In the News: Joe discusses the future of Sub Base New London
The Norwich Bulletin reports today on a visit Joe paid to Electro Mechanical Specialists in Norwich, which supplies parts and electronics to Electric Boat. During his visit, the Bulletin asked Joe about his thoughts on the future of the submarine base:
Eastern Connecticut’s congressman said he is “vigilant but not worried” about the future of the Groton/New London submarine base.
“The commitment to submarines has become very elevated,” U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said during a Monday tour of Electro Mechanical Specialists LLC in Norwich. “They have been given huge priority for deterrence and intelligence. I say we should be vigilant but not worried.”
In the News: Joe announces energy upgrades for Juniper Hills
The Hartford Business Journal highlights Joe’s recent announcement of a new grant to help the Juniper Hill Village senior housing complex in Storrs reduce its energy costs and upgrade to energy-efficient appliances. Juniper Hill was one of 65 applicants picked from a competitive pool of over 700 from across the country.
The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Green Retrofit Program says it chose Juniper Hill and 65 other grant recipients from a pool of 770 applicants, according to Congressman Joe Courtney, who announced the award.
Juniper Hill opened in 1981 to house low-income seniors.
The HUD grant will pay to replace refrigerators and water heaters, exterior doors and windows to reduce energy costs; and to install a photovoltaic array on the roof of the main building to provide solar power to reduce utility costs.
Click here to read the article.
In the News: Joe Works to Protect Jobs at Electric Boat
The New London Day, Hartford Courant and Norwich Bulletin today reported on Joe’s ongoing work to prevent hundreds of short-term layoffs at Electric Boat.
Earlier this year, the company announced its plan to layoff over 400 workers do to declines in naval maintenance work. However, since that announcement, Joe has worked closely with EB management and the Navy to delay job reductions- and recently announced a major commitment from the Navy that will cancel nearly half of the planned layoffs.
In the News: Read Joe’s Op-Ed about Made in America Manufacturing
The Journal Inquirer today carries an op-ed today from Joe discussing the importance of investing in American manufacturing. Read more about Joe’s plan to “Make it in America.”
Make it in America
Journal Inquier
August 17, 2010On a hot, sunny Saturday earlier this month, I joined several Navy and congressional leaders and thousands of enthusiastic onlookers at Subase New London in cheering not just the commissioning of our nation’s newest attack submarine, the USS Missouri, but the reminder that “American-Made” is still the gold standard. Built in record time and with the most advanced technology available, the new submarine is a testament to the hard work and skill of the men and women of Electric Boat and the hundreds of small- and mid-sized manufacturing shops that comprise the submarine industrial base.
At a time when many doubt the future of “Made in America” manufacturing, the commissioning of the Missouri is proof positive that American-made manufacturing can produce a technological wonder that no other country can approach. We can also do it ahead of schedule and under budget.
Letter: Joe’s Support for Non-Profits Recognized
Peter DeBiasi, Executive Director of the ACCESS Agency, praised Joe’s support for our region’s non-profit agencies in a letter in today’s Norwich Bulletin.
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, has provided critical leadership and continued support of the nonprofit community. For that, I want to publicly thank him. Courtney recently signed on as a co-sponsor of an important bill that, if passed, will strengthen the partnership between the federal government and nonprofits.
Hundreds of nonprofits across Eastern Connecticut work tirelessly each day to support our friends and neighbors in need, providing essential services that include helping people meet basic human needs, sheltering families from domestic violence, at-home care for the elderly and supporting children and adults with developmental disabilities.
It is said the measure of a great society is how well it cares for the most vulnerable among us.
Nonprofits are committed to carrying out the commitment of local, state and federal governments to provide that care.
The partnership between nonprofits and government is what makes this possible efficiently and cost-effectively.
I commend Courtney for his understanding of this fundamental principle and his ongoing leadership in supporting this important partnership and the work of nonprofits.
In the News: Honoring a Local Hero
The New London Day takes a moment today to honor a true hero – Ernie Plantz of Ledyard, a World War II veteran who was held captive by the Japanese for over three years. Joe recently honored Mr. Plantz with an award made out of the same stone that was used to build the World War II Memorial in Washington, DC.
Mr. Plantz, a submarine veteran held captive by the Japanese for more than three and a half years during World War II, spent 10 months recovering at a military hospital after his 1945 release and then returned to active Navy service, retiring in 1970 as a lieutenant.
The award was crafted from the same granite used to build the National World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.
In making the presentation, Rep. Courtney praised Mr. Plantz for his long service in the military and in helping other veterans.
Read The Day’s editorial here.
In the News: Joe helps kick off community health project in New London
The New London Day reports on the recent groundbreaking at the Community Health Center in New London. Joe was on hand to kick off the project, which is being supported by federal funds provided through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
About $900,000 in federal Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds will pay for the 3,700 square feet of new space, and 35 construction workers are being employed in the project. By expanding the health center so that it can house more doctors and nurses who can treat more patients, said U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, one of the goals of the Affordable Care Act – to make medical care more available and affordable to more people – is also being met.
“A lot of people think the recovery act is about projects like roads and bridges,” Courtney said during brief remarks before donning a hard hat to shovel dirt at the site, which is on the south side of the current health center in the Shaw’s Cove complex. “But $2 billion went to community health centers, along with health IT investments. Community health centers, we know, are the most efficient use of health care dollars.”
Officials at the center explained how critical projects like this are in meeting the health needs of the New London community:
Margaret Flinter, vice president and clinical director of the parent organization for the New London center and its 11 affiliates around the state, said the additional space will include labs, exam rooms, behavioral health areas and pods where doctors, nurses and counselors can meet to coordinate a patient’s care. It will enable the center to add 2,400 new patients to its current roster of 16,800, she said. The center is looking to hire two new primary care doctors or nurse practitioners, two medical assistants, a registered nurse, a behaviorist and a receptionist for the addition, she said.
This is the first addition to the center since it moved to Shaw’s Cove in 1992 from cramped, older facilities in the city’s Richard R. Martin Social Services Center. Local architect Rick Gipstein, who oversaw the conversion of the Shaw’s Cove office building into medical offices, will also be the architect for the addition. Construction crews have already begun working, he said. Completion is slated for the end of the year.
Letter: Courtney is “diligent and focused” on needs of our region
Today’s Journal Inquirer carries a letter from Bill Dauphin of Vernon highlighting Joe’s work on behalf of our region.
We all know about the thoughtful, conscientious leadership Courtney has provided on important national issues, such as health-care reform and the overhaul of our financial system.
But Courtney is just as diligent and focused when it comes to state and local concerns. Whether he’s defending jobs at major Connecticut employers like Electric Boat and Pratt and Whitney; helping to secure funds for state towns, schools, and development projects such as the recent $4.9 million transportation grant for Storrs Center; or protecting the livelihood of Connecticut farmers and lobstermen, Courtney is always working hard for his constituents — my neighbors.
I’ve never in my life been as proud of my representative as I am now. We in the 2nd District could do nothing better, or smarter, than to send Courtney back to Congress this fall.
Letter: Joe is an “effective voice” for our region
Elizabeth Woolf of Coventry writes in today’s Willimantic Chronicle about Joe’s record of working for eastern Connecticut:
Highly ethical, hardworking, caring and a just plain decent human being — that’s our U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney
Having represented Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District since 2007, he has proven to be an effective voice for the families and industry of eastern Connecticut during his four years in Congress.
He has worked diligently to create/ save existing jobs, as in the case of Electric Boat for which he secured $667 million in authorization and funding for the building of two submarines a year starting in 2011.
In previous years, the policy was to produce just one submarine per year. He also secured more than $80 million for critical improvements at the Groton sub base, thereby creating many new construction jobs and saving existing jobs.
Long a staunch supporter of our military, he repeatedly called for a change in the rules that will make it significantly easier for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to receive disability benefits.
This could impact hundreds of thousands of veterans from wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Vietnam. He is also an original cosponsor of the COMBAT PTSD Act, H.R. 952, which would have clarified the meaning of “combat with the enemy” to include deployment in a war zone for purposes of service-connection of disabilities.
He stood up to the leadership of his own party as the only Congressman from Connecticut to oppose the Wall Street bailout because it lacked accountability and did not help Main Street.
And, he helped pass a strong new law to protect individuals from unfair credit company practices.
The list goes on and on. For the past four years, Joe has worked tirelessly for the people of eastern Connecticut. Now it’s time for the people to stand for him this November and vote to re-elect Joe Courtney to a third term in Congress.
