Courtney and Larson Highlight Crumbling Foundations Amendments Included in Government Funding Package
[Washington, DC] — Last night [Jan 3, 2019], Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass a package of appropriations bills aimed at restoring funding to federal government agencies impacted by the partial government shutdown. Included in one of those bills, H.R. 21, were two amendments authored by Congressman Courtney and Congressman John Larson (CT-01) to help address Connecticut’s crumbling foundations.
“Last summer, Joe Courtney and I teamed up on floor of the House to advance greater federal involvement in the crumbling foundation crisis for homeowners. This is another step forward in helping homeowners and learning the true scope and effects that pyrrhotite is having on buildings throughout New England,” said Congressman Larson.
“Last night, Congress took another small but important step towards helping those affected by this crisis,” said Congressman Courtney. “Specifically, two amendments that Congressman John Larson and I authored on this issue were included in the spending bill we passed to end the partial government shutdown. While these amendments alone will not solve the crumbling foundations crisis, the unanimous support our proposals received on the House floor in July – and their inclusion in this funding package in the opening hours of the new Congress – provides strong backing to our ongoing efforts to marshal resources on the federal level to help.
“This is just a first step – we still need the Senate to pass this bill, and the President to sign it into law, and I hope that they will follow the House in acting without delay. Moving ahead, I will continue to do all I can to explore every avenue for assistance for homeowners and communities facing this crisis.”
Last July, Congressman Courtney and Congressman Larson were successful in passing two crumbling foundations related amendments during the House’s consideration of several funding bills. Both of these amendments passed the House with unanimous support, and were later passed by the Senate as well.
The first amendment allocates $100,000 for the U.S. Geological Survey to develop a map showing pyrrhotite occurrences across the United States, an important step towards understanding the reach of the problem.
The second provides $100,000 in funding for the Comptroller General of the United States, through the Government Accountability Office (GAO), to examine the financial impact of crumbling foundations on homeowners, banks, mortgage lenders and tax revenues, all of which have taken a hit amid this crisis.
The inclusion of both amendments in today’s House spending bill comes following a letter written by Congressman Courtney and Congressman Larson to the House Appropriations Committee in December, urging the adoption of both amendments in the final text of any year-end spending bill. The final inclusion of these proposals came as a direct result of advocacy from Reps. Courtney and Larson on this issue. The letter can be viewed here.
