U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro have reintroduced legislation that is designed to double the $5,000 pretax limit that employees can set aside to help offset child care costs. The Child Care Flex Spending Act would allow employees earning less than $150,000 annually to set aside up to $10,000 in pretaxed funds per year to... Read More about Murphy and DeLauro reintroduce Child Care Flex Spending Act

hris Murphy and Jahana Hayes have spent time on college campuses and heard from students firsthand that they struggle to both feed themselves and pay tuition. About 100 students at UConn's Waterbury campus spoke to Hayes at a recent roundtable about the problem, she said. Seeking a solution, Hayes, who represents Connecticut's 5th... Read More about Rep. Hayes, Sen. Murphy introduce legislation to combat college hunger

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy  of Connecticut has reintroduced the Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmers and Ranchers Act (S. 2168), a bill designed to create a loan forgiveness for new  farmers and ranchers. According to Murphy, one in four principal farm operators in Connecticut can be defined as a "beginning farmer," which means... Read More about U.S. Sen. Murphy reintroduces bill seeking student loan forgiveness for new farmers

As the U.S. Congress continues debate on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, U.S. Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Connecticut, and Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, reintroduced the Student Loan Forgiveness for Farmers and Ranchers Act Wednesday. It would create a loan forgiveness program for beginning farmers and ranchers, as well as other groups... Read More about Sens. Murphy, Udall introduce bill to help young farmers pay student loan debt

U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have joined more than three dozen Democrats supporting a bill that aims to put an end to the "cruel and neglectful treatment of children at the U.S.-Mexico border," and reform how youth seeking asylum are treated, the Connecticut Democrats said Wednesday. "Through policies of fear and... Read More about Senate Democrats, including Blumenthal and Murphy, introduce bill to stop ‘neglectful treatment’ of children at border

A recent federal watchdog report about the breadth of food insecurity on America's college campuses came with a caveat: "Nationally representative survey data that would support direct estimates of the prevalence of food insecurity among college students do not exist," the Government Accountability Office wrote in the report to lawmakers. There is... Read More about Many College Students Are Too Poor to Eat

Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jahana Hayes are sponsoring a measure that aims to address hunger among college students. The bill would collect data on hunger and food insecurity on college campuses and provide information on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and other resources. "No student should ever have to worry about... Read More about Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Jahana Hayes introduce bill to address college hunger

Today in a federal courthouse in Louisiana, the Trump administration will argue that protections for over 522,000 people in Connecticut with pre-existing conditions should be invalidated immediately. If this comes as a surprise, I don't blame you. Anyone who has read the president's Twitter feed would be led to believe that while the president... Read More about Chris Murphy: Trump’s health care sabotage will gut protections for Connecticut

For all their differences on "Medicare for All," Democrats will have a chance to rally around the 2010 health care law this week. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit will hear oral arguments in the high-profile Texas v. Azar lawsuit on Tuesday, which could spell the future of the health care law and become a major issue in the 2020... Read More about High-stakes lawsuit makes health care law a 2020 issue

The route changes every year, but the issues concerning Connecticut residents remain the same: "taxes, how much money they're making and the quality of their schools," U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said on Friday, the last day of his fourth annual walk across the state. Murphy starting walking on Monday and covered about 100 miles... Read More about Sen. Murphy says his annual walk across the state shows residents’ concerns haven’t changed much: taxes, money and schools

 U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy perhaps enjoyed one of his periodic walks across the state a little too much Wednesday: He was so engrossed in conversations he struck up with people along the way that he missed his stop. "I figured I'd get a few more miles under my belt," said Murphy, D-Conn., as he showed up five minutes late to his... Read More about Murphy visits Durham’s Deerfield Farm as part of CT walking tour

After President Trump authorized an attack on Iran and then abruptly changed course on Thursday night, Democrats reiterated calls for restraint and demanded congressional oversight of military action. "Donald Trump promised to bring our troops home. Instead he has pulled out of a deal that was working and instigated another unnecessary conflict,"... Read More about ‘We need to step back from the brink of war’: Democrats urge restraint after Trump cancels Iran strike

Senators from New York and Connecticut are renewing their commitment to preserving Plum Island, a highly restricted government research site situated in Long Island Sound. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy have filed an amendment to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act... Read More about Blumenthal, Murphy renew push to protect Plum Island from development

WASHINGTON - Just a week after gun control bills were signed into law in Nevada, congressional lawmakers from cities and states that have fallen victim to mass shootings gathered at the Capitol to urge the Senate to pass a bill for universal background checks. The gathering was emotional, as former Rep. Gabriel Giffords, D-Ariz., urged supporters... Read More about Democrats push gun background check bill in US Senate

WASHINGTON — The Senate voted to block the sale of billions of dollars of munitions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, in a sharp and bipartisan rebuke of the Trump administration’s attempt to circumvent Congress to allow the exports by declaring an emergency over Iran. In three back-to-back votes, Republicans... Read More about Senate Votes to Block Trump’s Arms Sales to Gulf Nations in Bipartisan Rebuke

WEST HARTFORD – Jewish Family Services of Greater Hartford recently presented the 2019 Tara’s Closet Humanitarian Award to U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. A mental health advocate, Murphy introduced the bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act of 2015, signed into law in 2016, to expand federal resources and improve coordination for mental health... Read More about Senator Chris Murphy receives 2019 Tara’s Closet Humanitarian Award

Every day that the U.S. Senate fails to act, another 80 or so people die. Most of the country would be demanding accountability — if the subject were anything other than gun violence prevention. Shamefully, Senate leadership considers it acceptable to let the death count continue unabated while it does nothing. More than 100 days ago the U.S.... Read More about Editorial: Senate inaction on gun violence prevention is shameful

Another week, another community ripped apart by a mass shooting. Most recently it was Virginia Beach, where a shooter on May 31 killed 12 people in a municipal building. In early May it was a school in Denver where two shooters injured eight and killed one heroic student who tried to stop them. Just a week before that it was a synagogue... Read More about Our Republican Colleagues in the Senate Must Act to Break the Cycle of Gun Deaths

Connecticut Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Christopher S. Murphy are among a group of lawmakers leading a new charge to repeal a federal law shielding firearms manufacturers and sellers from liability when their weapons are used to commit crimes. The Equal Access to Justice for Victims of Gun Violence Act, introduced Tuesday by Blumenthal, Murphy,... Read More about Legislators push to end gunmakers’ protection from lawsuits

Connecticut's Democratic senators are calling on the new commanding officer of the Naval Submarine Base, Capt. Todd Moore, to prioritize readying the base against potential impacts of climate change. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy said in a letter to Moore that they are collecting information on how Connecticut's military... Read More about Senators urge sub base to prepare for impacts of climate change