Dear Friend, 

Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones from Audrey, Bobby, Elizabeth, and me. It’s been a privilege to represent Connecticut’s Second District in Congress throughout 2022, and I hope your holiday season is filled with peace and joy.

Now, a few updates from a busy week in Congress and eastern Connecticut. 

Community Project Funding Secured for Eastern CT & more in the 2023 Budget

This week, Congress passed the FY23 omnibus, a bipartisan spending package that ensures the federal government will remain open for business through September 30, 2023. I’m excited to say the package we voted to pass includes funding for a wide range of eastern Connecticut priorities that I worked to secure – including $21.5 million for 15 Community Projects spread across the Second District. These projects are complimented by 12 others from the Senate. Take a look at where the projects are in the district and learn more about each one of them here. 

Click here to learn more about the 15 Community Projects Rep. Courtney secured funding for in the FY23 omnibus

I worked side-by-side with our towns and community partners to secure federal funding for these important projects, which they otherwise wouldn’t have been able to afford—from improved childcare services, to new affordable housing opportunities, to infrastructure upgrades that will support our fishing industry on the shoreline and protect our environment while preparing for growth in northcentral Connecticut. We worked hard to win support for these initiatives. It took tough sledding to get this budget finally completed, but at the end of the 2023 budget package is one that targets support straight to some of our most important local priorities. That’s great news for eastern Connecticut, and these are just a few examples of how the Omnibus benefits our region—there’s a lot more! 

The 2023 budget also includes another substantial increase for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). In Connecticut, LIHEAP is the primary funding source for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program (CEAP), which provides direct support to seniors and families to help keep energy costs low. With winter here, I continue to hear from people who are facing down high home energy costs, and CEAP is providing eligible homeowners with the assistance they need to offset those costs and keep their homes heated. I was proud to help lead the effort to increase LIHEAP funding this winter. The 2023 budget also includes new support for our farmers who have been impacted by drought, serious investments in workforce development and skills-training programs, new support for our veterans, servicemembers, and their families, and funding to help protect our natural heritage and environment here in eastern Connecticut—including new funding to help move spent nuclear fuel out of our towns and into longer-term interim storage sites so that we can start increasing nuclear energy production.

For more on the eastern Connecticut priorities and initiatives that received funding in the 2023 budget, click here.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy Addresses Congress 

On Thursday evening, we had the honor of welcoming Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the House of Representatives for a moving address to Congress. His address was an impassioned reminder of what’s at stake as his county continues its defense of democracy and sovereignty in the face of Russia’s disgusting aggression, and he posed not just a political question, but a moral one of whether the West will stay resolute in support of Ukraine’s defense of democracy and the rule of law. 

On Wednesday, Rep. Courtney joined his colleagues in the House and the Senate for an address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy

President Zelenskyy didn’t mince words—Ukraine is winning this fight for democracy against an aggressive, lawless Russian state, and that wouldn’t be possible without the supplies and munitions America has provided. His address was a strong reminder of the importance of our continued support, and the appropriations package we passed today includes a new round of military and humanitarian assistance for our allies. Specifically, the budget includes funding to ensure the continued delivery of equipment, defense articles, training, and supplies that have proved critical to Ukraine’s success, and it takes steps to ensure that we’re conducting thorough oversight of all of it. The omnibus also provides support to humanitarian initiatives for Internally Displaced Persons within Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees. I’m glad Congress answered the question posed by President Zelenskyy’s address with full-thoughted support for our allies and the defense of democracy. 

Visiting Spent Nuclear Fuel Storage Sites with the Assistant U.S. Secretary for Nuclear Energy 

We need an “all of the above” approach to expanding domestic energy production and lowering costs—that includes nuclear energy. On Tuesday, Assistant U.S. for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kimberly Petry joined me for visits to the Dominion Millstone Nuclear Power Plant in Waterford and the former CT Yankee Nuclear Power Plant at Haddam Neck for in-person inspections of these facilities, where they currently have large quantities of spent nuclear fuel rods stored. That material was never meant to be stored there for the long-term, and if we’re going to ramp-up nuclear production, we need new interim storage sites for these rods. Using federal funding that I’ve voted to supply in 2021, 2022, and now again in 2023, the Department of Energy has begun a consent-based process to identify new interim storage sites. The ball is really rolling on this effort, and I invited Dr. Huff and Dr. Petry to come to southeastern CT for a firsthand look at the work the teams at Millstone and Yankee to safety store this spent fuel.  

On Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kathryn Huff and Deputy Assistant Sectary for Nuclear Energy Dr. Kimberly Petry joined Rep. Courtney for visits to Dominion Millstone Nuclear Power Station in Waterford and the former Connecticut Yankee Nuclear Power Plant in Haddam Neck for an in-person inspection of the storage of spent nuclear fuel

Dr. Huff and Dr. Petry also joined me for a community forum where they provided an encouraging update on the Department of Energy’s program and reiterated that it is critical to solve this issue if our nation is going to achieve a zero-carbon emission future. Just after our visits to Waterford and Haddam Neck, I helped pass the omnibus which provides $53 million for nuclear water management and directs the Department of Energy to move forward with its process to identify interim storage sites. The process will take some time, but DoE has already received positive feedback from numerous interested communities in other parts of the county to facilitate an interim site. I keep in close touch with CT Yankee and Millstone and continue to work in bipartisan fashion as a member of the Spent Nuclear Fuel Solutions Caucus. Thank you to both Dr. Huff and Dr. Petry for joining me this week and for an update on their important work for a clean energy future. I look forward to new developments on the Department of Energy's consent-based process in 2023.

Click here to read more about Dr. Huff and Dr. Petry's visit to southeastern Connecticut in the Hartford Courant

A Federal Grant to Support Student Veterans at UConn

Good news at UConn! The school was recently awarded a five year $287k/year federal grant to support its student Veterans in their academic careers. The grant comes from the Department of Education’s Veterans Upward Bound program – which is designed to motivate and assist Veterans in achieving success when pursuing degrees from college and universities. Veterans have sacrifices so much in service to our nation, and we owe them a solid academic launching pad. That’s what this grant funding will provide for UConn’s student Veterans. Thank you to UConn’s Director of Veterans Affairs and Military Programs Alyssa Kelleher for updating me on how the school will put these federal funds to use. 

On Monday, Rep. Courtney visited UConn's Office of Veterans Affairs and Military Programs for an update on how the school will use the Veterans Upward Bound grant funding from the Department of Education

While at UConn, I also received a briefing from Lt. Col Seth Allen and Lt Col Ryan White on the school’s Army and Air Force ROTC programs. UConn’s ROTC programs have some of the highest enrollment rates in the country!  

Thanks as always for taking some time to read my update. If we can be of any assistance, don't hesitate to reach out to my Norwich office at (860) 886-0139. Have a Merry Christmas!

Sincerely,

Joe Courtney
Member of Congress

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