In the News
Two of Connecticut’s Democratic congressmen are hailing the House of Representatives’ passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2022 as a victory for national defense and the state’s economy.
U.S. Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, announced Friday that almost $600,000 in federal money will go to fire departments in East Windsor, Glastonbury, and Hartford.
Larson said in a statement that money from the fiscal year 2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant, issued by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, will be dispersed to the departments.
The $3.5 trillion Build Back Better Act that includes significant funding for things like child care and workforce training also now includes provisions backed by U.S. Reps. John B. Larson and Joseph D. Courtney to help area homeowners with crumbling foundation costs.
EAST HARTFORD — U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in East Hartford to mark the enhanced federal child tax credit now being paid with the goal of lifting families out of poverty, said Wednesday she wants to make the enhanced benefit permanent.
“The goal of the rescue package was to put vaccines in people’s arms [and] money in people’s pockets,’' the Democrat told reporters outside Goodwin University.
“We want to make it permanent.’'
Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., chairman of the House Ways and Means Social Security Subcommittee, plans to introduce this fall — likely later this month — a revised bill, called Social Security 2100: A Sacred Trust, to increase benefits and extend the program’s solvency.
Three local theaters that recently received a total of $238,000 from the federal government’s Small Business Administration’s Shuttered Venue Operators Grant have been able to reopen, staging a Beach Boys tribute concert and paying operating expenses.
Little Theatre of Manchester received $123,000, CAST Children’s Theatre in Manchester received $60,000, and Opera House Players in Enfield received $55,000.
Two Connecticut universities have committed to helping people fleeing the chaos in Afghanistan.
In a letter to President Joe Biden sent Thursday, leaders of Goodwin University in East Hartford and the University of Bridgeport offered Afghan refugees assistance with language skills and access to work and career programs.
The University of Bridgeport also agreed to allow refugees to temporarily stay in a 140-bed dormitory that is not currently occupied by students.
David Downey, President & CEO of the International Downtown Association, wrote the following op-ed that appeared in Roll Call:
In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is clear some things will never be the same — from the ways we socialize with one another to the way we shop to how and even where we work. The traditional workplace was already evolving before the pandemic, cities were changing, and technological advancements had enabled the widespread use of videoconferencing and streamlined collaboration.
Nancy Altman, President of Social Security Works, wrote the following op-ed in The Hill:
This year, Social Security’s birthday, Aug. 14, comes at an exciting time. Congress is on the verge of greatly expanding our economic security through its upcoming reconciliation bill.
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic emptied out cities and counties from Maine to California, America’s office environment was being redefined as employers increasingly offered telework opportunities.