WASHINGTON, April 22 -- The Government Accountability Office has issued a report (GAO-20-345) is entitled "K-12 Education: Education Needs to Address Significant Quality Issues with its Restraint and Seclusion Data". The report was sent to Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Missouri, chairman, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, chairwoman, and Rep. Tom   more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement after media reports indicated that the U.S. Navy has recommended the reinstatement of Captain Brett Crozier: "It is clear that Captain Crozier should never have been removed from his command in the first place, and the Navy's recommendation to reinstate him is the right call. It will be a tremendous boost to morale, and I believe it will restore the faith of the American people in its Navy. Commanding offic  more

NORWICH, Connecticut, April 20 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement: Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) issued the following statement this evening following reports that bipartisan negotiators in Congress are close to an agreement on a new interim COVID-19 aid bill that will restart the federal Small Business Administration's (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program, replenish resources for hospitals, bolster COVID-19 testing efforts, and more. The agreement would represe  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: This evening, Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-02) voted to pass the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act (H.R. 266), otherwise known as the Interim Emergency Coronavirus Relief Package. H.R. 266 is a newly renegotiated, bipartisan bill that will restart the federal Small Business Administration (SBA)'s Paycheck Protection Program, replenish resources for hospitals, bolster COVID-19 t  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Joe Courtney, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: The Connecticut Congressional Delegation sent a letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) requesting additional clarification to ensure that self-employed agricultural workers are eligible for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). The Delegation received feedback from Connecticut Agricultural Commissioner Bryan Hurlburt and the Connecticut Farm Bureau that the lack of clear guidance related to   more

NEW HAVEN, Connecticut, April 22 -- Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, sent a letter to Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos yesterday urging her to disburse the remaining funding appropriated for the Education Stabilization Fund in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act). To date, more tha  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03), Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, sent a letter to Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie urging him to stop the use of hydroxychloroquine on veterans diagnosed with COVID-19 after the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and medical experts the drug could increase th  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: This week, Congresswoman Hayes will be introducing the Helping Hospitals in Need Act, a bill which would direct critical resources to help hospitals in Connecticut and around the country that are on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. This bill would replenish funds for hospitals and providers authorized under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act with another $100 billion   more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: This week, Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) introduced the Food For Working Families Act of 2020, which would exclude Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) from consideration when determining eligibility for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). "It is absolutely imperative that we protect food security for as many Americans as possible in these unprecedented times," said   more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on April 24: Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (CT-05) released the following statement after passage of the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. "Today the House passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act. This legislation will inject over $350 billion into the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, as well as  more

GREENWICH, Connecticut, April 21 -- Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04) announced that colleges and universities in Southwest Connecticut will receive a total of $37,855,848 from the newly created Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Half of this fund, $18,927,926, is specifically designated for emergency cash grants to eligible students in need of assistance. "The emotional, educational, and economic toll that the coronavirus has   more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. Jim Himes, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement: Congressman Himes released the following statement on the ongoing negotiations to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program and provide additional support to American families, workers, and small businesses: As the House and Senate approach a deal that will refill the funds for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), tensions are running high. While our nation struggles with the largest crisis in modern histo  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 21 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) announced the priorities he will be promoting while serving as a member of the White House's Congressional Task Force on COVID-19 and reopening the country. Last week, Larson was appointed to the task force. "The COVID-19 pandemic is first and foremost a health crisis, which has caused an economic crisis. We need to address both of these crises head-on and at t  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) announced he will be introducing the Victory Bonds Act of 2020. The bill will direct the Department of the Treasury to create government savings bonds, with all revenue directed to funding the federal government's medical response to the coronavirus pandemic and support for small businesses. "During World War II, millions of Americans heeded the call of unity and came toge  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 21 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) programs and called for an immediate relief package. "I have heard from businesses of all sizes and types, including minority-owned and rural businesses, non-profits, and the self-employed. These businesses were told that 'help is on the way.' It is cl  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on the bipartisan, bicameral interim agreement to allocate additional funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), hospitals, and testing. "The interim relief package that I will be voting on this week is a much-needed, but it's only a small step forward. Our small businesses and hospitals will need more help as they continue to combat t  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) applauded the Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) new guidance clarifying their November announcement for homeowners with crumbling foundations who have received assistance from the Connecticut Foundations Solutions Indemnity Company (CFSIC). "The latest guidance from the IRS confirms its November announcement that homeowners in Connecticut will not have to pay taxes on assistan  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on April 22: House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (CT-01) released the following statement on the 2020 Social Security Trustees Report. "Today's report confirms that Social Security's financing is strong in the near term, but it will not have enough to pay 100 percent of promised benefits in long term. "The report underscores why it is so important that Congress take  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release on April 23: Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) voted for the bipartisan, bicameral interim relief package, the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, that allocates additional funding to programs for small businesses, hospitals, and testing. "Our nation's health and economic recovery are inextricably linked during this pandemic. Today's vote is another win in the fight against the coro  more

WASHINGTON, April 17 -- Rep. Rosa L. DeLauro, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) announced they would send a letter to House and Senate leaders next week calling for the repeal of a $170 billion tax break in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act) for hedge fund owners and real estate developers. While most Americans will get a one-time economic impact payment of $1,200, the small nu  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Rep. John B. Larson, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee Chairman John B. Larson (D-CT) and Worker and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Danny K. Davis (D-IL) sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin urging Treasury to allow Social Security beneficiaries who have dependents, but don't file taxes, to continue to receive their $500 per child Economic Impact Payment in a timely manner, even if they  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 21 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced on Monday that Ardent Displays and Fixtures of East Hartford is this week's "Murphy's Monday Manufacturer." Ordinarily, the East Hartford company, founded in 1987, is a designer, manufacturer and global distributor of point-of-purchase displays, retail fixtures, signage and decor to a variety of major retailers and consumer goods companies.   more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement on China's pledge to give an additional $30 million to the World Health Organization: "This isn't rocket science: pulling the United States back from the world stage allows countries like China to fill the void. Isolationism is not the answer to a global pandemic. President Trump has tried to make the WHO a scapegoat to deflect from his negligent handling of COVID-19. "But halting U.S. funding to th  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed additional funding for small businesses, our health care system, and to increase testing and contact tracing capacity. This legislation funding specifically designated for community banks and small lenders to ensure that Paycheck Protection Program funds are actually reac  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following statement after President Trump signed an Executive Order temporarily suspending immigration into the U.S. for 60 days amid the coronavirus pandemic: "Instead of running an effective response to this crisis, President Trump is just flailing around wildly trying to find someone else to blame: China, the World Health Organization, and now immigrants. "Let's be clear--we don't have a shortage of PPE, ventilators  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, on Thursday made the following statement on U.S. citizens currently held in Egypt, including Mohamed Amashah, who was detained last year: "I'm deeply troubled by the number of American citizens still being held in Egyptian prisons, in  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) joined Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and 24 of their Senate Democratic colleagues in sounding the alarm about the increased harassment and violence against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a lett  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Tuesday issued the following statements after Governor Ned Lamont, along with Hartford HealthCare (HHC) and Quest Diagnostics, announced that several additional COVID-19 testing sites would soon be online to increase testing in some of Connecticut's hardest hit urban areas. "This is great news for Connecticut and   more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, along with U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.), top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Gary C. Peters (D-Mich.), and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), on Tuesday asked the Food and Drug Admini  more

WASHINGTON, April 25 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) along with U.S. Senators Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), and U.S. Representatives Eliot L. Engel (NY-16), Andy Levin (MI-19) and Ami Bera (CA-07), called on the government of Bangladesh to restore telecommunication access in Rohingya refugee camps, underscoring the critical role of communications technology as a public health tool to combat the sp  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- 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 Tuesday joined a letter led by U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and a group of Democratic senators in urging the Trump Administration to reconsider its treatment of the World Health Organization (WHO) during the global fight against the COVID  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, joined former administrator at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Andy Slavitt and Protect Our Care's Executive Director Brad Woodhouse on Tuesday for a virtual roundtable discussion on President Trump's efforts to overturn the Affordable Care Act in Congress a  more

WASHINGTON, April 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: After hearing from small businesses in Connecticut about the lack of transparency as it relates to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), passed in the CARES Act, and the Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Thursday sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Treasury and Small Business Administration (SBA)  more

WASHINGTON, April 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 Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, and U.S. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), along with U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and 13 of their Senate colleagues, urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelb  more

WASHINGTON, April 23 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) announced they will introduce the NICS Data Integrity Act, a bill that would allow the FBI to keep gun-purchase records until background checks are complete. Congressman Jimmy Panetta (D-Calif.) in February introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives. Under current law, the FBI  more

HARTFORD, Connecticut, April 24 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and seven of their Senate colleagues joined a letter led by U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) and Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), pushing the Trump administration to immediately craft, release, and implement a plan that includes robust testing for the coronavirus and expanded contact tracing. Contract tracing is a dec  more

WASHINGTON, April 22 -- Sen. Christopher Murphy, D-Connecticut, issued the following news release: U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), and U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), M.D., both members of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee, on Tuesday released bipartisan principles to support students with disabilities to ensure they receive full and equitable educational services throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They included these principles in a letter to U.S. Department  more