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Dear Friend,
It’s been a productive week in eastern Connecticut, and a frustrating one in Washington. I’m here with an update on the slow start of the 118th Congress, the Gold Star Bridge repair project, and more. Thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
A Slow Start to the 118th Congress
This week, I returned to Washington for the start of the 118th Congress—and it hasn’t been the start our country deserves. I have been at the Capitol, on the House Floor for all thirteen votes in the race for Speaker of the House. The Speaker is the wellspring from which all the rest of Congress’s work flows—without one, there are no rules to structure our nation’s legislative body, there are no committees to take up legislation, and no bills can be voted on. In other words, the Chamber has been paralyzed. As of this evening, the House has still not successfully elected a Speaker for the 118th Congress. Votes are scheduled very late tonight and that could possibly change.
As has been clear with each succeeding roll call, the contest has been a struggle within the House's numerical majority to settle on a candidate. I have been asked numerous times whether there could be a "fusion" coalition to elect a candidate. I can share with you that there has been some conversation along those lines, but nothing has gained traction within the majority caucus members. During this impasse, I want you to know that my office is open, my team is here, and we are not only ready to work, we are working. Helping people in eastern CT, answering their questions, and making sure that no one back home is impacted by this slow start is our top concern. If we can assist with any issues, give us a call in Norwich, Enfield, or in Washington.
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| Click here to watch Rep. Courtney's message on the start of the 118th Congress |
Representing eastern Connecticut is the honor of a lifetime, and my team and I are ready to roll as soon as the House Speakership election is concluded. Earlier this week, as we were beginning this process, I thanked voters in eastern Connecticut for the chance to represent them in the soon-to-begin 118th Congress—watch that message above.
New Resources to Speed-Up Gold Star Bridge Upgrades, Thanks to the IIJA
Everyone who travels along the shoreline knows that the Gold Star Bridge needs some upgrades. It’s CT’s largest bridge, but it can’t accommodate heavy freight vehicles and fully loaded delivery trucks because of age and deterioration. That slows down commerce, and it means larger vehicles have to get re-routed onto smaller local roads. Members of the local Ironworkers Union began preliminary work on the Gold Star last summer, and this week we welcomed U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg to eastern Connecticut to help celebrate a new, $158 Million federal Infrastructure grant award that’s going to power that work forward and help them complete Phase 1 of upgrades a year early. That’s great news for local workers, and for our regional economy!
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| Last week, Rep. Courtney announced $158.5 million in federal IIJA funding to help complete upgrades to the Gold Star Bridge, the largest passenger and truck bridge in Connecticut |
It takes a big investment to repair major bridges like these, and we’re finally welcoming that investment home to eastern CT thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Last week, I was excited to announce that CTDOT would be receiving this $158 Million in funding through the IIJA specifically to power through Gold Star Bridge upgrades. We didn’t come about these new resources passively—IIJA funding for large bridge restoration is highly competitive, and back in August I led the effort to support CTDOT's application for this award. I wrote directly to Secretary Buttigieg to weigh in on behalf of the Gold Star Bridge, and last week he called me directly to share the good news: our efforts paid off, and the Gold Star was selected as 1 of only 4 bridges nationwide to be awarded in this first round of funding.
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| The grant award was highly competitive, and on Wednesday, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg visited New London to highlight the award for Gold Star Bridge |
With all the momentum our region’s economy has behind it, these new resources are a perfect example of how the IIJA is making targeted and long-overdue investments that will result in huge returns for our towns and regional economies. Secretary Buttigieg and the USDOT have done a good job of marshalling IIJA resources in the first year since we passed the Infrastructure Law, and I’m excited to see this work continue paying off for eastern Connecticut.
Reminder: 2023 Budget Highlights for Eastern Connecticut
Last week, we covered that Congress had passed a bipartisan budget for 2023 that included several top-tier priorities for eastern Connecticut. Now, President Biden has signed the budget into law—meaning that towns from Suffield to Stonington and everywhere in between are on-deck to receive new funding we secured for local Community Projects. The 2023 budget included $21.5 million that I worked to secure for 15 different Community Projects spread out across CT-02, and they cover a wide range of priorities—from improved childcare services, to new affordable housing opportunities, and lots more. Check out a quick rundown of the 15 eastern CT projects I secured funding for in this year’s budget:
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| Click here to watch Rep. Courtney explain where funding from the bipartisan 2023 budget will be heading in eastern Connecticut |
I worked in tandem with our towns and community partners to lock-in funding for these 15 projects in the 2023 federal budget, and the final budget package we passed also included funding for another 12 local projects that was secured in the Senate. That brings the number of CT-02 Community Projects being directly funded by the 2023 budget to 27, with a total of $31.2 million coming home to support them. That’s great news for our towns and our region, and these projects are just a few examples of how the budget is benefiting eastern CT—from workforce development, to supporting our veterans, to ramping up next-generation energy production, there’s a lot more.
Click here to read more and check out a map below detailing all 27 of these 2023 Community Projects—the 15 I secured, and the 12 from the Senate.
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| Click here to read more about the 15 Community Projects Rep. Courtney secured funding for in the FY23 budget |
Long-Awaited Cost Savers for Seniors are Now in Effect
The start of 2023 comes with some great news for thousands of Medicare beneficiaries in eastern CT. Thanks to the Medicare reform bill we passed last year, there are several new cost-savings on health care that officially kicked-in on January 1st of this year—like a new $35 price cap on Insulin, a provision preventing drug companies from jacking up prices faster than inflation, and the start of negotiations to lower prescription drug costs.
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These aren’t the only cost-savers that are going into effect starting this year, either. I worked hard last year to compel the Department of Health and Human Services to recalculate Medicare Part B premiums and to reimburse beneficiaries this year in 2023—an effort that proved successful—and Social Security recipients are also seeing an 8.7% COLA increase to monthly payments this year. At the end of December, I joined AARP Connecticut for a call with lots of local seniors to help detail some of these incoming cost savings and benefits—after all the work it took to get these efforts across the finish line, hearing the strong positive feedback from our region’s seniors was a real high note.
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| Last month, Rep. Courtney joined AARP Connecticut for a telephone town hall to spread information on the Medicare reforms that kick into effect this month thanks to Congress’s Medicare reform bill |
These are just the start of Medicare reforms we passed in Congress last year to lower costs for seniors and strengthen the finances of the Medicare program. More—like a $2,000 cap on annual out-of-pocket drug costs—are set to start in the next few years. For a full rundown of these cost-saving changes, click here.
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. Have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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