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“The Senate’s failure to pass this bill last year and finally right this wrong for our Vietnam-era veterans was one of the most disappointing aspects of the last session of Congress,” Courtney said. “While the House acted in a bipartisan and unanimous way to pass the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act in 2018, the objections of a small number of Senators blocked action that would have made this bill law. That this bill is being introduced in the first days of the 116th Congress demonstrates our ongoing commitment to ensure that we do right by all our veterans exposed to agent orange, whether on land or on the sea.”

“This announcement isn’t just good news for Electric Boat, its good news for our submarine force” said Courtney. “Recent reports from the CBO and the GAO have underscored the urgent and growing need for the Navy to better utilize our private sector shipyards to ensure that our submarines – both new boats like Delaware and the existing fleet – get the timely maintenance and modernization they need. As demand for undersea capabilities continue to grow, it is more important than ever that the Navy use every tool at its disposal to get submarines the maintenance they need – and back out to see as quickly as possible.

“Last night, Congress took another small but important step towards helping those affected by this crisis,” said Congressman Courtney. “Specifically, two amendments that Congressman John Larson and I authored on this issue were included in the spending bill we passed to end the partial government shutdown. While these amendments alone will not solve the crumbling foundations crisis, the unanimous support our proposals received on the House floor in July - and their inclusion in this funding package in the opening hours of the new Congress – provides strong backing to our ongoing efforts to marshal resources on the federal level to help.

“Shutting down nearly a quarter of our government is a costly, destructive and pointless exercise. After months of conflicting statements, the President’s last-minute gamble to leverage a shutdown to extract demands for his border wall will only create chaos and uncertainty in agencies across our government. Unfortunately, eastern Connecticut will feel the impact of a shutdown first hand."

“Our region and our state are preparing for tremendous growth in submarine construction work in the coming years – and we need a robust supply chain to help meet the challenge,” said Courtney. “It’s all hands on deck to make sure we are ready to provide the manufacturing capability, the skilled workforce and the innovation that will get us there. I am proud to work with partners such as UCONN and the Thames River Innovation Place to accomplish this important and exciting goal.”

“The passage of this bill is welcome news throughout eastern Connecticut. This farm bill agreement includes many important provisions aimed at providing support and a level playing field for established crops and farm commodities in our region, while breaking down barriers to developing others,” Courtney said.