HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced that the State of Connecticut has received its single largest shipment of personal protective equipment (PPE) in the fight to combat COVID-19. The equipment, which came from suppliers in China, has been delivered over the last couple of days to the state’s commodities warehouse. It includes:
· 6 million surgical masks;
· 500,000 protective masks;
· 100,000 surgical gowns; and
· 100,000 temporal thermometers.
The equipment is in the process of being sorted and will be delivered in the coming days to frontline workers, including first responders, hospital staff, long-term care facility staff, direct care providers, and other people on the front lines.
“Today marks another important step as we continue to battle the novel coronavirus,” Governor Lamont said. “I want to personally thank the Chinese people for their continued support during this public health crisis. I would especially like to thank the China Construction Bank for helping facilitate this shipment and for their generous donation. Further cooperation and collaboration between the United States and China is very important as we navigate this global pandemic.”
The state’s supply of PPE has been managed by the state’s unified command structure, which includes several state agencies, and its distribution has been handled by the Connecticut National Guard. As of May 11, the state has delivered a total of 15,186,349 pieces of PPE to frontline workers, including:
HARTFORD, CT) – Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz, joined by OPM Secretary Melissa McCaw, Education Commissioner Miguel Cardona, Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Sibongile Magubane, and Department of Higher Ed Executive Director Tim Larson, today announced the launch of the “Lt. Governor’s COVID-19 Computing Challenge: A statewide challenge to address a global concern.” Connecticut students in grades 3 through 12 are challenged to work individually or as a team to propose an idea for a computing technology application (functioning apps are not required). The idea for the coding challenge was inspired by the work of the Council on Women and Girls Education and STEAM Subcommittee in partnership with its Steering Committee community partners.
“Due to the novel coronavirus radically disrupting the 2019-20 academic year for the state’s students, this computing challenge provides a valuable resource for educators who are considering ways to keep their students academically engaged in rigorous problem-solving,” Lt. Governor Bysiewicz said. “Connecticut students are invited to submit ideas that could be implemented with computer technology like apps, websites or computer programs, in order to defeat the spread of the disease, aid our communities, and/or encourage and inform the general public. I’m looking forward to seeing what our students come up with.”
“The current pandemic is presenting challenges unlike anything Connecticut has ever seen in our state’s history. The reliance on technology to address a variety of issues regarding the COVID-19 pandemic is astounding,” said Commissioner Cardona. “This challenge allows students to continue learning while creating a solution to a real-world problem and making a positive difference in their communities and state.”
Students with a basic understanding of computing technology can imagine themselves creating and implementing technology that will make a difference in their own, their family’s, and their community members’ lives. The goal is to have students use this period of social distancing to better their communities in one or more ways. The Covid-19 Computing Challenge provides an excellent opportunity for students to:
·Gain exposure to uses of computer technology;
·Develop interest in computer technology;
·Be creative in utilizing computer technology;
·Learn how to collaborate virtually; and
·Apply computational thinking skills.
More Information on the Challenge and How to Participate
·Students check out this flyer on how to participate.
·Teachers check out this flyer to learn how this challenge engages students’ skills.
·Parents check out this flyer to understand the benefits of their child’s participation.
WASHINGTON—With parents facing layoffs due to unprecedented unemployment during COVID-19, plus recent reports of diaper shortages as a result of stockpiling and supply chain issues, U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) are teaming up to urge the Senate to support low-income families and front-line workers who are in critical need of diaper assistance to provide for the health, safety, and economic security of their children.
In a bipartisan letter to Senate leaders, Murphy and Ernst write, “Even before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, nonprofit diaper bank distribution only met five to six percent of diaper need. Most diaper banks, which were already oversubscribed and had waiting lists for partner agencies, are now facing severe supply shortages due to the demand increase as more families experience job loss during this pandemic.”
The senators continue: “Having access to these services is especially imperative for our essential workers so that their children can be accepted into daycare or childcare facilities. Essential workers should not have to worry about diaper need becoming a barrier for accessing childcare…We urge you to prioritize the need of low-income families and front-line workers who are in critical need of diaper assistance to provide for the health, safety, and economic security of their children”
“We are grateful for Senators Ernst and Murphy’s strong bipartisan leadership to help families across get the diapers they need to keep their child clean, dry, and healthy,” said Joanne Goldblum, CEO of the National Diaper Bank Network. “Our more than 200 members across all 50 states have seen dramatic increases in demand for diapers – often doubling or tripling since the beginning of the pandemic. We know that before COVID-19, 1 in 3 US families struggled with diaper need. Diaper need negatively impacts the physical, emotional and economic health of children and families, and the effects are increasing during these difficult times, as families are forced to choose between diapers, food and other basic necessities. The critical funding requested by Senators Murphy and Ernst would enable diaper banks to help families weather the COVID-19 crisis and begin to recover and regain their footing, particularly as parents are able to return to work.”
“Thank you to Senators Ernst and Murphy for their leadership and support of diaper banks, who are working daily to meet the increased need due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Erin Langdon, Chief Development Officer of Eastern Iowa Diaper Bank (EIDB). “Since mid-March, EIDB has more than doubled our distribution to families who are struggling to provide a sufficient supply of diapers for their children. We are committed to providing diapers and wipes to those in need throughout the pandemic and the critical funding request led by Senators Ernst and Murphy will enable us to continue this work. Here locally, families have overwhelming expressed gratitude and thanks in helping to fill this essential need during the crisis.
WASHINGTON— U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who led a bipartisan group of 25 lawmakers in pushing to make sure urgently needed federal assistance is delivered to America’s fishermen and seafood processors, who have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. In their letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, the senators request that upcoming coronavirus relief legislation include funding and provisions to support this critical industry.
“Our seafood processors and fishermen have been dealt a significant economic blow as a result of coronavirus and are in desperate need of federal assistance,” the senators wrote. “It has been reported that many of the nation’s fisheries have suffered sales declines as high as 95 percent. In addition, while many other agricultural sectors have seen a significant increase in grocery sales, seafood has been left out of that economic upside, as stores have cut back on offerings.”
“The seafood industry is currently facing an unprecedented collapse in demand because of the novel coronavirus. We urge you to facilitate the government purchase of seafood products that would both ensure stability in this key sector and provide healthy, domestically produced food for Americans,” the senators continued.
Specifically, the senators recommend the allocation of $2 billion to the U.S. Department of Agriculture to purchase and redistribute seafood products to food banks—just as the agency is currently doing for other agricultural products. In addition, the letter requests that $1 billion be allocated to the Department of Commerce and NOAA to support direct payments to fisheries, seafood producers, and processors.
Not only do fisheries help Americans put food on the table for their families, they have long been the lifeblood of local and regional economies across the country. In 2016, the industry supported over one million good-paying jobs and generated more than $144 billion in sales, adding an estimated $61 billion to the nation’s GDP. In addition to the jobs, families, and communities it supports along every part of our country’s coastlines, the seafood industry fuels jobs throughout the country in processing, distribution, and food service industries.
WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, led a group of 24 Senators, including U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), in a letter to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), urging the agency to develop and implement comprehensive mental health care plans to ensure veterans’ well-being during and after the pandemic.
“The stress, uncertainty, and isolation associated with the pandemic – all risk factors for suicide in a population where an estimated 17 veterans tragically die by suicide a day— will further increase demand for mental health care among our veteran population, necessitating a comprehensive plan to meet that need,” the Senators wrote in a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.
The Senators urged the VA to utilize and expand the availability of telehealth services, including working with broadband providers to ensure veterans have internet access, assessing the efficacy of telehealth mental health services for this vulnerable population, and conducting public outreach to reach veterans in need of these services.
The Senators also stressed the need for the agency to anticipate increased use of existing services, urging the VA to hire and adequately train additional mental health providers. Emphasizing the importance of monitoring for a possible increase in veteran suicides, the Senators called on the VA to ensure it has the capacity to track the data and plans in place to address such spikes.
WASHINGTON, D.C.] – During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) pressed Airlines for America President & CEO Nick Calio on why airlines are preventing consumers from receiving cash refunds for flights cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Reports indicate that airlines are misleading consumers seeking refunds, intentionally steering them toward vouchers. Blumenthal pointed out that these practices are especially brazen given the airline industry received more than $25 billion in taxpayer coronavirus relief funding.
“[W]hen you come to us and ask for more assistance, my mind goes back to the bailout we’ve just given you,” Blumenthal said to Calio. “More than $25 billion in taxpayer money and now in effect you are continuing to mislead and deceive those taxpayers who have given you that bailout. In effect, you are, forgive me, screwing the very taxpayers whose money is going into your pockets. And you’re giving basically no relief if those passengers on their own have to cancel flights out of the concern for public health.”
Blumenthal noted the airline industry’s past anti-consumer behavior, including “a history of bumping passengers, multiplying fees, shrinking seats, taking tax breaks and using them for stock buybacks and executive compensation.” The Senator told Calio the only way for the industry to get passengers back in seats is to regain consumers’ “trust and credibility,” emphasizing that dishonest refund practices will set them back even further.
In March, Blumenthal and his colleagues sent letters to each of the major domestic airlines, urging them to issue full cash refunds to all customers who cancel their flights during the COVID-19 crisis, and to American citizens who encounter flight cancellations while stranded in countries that implemented travel restrictions. The press release and letters can be found here. The Senators subsequently released findings based on the airlines’ responses, estimating that they could be “holding onto over $10 billion of hard-earned money from American travelers.” The press release and response letters from airlines can be found here.
Blumenthal also emphasized the need for a mandate requiring all individuals at airports and on airplanes to wear facemasks, noting this would be in accordance with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines. Wearing facemasks at airports and on airplanes is currently voluntary.
Blumenthal questioned American Association of Airport Executives President & CEO Todd Hauptli and Calio on their views about such a mandate. Hauptli replied, saying “there needs to be the very groups that you identified, CDC and others, HHS, working together to come up with federal guidelines to make sure we have a consistent approach throughout the travel experience no matter which airline or which airport you travel through.”
Calio said it’s the industry’s current policy, but noted that “[t]here’s a lot of practical questions that arrive from that and when you have a situation where someone gets to the airport, goes through security without a mask and then gets to the gate and has to put a mask on, it begs the question.”
Blumenthal replied, saying “I would think that your position on requiring them would be greatly strengthened if the flight attendants or whoever’s at the gate could say it’s the law, it’s not just our policy it’s the law. Correct?” Calio agreed, replying “Yes, sir.”
In April, Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, urging the agencies to immediately issue a rule requiring face masks for all individuals engaged in air travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The press release and letter are available here.
Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong joined a multistate coalition of 20 attorneys general opposing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) proposed rollbacks of nutrition standards for school meals. In comments filed with the USDA, the coalition argues that the proposed rule substantially weakens existing standards for the school meals that tens of millions of children rely on every day and lacks any sound basis in nutrition science.
“School meals are a main source of nutrition for many kids across Connecticut and nationwide. With millions more parents now unemployed due to the COVID-19 crisis, these meals are even more critical. All kids need access to healthy fruits and vegetables and foods not laden with processed fats, sugar and salt. This rule change ignores basic nutrition science to the detriment of children and should not proceed,” said Attorney General Tong.
In 2012, the USDA adopted healthier nutrition standards for school meals. According to the USDA’s own research, these standards have demonstrably improved the nutritional quality of the school breakfasts and lunches on which so many children in this country rely. Unfortunately, the proposed rule would significantly weaken these standards. Specifically, the coalition opposes the USDA proposals to:
Reduce the required minimum weekly servings of the “red/orange” and “other” vegetable groups in school lunches, such as tomatoes and carrots;
Cut in half the minimum daily requirements of fruit servings in school breakfasts served in settings other than cafeterias;
Eliminate the prohibition on synthetic trans fats in school meals without assurance that they have been prohibited in the U.S. food supply;
Allow smaller school districts to, in effect, serve their youngest students meals with calorie and sodium levels appropriate only for older students; and
Allow schools to offer students flavored water that contains artificial, calorie-free sweeteners and other artificial additives and that might undercut important milk consumption by students.
Established in 1946, the National School Lunch Program is a federally subsidized program that provides students with healthy, balanced meals in schools at low- or no-cost. In 1966, the School Breakfast Program was added. Since that time, Congress has taken action to ensure that program’s nutritional guidelines keep current with the best scientific evidence with the most recent modernization occurring in 2010 with the passage of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which led to the 2012 USDA regulations.
In 2019, nearly 30 million children consumed nearly five billion school lunches and more than 14 million children ate school breakfasts under the national school lunch and breakfast programs. School meal programs are especially important for children in low-income families; in 2019, more than 74 percent of school lunches and 85 percent of school breakfasts provided to schoolchildren in the United States were offered free or at a reduced price. That number is likely to increase as a result of the contraction of the U.S. economy due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that even more children will be dependent on school meals as their primary source of nutrition. Further, according to USDA’s own figures, a disproportionately high share of students participating in the national school lunch and breakfast programs are black or Hispanic.
In addition to Attorney General Tong, the comment letter, led by Attorney General James includes the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Vermont, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced the statewide expansion of a program that will make free online learning licenses available to recipients of unemployment insurance, including those who have been impacted by the economic fallout of the COVID-19 public health crisis. The SkillUp CT program will significantly expand access to comprehensive online course work from a leading global provider for thousands of Connecticut residents. Originally launched in eastern Connecticut, a sustained rollout of the program across the state over the coming weeks will enable recently laid-off workers to upgrade their skills and earn industry-recognized certifications even while the doors to most brick-and mortar education and training providers remain closed.
The program is coordinated by the Connecticut Workforce Development Council in collaboration with the Connecticut Governor’s Workforce Council and the Connecticut Department of Labor. Based on a successful model implemented by the Eastern Connecticut Workforce Investment Board, it is being offered through Connecticut’s five regional workforce development boards.
Eligible Connecticut residents will receive email instructions on obtaining a Metrix Learning license that provides them access to about 5,000 online Skillsoft courses in areas such as information technology, business analysis, customer service, project management, and digital literacy, among others. Anyone with an internet connection and a computer can access courses. SkillUp CT also offers training tracks leading to over 100 industry certifications and will provide career coaching through the workforce boards.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has created an incredibly difficult situation for so many people, and this innovative and responsive initiative gives hard-working Connecticut residents a beneficial training opportunity that they can utilize from their own homes,” Governor Lamont said.
“Governor Lamont created the Governor’s Workforce Council to give Connecticut residents access to workforce development services that prepare them for 21st century jobs,” Garrett Moran, chair of the Governor’s Workforce Council and the governor’s principal advisor on workforce development, said. “This innovative program enables us to make good on this promise despite the distancing requirements that have shut down classroom training and confined people to their homes. The SkillUp CT program will give Connecticut residents who have been forced to file for unemployment at-home access to the same high-quality training courses used by many Fortune 500 companies.”
The program will be funded by the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) under an existing grant to the state’s five regional workforce boards.
“CHEFA is proud to have partnered with Connecticut’s workforce development boards to continue to build a trained, skilled workforce,” CHEFA Executive Director Jeanette W. Weldon said. “We’re pleased that during these extraordinary times, CHEFA funding helped the workforce boards expand online training offerings to jobseekers while most classroom training options are unavailable.”
About the Connecticut Workforce Development Council (CWDC)
The CWDC is comprised of the directors of Connecticut’s five regional workforce development boards (WDB) and exists to facilitate communication and collaboration among the WDBs. The WDBs are responsible for planning and facilitating all state and federal workforce development efforts in Connecticut’s five workforce regions. In partnership with the Connecticut Department of Labor and other partners, the WDBs operate a statewide network of 18 American Job Centers that provide workforce assistance to jobseekers and businesses through a seamless service delivery system.
About the Connecticut Governor’s Workforce Council (GWC)
The GWC was established in October 2019 by Governor Lamont and tasked with improving Connecticut’s education and training ecosystem and pipeline so that all residents are able to access high-quality and affordable training and education that are aligned to the needs of businesses. The GWC will submit a report to the governor and legislature by January 1, 2021 that makes strategic recommendations to improve the state’s workforce system.
About the Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA)
CHEFA is a quasi-governmental agency created to help Connecticut-based nonprofit organizations raise the funds needed to meet their goals of improving the health and education of Connecticut citizens. CHEFA accomplishes this by providing tax-exempt financing and other financial assistance to educational institutions, healthcare providers, childcare providers, and other eligible nonprofit entities. Since its inception in 2002, CHEFA grant programs have provided more than $33 million to Connecticut nonprofit organizations. CHEFA grant programs utilize no State of Connecticut funds. For more information visit www.chefa.com
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Hartford, CT) – Attorney General William Tong today joined a bipartisan coalition of 52 attorneys general in calling on USTelecom and its Industry Traceback Group (ITG) to expand its collaboration with state attorneys general by bolstering technological capabilities to improve enforcement against illegal robocallers.
In a letter to USTelecom— the leading organization representing telecommunications– the coalition urges further development of robocall traceback and other tools suited to law enforcement needs.
“Robocalls are annoying and incessant, and often fraudulent. Attorneys general across the country are working closely with the telecom industry to strengthen our ability to track and trace these scammers and hold them accountable. Our bipartisan letter today outlines several important steps the industry can take to build on that partnership, and to crack down on these unwanted, intrusive and illegal calls,” said Attorney General Tong.
The letter asks USTelecom to advance the ITG’s abilities in identifying robocall campaigns, trends and business ecosystems; conducting automated traceback investigations; and coordinating with relevant law enforcement agencies.
The coalition asks USTelecom to develop and roll out an online platform to collect live data from carriers and robocall-blocking apps. When USTelecom or a law enforcement agency detects an illegal robocall campaign, the law enforcement agency could then submit a subpoena to USTelecom in a streamlined online portal.
The process would allow for rapid review by USTelecom and provide law enforcement agencies the ability to expedite subpoena procedures and access the platform to quickly retrieve relevant data. The platform would bolster law enforcement investigations and could potentially lead to attorneys general offices issuing temporary restraining orders that could stop a live robocall campaign in its tracks.
The coalition’s letter follows a January 2020 meeting in Washington, D.C., with representatives from state attorneys general offices, federal agencies and the telecom industry. Some priorities developed at that meeting include:
Automating and increasing the total volume of traceback investigations;
Alerting relevant law enforcement agencies of suspected illegal robocall campaigns;
Enabling law enforcement agencies to electronically upload and receive responses to subpoenas and civil investigative demands, and providing swift response to those requests; and
Identifying noncooperative Voice Service Providers, including those that don’t participate in the traceback process, repeatedly originate or accept illegal robocalls, or repeatedly fail to provide sufficient records.
The coalition believes these measures would strengthen the partnership between the USTelecom-backed ITG and attorneys general, a relationship that led to the creation of the Anti-Robocall Principles. Those principles were established in August 2019 when 51 attorneys general and 12 major telecom providers took aim at reducing the number of unwanted and illegal robocalls reaching the American people.
More recently – and due in part to the support from the telecommunications industry and state attorneys general – the Telephone Robocall Abuse Criminal Enforcement and Deterrence (TRACED) Act was signed into law by the federal government. This law enables the industry to develop call-authentication protocols to combat caller-ID spoofing and implement other sweeping anti-robocall measures.
The letter was co-led by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost and was signed by the attorneys general Alabama, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont announced that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved another portion of his ongoing request for disaster assistance as part of the State of Connecticut’s Major Disaster Declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today’s approval includes funding for crisis counseling under the individual assistance category, which will help support mental health initiatives designed to benefit individuals affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Previously, FEMA approved Governor Lamont’s request for public assistance for Connecticut, allowing impacted state agencies, municipalities, and tribal nations in all eight of the state’s counties to be reimbursed by the federal government for 75 percent of the costs associated with their response and emergency protective measures. A supplemental request from the governor to increase that reimbursement to 100 percent is still pending.
Other requests by Governor Lamont for individual assistance remain under review by FEMA, including in the categories of disaster unemployment assistance, disaster case management, disaster legal services, child care assistance, and funeral assistance.
“This pandemic is having an impact on nearly every segment of our society and daily lives, and that includes mental health services,” Governor Lamont said. “Approval in this category of aid will mean a lot to so many people living in our state, and I appreciate FEMA’s approval. I also thank the members of Connecticut’s Congressional delegation who have been helping to advocate for this aid on our behalf.”
