Dear Friend, 

I'm here with an quick update on a few issues important to eastern Connecticut. Thanks as always for starting your weekend here with me.

Meeting with a Democratic Ally in Europe

On both sides of the aisle, my colleagues and I are still working to support our partners in Ukraine and across Europe against Russia’s ongoing war, and against concerns of further Russian aggression. When Putin attacked in February, he hoped to destabilize Europe and weaken the NATO defense alliance—the exact opposite has happened. With strong leadership from the U.S. and our allies, NATO is as unified as ever before in support democratic values and mutual defense.  

Now, our NATO alliance is on the verge of a new era with the accession of two new member democracies that have a long record of supporting human rights. Last week, I had the chance to join a bipartisan group of colleagues for a meeting with the President of Finland, Sauli Niinisto, the day after he flew home from an historic NATO summit where his nation, along with Sweden, received a formal invitation to join NATO—a huge step forward in the renewed strengthening of our transatlantic defense partnership. 

Last week, Rep. Courtney was joined by Reps. Mike Rogers (R-AL), Jim Cooper (D-TN), Trent Kelly (R-MS), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), and Billy Long (R-MO) to meet with President Sauli Niinisto of Finland

President Niinisto is an impressive leader. Finland’s military is historically unaligned, but he understands the weight of this moment, and he’s earned over 70% support from the Finnish people and their Parliament for this decision to take a stance against Russia’s attack on sovereign Ukraine and to join our NATO allies and the free world in support of democracy and the rule of law. We had an excellent meeting, and I was very glad to be there with Representatives from both sides of the aisle to show America’s strong and enduring support for Finland at this historic moment. It is important to note that Finland is not seeking any windfall from the U.S. and NATO – it has a strong history of a self-reliant military and border security that will contribute to stability and deterrence in the Scandinavian region. 

New Support for Youth Mental Health Services in Eastern CT 

The demand for mental health and crisis recovery services are still at very high levels around the country, especially for kids and teenagers. Last week, we were glad to announce new support for this type of important care here in eastern Connecticut—a new federal grant award for United Community and Family Services (UCFS), specifically to expand services for children in our communities who have endured traumatic situations that no child should have to experience.

On Tuesday, at Rep. Courtney’s invitation, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra visited UCFS to discuss the new support for mental health care services. UCFS also announced that they are using another federal grant investment to build a new comprehensive care center with evening pediatric services—read more here.

There are some truly remarkable people on the team at UCFS, and they help kids and families in our communities with this type of important work day-in and day-out. They’re set to receive a $400,000 federal grant award through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS), and it’s going to help kids in our region who have gone through some very difficult experiences to get the care they need to live happily and healthily. Jennifer Granger (President & CEO, UCFS) and her team operate high-quality, trusted community care centers, they’ve helped our communities respond to the uptick in demand for mental health care services long before the pandemic, and these new resources mean they’ll be even better prepared to help children and families in our region. Congratulations to the entire team at UCFS on earning this new support, and thank you to all of them for the outstanding work they do for our region.

An Update on Crumbling Foundations Testing  

I wanted to share some important news this week for many people impacted by crumbling concrete foundations—the Towns of Vernon, Ellington, and Stafford have extended a federally funded pyrrhotite testing program that covers the cost of testing for residential foundations. This is an important program that can save a substantial amount of money for people who are already dealing with the financial uncertainty of a crumbling foundation, it’s a program that my office specifically worked to kick-start for families in our region, and now it’s been extended through February 28, 2023. 

Courtney has worked with homeowners, towns, and others in eastern Connecticut for years to find new resources for homeowners impacted by crumbling concrete foundations. In 2020, NBC covered federally funded testing taking place in Vernon – watch here.

Testing for pyrrhotite is the first step in addressing a crumbling concrete foundation. It’s important so that we can better understand the true scope of the problem, but it can be expensive. This testing program administered by the Towns of Vernon, Ellington, and Stafford covers the cost of testing for home- and condo-owners, and it’s 100% federally funded by the U.S. Department of Housing’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG). My office pressed the Housing Department in 2016 to allow CDBG funds to be used for this purpose, and we announced the $480,000 grant award to fuel this program in 2019. It’s great to still see those dollars supporting our communities. For more on eligibility and how to apply for testing, click here.

NIST funding is already making a positive difference for residents. In 2021, Courtney joined Debbie MacCoy (right) and others in Willington as the first condo in CT was raised for crumbling foundations repairs thanks in-part to testing at UCONN. Click here to watch more from NBC.

This year, my office secured two other pieces of support to address this issue. First, in the 2022 budget package, I added an amendment that allows important crumbling foundations research to continue at UConn—the findings from that research will help us better understand how to address crumbling foundations, and could help impacted homes retain their value. Second, after working directly with our Tolland County towns and CRCOG, we secured $2 million in federal funding to come back to eastern Connecticut specifically for crumbling foundations repair and remediation—a huge win for impacted homeowners. My office will be sharing more information on how to apply for this assistance soon. 

Recovering Money for CT-02 Residents 

My office's most important job is making the federal government work for eastern Connecticut. That includes helping folks out with federal agencies and returning money that they are owed. This year, my team in Norwich and Enfield have recovered over $4,670,000 for residents in Connecticut’s Second District through 132 cases.

If you need help working with a federal agency, give my Norwich office a call at (860) 886-0139 or visit my website.

Free Admission for Kids at CT Museums

Great news! This summer, kids get free admission to hundreds of Connecticut museums. Now through September 5th, families will have the chance to have some fun and get summer learning in. This program is returning thanks to federal American Rescue Plan funding. Learn more at CTSummerMuseums.com.

Thanks as always for taking the time to read my update! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to my Norwich office at (860) 886-0139. Have a great weekend!

Sincerely,

Joe Courtney
Member of Congress

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