White House officials urge CT leaders to help sell Biden policies

Dozens of local leaders, activists and elected officials from Connecticut and Rhode Island gathered at the White House on Wednesday to discuss how federal laws on infrastructure, gun safety, climate and pandemic relief are playing out in their communities.

The hours-long forum served several purposes, including a chance for advisers and lawmakers to tout Biden administration policies, opportunities for attendees to share stories of those investments back at home and information sharing about federal funding still available.

And there was a consistent theme from the speakers: local leaders can — and need to — play a key role in telling the story of what is being done in Washington and translating what it means for their communities. The push for them to serve as messengers and to help make the case for the administration comes as Biden gears up for reelection in November amid sagging job approval ratings.

“How many of you have asked yourself the question like, ‘Why isn’t the president more popular? Why don’t people know what’s going on?’ Because we need to tell them and we need to make it clear exactly what has happened,” said U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who is the former governor of Rhode Island. “And the fact is it’s not by accident. It’s due to leadership.”

“I’m not saying everything’s perfect. I go to the grocery store too. It ain’t easy. I get it,” Raimondo continued, but argued that Biden’s policies have made big investments that played a role in job growth and lower unemployment rates.

More than 50 people from Connecticut and Rhode Island attended either in person or virtually. The forum is part of a series of Communities in Action meetings the White House is seeking to hold with every state, territory and tribal community.

Several White House advisers, a Cabinet secretary and federal lawmakers — most with ties to Connecticut and Rhode Island — addressed the group, including Raimondo and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.

Some of the Connecticut attendees included gun safety advocates Po Murray, Kristin Song and Jeremy Stein, as well as Jessica LeClair from Sustainable CT and Jackie Santiago from COMPASS Youth Collaborative in Hartford.

Raimondo and Murphy took friendly jabs at each other’s states but noted the commonalities between the two, such as their shared interests in the Long Island Sound, manufacturing and national defense commitments.

The speakers focused on the investments that both states are getting from the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act that expanded semiconductor manufacturing, the climate investments in the Inflation Reduction Act, the gun reforms included in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the pandemic relief from the American Rescue Plan.

They highlighted a number of regional projects benefiting both states: a grant to build a new manufacturing plant in Bridgeport to produce electric vehicle batteries, the designation of the Ocean Tech Hub of southeastern New England, and a strategy development grant to boost manufacturing in the region.

Through the infrastructure law, Connecticut received $150 million from the Affordable Connectivity Program to expand access to the internet and lower costs, particularly for underserved areas and for low-income families. More than 180,000 Connecticut households have benefitted from it, but future funding for the program is at risk amid congressional negotiations to fund the federal government.

Connecticut recently submitted its “digital equity plan” to address the gaps in broadband access and is currently soliciting feedback.

On the environmental front, Brenda Mallory — chair of the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality and a Waterbury native — noted this week’s announcement that Connecticut will receive a federal grant for 50 new electric buses to serve Hartford Public Schools and the state’s tech schools. She visited New Britain last year when Connecticut’s technical schools were awarded new electric school buses to replace the diesel-powered ones. 

Both Murphy and a top staffer in the White House’s new gun violence prevention office talked about the results of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

Since implementation, more than 500 18- to 20-year-olds were denied gun purchases for various disqualifying reasons. The law requires background checks for purchases through licensed dealers to include the search for juvenile records when those under 21 are trying to buy a gun. The FBI has said disqualification can be due to “mental health, juvenile criminal records, unlawful controlled substance user or addict, and/or state-specific prohibitions.”

Greg Jackson, deputy director of the White House gun violence prevention office, said his team is working with 16 other government agencies to identify possible executive actions. He said one possible area is working with the U.S. Department of Transportation on “how to crack down on stolen or lost firearms through mass transit or mass carriers.”

Jackson implored leaders to push for state-level gun violence prevention offices, noting the plans to do so in Maryland. When state legislators from Connecticut visited the White House last month for a summit, they said they were interested in pushing for a state-level office when the 2024 General Assembly convenes next month.

But while the speakers all ticked through policy achievements, Murphy said lawmakers and supporters need to do a “better job of explaining to people who are very disaffected by politics today” that government is more effective than portrayed.

“I’m really looking forward to you being able to help the White House and help us in the Senate tell the story of what all these investments mean because you feel it. You feel that there is often this disconnect between what we’re passing and how people feel about government,” Murphy said. “The narrative out there in America is that all we do is fight.”

U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo, D-R.I., who served in the Biden White House before winning in a special election for Congress late last year, concluded with a similar message, telling local leaders to “activate your network.”

Presidential incumbents typically enlist supporters and campaign surrogates to help them sell the policies and legislation passed during their time in office. Biden has low approval numbers, especially when it comes to issues like inflation and immigration, according to a recent poll from Monmouth University. While his numbers are still underwater, he gets higher marks for his handling of infrastructure and jobs.

Biden’s most likely Republican contender, former President Donald Trump, faces similar unfavorable ratings.

When it comes to making the case to voters back in Connecticut, some local leaders want to focus on Biden’s record on gun safety.

Song, whose son Ethan was killed by an unsecured gun at a neighbor’s house in 2018, recalled the support she received from Biden after her son’s death and the “hope” she got from him when he vowed to pass gun safety measures.

“It’s interesting to me that so many folks focus only on gas prices and that gallon of milk price. When you know, our house is on fire, and Joe Biden’s got the hose, and he’s trying to put it out and we really need to respect that and I support him,” Song said after the forum. “He is the president that works for our children.”

Song and Murray, chairwoman of Newtown Action Alliance, traveled to Washington last month to mark 11 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. They are again meeting with more U.S. senators to push for passage of a safe storage gun law, an assault weapons ban and expanded background checks.

During their last trip, they said a few Democrats needed more convincing on such measures. Plus, they are still facing resistance from a number of Republicans. GOP senators who voted for the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act have indicated that they are unlikely to support additional measures on guns.

“If we do not reelect Joe Biden, if we do not elect a majority in the House of Representatives and in the Senate, we will not be able to pass additional gun safety laws and, in fact, we will regress,” Murray said.

“Whether you’re an independent, Democrat or a Republican,” she continued, “everyone wants their kids to come home when they go to school or to their friend’s house.”