Affordable, quality health care can’t become a luxury: it’s a fundamental need, and access to it must become a fundamental right. Creating a single-payer system is the most effective way to guarantee access to healthcare for every person. … It’s time for Congress to advance a public healthcare system that provides every American — and all 3.6 million Connecticut residents — with affordable, quality healthcare. If Congress refuses to do it in Washington, it’s up to us to do it here in Connecticut.
Connecticut must lead the way on universal healthcare
Posted inMoney
Municipal lobby deserts House Dems on sales tax plan
One of the leading municipal advocates says the House Democrats’ plan to boost the sales tax to aid cities and towns is flawed — and would be opposed by most mayors and first selectmen.
Posted inNews
A concession deal struck, but still no budget
The week in Connecticut started with political drama and a squeaky close vote on a package of wage and benefit concessions critical to shaping the Connecticut state budget – when the legislature finally adopts one.
Posted inHealth
Under Trump, hospitals face same penalties embraced by Obama
Amid all the turbulence over the future of the Affordable Care Act, one facet continues unchanged: President Donald Trump’s administration is penalizing more than half the nation’s hospitals for having too many patients return within a month.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Border agency set to jumpstart Trump’s wall in Texas wildlife refuge
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will begin constructing the first segment of President Trump’s border wall in November through a national wildlife refuge, using money it’s already received from Congress.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy hails EPA decision to tighten restrictions on smog
WASHINGTON – Gov. Dannel Malloy on Friday lauded the U.S. Environmental Agency’s reversal of its decision to delay a new rule that would lower the level of ozone emissions permitted from fossil-fuel burning, such as the exhaust from auto tailpipes and power plant smokestacks. Malloy had argued a stricter ozone rule is needed because Connecticut is polluted by emissions from other states, putting its businesses at a disadvantage and threatening the health of state residents.
Posted inPolitics
White House aide from CT owes back taxes to IRS
The financial disclosure form of White House aide Justin Clark of West Hartford drew unwelcome attention this week from the Center for Public Integrity: He is one of three members of the Trump administration who listed a debt to the IRS.
Posted inEducation
Explore 2 years of ‘universal’ SAT scores for your school district
Use this tool to see how your district performed on the SAT in 2016-17, and how that compares with 2015-16 performance, the first year in which all juniors were required to take the test.
Posted inCT Viewpoints, Talking Transportation
The MTA management meltdown
It’s not just the summer heat that’s causing an operational meltdown at the MTA, parent agency of Metro-North and the NYC subways. It’s the years of neglect, under-funding and misplaced priorities that are taking a toll on our vital transit infrastructure. And it’s only going to get worse, as the President of Metro-North has chosen to retire, long before his work is done.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Sales tax hike, fiscal reforms are chips in budget negotiations
Though moderate Democratic legislators unenthusiastically helped ratify union concessions, the fiscal reforms they want in return may hinge on whether moderates also will tolerate a sales tax increase.
Posted inPolitics
CT business group likes Trump focus on skilled immigrants, but not limits
WASHINGTON — President Trump has embraced a bill that would drastically cut legal immigration to the United States, but it has drawn criticism from labor, business and immigrant advocates who say it would hurt Connecticut’s economy. The legislation has little chance of congressional approval, but has opened a new front in the debate over immigration.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Which will it be: Unequivocal support for Israel or our First Amendment rights?
An alarming paradox has taken shape in legislation before Congress: Our representatives would violate Americans’ First Amendment rights in order to protect the State of Israel. This draconian legislation is H.R. 1697/S. 720, the “Israel Anti-Boycott Act,” is a proposed law that could harshly penalize the free speech of Americans who support the international Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Posted inCT Viewpoints
Use new sales tax revenues to exempt Social Security from state income tax
I am disappointed that the General Assembly passed the state employee concession contracts. I believe that may have broken the back of Connecticut. I will state the obvious. The Democrats who voted to pass the contracts have also voted for tax increases to pay for those contracts and for the seemingly unending flow of taxpayer dollars into cities.
Posted inPolitics
GOP quick to define a reticent Wyman as Malloy’s ‘enabler’
Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman passed on trying to spin reporters Monday night after her tie-breaking vote in the Senate to ratify a state-employees concessions deal that Republicans are certain to exploit as a wedge issue in the 2018 campaigns for governor and General Assembly. The GOP was quick to tag her as “Dan Malloy’s chief enabler,” a taste of what Wyman can expect if she runs.
Posted inPolitics
GOP congressional candidates willing to swim against political tide
Congressional candidates in Connecticut are bracing for next year’s mid-term elections, which could shift power in the U.S. House and Senate and serve as a referendum on Donald Trump’s presidency. Former State Rep. Dan Carter, 49, who lost a challenge last year to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, is among those testing the waters for a run against Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty.