WASHINGTON – Donations from out-of-state individuals and political action committees to members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation are dwarfing contributions from the state’s voters, a Connecticut Mirror analysis of Federal Elections Commission data shows.
Ana Radelat
Ana has written about politics and policy in Washington, D.C.. for Gannett, Thompson Reuters and UPI. She was a special correspondent for the Miami Herald, and a regular contributor to The New York TImes, Advertising Age and several other publications. She has also worked in broadcast journalism, for CNN and several local NPR stations. She is a graduate of the University of Maryland School of Journalism.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money, Politics
Blumenthal, DeLauro try to stop flood insurance increases
Washington – Saying more than 18,000 Connecticut homeowners will be socked with soaring flood insurance premiums, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are pressing the House of Representatives to pass a bill that would stop those hikes.
Posted inMoney
Leonardi cool on federal regulation of insurance industry
Connecticut’s insurance commissioner told members of Congress Tuesday he has serious reservations about extending federal oversight of the insurance industry. Thomas Leonardi, commissioner of Connecticut’s Insurance Department, was invited by a Republican member of the House Financial Services Committee to weigh in on new federal oversight of the insurance industry, which is largely regulated by the […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Blumenthal pushes bill to prevent Target-like data breaches
Washington – As executives from Target and Neiman Marcus prepared to tell a Senate panel how hackers stole personal information from millions of their customers, Sen. Richard Blumenthal introduced a new data security bill.
Posted inPolitics
Gun control activists shift tactics
Washington – With Congress opposed to even the most modest efforts at gun control, activist are hoping a sympathetic White House will make gun ownership a public safety issue and pour money into public information campaigns and gun research.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT House delegation unanimous against farm bill
Washington — Connecticut’s House members, all Democrats, voted unanimously Wednesday against a farm bill that would spend nearly $1 trillion on farm programs over the next five years — but would cut food stamps.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Connecticut advocates blast farm bill’s food stamp cuts
Washington — Most lawmakers are calling it a good deal, but Connecticut anti-hunger advocates say a new massive farm bill’s cuts to food stamps will leave thousands in the state hungry.
Posted inPolitics
Metro-North, MTA sought delay of federal safety rules
Washington – Crisis-plagued Metro-North and its parent company sought to delay and weaken proposed federal safety measures that could have helped prevent some of the accidents the rail company suffered in the past year. Less than two weeks before a foreman was killed by a train, Metro-North pressed the Federal Railroad Administration to delay a safety rule requiring trains to slow to 25 miles per hour when passing a work site.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Obama to talk of end run around Congress in address
Washington – President Obama’s state of the union speech Tuesday evening will focus on economic fairness for the middle class and the long-term unemployed and a defense of the Affordable Care Act, a senior administration official said.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Esty’s ‘nuanced’ votes on Obamacare rile liberals and GOP
Washington – As a Democrat, the freshman is under pressure from her party to support President Obama’s signature law. But as a Democrat representing Connecticut’s 5th District, which has a history of supporting Republicans, Esty is also pressed to distance herself from some of the more unpopular aspects of the law.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut lawmakers have special guests for State of the Union address
In keeping with President Obama’s theme of inequality in the United States for his State of the Union address to the nation on Tuesday, some Connecticut lawmakers have invited special guests.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
FAA: Fewer flights at Bradley make less noise
Washington – Bradley International Airport has gotten quieter. At least that’s what the airport has told the Federal Aviation Administration, which approved a new noise map this week that shows the area affected by the noise of Bradley’s flights has shrunk significantly over the past five years.
Posted inNews
CT defense industry wins big in U.S. budget bill
Washington – The massive omnibus spending bill creates winners and losers – and at first blush it seems that Connecticut is chiefly in the winner’s column.
Posted inMoney
Connecticut companies worry they’ll lose valuable R&D tax break
Washington – Corporations like Pfizer, United Technologies, Alexion and others spend millions on research each year, hoping to develop new products or processes that contribute to their bottom line.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal says Obama’s NSA reforms only first step
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has introduced legislation to rein in NSA spying, said President Obama’s announced reforms of the agency are “stronger in principle than prescription.” While he praised the president for moving to address concerns abroad and at home about the NSA’s operations, Blumenthal said he would continue to press for approval of his legislation, saying Congress must “provide precision and details” to the president’s reforms.