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.
John McCain
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Pentagon-Lockheed fight over F-35 price doesn’t extend to Pratt
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin differed this week over the price of the a ninth batch of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, but Pratt & Whitney, which makes the engines for those planes, has successfully negotiated contracts for that lot and the next.
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Blumenthal, Murphy split over boost in defense spending
WASHINGTON — Democratic Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy split this week on whether to boost military spending by $18 billion – allowing the Pentagon to increase its purchase of Connecticut-made weaponry – without raising the amount of money spent on domestic programs as well.
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Pentagon blames Pratt & Whitney suppliers for F-135 engine problems
WASHINGTON — The quality of the F-135 engine made by Pratt & Whitney – and the company’s supply chain – came under scrutiny Tuesday by a key Senate panel as part of a review of the status of the problem-plagued Joint Strike Fighter program.
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Air Force says Pratt & Whitney will build B-21 engine
WASHINGTON — Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford will build the engine for the Pentagon’s new super-secret, long-range bomber, Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James said on Monday.
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Obama budget would cut Black Hawks, F-35s, boost Pell grants, Head Start
WASHINGTON — President Obama’s 2017 proposed budget, released Tuesday, would sharply cut funding for Connecticut -made Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopters and trim the number of F-35s the Pentagon would buy, while boosting spending on certain domestic priorities.
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Federal researchers say Air Force may have to cut back on F-35s
Updated at 8:25 p.m.
WASHINGTON – Congressional researchers told the Air Force its ambitious modernization program will leave it strapped for money, and it may have to cut the number of F-35s it wants to buy.
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Blumenthal, McCain press ‘paid patriotism’ ban at sports games
WASHINGTON — Tributes to U.S. troops at New England Patriot games and other professional sporting events are wasteful “paid patriotism” costing taxpayers millions of dollars, say several U.S. senators, including Richard Blumenthal, who have pressure the Pentagon to stop the practice.
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Pentagon, McCain weigh cuts to number of F-35’s
WASHINGTON — The high price tag of the F-35, a Lockheed Martin aircraft whose engine is made by Pratt & Whitney, has made some Pentagon officials and the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee consider whether the Defense Department can afford as many of the Joint Strike Fighters as they had once planned.
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Blumenthal, undecided on Iran pact, probes its consequences
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal questioned top Obama administration officials about the possible consequences of a nuclear weapons deal Wednesday, pressing the nation’s top general on the military impact of the deal.
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Blumenthal takes aim at NFL’s paid tributes to soldiers
WASHINGTON – Sen. Richard Blumenthal has teamed with Sen. John McCain to try to end the Pentagon’s practice of paying the National Football League and other professional sports franchises to honor American troops at sporting events.
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F-35 program facing new challenges
WASHINGTON – Lockheed Martin, maker of the F-35, whose engines are produced by Pratt & Whitney, recently held a glitzy reception in the atrium of the Rayburn House Office Building, complete with a buffet and the chance to “fly” the F-35 in a cockpit simulator, to press home a point — don’t cut funding for the program. The F-35 Joint Strike Fighter faces a host of challenges.
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On the way to Germany, Murphy meets with Lieberman in Tunisia
WASHINGTON – Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said he was going to go with other lawmakers to Germany this weekend to attend a global conference on security. On the way, they stopped over in Tunisia, where he ran into former Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Senate approves, Obama will sign, Blumenthal’s veterans bill
WASHINGTON -– The Senate unanimously approved a bill Tuesday sponsored by Sens. Richard Blumenthal and John McCain that aims to prevent veteran suicides, which now average 22 a day.
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Murphy breaks Senate tradition with high-profile stands
WASHINGTON – With his fight for gun control, defense of the Affordable Care Act and clashes with President Obama on foreign policy, Sen. Chris Murphy broke with a Senate tradition that freshmen should be seen and not heard. “I don’t think there’s a waiting period anymore for freshmen,” he said. “My constituents did not elect me to be a shrinking violet.” (This is the seventh and final story in a series about the roles each member of the Connecticut congressional delegation played in the 113th Congress.)