WASHINGTON — Tearing up as he spoke of the slaying of 20 Newtown first-graders, President Obama made an emotional appeal to the nation for support of his gun-control initiatives on Tuesday, saying, “Every time I think about those kids, it makes me mad.”
Barack Obama
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A transcript of Obama’s remarks on gun control
“The United States of America is not the only country on Earth with violent or dangerous people. We are not inherently more prone to violence. But we are the only advanced country on Earth that sees this kind of mass violence erupt with this kind of frequency. It doesn’t happen in other advanced countries. It’s not even close.”
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White House rolls out new gun control measures
WASHINGTON — With support from Connecticut lawmakers, President Obama is taking executive actions that will broaden FBI background checks of gun buyers and anger Republican members of Congress who say the president has overstepped his authority.
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DeLauro helps form ‘Cuba Working Group’
WASHINGTON– On the one-year anniversary of President Obama’s announcement that the United States was seeking to normalize relations with Cuba, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and 11 other House members re-established a bipartisan group to seek an end to remaining sanctions
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Education bill and gun control dominate on Capitol Hill
A new federal education law replacing No Child Left Behind and a stepped-up campaign to bar those on terrorist watch lists from purchasing firearms dominated the discussion on Capitol Hill this week.
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CT lawmakers at heart of new Dem gun control campaign
WASHINGTON — Democrats in Congress, including those from Connecticut, ratcheted up the pressure on Republicans Wednesday to take up gun safety measures. The Democrats spent the day calling for gun control measures.
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Himes, Courtney tell GOP to keep Syrian refugee policy out of budget bill
WASHINGTON — U.S. Reps. Joe Courtney and Jim Himes. Democrats who gave the Republican Party a veto-proof majority on a bill that would suspend Syrian and Iraqi refugee admissions, are now demanding the bill’s language be left out of a massive budget bill.
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Day after mass shooting, Senate rejects gun control measures
WASHINGTON — The day after California’s mass shooting, Richard Blumenthal Chris Murphy and other Senate Democrats pressed for largely symbolic votes on a couple of gun control measures. As most expected, they lost.
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With Congress deadlocked, CT senators press Obama on gun checks
WASHINGTON – Sens. Richard Blumenthal, Chris Murphy and other gun control advocates have switched their focus from Congress to the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue to try to close what they call loopholes in the FBI background checks of gun buyers.
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Malloy, federal lawmakers stand firm on helping Syrian refugees
WASHINGTON — A growing number of GOP governors are citing the Paris attacks as a reason not to accept Syrian refugees, but Connecticut politicians are rejecting that notion.
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Federal budget deal helps CT defense industry, state budget
Washington – One of Rep. John Boehner’s final acts as Speaker of the House this week was to negotiate a budget deal with the White House that will help Connecticut’s defense industry by boosting Pentagon spending and save the state government about $65 million in health care expenses for low-income residents and state retirees.
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Navy moving on new nuclear sub EB hopes to build
WASHINGTON — The defense budget is in flux, but the Navy is moving forward on plans for a new nuclear sub Electric Boat hopes to build in partnership with Newport News Shipbuilding.
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Insurance mergers, defense bill, Puerto Rican debt crisis among week’s top issues
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton expressed “serious concerns” about the planned Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna mergers this week; President Obama vetoed a defense appropriations bill; and the White House released a plan to help Puerto Rico deal with a severe economic crisis.
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Connecticut’s Week in Washington
Members of the Connecticut delegation weighed in this week on gun control, Medicare and Medicaid coverage for prostheses, and the looming sale of Plum Island in Long Island Sound. But the all-Democratic delegation just sat back and watched the GOP struggle over naming a new speaker of the House.
Posted inHealth, Politics
House panel grills Access Health CEO, other exchange chiefs
WASHINGTON – As part of a renewed attack on the Affordable Care Act, House Republicans grilled Access Health CEO James Wadleigh and the heads of other state marketplaces on Tuesday, saying they had wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on an effort that has raised health insurance deductibles and premiums.