WASHINGTON– Republican August Wolf has a track record of one kind, and is the first Republican to enter the political arena against U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who has an established track record of his own.
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 inCT Viewpoints
Connecticut’s lawmakers must see through the ‘edu-profiteers’ and testing mania
I can’t begin to tell you how frustrating it is, as a public school employee and practicing school psychologist, to have federal legislation written that continues to allow our students to be assessed by an unproven and invalid standardized test process and also enables the charter school industry to take funds allocated for public school students and divert them to their own private business interests.
Posted inNews
DeLauro hosts salon to help Clinton drum up endorsements
WASHINGTON — Although she’s considered her party’s front-runner in the race for the White House, Hillary Clinton has not locked up the endorsements of even half of the Democrats in Congress. So Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, who endorsed Clinton last week, offered to help boost those numbers this week.
Posted inPolitics
Obama administration moving new tribal recognition rules
WASHINGTON – The Obama administration is on the brink of making new federal tribal recognition rules – a move that could be a boon to several Connecticut tribes. Opponents, however, fearful of the ramifications of the new rules on casino operations and land claims, are making 11th-hour attempts to stop or slow the process.
Posted inPolitics
With $1.2 million haul, Blumenthal kicks off campaign cash chase
WASHINGTON — Although he has yet to announce his political intentions, Sen. Richard Blumenthal raised more than $1.2 million in campaign cash this year — a sign he’s mounting a race for re-election.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Despite reservations, CT senators join in approving ‘doc fix’ bill
WASHINGTON — While they had reservations about some provisions of the bill, Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy joined an overwhelming majority in the U.S. Senate to approve a bill preventing a 21 percent cut in Medicare fees for doctors.
Posted inPolitics
Bank that boosts Connecticut exports under fire
WASHINGTON – For years Connecticut companies, large and small, have benefitted from a federally backed bank that helps them sell their goods overseas — but a bitter fight over whether the Export Import Bank is taxpayer-funded corporate welfare has put its future in question.
Posted inHealth, Politics
CT official: VA’s failure to share data hurts vets at risk of prescription abuse
WASHINGTON — Connecticut veterans are escaping the notice of a state program aimed at combating prescription painkiller abuse, an epidemic among those veterans; and the federal government’s Department of Veterans Affairs is to blame, a state official says.
Posted inHealth, Politics
Medicare fees to drop sharply as Senate falters on ‘doc fix’ bill opposed by CT senators
Updated at 10:43 a.m. Friday
WASHINGTON – The Senate’s failure to act on a bill, opposed by Connecticut’s senators, means fees paid to doctors who treat Medicare patients will drop sharply at the end of the month. If Congress, which left on a two-week Easter recess, acts as soon as it returns, the government says it may be able to avoid the fee cuts.
Posted inMoney, Politics
Blumenthal: Effort to block recognition of CT tribes faces challenges
WASHINGTON – Rules under consideration that would make it easier for Indian tribes to win federal recognition have a carve-out aimed at denying that status to several Connecticut tribes, but Sen. Richard Blumenthal has joined others in saying the provision may be unconstitutional.
Posted inHealth
Op-Ed: CT assembly should enact informed consent law for nursing home elders
We have a responsibility to protect our elders from harm and assure that they receive the best care possible. The Connecticut General Assembly should act swiftly to pass a law requiring informed consent before the administration of pharmacological dementia treatment to senior citizens in long-term care.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers tackle Social Security solvency problem
WASHINGTON – Connecticut lawmakers are promoting a plan they say would shore up the solvency of the Social Security system for 75 years — and give about 11 million seniors a tax break. U.S. Rep. John Larson, D-1st District, and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., introduced bills in the House and Senate Tuesday they say would eliminate a projected shortfall in the Social Security program.
Posted inPolitics
DeLauro reproves UTC chief over possible Sikorsky selloff
WASHINGTON – Rep. Rosa DeLauro, a Democrat who represents a congressional district that is home to Sikorsky Aircraft, blasted United Technology Corp. CEO Greg Hayes on Thursday, saying he is going back on his word to keep the helicopter maker in Stratford.
Posted inMoney, Politics
CT senators vow to block high-speed rail that bypasses state
Updated 5:48 p.m. March 6
WASHINGTON – Both of Connecticut’s U.S. senators on Friday vowed to stop a proposal approved in the House of Representatives this week that would require Amtrak to study the feasibility of a new high-speed train from Washington, D.C., to Boston — with no stops in Connecticut.
Posted inPolitics
CT lawmakers split on Netanyahu speech
WASHINGTON – One Connecticut lawmaker decided to skip his speech to a joint session of Congress and others had differing reactions to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu’s forceful condemnation of U.S. efforts to reach an agreement with Iran over nuclear weapons.
