COVID relief funding from the federal government, if passed into law, will make a historic reduction in child poverty and could also strongly support programs for kids hit hard by pandemic. The relief bill close to passage in the Senate could provide tax credits that raise the families of 4.1 million children above the poverty level. The... Read More about COVID Relief Bill Would Reduce Child Poverty, Aid Youth Programming

Congressional lawmakers this week revived an effort to enact significant gun safety laws for the first time in more than 25 years by introducing bills to establish a universal background check system that has broad support from the public. The bills introduced Tuesday in the House and Senate would extend current federal background check... Read More about Congress renews gun safety push with background check bills

President Biden’s strike in Syria is reviving a dormant fight over war powers as Congress looks to claw back some of its authority. The military action sparked grumbling from Democrats who say they weren’t adequately consulted on the strikes and questioned where Biden drew the authority, which the White House says falls under his... Read More about Biden reignites war powers fight with Syria strike

NEWTOWN — Bills that would expand background checks for firearms sold online and at gun shows were welcomed Tuesday by two nonprofits that formed after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. “This is bipartisan legislation that has the support of 97 percent of Americans, so it should pass out of Congress easily,” said Po Murray, chairwoman... Read More about 'We're thrilled:' Bills to expand firearms background checks welcomed by Newtown nonprofits

Democrats are reintroducing legislation to expand background checks on all commercial gun sales, the first congressional move on significant gun control since Democrats won the White House and the majority in both chambers of Congress. The bill, called the Background Check Expansion Act, would expand background checks for all firearm... Read More about 'This is the year to get it done': Democrats move on expanding background checks

I know firsthand how challenging this past year has been for parents and kids. The pandemic has forced my two boys to learn from home. It’s kept them from the friends and the activities they love. And it’s earned me and my wife new titles: part-time teachers. Still, in so many ways, my children are lucky. They have two parents who have... Read More about Sen. Chris Murphy (opinion): We must address the trauma COVID-19 has wrought on our children

HARTFORD — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said the COVID-19 relief package passed Friday night by the U.S. House of Representatives would directly fund outreach efforts in Hartford as well as additional vaccine clinics and increase the supply of vaccine to Connecticut. He spoke Saturday after touring a vaccination clinic at Dunkin’ Donuts... Read More about Sen. Chris Murphy: Federal COVID-19 relief bill will help fund vaccine supply, more clinics, outreach efforts in Connecticut

Senator Chris Murphy, who introduced legislation earlier this month with Rep. Lori Trahan of Massachusetts that would allow college athletes and prospective college athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL), said Wednesday that the proposed bill hopes to create an equitable landscape for all athletes, regardless of their gender or... Read More about Sen. Chris Murphy continues to push for rights of college athletes with equity on the forefront

In helping kids overcome the academic effects of the coronavirus pandemic, don’t devalue recreation and enrichment for children once this school year ends. That’s an emerging argument from Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn. A member of the Senate education committee, Murphy says that while he doesn’t want to dismiss concerns about lost... Read More about To Help Traumatized Students This Summer, Let Them Play, Sen. Chris Murphy Says in Q&A

After spending weeks denouncing the mob attack on the Capitol and the past president's role in the assault, Democratic stalwart Christopher S. Murphy of Connecticut will now play a role in handling domestic threats as the new leader of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security. Murphy said the U.S. "faces a significant rise of... Read More about Murphy takes over Senate Homeland Security money panel

MIDDLETOWN — The state’s junior U.S. senator met with education and summer camp officials Tuesday to gauge their priorities in an era when students are experiencing learning loss, as well as emotional and social distress as a result of the pandemic. “This is a very, very important summer for kids,” U.S. Sen Chris Murphy,... Read More about Middletown education stakeholders tell Murphy 'what our children need'

Connecticut leaders are now focusing on vaccine inequities after data released by the state's Department of Public Health showed people of color were not receiving vaccines at the same rates as white people. Health leaders along with senators Chris Murphy, Richard Blumenthal, and Congressman John Larson held a roundtable about the racial inequities... Read More about Federal, Local, and Health Leaders Push for Vaccine Equity

White House officials met last week with several gun violence prevention groups as they weigh how to move forward on an issue that has stymied Democrats for years. The White House says President Biden is “personally committed” to action on an issue he has tackled many times in the past. Less than a month into the new administration,... Read More about Biden pledges action on guns amid resistance

Despite Donald Trump’s second impeachment acquittal in the U.S. Senate late Saturday afternoon, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Chris Murphy said after the historic vote that the trial afforded a measure of accountability against the former president for his role in the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol last month. “No one wanted to... Read More about Connecticut’s Blumenthal and Murphy say accountability matters, despite failure to convict Trump in Senate impeachment trial

For Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal, serving as jurors in the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump has meant returning, in graphic detail, to the trauma of Jan. 6, when a mob of far-right Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol. “None of this is fun. What we are doing as a jury is reliving that day,”... Read More about Sens. Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal relive Capitol attack as jurors in impeachment trial: ‘Footage of all of us fleeing for our lives.’

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy made two New Haven stops Monday to discuss his efforts to bring back federal funding for youth summer enrichment programs and the FEMA Empowering Essential Deliveries (FEED) Act. Murphy’s first stop was at the Boys and Girls Club New Haven (BGCNH) on Columbus Avenue; the second at soon-to-open new location of... Read More about Murphy Pops Into Town To Push Covid Relief For Summer Youth Programs, Food Distribution

(WTNH) — Throughout the pandemic, Connecticut has seen a sharp rise in food insecurity. On Monday, Senator Chris Murphy was in Hartford to promote more federal funding to feed hot meals to those in need. Sen. Murphy has proposed a bill that will reimburse restaurants that are feeding the hungry. “It’s a win-win if you put federal... Read More about Sen. Murphy proposes bill that will reimburse restaurants that are feeding the hungry

NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH)– We may be in the thick of winter but summer learning programs are getting a lot of attention in New Haven Monday. Summer learning loss amid the pandemic is an issue on the minds of local New Haven leaders and on the minds of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and Senator Chris Murphy. “The average student will be at... Read More about Sen. Murphy, Congresswoman DeLauro call for more funding for summer youth programs in New Haven

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Sunday defended the constitutionality of an impeachment trial for former President Trump after he has left office. “Impeachment comes not only with the provision to remove an individual from office but to disqualify them from future office,” Murphy said on “Fox News Sunday.” “I... Read More about Murphy: 'I don't think any of our job ends just because the president has left office'

Sen. Chris Murphy, who several years ago struck an unusual alliance with President Donald Trump on a Buy American policy to promote domestic manufacturing, is reviving the issue in legislation he’s introducing. Two measures he’s proposed to boost the purchase by federal agencies of U.S.-made goods, while benefiting manufacturing-heavy... Read More about Sen. Chris Murphy again takes up ‘Buy American’ legislation to boost US manufacturing, this time with a fellow Democrat in the White House