Public Safety & Homeland Security
More on Public Safety & Homeland Security
July 11, 2017
Press Release
“We are alarmed by recent media reports that your Department chose to deny visas to six Afghan girls traveling to the United States for FIRST Global, an international robotics challenge to be held in Washington,” wrote the members. “Barring these hardworking, creative young women from a competition premised on global connection and innovation runs counter to the State Department’s mission of fostering security and stability through peace. The work of diplomacy is not limited to embassies and consulates; the United States engages with individuals abroad precisely because these individual relationships are the key to stability and development. Indeed, as the world’s leader of scientific innovation and research, inviting the world’s best and brightest to support our research efforts enhances our ability to expand knowledge in all fields, whether robotics or medicine, art or engineering, mathematics or history. In particular, supporting women’s education initiatives has been a vital component of our diplomacy and has been proven to enhance stability and speed development more than almost any policy focus."
June 30, 2017
Press Release
“These critical federal dollars will help update, improve, and protect housing for Connecticut families, children, and seniors—making countless homes more modern, safe, and healthy places to live and grow. From repairs and renovations to detecting lead hazards, the grants announced today will make a longstanding, positive impact in neighborhoods from Bridgeport to Brooklyn. We applaud HUD for their continued investment in our communities and will continue to fight to protect and preserve this funding from any ruthless cuts for years to come,” said the delegation.
March 7, 2017
Press Release
“Making deep cuts to the Coast Guard, FEMA, and TSA in the name of a new national security initiative is totally out of touch with the work that the Department of Homeland Security performs,” said Courtney. “The budget shared by OMB, which explicitly targets the Coast Guard, TSA and FEMA, will weaken security and undermine all of the progress that was made over the last 4-years to recapitalize Coast Guard cutters, rescue boats, and icebreakers. I will join my colleagues from both sides of the aisle on the Coast Guard caucus to stop this destructive plan from ever being implemented.”
March 6, 2017
Press Release
“Our moderate allies from Muslim-majority nations have repeatedly warned President Trump that these rash orders damage our standing to lead the anti-ISIS collation and other counter-terrorism activities around the globe,” said Courtney. “Whatever advantage the Trump administration thinks they have gained with tweaking the prior order is not going to change the backlash we will inevitably experience overseas.”
January 29, 2017
Press Release
“President Trump’s new executive order freezing refugee arrivals and entry of all people from a number of predominately Muslim countries, including law permanent residents of the United States traveling abroad, will boomerang against us both morally and practically,” said Courtney. “The new President signed the order on Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day when we reflect in part on how our country failed to protect Jewish refugees from Nazi atrocities during World War II. This is not who we are as Americans: we do not discriminate against any religion, and we do not shut our doors to suffering people seeking a better life."
January 10, 2017
Press Release
“Today’s action by OSHA sends a clear signal to the 15 million people working in the health care sector that the federal government is focused on providing a safe and secure workplace for them,” said Courtney. “We have known for some time that our health care workers face unique challenges and risks to their personal safety, and I urge the incoming administration to continue to press for stronger protections and safety standards for this sector.”
November 21, 2016
Press Release
“Today, 78 people will likely die of a heroin or opioid overdose,” wrote the members. “This epidemic rages on across the United States, and local law enforcement and public health agencies are overwhelmed by need. It is our responsibility to provide them with the resources they desperately require to save lives and repair their communities. We continue to hear from leaders in law enforcement and in addiction recovery who say they are unable to provide assistance to needy residents because they lack the funds. As you complete work on the 21st Century Cures legislation, we write to encourage you to include immediate funding to combat heroin and opioid addiction and overdose in this package. Knowing that Cures will likely be one of the final pieces of legislation that Congress acts on this year, we hope you will consider this a final opportunity to take needed action to combat this crisis."
September 13, 2016
Press Release
“I am excited with the bipartisan support this measure received in the House,” said Courtney. “As their actions during Hurricane Sandy proved, amateur radio operators in Connecticut can be a critical component of disaster response. It is in our communities’ best interest that we give them the capabilities to operate at the highest level, and with the passage of this bill, we’ve taken a strong step in that direction.”
September 9, 2016
Press Release
“After several high-profile public hearings in Congress and a scathing Inspector General’s report, it is clear that the Departments of Homeland Security and State need to do a much better job of coordinating their efforts to successfully deport the most dangerous criminal aliens,” said Courtney. “In the case of Casey Chadwick, what we now know is that after Haiti repeatedly rejected our requests to deport Jean Jacques, a man with a conviction for attempted murder, the matter was never formally raised with the State department as a means to further pressure the Haitian government to cooperate. These agencies have a responsibility to pursue all the tools and authorities at their disposal to elevate cases like this, and if they will not do so on their own our bipartisan bill will ensure that it occurs.”
August 25, 2016
Press Release
“The members of the Enfield fire department put their lives on the line for their community every day, and it is critical that they have the upgraded equipment they need to come home safe,” Congressman Courtney said. “By making our firefighters safer we also make our communities safer, and I applaud Chief Richards and his team for their successful request for this funding.”