Economy & Jobs
More on Economy & Jobs
November 16, 2017
Press Release
Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) today voted against the House tax plan. During debate on the bill last night, Courtney highlighted the impact of the measure on efforts to fill jobs through job training, higher education support and other efforts to close the national “skills gap.”
September 4, 2017
Press Release
"If President Trump decides to revoke DACA it would punish children for the actions of their parents. Not only is that fundamentally unfair, it will indiscriminately deport some of the brightest most talented students in our country. At Eastern Connecticut State University in Windham, I met a few days ago with staff who reported that there are 93 DREAMers enrolled there with many of them pursuing STEM majors and averaging 3.55 GPAs. Our nation's employers are telling Washington in the strongest terms possible, we need those kinds of students in America's workforce, not in handcuffs. As an original cosponsor of the HOPE Act which will codify DACA and thus protect these young people, I will work to stop any harmful rush to judgment by the president."
August 29, 2017
Press Release
“We have long agreed with the goal of the EPA throughout the DMMP process to balance environmental stewardship with standard economic activity in Long Island Sound,” wrote the members. “Our states have been responsibly dredging using open-water placement for 35 years, and we believe maintaining the EPA designation of the ELDS, along with an increased effort among the states to find sustainable on-land solutions for dredged materials, will continue to provide the Long Island Sound region with a balanced approach for future waterway projects."
August 18, 2017
Press Release
“This news is no surprise- it’s a confirmation that the hard work to bring jobs to the region is paying off. It validates the impact of an increased workload at Electric Boat, which in turn creates jobs at the hundreds of Connecticut-based parts suppliers on the EB supply chain. Thankfully, we’ve partnered with local community colleges, the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, and the US Department of Labor to create a strong job training program to ensure these local jobs are being filled by local residents. Our community is on the right track.”
August 18, 2017
Press Release
"New York's frivolous lawsuit challenging a decade’s worth of painstaking work by the EPA to reform and improve the Eastern Long Island Sound's dredging plan blatantly ignores the facts and the law,” said Courtney. “EPA officials in the last administration conducted an open and transparent process for all stakeholders in proximity to the Sound, to update the dredging process, giving regulatory preference to upland disposal, and tightly screening the composition of dredge material to preserve the Long Island Sound ecosystem. EPA also moved the disposal site for material that cannot be practically moved upland, to Connecticut waters - not New York's - and allows a regional body including New York and Connecticut stakeholders to review any open water disposal that the Army Corps of Engineers determines is practicable.
August 13, 2017
Op-Ed
Last February, President Donald Trump convened a group of manufacturing CEOs at the White House to discuss his administration’s idea of growing American jobs by imposing a border adjusted tax (BAT). As reported the next day, the BAT received lukewarm support at best, and unexpectedly, the CEOs instead pivoted the meeting toward the critical need to close the so-called skills gap preventing companies from filling high quality jobs with highly trained workers. Indeed, the next day, a national newspaper’s headline read: “Factory CEOs to Trump, ‘Jobs Exist, Skills Don’t.’” Fast forward to the present: The BAT was declared dead by congressional leadership at the end of July, but the most recent report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that 6.2 million job openings exist across the country, one of the highest levels on record.
July 21, 2017
Press Release
“Back in February, America’s manufacturing employers told the White House if you want to fix the economy then fix the skills gap. A newspaper headline the following morning said it in a nutshell: ‘jobs exist; skills don’t’,” said Courtney. “The GOP budget passed out of committee last Wednesday willfully ignores that message by eliminating and or butchering job training programs that have a proven track record of success. For Connecticut, these cuts to apprenticeships programs could not come at a worse time. Our state is finally experiencing job growth and new opportunities are being created through increased investment in aerospace, shipbuilding, and healthcare - all of which require a high-skilled workforce."
July 14, 2017
Press Release
“Connecticut Sea Grant is a critical federal program that has aided local fishermen, shellfish farmers, and maritime conservation efforts in Long Island Sound for fifty years,” said Courtney. “Whether it’s jumpstarting a fishery or connecting aquaculture producers to local communities, Sea Grant is a vital part of eastern Connecticut’s maritime economy. I am very glad that House Appropriations Committee recognized how important Sea Grant is for aquaculture efforts across the country and reversed the president’s misguided attempt to eliminate the program.”
June 27, 2017
Press Release
“Connecticut Sea Grant has aided local fishermen, shellfish farmers, and maritime conservation efforts in Long Island sound for fifty years,” said Courtney. “Whether it’s jumpstarting a local fishery or connecting local aquaculture producers to local communities, Sea Grant is a vital part of our region’s maritime economy. I am very glad that we were able to secure this funding to help CTSG’s research and education efforts.”
May 23, 2017
Press Release
“While Donald Trump built his campaign message around standing up for middle class and working class families, the draft budget he released today clearly shows that he is intent on doing the opposite,” said Courtney. “The budget he proposed today would make unprecedented cuts to public education and after school programs, undermine higher education affordability, decimates USDA Rural Development funding that is vital for infrastructure improvements in eastern Connecticut, cuts job training funds which are helping to close the skills gap in manufacturing, and most appalling, eliminates thousands of medical research grants at the National Institute of Health aimed at curing a wide range of illness and disease. If the framework the President proposed today were ever to become law, it would deliver a devastating blow to our economy and working families across this country.