Several members of the Connecticut Congressional Delegation condemned today’s announcement by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) of a new tariff that could force Connecticut-based Nestle Waters North America to lay off 100 workers.  Nestle Waters is the largest American importer of Italian mineral water, which would be affected by the new tariff.  Today’s announcement ignores President Obama’s directive that all pending regulations be halted until his Administration can conduct a full legal and policy review of each matter. 

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) announced today that fire departments in several Connecticut towns have been awarded federal grants totaling more than $2 million.  The funds will go to improving operations and safety at their facilities, acquiring new vehicles, and hiring additional personnel. The grants were made possible by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Assistance to Firefighters Grants (AFG) program and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) program, which provide aid to first-responder programs nationwide with the aim of improving the equipment and staffing levels in order to protect the health and safety of the public, as well as that of the first-responders themselves.

I would like to congratulate Stanley Israelite on receiving the "Service Above Self Award" from the Norwich Rotary. I was once privileged enough to have Stanley as my original district director when I was in the House of representatives and my first state director as a U.S. Senator. His dedication to the people of Norwich and Connecticut was as strong then as it is now. He has spent a lifetime devoted to a city that he has called home since he was a boy.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) today announced the Senate’s passage of the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act of 2009.  The legislation includes four key bills that will designate two new trails and allow for expanded activities at two national parks.

Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT), Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), John Kerry (D-MA), and Edward Kennedy (D-MA) applauded today’s Senate passage of their bill to extend the designation of the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley as a Heritage Corridor through 2015. This legislation, which will provide crucial protection to one of the last undeveloped regions in the Northeast, was approved by the Senate as part of a package of public lands bills.

Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd today will address the Regional Transportation Forum presented by the Connecticut Sierra Club and the National Corridors Initiative. Dodd will speak about the need for investing in our state and nation’s infrastructure in order to create jobs and spur economic growth.

"We have a golden opportunity in the coming months to not only rebuild existing transportation infrastructure and provide new capacity – and we need to – but to also start thinking differently about the role transportation plays in America – about how we get to work and school, how our businesses move and ship products. Not just how we live our lives today, but how we want to live our lives tomorrow."

Groton - Politicians praised the Navy's decision to award Electric Boat a $14 billion contract to build the next eight Virginia-class submarines Tuesday, calling it an economic stimulus that will help Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia and states across the country that build submarine parts.

Electric Boat, with facilities in Groton and North Kingstown, R.I., and the Northrop Grumman Newport News shipyard in Virginia will jointly build one ship per year in 2009 and 2010, and two ships per year from 2011 through 2013 - a production increase that starts a year earlier than the Navy had originally planned.

A new $14 billion contract with General Dynamics Corp.'s Electric Boat unit and Northrop Grumman Corp. will double submarine production to two annually and save and create thousands of jobs amid the recession, officials said Tuesday.

Representatives of the U.S. Navy and the two companies, along with labor union leaders and members of Connecticut and Rhode Island's congressional delegations, hailed the contract at Electric Boat's shipyard in Groton. They called it critical to the region's economy and for national security as China and other countries build submarines..

U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, are asking Pfizer Inc.'s chief executive officer to reconsider plans to replace local contractors at its southeastern Connecticut campuses with foreign workers.

In a letter Monday to Jeffrey B. Kindler, Pfizer's chairman and chief executive officer, Dodd and Courtney said they are concerned about a companywide policy dubbed Procedure 117 that would replace local information-technology contract workers at its Groton and New London sites with workers from outside firms, including those from overseas.

Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Congressman Joe Courtney (CT-2) sent the following letter today to Jeffrey B. Kindler, CEO of Pfizer Inc, expressing their concern over recent reports that suggest the company has been training foreign contractors to replace local workers at their facilities in New London and Groton.