehicle exhaust removal system – vital and long-overdue equipment. Emissions from idling vehicles inside fire stations can quickly make indoor air quality dangerously unhealthy, and opening windows or doors does not provide enough air flow to disperse the exhaust. A vehicle exhaust removal system is required to ensure a safe working environment.
In Ledyard, Chief Anthony Saccone and the Gales Ferry Fire Company will use $284,000 in AFG funds to upgrade their mobile radios. In emergency response situations, the new radios will improve coordination and allow firefighters in Ledyard to talk to firefighters across the state in Hartford. This grant is a regional award and will also benefit the Ledyard Fire Company.
Congratulations to the Willimantic Fire Station and the Gales Ferry Fire Company. It took diligent and persistent work from Chief Scrivener, Chief Saccone, and their entire teams to secure these highly-competitive grant awards.
Connecticut Summer at the Museum is Back!
Great news: The CT Summer at the Museum program is returning in 2023! Starting tomorrow, July 1st, Connecticut children under the age of 18 (and one accompanying adult) receive free admission to dozens of participating museums in the Second District and many more across our state. The program is once again federally-funded by the American Rescue Plan which continues to deliver for Connecticut families.
CT Summer at the Museum runs through September 4th and is open to all Connecticut residents. For more details and a full list of participating museums, click here.
June is Dairy Month
June is National Dairy Month, and in eastern Connecticut, we have a proud dairy heritage to celebrate. Dairy farms are pillars of rural communities and drivers of economic activity. My office and I keep in close touch with local farmers, and earlier this month, I joined my colleagues to relaunch the bipartisan Congressional Dairy Caucus – a platform to ensure dairy farmers have their voices heard in Congress.
Last year, we secured a huge win for local dairy. After years of bipartisan pressure from my colleagues and I in Congress, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made the commonsense move of allowing schools to offer low-fat (1%) milk in addition to nonfat flavored milk and nonfat or low-fat unflavored milk. This ensures more students are drinking nutritious and filling milk with their school lunch. I’m continuing my work with Congressman Glen “GT” Thompson (R-PA), Chair of the House Agricultural Committee, to further expand milk options in school lunches.
Remembering Governor Lowell Weicker
On Wednesday, former U.S. Senator and Governor Lowell Weicker passed away at his home in Old Lyme, surrounded by his wife Claudia and family.
Governor Weicker’s service to our nation and state was always driven by the public good – whether it was caring for the disabled or defending our democracy and the constitution. He did not flinch from entering “the arena” of public affairs as Theodore Roosevelt called it, to fight the good fight and in doing so, set an inspiring example of citizenship that will live on for generations to come. Click here to more about Governor Weicker's career of service to our state.
Thanks for taking some time to read my update. If we can be of any assistance, don’t hesitate to give my Norwich office a call at (860) 886-0139. Have a great weekend and a safe and happy 4th of July!
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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