Dear Friend, 

After a busy week in Congress, I’m back home in eastern Connecticut. Here with an update on my third visit to the southern border and meetings in Washington. As always, thanks for starting you weekend here with me. 

Visiting the Southern Border  

Last week, I visited the U.S.-Mexico Border crossing in El Paso, Texas. My visit – my third to the southwest border since coming to Congress – reinforced that we must bring orderly controls to the border. 

Click here to watch.

I traveled to El Paso with a group of eight colleagues from the U.S. House of Representatives to meet with Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers, members of the Border Patrol, migrants, and local community members. We heard and saw the dire need for orderly controls at the border, to stop the flow of fentanyl, and to reform our immigration system – which all of us in eastern Connecticut regard as critical priorities. 

This was my third visit to the southwest border since coming to Congress – the first time to Nogales, Arizona in 2007, then to Brownsville, Texas in 2018, and El Paso this year. El Paso is part of a metropolitan area of two million people divided by the Rio Grande – Juarez, Mexico to the south and El Paso to the north. Every day, thousands of vehicles and pedestrians cross the Paso de Norte Bridge, one of the “ports of entry” that our customs officers handle with professionalism, accommodating legal transits and intercepting migrants who are without documents and taken into custody. 

Paso de Norte Bridge

The officers also screen vehicles for illegal drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, many times driven by U.S. citizens. Despite their best efforts, the volume of traffic is overwhelming their understaffed ranks, and out of date infrastructure and equipment at the bridge clearly need immediate attention. Officers described working 16-hour days to keep the posts manned, and how the drug cartels’ devious concealment of contraband too often outmatches the limited detection technology they have available.  

For example, there are vintage Xray machines that vehicles drive through, but they are not capable of identifying drugs, only suspicious objects.  During our briefing at the bridge, Officer Salas, pictured below, showed me the one and only handheld drug detection and analysis unit at the Paso de Norte port of entry for suspicious packages. Despite being under resourced, the CBP in El Paso did seize record quantity of illegal drugs last year. But it was obvious that border staff need more sophisticated drive-through drug detection booths—which are being deployed at other parts of the border—and many more handheld units to detect and protect our officers from dangerous exposure to fentanyl. In fact, the ports of entry where the Biden administration has had the funding to install new inspection machines has increased scanning capacity of passenger vehicles for fentanyl from just two percent to 40 percent. 

Officer Salas shows Rep. Courtney the one and only drug detection device available at Paso de Norte

Action Congress Should Take to Ensure Order at the Border

It is clearly obvious to any observer that Congress needs to pass the border supplemental bill which will add more trained staff and upgrade our ports of entry across the southwest border with the latest inspection machines that detect fentanyl quickly and effectively. This is not a partisan agenda. It is simple, commonsense that shows real support for the hard working men and women who are putting their talents and training to use for the public good. 

Since coming to Congress, I have supported bipartisan paths – which is a political necessity – to ensure there is order at the border and limit illegal entry, but have also worked with key stakeholders in eastern Connecticut's agriculture, hospitality, and construction sectors to improve pathways to address chronic labor shortages that hinder economic growth. 

I applaud the Senators who negotiated a bipartisan deal, led in part by Connecticut’s Chris Murphy, for taking action to get us closer to reaching this goal. Notably, the compromise they announced this week would deploy 100 new fentanyl detection machines and over 1,500 new U.S. Customs and Border Protection personnel; expedite work authorizations so those with credible asylum claims can support themselves and their family as soon as possible; and provide urgent resources to help communities provide basic services that are under strain.  

This trip, like the two previous ones, once again demonstrated to me and my colleagues how, with enough targeted investments, we can assist the talented, hardworking border professionals to strengthen control at the border. The endorsement by their professional association and union leadership is a powerful signal that Congress needs to enact the bipartisan compromise. 

From left: Officer Cleaves; Rep. Lauren Underwood, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, Rep. Joe Courtney, Rep. Val Hoyle, Rep. Veronica Escobar, Rep. Greg Landsman, Rep. Emilia Sykes, Rep. Jimmy Panetta, Rep. Hillary Scholten

Hosting Connecticut Groups in Washington, DC 

This week, I hosted groups from Connecticut in my Washington, DC office to discuss how my office and I can continue to support their work in our region. 

On Tuesday, Rep. Jahana Hayes and I met with Connecticut State Community College – which has 12 school campuses across our state. Community colleges open the door to quality higher education for students of all backgrounds. They are particularly important to eastern Connecticut students and employers as we continue to address workforce challenges in critical industries. During our meeting, CT State Community College President Dr. John Maduko, Rep. Hayes, and I discussed how federal support to Connecticut community colleges can expand higher-ed opportunities to more residents. 

Also on Tuesday, I met with the Special Olympics organization as part of their Annual “Capitol Hill Day." The Special Olympics program, which holds year-round events, can be life-changing for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. During our meeting, I spoke with two students from Norwich Free Academy, Brodin Warzecha and Gavin Duda, who described great impact the program has had on them. I’m grateful for their visit to my office and I will continue working to ensure Special Olympics has the federal support it needs to thrive. 

Finally, on Wednesday, I met up with Last Green Valley President Lois Bruinooge and National Park Foundation's Katie Taylor. Lois and I worked together in recent years to secure a 15-year reauthorization of the Last Green Valley as a National Heritage Area (NHA). Eastern Connecticut’s rural and outdoor heritage is a core part of our identity. The Last Green Valley organization works to preserve the land and operates programs that help local residents and visitors to enjoy it. With this 15-year NHA reauthorization, the Last Green Valley can rely on steady, federal support through 2037 to support their work. 

Recognizing the Dedicated Service of Navy Veteran Paul Dillon

This week, my Military and Veterans Representative Manuel Menses (USN, Ret.) joined the retirement celebration for Gales Ferry’s Paul Dillon (USN, Ret.) – one of southeastern Connecticut’s most prominent veterans’ advocates and dear friend of my office. 

From Left: Manuel Meneses (USN, Ret.) and Paul Dillon (USN, Ret.)

Paul served in the Navy for nearly a quarter century from 1956 to 1980 and was an exemplary sailor. His service encompassed the Vietnam War and his tenure saw him promoted to U.S. Navy Master Chief. After service, he became a member of my Veterans Advisory Council, the president of the Nautilus Chapter of the Association of the U.S. Navy, and more. In 2012, he was befittingly inducted into the CT Veterans’ Hall of Fame.  

Unfortunately, Paul was exposed to Agent Orange during his tours and to this day he suffers from the health complications caused from the chemical exposure. Shockingly, in the early 2000s, the VA refused to grant  “presumptive eligibility” for agent orange exposure health illness for veterans of America’s sea services. For 17 years, Paul led constant advocacy, ultimately leading to Congress passing a new law, which I whole-heartedly supported, which corrected this injustice. It was an honor and a privilege for me to work with Paul to help achieve this hard-fought legislative victory. Paul is an irreplaceable member of my Veterans Advisory Council, assisting my office and me on veterans issues.  

Thank you, Paul, for your dedicated public service to our nation and the veteran community.

Congress Must Save the Affordable Connectivity Program 

Internet connectivity is a vital resource for us all. Staying online means accessing work and important services, keeping in touch with loved ones, and much more. The Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) provides low-cost internet access to those who need it. The program is operated by the Federal Communications Commission and is made possible by Infrastructure Law that I voted to pass in 2021. In Connecticut, 1 in 8 households rely on the ACP for internet access.

Unfortunately, the program is now on a cliff. If Congress does not act, the ACP is projected to run out of money in April or May of this year. I'm working with my colleagues to avoid this, and ensure the program remains fully funded. 

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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