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Dear Friend,
It’s been a busy week with stops all around eastern Connecticut. I’m here with an update on federal support for the Last Green Valley Corridor, good news for Coventry, and lots more. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
15 Years of Renewed Federal Support for the Last Green Valley
Northeastern Connecticut’s rural heritage and beautiful natural landscape is a defining feature for our region. At the tail end of the last Congress, we voted in strong bipartisan fashion to support the preservation of that identity by passing the National Heritage Area Act – which reauthorizes the Last Green Valley (LGV) as a National Heritage Area through 2037. The LGV first became a Heritage Corridor in 1994, and that's brought critical federal support to the preservation of eastern Connecticut's history and environment. What many don’t know, however, is that the LGV has been on the cusp of losing the federal support it depends on without action from Congress. Now, with this reauthorization, the Last Green Valley organization will receive 15 years of steady, recurring funding. I recently met with LGV’s amazing Executive Director, Lois Bruinooge, in Washington to celebrate this great achievement. We’ve been pressing towards a long-term reauthorization for over two years now, and Lois has been hard at work in eastern Connecticut and Washington to make it happen. Watch us discuss below!
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| Click here to watch Rep. Courtney and Last Green Valley Executive Director Lois Bruinooge discuss the 15-year Last Green Valley National Heritage Area reauthorization |
People in the Quiet Corner know how vitally important this conservation area is for our region and local economies. The Last Green Valley does excellent work to preserve history, agriculture, forests, and more in 35 towns across Connecticut and Massachusetts. They also operate outdoor activities for children and adults. Heritage areas like these aren’t just great investments for keeping our land open and green, they also create jobs, establish travel destinations, and they’re a smart long-term investment. They spill over borders in blue states and red states across the county, and it’s no wonder there was bipartisan support for their reauthorization.
Investments in our open spaces provide real dividends for taxpayers, and I’m proud that after years of working alongside Lois Bruinooge and her team at the LGV, we've secured this long-term reauthorization. Learn more about the Last Green Valley and its programs at TheLastGreenValley.org.
New Federal Funding for Infrastructure Work in Coventry & a New Restaurant Opens on Main Street
On Tuesday, I was in Coventry for a few stops with Town Manager John Elsesser, Town Council Chairwoman Lisa Thomas, and others doing great work for the town and its people. In the 2023 budget process, my office and I worked with officials in Coventry to secure $1.5 million in federal Community Project funding to help the town extend existing sanitary sewers from the Bolton into Coventry along CT Route 44. Now that the funding request has been signed into law, I visited to catch up on the project and discuss the funding disbursement process ahead.
Route 44 is one of the busiest streets in Coventry, and the sewer extension has been a long-term priority for the town. It’s a costly project, but it's needed to support future investment and development along the street. Infrastructure projects like these are also important for our local environment and our quality of life. Extending existing sanitary sewers from Bolton into Coventry is going to reduce the potential for groundwater contamination as more people move to our region and as more businesses of all types open shop here, and that’s a benefit that just about everyone can get behind.
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| On Tuesday, Rep. Courtney visited the site of upcoming groundwater infrastructure work in Coventry along with Coventry Town Manager John Elsesser, Town Council Chairwoman Lisa Thomas, and Bolton First Selectwoman Pam Sawyer and Selectman Bob Morra, and others. |
The high cost of this project made securing the federal Community Project funding particularly so important. The town is going to have the resources to get underway with this important work, and they can now really move forward with contracting and final design. It won’t be long before we see shovels in the ground, and dirt flying as the work finally gets underway. Big thanks to John, Coventry Town Council Chairwoman Lisa Thomas, and to Bolton First Selectwoman Pam Sawyer and Selectman Bob Morra for joining me in Coventry on Tuesday to survey the project site, and congratulations to all of them on helping make this project a reality after years of work!
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| On Tuesday, Rep. Courtney joined Coventry Town Manager John Elsesser, Town Council Chairwoman Lisa Thomas, Coventry Economic Development Director Eric Trot, and more at the ribbon cutting for Woke Breakfast and Coffee with owner Carmen Quiroga |
On Tuesday morning, Town Manager Elsesser, Council Chairwoman Thomas, and I joined Coventry Economic Development Director Eric Trot at the ribbon-cutting for the new restaurant Woke Breakfast and Coffee with owner Carmen Quiroga. Eastern CT’s main streets are thriving with new activity – especially in our local restaurants thanks to the hard work of entrepreneurs like Carmen. The diner was packed on a Tuesday with a line of customers, showing that Carmen’s dream to own a small business was worth all her hard work. Our breakfast was delicious!
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| Woke Breakfast and Coffee opened on Coventry's Main Street in January and the diner has been packed with customers since |
Expanding Counseling and Mental Health Resources for Our Students
For America's youth, the issue of accessing mental health care and counseling has persisted for years. It’s only gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it was highlighted in a recent CDC report which found that America’s youth—particularly teenage girls—are suffering through a dramatic rise in poor mental health. Earlier this month, we announced $5 million in new American Rescue Plan resources that are going to help us start reversing that trend at schools throughout eastern CT, including in Eastford. I stopped by Eastford Elementary School on Wednesday, and it was great to catch up with Carole McCombe (Principal), Mary Polchaninoff (Director of Pupil Services), and Donna Leake (Superintendent of the Eastford School District) on the importance of this new federal funding, and how the school will implement it to better support students.
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| The Eastford School District will receive over $145,000 in American Rescue Plan funding to hire school-based counselors and mental health professionals through the 2025 schoolyear |
The Eastford School District is now set to receive over $145,000 through the American Rescue Plan in order to hire and maintain school-based counselors and mental health workers through the 2025 school year. It’s a great example of how Rescue Plan resources are still working hard for us today. With this new funding, schools in Eastford will have additional resources to acquire the tools, professional staff, and programming they need to provide kids with the mental health resources and support systems they deserve. Bolstering mental health support in our schools isn’t only a great thing for our students—it's also important for their families, and for the teachers who serve them. It’s great to see these American Rescue Plan resources coming home to support our youth in Eastford, and the funding is also going to help expand counseling and mental health at schools in Hebron, Mansfield, East Hampton, East Haddam, and in Stonington. It's a great win for our schools and our communities.
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| On Wednesday, Courtney visited Eastford Elementary School to discuss the new federal grant award with Carole McCombe (Principal) (center-left), Donna Leake (Superintendent) (right), and other faculty members |
An Update on Lowered Health Care Costs at the Enfield Senior Center
In August of last year, we passed a Medicare Reform Bill (H.R. 5376) that included some important cost-cutting measures on health care for America’s seniors and others on Medicare. Some of those cost savings are in effect right now, like the new $35 per month cap on insulin costs, and a new price cap that will keep prescription drug costs from being jacked up at a rate faster than inflation. Others—like a cap on out-of-pocket costs—will start in 2025.
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| On Tuesday, Rep. Courtney visited the Enfield Senior Center for an update on new health care cost savings under the Inflation Reduction Act, also known as the Medicare Reform Bill |
On Tuesday, I stopped by the Enfield Senior Center to go over some of these new provisions, and we also caught up on another form of savings for seniors this year: lowered monthly premiums for Medicare Part B. I pressed the federal Health and Human Services Department throughout 2022 to reverse their Part B price hike, and we finally got them to reduce it for the first time in a decade. Click here for more information on health care savings here now, and others on the way under the Medicare Reform Bill.
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| The Inflation Reduction Act (H.R. 5376), also known as the Medicare Reform Bill, included several major forms of health care savings for America’s seniors and others on Medicare. Click here to read more. |
Thanks for taking some time to ready 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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