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Dear Friend,
It’s Joe Courtney. After a busy week in Congress, I’m back home in eastern Connecticut. Here with an update on the continued effort to fix Scotland’s ZIP Code chaos and lots more from the week. As always, thanks for starting your weekend here with me.
Bill to Give Scotland a Single ZIP Code Passes the House
We're one step closer to fixing a senseless debacle for the Town of Scotland. On Monday, my bill to mandate a single, unique ZIP Code for Scotland was passed by the House.
Despite having less than 1,600 residents, Scotland has six ZIP Codes. It's hard to believe, but it leads to serious consequences for town residents. Delivery of Social Security notices and checks, Medicaid information, prescript medications, absentee ballot applications are disrupted day in day out because of ZIP Code confusion. Residents have paid their taxes to the wrong town and sent their children to the wrong school. This dysfunctional system that is completely self-inflicted by unacceptable disorganization at the Post Office. It screams out for a commonsense fix from Congress, and I’ve worked for years with Town leaders to deliver one through this bill.
Last year, we got our bill passed through the House, but with only a few months of lead time, the bill ran out of calendar days for a Senate vote in the 118th Congress. Now, the bill has passed the House as part of the larger bipartisan package H.R. 672. We have 17 months of runway in the 119th Congress. The Senate should act swiftly to pass this bill and get it to the President’s desk to be signed into law.
After-Multi Year Effort, Coast Guard Safe-to-Report Policy Passes the House
The serious issue of sexual assault and harassment in the U.S. Coast Guard was brought to light by brave servicemembers and cadets who came forward to testify and report their experiences. Unfortunately, these women were subjected to unacceptable pressure and retaliation for doing so. Since 2018, when Coast Guard Academy cadets and faculty brought this serious issue to my office's attention, I’ve worked to institute safeguards to prevent and address sexual assault across the Coast Guard.
On Wednesday, the House passed the Safe-to-Report policy as part of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2025, a policy which would protect Coast Guard personnel and Coast Guard Academy cadets from punishment for minor offenses when reporting an incident of sexual assault.
Safe-to-Report was administratively adopted by the Coast Guard in 2024 under the leadership of former Commandant Admiral Linda Fagan. Following Admiral Fagan's unjustified firing by President Trump in January, the Coast Guard's anti-harassment policy was put on pause for a 90-day policy review. By codifying the Safe-to-Report policy into law, Congress would give protections for Coast Guard personnel statutory structure that they don’t currently have. It’s a critical step to ensuring the entire service is better protected from sexual assault and harassment. The Senate must now act so the Coast Guard Authorization Act can become law.
The Infrastructure Law Delivers for Chaplin
Yesterday, I joined the ribbon cutting for the fully replaced England Road Bridge in Chaplin following its closure for construction during the second half of 2024. Thanks to federal funding from the Infrastructure Law of 2021 – which covered 80% of project costs – the 125-year-old bridge over the Natchaug River is now safer for the 390 vehicles which travel on it daily on average. The bridge is in a rural residential area and provides access the Veterans Base Camp, a services hub for veterans and their families. Four years after its passage, Infrastructure Law continues to deliver for eastern Connecticut.
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Ribbon cutting for the newly re-opened England Road Bridge with State Representative Doug Dubitsky, State Senator Jeff Gordon, Chaplin First Selectman Juan Roman, and Town Department of Public Works Supervisor David Stone.
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New Support from Australia for the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base
This week, the Australian government announced a new payment of $500 million USD to the U.S. Submarine Industrial Base. This follows an initial payment of $500 million made in February, both part of a total $3 billion committed investment from the Australian government to help the U.S. build more submarines. This is historic, unprecedented support from an ally.
Congress has provided $10 billion for the submarine industrial base going back to 2018. That's support for facility improvements, workforce development, and supply chains. This new investment from Australia is a boost for our shipbuilders and supplier as they continue to deliver results for the U.S. Navy, and it's only happening because of AUKUS.
Lisbon Fire Fighters Use Federal Funding to Improve Safety
Firefighters’ brave work to keep us safe often puts them at risk of toxic chemical exposure. Cleaning uniforms in high-grade washing equipment is critical to staying safe from toxic exposure. As a 2024 Community Project, I worked with the Town of Lisbon to secure $140,000 in federal funding for uniform decontamination at equipment at the new Lisbon Fire Station. Yesterday, I visited to catch up with Fire Chief Dave Gifford, his son, and First Selectmen Tom Sparkman on the new equipment and for a tour of the new station.
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| The new uniform decontamination equipment at the Lisbon Fire Station. |
Thanks for taking some time to read my update. If we can be of any assistance, don't hesitate to give my Norwich office a call at (860) 886-0139.
Sincerely,
Joe Courtney
Member of Congress
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