Among the most interesting political news in the State of Connecticut last week:
In Washington, Senator Joe Lieberman (I – CT) – together with Senator Susan Collins (R – Maine) are working on a bill that will address cyber security issues. Cyber crimes can lead to stealing particularly essential information from a computer such as personal and business data, and in a technologically advanced economy it is vital for both businesses and the public to have such threats brought to a minimum.
The State of Connecticut will receive a little more than $11.2 million in stimulus grants for creating green jobs. A little more than $1.5 million of the grants will go to Stamford and West Haven.
Senator Christopher Dodd (D – CT) had a bill that he sponsored passed by Congress. The bill’s purpose was to reform and reauthorize the Defense Production Act (DPA), a law that gives the President more power to regulate the national defense. In the new law, federal agencies are required to set up systems to rapidly mobilize manufacturers to meet America’s needs in a crisis, manufacturers can be funded by the government in the form of loans in cases of having trouble getting bank loans, and a Defense Production Act Committee – an interagency – will be established that will have monitoring functions, as announced on Senator Dodd’s website.
Senator Dodd managed to beat a Senator John McCain (R – Arizona) amendment under the Economic Development Initiative Program that would have stripped $500,000 of federal funding for economic development in Waterbury reportedly originating from the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and related agencies. The Connecticut Department of Transportation and several towns and cities will receive $15.7 million from the HUD appropriations bill for funding different project.
Senator Dodd announced on Friday on his website that he is working on a bill to protect Americans from excessive checking account overdraft fees without customers’ consent. The website also cites the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL), according to which 80% of the consumers would rather have their transaction denied than have it covered in exchange for a fee. Some overdraft fees exceed $30.
In the last Quinnipiac University Poll regarding the elections for United States Senator, Chris Dodd has a substantial lead for the Democratic primaries in front of Merrick Alpert (56%-13%) but is behind the opponent who has highest potential of grabbing the Republican ticket – Rob Simmons (39%-44%). Rob Simmons has a substantial lead in the survey’s results for the Republican primaries over Tom Foley, Peter Schiff and Sam Caligiuri (43%-5%-2%-4% respectively).
All Connecticut representatives in the U.S. House voted for the Advanced Vehicle Technology Act of 2009, a bill whose general purpose is to address fuel efficiency and better technologies and research on fuels and vehicles. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a 312-114 margin and is referred to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Representative Joe Courtney (D – 2nd District) joined a bipartisan group of Members of Congress to add an amendment to the Fiscal Year 2010 U.S. Department of Agriculture Appropriations bill (USDA) that will support dairy farmers and dairy prices. The amendment which was added in the Senate version in a consideration but is absent in the House version will cost the federal budget $350 million. The idea came from Senators Bernie Sanders (I – Vermont) and Tom Udall (D – New Mexico).
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D – 3rd District) expressed support for the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2009. The bill which was passed in the House of Representatives by a 253-171 margin, and was supported by all of the Connecticut Representatives there, will reform the system of federal loans to save taxpayers $87 billion, $77 billion of which will be invested in the Federal Pell Grant Program and Early Learning Child Fund, as announced on Representative DeLauro’s website.
The website also informs us that the Department of Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration released $2.85 million in grants for the construction of a new bus maintenance facility in Hamden, Connecticut which will serve the New Haven Division of CT Transit. Representative DeLauro also urged Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis to adjust the affirmative action goals in the construction industry set by the Office of Federal Contracts and Compliance Programs (OFCCP) 29 years ago to today’s reality. Current standards have the goal of 6.9% female participation in the industry.
In Hartford, Governor M. Jodi Rell announced $9.5 million in federal stimulus funds will reach Connecticut in the form of Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants (EECBG), as announced on the governor’s website. According to the website, the governor’s block grant plan contributed to the approval of the grants by the U.S. Department of Energy.
The governor also announced the release of the state’s first-ever Economic Strategic Plan. The purpose of the 550-page plan which was posted on Connecticut’s Department of Economic and Community Development’s website is to create a strategy for the state’s economic future based on current transportation, education, housing, international, tax and other factors.
State health and environmental officials were directed by Governor Rell to closely monitor the situation with mosquitoes carrying deadly Eastern Equine Encephalitis (EEE) virus whose symptoms are fever, stiff neck, headache and lack of energy. The virus is reportedly growing in the state—some mosquitoes in 12 Connecticut towns have been recently confirmed to carry it. State officials will erect signs in state-own property urging citizens to take precautions.
Governor Rell announced that $103 million in bondsis expected to be approved by the state’s Bond Commission on September 25. The bonds will be used for building 700 parking spaces, 3,000-square-foot station building with a waiting room, restrooms and newsstands in West Haven, and the construction is expected to start in 2010 and finish in 2012, as announced on Governor Rell’s website.
