WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Last Friday evening, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) was joined by Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Representatives John Larson (CT-01), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05) in writing to House and Senate leadership to urge them to provide support for shellfish and aquaculture farmers as they negotiate the next COVID-19 economic relief package.  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: The House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) by a vote of 295-125. The bill funds defense and related programs and is one of the largest pieces of legislation that Congress passes each year. "When we authorize funds for our national defense, we must ensure we're prioritizing the right things," said Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04). "This means maintaining our fighting capa  more

NORWICH, Connecticut, July 20 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on the death of Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia: "John Lewis's moral center never wavered in its intense fidelity to justice, decency and kindness. "He was a powerful orator whose speeches on the floor of the US House and in public will long be remembered, but ultimately his power came from his deep faith in humanity's ability to evolve to a higher and better state. "He advised friends and colleagues   more

WASHINGTON, July 22 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on July 21: Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02), Chairman of the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces, voted to pass the Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (H.R. 6395) in the House of Representatives. The FY21 NDAA provides support for Courtney and the House Seapower Subcommittee's bipartisan effort to restore full funding for the construction of th  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, issued the following remarks on the death of Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia: In October 1995, the Black Clergy in my community asked if I could get Congressman John Lewis of Georgia to come to New Haven for our local elections. I was honored to welcome John to my hometown. Here's what I said about him that evening: "John Lewis is a true hero of the cause of progress. It is often said that John Lewis is, and I quote, 'one of the most coura  more

WASHINGTON, July 20 -- Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on the death of Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia: "I am devastated and heartbroken at the passing of my colleague, friend, and civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis. "The impact John Lewis has had on our country cannot be overstated. In his over three decades in Congress, John Lewis carried with him the ideas laid forth by Martin Luther King Jr. - 'the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward   more

WASHINGTON, July 25 -- Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on July 24: Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) issued the following statement today after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 7608, a four bill Appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2021. This package included State-Foreign Operations; Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA; Interior-Environment; and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. * * * "Today, the House passed the first of several Appropriat  more

WASHINGTON, July 25 -- Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement: Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) issued the following statement after the House of Representatives passed H.R. 6395, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021. * * * "This week I voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, as there were many must pass provisions in the bill. "The bipartisan bill includes a 3% pay raise for our  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on July 23: Yesterday, The House of Representatives passed the Great American Outdoors Act by a vote of 310-107. This act fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) and establishes the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund. "Southwest Connecticut is a place of great natural beauty," said Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04). "Our identity and economy are tied to the land, especially t  more

WASHINGTON, July 22 -- Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III, D-Massachusetts, issued the following news release: Congressman Joe Kennedy III applauded the passage of his legislation to create a Southern New England Regional Commission as part of the Department of Defense spending bill. Introduced with Congressman David Cicilline, the legislation will establish a federal regional commission in southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and surrounding counties in Connecticut allowing jurisdictions at differ  more

WASHINGTON, July 22 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) announced that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has allocated an additional $274 million in CARES Act funding to Connecticut hospitals. "While the additional $274 million for Connecticut hospitals is welcome, HHS took too long to distribute this critical money from the CARES Act. "Connecticut is no longer a hot spot, but our hospitals are hurting from ear  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement after it was leaked that the Senate Republican COVID-19 relief package will include the TRUST Act: "Chairman Neal is entirely right, as are the many seniors groups that have recognized the TRUST Act for what it is. This is a direct assault on Social Security benefits. The TRUST Act Commission would make it easier to fast track cuts, while ignoring the urgent needs to strengthen Social Security, especially   more

WASHINGTON, July 20 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on July 18 regarding the death of Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia: "There are no words to describe the pain that many Americans are feeling across the country this morning, waking up to the news that our conscience, our friend, our inspirational leader, John Lewis has passed away. I am heartbroken. I am honored and humbled to have served alongside him, to have had him take my children, as he has done for so man  more

WASHINGTON, July 22 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) voted for the FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). "This year's NDAA not only makes critical investments in our military and domestic manufacturing bases, but it also invests in our national response to the COVID-19 pandemic, something that has been lacking from this Administration. Our country is grappling with an unprecedented health crisis that has caused m  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Last Friday evening, the Connecticut Delegation wrote to House and Senate leadership to urge them to provide support for shellfish and aquaculture farmers as they negotiate the next COVID-19 economic relief package. In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, the Connecticut delegation aske  more

WASHINGTON, July 25 -- Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Congressman Joe Kennedy III (MA-04) this week introduced H.R. 7743, the We Need Eviction Data Now Act of 2020, which would create a national database to standardize data and track evictions. This legislation would also establish a Federal Advisory Committee on Eviction Research to make recommendations related to eviction data collection and create policies to pre  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (CT-01) and Republican Leader Tom Reed (NY-23) sent two letters to the Social Security Administration (SSA) Inspector General Gail S. Ennis asking for a review of SSA's telephone service during the COVID-19 pandemic and SSA's process for obtaining medical evidence for disability claims. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, benefi  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Tuesday, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) highlighted the rise in dangerous and deceptive coronavirus-related scams, questioning witnesses about the obligation of businesses and federal and state governments to protect the public from this fraud. In his opening remarks, Blumenthal emphasized the need for stronger federal enforcement to deter onli  more

WASHINGTON, July 23 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on July 22: As reports of testing and personal protective equipment (PPE) shortages across the country grow, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), along with U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to demand Majority Leader Mitch McConnell bring  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Thursday pressed U.S. Department of State's Executive Secretary Lisa Kenna during her nomination hearing to become the U.S. Ambassador to Peru. Murphy pressed Kenna about her knowledge of a State Department memo that recently went out with her signature urging State Department personnel to classify any   more

WASHINGTON, July 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on his appeal to the Interagency Security Classification Appeals Panel to declassify the War Powers Notification relating to the killing of Qasem Soleimani in January: "We've seen the Trump administration repeatedly classify information just because it is politically damaging to President Trump, and it's up to Congress to stop it. The American people deserve to know why the Trump administration chose t  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and 45 of their Democratic Senators joined U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) in introducing the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, a bipartisan bill to restore the landmark Voting Rights Act, end the scourge of minority voter suppression, and help preserve the legacy of John Lewis - one of America's greatest civil rights her  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Due to declining ridership and revenue as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday led a group of eleven Democratic Senators in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling for substantial funding for Amtrak in any future pandemic relief bill. In the letter to McConnell and Schumer,   more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on July 23: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on Wednesday questioned Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun at a Committee hearing on advancing effective U.S. competition with China. Murphy specifically pressed Biegun on the consequences of the Trump administration's failure to publicly address reports of Russian bounties on the heads of  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (CT-01), Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Jim Himes (CT-04), and Jahana Hayes (CT-05), joined a letter led by U.S. Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) to House and Senate leadership to urge them to provide support for shellfish and aquaculture farmers as they negotiate the next COVID-19 economic relief package  more

WASHINGTON, July 21 -- Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Tom Udall (D-NM) and U.S. Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) introduced the Intercity Passenger Rail Trust Fund Act to permanently fund Amtrak. The bicameral legislation would create a dedicated fund to help Amtrak invest in major improvement projects, increase passenger rail's efficiency, and help provide safer, more reliable service. Intercity passenger   more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and 34 of their colleagues, in sending a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) requesting that he support the funding amount and proposed funding flexibility for state and local governments that was included in the HEROES Act passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. The f  more

WASHINGTON, July 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) on this week applauded the passage of an amended version of their Living Shorelines Act, which passed out of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on a bipartisan vote. Congressman Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), Chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, led the bill in the House. "There's nothing like summers on  more