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Looney, Duff to Senate MAGA Caucus: Do You Love the Inflation Too?

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Looney & Duff to Senate MAGA Caucus: Do You Love the Inflation Too?

“Donald Trump just told the American people, out loud, that he loves the inflation that is crushing them. Gas is up 23.5% year over year. Groceries are up. Electricity is up. Clothing is up. This is what happens when you start a war nobody wanted, impose tariffs a court had to throw out, and then brag about it. Connecticut families are not loving any of this.

“We’d like to know if Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding, Senator Fazio, and the rest of the Senate MAGA caucus love the inflation too. They voted against a Democratic budget that cut costs for Connecticut families. They’ve stayed silent while the Trump regime has made everything more expensive. Now their president has given them a slogan. Do they stand with him, or do they stand with the people they represent?”

-Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk), in response to President Trump’s comments that he “loves the inflation” as inflation surpassed 4% for the first time in three years.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | 203-710-0193 | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov

Looney & Paolillo React to Deal between Uber and Tweed

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Senator Looney & Representative Paolillo React to Deal between Uber and Tweed

“We are relieved that Uber has finally reached an agreement to serve Tweed directly, and we welcome the relief this will bring to the residential neighborhoods around the airport. For nearly five years, while Lyft and M7 worked out arrangements to operate on airport property, Uber’s drivers and passengers were left to navigate the side streets of the East Shore and the Annex, and our neighbors bore the burden of that inconvenience. This agreement does what should have happened long ago, keeping airport pick-ups and drop-offs on airport grounds where they belong.”

-Senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney (D-New Haven) and State Representative Al Paolillo, Jr. (D-New Haven) on the recently announced agreement between Uber and Tweed New Haven Airport.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov | 203-710-0193

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SENATOR NEEDLEMAN WELCOMES $250,000 EAST HAMPTON REMEDIATION GRANT

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SENATOR NEEDLEMAN WELCOMES $250,000 EAST HAMPTON REMEDIATION GRANT

June 11, 2026

 

Today, State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex) welcomed the announcement that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will deliver a $250,000 brownfield remediation grant to East Hampton to clean up a Walnut Street property with the intent of turning it into a public park.

The funds come through DEEP’s Brownfields into Greenfields Grant Program, supporting assessment and remediation of environmentally contaminated areas for redevelopment and reuse. The grants allow for creation, preservation or addition of park space, greenways or recreational space for public use.

In East Hampton, the $250,000 grant will be used for cleanup activities at 3 Walnut Street, also known as the former Water Tower Property, with plans to redevelop the 1.53-acre property into a public park. The East Hampton Bell Company originally owned the property.

“Remediation allows properties currently going unused to be refreshed and turned into new community resources, like the park that will soon come to Walnut Street,” said Sen. Needleman. “I’m encouraged by DEEP’s support of our community and am grateful to state leaders for their support; I’ll be watching with interest as work continues here.”

“The BiG Grant Program allows DEEP to assist our municipal partners and non-profit organizations in their continuing efforts to turn brownfields that pose an environmental and economic burden into assets that make these communities better places to live, work and play,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes.

 

State Senator Norm Needleman

SENATOR ANWAR WELCOMES $115,000 EAST HARTFORD REMEDIATION GRANT

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Senator Anwar

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969

June 11, 2026
SENATOR ANWAR WELCOMES $115,000 EAST HARTFORD REMEDIATION GRANT

 
Today, State Senator Saud Anwar (D-South Windsor) welcomed the announcement that the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection will deliver a $115,000 brownfield remediation grant to East Hartford to clean up an existing park to improve its safety and usability.

The funds come through DEEP’s Brownfields into Greenfields Grant Program, supporting assessment and remediation of environmentally contaminated areas for redevelopment and reuse. The grants allow for creation, preservation or addition of park space, greenways or recreational space for public use.
In East Hartford, the $115,000 grant will be used for cleanup activities at Shea Park, with intent to support the 8.9-acre park’s safety and usability. DEEP previously determined an Environmental Land Use Restriction at the park was necessary due to current conditions.

“Remediation of Shea Park will support our community and ensure this important resource remains usable for local recreation,” said Sen. Anwar. “I’m grateful that these funds will support East Hartford and better support our residents, and I thank state leaders for the investment.”

“The BiG Grant Program allows DEEP to assist our municipal partners and non-profit organizations in their continuing efforts to turn brownfields that pose an environmental and economic burden into assets that make these communities better places to live, work and play,” said DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes.

Lesser Named Co-Chair of Connecticut Long Term Care Planning Committee

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Senator Lesser Named Co-Chair of Connecticut Long Term Care Planning Committee

HARTFORD — Today, Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) was named co-chair of the Connecticut Long Term Care Planning Committee, joining Representative Jane Garibay and Melissa Morton of the Office of Policy and Management in leading the committee’s work. The committee is charged with making long-term forecasts on workforce and funding for Connecticut’s nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home care sector, and with exploring the creation of a state universal long-term care benefit.

The appointment comes as Connecticut’s long-term care sector faces direct threats from the federal Republican budget signed by President Trump last year. The law enacted the largest cuts to Medicaid in the program’s history, totaling approximately $1 trillion over the next decade. For Connecticut’s long-term care sector, the consequences are significant: skilled nursing facilities and home health agencies face potential funding shortfalls from reduced Medicaid reimbursements, nursing home minimum staffing standards have been suspended through 2034, and new restrictions on Medicaid eligibility will make it harder for seniors to access the care they need as they age.

“I am proud to serve as co-chair of this committee at a moment when the work could not be more urgent,” said Senator Matt Lesser (D-Middletown). “Connecticut’s nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home care workers are the backbone of support for our seniors and people with disabilities, and Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress just cut the floor out from under them. The federal government has abandoned its commitment to long-term care, and it falls to states to respond. Connecticut has always led when Washington has failed, and this committee is going to build a long-term care system that our residents can count on for decades to come.”

The committee will examine workforce challenges, funding sustainability, and the feasibility of a state-level universal long-term care benefit that could insulate Connecticut residents from future federal rollbacks.

Senator Gaston Highlights 100% Voting Record in 2026 Session

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Senator Gaston Highlights 100% Voting Record in 2026 Session

Today, State Senator Herron Keyon Gaston (D-Bridgeport) highlighted his 100% voting record in the 2026 legislative session, having voted on all 410 matters that reached the Senate floor.

“Every vote I cast is a promise kept to the residents in my district,” said Sen. Gaston. “During the 2026 legislative session, I was proud to maintain a perfect voting record. There are families in this district who are counting on me to show up and to speak up on their behalf. I don’t take this seat for granted. My faith reminds me every day that I was put here for a purpose.”

Senator Gaston was one of 12 legislators to weigh in on all 410 votes cast in Hartford this year, with nine Democrats and three Republicans earning that distinction.

Senator Gadkar-Wilcox Congratulates Monroe Resident on Appointment to BERGIN Commission

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Senator Gadkar-Wilcox Congratulates Monroe Resident on Appointment to BERGIN Commission

 

Today, state Senator Sujata Gadkar-Wilcox (D-Bridgeport), is congratulating Monroe resident and special education supervisor Chrissy Martinez on her immediate appointment to the Building Educational Responsibility with Greater Improvement Networks (BERGIN) Commission by Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk).
 
“Chrissy Martinez is exactly the kind of expert voice this commission needs,” said Senator Gadkar-Wilcox. “As a special education supervisor, she understands firsthand the challenges and opportunities facing our students, especially those who need the most support. Monroe is lucky to have her, and now Connecticut’s students will benefit from her knowledge and dedication.”
 
“I am proud to appoint Chrissy Martinez to the BERGIN Commission,” said Senator Duff. “Her hands-on experience as a special education supervisor brings exactly the kind of perspective we need to drive meaningful improvements for Connecticut’s students. I look forward to the contributions she will make.”

Looney, Duff: MacCormack’s Nomination Exposes a Deeper Problem in the Republican Party

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Looney & Duff: MacCormack’s Nomination Exposes a Deeper Problem in the Republican Party

“There is a long and dishonorable tradition of invoking religious conviction as a pretext for persecution. Jadon MacCormack is not the first to take a faith of love, forgiveness, and charity and bastardize it into vicious bigotry, cruelty, and contempt toward others and call it principle. His hate is a reflection of himself, not the Christian faith.”

“MacCormack is one example of a broader and deeply troubling pattern. The Republican Party in Connecticut and across this country continues to attract people who advocate views that have no place in a pluralistic democratic society. A group of elected Republican Party delegates got together and chose MacCormack to be the Republican nominee for the 50th District. MacCormack wrote a biography of preacher Steven Anderson who advocates the death penalty for gay people, has been banned from more than thirty countries, and whose church has been designated a hate group. Did none of these local Republicans know about MacCormack’s viewpoints that were so public and extreme? How does a man who chose to celebrate Steven Anderson get a Republican nomination for the Connecticut General Assembly without a single person in that party demanding answers?”

“We appreciate House Republican Leader Candelora and Senate Republican Leader Harding for reacting appropriately to MacCormack’s spewing of corrosive bile. That is the standard we should expect of all elected officials, regardless of party.”

“Connecticut Democrats believe billionaires should pay their fair share, that working people deserve a stronger hand against corporations, and that affordable housing should be accessible to everyone. We are not calling for cruelty toward anyone. There is no equivalent on the left of what MacCormack is expressing, and those who pretend otherwise are engaged in a moral failure of their own.”

-Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) on the recent revelations about Connecticut House Republican candidate Jadon MacCormack.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | 203-710-0193 | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov

Looney, Duff: MacCormack’s Nomination Exposes a Deeper Problem in the Republican Party

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Looney & Duff: MacCormack’s Nomination Exposes a Deeper Problem in the Republican Party

“There is a long and dishonorable tradition of invoking religious conviction as a pretext for persecution. Jadon MacCormack is not the first to take a faith of love, forgiveness, and charity and bastardize it into vicious bigotry, cruelty, and contempt toward others and call it principle. His hate is a reflection of himself, not the Christian faith.”

“MacCormack is one example of a broader and deeply troubling pattern. The Republican Party in Connecticut and across this country continues to attract people who advocate views that have no place in a pluralistic democratic society. A group of elected Republican Party delegates got together and chose MacCormack to be the Republican nominee for the 50th District. MacCormack wrote a biography of preacher Steven Anderson who advocates the death penalty for gay people, has been banned from more than thirty countries, and whose church has been designated a hate group. Did none of these local Republicans know about MacCormack’s viewpoints that were so public and extreme? How does a man who chose to celebrate Steven Anderson get a Republican nomination for the Connecticut General Assembly without a single person in that party demanding answers?”

“We appreciate House Republican Leader Candelora and Senate Republican Leader Harding for reacting appropriately to MacCormack’s spewing of corrosive bile. That is the standard we should expect of all elected officials, regardless of party.”

“Connecticut Democrats believe billionaires should pay their fair share, that working people deserve a stronger hand against corporations, and that affordable housing should be accessible to everyone. We are not calling for cruelty toward anyone. There is no equivalent on the left of what MacCormack is expressing, and those who pretend otherwise are engaged in a moral failure of their own.”

-Senate President Martin Looney (D-New Haven) and Senate Majority Leader Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) on the recent revelations about Connecticut House Republican candidate Jadon MacCormack.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kevin Coughlin | 203-710-0193 | kevin.coughlin@cga.ct.gov

SENATOR NEEDLEMAN ISSUES STATEMENT ON DYKES’ DEPARTURE FROM DEEP

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SENATOR NEEDLEMAN ISSUES STATEMENT ON DYKES’ DEPARTURE FROM DEEP


“Katie Dykes will have an impact on Connecticut for decades to come. In forging a new path for the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, her steadfast commitment to environmental issues and energy policy in our state paid strong dividends. She did a great job building a strong and qualified team at DEEP that’s ready to keep working hard for our state. Katie’s expertise in energy policy is rivaled by very few people in the United States, and having the opportunity to work with her and many other great and dedicated people on energy policy in recent years has educated and enlightened me in ways I never expected. I appreciate the hard work and endless focus she held in her role, and I am very sad to see her go.”

State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex), Senate Chair of the Energy and Technology Committee, responding to this afternoon’s announcement that DEEP Commissioner Katie Dykes is stepping down from her role.

Contact: Joe O’Leary | Joe.OLeary@cga.ct.gov | 508-479-4969