Justin’s Bio
Justin Bernier is running for Congress in the fifth district of Connecticut. More than ever, Congress needs people with a proven track record of service to others. Justin is committed to returning America to a sensible economic policy at home and a sustainable foreign policy abroad. His top goals are job creation and economic recovery.
Proven Service to the Country and Connecticut
An intelligence officer in the Navy reserve, Justin served a tour in Afghanistan in 2007. He was awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal for his service. After he returned to Connecticut, Governor M. Jodi Rell named Justin as Executive Director of the Office of Military Affairs. The state legislature unanimously confirmed him in early 2008.
As director of military affairs, Justin worked for Connecticut’s military families and defense workers. American troops on the front lines lack access to the ballot box, so Justin drafted a law to let them vote electronically when deployed overseas. Justin also led an historic initiative to improve the submarine base and keep it from leaving Connecticut – a move that would cost the state more than 30,000 jobs and $1.5 billion in economic activity. In addition, he opposed Pentagon plans to outsource good-paying defense jobs integral to our economy.
Justin was Chairman of Connecticut’s Military and Defense Advisory Council, a voluntary group of experts committed to helping the state’s workers, veterans, and military families. He also served on Governor Rell’s council on education for children in military families.
Governor Rell thanked Justin when he resigned his position in March 2009, citing his “hard work and dedication” to the state. The New Britain Herald reported that “Connecticut’s defense industry and infrastructure lost a military-friendly advocate.”
Success Fighting Bureaucracy and Bad Policies
Before serving in Afghanistan, Justin was a Senior Legislative Assistant in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he directed efforts to defeat bad policies in the Pentagon. CongressDaily reported that Justin Bernier “fought doggedly and successfully to save Connecticut's New London Submarine Base, which the Pentagon had hoped to shutter during the 2005 base-closure round.” With the same drive, Justin coordinated efforts to stop wasteful defense spending in order to fund programs that our troops really needed. In addition, he pushed for long overdue reforms to the U.S. Intelligence Community.
On the U.S. House Armed Services Committee staff, Justin wrote legislation on important economic issues. He spearheaded a law to prevent Russia from using U.S. foreign aid to make biological weapons. He also worked on trade issues – especially the United States’ unhealthy relationship with China. Plus, Justin facilitated a multi-billion dollar proposal to let our friend Taiwan buy eight submarines from the United States in a deal that would create thousands of jobs in Connecticut.
Justin worked at SAIC, a Fortune 500 scientific, engineering, and technology applications company that solves problems of vital importance to the nation and the world, in national security, energy and the environment, critical infrastructure, and health. Justin also worked on construction sites during his graduate and undergraduate studies.
Commitment to Family & Education
Justin is a graduate of Fordham University. He later earned a master’s degree in International Security and Economic Policy from the University of Maryland, and a second master's degree in International Relations from Georgetown University, giving him a firm handle on the big challenges facing our nation today. Justin is also a graduate of the Engalitcheff Institute on Comparative Political and Economic Systems, a program of The Fund for American Studies, which has has been educating emerging leaders on the values of freedom and free-market economies since 1967.
Justin and his eight younger siblings graduated from the Farmington public school system. Justin was also educated in Connecticut’s outdoors, earning the rank of Eagle Scout while in the Boy Scouts.
Justin and his wife Jennie, an FBI analyst and former teacher, live in Plainville. They are members of St. Patrick’s Parish.
We Can Do Better
“We can do better.” It is the central message of Justin’s campaign, because America needs better policies to deal with the recession and its underlying causes. We can also do better in Congress, which has failed to provide leadership on these critical issues. To learn more about Justin’s economic plan, please click here.
(The use of Justin's military rank, job titles, and photographs in uniform does not imply endorsement by the Department of the Navy or the Department of Defense.)