Washington – The House will vote late today on $50.7 billion to help states recover from Super Storm Sandy, but the effort faces fiscal roadblocks from conservatives who want to strip down the bill — even to the point of eliminating $9.8 million for repairs to Connecticut’s Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. To placate […]
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.
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McKinney wildlife refuge money only casualty in Sandy aid bill
Washington – The House on Tuesday stripped $9.8 million for repairs to Connecticut’s Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, but approved most of the rest of a $50.7 billion package to help states recover from Super Storm Sandy. To placate GOP conservatives, money to replenish the federal flood insurance program was considered earlier this month […]
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Children will help Obama roll out gun control package Wednesday
White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will release “a package of concrete proposals to reduce gun violence and prevent future tragedies like the one in Newtown,” at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday. Carney said the president and vice president will be joined by children from around the country who […]
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A month after Newtown, gun-control advocates pick up the pace
Washington — President Obama received the recommendations of a Cabinet-level panel on gun violence Monday, one month after the Newtown tragedy, as the pace of efforts by Democrats on gun control picked up. Also Monday, Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, met with Vice President Joe Biden, head of the panel, as part of a 12-member […]
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Biden to meet with Esty, other Dems, on gun policy this morning
As part of his effort to craft a comprehensive policy to tackle gun violence, Vice President Joe Biden is meeting this morning with Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, and 11 other members of a House Democratic task force on gun control. Attorney General Eric Holder, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Health and Human […]
Posted inPolitics
Brady group puts assault weapons ban at bottom of agenda
An assault weapons ban is the last of a series of recommendation the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence gave to the White House Friday. Congressional approval of such a ban is expected to be difficult to obtain, and the anti-gun group declined to expand on its recommendations. Its list to the White House panel […]
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Blumenthal in dogfight over status of retired military pooches
Washington — To some advocates, Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s amendment concerning the military’s canine workforce is part victory and part doggone shame. “It’s not exactly what we wanted, but we’re thrilled we got our foot in the door,” said Lisa Phillips, a former Army veterinary technician from East Hartford who is an advocate for military working […]
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With increasing cries for gun control, Newtown’s legacy takes shape
Washington — Memories of a national tragedy usually dim quickly. But the deaths of 20 first-graders and six teachers in Newtown appear to be doing what other mass shootings have been unable to do — provoke action against gun violence, perhaps in Washington, but more certainly in state capitals across the country. In creating a Cabinet-level panel […]
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Courtney gets old job back
When Democrats lost control of the House in 2010, the party also lost seats on every committee. So Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, lost his job on the House Education and Workforce Committee and moved to the House Agriculture Committee. But, after putting in a request for transfer to House Democratic leaders, Courtney is back […]
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Battered Coast Guard Academy waiting for $18 million for repairs
Washington – When Super Storm Sandy’s winds and water battered Connecticut in October, the Coast Guard Academy in New London suffered severe damage to its main pier and its Seamanship and Sailing Center, where cadets learn to sail. There was also damage to a seawall, the academy buildings’ slate roofs, flooding of playing fields and […]
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Blumenthal wants background checks on ammunition buyers
Washington — If the federal government can require background checks for gun buyers, why can’t there be the same checks on ammunition buyers? U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Tuesday he plans to introduce a bill later this month that would require instant background checks for the sale of bullets. He also said the bill is […]
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Blumenthal, Murphy split over Hagel
Washington — Sen. Richard Blumenthal Monday said he’s not sold on President Obama’s choice for Secretary of Defense, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel. “I respect the president’s right to select Cabinet members, but I have a responsibility as a member of the Armed Services Committee to ask Senator Hagel’s views on critical defense policy issues […]
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Gun control strategies taking shape
Washington — The outlines of the strategies both sides will use in the expected bitter fight over gun control are beginning to take shape, with advocates looking to act quickly on a broad package of reforms, and opponents hoping to stall the battle until memories of the Newtown shootings dim. A White House panel, headed […]
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Esty appointed to Democratic gun control panel
The day after she was sworn into office, Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th, was appointed to a new, 12-member Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. The task force will try to co-ordinate congressional gun control efforts and recommendations expected at the end of the month from the White House on how to curb gun violence. It […]
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Congress approves money to pay Sandy’s flood victims
Washington – Congress on Friday approved an increase of $9.7 billion to for the National Flood Insurance Program, which was rapidly running out of money to pay claims — many filed because of Super Storm Sandy. The vote was 354-57 in the House. Two-thirds of the House was required to support the bill to win […]
