|
Dear Friend,
Happy New Year!
It has been an honor to serve Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District in 2023. Despite the instability in Washington, we’ve accomplished great work together this year, and I'm here to share a quick recap. I’m ready to hit the ground running in 2024, continuing to work side-by-side with communities across our region to deliver results and address the challenges we face.
A Year’s Worth of Work for Eastern Connecticut
Every day, my Norwich and Enfield offices help Second District residents resolve issues with federal agencies – from VA services to Social Security, Medicare, passport applications, and more. We also work alongside eastern Connecticut organizations to help bring home federal grant funding. In 2023, federal grants we secured kickstarted impactful and rigorously vetted projects for public safety, outdoor recreation, housing, child care, substance use disorder treatment, and more.
Creating Thousands of Quality Careers in Eastern Connecticut
2023 was a record year for hiring rates at Electric Boat – driven by a continued 2-per-year build rate for the Virginia-class submarine program, construction of the new Columbia-class fleet, and the advancement of the AUKUS security agreement.
The Groton shipyard is reaching a historic level of total employment, and in Congress, there’s a strong awareness of eastern Connecticut shipbuilders' vital work for our nation’s security. As Ranking Member of the Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee and a senior member of the Education and Workforce Committee, I've worked in a bipartisan fashion with my colleagues to secure continued federal investments into the submarine industrial base and local skills training programs, providing opportunities to job seekers and building a workforce that can meet the high-demand.
Lowering Health Care Costs
This year, key provisions from Inflation Reduction Act took effect to lower health care and prescription drug costs. Lowered monthly premiums through enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies have brought thousands in savings for eastern Connecticut residents and families, and we’ve empowered Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Finally, America's seniors will not pay 2.5x more than other countries for the same medications.
Upgrading Infrastructure with Historic Federal Investment
2023 marked the second year of the Infrastructure Law's five-year investment in our nation’s infrastructure. Across eastern Connecticut, projects on "to-do" lists have become a reality and once decades-long project timeframes have been sped up to just a few years. Our towns are leading the way in upgrading roads and bridges and replacing other aging infrastructure in preparation for growth.
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 and a happy New Year!
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
|
