Murphy Slates Session At ETH—

Got A Message For Congress?

By John Voket

US Congressman Chris Murphy wants to hear what is on the minds of Newtowners. On Thursday, August 9, Mr Murphy is conducting a town hall meeting at 6:30 pm in Edmond Town Hall.

According to his Washington office, Congressman Murphy wants to update local residents on some of the issues he is handling in Washington, and to get feedback from Fifth District residents about issues that matter to them.

This year, Mr Murphy has voted on historic legislation on issues ranging from the war in Iraq to making college more affordable for Connecticut families, and he is eager to hear from Fifth District residents about what they want Congress to work on in the coming months.

The Congressman told The Newtown Bee Wednesday that he has been working diligently since arriving in Washington last December.

“As Congress heads into its August recess, the days and weeks leading up to the break have been some of the busiest yet,” Mr Murphy said. “Between expanding health insurance for low-income children and finally passing the long-overdue recommendations of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission, Congress is tackling so many issues that I hear are important to people in the Fifth District.”

The lawmaker said he will be able to work even more effectively in the coming session if he has first-hand information from his local constituents.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us in the fall,” he said. “I need to hear from folks in Newtown and across the Fifth District so that when Congress reconvenes in September, I can hit the ground running. I need to know what is on their minds, and what my constituents want me to accomplish going forward.”

Congressman Murphy said he is spending much of August traveling to every corner of the Fifth District.

“I hope a good number of Newtown residents have the time next Thursday to come by the town hall and meet with me.”

In related news, July 31, Congressman Murphy questioned R. David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) at a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing about the agency’s slow response to Connecticut in the aftermath of the mid-April storm that left significant damage behind.

“When that spring storm hit Connecticut, small towns didn’t have the resources available to them to clean up the mess and quickly address property damage issues. FEMA dragged its feet in declaring a disaster,” said Mr Murphy.

After the storm, which began over the weekend of April 14 and 15, and continued into Monday, April 16, Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell announced that she would ask FEMA to declare portions of Connecticut a major disaster for businesses, homeowners, and municipalities. FEMA did not declare a disaster until May 11 for municipalities only; the agency did not extend that declaration for businesses and homeowners until June 14 — two months after the storm.

In response to Mr Murphy’s questioning about the delay in declaring a disaster in Connecticut, Mr Paulison agreed that it took too long in this case, noting that it should take less than two weeks to make the determination.

On May 1, Congressman Murphy joined the rest of the Connecticut delegation in sending a letter to FEMA asking for the declaration of a major disaster in Connecticut as a result of this storm.