Category: State News

Hartford, CT) –Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 19 attorneys general in filing a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s effort to gut longstanding Clean Water Act protections by unlawfully narrowing the definition of “Waters of the United States. The EPA final rule removes protections for all ephemeral streams, many wetlands, and other waters that were previously covered under the Act. In the lawsuit, the coalition argues that EPA’s rule directly conflicts with the text of the Clean Water Act, Supreme Court precedent, and the EPA’s own scientific findings.

“The whole point of the Clean Water Act was to clean up our nation’s waterways, and that requires a full and comprehensive application of the law. This revised rule, however, turns a blind eye to basic science, and will have disastrous implications for public health and the environment. The EPA ignored basic federal law in their rush to push through this damaging rule, and Connecticut joins with our partner states in defending the goals of the Clean Water Act in court,” said Attorney General Tong.

The definition of “Waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act is critical to maintaining a strong federal foundation for water pollution control and water quality protection that preserves the integrity of our waters. While the Clean Water Act has resulted in dramatic improvements to water quality in the United States, its overriding objective has not yet been obtained. Many of the nation’s waters remain polluted. The 2015 Clean Water Rule enacted during the Obama Administration provided much-needed clarity and consistency in federal Clean Water Act protections by specifically including within the scope of protected waters the headwaters of rivers and creeks as well as other non-traditionally navigable waters, which have significant impact on downstream water quality.

The 2020 rule narrows the definition of “Waters of the United States” to eliminate federal protections for many of our nation’s waterways, including waters we rely on for drinking water, wildlife habitat, agriculture, and recreation. In the lawsuit, the coalition highlights that exclusion of these waters directly harms environmentally responsible states by increasing the risk of pollution from less-protective jurisdictions; incentivizing polluters to relocate to states with less stringent water quality protections; and disrupting state regulatory programs.

The coalition asserts that the 2020 rule is unlawful under the federal Administrative Procedure Act because it:

• Contradicts the Clean Water Act’s objective of maintaining and restoring the integrity of the Nation’s waters and the EPA’s own scientific findings;
• Arbitrarily and capriciously reduces and eliminates protections for ephemeral streams, tributaries, adjacent waters, wetlands and other important water resources that significantly affect downstream waters;
• Fails to comply with controlling Supreme Court precedent established in Rapanos v. United States; and
• Lacks a reasoned explanation or rational basis for changing long-standing policy and practice.

In filing the lawsuit, Attorneys General Tong joins the attorneys general of California, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The California State Water Resources Control Board, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the City of New York also joined the coalition in filing the lawsuit.

This press release was made possible by:

#WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tom Carper (D-Del.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.) are asking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Assistant Administrator to be transparent, expedient, and fair in determining how Fishery Disaster Assistance funding is allocated to fishermen and seafood processors across the country, and urged the agency to consider a minimum allocation for smaller coastal states.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has devastated fisheries, fisheries distributors, and fisheries processors, who are experiencing severe economic losses as domestic purchasing has plunged and exports have slowed. With limited capital, fishing communities – business owners, crews, and processing plant workers – are facing unforeseen financial hardships that put their livelihoods at risk.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act appropriated $300 million to NOAA for fishery disaster assistance. However, NOAA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are still considering how to distribute these funds among impacted fishing states. Without a minimum allocation, larger operations may receive a disproportionate amount of available funds, leaving struggling small businesses in states like Delaware and Connecticut with little help—and little recourse.

“As NOAA continues its process of determining how it will distribute this critical funding, we urge you to be as transparent and communicative as possible and to engage a wide range of fishery participants,” the senators wrote.

“Further, we strongly urge you to consider a minimum allocation for small, coastal states,” the senators continued. “Doing so will protect struggling small fishing operations that might be underserved if funding is distributed in proportion to the value of commercial fisheries in each state without instituting a minimum allocation. We fear that any allocation to states based solely on commercial landings may not accurately reflect where our fishermen live and work.”

This press release is made possible by:

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) led a group of twelve of their colleagues, including Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), in urging

Senate leadership to support and strengthen SNAP—also known as food stamps—to help ensure that families across America can keep food on their tables despite the mounting economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

“SNAP is the nation’s first line of defense against hunger and is proven to help lifts millions of American families and children out of poverty,” the senators wrote. “The latest estimate by the Census Bureau found that SNAP lifted 3.4 million people out of poverty in 2018 including 1.5 million children. Given the unprecedented disruption to the economy, income and employment with more than 17 million Americans filing unemployment benefit claims, an expanded and strengthened SNAP can serve as a buffer for families who are now at risk of food insecurity and are struggling to make ends meet during this national health crisis. 

“We can avert the risk of poverty and food insecurity among American families and children while improving our chances for an economic rebound by investing in SNAP,” the senators continued.

Specifically, the senators requested the following provisions be included in upcoming coronavirus relief legislation:

·        Increase the maximum SNAP benefit for all recipients by increasing the thrifty food plan by at least 15 percent to all households, which is equivalent to another $25 per person per month, or a little under $100 per month in food assistance for a family of four.

·        Increase the monthly minimum SNAP benefit from $16 to $30 to all households. This will go a long way in helping older Americans, single persons, and family households keep food on the table.

·        Suspend the harmful rules proposed by USDA that would weaken SNAP eligibility and benefits at time when Americans need SNAP assistance.

·        Provide additional options and investments to support delivery for SNAP participants.

  Continue reading Senators Want More SNAP Benefits

HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that the Connecticut Department of Labor (CTDOL) has successfully programmed its computer system and begun issuing the first round of weekly federal stimulus payments to filers receiving state unemployment benefits, with the first batch of payments having been issued this past weekend. The additional $600 weekly payment, known as Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, was created as part of the emergency response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is retroactive to March 29, 2020 and will be provided through July 25, 2020. For those who already received unemployment benefits for previous weeks – such as April 4, 11, and 18 – the agency will be providing retroactive payments as a lump sum by the end of this week.

Claimants can check their online accounts on the CTDOL website at www.filectui.com  and see the deposits were issued over the weekend. Those who receive payments through direct deposit should begin seeing the additional amount appearing in their bank accounts by Tuesday.

The first $600 payments totaled more than $89 million. When combined with nearly $51 million issued in state benefits, the agency provided $140 million in unemployment benefits last weekend.

“Our Department of Labor worked day and night to come up with the technological fixes to ensure benefits were distributed in a timely way to our residents,” Governor Ned Lamont said. “There are hundreds of thousands in our state relying on our Department of Labor to help get them through this crisis, and the state’s loyal and hard-working team never lost sight of that. This is a difficult time for so many, and I appreciate that these new benefits are being distributed.”

“We are pleased to announce that the additional $600 is being added to any benefit issued this past weekend and onward,” Commissioner Westby said. “I want to thank the dedicated and talented staff at the Labor Department, as well as our partners and assisting agencies, for the tireless effort put forth to serve the public. The task was complicated, due to a 40-year-old mainframe using a COBOL operating system. Despite these challenges, we have now processed over 340,000 of the 402,000 claim applications filed since March 13.”

CTDOL continues to work nonstop to implement the remaining two recently established federal stimulus programs:

·       Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides benefits for self-employed individuals among others, and

·       Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), a 13-week extension that allows eligible claimants to collect the additional weeks after exhausting the 26 weeks of state benefits.

The agency expects to begin accepting applications for PUA on April 30 and plans to have PEUC in operation by mid-May. Both programs will be retroactive.

This press release was made possible by:

WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Thursday released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives passed additional funding for small businesses, our health care system, and to increase testing and contact tracing capacity. This legislation funding specifically designated for community banks and small lenders to ensure that Paycheck Protection Program funds are actually reaching small businesses. The Senate passed the legislation by unanimous consent (UC) on Tuesday.

“I’m glad to support this bipartisan agreement to get emergency funding out the door so that our small businesses in Connecticut can pay their employees and stay afloat. It’s especially important that we were able to set aside dedicated funding to community banks and small lenders, since far too many Paycheck Protection Program funds went to well-connected large corporations instead of the true small businesses this was intended to rescue. Frankly, the reform we made in this measure didn’t go far enough for me—I would have rather seen more rules established that guarantee more funds go to sole proprietorships, very small businesses, and minority-owned companies. But we couldn’t delay getting the next round of funding out the door, so I will continue to fight for these reforms,” said Murphy.

Murphy continued: “We’re not done yet. Congress must come together to pass another major stimulus package to make sure state and local governments have what they need to survive this crisis, send critical relief to Americans who are struggling, and federalize the medical supply chain to get critical goods to places they’re needed most.”

This press release is made possible by:

Congressman Jim Himes posted this press release:

Recognizing how many Americans need immediate economic support to keep their heads above water while fighting the coronavirus pandemic, I voted to support sending millions of Americans Economic Impact Payments as part of the CARES Act.  While many payments have been successfully distributed, I’ve heard about too many glitches and a lot of frustration from constituents on how they can make sure they get what they deserve.

I wanted to make sure you saw that the IRS is holding a webinar to discuss how these payments are being processed tomorrow, Thursday April 23rd at 2:00 pm ET. You must register to participate in this event; Click here to register.

Join the IRS Commissioner Chuck Rettig to discuss:

• Eligibility – How to determine if you qualify for the Economic Impact Payment
• Implementation – How the IRS facilitates delivery of the payments
• Where’s My Payment Tool – How to use a web app to determine payment status and provide bank account deposit information
• Non-Filers: Enter Payment Info Tool – How to use another web app to register for the Economic Impact Payment if you don’t otherwise have a return filing requirement
• Scam Protection – Learn how fraudsters will attempt to scam your payment and how to protect yourself
• Resources & Guidance – Find out where to get the information you need to learn more about the above topics
• Latest Updates – late information related to Economic Impact Payments
• Live Question and Answer

Email questions to: cl.sl.web.conference.team@irs.gov

As always, you can also go to my website to learn more about the stimulus payment  or call my office at (203) 333-6600.

This press release was made possible by:

#Hartford, CT– Attorney General William Tong today joined a bipartisan group of 25 attorneys general led by North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein and Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery urging the telecommunications industry to make further commitments to protect consumers who are struggling financially as a result of COVID-19 and in calling upon the FCC for support.

“As much of our lives, from work to family dinners, move online, it is vital to our economy and well-being that we stay connected,” Attorney General Tong said. “Connecticut and her sister states commend the FCC and these companies’ for suspending of shutoffs for 60 days but we all know that the economic ramifications will last well beyond that. That’s why I and 24 other attorneys general are asking for that suspension to be extended to 90 days and include customer support like reasonable payment plans and education on COVID-19 related services.”

On March 13, 2020, the FCC announced that many companies had pledged for 60 days to (1) not terminate service to residential or small business customers for nonpayment; (2) waive late fees; (3) open Wi-Fi hotspots to anyone who needs them. These commitments are commendable, but 60 days is not enough.

In their letter, the Attorneys General ask that the companies:

• extend the FCC pledge an additional 90 days,
• use fair and reasonable payment plans,
• reconnect previously disconnected customers,
• expand data caps, and
• educate their customers on the COVID-19 related services they are providing and about COVID-19 related scams.

Attorney General Tong is joined in signing this letter by the attorneys general of North Carolina, Tennessee, California, Colorado, Delaware, Guam, Washington, D.C., Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.

This press release is made possible by:

Insurance Department Commissioner Andrew N. Mais warned all life insurers doing business in Connecticut to refrain from asking applicants about exposure to the novel coronavirus.

“The state of emergency has already placed undue hardship on families and businesses during this pandemic. Families need the security that life insurance brings and any new barriers to coverage must be avoided,” said Commissioner Mais. “Some carriers may want to know if people applying for coverage have self-isolated due to symptoms, or been tested for the disease or diagnosed with it. That won’t be allowed in Connecticut.”

In a Department Notice

, the Connecticut Insurance Department issued guidance to all insurance companies offering Life Insurance coverage in Connecticut are advised that any life insurance application form filed for review should not include questions related to COVID-19, including questions about being quarantined. Any life insurance application form filing that contains such questions will not be approved.

Consumers, insurers and brokers with questions can contact the department directly by email at cid.pc@ct.gov or by calling the Department at 800-203-3447 or 860-297-3900.

For the most up-to-date information from the State of Connecticut on COVID-19, including guidance and other resources, visit ct.gov/coronavirus .

Consumers with questions about their insurance can contact the department, by:

Email at insurance@ct.gov. Ask a question or file a complaint online Call the Consumer Helpline at 800-203-3447 or 860-297-3900.  Sign up for e-alerts  to get the latest news, warnings and rate changes that may affect your premium.

Download consumer FAQs  on health, homeowner and auto coverage.Use the Department’s Speakers Bureau  for public events.

Visit our Web site and follow the Department on Facebook and Twitter.

This press release is made possible by:

Bridgeport, CT –  Congressman Himes released the following statement on the ongoing negotiations to replenish the Paycheck Protection Program and provide additional support to American families, workers, and small businesses:

As the House and Senate approach a deal that will refill the funds for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), tensions are running high. While our nation struggles with the largest crisis in modern history, it’s easy to use the negotiations over PPP to attack whichever party or person or position we don’t share.  This mindset is counterproductive and leads us to believe the worst of each other. In all situations, I strive to treat everyone, whether I agree with them or not, as though they are coming from a place of good faith.  Impugning each other’s motives is the easy way out.  Listening with sincere earnestness to our opponents to achieve the common good is the more difficult, but essential, path.

The PPP ran out of money on Thursday. The President and Senate Majority Leader McConnell asked for $250 billion more. This is a reasonable request.  I and others wanted more, which is also reasonable. A significant portion of the original $350 billion went to well-connected businesses with strong banking relationships and lawyers. It was hard for smaller businesses – and almost impossible for really small businesses without banking relationships – to secure loans. Democrats wanted to make changes to the program to give these businesses a shot, as well as provide money to hospitals and state and local governments to mitigate the burdens they’re facing.  Republicans preferred a stand-alone expansion of the PPP program.

None of that is wildly unreasonable.  Nobody (in this situation) is being stupid, awful, or greedy. There’s a negotiation going on. Right now. I hope and expect it will be resolved today.

Some have pushed back on the Democrats’ position. Why not just say yes to the PPP money now and fund hospitals and states later? This is a fair question. The answer is that hospitals and health centers are getting absolutely crushed right now, with many at risk of going insolvent, and Democrats believe this may be the only chance to save them.  In other words, there may not be a “later.”

Can this process be frustratingly slow? Yes. Our system, particularly when the government is divided, is designed to create this kind of deliberate compromise. We come from very different places and have different pressures. And yet we must somehow meet in the middle and get the business of the American people done.

I’ve been telling leaders of both parties that these rescue bills can’t contain items that aren’t timely, targeted, and temporary. Ideological paralysis is not an option.  I’m only one of 535 voices in Congress, but I know I am not alone in that assessment.

That’s where we are.  Those who require a bad guy or clash between good and evil in order to understand politics will be disappointed when faced with the reality of the situation.  Instead, they’ll find the conflict and compromise that inevitably rises from differing political ideologies struggling to find a solution to an unprecedented challenge.  The result will not be perfect, and many will wish it looked different, but it will undoubtedly help those who are in dire need of assistance.  And, when all is said and done, isn’t that the whole point?

This press release was made possible by: