U.S. Representative — Connecticut's 2nd District
Joe Courtney
Democrat · Connecticut
Democrat U.S. Representative for Connecticut's 2nd congressional district. Member of the 119th Congress in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Legislative Record
Recently sponsored bills (50 on record)
- H.R.9735 — CLINIC Assistance Act (Introduced, Jul 16, 2026)
- H.R.8925 — Job Corps and Skilled Defense Workforce Act (Introduced, May 20, 2026)
- H.J.Res.155 — Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the Department of Education relating to "William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program". (Introduced, Apr 9, 2026)
- H.R.8045 — Student Loan Interest Elimination Act (Introduced, Mar 24, 2026)
Student Loan Interest Elimination Act This bill eliminates interest on existing and new federal student loans beginning on July 1, 2026. Specifically, for existing federal student loans, the bill directs the Department of Education (ED) to establish and implement procedures to (1) modify the terms… - H.R.3954 — Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025 (Introduced, Jun 12, 2025)
Improving Access to Medicare Coverage Act of 2025 This bill deems an individual receiving outpatient observation services in a hospital as an inpatient for purposes of satisfying the three-day inpatient hospital-stay requirement with respect to Medicare coverage of skilled nursing facility (SNF)… - H.R.3036 — Protecting America’s Workers Act (Introduced, Apr 28, 2025)
Protecting America's Workers Act This bill expands the coverage of requirements governing workplace safety and health to include protection for federal, state, and local government employees. However, the bill does not cover working conditions otherwise covered by federal requirements for mine… - H.R.2829 — SERVICE Act (Introduced, Apr 10, 2025)
Strengthening Efforts for Relief and Vital Incentives for Community Service and Engagement Act or the SERVICE Act This bill makes changes to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. Under the current PSLF program, the Department of Education (ED) must cancel the balance of interest and… - H.R.2531 — Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (Introduced, Apr 1, 2025)
Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act This bill requires the Department of Labor to address workplace violence in health care, social service, and similar sectors. Specifically, Labor must issue an occupational safety and health standard that requires certain…
Recent floor votes (100 on record)
- Voted Nay on H.R.8884 — Removing Barriers to Work for Disabled Americans Act (Passed, Jul 23, 2026)
- Voted Yea on H.Con.Res.89 — Directing the President, pursuant to section 5(c) of the War Powers Resolution, to remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (Passed, Jul 23, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.Con.Res.113 — Establishing the congressional budget for the United States Government for fiscal year 2027 and setting forth the appropriate budgetary levels for fiscal years 2028 through 2036 (Passed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.R.7008 — Stop Insider Trading Act (Passed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Yea on H.R.7008 — Stop Insider Trading Act (Failed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Nay on H.R.8800 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (Passed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted Yea on H.R.8800 — National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (Failed, Jul 22, 2026)
- Voted No on H.R.8800 — On Agreeing to the Amendment (Failed, Jul 22, 2026)
Recently cosponsored bills (12 on record)
- H.R.9974 — Young Farmer Success Act (Introduced, Jul 27, 2026)
- H.R.9941 — Right to IVF Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 23, 2026)
- H.R.9638 — Sunshine for Our Kids Act of 2026 (Introduced, Jul 22, 2026)
- H.R.7645 — Ceasefire Compliance Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 19, 2026)
- H.R.8831 — Protecting Our Democracy Act (Introduced, May 14, 2026)
- H.R.5168 — Puerto Rico Nutrition Assistance Fairness Act (Introduced, May 14, 2026)
- H.R.8592 — No WAR Act (Introduced, May 13, 2026)
- H.R.8765 — Prioritizing Primary Care Act of 2026 (Introduced, May 12, 2026)
Voting analysis
Joe Courtney is ranking member on seapower and projection forces — submarines, shipbuilding, the fleet — and education outnumbers defence in his classified filings by a factor of several. That is a wide gap between what a member is assigned to and what he writes, and unlike most such gaps on this site it does not close when you turn to the recent bills.
Sponsored bills carry the Congressional Research Service's own subject classification. Joe Courtney's cluster into: Education (18), Labor and Employment (7), Health (5), Armed Forces and National Security (4), Agriculture and Food (2), Government Operations and Politics (2).
Four on schooling, one on Medicare
A resolution disapproving an education department rule on the federal direct loan programme. A bill eliminating interest on student loans. A clinic assistance act. And one measure that does bridge the two halves of his job: a jobs corps bill tied to the skilled defence workforce, which is the shipyard problem stated as a training problem. The fifth improves access to Medicare coverage.
Of the 50 most recent of those, 49 currently sit at Introduced.
Where he broke ranks
The consolidated appropriations act got his yes and most of his caucus's no, putting him among the small number of Democrats in these pages on that side of it. He also supported cashless bail reporting and a fuel retailing bill that failed, and opposed daylight saving and a children's online safety act that both passed. One amendment vote rounds it out.
| Roll call | Date | Outcome | Their vote |
|---|---|---|---|
| H.R.8595 On Agreeing to the Amendment roll call 243 | Jul 15, 2026 | Failed | No (party: Yea) |
| H.R.139 Sunshine Protection Act On Passage · roll call 238 | Jul 14, 2026 | Passed | Nay (party: Yea) |
| H.R.7757 KIDS Act On Motion to Suspend the Rules and Pass, as Amended · roll call 228 | Jun 29, 2026 | Passed | Nay (party: Yea) |
| H.R.5625 Cashless Bail Reporting Act On Passage · roll call 171 | May 14, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.1346 Nationwide Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act On Motion to Recommit · roll call 163 | May 13, 2026 | Failed | Yea (party: Nay) |
| H.R.7567 On Agreeing to the Amendment roll call 144 | Apr 30, 2026 | Failed | Aye (party: Nay) |
| H.R.7148 Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 On Motion to Concur in the Senate Amendments · roll call 53 | Feb 3, 2026 | Passed | Yea (party: Nay) |
Below the Connecticut Democrats
Against Connecticut's five-member Democratic House group his figure is the smaller.
Among the 5 Democrats in the Connecticut delegation, the average rate of voting against the party majority is 3.2%. Joe Courtney is below that average at 3.2%.
Tenure and attendance
Ten terms since the latter part of the two-thousands. He is present for practically everything.
First elected in 2007, now serving across 10 terms. Joe Courtney falls in the veteran cohort.
By the numbers
In the 119th Congress, Joe Courtney has 188 bills sponsored, 3679 cosponsored, 100 recent floor votes recorded.
Committee assignments
- House Committee on Armed Services
- House Committee on Education and Workforce
- House Committee on Armed Services: Seapower and Projection Forces (Ranking Member)
- House Committee on Armed Services: Tactical Air and Land Forces
- House Committee on Education and Workforce: Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
- House Committee on Education and Workforce: Higher Education and Workforce Development
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