Washington – Because Congress failed to act, Joanne Lavieri of Manchester received her last unemployment check at the end of March and faces a very uncertain future.
Congress
Posted inMoney, Politics
GE lobbies hard for tax loophole, groups say
Washington – How much is a tax loophole worth to a company? A new report says that one in particular is so important to Fairfield-based General Electric that it has deployed a small army of lobbyists to save it.
Posted inPolitics
Revolving door spins for Connecticut delegation
WASHINGTON — Many Connecticut lawmakers who have retired recently have become lobbyists. An analysis by The Connecticut Mirror shows that dozens of staffers for the state’s lawmakers have also swung through the revolving door, the term used for an ingrained, and growing, Washington phenomenon for when lawmakers and their staff leave Capitol Hill for more lucrative lobbying jobs.
Posted inPolitics
Plans for Coltsville National Park move ahead, with changes
Washington – Plans to build a national park on the site of the Colt factory in Hartford have moved ahead in the House of Representatives, but not without alterations by a Utah Republican who wanted to make the park more acceptable to the Interior Department.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal asks for money for some, not all, endangered Democrats
In one of his latest fundraising appeals, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., has asked his donors to give to the campaigns of three endangered Democrats, Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Kay Hagen of North Carolina and Mark Udall of Colorado instead of giving that money to his campaign.
Posted inPolitics
DeLauro defends CT food stamp policy against GOP attacks
“First of all I say, ‘Bravo,’” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat who represents the New Haven area, said. [Governors] “are following the law.”
Posted inHealth, Politics
Blumenthal, Murphy declare war on heroin
Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have declared war on heroin, insisting the federal government do more to combat what has become a particularly lethal drug that claims, on the average, one life in the state every day.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Connecticut’s unemployed pin hopes on divided Congress
The Democratic-led Senate has voted several times to restore benefits to 3.6 million long-term unemployed like Norwalk resident Joel Zaremby, but it fell one vote short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move the legislation forward. Now the Senate is trying one more time to find a compromise that will clear that hurdle. But time is running out.
Posted inPolitics
Newtown cyclists say gun control campaign now a movement
WASHINGTON — Riding 400 miles from Newtown, 26 bicyclists hoping to change the nation’s gun laws faced some strong headwinds on their way to Washington, D.C. When they reached the U.S. Capitol Tuesday, they faced even more — of the political kind.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Even without challengers, CT lawmakers spend millions ‘campaigning’
WASHINGTON – Even though some of them don’t have challengers, Connecticut House members collectively spent nearly $3 million last year on everything from office supplies to gourmet chocolates, flowers, glitzy fundraisers and expensive meals.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Report: CT sick leave policy has had little impact on businesses
WASHINGTON — Concerns by the business community that Connecticut’s sick leave policy would be a “job killer,” driving employers out of the state, is a myth, say authors of a study on the policy’s impact.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Money, Politics
Congress cuts increases in flood insurance premiums
Washington – The U.S. House of Representatives voted late Tuesday on a bill that would give thousands of Connecticut homeowners relief from rising federal flood insurance premiums.
Posted inPolitics
Despite reforms, CT lawmakers, staff, take free trips
WASHINGTON — – Scandals that involved pricey outings to Scotland and elsewhere, paid for by notorious lobbyist Jack Abramoff, prodded Congress to implement tough new travel regulations — yet congressional travel is again on the uptick, and members of the Connecticut delegation have not been immune to offers of free trips.
Posted inPolitics
Himes: ‘realistic’ about Democrats’ chances of taking House
Snowed in at a retreat on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, said he and other Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee officials are “realistic” about his party’s chances of taking back the House of Representatives in November’s elections. In a freewheeling, informal talk with reporters that lasted nearly a half-hour, Himes said DCCC Chairman […]
Posted inPolitics
Survey: CT House members not very liberal
A look at 2013 votes by the National Journal placed Jim Himes, D-4th District, as the 130th most liberal of the 432 sitting members of the House.
