WASHINGTON — Rep. Jim Himes is in Germany with President Obama for the G-7 meeting of major world economic powers, evidence of the president’s success in influencing key members of his party to vote for a trade measure considered a poison pill for most Democrats. Immediately, organized labor said there would be a political price to pay for Himes’ support on the trade bill.
Barack Obama
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Text: Obama speech on climate change at Coast Guard Academy
President Obama used his commencement speech at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London Wednesday to define climate change as a serious threat to global and national security. Here is the text of his speech, provided by the White House press office.
Posted inNews
Police violence cases spurring CT proposals for body cameras
WASHINGTON — A rash of cases involving police violence against young black men — most recently including the death of a Baltimore man in police custody — has bolstered the case for body-worn police video cameras both in Connecticut and Washington. Several Connecticut departments are exploring the idea, and the U.S. Senate will hold a hearing on the issue this week.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT says it has six months of transportation funds if Congress fails to act
Washington — The law that authorizes federal transportation spending in Connecticut and across the nation runs out at the end of the month, and the fund that pays for that spending is expected to go broke two months later, but Connecticut says it has funding in place for at least six months’ worth of projects if Congress fails to act in time to avert the looming crisis.
Posted inNews
When it comes to trade pact, Himes is the man in the middle
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jim Himes has emerged as a key, swing vote as President Obama struggles to win congressional support for a new trade pact with 11 other nations that ring the Pacific Ocean.
Posted inHealth
Malloy urged protection for pharmaceutical firms in trade pact
WASHINGTON – Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other elected officials lobbied the Obama administration for a provision in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact that would protect pharmaceutical companies making some of the most cutting-edge and expensive drugs against competitors who want to make cheaper, generic versions of those medicines.
Posted inMoney
Struggling Hartford neighborhood now first in line for federal aid
WASHINGTON – Hartford has won out over dozens of other communities trying to achieve “Promise Zone” status, a designation that will bring an impoverished city neighborhood priority access to federal resources, the White House announced Tuesday.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy helps give Congress a say on Iran nuclear deal
WASHINGTON — After the White House reluctantly withdrew its objections, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy voted for a bill Tuesday that would give Congress a say in any agreement with Iran over its nuclear power program. The bill also bridges a disagreement between Murphy and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal over the role Congress should play on an Iran deal.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy leads CT delegation in official overseas travel
WASHINGTON – When it comes to overseas travel, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, a member of the foreign relations committee, is the Connecticut congressional delegation’s most frequent flyer, taking nine official trips since being sworn in two years ago.
Posted inPolitics
Esty to join Obama, Bush and dozens of lawmakers in Selma
WASHINGTON – President Obama, former President George W. Bush and dozens of lawmakers, including Connecticut’s Rep. Elizabeth Esty, plan to converge on Selma, Ala., this weekend to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the historic march that led to approval of the Voting Rights Act.
Posted inPolitics
House approves Homeland Security funding
WASHINGTON – An impasse over funding of the Department of Homeland Security that threatened the paychecks of nearly 1,500 agency employees in Connecticut ended Tuesday as the House approved a bill that does not include riders to block President Obama’s immigration policies.
Posted inPolitics
DeLauro skips Netanyahu speech
Washington – Saying he is “disrespectful to President Obama, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, had a change of heart and decided to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s speech Tuesday to a joint chamber of Congress.
Posted inPolitics
In CT, 1,500 Homeland Security employees spared shutdown, for now
WASHINGTON – With a last-minute vote, Congress averted a shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, extending its funding by seven days and at least temporarily sparing 1,500 agency employees in Connecticut their paychecks.
Posted inPolitics
DeLauro: Not viewing opening to Cuba with ‘rose-colored glasses’
Washington – Back from a nearly week-long congressional trip to Cuba and other Caribbean points, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro said she was optimistic about President Obama’s opening to the island, but realizes the thaw in relations is limited.
Posted inPolitics
In Washington, Malloy burnishes liberal credentials, national leadership role
WASHNGTON – At the National Governor’s Association meeting this weekend, Gov. Dannel Malloy looked out for state interests, including transportation needs and environmental concerns, and began to lay the groundwork for the very political job he will hold in an important election year.
