Congress delayed for years the deadline for implementing a train safety system and passed a two-year budget that will help Connecticut defense contractors and Medicare recipients. Connecticut students received a mixed report card from the U.S. Department of Education, and whether Pratt & Whitney won a big engine contract remained a military secret.
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 senators introduce bill to close ‘loophole’ in checks of gun buyers
WASHINGTON – Joined by several of their Democratic colleagues, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy on Wednesday fulfilled a promise to introduce a bill aimed at closing a “loophole” in federal gun laws that allows a gun sale to proceed if an FBI background check is not completed in 72 hours.
Posted inPolitics
Congress moving to prevent disruptions on Amtrak, Metro-North
WASHINGTON — Congress is bowing to warnings by the nation’s railroads, including Metro-North and Amtrak, that passenger service would be disrupted or suspended if a federal deadline for implementation of a safety measure is not pushed back. Congress is rushing to comply. There is broad agreement the deadline should be put off, but there are hurdles.
Posted inPolitics
Senate blocks immigration bill that would strip CT of federal policing money
WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats on Tuesday derailed an effort to strip federal policing grants from “sanctuary” cities and states like Connecticut that protect residents from deportation.
Posted inPolitics
Koch brother hosting fundraiser for Blumenthal rival
WASHINGTON — Billionaire industrialist David Koch is hosting a high-dollar fundraiser Monday evening for August Wolf, a Republican who is running against Democratic U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut’s Week in Washington
Members of the Connecticut delegation weighed in this week on gun control, Medicare and Medicaid coverage for prostheses, and the looming sale of Plum Island in Long Island Sound. But the all-Democratic delegation just sat back and watched the GOP struggle over naming a new speaker of the House.
Posted inPolitics
New push to stop Plum Island sale
WASHINGTON — A new effort to sell Plum Island in Long Island Sound has intensified a tug of war that pits Connecticut lawmakers and environmentalists against the federal government. the island’s owner.
Posted inJustice
A bittersweet day for Second Chances in New Haven
NEW HAVEN – Waiting for the governor to arrive for the press conference about criminal justice reform, Police Chief Dean Esserman talked shop with Michael P. Lawlor, the governor’s criminal justice adviser. There had been a homicide the previous night, a young man shot on the street.
Posted inPolitics
Malloy’s approval rating plummets to all-time low
The approval rating of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a Democrat in the midst of defending unpopular mid-year budget cuts in the first year of his second term, hit an all-time low of 32 percent in a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.
Posted inEnergy & Environment, Justice, Politics
Blumenthal keeps his consumer focus with a shot at VW
The Volkswagen scandal is the latest consumer issue seized on by Richard Blumenthal, who has made consumer protection a priority in his five years in the U.S. Senate, much as he did during his 20 years as Connecticut’s attorney general.
Posted inPolitics
CT in Washington: Leadership in chaos, gun violence revisited
Chaos reigned in the House Republican ranks after Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., who was favored to become the next Speaker, dropped out of the race; but there was nary a peep from Connecticut’s all-Democratic congressional delegation about that. But Senate Democrats, including Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, were eloquent and forceful in the re-launch of a campaign promoting universal background checks of gun purchasers.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Small victories for liberals in trade pact they hate
WASHINGTON – News that the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim nations had finally reached agreement on a new trade deal was not good for opponents of the pact like Rep. Rosa DeLauro, yet liberals have won a few small victories in the deal.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy to Congress: Hold the sympathy, pass gun law
A press conference to promote a relatively modest gun-control measure became a platform Friday for U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy to denounce the U.S. Congress for refusing to act in the wake of high-profile mass shootings like the one Thursday in Oregon or the quieter daily toll of gun violence in the U.S.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Pentagon slams Lockheed’s bid to purchase Sikorsky
WASHINGTON – While the Justice Department has given Lockheed Martin’s proposal to purchase Sikorsky Aircraft the thumbs up, the Pentagon on Wednesday frowned on the deal, saying it would lead to too much consolidation in the defense industry.
Posted inPolitics
Kudlow denies report he’s decided to run against Blumenthal
WASHINGTON – CNBC host and conservative commentator Larry Kudlow denied on Monday that he has decided to run against Sen. Richard Blumenthal, saying he is still mulling over whether he will challenge the popular Connecticut Democrat.