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Dear Friend,
I just wrapped up a busy week in eastern Connecticut. Here with an update on veterans benefits, support for first responders, and more. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
Celebrating 59 Years of Medicare at the Norwich Senior Center
59 years ago this week, President Lydon B. Johnson signed the Medicare and Medicaid programs into law, ensuring seniors and people with disabilities have access to the medical care they need. I'm as committed as ever to protecting and improving these programs.
Today, I visited the Norwich Senior Center to answer questions about the long-awaited Medicare reforms I helped pass in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 that are lowering prescription drug costs for seniors.
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| Rep. Courtney voted to pass significant Medicare reforms in 2022, including a $35/month cap on insulin costs, a $2,000 cap on out-of-pocket costs starting in 2025, and historic drug price negotiation with big pharmaceutical companies. |
Thanks to a growing U.S. economy, the Medicare program's finances are getting stronger each year. In a 2024 report, the Medicare Board of Trustees pushed back the program's solvency cliff from 2031 to 2036. That's an astonishing turnaround, and I'm working in Congress to keep the momentum going.
By empowering Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for lower drug prices, the program's finances can be strengthened for the long term. Lower, negotiated drug prices will bring down costs for patients and ensure future generations benefit too!
Support for Police and Firefighters in Willimantic
Police and firefighters work tirelessly to keep us safe. Providing them with the latest resources and equipment allows them to do their jobs effectively.
On Wednesday, I visited the Willimantic Fire Department to meet with Fire Chief Marc Scrivener, Mayor Tom DeVivo, and the Willimantic Police Department’s Lieutenant Silva. The Town of Windham has deployed federal American Rescue Plan funding to purchase new ambulances and police cruisers for the first responders.
We passed the American Rescue Plan back in 2021, and it delivered an infusion of federal funding to our town’s budgets after they had been depleted during the pandemic. Towns are still putting some of the funding to use, and providing needed support to police and firefighters was exactly how the Rescue Plan was intended to support our communities.
Thanks to Chief Scrivener, Mayor DeVivo, and Lieutenant Silva for showing us the brand new vehicles.
An Important PACT Act Update for Veterans
Attention veterans: If you submitted a PACT Act Intent to File before the August 14, 2023 deadline for backdated benefits, you have 365 days from when you submitted it to complete it and send it to the VA. Don’t miss out on backdated benefits. Act now and call my Norwich office with questions about the PACT Act: (860) 886-0139.
We are nearly two years into the implementation of the PACT Act, and it is still vital to connect veterans to the new benefits and care available to them. Last Saturday, my Military and Veterans Representative Manny Meneses (USN, Ret.) and I joined the Department of Veterans Affairs and local veterans service organizations for a PACT Act Open House in Waterford.
The PACT Act is one of the largest expansions in veterans’ health benefits ever. Since it was signed into law two years ago this month, over 1.1 million PACT Act related claims for toxin-exposed veterans have been approved by the VA, over 325,000 new Vietnam, Gulf War, and Post-911 veterans have enrolled in VA health care, and over 5.6 million toxic exposure screenings have been performed.
There’s no question that we need to do more to support our veterans. In Congress, I’m working to provide critical funding in the Fiscal Year 2025 budget for VA facility improvements and VA programs in suicide prevention and ending veteran homelessness.
Old Lyme Rower Wins Gold for Team USA
Yesterday, Old Lyme’s Liam Corrigan won Olympic gold!
Liam and his teammates put in an incredible performance and dug deep to win the gold medal in the Men’s Four Rowing final. This was the first USA Olympic gold medal in men’s four rowing since 1960. Congratulations, Liam!
Eastern Connecticut’s world-class manufacturing is also delivering results on the global stage.
Congratulations to Mystic bike wheel manufacturer Princeton CarbonWorks – their wheels won an Olympic silver medal in a tough men’s cycling time trial event.
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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