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August 2009 Issue
Capitol address
Legislative Office Building
Room 2400
Hartford, CT 06106-1595
E-mail
Bob.Duff@cga.ct.gov
On the Web
www.SenatorDuff.cga.ct.gov
Phone
Capitol: 860-240-0414
Toll-free: 1-800-842-1420
Home: 203-840-1333
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As we all get ready for back-to-school days at the end of this month this issue of my Capitol News gives some details about new college campus regulations for credit card companies, about the success of a program that offers a hand up to homeowners facing foreclosure and about the Federal Aviation Administration’s continued disregard for southwestern Connecticut.
Offering Job Skills to Help
Homeowners Help Themselves
 Last year, I worked to pass comprehensive legislation to help reduce the impact of the subprime mortgage crisis and high foreclosure rates on our state economy. A major part of that legislation was the creation of the Mortgage Crisis Job Training Program. The program offers support services — like job training and placement assistance and financial literacy — to borrowers who are at least 60 days past due on their mortgage payments and have a household income of less than $120,000.
I’m pleased to report that the program has given career coaching and customized employment services to 722 people over the past year. Of the 513 who have received job training scholarships, 231 have completed their training. Eighty people have avoided foreclosure to date with the program’s assistance, a remarkable achievement for a new program that offers a hand up to those who need it.
For more information on this and other programs available through the state and federal governments for people who are in or facing foreclosure, visit the Senate Democrats’ Foreclosure Assistance Web page.
Lip Service from the
Federal Aviation Administration
In February, I led a bipartisan coalition of state lawmakers in asking the president to reconsider an airspace redesign plan enacted by the Federal Aviation Administration that has dramatically increased commercial air traffic over southwestern Connecticut.
 Last month, I received a response from the FAA that was little more than a rehash of old news. The response dismissed the very real concerns of residents in Connecticut and surrounding states.
This airspace redesign is already impacting quality of life in our region, and I’m concerned about the effect that it will have on property values. I am not satisfied with this response, and I will continue to work with other advocates to try to force the FAA to respond to our concerns and to reconsider this decision.
Protecting Students and Their Credit
 For many years, salespeople representing banks have stalked Connecticut’s college campuses with applications for lines of credit and enticing credit cards, seeking to prey upon the inexperience of first-time credit card users and their unfamiliarity with the consequences of bad credit. They offer incentives to lure first-time borrowers, then turn around and charge high interest rates, citing a lack of credit history.
To protect our public college students from going into debt and building negative credit histories, I pushed legislation this year that requires solicitors to register, bans enticements, requires parental notification and indemnifies parents from liability for student debt. The new law also requires that formal debt education be provided for students and prohibits schools, university foundations and alumni associations from giving student information to credit card companies.
Marking a Legislative Success
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