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“It’s hard to overstate how important dredging and dredging disposal is to the maritime economy across the Long Island Sound region,” said Courtney. “Without the regular dredging of ports and waterways, a vast array of economic activities in our region ranging from recreational boating to commercial maritime transportation, shipbuilding, the Coast Guard Academy, and the submarine base could not function. Today’s publication of the final rule for the eastern Long Island Sound represents the final step in a long process to create environmentally responsible and manageable disposal sites across the entire length of the Sound. This eagerly awaited action follows years of intense environmental reviews, robust public engagement and diligent consideration of all views with regard to the future of dredging in our region. I want to thank the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for their hard work throughout this process."

“As the ranking member for the Seapower subcommittee, I am pleased and encouraged by the outcome of this year’s conference negotiations and glad that the agreement was easily passed in the House,” said Courtney. “The agreement reflects the hard bipartisan work that our subcommittee did over the last year to make key investments in the capabilities of our seapower and projection forces, responding to persistent requests from commanders around the world. As we begin transitioning to a new administration, this measure makes a solid down payment on growing the fleet and meeting our security challenges on, below, and above the seas, by sustaining our path to a 308 ship fleet by 2021. I hope that the Senate will now quickly pass the conference report and send it to the President for his signature."

“I am very pleased that the 21st Century Cures Act passed with a number of important wins for eastern Connecticut which I have been championing for several years,” said Courtney. “The final version of the Cures Act represents a strong bipartisan effort to address several major outstanding healthcare issues nationwide. I am pleased that a number of my top priorities such as funding to address opioid addiction, changes to tick-borne and Lyme disease research, and incentives for pediatric physicians were included. These provisions will make a real difference for people back home in eastern Connecticut. Since I first introduced a bill calling for emergency funding to address the opioid epidemic in February, support for federal action has been steadily increasing on both sides of the aisle. What this bill demonstrates is that Congress is finally ready to put its money where its mouth is and provide our communities with the support they need to turn the tide on drug addiction. Lyme disease, which is named after a town in my district, has long plagued eastern Connecticut and large swaths of our country. It is time that Congress makes addressing tick-borne diseases a national priority for our medical community. The provisions contained in the 21st Century Cures Act will accelerate the development of new protocols for prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of tick-related illnesses like Lyme disease."

“As the ranking member for the Seapower subcommittee, I am pleased by the outcome of this year’s conference negotiations,” said Courtney. “This agreement reflects the hard bipartisan work our subcommittee did over the last year to make the key investments in our seapower and projection force capabilities that are needed now and for the future. As we transition to a new administration, this measure makes a solid down payment on growing the fleet and meeting our security challenges on, below, and above the seas. In particular, this report maintains two critical elements that I fought to retain from the House bill passed last May, but were not in the Senate bill: the expansion of the National Sea-based Deterrence Fund to authorize continuous production of components on the Ohio-class Replacement Program, and the restoration of advanced procurement funding for future Virginia-class submarines that will keep the program on track. I have worked closely with Chairman Forbes in advancing these initiatives, and I am proud that this agreement retains our hard work.”

"I am very pleased that several top priorities for eastern Connecticut will be included in the final version of the 21st Century Cures Act which is expected to pass this week. From new funding to combat the growing opioid crisis to making the fight against tick-borne diseases like Lyme disease a national priority - this bill contains substantive wins for Connecticut that will make a real difference for people back home. Since I first introduced my bill in February calling for emergency funding to address the opioid epidemic, support has been steadily increasing for federal action on both sides of the aisle. What this bill demonstrates is that Congress is finally ready to put its money where its mouth is and provide our communities with the support they need to turn the tide on drug addiction."

“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."

“Long Island Sound is a biological treasure, and protecting its fragile ecosystem begins away from the shoreline along our rivers and tributaries,” said Courtney. “The Sound is home to a rich assortment of plant and animal species that we need to protect for generations to come. I want to thank the Nature Conversancy for their unwavering commitment to protecting our local environment, and Essex First Selectman Norm Needleman for his continued support of local conservation efforts.”

“For Ohio Replacement, a continuing resolution would have significant impacts, as FY2017 is the first year that procurement funds, about $773 million supporting detailed design and other advanced procurement requirements, appears in the Navy’s budget,” wrote the members. “Without an anomaly to address this issue, the program will face delays in design and production that would have ripple effects throughout its extremely tight timeline, disrupt hiring and material orders throughout the industrial base across several states, and undermine the progress made to date in reducing costs and schedule in this program.