Media Center

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney told a couple dozen people at a public forum on Syria on Tuesday that he would not vote for an Obama-administration proposed resolution authorizing the use of force. “I find it unacceptable,” Courtney said. Courtney said the wording of the resolution did not provide a time limit for U.S. involvement or limit the use of U.S. ground forces. The 2nd District Democrat did not rule out supporting a different resolution authorizing U.S. intervention in Syria, but said the administration needed to answer more questions first. “I am willing to listen to more information, but at this point I’m approaching it with skepticism,” Courtney said.

This month, I joined President Barack Obama in the Oval Office for a rare event in Washington: a bill signing on a measure that provides real help for the American people. With the stroke of a pen, the Bipartisan Student Loan Certainty Act reduced the interest rates for 11 million undergraduate students for the coming academic year. It would have been tempting for the president and the five members of Congress who joined him to revel in the moment — after all, this Congress has produced meager results for the American people on a whole range of critical issues.

Rep. Joe Courtney is looking to have the United States government mint a commemorative Coast Guard coin to help raise funds for the National Coast Guard Museum. The bill has been referred to the Committee on Financial Services. If passed, the bill would include a series of three Coast Guard coins - a five dollar gold coin, one-dollar silver coin, and half-dollar clad coin - in the U.S. Mint's 2017 release of commemorative coins. According to the Mint, commemorative coins are authorized by Congress and are legal tender, although they are not issued for general circulation. The program began in 1982 and surcharges on their purchase price go toward community projects and benefits.