Democratic leaders responded to the weekend shootings by calling on the GOP to approve expanded FBI background check bills.
Congress
Posted inHealth
Diabetics taking desperate measures as cost of insulin skyrockets
A precipitous rise in the price of insulin is forcing many Americans to ration the drug or go without.
Posted inPolitics
Shunning D.C., Newtown cyclists ride for ‘cultural change’ on guns
Twenty-six cyclists from Newtown are on their way to take their gun-control message to Pittsburgh.
Posted inPolitics
Pelosi gives Hayes position on House education panel
WASHINGTON – Rep. Jahana Hayes, the 2016 National Teacher of the Year, has been given the job in Congress that she really wanted, a seat on the House Education and Labor Committee.
Posted inJustice
Taking a page from Conn., Congress approves criminal justice reforms
WASHINGTON – In a bipartisan vote Thursday, the U.S. House approved a criminal justice reform bill and sent it to the White House, where President Donald Trump has said he would eagerly sign it. The legislation adopts some of the steps outgoing Gov. Dannel Malloy has promoted, including expanding credit for good behavior that allows prisoners to shave time off their sentences.
Posted inJustice
Trump admin bans ‘bump stocks,’ CT Dems say it took too long
WASHINGTON – The Trump administration on Tuesday issued a long awaited regulation banning “bump stocks,” a device that allows semi-automatic rifles to shoot like a machine gun. Connecticut Democrats asked “what took you so long.?”
Posted inPolitics
Hayes not your typical freshman, will join group of black lawmakers with growing influence
WASHINGTON – When she’s sworn into the next Congress, Rep.-elect Jahana Hayes will not be your typical freshman lawmaker with limited influence. Instead, she will be joining a group with the outsized clout — and the ability to potentially block Nancy Pelosi’s bid to be re-elected Speaker of the House.
Posted inPolitics
Immigrant-turned-millionaire Arora challenges Himes
WASHINGTON– The race for the 4th District congressional seat pits political novice Harry Arora, a Republican who says he backs most of Donald Trump’s agenda, against a Democratic incumbent, Rep. Jim Himes, who has the political winds at his back.
Posted inPolitics
Hayes would be a minority within a minority in Congress
If Jahana Hayes succeeds in winning a seat in Congress, she will be in a select group of minority lawmakers who represent overwhelmingly white majority districts. Hayes garnered substantial support among white Democrats, winning towns in the district with few minority residents, like Goshen, Litchfield and Southbury, by more than 66 percent of the vote.
Posted inPolitics
O’Neill says she’ll use ‘guts’ and life experience to win Esty’s seat
Ruby Corby O’Neill says she’s a unique candidate in Connecticut GOP politics. “Republicans traditionally have not been successful with Latinos and women, and I am both.” She says her “guts” and independence will help propel her to Congress.
Posted inJustice
Blumenthal v Trump to get its day in court
Washington – A federal court will hear a case this week spearheaded by Sen. Richard Blumenthal and joined by dozens of congressional Democrats that says President Donald Trump has violated the U.S. Constitution by failing to seek and obtain the consent of Congress before accepting benefits from foreign states. “The argument on Thursday will put to the test the argument that no one is above the law,” Blumenthal said.
Posted inPolitics
Santos, early out of the gate for Esty’s seat, has tough race ahead
Manny Santos, a former Marine and the state Republican party’s endorsed choice to break the Democratic deadlock on Connecticut’s representation in Congress, hopes to win Rep. Elizabeth Esty’s seat with a traditional GOP message of lower taxes and fewer regulations. But he first has to beat other Republicans who want the party’s nomination instead.
Posted inPolitics
Shannon Kula, a Democrat, declares for Esty’s seat
Shannon Kula, a former U.S. Senate aide, on Wednesday became the third Democrat, all women, to announce a run for the open 5th District Congressional seat, making a late entrance that will require her to petition for a place in the August primary. She faces a deadline of June 12 to gather signatures from two percent of registered Democrats in the district.
Posted inJustice
Newtown group asks Ryan for action as gun control heats up as campaign issue
The Newtown Action Alliance, a gun-control group formed after the Sandy Hook shooting of December, has demanded House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., allow votes on dozens of gun control bills that run the gamut from an assault weapons ban to establishing federal funding research on gun violence.
Posted inHealth
CT lawmakers ask Malloy to help shore up Obamacare
WASHINGTON — With little hope of shoring up the Affordable Care Act in Washington, congressional Democrats, including the members of Connecticut’s delegation to the U.S. House, are asking governors and state legislatures to help. But Connecticut may be limited in what it will do to strengthen Obamacare or shield it from attempts to gut it.
