Courtney Votes to Pass 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, a Spending Bill that Includes Important Support and Investments in Eastern Connecticut

December 23, 2022

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the FY 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2617), a bipartisan omnibus spending package that includes all twelve annual federal appropriations bills and will fund the federal government through September 30, 2023. The bill was passed by the House by a vote of 225-201 and now moves to the President’s desk to be signed into law.

"It took some tough sledding to get here, but after months of negotiations and late nights to complete the 2023 Consolidated Appropriations Act, the final result is a budget that focuses heavily on eastern Connecticut,” said Congressman Courtney. “People in eastern Connecticut want to see Congress work together and get our jobs done, and I think we met those expectations with the 2023 Omnibus. In addition to refueling critical programs that are relied on by seniors, families, farmers, small businesses and many others in our region, the 2023 budget also includes over $21 million in direct funding that my office secured for fifteen local projects in towns throughout CT-02. Our budget fully funds the major submarine manufacturing opportunities and other priorities included in this year’s Defense Authorization, it will help ramp-up workforce development and apprenticeship programs that have already been operating successfully in our region, and it provides new support to America’s seniors, working families, and veterans. We also worked hard to ensure that the 2023 budget includes increased support for federal home energy assistance to help folks lower costs and stay warm this winter, and to make sure it contained funding specifically to support our farmers who have been impacted by severe drought conditions.”

“Following President Zelenskyy’s address to a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday, the 2023 budget also includes expansive new support for our Ukrainian allies, including training, equipment, defense articles and other supplies, and it takes steps to ensure that we are conducting thorough oversight of all of it,” Courtney continued. “I was proud to help craft and pass a budget that supports our nations’ shared interest in the defense of democracy and that provides such a strong boost to our towns and our region, and I’m glad that we got it done on a bipartisan basis.”

Eastern Connecticut Priorities and Initiatives

The Consolidated Appropriations Act includes funding for several priorities and projects that were secured specifically by Rep. Courtney—both as Chairman of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, which oversees all U.S. Navy shipbuilding, and as part of his Community Project Funding requests for 2023.

Targeted Funding for Community Projects — Includes $21.5 million for 15 Community Project Requests throughout eastern Connecticut that were specifically requested by Rep. Courtney. These projects, requested earlier this year by local officials and non-profits, range from improving local health care services, to supporting local police and first responders, to expanding local trail networks and improving local libraries, and more. For more information on each of Courtney’s 15 Community Project Requests, click here.
Support Submarine Construction and Development of Undersea Capabilities —Includes expansive support for sustained submarine construction and procurement—a total of $12.8 billion. That total includes $6.5 billion to support the sustained two-per-year build rate of new Virginia-class submarines, and $3.1 billion to support the second year of funding for the first-ever Columbia-class submarine. These provisions were secured by Rep. Courtney, Chairman of the House Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, and his colleagues in the 2023 NDAA, and are fully supported by the 2023 Omnibus. For more information, click here.
Supporting the Submarine Workforce and Industrial Base — Includes $541 million for submarine supplier development, workforce development, shipyard infrastructure, and strategic outsourcing specifically for the Columbia-class program, and $207 million to support submarine workforce development initiatives.
New Support for SUBASE New London — Provides $15.5 million to relocate the base’s existing underwater electromagnetic measurement system in the Thames River. The move is necessary due to planned construction of a floating dry dock at Electric Boat in support of the Columbia-class submarine program. The current system is used to determine if submarines need degaussing or magnetic silencing to protect from undersea mines.
Academic Partnerships for Undersea Research — Fully funds Courtney’s request for $25 million to support Navy partnerships with academic institutions conducting research on undersea capabilities, such as the National Institute for Undersea Vehicle Technology (NIUVT), a collaborative undersea research program between the University of Connecticut and the University of Rhode Island.
Additional Funding for Federal Energy Assistance Programs — Includes $4 billion in base-level funding for the federal Low-Income Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which represents an increase of $200 million over 2022 enacted levels. The bill also includes an additional $1 billion in emergency LIHEAP funding, for a total of $5 billion included for LIHEAP in the 2023 Omnibus. With this spending package, Congress has now provided a total of $6 billion for LIHEAP in 2023: $4 billion in base-level funding and $1 billion in emergency funding included in the Omnibus, and $1 billion in supplemental LIHEAP funding which Rep. Courtney led the effort to secure in the FY 2023 Continuing Resolution, passed in September. Click here to read more.
Helping Farmers Hit by Drought and Extreme Weather — The bill includes $3.7 billion for the USDA Emergency Relief program, which helps farmers offset losses of revenue, quality, or production losses of crops resulting from droughts and other extreme weather conditions. Rep. Courtney led the Connecticut and Rhode Island Congressional Delegations in requesting this funding to support Agricultural producers in Southern New England—click here to read more.
National Coast Guard Museum — Fully funds the Coast Guard’s request of $20 million to continue developing exhibits and artifact displays for the future National Coast Guard Museum in New London. This funding will be combined with $25 million previously provided at Courtney’s request to the Coast Guard, as well as $50 million allocated in 2022 to support construction of the museum
Crumbling Foundations Research — Rep. Courtney’s request to provide $4 million specifically to the University of Connecticut (UConn) to complete their research on pyrrhotite in concrete aggregate. UConn has previously been awarded multiple grants to collaborate with NIST on this work. In addition to the $4 million that Rep. Courtney secured for UConn, Rep. Courtney also secured $750,000 for NIST to research testing, a risk-rating scale, and mitigation strategies for concrete structures that may not have yet developed cracking but contain pyrrhotite.
Impact Aid — Includes $1.6 billion for the U.S. Department of Education’s Impact Aid program, which provides support to local school districts with high proportions of military connected students and students who live on tribal lands, including Groton and Ledyard public schools. This represents a $61 million increase over 2022 levels. The measure also includes the full $60 million requested by Rep. Courtney to support the DOD Supplemental Impact Aid program, which directs additional support to school districts with high proportion so military-connected students.
Preserving Eastern Connecticut’s Natural Heritage — The final agreement includes $40 million for the Long Island Sound Geographic Program in FY 2023, an increase of $8.6 million from FY 2022. It also includes $3 million to support the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, which spans Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and $5.3 million for the Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers Program, which helps protect local waterways like the Eightmile River and the Wood-Pawcatuck Watershed.
Permanent Conservation of Plum Island — Includes language requested by Courtney expressing support for the permanent conservation of Plum Island following the decontamination and closure of the existing animal disease facility by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as $13.5 million to help DHS clean up the island in support of future preservation. Courtney has long championed the preservation of Plum Island, and earlier this year urged President Biden and Interior Secretary Haaland to use all available tools to ensure the permanent protection and management of Plum Island.
Support for Spent Nuclear Fuel Disposal — Provides $53 million for nuclear waste management and directs the Department of Energy to move forward to identify a site for a federal interim storage facility using a consent-based approach. This will help DOE continue efforts to identify an interim storage site that can host spent nuclear fuel from CT. Recently, Courtney hosted Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm and Assistant Secretary for the Office of Nuclear Energy Kathryn Huff in CT-02. In addition to visiting Connecticut Yankee in Haddam Neck and Millstone in Waterford, Secretary Granholm and Dr. Huff provided an update on the Department’s efforts to identify interim storage sites for spent nuclear fuel, and heard from local stakeholders about the need to remove it from Connecticut.

Funding for Working Families, Workforce Development, Veterans, and More

Ensuring the Health of Our Veterans — Includes $5 billion to fully fund implementation of the Honoring Our PACT Act, which Courtney helped pass into law in July of this year, to address increased demand for health care and benefits and support the expedited implementation schedule announced by the Biden Administration.
Special Education — Special education received $15.5 billion, an increase of $934 million over FY 2022 funding levels. This includes an increase of $850 million for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part B Grants to States, for a total of $14.2 billion.
Expansion of Pell Grants — Provides $24.6 billion for Federal student aid programs, an increase of $34 million above the FY 2022 enacted level. Within this amount is $7,395 for the maximum Pell Grant. This $500 increase is the largest increase in the maximum award in more than a decade.
Career, Technical, and Adult Education — Provides $2.2 billion for Career, Technical and Adult Education, an increase of $100 million above the FY 2022 enacted level. This amount includes $1.4 billion for CTE State Grants, an increase of $50 million over 2022 levels.
Registered Apprenticeships — Provides a total of $285 million for Registered Apprenticeship programs nationwide, a $50 million increase over FY 2022 enacted levels.
WIOA State Grants — Includes $2.9 billion for the Workforce Investment and Opportunity Act State Grant program, which supports a variety of workforce and career development opportunities nationwide.
Community Based Services — $770 million for the Community Services Block Grant program, an increase of $15 million over FY 2022 levels.
Community Health Centers — $1.9 billion to support the nationwide Community Health Center Program, an increase of $100 million over 2022 enacted levels.
State Opioid Response Grants — $1.5 billion for nationwide State Opioid Response Grants, a $50 million increase over 2022 levels.
Drug Free Communities Program — $109 million for the nationwide Drug Free Communities Program, a $3 million increase from 2022.
Assistance to Firefighters and Local Fire Stations — $360 million for the federal Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program, which helps support fire stations and first responders across eastern Connecticut with important equipment purchases, necessary training, capital investment, and more.

Continued Support for Ukraine

On the heels of President Zelenskyy’s address to Congress, the Consolidated Appropriations Act includes $45 billion in emergency funding for Ukraine, as they continue to repel Russia’s unlawful invasion and head into the winter months. Key priorities include:

Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative — Provides $9 billion for training, equipment, defense articles, and supplies, which has proved critical to Ukraine’s success.
United States European Command — Provides nearly $7 billion for the United States to continue mission support and logistics services in the European Area of Responsibility.
Humanitarian Assistance — Provides $2 billion to support humanitarian initiatives for Internally Displaced Persons within Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees.
Children and Families — Provides $2 billion for resettlement and other support activities such as emergency housing, job training, and case management for Ukrainian arrivals.
Continued Oversight — Provides $19.5 million in funds to the Department of Defense and Department of State to continue oversight of response activities and requires the DOD to report on enhanced end-use monitoring of defense articles sent to Ukraine. Also included is $7.5 million for the Government Accountability Office to conduct oversight on funds obligated in this bill and prior measures.

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Issues: Economy & Jobs Eastern Connecticut