WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump’s budget would eliminate a housing grant program that pays for projects in nearly two dozen Connecticut towns – and Rep. Joe Courtney wants the Malloy administration to also use it to help residents with crumbling foundations before the money disappears.
Congress
Posted inHealth, Politics
Defunding Planned Parenthood? Not so easy
WASHINGTON — Cutting off funding for Planned Parenthood is a priority for many congressional Republicans, but that effort is likely to stumble because other GOP lawmakers are hesitant to take aim at health clinics that are popular with their constituents. Nevertheless, the GOP is moving forward on a promise it has made to defund Planned Parenthood.
Posted inPolitics
DoD, Lockheed Martin agreement cuts price of F-35
WASHINGTON — Under pressure from President Donald Trump to cut the cost of the F-35 program, the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin announced Friday they had reached agreement to lower the cost on the 10th lot of fighter jets by $728 million.
Posted inPolitics
CT a likely target of Trump’s new immigration policy
Washington – With its policy of not turning over all undocumented aliens requested by federal officials, Connecticut is likely to be in the cross hairs of President Donald Trump’s new immigration policy, outlined in twin executive orders issued Wednesday.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Insurers: Repeal of ACA should go slowly, keep subsidies awhile
WASHINGTON – As Republicans in Congress begin work on a repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the nation’s health insurers are telling lawmakers to keep paying subsidies to the companies and to low-income Americans so they can afford coverage. Insurers are also asking that Congress create a long transition period before changes to the ACA take effect.
Posted inPolitics
Reacting to Larson ‘sit-in,’ House imposes fines for protests
WASHINGTON — Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday beat back Democratic attempts to quash new rules for the chamber that include punishment for lawmakers who break “decorum” by using cell phones to record protests on the chamber floor.
Posted inPolitics
Larson: Dems will defy fines, other sanctions, aimed at stopping protests
WASHINGTON — Rep. John Larson, an architect of a sit-in rebellion of House Democrats last summer, said he and his colleagues will not be deterred by new House rules that will levy fines on such future behavior. He calls the Republicans’ proposed new punishments “Putin-esque.”
Posted inNews
Analyst: Trump’s idea for F-35 would be ‘a disaster for the U.S.’
WASHINGTON — While President-elect Donald Trump is unhappy about the cost of Lockheed Martin’s F-35, replacing it with a cheaper jet would face serious problems, defense analysts and Connecticut’s lawmakers say. Loren Thompson, a defense analyst with the Lexington Institute, called Trump’s idea “a disaster for the United States” that would hurt the nation’s military strength.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal: Lame duck need not be lame
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to work this week for a lame-duck session aimed at trying to set aside partisan differences long enough to keep the government from closing. Connecticut’s two Democratic senators also hope some of the state’s priorities will survive in the next six weeks.
Posted inEducation, Politics
CT joins lobbying fray over new federal education rule
WASHINGTON – Connecticut has joined a lobbying effort to change how federal money for schools with large populations of poor or disadvantaged students is distributed. The new regulation would bar school districts from “supplanting” the money they give to schools with poor students with federal money aimed at “supplementing” local funding.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal, Murphy, DeLauro seek to override Obama veto of terrorism lawsuit bill
Updated at 8:20 p.m.
WASHINGTON — Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are at the forefront of an effort to override President Obama’s veto of a bill that would help the families of the victims of the September 11th attacks sue Saudi Arabia.
Posted inPolitics
CT defense industry hurt by Congress’ inaction on spending bill
WASHINGTON – Connecticut lawmakers are facing a major obstacle in their attempts to boost the number of helicopters, airplane engines and submarines made by the state’s defense contractors: greater than-ever congressional gridlock over the defense budget.
Posted inNews
Q&A: Outgoing Navy chief talks submarines, F-35s and his legacy
In a recent wide-ranging interview over lunch, The Connecticut Mirror pressed outgoing Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus, the longest serving naval chief in 100 years, about the future of submarine warfare, delays in the F-35 joint strike fighter program and why the Pentagon wants another round of base closings.
Posted inNews
Outgoing Navy secretary still urging a base-closing round
WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus said submarines have become more important to the national defense and the Navy has less excess capacity than the other services, but he also said all Navy facilities would be on the table, even sub bases, if there were a new base-closing round.
Posted inPolitics
Corey hopes third try is charm in ousting Larson
WASHINGTON — Since he was first elected to represent a Hartford-based congressional district in 1998, Rep. John Larson has not had a serious challenge from a GOP opponent and – if fundraising and history are any measures – it looks like his winning record will continue this year. Yet Matthew Corey, a business owner from Manchester, says Larson has failed in a key mission – stopping the bleeding of jobs in the 1st District. He hopes his third try at unseating Larson is a charm.