Connecticut lawmakers differ on who they hire to run their offices and how much they pay their staffers. But an analysis by the Connecticut Mirror shows that, except for the top staffers, those who work for Connecticut members of Congress are paid less than their counterparts in the private sector or the civil service.
Elizabeth Esty
Posted inPolitics
Esty votes with GOP for probe into IRS
Washington — Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, split from her party and with the rest of Connecticut’s delegation to the U.S. House with a vote Wednesday night to require the attorney general to appoint a special counsel to investigate IRS targeting of conservative nonprofit groups.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT lawmakers join war on heroin, painkillers
Washington – Washington has turned its attention to the epidemic of heroin addiction and overdose deaths – including more than 250 in Connecticut last year, but there’s a limit to what the federal government and Congress can do, especially in times of tight budget constraints.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT lawmakers introduce Metro-North safety bill
Reps. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, Jim Himes, D-4th District, Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, and New York Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney introduced a bill Monday that would force Metro-North to institute an “alerter” system, a safety system that sounds an alarm when an engineer remains idle while the train is moving.
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
Esty introduces e-cigarette bill
Washington—Rep. Elizabeth Esty introduced a bill Thursday that would ban advertising of e-cigarettes to children. “Advertisements for e-cigarettes that highlight flavors like bubblegum or gummy bears and promote cartoon characters are shameless efforts to addict our kids,” Esty said.
Posted inPolitics
Feds say Metro-North put on-time performance before safety
WASHINGTON –The Metro-North commuter railroad put on-time performance before concerns about safety or adequate training programs, the Federal Railroad Administration has found in a report released today.
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
Obama arrives as Connecticut embraces his message, not him
President Obama’s visit here Wednesday comes a day after his job approval in the state hit an all-time low, but Connecticut still is a blue state well-primed to applaud his call for a higher minimum wage, an issue Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and other Democrats see as a boost to their re-election campaigns in 2014.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Obama visit may spare Esty from Obamacare vote
Washington – President Obama’s visit to Central Connecticut State University Wednesday may spare Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, from having to make another controversial vote. Esty plans to be among the Connecticut politicians who will be on hand to welcome the president. Obama is visiting Connecticut to meet with Gov. Dannel Malloy and other New England governors to highlight the president’s campaign to raise the federal minimum wage – now set at $7.25.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Politics
Esty has win in windstorm act
WASHINGTON — Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, scored a legislative win Friday as the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee approved her proposed amendment to the “Windstorm Impact Reduction Act.”
Posted inPolitics
Congress debates Metro-North safety issues
Washington – Sen. Richard Blumenthal was a surprise witness Wednesday at a House hearing aimed at improving rail safety that served as a forum to discuss Metro-North’s problems.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers use PACs to help other Dems
Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy don’t have to run for re-election this year, but they are still in the thick of the 2014 Senate political campaigns.
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.
