Press Releases

“Secretary Ray Mabus has made a profound impact on eastern Connecticut, on the shipbuilding industry, and the entire U.S. Navy during his distinguished term as the 75th Secretary of the Navy. Secretary Mabus is leaving us with a stronger, more inclusive, and more resilient Navy than when his term began. Among his lasting legacies will be the reversal of a steady decline in the fleet and shipbuilding. Under Secretary Mabus’s eight year term, the Navy doubled the number of ships under contract compared to the eight years prior to his arrival. This sharp increase in shipbuilding has arrested a decline in the fleet and put us on the path towards the larger Navy that we all know is critical for our national security. In addition, the new force structure assessment completed under his watch has laid the ground work for a more robust fleet in the future, and set the benchmark for the challenging work ahead."

“Achieving this milestone is no small feat for a large program like this one - and it represents years of hard work by many people, especially the men and women of Electric Boat,” Courtney said. “For eastern Connecticut, today’s news underscores the positive outlook for hiring and growth across the submarine industrial base in our region. It is also, however, really just the beginning of the hard work ahead in designing and building this submarine within the already tight timeline we face. I know that the hardworking men and women in the Navy, in industry in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and in countless machine shops across the country, are up to the task – and today’s decision is a vote of confidence in their efforts."

“Achieving this milestone is no small feat for a large program like this one - and it represents years of hard work by many people, especially the men and women of Electric Boat,” Courtney said. “For eastern Connecticut, today’s news underscores the positive outlook for hiring and growth across the submarine industrial base in our region. It is also, however, really just the beginning of the hard work ahead in designing and building this submarine within the already tight timeline we face. I know that the hardworking men and women in the Navy, in industry in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Virginia, and in countless machine shops across the country, are up to the task – and today’s decision is a vote of confidence in their efforts."

“This report documents the work done to date by the staff of the Department of Consumer Protection. As such, it accurately lays out the Commissioner’s efforts which have been laudable. Unfortunately, it totally begs the question of what needs to happen next to solve this problem, which will require the concerted effort of all levels of government. Today, local officials in 23 communities we know have impacted homes are taking the brunt of declining property assessments. This horrifying situation poses a grave threat to the housing market of a significant part of the state which will have a negative ripple effect across our state's economic recovery. My office received confirmation last August that federal resources can be applied to this problem through the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Local leaders are hard at work trying to leverage these resources, which combined with help from other stakeholders, insurers, lenders and home builders can stop the escalating harm this report identifies. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the federal delegation, area legislators and local officials to flush opportunities like these out further."

“The GOP majority in the opening minutes of the new Congress, voted behind closed doors to eviscerate the independence of the Office of Congressional Ethics - a grotesque move that turns the clock backwards in the effort to clean up Washington,” said Courtney and Larson. “As members who have served on the House Ethics Committee, which reviews complaints referred by the Office of Congressional Ethics, we both vehemently oppose this change which was unveiled in the middle of the night yesterday with absolutely no input from the minority party, or more importantly, the public. Rather than ‘draining the swamp’, their midnight rule will bloat the swamp by removing an independent avenue for complaints against House members from being heard. This is a step backward for governmental transparency and ethics.”

"Any suggestion that there is a substitute for the F-35 is total non-starter. This is a program that has been vetted ad nauseum by the Pentagon, the Congress and independent experts. There is simply no aircraft in production today that can compare with the F-35’s advanced avionics, networked capabilities and integrated stealth," said the members.

"The FRA's report released today continues to ignore strong and consistent concerns expressed by the State of Connecticut and local citizens about the eastern shoreline realignment plans... we will continue to do all we can to remove this bypass from the final FRA plan in order to provide our communities with the certainty they deserve. Should the FRA continue in its pursuit of its proposed alignment, we will work to ensure that Connecticut exercises every tool at its disposal at the state and federal levels to stop any effort to move forward with this misguided plan."

“The Navy’s new assessment is confirmation of the clear reality that a larger fleet is both necessary and vital to the nation’s security,” said Courtney. “I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the House to achieve this important bipartisan goal."