WASHINGTON — The nation’s health insurers are getting a boost from a new coalition that has taken up one of their key causes: halting big increases in drug prices and the cost of medicine. The goal: to press drug price increases and the high cost of many new medicines as an issue in the presidential campaign.
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
Wolf makes new loan to campaign, but Blumenthal has huge money lead
Washington – With a sizable loan to his campaign, GOP Senate candidate August Wolf’s campaign has raised more than half a million dollars, but his rival, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, still has a huge lead in political cash.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal, Himes sponsor new bill to combat human trafficking
WASHINGTON – After Shandra Woworuntu lost her job as a manager of a bank in Indonesia, she responded to an employment ad she thought would offer her a new life in the United States . But instead of a job, she found herself ensnared by sex traffickers who sold her in New York and Connecticut for the next three years.
Posted inPolitics
Sandy Hook decision focuses attention on gun liability law
WASHINGTON — A Connecticut state judge’s decision Thursday allowing a lawsuit to go forward against the maker of the Bushmaster rifle used in the Sandy Hook killings focused attention on a law that Connecticut lawmakers hope to repeal and that is now an issue in the Democratic presidential primary.
Posted inNews
Bright future for sub industry, if Navy can find the money
WASHINGTON — Forced to retire aging submarines and facing an increased need for sub to fend off potential threats from China and Russia, the Navy has an ambitious, $100 billion plan that will boost work at Electric Boat. But, despite its strategic vision and detailed timeline for the new fleet of boats, the Navy doesn’t know yet how it will pay for the ambitious program.
Posted inPolitics
Sandy Hook riders bike to Congress with a gun safety message
WASHINGTON — In what is becoming a spring ritual, “Team 26” a group of cyclists, arrived here from Newtown Tuesday to honor victims of gun violence – and participate in a bit of Congress bashing.
Posted inPolitics, Transportation
Blumenthal push for wider airline seats falters in Senate
Supporters said air travelers were packed into planes “like sardines.” The airlines said making seats wider and giving passengers more legroom would force them to raise fares.
Posted inPolitics
Next up, Blumenthal’s turn to meet with Garland
WASHINGTON — Merrick Garland has become a familiar face on the Senate side of the U.S. Capitol since he was picked last month by President Obama to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, making a round of courtesy visits to Senate offices. On Thursday, it’s Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s turn.
Posted inPolitics
GOP’s Dan Carter announces for U.S. Senate nomination
Rep. Dan Carter, R-Bethel, made a late entry Monday into the U.S. Senate race, giving Republicans an alternative to August Wolf, a businessman whose campaign to unseat Democrat Richard Blumenthal has been plagued by staff turmoil. He is a former Air Force pilot who was the sole member of the Newtown delegation to vote against gun controls drafted in response to the Sandy Hook school massacre.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
Vermont prompts fresh look at Connecticut’s GMO labeling
Big food’s surrender to tiny Vermont on the issue of labeling foods produced with genetically modified organisms is prompting activists to make a late-session push to amend Connecticut’s labeling law.
Posted inPolitics
CT Latino panel urges Congress to act quickly to help Puerto Rico
WASHINGTON — Connecticut’s Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission has asked Congress for quick action on legislation to help Puerto Rico with its $72 billion debt crisis.
Posted inEnergy & Environment
CT lawmakers hoping federal study will block Plum Island sale
WASHINGTON — Connecticut lawmakers are hoping a study they helped commission will stop the federal government from selling Plum Island, 840 acres of land in Long Island Sound where the federal government used to study dangerous animal diseases.
Posted inNews
U.S. House approves Coltsville National Park fix
WASHINGTON – The U.S. House of Representatives voted on Tuesday to provide a fix to the legislation establishing the Coltsville National Historical Park in Hartford.
Posted inPolitics
State Rep. Carter ‘seriously considering’ Blumenthal challenge
WASHINGTON — State Representative Dan Carter, a Republican from Bethel, is weighing a run against Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “I am seriously considering it,” Carter said. “So much so that I withdrew all my filings to run for re-election in the state assembly.”
Posted inNews
CT lawmakers trying to blunt deep cuts for Sikorsky helicopters
WASHINGTON — Connecticut lawmakers and their allies in Congress are waging a war against the Pentagon’s plan to dramatically cut the number of Sikorsky-made Black Hawk helicopters it will buy next year. The lawmakers may very well win.