WASHINGTON–While many Connecticut farmers are scrambling to salvage their crops and repair the damage wrought by Tropical Storm Irene, one segment of the state’s agriculture community is still at a standstill: shellfish farmers. And even if state officials succeed in getting a federal disaster declaration to help other Connecticut farmers recover, the U.S. Department of […]
Deirdre Shesgreen
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Storm building over relief spending for Irene, other disasters
WASHINGTON–A political tempest is brewing over the Obama Administration’s request for $6.9 billion in disaster funding to help states hit by Hurricane Irene and a spate of other recent events. On Friday, the White House sent Congress a request for $500 million in emergency funding to replenish the nearly-depleted coffers of the federal Disaster Relief […]
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money
Blumenthal helps found Oceans Caucus
Sen. Richard Blumenthal will be among the founding members of a new Senate Oceans Caucus, which is having its first meeting on Tuesday. The bipartisan group of senators will outline their priorities at a press conference after Tuesday’s organizational meeting. But in a media advisory, the new group said that oceans and their coastal ecosystems […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Bysiewicz loses top fundraiser, campaign set to announce successor
Susan Bysiewicz’s campaign is losing its top fundraiser, Josh Handelman, who has helped the former secretary of the state rake in more than $1 million since announcing her U.S. Senate bid in January. Campaign manager Jonathan Ducote said that Handelman “decided to seek other opportunities,” but is leaving the campaign with a strong foundation in […]
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Larson urges super-committee action on jobs
WASHINGTON–As the super committee on debt-reduction got underway today with its first meeting, Rep. John Larson ramped up his campaign to expand the panel’s charter. Larson wants to add job-creation to the super committee’s debt-reduction mandate, or create a parallel “super committee on jobs.” He has pitched the idea to each member of the debt-reduction […]
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Obama jobs plan has something for most in state delegation
WASHINGTON–No one was surprised. No one was blown away. But there was something for everyone to like in the $447 billion jobs package President Barack Obama laid out Thursday night–at least for most lawmakers in the heavily-Democratic Connecticut delegation. “I would describe it as solid,” said Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, who praised the president’s […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Shays doesn’t have a fundraising game plan
Apparently ex-Rep. Chris Shays hasn’t thought through all the nitty-gritty details of his U.S. Senate bid, particularly if he ends up facing Republican Linda McMahon in a GOP primary. Here’s what Shays had to say when asked by a Politico reporter about how he could overcome McMahon’s deep pockets if they face off for the […]
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Post office wrangling could be preview of federal deficit debate
WASHINGTON–The impending fiscal crisis besetting the U.S. Postal Service is small potatoes, when compared to deficit-reduction choices federal lawmakers will have to make in the coming months. But the debate over how to shore up the mail service’s finances highlights how resistant many lawmakers are to making even small cuts to cherished programs. The postal […]
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Legislators hoping for big ideas in president’s jobs speech
WASHINGTON–Lawmakers in the Connecticut delegation say they don’t want President Barack Obama to launch the jobs debate this week with a small-bore, nibble-around-the-edges proposal. With the August jobs report showing zero growth, unemployment stuck at 9.1 percent, and economists fearing a double-dip recession, Democrats like Rep. John Larson say the moment calls for big and […]
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Larson set to introduce supercommittee jobs proposal today
Rep. John Larson today will introduce his proposal for a “super committee on jobs,” to work in tandem or in parallel with the super committee on debt. Larson’s move comes as lawmakers prepare to return to Washington next week, and as the national debate pivots from debt to job creation. The 1st District Democrat’s proposal […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
A sleepless 2012 for Murphy, and not just over Senate race
Rep. Chris Murphy, D-5th District, probably won’t get a lot of sleep in 2012, but it won’t all be because of his U.S. Senate campaign. His wife Cathy is pregnant, due with their second child in December. As if the fundraising demands, campaign crush and electoral pressure weren’t enough. Still, Murphy said the family’s anticipated […]
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Some state health care providers leery of new Medicare pay plan
WASHINGTON–Medicare officials in Washington are trying to woo doctors and hospitals to participate in a strategic new pilot program they hope will save money, improve care, and become a model for the future. The week-old project has already sparked intense debate among Connecticut health care providers, although few are rushing their applications to Washington just […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Lieberman uses different “i” word to describe Ron Paul
Asked about Ron Paul’s call to sap funding from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Sen. Joseph Lieberman opted for a couple different “I” epithets. “Ron Paul’s statement is taking an ideology to an illogical and really unproductive extreme,” Lieberman said. Lieberman’s comments came in response to a question about Paul’s criticism of FEMA–and Gov. Dannel […]
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With a Senate bid imminent, Shays is back in the limelight
WASHINGTON–Former Connecticut Rep. Chris Shays stepped back into the political limelight on Wednesday, discussing deficit politics, government waste and U.S. defense policy on Capitol Hill. What a perfect platform for a U.S. Senate bid in 2012. But this was no campaign event. It was a staid news conference in the basement of the Capitol Visitor […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Uninsured, a key target of health reform, don’t expect to be affected by the law
A principal goal of federal health reform is to reduce the ranks of the uninsured. But a new poll shows that about half of those without insurance don’t expect the law to affect them one way or another. It’s another piece of evidence that the Affordable Care Act is still not well understood more than […]