Approximately half of U.S. adults reported experiencing loneliness, even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The issue recently moved U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy to issue an advisory around the "loneliness epidemic" in America. Soon after, Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy introduced a bill that would launch an Office of Social Connection Policy,... Read More

The Biden administration this week told Congress that it intends to withhold $85 million designated for U.S. security assistance to Egypt this year, and instead provide the bulk of the money to Taiwan. Sign up for Fact Checker, our weekly review of what's true, false or in-between in politics.The decision brought immediate criticism from lawmakers... Read More

WASHINGTON—The U.S. plans to redirect some of its foreign military financing allocated for Egypt to Taiwan over what it says is Egypt’s failure to make progress on human rights and other issues, according to U.S. officials. The Biden administration has notified Congress that it would withhold $85 million in aid conditioned on the release of... Read More

A bipartisan group of legislators affirmed their commitment to increase funding for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) Tuesday afternoon at a High Holiday Security Briefing held on Capitol Hill, despite intensified funding pressures on Capitol Hill this year.  In rare public comments on the NSGP, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), who chairs the... Read More

Families of more than 200,000 children in the state of Connecticut will receive additional Supplementary Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits starting on Monday, according to the governor’s office. The Department of Social Services and the Department of Education are distributing benefits of $25.1 million. This amounts to about $120 per... Read More

WASHINGTON - A proposed regulation announced Thursday by the Biden administration would require thousands of gun sellers to register with the federal government and conduct background checks of their customers. A small part of the bipartisan gun law Congress passed last year broadened the definition of a “gun dealer” as a way of reducing the number... Read More

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) criticized former Vice President Mike Pence’s proposal to give arrested mass shooters the death penalty, saying the remarks show his ignorance on the topic. The proposal “shows how little Mike Pence understands about the gun violence epidemic in this country,” Murphy said in a CBS interview on Tuesday. “Fact is, most... Read More

A senior member of the US Congress has predicted that American companies coming to Northern Ireland next month as part of a trade delegation will set up here because of the NI Protocol. But Senator Chris Coons and Senator Chris Murphy also expressed deep concern that the DUP’s refusal to take part in power-sharing, which has paralysed the executive... Read More

The future of progressive politics in America just might revolve around whether someone like Chris Murphy, a U.S. senator from a prosperous New England state, can find common ground culturally and politically with a man like Oliver Anthony. Earlier this month, Anthony, a young country singer, dropped his song “Rich Men North of Richmond” into the... Read More

For a Connecticut Democrat not actively seeking higher office, Boone, North Carolina would seem like an odd location for a summertime visit.  Earlier this month, however, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy met with a group of scholars, writers and activists in the Appalachian college town to prompt a discussion about social and economic decline in rural... Read More

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday accused Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) of being “prepared to burn the military down” with his hold on hundreds of military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy.  Murphy told reporters at the Capitol that he is hoping Senate Republicans will work with Democrats after the August recess to come up with... Read More

Members of the Norwich Interfaith Association and other Norwich community leaders met with U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy at the Sikh Art Gallery Tuesday, concerned about loneliness among adults and the social impact from the decline of churches and church attendance. In June, Gallup Polls said church attendance was still bellow... Read More

WINDHAM - Like a celebrity, campers at Horizons in South Windham greeted Sen. Chris Murphy with hugs and requests to take selfies when he visited Tuesday afternoon. They also served him a piece of cake in celebration of his birthday. "I'm so glad to be here with you today," Murphy said, greeting campers while they dined in the... Read More

Residents in the East End neighborhood of Bridgeport are working to transform a former trash dump into a hydroponic farm, but they want more federal help to help make it a reality. The dump, formerly known as Mount Trashmore, is now called Mount Growmore. In addition to the farm, advocates hope to create a one-stop shop for social services. The... Read More

COVENTRY - U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) visited Hytone Farm in Coventry Tuesday to learn about the anaerobic digester, a system at the farm which uses manure and food waste to produce renewable electricity. "It's really a work of magic," Murphy said. The project, which received approximately $5 million in funding, entails reducing methane... Read More

Connecticut’s U.S. senators have taken umbrage over remarks by Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito that rejected the notion of Congress having regulatory oversight powers over the court. In a recent Wall Street Journal interview, Alito responded to efforts by Senate Democrats to create new legislation that invent an ethics code for Supreme... Read More

WASHINGTON — A group of US senators is urging the Biden administration to withhold a fraction of Egypt’s annual military assistance over human rights concerns.  “Egypt’s human rights record has continued to deteriorate, despite the Egyptian government’s claims to the contrary,” read a letter to... Read More

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) wants to draw attention to a new epidemic — loneliness. Murphy has introduced the National Strategy for Social Connection Act. It would create a White House office focused on improving quality of life in the U.S., as well as establish guidelines for social connection, similar to those that advise on sleep,... Read More

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blasted conservative Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Sunday for claiming that Congress has no authority to create a code of conduct for the high court, which has been embroiled in ethics controversies. Senate Democrats have been considering implementing a code of conduct to hold the court to higher ethics... Read More

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has announced new legislation aimed at tackling a growing health hazard among Americans — loneliness. “It’s a real epidemic in this country that has gone on largely without being talked about,” Murphy said at a press conference Friday at the YMCA of Greater Hartford. “Everybody has been lonely at... Read More