Media Center

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today released the following statement after voting "yes" on Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's compromise plan to end the default crisis:

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today applauded a blue ribbon commission report that recommended at least one new site be found to store nuclear waste. The panel, which was appointed by President Obama in 2010 and is headed by Lee Hamilton and Brent Scowcroft, recommended a "consolidated interim storage" site that would allow for the removal of spent fuel from shutdown reactor sites, including the former Connecticut Yankee nuclear power plant. The commission also recommended that those sites be first in line for transfer to the new interim site.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today released the following statement after voting "no" on House Speaker John Boehner's short-term, three-step plan to raise the debt ceiling.

"When Speaker Boehner was asked yesterday whether his bill would prevent downgrade of U.S. creditworthiness, he responded: 'That is beyond my control.'

"That is not good enough. If the proposed solution cannot prevent downgrade and default, it is no solution at all.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney this week was named the newest member of the House Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee has jurisdiction over all Members, officers, House employees, bills, resolutions, and other matters related to the House's Code of Official Conduct. The Committee establishes and enforces the Code of Official Conduct, investigates alleged violations and recommends penalties for breaches of House rules.

WASHINGTON, DC –Congressman Joe Courtney today announced that the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) awarded $436,237 in competitive funding through the School-Based Health Center Capital Program to the Child & Family Agency of Southeastern Connecticut. The grant is a product of the Affordable Care Act, which provided a total of $200 million for FY 2010 through FY 2013 for school-based health centers.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today was selected to serve on a special bipartisan panel to address the ongoing challenge of financial management in the Pentagon. Courtney was named to the panel by Rep. Howard P. "Buck" McKeon (R-CA.), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, and Ranking Member Adam Smith (D-WA). The panel will be led by Rep. Mike Conaway (R-TX) and Rep. Rob Andrews (D-NJ).

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney today announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has awarded two grants totaling $89,320 to help eastern Connecticut farmers export and market their products. The first grant, which Courtney wrote a letter of support for, is worth $39,000, will help the Connecticut Department of Agriculture and the Connecticut District Export Council develop a coordinated export marketing strategy.

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Joe Courtney and the House of Representatives voted to pass the Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Appropriations Bill by a wide bipartisan margin of 336-87. The annual defense spending bill includes important priorities requested by the Second District lawmaker and the Connecticut delegation to Congress, including significant investments in southeastern Connecticut's defense industry and statewide defense programs.