WASHINGTON — As co-author of major legislation to infuse life into the nation’s resource-starved mental health care system, Sen. Chris Murphy believes there’s an overlap between mental illness and the uptick of mass shootings, including Sandy Hook. But he’s dead-set against any suggestion that putting mental health care on... Read More about Murphy: Mental health bill won’t solve gun problems

The Senate Appropriations Committee is expected to vote Thursday on an appropriations bill for the Department of Homeland Security that includes $5 million in funding for the National Coast Guard Museum and a provision prohibiting the relocation of the Coast Guard Band from New London. A Senate subcommittee on Tuesday approved the $48.07 billion... Read More about Senate committee to vote on bill that would include funds for Coast Guard Museum

Q&A talks with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy on steps he's taking in Congress to strengthen Connecticut manufacturing. Q: Since being elected, you've embarked on a series of "Monday Manufacturer" tours. What are they and what's the impetus behind them? A: I launched my 'Monday Manufacturer' series a year and a half ago to highlight the impressive... Read More about Murphy pushes 'Buy American' reforms in Congress

WASHINGTON — It might seem like a no brainer: The earnings of Amtrak’s only profitable route, the Northeast Corridor, should be reinvested in maintaining the heavily traveled line’s infrastructure.But for decades, profits from the Boston-Washington rail were siphoned off to prop up the 21,300-mile nationwide passenger railroad... Read More about Senate passes bill to rechannel Amtrak profits

WASHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy on Wednesday met with embattled Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland and issued a “what goes around comes around’’ warning to Republican senators blocking the nomination so that the next president can make the selection. “This is unacceptable,’’ Murphy, D-Conn., told... Read More about Democrats push for Garland hearing

WEST HAVEN, CT — U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) announced that ThermaXX Jackets of West Haven is this week’s “Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer.” Founded in 2008, ThermaXX manufactures removable insulation jackets for mechanical systems such as valves, pumps, and traps. “The ThermaXX team is developing... Read More about West Haven's ThermaXX Jackets Named 'Murphy's Monday Manufacturer'

When 10-year-old Oliver Tchakarov was diagnosed last year with mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma, he had a fight in front of him. The fifth grader at Saxe Middle School immediately began chemotherapy treatment at Yale-New Haven Children’s Hospital. The son of Katarina and Svetlin Tchakarov battled hard, losing his hair but not his spirit, and... Read More about Brave New Canaan youth overcomes cancer; lauded in letter by Sen. Murphy

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) spoke on the Senate floor this week about the number of accidental deaths caused by children who gain access to guns. According to Murphy, last year there were 278 accidental shootings by kids or teens in the country. He said the U.S. has the highest number of these incidents in the Western world because of the... Read More about Sen. Murphy Calls On Congress To Do More On Gun Safety

To learn firsthand the importance of preserving the quality of the Long Island Sound as he pushes for a significant increase in federal funding, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy toured Norm Bloom & Son’s Copps Island Oyster shellfish company in Norwalk. The operators of the third-generation, family-run business have been plying the waters of... Read More about Murphy pushes for Sound investment with support from Norwalk shellfishermen

WASHINGTON, CT - Today, during a roundtable discussion with representatives from the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association and members of the financial services industry, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) vowed to expand “green bank” financing systems – such as Connecticut’s Clean Energy Finance and... Read More about Murphy vows to expand CT green bank model nationwide, promote new clean energy businesses

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, who believes the state needs to invest more in transportation and infrastructure, said he proved his own point Thursday traveling between appearances in Norwalk and Bridgeport. “We left on time from Norwalk and got here 20 minutes late — because of traffic,” he told a group... Read More about Murphy Releases Fed Up Traffic Report For I-95 From Fairfield To Stratford

WATERBURY – We're just over four months into 2016, and Waterbury has now surpassed the total number of heroin-related deaths for all of last year. An overdose death Friday morning pushed the total of such fatalities to 18 this year. In 2015, the city experienced 17. “We need to pay more attention to this because it's taking lives from... Read More about Murphy aiming $800M to tackle heroin epidemic

NEW FAIRFIELD — A Sandy Hook-inspired program in which middle schoolers teach their fellow students about peer recognition, inclusion and teamwork could be a model for schools across the country, according to U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy. Murphy toured middle school classrooms in New Fairfield Friday to get a firsthand look at the... Read More about Dylan Hockley ‘wingman’ project could be national model

Some of the 300 families living at Church Street South have moved into new subsidized housing and others are staying at hotels. Then there are families like Emelia Hernandez and her 5-year-old son who are still waiting to get out.“I hope I can move soon out of here because I don’t want my son to get lung infection,” Hernandez... Read More about Lawmakers Try To Revise HUD Inspection Process In Light of Church Street South Crisis

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., has launched a dramatic — if quixotic — drive in Congress for an $860 million-a-year program to protect Long Island Sound. May his effort be successful. But even in pushing the issue into the news, Murphy does a service in keeping awareness of the Sound’s fragility in the public conversation. The... Read More about Long Island Sound is a fight worth the engagement

HARTFORD >> Efforts to clean up Long Island Sound have been going on for years but legislators and environmental advocates say more needs to be done. That is why U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn, said he is calling on the federal government to dedicate $860 million annually to help fund research and cleanup efforts in and around the... Read More about Sen. Chris Murphy calls for more funding for clean-up, protection of Long Island Sound

NEW BRITAIN — The stalwart Stanley Black & Decker was the focus last week of U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy’s weekly manufacturing spotlight, "Murphy’s Monday Manufacturer." Founded in 1843 by Frederick Stanley, New Britain’s first mayor, the present Stanley Black & Decker headquarters remain in New Britain with facilities... Read More about Stanley Black & Decker has strong community roots

HARTFORD – U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy is convinced that Congress needs to move quickly to provide additional money for programs to help protect Long Island Sound's environment from the impacts of climate change. "We don't have a lot of time to get to the funding levels necessary to protect the Sound," the Connecticut Democrat said Monday at a... Read More about Murphy Calls For Increasing Federal Spending On Long Island Sound Programs

Just eight months into his term, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy opposed President Barack Obama on a high-profile vote on whether to bomb Syria to deter and degrade the use of chemical weapons by its dictator, Bashar al-Assad. Murphy, a former state legislator, faced the prospect in 2013 of crossing the president from his own party on a vote in the Senate... Read More about Sen. Murphy Sets Own Course On Foreign Policy

SOUTHINGTON — Sen. Chris Murphy heard the concerns of middle-schoolers and manufacturers Friday as he paid visits to DePaolo school and Smiths Medical. Murphy spoke to 250 eighthgrade students in auditorium of the school at 385 Pleasant St. He began by sharing with the students how he came to become involved in politics. A former town... Read More about Murphy tells kids they can make a difference