Gov. Dannel P. Malloy delivered a public rebuke Wednesday evening to the Democratic and Republican leaders of the Senate, accusing them of misrepresenting his insurance commissioner’s position on a consumer-protection bill and taking an “unnecessarily antagonistic approach toward Connecticut’s insurance industry.”
May 24, 2017
Posted inHealth, Politics
CBO: GOP health bill’s impact on CT, other states would vary widely
WASHINGTON — An analysis of the likely impact of the final House GOP bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act says it would leave an additional 23 million uninsured by 2026 and reduce the federal deficit by $119 billion over the next decade.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Activist’s arrest sets back college aid for undocumented students
One activist’s arrest has offset months of lobbying for a bill that would have allowed undocumented students to receive financial aid at Connecticut’s public colleges.
Posted inEducation
DeVos points to lax CT graduation standards to sell Trump budget
U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos used the story of Michael, a young man who grew up in East Hartford, to sell President Donald Trump’s education budget before a congressional subcommittee Wednesday. “Michael got a diploma, but not an education,” she said.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money, Politics
Time dwindling to ease current CT budget deficit
While Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is urging legislators to act quickly to at least mitigate the deficit in the current fiscal year, Senate Republicans unveiled a plan Wednesday to avert proposed cuts in municipalities, hospitals and state parks.
Posted inJustice, Politics
McCain ‘disappointed’ by reports Lieberman no longer in running for FBI
WASHINGTON — Sen. John McCain of Arizona said Wednesday he is “disappointed” by reports former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman is no longer under consideration to head the FBI. He said Democrats’ rejection of Lieberman, a former Democrat who was Al Gore’s vice presidential running mate, would make anyone “cynical” about Washington.
Posted inPolitics
House Dems say ‘budgetary relief’ is the price of a new casino
If the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes want the House to join the Senate in granting them the right to build a casino off tribal lands, they must pay for the privilege and give Connecticut a measure of “budgetary relief,” House Democratic leaders said Wednesday.
Posted inEducation
Report: CT high school bullying, alcohol, marijuana use decrease
Last year the rate of bullying in Connecticut schools was above the national average, but recent figures show it has fallen below the national average of 20.2 percent. Factoring in margins of error, the figures are very close, however, within .04 percentage points.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Teacher pension changes should be part of budget solution
If you really love teachers, you’ll support teacher pension reform. If you talk to teachers -– retired or current -– you will know that they are worried that the retirement fund they’ve been paying into won’t be there for them in the future. And they have good reason to worry.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
The buzz about Joe Lieberman may soon become a fizzle
Connecticut media was abuzz last week with the news that former Senator Joe Lieberman was on President Trump’s short list for the job of FBI director. That got people talking, as these things tend to do, but that’s all it’s going to be.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
We should all be concerned about college student retention
The degree to which college students are capable of successfully moving from matriculation to graduation, described as “retention” or “persistence,” should be a concern for all of us. Employers regularly complain that the skills needed for the workplace are lacking. Policy wonks lament the declining ratio of productive workers to retirees, now about three to one, down drastically from decades ago – an ominous threat to the solvency of the Social Security system, as well as the viability of the economy and the health care system.
Posted inPolitics
Voting in your employer’s interest? No conflict in Connecticut
The House speaker is an AFSCME employee. A freshman senator used to lobby for a water company. Neither is barred by Connecticut’s narrowly drawn ethics rules from using their elected positions to advocate for their employers. In a state with a part-time, citizen legislature, almost anything goes so long as elected officials or their families don’t end up with money in their pockets as the direct result of legislative action.
Posted inPolitics
Tribes win casino fight in Senate, face battle in House
The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes won the first half of their home-court fight with MGM Resorts International over the rights to gaming expansion in Connecticut as the Senate voted 24-12 early Wednesday for a bill authorizing the tribes to jointly develop the state’s first casino off tribal lands.