114th Congress

“It has been both a pleasure and an honor working with Rear Admiral Trussler during his time as the first commanding officer of the Undersea Warfighting Development Center,” said Courtney. “Admiral Trussler had a huge challenge coming into the role, both in starting up the UWDC and bringing a flag officer back to Submarine Base New London. He succeeded on all accounts, making the UWDC a recognized force throughout the Navy and in further emphasizing the key role that the base plays in meeting our nation’s top national security challenges. I truly appreciate all he has done for us here in eastern Connecticut and the contributions he will continue to make in his new role in Washington."

“The modernization and recapitalization of our nation’s fighters, bombers, tankers, and airlift platforms has been an ongoing area of interest and concern for this panel. These aircraft perform vital missions essential to national security and support our military’s operations around the globe. However, these legacy aircraft are now more frequently having their lifetimes extended, flying much longer than original designs intended -- and are often older than the crews and pilots who operate and maintain them. Consequently, the Air Force must be prepared to confront a growing number of challenges in ensuring that these platforms remain airborne despite their age."

“Advanced manufacturing opportunities in aerospace, maritime, and even healthcare are happening from coast to coast, and the question of the day for many employers is whether our education and job training systems are ready to fill the need. Recent updates to K-12 and job training programs signed into law by President Obama in 2014 and 2015 built a positive platform to address this challenge, and passage of this bill for tech school programs will add to that capability."

“I am excited with the bipartisan support this measure received in the House,” said Courtney. “As their actions during Hurricane Sandy proved, amateur radio operators in Connecticut can be a critical component of disaster response. It is in our communities’ best interest that we give them the capabilities to operate at the highest level, and with the passage of this bill, we’ve taken a strong step in that direction.”

“I applaud this move by the VA, streamlining the process for our veterans in need of care for their hearing and sight,” said Courtney. “These are the kinds of improvements that the VA has needed to implement, and I am glad to see them moving toward giving our veterans what they deserve: the finest care as promptly as possible.”

“After several high-profile public hearings in Congress and a scathing Inspector General’s report, it is clear that the Departments of Homeland Security and State need to do a much better job of coordinating their efforts to successfully deport the most dangerous criminal aliens,” said Courtney. “In the case of Casey Chadwick, what we now know is that after Haiti repeatedly rejected our requests to deport Jean Jacques, a man with a conviction for attempted murder, the matter was never formally raised with the State department as a means to further pressure the Haitian government to cooperate. These agencies have a responsibility to pursue all the tools and authorities at their disposal to elevate cases like this, and if they will not do so on their own our bipartisan bill will ensure that it occurs.”

“In the wake of ITT going out of business nationwide, we should be doing everything we can to make sure students and families are aware of the resources available to them through the Department of Education,” said Courtney. “I am pleased that the Department of Education is going to great lengths to help former ITT students move on with their education and lives. I would encourage all students who attended ITT, whether at one of the physical campuses or online, to review information available through the Department to determine if they may be eligible for relief such as student loan discharge or help with transferring earned credits to new institutions. If students are having trouble finding this information, they can contact my Norwich office and we will help point them in the right direction."