WASHINGTON — Like other lawmakers who are now calling for an investigation of the massive price hikes in price hikes of EpiPens, Sen. Richard Blumenthal backed legislation that encouraged schools to stock the auto injector that delivers a drug that counters the effects of a fatal allergic reaction.
Richard Blumenthal
Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut’s senior U.S. senator, was first elected in 2011. Sen. Blumenthal has supported stricter gun legislation and support for veterans.
Posted inPolitics
CT says it’s on track to end chronic homelessness by year end
WATERBURY — Connecticut is on pace to eliminate chronic homelessness by the end of the year, the state’s top housing official said at a press conference in Waterbury Tuesday.
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Challenger Carter steadily attacks, but Blumenthal remains aloof
WASHINGTON — The campaign tactics of Sen. Richard Blumenthal and his Republican challenger, state Rep. Dan Carter, are as different as they can be in politics. Blumenthal has largely ignored his challenger, while Carter is waging a death-by-a-thousand-cuts campaign, launching a blizzard of attacks.
Posted inTransportation
Opponents organizing to derail new route for high-speed trains
OLD LYME — As federal officials near a decision on a railroad proposal residents are calling destructive and wasteful, about 70 people from across the southeastern Connecticut’s shoreline gathered Friday with local, state and federal lawmakers at a forum at Old Lyme Town Hall to find out how they could help stop it “dead in its tracks.”
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Blumenthal says he will fight federal GMO labeling restrictions
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said Thursday he will continue to fight federal preemption of state GMO-labeling laws and plans to introduce legislation to repeal it in the next session. Such legislation would face an uphill fight in Congress.
Posted inHealth
State receives nearly $1 million in grants to combat Zika virus
State officials have nearly $1 million in new funds at their disposal to fight the Zika virus after receiving a pair of federal grants from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Blumenthal calls for emergency session to address Zika virus
EAST HARTFORD — U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., called on Republican leaders in the Senate Monday to convene an emergency session to approve new federal funding to combat the Zika virus.
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As Sandy Hook school opens, senators say gun legislation on hold
Hours before the opening of a new elementary school in Newtown to replace the one where a lone gunman killed 26 people nearly four years earlier, Connecticut’s two U.S. senators said Friday action on gun control will probably not come until after the November elections.
Posted inTransportation
Amtrak favors one rail overhaul plan, Old Lyme pans another
WASHINGTON – Amtrak is backing an ambitious plan proposed by the Federal Railroad Administration to overhaul rail transportation in the Northeast corridor, a proposal that would cost more than $300 billion. An alternative proposal for a new line through Old Lyme and other shoreline towns drew opposition.
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Kaine a hard sell to some CT delegates
PHILADELPHIA – Hillary Clinton’s pick for vice president, Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, will be officially introduced to the nation Wednesday evening, but he isn’t the first choice of some Connecticut delegates, a few of whom still have reservations. They would have preferred a more progressive candidate or a minority.
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Lawmakers look to speed deportation of undocumented convicts
More than a year after an undocumented immigrant fatally stabbed a Norwich woman, two Connecticut lawmakers announced Monday they plan to introduce legislation in Congress to expedite the deportation of undocumented immigrants who have committed a violent crime or pose a threat to public safety.
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Blumenthal has long lead on Carter in fundraising
WASHINGTON — Sen. Richard Blumenthal has raised more than $7 million for his re-election effort, outpacing his GOP rival, state Rep. Dan Carter, who has raised $85,517, the latest filings with the Federal Elections Commission show.
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MGM stalled in effort to block new Indian casino in CT
WASHINGTON — MGM Resorts International’s efforts to block the establishment of a third casino run by Connecticut’s gaming tribes has stalled on Capitol Hill, leaving the future of the effort in doubt.
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After Dallas shooting, Murphy knocks Congress for inaction on gun control
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s members of Congress called for calm, prayers, healing and justice in the wake of the shooting of five police officers in Dallas and the slaying by police of black men in Minnesota and Louisiana. But Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., also slammed Congress for inaction on gun control.
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Backed by CT lawmakers, new law shields Puerto Rico from creditor lawsuits
WASHINGTON — Puerto Rico announced Friday it will default on nearly $1 billion of its debt, but legislation backed by Connecticut lawmakers and signed by President Barack Obama this week puts a halt to legal battles that would stem from the island’s inability to pay for a growing share of its debt.