Washington — Congress’ compromise over the fiscal cliff stopped $55 billion in cuts to the Pentagon from taking effect today, but the defense industry isn’t out of danger yet, and it predicts little or no growth, at least for now. The deal approved by the House and Senate this week halts a number of tax […]

Washington — As soon as the 113th Congress was gaveled in Thursday, there was a new face in Connecticut’s congressional delegation, one member has been promoted from the House to the Senate and others have new jobs. Chris Murphy, a Democrat who represented Connecticut’s 5th District in the House for six years, was sworn in […]

Washington — Connecticut lawmakers Wednesday joined a rebellion by lawmakers from Sandy-hit states against House Speaker John Boehner, who suddenly pulled a bill that would have sent billions of dollars in disaster assistance to the superstorm’s victims. “Last night, at the dead of the night, the speaker announced that he was abandoning the people of […]

Washington — House Speaker John Boehner tried to quell a rebellion in his own ranks Wednesday among GOP lawmakers from Sandy-hit states by promising to hold votes soon on billions of dollars in assistance to the storm’s victims. Boehner proposed holding a vote Friday on about $9 billion to replenish the federal flood insurance program, […]

Washington — The House plans to vote late Tuesday on a deal  that would avoid a sharp tax hike on most Americans. The Senate, with the help of  Connecticut’s two senators, voted before dawn Tuesday,  89-8,  on a proposal that would raise about $600 billion over 10 years, far less than President Obama and congressional […]

Washington — An agreement aimed at saving the nation from dropping over the fiscal cliff would also prevent a sharp increase in the price of milk, but some dairy farmers are upset about the deal. In an angrily worded statement, the National Milk Producers Federation called the compromise approved by the Senate early New Year’s […]

Washington — The House approved an agreement late Tuesday that avoided a “fiscal cliff” — the coupling of sharp tax increases on nearly all Americans with automatic spending cuts set to go into effect Wednesday. All Connecticut House members voted for the deal except Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, who said the bill failed to […]

Washington — When Rep.-elect Elizabeth Esty, one of dozens of newly elected members of Congress attending a Harvard policy seminar, was pulled out of class by news of the Newtown shootings, her days as an ordinary House freshman were over. Unlike the rest of the 67-member House freshman class, Esty, a 53-year-old Democrat, won’t be […]

Washington — The deal being hammered out in the Senate Monday to avoid the fiscal cliff may be tough for some liberals, including those in the Connecticut delegation, to swallow. The proposal would raise about $600 billion over 10 years, far less than President Obama and congressional Democrats had wanted, by allowing taxes to rise […]

Washington – A $60 billion emergency spending bill to pay for the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy was approved by the Senate Friday, but the final fate of the bill is very much in doubt. Before voting 61-33 for the bill, the  Senate  considered more than 20 amendments that would have either stripped or added […]

Washington — Eventually, nearly every American will feel the economic pain brought on by going over the so-called fiscal cliff, but more than 43,000 unemployed Connecticut workers would be among the first. That’s because those long-time unemployed workers will stop receiving benefits next week unless Congress acts in the next few days. “Both houses of […]