Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, both appear in new videos made for the “It Gets Better” project. The project began last year after several gay and lesbian youths committed suicide after being harassed, bullied, or shunned because of their sexual orientation. The videos, now numbering more than 10,000, encourage […]
Washington
Posted inHealth, Money
Lieberman, Coburn to unveil Medicare proposal
Sen. Joseph Lieberman appears to have found an ally in his bid to remake Medicare, and along the way, possibly earn himself a spot in the debt-reduction debate that has dominated Washington in recent months. Today, Lieberman will team up with Sen. Tom Coburn, a conservative from Oklahoma, in touting a proposal to overhaul Medicare, […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Supreme Court spurns CT Green Party case
The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to take up an appeal from the Green Party of Connecticut, contesting the state’s requirements for third-party candidates to qualify for public financing. The justices made the decision without comment. The Green Party suit, filed in 2006, said the thresholds set for participation in Connecticut’s Citizen Election Program […]
Posted inMoney
Delegation divided over Libya funding, authorization
Connecticut’s all-Democratic U.S. House delegation split in this afternoon’s vote on whether to authorize the American military campaign in Libya. Reps. Rosa DeLauro and Joe Courtney, of the 2nd and 3rd districts respectively, both supported a resolution Friday to authorize the “limited” use of American armed forces to support the NATO mission in Libya. Reps. […]
Posted inMoney
Lieberman, Rubio criticize planned House vote to nix funding for Libya
Sen. Joseph Lieberman is warning his congressional colleagues-Democrats and Republicans alike-against efforts to nix the U.S. military campaign in Libya. Lieberman teamed up with Marco Rubio, a Tea Party conservative from Florida, to pen an oped in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. The piece argues that the U.S. has an “unequivocal national interest in ensuring […]
Posted inHealth, Money
Larson pushes bill to expand health services for military families with autistic children.
Rep. John Larson introduced legislation Wednesday that would increase health care services for military families with autistic children. Right now, there is a spending cap on behavioral health services for autistic children covered by TRICARE, the military health insurance program. And there’s no coverage for the dependents of military retirees. Karen Driscoll, the wife of […]
Posted inMoney
Obama’s Afghanistan plan gets mixed reviews from CT delegation
Several members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation expressed dissatisfaction with President Barack Obama’s plan to withdraw 10,000 American troops from Afghanistan by the end of this year. Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, said the president’s proposal “does not go far enough,” noting that the war is now a decade old. “We need to begin a more […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Himes weighs in on Obama’s Afghanistan speech before the prez delivers it
Rep. Jim Himes isn’t waiting to hear what President Barack Obama has to say about U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan tomorrow night. He’s weighing in now, a full 24 hours before the president’s scheduled speech tomorrow night. In a pre-speech statement, the 4th District Democrat hinted that he might not be too happy with what […]
Posted inPolitics
Larson weighs in on Weiner, now that resignation is official
Rep. John Larson, the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, had been gingerly tiptoeing around the scandal engulfing Rep. Anthony Weiner, the New York Democrat who admitted to sending lewd photos and texts to women via Twitter. But now that Weiner has officially relinquished his House seat, Larson has issued a formal statement. Here it […]
Posted inHealth
Connecticut’s 2nd District among those most heavily impacted by GOP Medicare plan
Connecticut’s 2nd Congressional District would be among the most heavily impacted in the country by the House Republican Medicare plan, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg, the wire news service. The Bloomberg report looked at which districts had the most people aged 45 to 54-the first segment of Americans who would not have access […]
Posted inMoney
Droney confirmation hearing set
The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing next week on the nomination of Connecticut’s Christopher Droney to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the 2nd Circuit. Droney, now a U.S. District Court judge, was nominated for the post in May by President Obama. His name was sent to the Senate after Republicans opposed Obama’s […]
Posted inMoney, Politics
Woody Allen, the debt ceiling, and the congressional schedule
When discussing this year’s odd congressional schedule recently, Rep. Joe Courtney quoted Woody Allen’s famous phrase: “80 percent of success is showing up.” “At some point,” Courtney said, “in trying to get things done you have to have people here.” Hard to argue with that. By Courtney’s measure (or Woody Allen’s) it’s not clear how […]