#WASHINGTON, D.C. – As thousands of Americans prepare to journey by train during the busy holiday travel season, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), lead sponsor of the Forced Arbitration Injustice Repeal (FAIR) Act, led a group of fourteen senators writing Amtrak to “demand that Amtrak immediately eliminate [its] anti-consumer arbitration and class action policy.” In January, Amtrak implemented a broad new policy that not only prevents Amtrak riders, employees, and others from seeking justice in the courts, it also prohibits them from banding together in a group to seek accountability for their claims.
“We write to express our concern that Amtrak’s mandatory arbitration and class action policy is gravely imperiling traveling Americans’ access to justice and public accountability. As our national railroad, Amtrak has a responsibility to ensure the traveling public – including victims of crashes – have their day in court,” the senators wrote.
Amtrak’s new forced arbitration policy was specifically written to be “as broad as legally permissible,” and would include discrimination and any personal injury claims. In their letter, the senators raised specific concerns about the application of this policy to claims of gross negligence and wrongful death. The senators wrote: “The 2015 train derailment in Philadelphia, the 2017 derailment in Washington State, and the 2018 collision in South Carolina left hundreds injured and took the lives of 13 crewmembers and passengers. In arbitration, victims and families would have no say in what state the arbitration will occur in, the payment terms for the arbitration, and under what rules the arbitration will take place, making a tragic situation much worse.”
Or you can ride in style with our sponsor of this press release:
See all the great deals at: https://www.bmwofbridgeport.com/new-vehicles/this-months-bmw-lease-deals-special-offers-in-connecticut/
HARTFORD, CT – Governor Ned Lamont is urging people in Connecticut to use caution as the first significant winter storm of the season begins impacting the state.
The forecast as of Sunday afternoon shows that moderate to briefly heavy snow at times will develop across Connecticut during the afternoon and it will mix with sleet and rain by the evening. Moderate precipitation will continue during Sunday evening and is anticipated to change over to rain by midnight. Light rain will impact the state during the Monday morning rush hour, with light snow developing around noon. Light to moderate snow will continue through Monday night and remain through Tuesday morning, causing some snow and slush patches and black ice on many roads.
“While it might get a bit nasty out at times, we appear to be dodging the brunt of this storm as it moves a bit more to the north and northwest than originally anticipated. Still, we are urging everyone to use caution, especially considering this is the first significant snowfall of the season,” Governor Lamont said. “If you don’t need to head out tonight, try to stay in. If you must travel, use caution, drive slow, and if you see a plow truck on the road do not pass them and leave them enough space to allow them to do their jobs. We will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as necessary.”
Although the state Emergency Operations Center is not anticipated to be fully activated as of Sunday afternoon, emergency management staff will be at the center beginning early Monday morning to monitor the storm and respond accordingly.
The governor is reminding Connecticut residents of the following resources his office provides to make sure everyone is informed anytime there are significant weather events:
· CTPrepares website: The CTPrepares website contains several emergency preparedness resources, including tips on what people should do before, during, and after certain types of emergency situations. It also contains a list of important contact information that might be useful during a weather event, including the phone numbers for every utility company in the state in case an outage needs to be reported. In addition, announcements from the governor related to significant weather events are posted as they happen in the “News” section. The website is located at ct.gov/CTPrepares.
· CTPrepares mobile app: The CTPrepares mobile app is essentially a mirror image of the website but was specifically designed for mobile devices. Download it for free on iPhones and iPads at the Apple App Store, and on Android devices at the Google Play Store.
· Governor Lamont’s Twitter account: Throughout the duration of any weather emergency, Governor Lamont will continue to provide updates through his Twitter account, @GovNedLamont.
· DEMHS Twitter account: The staff at the Connecticut Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security also post updates on Twitter during emergency events. Their account is @CTDEMHS.
HARTFORD, CT) – Governor Ned Lamont today announced that he has scheduled Tuesday, January 14, 2020 as the date to hold special elections to fill two vacancies in the Connecticut House of Representatives, including:
· the 48th Assembly District, which consists of portions of Colchester, Lebanon, Mansfield, and Windham. The seat was most recently held by Linda Orange, who passed away on November 20; and
· the 132nd Assembly District, which consists of portions of Fairfield. The seat was most recently held by Brenda Kupchick, who resigned on November 22.
Under state law, the governor is required to issue a writ of special election within ten days of a vacancy in the General Assembly and a special election must be held exactly 46 days after the date the writ was issued. Governor Lamont issued the writs for the 48th Assembly District and the 132nd Assembly District today.
WASHINGTON, DC– Following alarming reports of Google’s efforts to obtain the health records of millions of Americans without their awareness or consent, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) wrote Google today demanding answers to the serious questions and concerns raised by “Project Nightingale.”
“We write with concern over reports that Ascension has entered into a partnership that provides Google with the health records of tens of millions of Americans without their awareness or consent,” the senators wrote. “Health information and records of medical care are exceptionally sensitive information that, when mishandled, expose patients to embarrassment, discrimination, exploitation, and other harms. Based on prior privacy violations and security failures from the company, we have substantial concerns about how Google will handle patient data and use health records for other purposes.”
Google’s “Project Nightingale” allowed the company access to the personal health data of 50 million or more patients – all reportedly provided without their knowledge or the ability to opt-out of the data sharing. In today’s letter, Blumenthal, Warren, and Cassidy demanded Google provide substantive responses to how such a vast amount of private, personal health data was surreptitiously collected, and how Google plans to use it. Continue reading Blumenthal Wants Answers
#Hartford, CT — Attorney General William Tong joined a coalition of 21 state attorneys general today in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in support of public servants who have been denied promised federal student loan debt forgiveness.
The U.S. Department of Education has committed pervasive errors in administering the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. As a result, less than one percent of all applicants have received relief. In their brief, Attorney General Tong and the coalition stress the importance of the PSLF programs and ask the Court to closely review borrowers’ specific allegations.
In July, the American Federation of Teachers sued Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the Department of Education for its gross mismanagement of the PSLF program. The defendants have since sought a sweeping order of dismissal from the court. In the amicus brief, the state attorneys general outline how state residents have been harmed, and urge the court to allow this important case to proceed.
“Teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public servants have been diligently doing their jobs and paying down their loans, while the U.S. Department of Education has done nothing but create useless red tape. Less than one percent of Public Service Loan Forgiveness applicants have received promised relief. That is a stunning failure on the part of the federal government. This bureaucratic disaster is causing severe hardships for public servants who followed all the rules and planned their finances accordingly. Their case is strong, and they deserve the chance to make their case in court,” said Attorney General William Tong.
The PSLF program allows borrowers who pay down their loans while working for 10 years in a qualifying public service job, such as teachers, law enforcement officers, and members of the military, to have the remainder of their federal direct student loans forgiven. This program gives public servants the chance to pass up higher, private sector salaries and still pay off their student debt. According to Department of Education reports, more than one million Americans intend to apply for PSLF. Nearly two-thirds of these people had annual salaries of less than $50,000.
However, the Department of Education has denied relief to over 99 percent of applicants. The first PSLF borrowers became eligible for forgiveness in October 2017. Since then, 90,962 people have applied for loan discharge pursuant to PSLF, but only 845 people have received it.
Federal government reports admit that the Department of Education has made pervasive errors, including mistakes in record-keeping, providing inaccurate information to borrowers, steering borrowers to take actions that made them ineligible, and failing to explain why applications were denied.
North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein led the brief, along with attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
This press release is made possible by:
See all the great deals at: https://www.bmwofbridgeport.com/new-vehicles/this-months-bmw-lease-deals-special-offers-in-connecticut/
WASHINGTON, D.C.] – Today, U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Deb Fischer (R-NE), and Edward J. Markey (D-MA) introduced the Stop CO Poisoning Exposures (SCOPE) Act to help protect consumers from the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with keyless ignition technology in vehicles. The bipartisan SCOPE Act requires the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to finalize a rule that vehicles automatically shut off after a period of time to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Because different vehicles emit carbon monoxide at different rates, this bill would authorize NHTSA to establish different periods after which a vehicle would have to shut off.
““This legislation will require NHTSA finally take action to protect American drivers from the fatal risk of carbon monoxide poisoning associated with keyless ignitions. Failure to act will have devastating consequences – a heartbreaking reality too many families have already suffered,” Blumenthal said.
“Many people inadvertently leave their vehicles with keyless ignition running, which can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning. This happened to Thomas and Ann MacKinnon of Bellevue, Nebraska, who tragically lost their lives. I worked with the MacKinnons’ daughter, Sharon Shore, to introduce the bipartisan SCOPE Act. This bill will prevent these senseless deaths and keep families safe,” said Fischer.
“NHTSA, our automobile safety cop on the beat, must ensure that novel transportation technologies help eradicate the auto safety challenges of the 20th century, not pose additional dangers in the 21st century. With deaths attributable to keyless ignitions mounting, it’s time for NHTSA to set safety standards to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning,” Markey said.
Keyless ignitions increase the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning with drivers inadvertently exiting the vehicle in park but not shutting down the vehicle. A vehicle left running in an attached garage can quickly fill living spaces with lethal levels of carbon monoxide. Keyless ignitions are now standard in over half of the 17 million new vehicles sold annually in the United States.
In May 2018, The New York Times reported that at least 28 deaths and 45 injuries since 2006 attributable to carbon monoxide poisoning caused by vehicles with keyless ignitions inadvertently left idling.
In 2011, NHTSA issued a draft ruleto address keyless ignition risks, but has not taken action since. Following The New York Times report, Blumenthal and Markey wrote NHSTA Deputy Administrator Heidi King demanding the agency finalize and implement its rule. The full text of the Blumenthal-Markey letter is available here.
While NHTSA has failed to finalize its rule, some auto manufacturers, including General Motors and Ford, have taken proactive steps to respond to these hazards, implementing additional safety features –auto shut-off systems to prevent CO poisoning. Absent a final rule, most automakers have not addressed the various risks posed by keyless ignition technology.
The SCOPE Act has been endorsed by: Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, Center for Auto Safety, Consumer Reports, KidsAndCars.org, and Safety Research & Strategies.
“Many keyless ignition designs don’t have safety features found in vehicles with traditional keys allowing the engine to continue to run even when driver exits their vehicle with the key fob resulting in 43 known deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning. Ford and GM began adding automatic engine shutdowns to some 2013 models to prevent the hazard, Toyota has committed to including it for 2020 models; but without legislation mandating a requirement, drivers can’t be guaranteed vehicles will have this important safety feature,” said Sean Kane, President of Safety Research & Strategies.
“Forgetting to turn off a keyless car parked inside a garage should not result in a death sentence caused by carbon monoxide poisoning. Requiring technology that automatically shuts off a car after it has idled for a certain amount of time is a commonsense solution to a well-known problem. Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety commends Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Ed Markey (D-MA) for introducing the Stop CO Poisoning Exposures (SCOPE) Act. We urge Congress to take immediate action on this lifesaving legislation,” said Cathy Chase, President of Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
State Senator Tony Hwang (R-28) was named by Governor Ned Lamont to the Governor’s newly revamped Workforce Council, a body which will be responsible for partnering with the business community and knocking down barriers among state government agencies so that Connecticut can have the most aligned, high-quality, and equitable workforce development system in the country. The council was created by an executive order signed by the Governor who made the announcement at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury.
Senator Hwang emphasized the critical need for workforce development, “The Connecticut Office of Higher Education has found that by 2025, about 70 percent of workers will need some form of education and training beyond high school. Meeting this demand will require about 300,000 additional Connecticut residents with post-secondary or apprenticeship training. I am excited to be part of a team that will coordinate among the important stakeholders in our workforce system, including businesses, state agencies, quasi-public and independent entities, boards, councils, and commissions, public and private education and training institutions, workforce development boards, nonprofit institutions, labor unions, and the state’s Chief Manufacturing Officer.”
The executive order the governor signed requires the council to review the state’s workforce development system and submit a report to the governor and the legislature by January 1, 2021 that makes strategic recommendations to improve the state’s workforce system in a variety of areas including better coordination, reducing barriers to training, strengthening the bridge from high school into post-secondary training and education, and emphasizing data-driven outcomes.
Garrett Moran, former president of Year Up, one of the most successful workforce development nonprofits in the country, is being appointed by Governor Lamont to serve as chair of the council and will also act as a principal advisor to the governor on workforce development.
The council will have 24 members, all of whom are appointed by the governor and represent some of Connecticut’s most influential leaders in business, education, nonprofits, and labor. Business leaders who have joined the council have comm Continue reading Hwang Named to Governor’s Workforce Council
Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT), joined Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Jack Reed (D-RI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Ed Markey (D-MA) in sending a letter to ISO New England (ISO-NE) calling on the regional grid operator to pursue changes to the energy markets consistent with the ambitious clean energy goals set by each of the New England states. The letter requests that all relevant energy stakeholders and state officials be included in the grid operator’s process for determining changes to these markets.
“New England states take the threat of climate change seriously and have adopted some of the most ambitious climate and clean energy laws in the country,” wrote the Senators. “ISO-NE has a responsibility to facilitate this clean energy transition and help achieve the region’s climate goals in a cost-effective manner that ensures reliability and just and reasonable rates for consumers.”
ISO-NE oversees regional electricity markets and is uniquely positioned to increase the availability of clean energy. The Senators caution that ISO-NE has taken steps to preserve the status quo of a fossil fuel-centered energy mix, stymying progress on state-level emission reduction goals even as advancements in technology have made renewable energy sources cheaper and more reliable. Eleven state attorneys general recently made a similar request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Full text of the letter is available below and here.
#HARTFORD, CT – Governor Ned Lamont today released the following statement following the announcement made by Condé Nast Traveler, one of the nation’s leading travel publications, that Bradley International Airport has been named the fifth best airport in the United States in its 2019 Readers’ Choice Awards:
“Bradley International Airport is a conveniently located, accessible option for travelers throughout the New England region and its value needs to be utilized in our efforts to drive growth and serve as a magnet for economic activity. Over the last several years, many new improvements have been made at the airport to make it an even more convenient travel option, and we are determined to build on that success. That is why our CT2030 plan to transform the state’s transportation system includes the creation of a direct rail connection between Bradley and the CTrail Hartford Line. Businesses want to be located where they can move goods and services easily and we must utilize our airports as a resource to grow jobs and increase business activity in Connecticut.”
“Bradley International Airport is a conveniently located, accessible option for travelers throughout the New England region and its value needs to be utilized in our efforts to drive growth and serve as a magnet for economic activity. Over the last several years, many new improvements have been made at the airport to make it an even more convenient travel option, and we are determined to build on that success. That is why our CT2030 plan to transform the state’s transportation system includes the creation of a direct rail connection between Bradley and the CTrail Hartford Line. Businesses want to be located where they can move goods and services easily and we must utilize our airports as a resource to grow jobs and increase business activity in Connecticut.”
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) applauded committee passage of Save Our Seas 2.0, bipartisan legislation led by U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) to combat marine debris. Murphy and Murkowski are both cosponsors of the bill. The legislation includes a Murphy-Murkowski drafted provision to fund a Genius Prize for Save Our Seas Innovation to be given out for the development of projects to replace single use plastic and innovations that remove and prevent plastic waste.
“Addressing plastic pollution is critical to protecting our oceans and coastlines, including the Long Island Sound in Connecticut. I’m glad to see this legislation pass Committee with our provision that sets up a genius prize to reward projects that clean up marine debris and replace single use plastics. I look forward to working with this group of bipartisan partners to pass this important bill,” said Murphy.
“With over half of the nation’s shoreline in our state, Alaskans in particular depend on our ocean resources. Keeping our oceans and shoreline clean is one of my top priorities, and I am always looking for opportunities to harness American innovation and ideas to tackle the challenges posed by marine debris,”said Murkowski.“This legislation encourages innovative methods and novel designs to help reduce plastic waste in our oceans and ultimately prevent marine debris altogether. Fostering innovation can help lead to healthier oceans that will benefit all of us. I’m proud to build on the good work of Senators Sullivan, Whitehouse, and Menendez.”
Earlier this year, Murphy voted to pass the related Save Our Seas 2.0: Enhanced Global Engagement to Combat Marine Debris Act out of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Save Our Seas 2.0: Improving Domestic Infrastructure to Prevent Marine Debris Act also passed out of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
This press release was made possible by:
For more info see: https://www.bmwofbridgeport.com/
