Calling Out Trump’s Taxes & Rising Prices

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U. S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) joined local grocers in New Haven to discuss the impact on businesses and consumers from increased tariffs amid the Trump Administration’s ongoing trade war. While many grocery stores have not yet had to increase prices, many are struggling to prepare for higher costs amid the uncertainty. 

 “We’re here because the people of Connecticut are going to see hurt and hardship as a result of the trade war begun by Donald Trump. Trump has begun this trade war without any strategy for ending it, and like all wars, there will be victims—the people of Connecticut and America. They will be the victims of soaring price increases because those taxes are going to be imposed on products they need. Tariffs will hurt all Americans. It is a self-inflicted wound that could slide us towards recession in addition to impacting so hurtfully and harmfully everyday Americans,” said Blumenthal. 

On the Environment: Recently, President Trump signed an executive order illegally instructing the U.S. Department of Justice to identify and block the enforcement of state and local laws that tackle climate change including efforts to cut climate pollution, hold corporate polluters accountable, and advance environmental justice initiatives. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has launched an attack on the environment, recently announcing a series of 31 actions that would eliminate anti-pollution and climate change regulations, including the “Good Neighbor” rule that protects Connecticut and other downwind states from air pollution emitted by other states. Blumenthal has written to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin calling out his assault on the central mission of the agency he was appointed to lead and calling on him to halt his attacks.

Pushing Back Against Catastrophic Cuts to Medicaid: 

Blumenthal joined SEIU 119 and long-term care workers in Hartford to discuss how the Trump Administration’s proposal to gut Medicaid endangers thousands of care worker jobs in Connecticut. More than 16,000 adults over the age of 65 receive Medicaid covered long term care in Connecticut nursing homes. The workers who care for these individuals are paid through Medicaid but are fearful that if the Trump Administration follows through on plans to cut $880 billion from the program that they will lose their jobs. There is already an acute shortage of nursing home workers in Connecticut.

Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) released a statement slamming Secretary Doug Collins’ establishment of an Anti-Christian Bias Task Force at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

“While religious discrimination must be forbidden and fought, this internal VA memo lacks any factual basis or rationale. It raises the specter of dividing the veteran community and favoring some religions over others. Since our nation’s birth, veterans have fought and died to preserve our freedoms— including to live free from religious intolerance or interference by government. The First Amendment ensures that all religions and faiths are treated equally, with full freedom of worship. The government should be vigilant never to endorse or favor one religion above others. All veterans deserve equal respect and dignity.”