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Dear Friend,
It's Joe Courtney.
We are on day 10 of this unnecessary government shutdown. I’m continuing to urge my colleagues to come to the table for a bipartisan compromise to end the shutdown and prevent a huge increase to health care costs.
In a matter of days, Connecticut residents will receive notices of 2026 premium increases from Access Health due to the expiration of longstanding Affordable Care Act tax credits. Open enrollment begins on November 1st. Congress can’t keep kicking this issue down the road.
If the shutdown drags on just a few more days, military servicemembers will miss a paycheck on October 15th. Connecticut's Second District is home to thousands of U.S. Navy sailors at Submarine Base New London, the largest military installation in New England, as well as Coast Guardsmen and women at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London.
During a government shutdown, all U.S. military and National Guard servicemembers are required to work without pay. I know that many servicemembers cannot afford to miss a paycheck. Congress has an opportunity to ensure they don't.
The Pay Our Troops Act is a bipartisan bill which would ensure the men and women of our armed forces are paid during this government shutdown. I’m a co-sponsor the bill, along with over 100 Republicans. House Speaker Mike Johnson must immediately reconvene the House of Representatives to pass it.
Refusal to bring lawmakers back to work in Washington to protect pay for servicemembers is an insult to the men and women in uniform who show up for work when called on. We must pass this bill immediately.
Thank you to the nearly 10,000 people who joined my telephone town hall on Wednesday night. We had a robust discussion on how to end the shutdown and protect eastern Connecticut from a huge health care cost hike.If you weren’t able to join my town hall live, you can listen to the recording here.
One of the top issues I heard during the telephone town hall was concerns over the rising cost of health care. President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” guts Medicaid to pay for a tax break for the top 1%. This week, I visited the Mary Lou Strom Primary Care Center in Enfield (top) and the Marlborough Health and Rehabilitation Center (bottom) to discuss the impact of these Medicaid cuts on their services and patients.
With the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits at the end of this year, millions of Americans will see their 2026 premiums skyrocket.
Mytics’ Lee Burdette Williams wrote into my office to share that if Congress allows the Affordable Care Act tax credits to expire, her and her spouses health care costs will go from around $8,500/year to around $30,000/year.
Lee and her spouse are not alone. An estimated 142,000 people in Connecticut are set to see their 2026 premiums increase due to expiring ACA tax credits. For too many, the cost is simply not affordable. Congress cannot wait to act. We must pass a bill to re-open the government and maintain Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Yesterday, I visited Bradley International Airport to meet with air traffic controllers. These are absolutely critical workers to ensure our flights arrive safely and on time. During a shutdown, as FAA employees, air traffic controllers are required to work without pay.
Air traffic controllers are scheduled to receive a partial paycheck on October 14th, but if the shutdown continues, they will miss paychecks. Incredibly, the Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy is threatening to fire air traffic controllers who call in sick. That’s cruel and totally counterproductive to supporting this workforce that we all depend on.
A government shutdown is not an opportunity for the White House to wreak havoc on the federal workforce. It’s an avoidable impasse that must be addressed through good faith bipartisan negotiation. The White House must come to the table to end this shutdown.
Last month in Bolton, I joined the second annual blood drive in memory of Sgt. First Class Michael David Clark, a Bolton army reservist who was tragically killed during a training exercise in 2022. The blood drive resulted in 71 donations – a huge success for the Clark family who continue to carry on Sgt. Clark’s legacy of service.
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| Meeting with the Clark family. |
In 2023, the Clark family’s advocacy was instrumental in changing the law to ensure full parity for guard and reserve survivor benefits to that of active-duty personnel. The Sergeant First Class Michael Clark TRICARE Reserve Parity Act was signed into law as part of the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
Thank you for taking some time to read my update. 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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