Lawmakers will try to leave Washington at the end of the week for the home-stretch of campaigning before Election Day. But before Congress recesses, it must first consider President Obama’s request for authority to arm Syrian rebels.
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 clash again with feds over Danbury prisoners
WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are again at loggerheads with the federal Bureau of Prisons over the fates of about 200 female prisoners who were transferred out of state while serving sentences at the federal prison in Danbury.
Posted inPolitics
Still communicator-in-chief, Clinton offers Malloy a tutorial
As always, Bill Clinton made it simple. He told Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, a first-term Democrat with uncertain re-election prospects in a slowly improving economy, he had a good story to tell: Things were bad four years ago. You made them better. Just…tell…your…story.
Posted inPolitics
With control of Senate in the balance, Connecticut senators help colleagues
Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are donating a lot of money to other Democrats this year because control of the U.S. Senate, now in Democratic hands by a margin of six seats, could very well flip to the GOP in November.
Posted inNews
Washington Watch, Week of Aug. 10
There must be something in the air in the dog days of summer, when Congress is on its August break, that brings on a crisis in Washington.
Posted inPolitics
Connecticut lawmakers skeptical of Obama’s engagement in Iraq
WASHINGTON – Connecticut lawmakers are skeptical of President Obama’s decision to approve “targeted” airstrikes on militants in Iraq and to drop food, water and medicine to civilians trapped by fighting in the mountains in the north of the country.
Posted inPolitics
Murphy is campaign cash poor
WASHINGTON – It’s a good thing for Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., that HE does not have to run for re-election this year because he barely has the money to do so
Posted inHealth, Politics
DeLauro, Blumenthal propose Medicare Advantage change
Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro are proposing bills that would prevent Medicare Advantage plans from dropping doctors without cause except during open enrollment periods. They explained their idea Monday at a roundtable discussion in Fairhaven.
Posted inNews
Washington Watch — Week of July 27
In the last week of work before Congress’s August recess, there will be a lot of finger-pointing concerning who is responsible for failing to get must-pass legislation approved, including a final highway bill, and legislation that would deal with the surge of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
Posted inPolitics
Blumenthal grills VA nominee — nicely
WASHINGTON – It was a rare bipartisan love fest as Sen. Richard Blumenthal and other members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee questioned Robert McDonald, President Obama’s choice to head the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday.
Posted inEducation
Bridgeport open to taking in immigrant kids
WASHINGTON – Bridgeport is exploring whether it has the facilities that would meet federal requirements to host some of the Central American migrant children who are in overcrowded federal holding centers along the borders, a city spokesman said.
Posted inEducation, Politics
Malloy says ‘no’ to immigrant kids, but others in Connecticut say ‘yes’
Gov. Dannel Malloy on Friday firmly shut the door on the possibility the state would be able to help the federal government find temporary homes for some of a flood of immigrant children from Central America. But that does not mean others in Connecticut are not ready to help.
Posted inNews
Blumenthal touches off political war over abortion bill
WASHINGTON– Sen. Richard Blumenthal touched off a passionate debate on Capitol Hill Tuesday with a hearing on the hot-button issue of abortion, arguing state legislatures have no right to promote laws that limit access to the procedure.
Posted inNews
Saying gun control measures snubbed, Blumenthal, Murphy reject ‘sportsman bill’
Washington – Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy opposed moving ahead on a bill that would, among other things, expand the reach of shooting ranges on federal lands and expedited duck hunting permits, saying Congress should instead vote for gun control.
Posted inNews
Charla Nash leads new push to ban trafficking of apes and monkeys
WASHINGTON – Charla Nash, horribly mauled by a friend’s pet chimpanzee , stepped on a plane for the first time since the 2009 attack to fly to Washington and become a persuasive advocate for efforts to make it it more difficult for someone to own a monkey as a pet.