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Dear Friend,
After a busy week in Congress, I’m back home in eastern Connecticut. Here with an update on the Prime Minister of Australia’s visit to the U.S. Capitol, the election of the new House speaker, and lots more. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
Welcoming Australian Prime Minister Albanese to Congress
Yesterday, I had the honor of welcoming Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to the U.S. Capitol. The United States and Australia’s alliance is ironclad, built on shared democratic values and a commitment to deterring conflict and upholding the international rule of law amid rising threats. Today, our partnership is stronger than ever under the trilateral AUKUS agreement between our two countries and the United Kingdom. As the Submarine Capital of the World, eastern Connecticut is already playing a key role in AUKUS, and we will continue to do so in the coming years and decades.
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| Rep. Courtney welcomes Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (left) |
Prime Minister Albanese’s visit to congress marked a critical moment for the implementation of the AUKUS pathway announced in March of this year. Key legislation is working its way through Congress to deliver on the United States’ part of the agreement, including the transfer of U.S. Virginia-class submarines to Australia, improving the sharing of technology and critical minerals, and the sharing of nuclear propulsion technology with Australia, which the U.S. Navy has only shared once before – in 1958, with the British Navy.
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The Australian government has shown that they are all in on implementing their end of the agreement, highlighted by an unprecedented $3 billion pledge from Australia into the U.S. submarine industrial base. At our meeting with Prime Minister Albanese, the Friends of Australia Caucus and leaders from the House and Senate Armed Services and Foreign Affairs Committees showed a strong bipartisan commitment to upholding our own end of AUKUS. As the Prime Minister said, the friendly race is on between our governments to pass the legislation needed to make AUKUS a success.
Rep. Mike Johnson Elected as Speaker of the House
On Wednesday, following weeks of internal debate within the GOP majority, the House of Representatives voted to elect Mike Johnson as the 56th Speaker of the House – a position third in line for President of the United States.
Critical priorities have stacked up, including passing a federal budget before the November 17th deadline and delivering aid to our allies abroad. It’s blindingly obvious that we need a Speaker of the House who understands that a bipartisan approach is the only way a divided Congress can meet these challenges successfully. For example, the measure to keep the government open only passed with a coalition of Democrats and Republicans. Over the last 22 days, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, with my support, offered to join hands with the Republican majority to create a bipartisan path forward for a basic level of communication and collaboration to achieve stability.
With the election of Speaker Mike Johnson, it is not clear that path will be followed, but I reaffirm that the offer of a bipartisan pathway still stands. I hope as the serious mantle of his new role sinks in, he will grasp that to be successful he must rise above the polarized factionalism.
A Funding Request from the President with Critical Help for Connecticut Farmers, Seniors and Families
With the election of the Speaker, the House has finally reopened for legislative work. It’s vital that we act quickly to meet the needs of Americans. Yesterday, President Biden submitted a funding request to Congress which would address the challenges our country faces and bring needed resources to many in eastern Connecticut.
This past year, Connecticut farmers dealt with hours of record-freezing temperatures in May – right during the peak of growing season – only to have extreme flooding impacting those same operations less than two months later. These same family farms were impacted by a serious drought last summer that caused significant losses, all while the agriculture industry as a whole tried to recover from the changing economy and world after the COVID-19 pandemic. The President’s request would provide needed emergency relief funding to help our farms recover from the devastating crop damage and losses they have faced. Last year, I led the Connecticut delegation in securing emergency disaster assistance for our farmers, and this year, I again worked with my colleagues in Connecticut to lead the charge in securing a commitment from the Biden Administration to support emergency disaster assistance for agricultural producers. Now, we must deliver this new assistance to our farmers.
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As we quickly approach the winter season, ensuring that families and seniors in eastern Connecticut can stay warm in their homes is a top priority. The President’s funding request to Congress also includes a significant increase in funding for the LIHEAP program, which provides eligible Connecticut residents with assistance to cover the costs of home heating through the CT Energy Assistance Program. In eastern Connecticut, our local community action agencies are doing excellent work to connect seniors and families to LIHEAP resources. With the House floor now re-open, I’m committed to providing adequate home heating assistance funding to homeowners.
Other highlights from the President’s supplemental funding request include a much-needed reinvestment in child care to ensure that providers can stay afloat and provide critical services to working families, resources to counter the devastating impact of fentanyl on our communities, and pay for federal firefighters. Congress must act in a swift, bipartisan fashion to pass this supplemental.
Bipartisan Work to Protect & Restore the Long Island Sound & Plum Island
The Long Island Sound is a vital ecological resource for our region and hosts a huge amount of economic activity for shoreline towns. Last year we secured a historic new investment for the Sound from the Infrastructure Law and the 2023 federal budget, and in the 118th Congress, I’ve continued bipartisan work to bring more needed resources back to our region.
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| Rep. Courtney and Rep. LaLota relaunched the bipartisan Long Island Sound Caucus in September |
I co-chair the bipartisan Long Island Sound Caucus with Congressman Nick LaLota, and this week, we joined the Long Island Sound Citizen Advisory Committee to provide an update on our work. We’ve built bipartisan support to reauthorize the Long Island Sound Program through 2028 and provide permanent federal protections for Plum Island. These are true treasures of our region’s natural landscape, and I’ve always worked across the aisle and the Sound the protect them for future generations.
Internship Applications Are Open
My office is currently accepting applications for internships serving in our Norwich, Enfield, and Washington offices. Interns play a crucial role in our work for eastern Connecticut, and the program is a great opportunity to gain experiences working in Congress. I worked as an intern myself!
Click here to apply!
Thank you 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!
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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