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Dear Friend,
It’s Joe Courtney. Here to share an update on the latest news from Congress and at home in eastern Connecticut. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
Observing Memorial Day
On Monday, our nation pauses to honor the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation.
Memorial Day is our most solemn holiday. We owe a debt to fallen servicemembers. The best way to honor them is by caring for their families and all veterans. As the Representative for the Congressional District with the largest military installation in New England and the highest population of veterans in our state, I will continue to make this my mission.
Continuing to Fight for a Better Bipartisan Path Forward
Time and time again, the American people have sent a message to Congress: prioritize lowering the cost of living, especially the cost of food, housing, and health care. In a very divided Congress, a 10-year budget bill was an opportunity for the two parties to work together to deliver on that goal.
Unfortunately, the House Republican majority did the opposite. In the dead of night early Thursday morning, House Speaker Mike Johnson jammed through a hyper-partisan budget bill which attacks Medicaid, Medicare, and food assistance all in order to extend and expand expensive tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires. Incredibly, the net result is that the party that proclaims to be fiscally conservative passed the largest deficit increase in history: $4 trillion.
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| In March, Rep. Courtney met with Day Kimball Hospital to discuss the impact of Medicaid cuts. 42% of births in Connecticut are covered by Medicaid (called HUSKY). At Day Kimball, which serves rural northeastern CT, that number is even higher. |
I’ve heard directly from our hospitals, nursing homes, and community health centers about the real-life impacts of this bill’s cuts to Medicaid. Non-partisan budget analysts determined that 13 million Americans will lose their health coverage. Locally, thousands of people in Connecticut's Second District will become uninsured which hurts our hospitals and primary health networks too.
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| Last month, Rep. Courtney visited Connecticut Children's Medical Center to discuss the harm of Medicaid cuts. 37% of all children in Connecticut receive care through Medicaid (HUSKY). |
I voted against this budget bill because there is a better bipartisan way forward for our country. Balance the tax system so the top 1% and top .01% pay their fair share, reduce the national debt, and strengthen health care and food programs so Americans who are struggling with the high cost of living can get by.
Now that the bill has passed the House, it heads to the Senate where the final outcome is far from certain. I will continue to fight in Congress for a budget that lowers costs and is fiscally responsible.
New Pay Raises for Electric Boat Shipbuilders
Big news for thousands of shipbuilders at Electric Boat.
First, the Marine Draftsmen Association (MDA-UAW) Local 571 reached a record, tentative agreement last Sunday with Electric Boat. As Local 571’s President Bill Louis pointed out, the agreement included a historic pay raise and reformed the wage structure – which will achieve greater fairness for this highly talented, unique group of employees.
The strong wage package also reflects the goal of the special funding Congress approved last December to help submarine shipyards recruit and retain the talented workforce required to execute our nation’s aggressive submarine construction plans. The impact of this infusion of funding – which arrived in Groton on April 30 following my urging – can’t be overstated. It transformed management’s offer of a 21.4% pay raise to the final 30.6% agreement over the life of the proposed five-year contract.
Following a challenging and arduous process, the tentative agreement now goes to the rank-and-file members for a ratification vote.
Simultaneous with the MDA tentative agreement, Electric Boat’s Metal Trades Council and Carpenters Union’s landmark 2023 labor contracts were reopened, and more 3,700 than machinists, boilermakers, electricians, painters, and carpenters also received a comparable boost in hourly rates. For Congress to single out one shipbuilding production enterprise in the entire Department of Defense for such a boost in salary is unprecedented. There was no “wage improvement” funding for aviation, munitions, space technology or missiles in the December spending bill or any other spending bill in recent memory.
The successful agreements reached over recent weeks are clear examples of how collective bargaining can effectively address one of the most pressing challenges in our national economy: rebuilding America’s manufacturing industrial base.
The principals of these agreements – Billy Luis of MDA, Peter Baker of MTC, Gerald Renaud of UBCJA, and Shawn Coyne of Electric Boat’s Human Resources team – deserve the respect and admiration of our community for working through the details of these important contracts.
Update: Bill to Give Scotland a Single Zip Code Advances Toward Floor Vote in the New Congress
With a population just under 1,600, Scotland is the second smallest town in the Second District and the fifth smallest in our state. Despite this, it currently has six different zip codes. Compare that to Enfield, a town of over 42,000 people, which has two zip codes. This is ridiculous and for years, it's caused serious issues for Scotland.
My work to fix this issue continues this Congress, and on Thursday, a key committee advanced my bill to give Scotland (and eight other towns across America) a single zip-code. Next, it will head to the House Floor for a vote.
The impacts of Scotland's six zip codes are widespread. It has prevented adequate record keeping, hampered basic town operations, and essential mail services. In the 2022 election, there was a massive number of undeliverable absentee ballot applications from Scotland, and during the 2020 census, the town had the highest undeliverable rate in the Second District for census questionnaires.
Last year, thanks to the grassroots advocacy by Scotland residents and local leaders – First Selectman Dana Barrow and former First Selectman Gary Greenberg – the bill passed the House, but with only a few months of lead time, the bill ran out of calendar days in the Senate for consideration. This time, we’ve got an 18-month runway to get it done.
I am confident that the voices of Scotland residents will be heard loud and clear, and we will once and for all send this bill to President Trump’s desk for signature.
Meeting with the Latvian Ambassador to the United States
On Wednesday, I had a great meeting with the Latvian Ambassador to the United States Elita Kuzma. We discussed the deep security ties between the U.S. and the Baltic states: Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania.
All three Baltic NATO allies are right on the doorstep of Vladimir Putin, and are strong defenders of democracy and the international rule of law. Latvia will increase its defense spending to 5% of GDP by next year, driven by Putin’s coercive activities along their border in the cyber domain. Thank you to Latvia for being such a steadfast partner to the United States.
Attending Pope Leo XIV’s Inaugural Mass with a Bipartisan Delegation
Last week, I had the honor of attending Pope Leo XIV’s inaugural mass at St. Peter’s Basilica with a bipartisan Congressional delegation. The first American pope is a historic moment for Catholics in the United States. The positive energy at St. Peter’s in Vatican City was overwhelming.
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| Left: Pope Leo XIV at St. Peter's Basilica. Right: Rep. Courtney and the bipartisan Congressional delegation at the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major, which holds the tomb of Pope Francis. |
Pope Leo XIV made clear that he will be a strong leader who is focused on a caring agenda. His choice of readings and his homily at his mass were unambiguous – the church should be on the side of peace, healing people in need, and unity over division. Watching his emotional acceptance of the papal ring and vestments was a powerful image that he intends to make a positive difference as pope. What a welcome sight.
Following the mass, our bipartisan Congressional delegation paid our respects at the tomb of Pope Francis in the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major. Francis’ papacy built a compassion-driven agenda that Leo XIV is carrying forward.
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.
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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