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Dear Friend,
It's Joe Courtney. Here to share the latest news on the unnecessary government shutdown and resources for eastern Connecticut.
This week, the government entered a shutdown because the White House and Congress did not reach a bipartisan agreement to fund the government. Federal agencies are now operating in a diminished capacity.
Unfortunately, as the clocked ticked down toward a shutdown, the House majority was not even in Washington because House Speaker Mike Johnson chose to cancel previously scheduled days in session.
This afternoon, Speaker Johnson doubled down by canceling previously scheduled in-session days for next week, making it three weeks in a row that House of Representatives will have been out of session.
Despite the obvious disruption and harm that this shutdown will cause, Speaker Johnson is abdicating the basic duty of every governing body: talk to each other and reach a compromise. I'm ready to do so.
Connecticut’s Second District is home to more federal workers than any other Congressional District in our state, including nearly 8,000 Navy sailors and officers at Sub Base New London. Refusal to even come to Washington to try to prevent a shutdown is an insult to the workers and their families who show up for work when called on.
During this shutdown, my office remains open and ready to assist Second District residents with questions about the impacts on federal employees and government services. Constituents can call my office at 860-886-0139.
For answers to frequently asked questions about the impacts of a government shutdown, visit courtney.house.gov/shutdown.
The clear middle ground to end this shutdown is with a clean bill which funds the government and prevents the looming hike on health care costs that are coming next year.
The cost of health care is the biggest single drain on American’s budgets. If Congress fails to maintain Affordable Care Act tax credits, 22,000 people in Connecticut’s Second District will see their 2026 premiums skyrocket, according to Access Health CT. For example, a couple in their mid-60s in Hebron with an annual income of $107,000 will see their annual premium increase by $39,060, also according to Access Health CT.
That’s unacceptable, and it’s not an issue that Congress can wait to address. Today, the Connecticut Congressional delegation and I joined Access Health CT CEO James Michel at Access Health’s Hartford office to urge action.
James Michel made the urgency crystal clear: "In just a matter of days and weeks, families will get these notices in their mailboxes and be forced to grapple with how to pay hundreds, and in many cases, thousands of dollars more each month for the health insurance they rely on.”
78% of Americans support extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits, according to KFF. That is clear, bipartisan support for addressing this crisis. I am urging my colleagues to come to the table to deliver a clean, bipartisan bill that reopens the government and prevents this health care cost hike.
Today, I had the honor of joining the send-off ceremony for the Connecticut National Guard's 102nd Infantry Battalion. They are beginning a year long deployment to U.S. Central Command in Jordan, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.
During a government shutdown, all U.S. military servicemembers, active duty and reserve work without pay. CT National Guard servicemembers and Navy sailors at the Groton Sub Base received September pay before the shutdown began. But if the shutdown drags on, they will miss pay checks.
A 2019 law passed by Congress mandates that any missed pay checks be paid in full to government employees and servicemembers after the government reopens. I am a co-sponsor of the Pay Our Troops Act, which would ensure U.S. military servicemembers are paid during a government shutdown. Congress should have passed this bill before the shutdown took effect. The House must come back into session to pass it and end the shutdown with a bipartisan bill.
Thank you for taking some time to read my update. Again, if my office can be of any assistance during the government shutdown, do not hesitate to call us at (860) 886-0139.
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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