Washington — Even before the details of the horrific Newtown school shooting were known Friday, calls were being made for tougher gun control. President Obama touched off calls for a new debate on guns in his tearful statement of condolences Friday to the families of the 20 children and six adults who were killed by […]
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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Lawmakers look to expand tax breaks for Sandy victims
Taking a page from Congress’ response to Hurricane Katrina, House members from states damaged during Superstorm Sandy introduced a bill Thursday that would cut federal taxes for the storm’s victims. Among other things, the bill would allow victims of the storm to take money out of their tax-deferred retirement accounts without penalty, waive limitations on […]
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Murphy, Blumenthal get new Senate jobs
Sen.-elect Chris Murphy officially received his committee assignments for the next Congress Wednesday and was appointed to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and Health Education , Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Meanwhile Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who becomes Connecticut’s senior senator in the 113rd Congress, has given up his seat on the HELP Committee for a […]
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Connecticut to lose effective, and enigmatic, leader as Lieberman retires
Washington — When Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, lost an important committee chairmanship after her party lost control of the Senate in 2001, her successor, Sen. Joe Lieberman, assured her she would still have clout. “I’ll never forget … Joe leaning over to me and saying, ‘Don’t worry, Susan. All that will change is […]
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Congressional fight begins over Sandy relief funds
Washington — Senate appropriators released a $60.4 billion bill to provide relief to Connecticut and other states hit by Superstorm Sandy, but the legislation’s path to final approval appears to be a rocky road. The White House last week asked Congress for the same amount to respond to Superstorm Sandy, which was less than the […]
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‘Cliff’ talks aimed at Social Security worry Connecticut AARP
Washington – Social Security was supposed to be protected from automatic spending cuts that will go into effect on Jan. 1 unless Congress acts to find other savings. But the invulnerability of the Depression-era program for the elderly is showing cracks. Republicans in Congress have proposed limiting the annual Social Security cost-of-living adjustments as part of […]
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Aetna agrees to pay doctors, patients $120 million
Hartford-based Aetna Insurance Co. has agreed to settle a class action lawsuit filed by doctors and patients who say the health insurer used a flawed system to pay claims. The settlement, filed in a New Jersey federal court Friday, requires Aetna to pay affected doctors and policyholders $120 million. The Connecticut State Medical Society, which […]
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Obama asks Congress for $60.4 billion in Sandy disaster aid
President Obama submitted a request to Congress late Friday for $60.4 billion in emergency spending to help the states hit by the Superstorm Sandy. That’s less than the total of about $83 billion the governors of Connecticut, New York and New Jersey had asked for. It’s also likely to be reduced by a deficit-conscious Congress. […]
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Congress moves to honor Connecticut’s black Revolutionary War fighters
Washington — One of the few accomplishments of a “do nothing” Congress may be to help a Connecticut man who for decades has tried to win recognition of the Revolutionary War’s black soldiers. The Senate approved a bill this week that would authorize $631 billion in Pentagon spending for a vast array of purposes — […]
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Connecticut’s U.S. senators reiterate need for Sandy aid
Washington – Lawmakers from states affected by Superstorm Sandy, including Connecticut Sens. Joe Lieberman and Richard Blumenthal, made their cases to Senate appropriators Wednesday for billions of dollars in disaster aid, setting off what’s expected to be a long and hard-fought struggle. Like Gulf Coast lawmakers whose communities were devastated by Hurricane Katrina seven years […]
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Seven Connecticut schools to extend teaching day
Washington — More than 3,100 Connecticut students will have a longer school day starting in the 2013-’14 school year, part of an experiment in five states to boost scholastic achievement. “We know our teachers and students need more time in the classroom,” said Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. Malloy and Connecticut Commissioner of Education Stefan Pryor […]
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Malloy seeks $3.2 billion to protect state from future storms
Washington — Gov. Dannel Malloy Monday asked the Obama administration for $3.2 billion to protect Connecticut from another super storm like Sandy by burying electric transmission lines and building new seawalls. Malloy also put the total estimated cost of Sandy’s damage to Connecticut at $660 million. That figure includes both insured and uninsured losses and […]
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Doctors look to Congress as Medicare fee decrease looms
Washington — Unless Congress acts soon, the New Year will bring plenty of misery for Connecticut’s doctors. On Dec. 31, a temporary measure known as the “doc fix” will expire, resulting in a 30 percent decrease in fees to all doctors who treat patients through Medicare, the government-run health program for the elderly, and active […]
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Pelosi talks up Larson’s new job
Rep. John Larson, D-1st District was House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s featured guest at a press conference aimed at tough talk about congressional negotiations over the “fiscal cliff.” In that press conference, Pelosi urged her Republican rival, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to bring up legislation next week that would extend a series of tax […]
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Congress members call storms like Sandy ‘the new normal’
Washington — In the first congressional hearing on Hurricane Sandy Thursday, lawmakers from storm-hit states made appeals for billions of dollars in additional aid and said massive, destructive storms are “the new normal.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., testified at a hearing of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee that “the path towards enlightened protection […]
