Chris Murphy

Chris Murphy

Template:TOCnestleft Chris Murphy is the junior United States Senator for Connecticut. Elected in 2012, Murphy serves on the Appropriations Committee, the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, the Foreign Relations Committee, and the Democratic Steering & Outreach Committee.

He previously represented the 5th district of Connecticut in the United States House of Representatives. Murphy won election to the Senate in November 2012.

Murphy's Fifth District included the towns of Danbury, Meriden, New Britain, and Waterbury. He served on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee. He also served on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and its Technology, Information Policy, Intergovernmental Relations and Procurement Reform and Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives Subcommittees.

Background

Chris Murphy grew up in Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating with honors and a double major in history and political science. In 2002, he graduated from UConn Law School in Hartford, Connecticut. He practiced real estate and banking law from 2002-2006 with the firm of Ruben, Johnson & Morgan in Hartford.

On August 18, 2007, Congressman Murphy married Cathy Holahan, a legal aid attorney who represents children in need in New Britain and Waterbury.

State House

Prior to his service in the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Murphy served for eight years in the Connecticut General Assembly. He spent four years representing Southington and the 81st district in the House, and then spent four years representing the 16th Senatorial District, which includes the towns of Waterbury, Wolcott, Cheshire and Southington. While in the Senate, he served as the Chairman of the Public Health Committee.

As Chairman of the Public Health Committee, Congressman Murphy was the General Assembly's leader on health care issues. In 2003, during his first year as Chairman, he led the passage of Connecticut's landmark workplace smoking ban. That year, he also authored legislation that prohibits hospitals from engaging in overly aggressive collection practices against uninsured patients and a law establishing new government powers to be utilized during a bioterrorism attack.

Peace Pledge Coalition

In 2007 90 Members of Congress, pledged in an open letter delivered to President Bush: "We will only support appropriating funds for U.S. military operations in Iraq during Fiscal Year 2008 and beyond for the protection and safe redeployment of all our troops out of Iraq before you leave office." The letter was initiated by the Peace Pledge Coalition. The Coalition was led by Tim Carpenter, Progressive Democrats of America, Bob Fertik, Democrats.com Medea Benjamin, CodePink, Bill Fletcher, co-founder of Center for Labor Renewal David Swanson, AfterDowningStreet.org, Democrats.com, Progressive Democrats of America, Kevin Zeese, Voters for Peace, Democracy Rising, Brad Friedman, co-founder of Velvet Revolution, Bill Moyer, Backbone Campaign.

Chris Murphy signed the letter.

Communist Party connections

Senator Murphy has strong ties to the Communist Party USA.

"Champion for jobs and working people"

New Haven Connecticut Communist Party USA leader Joelle Fishman wrote in the People's World, June 28 2013;

The union-community coalition that came together around the city elections and the 2011 jobs program, was instrumental in electing Sen. Chris Murphy, a champion for jobs and working people, to the U.S. Senate.

Communist staffer

Maxwell Goldman of the Communist Party USA is a Senior Outreach Assistant, United States Senate, for Chris Murphy, Sep 2016, Hartford, Connecticut.

He was Outreach Assistant, United States Senate, Jan 2013 – Jan 2016, Hartford, Connecticut, and Field Organizer, Chris Murphy for U.S. Senate, Apr 2012 – Nov 2012. New London, CT.

Heimer connection

Senator Richard Blumenthal, Win Heimer, Senator Chris Murphy, July 2018.

Justice Forum

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told advocates, clergy and elected officials August 2013 that he will introduce legislation in Washington this fall to reform the nation's juvenile justice laws based on the changes already adopted in Connecticut.

"In Connecticut we have decriminalized certain juvenile offenses like truancy and then we have moved kids out of prisons into community settings," Murphy said at the Newhallville Community Center, criticizing use of police in schools where fights once settled in the principal's office now end up in court.

The state's junior U.S. senator also talked about the unfairness of current mandatory federal sentencing requirements and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's proposal to overhaul U.S. prison policy.

Despite only having 5 percent of the world's population, "we lock up more people in this country than another country in the world," said Murphy, who blames mandatory minimum sentences for drug charges - particularly crack cocaine. He said the U.S. has the dubious honor of incarcerating 25 percent of the total number of prisoners worldwide.

"We should be ashamed of that," Murphy said.

David White of New Elm City Dream addressed Murphy at the roundtable discussion.

2017 Year of Resistance

Ruth Tulin Cion, Chris Murphy, Marilyn Tyszka, Win Heimer, Bette Marafino

Young Communists

The nation's youngest Senator came to New Haven, February 2013, less than 60 days into his first term for a roundtable chat with a group of engaging city youths, who sometimes turned the table on the politician.

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., not yet 40, asked survey questions of the group of students roughly 9 to 19 years old, chatted about school, family life and finding a passion in life at the 75-minute discussion in the basement of First and Summerfield United Methodist Church on College Street.

"I am very, very ... passionate about New Haven," said Capria Marks, daughter of the Rev. Scott Marks, who introduced Murphy. "I hear stories of the Q House... the dances that used to happen at the Armory. And I hear about how Newhallville was this vibrant place... and I personally want to know how do you look at the violence and the drugs that happen in New Haven?"

Murphy said that's why he's asking questions about family and school and said he thinks violence results from a sense of powerlessness.

"What cities have to be about is hope," Murhy said. "What cities have to be about is you've got a pathway to have a better life."

Students Mark Ifill-Haney, and Tyler Blatche spoke.

A student member of New Elm City Dream said a survey showed 68 percent of youth are exposed to violence and that leads to aggression, incarceration and "a lost generation of kids."

Murphy urged students, assembled by community leaders, city aldermen and word of mouth, to think about challenging him and to chart his progress on such issues.

Ukraine comments

Communist Party USA supporter Henry Lowendorf, Chris Murphy, Communist Party leader Joelle Fishman behind

Murphy with Win Heimer, VP Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans

In February 2014, as Ukraine slid toward a possible civil war amid fears of Russian military intervention , U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, in a New Haven stop, took a stance of wait-and-see—while watching very closely. Murphy has been one of the most active senators on the Ukraine crisis. He chairs the the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s subcommittee on European Affairs; in December he addressed a mass rally in Kiev.

He made an Obamacare-related stop Friday at New Haven’s Dixwell/Newhallville Senior Center as fast-moving events in Ukraine’s Crimea region raised fears of a deadly civil war or a Cold War-style Russian intervention. The Russians have told the U.S. they will respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Murphy reported. “We’ll hold them to that promise.”

“The United States supports peaceful protest movements. Now we’re going to support the new government” with an aid package, he said. “We’re focusing now on political support for the new government and economic aid.”

Asked about reports of unidentified military-style presence at the airport and Russian troop exercises on the border, Murphy said he’d wait to for confirmation as to who the people are before commenting.

He played down the prospect of a division of the country or an annexation in the Crimea. “Crimea has a decent amount of sovereignty today. I’m sure the new government will be ready to talk about further amendments” to that arrangement. he said. “Neither the U.S. or Russia should impose our view of government structure in Ukraine.”

Murphy made his Ukraine remarks at a roundtable/ press conference convened at the senior center. He told a group of seniors attending the center’s lunch program, and a handful of leaders of the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans, that he and other senators are launching “ACA Works.” That’s the name of a marketing campaign to counter Republican naysaying and debunking of the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) with true stories and facts of the health care law’s achievements, he said.

Backing Toni Harp

New Haven Mayor Toni Harp announced her bid for a second term at a campaign kickoff event on a Saturday in early May 2015.

The kickoff, held at Edgewood Park, was attended by community members as well as representatives of New Haven at the state and federal levels. Sen. Richard Blumenthal LAW ’73, Sen. Chris Murphy, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro and state senate President Pro Tempore Martin M. Looney each endorsed Harp, underscoring her commitment to bolstering youth services in the city. In her remarks, Harp spoke of the city’s progress in reducing crime, bettering public schools and creating new jobs as strengths of her administration. The campaign’s office will open on June 6 at 940 Whalley Ave.

“I’m excited. I’m joyful. And I’m proud to announce that I’m running for a second term for mayor,” Harp said.

Several city officials, including Hill alder Dolores Colon ’91, have noted that Harp is the leading candidate in the race, but Murphy said city residents should still vote on Nov. 3.

“This is as important as it gets,” he said. “It’s up to everyone here … to take nothing for granted in this election.”

Harp connection

Chris Murphy, Toni Harp

In August 2013, citing her leadership on stem cell research and her work for “abused and neglected children,” U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy threw his support behind Toni Harp’s mayoral campaign.

Murphy’s endorsement took place at the Farnam Neighborhood House at 162 Fillmore St. in Fair Haven. It was the latest of many endorsements Harp has racked up, including from the governor, elected officials, unions and firefighters.

The event came two weeks before Harp faces three opponents—Kermit Carolina, Justin Elicker, and Henry Fernandez—in a Democratic primary for mayor.

Harp, who’s in her 21st year as state senator, has been working with Murphy since he was elected to the state House in 1998. He served two terms as state rep, two as state senator, and three in the U.S. Congress. Now he’s in his first year as U.S. senator.

Murphy gave three reasons to support Harp.

First, he praised her “visionary leadership” on health care.

Murphy credited Harp’s work on the public health committee at the legislature.

One of the first issues Murphy and Harp worked on together after Murphy joined the state Senate in 2002 was stem cell research, Murphy said. First, the state passed a law authorizing stem cell research in the state but not providing any money. Harp then pushed for a second law that authorized $100 million over ten years for stem cell research. That helped boost the number of labs in the state conducting stem cell research from two to twenty, according to Murphy.

He also credited her work on statewide health care reform.

“Toni Harp, more than anybody else, made the public health committee a place where we debated the big issues of whether or not we were going to allow thousands of Connecticut residents to go to sleep sick at night simply because they weren’t affluent enough to afford health care,” Murphy said.

Second, Murphy praised Harp’s “courage” in fighting to establish the state Office of Child Protection.

“There is no one who has spoken louder or more consistently for the voices of abused and neglected children” than Harp has.

Third, he praised Harp’s “effectiveness.”

“I’ve watched Toni Harp work at the state Capitol,” Murphy said. He said she has a reputation of “being able to reach out to those who disagree with her” to “get things done.”

He said her experience at the Capitol will give her the ability to pass a budget, work with a “diverse and strong-minded board” of city legislators, and to draw on her relationships at the state to support New Haven.

In her own remarks, Harp said she and Murphy share ideals on public health. She ran down a list of legislation they have worked on together: banning smoking from restaurants and bars; clean car emissions; stem cell research; the Office of Child Protection; and ethics reform.

“We have been in the trenches together,” Harp said.

Murphy pledged to send down campaign supporters to knock on doors and make calls for Harp. And he pledged to send an email to his list of 100,000 supporters to urge them to support Harp as well.

“This is not just a paper endorsement,” he said.

State Commissioner on Aging Edith Prague, Fair Haven Democratic Co-Chair Celestino Cordova, State Rep. Gary Holder-Winfield and Harp's Campaign manager Jason Bartlett also attended.

"Immigration reform"

In January 2013, three days before President Obama addressed immigration, Connecticut Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes pledged their support for comprehensive reform at a community round table in Bridgeport hosted by Connecticut Students for a DREAM.

The "Immigration Reform: The Time is now!" event held at the United Congregational Church was also attended by State Senator Ayala and scores of community leaders and families.

"Telling your personal stories will change minds and you will change hearts," said Himes adding that the entire Connecticut delegation supports "the DREAM Act and comprehensive immigration reform with a path to citizenship."

Murphy replied that "we're closer than ever to getting this done, because of the political power represented in packed rooms like this all across the country." He also warned against half-measures that create "a subclass of semi-documented immigrants."

Alberto Bernardez of SEIU 32BJ emphasized that comprehensive reform helps the whole economy. "We will get rid of the underground economy that drags everybody down," he said.

Sen. Blumenthal pledged to "continue working for a strong bi-partisan comprehensive immigration reform plan including the Dream Act with the support of groups like Connecticut Students for a DREAM."

John J. Lugo of Unidad Latina en Accion, addressed the forum.

Blumenthal, along with newly elected Senator Chris Murphy and Rep. Jim Himes, pledged support for comprehensive reform with a path to citizenship during the forum.

Los Borinqueneers

President Barack Obama signed a bill June 2014, y honoring the 65th Infantry Regiment, a unit of soldiers largely from Puerto Rico known as Los Borinqueneers with the Congressional Gold Medal.

Retired Staff Sergeants Celestino Cordova and Joe Pickard, two veterans from Connecticut, were among dozens of Borinqueneers from all over the country who traveled to Washington, D.C. for the bill signing.

"The guys are very happy and it's history in the making," said Retired Sgt. First Class Carmelo Figueroa, president of the Hispanic-American Veterans of Connecticut.

"It was a hugely joyous and powerfully moving moment for all of us," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Sen. Chris Murphy, among others, have advocated for the past year for legislative approval of the gold medal for the unit. The measure was approved last month by the U.S. House and the Senate.

Blumenthal said Obama met with the veterans privately a few minutes before the bill signing ceremony in the South Court Auditorium. Obama greeted the veterans in Spanish with, "Mucho gusto" and "Felicidades."

The president thankedd the Borinqueneers for their service and handed each a presidential coin.

During the ceremony, Blumenthal said he stood on stage with several of the Borinqueneers while the president signed the bill into law.

Pro-communist backed launch

Gary Holder-Winfield, Rosa DeLauro, Chris Murphy

New Haven Democrats gave Chris Murphy a rousing show of support for his U.S. Senate campaign—even as his opponent claimed some of them as her own backers.

The event took place Sunday, late january 2012, at the East Rock home of U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro. It marked the launching of Murphy’s campaign organizing drive in the third U.S. Congressional District. He was running for the 2012 Democratic nomination of the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Joe Lieberman.

Some 80 Democrats, many of them elected officials and influential activists, crammed the downstairs of the home DeLauro shares with Democratic strategist Stanley Greenberg. As Dannel Malloy learned in the 2010 gubernatorial elections, New Haven Democrats, the state’s largest and best organized bloc of urban votes, are the big prize in statewide elections. Both Murphy and his leading opponent for the Democratic nomination, Susan Bysiewicz, had been calling and calling ward-level Democrats for months seeking their support.

Murphy drew an impressive turnout at DeLauro’s home Sunday. Leading state legislators like state Sen. Majority Leader Martin M. Looney and Reps. Toni Walker, Roland Lemar, and Gary Holder-Winfield all spoke in support of his campaign. And 16 members of the city’s 30-member (all-Democratic) Board of Aldermen showed up, including many of the newly elected labor-backed activists who represent a formidable vote-pulling force.

“I think we have the entire Board of Aldermen here!” DeLauro proclaimed while introducing Murphy to the crowd from a perch on a stairway.

“I think the overflow crowd at Congresswoman DeLauro’s house spoke for itself as to who New Haven Democrats think the best candidate is to stand up for the middle class,” Murphy campaign manager Kenny Curran said.

Several aldermen interviewed at Murphy’s event said they were definitely in Murphy’s camp, including the Hill’s Jackie James, Newhallville’s Delphine Clyburn, and East Rock’s Justin Elicker.

Bysiewicz’s list of aldermanic supporters also included Sergio Rodriguez and Frank Douglass. They both showed up at Murphy’s event Sunday. They both said afterwards that they’re undecided in the race. “I want to see what their commitment to the Latino community is,” said Rodriguez.

State Comptroller Kevin Lembo came in support of Murphy, as did Attorney General George Jepsen.

New Haven Democrats endorsement

Union organizer, and Communist Party supporter Scott Marks huddles with Murphy before the endorsement

The sometimes-competing factions of "this one-party city’s ruling Democrats came together Monday to make the long-expected endorsement".

Leading Democrats made it official July 2012. First the New Haven Democratic Town Committee unanimously endorsed Murphy, a 5th District U.S. Representative, against longshot opponent Susan Bysiewicz for the upcoming party primary for the seat. Then pretty much all the city’s elected officials—from U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro and the entire state delegation to 27 out of 30 city aldermen and Mayor John DeStefano—announced their endorsement of Murphy at an event on the Green.

Artists for Murphy

As Bruce Springsteen, Jay-Z and Beyonce campaigned for Barack Obama in swing states, Connecticut performing and visual artists reached out to voters where a close race could determine control of the U. S. Senate.

Over 50 progressive artists issued a call to action this October 2012 expressing outrage at voter suppression efforts across the country. "To counter this attack on our democracy, we urge you to make your voice heard. Please help as many people as you can to register and vote - for yourself, and for everyone you love," the statement concludes.

"As artists concerned about our families, communities, and country we stand together with those grass roots and political leaders who want to make this a better world for everyone, not just the top 1%. As artists we intend to dedicate our talents to the cause of the 99%," the artists said.

When the Progressive Artists Committee first met in September, they initiated the call in response to the urgency of the elections. A diverse and growing group of artists representing various communities has signed on.

One of those artists, Bill Collins, was just completing a new song, "Pushing Back Against Linda's Lies," dedicated to exposing the tea-party Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

Collins performed the song with retirees in front of McMahon's campaign headquarters protesting a remark that she would "sunset Social Security." Collins also led a lively group performance outside the final debate between McMahon and Democratic candidate Chris Murphy.

Chris Murphy was first elected to Congress in 2006 representing the 5th Congressional District. He became a leader for health care, manufacturing jobs and clean energy. He opposed elimination of funding for Planned Parenthood. He has the support of the entire labor movement which has been campaigning hard for him, as well as environmental and women's organizations.

Progressive Artists Call To Action

We the undersigned artists from Connecticut feel compelled to raise our voices as this crucial election approaches. The control of the U.S. Senate and the direction of our country are at stake.

We are outraged that a huge voter suppression campaign is underway that could block millions from exercising their democratic right to vote. To counter this attack on our democracy, we urge you to make your voice heard. Please help as many people as you can to register and vote - for yourself, and for everyone you love.

Signed:

Ken Blackwell, Will Bartlett, Baub Bidon, Lydia Bornick, Cate Bourke, Warren Byrd. David Chevan, Bill Collins, Martina Crouch, Kendra Dawsey, Gabe DeLeon, Asher Delerme, David Douglas, David Elkin-Ginnetti, Edie Fishman, Jeff Fuller, Vanessa Glenn, David Gorin, Bob Gorry, Yonadav Greenwood, Justin Haaheim, Paul Hammer, Dan Hansen, Orlando Hernández, Richard Hill, Aaron Jafferis, Martha Jane Kaufman, Ava Kofman, Sherman Malone, Joseph A. McWilliams, Isabella Mendes, Jeff McQuillan, Pamela Nomura, Larissa Pham, Stacy Phillips, Chris Randall, Kenneth Reveiz, Laura Richling, Justin Taylor, Sophie Tong, Daniel Vieira, David Yih, The People's Arts Collective of New Haven, the cast of CHILD, Free2Spit: Lisa Bergmann, Isabel M. Carillo, Kevin Edwards, Eyra Feliciano, Tawana Galberth, Joshua Kosloski, Nick, J. Simone, Heidi Williams, Robin Williams.

Labor support 2012

Powered by the grass-roots efforts of union members who made phone calls, knocked on doors, talked to their co-workers and attended Get Out The Vote events, labor-endorsed candidates swept to victory in the Nov. 6 election.

The list starts with President Barack Obama and Chris Murphy -- who withstood Linda McMahon's $47 million effort to buy the 2012 U.S. Senate seat -- and Elizabeth Esty, who defeated the well-funded campaign of Republican Andrew Roraback in the 5th Congressional District.

"This was a victory for the middle class," said Council 4 Executive Director Sal Luciano. "Our members refused to allow corporations and right-wing billionaires to buy the election and ram through their extremist, anti-worker agenda. I am proud and grateful for everyone's effort."

AFSCME-endorsed candidates John B. Larson (1st Congressional District), Joe Courtney (2nd), Rosa DeLauro (3rd) and Jim Himes (4th) also were reelected, winning by sizeable margins.

Council 4 members Blair Bertaccini (Local 269), Tom Lukowicz (Local 1183) and Esma Ajruli (background), Local 714 phone-banked on election eve.

Labor Endorsement

At the Connecticut AFL-CIO convention June 23, 2008, state AFL-CIO President John Olsen, calling on everyone to go out and organize. “We got the House and Senate back in 2006 and now we have to get the presidency back so we can win the Employee Free Choice Act, universal health care and an energy policy like the Apollo plan.”

Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd was warmly welcomed by the delegates. Decrying the disparities in America, he lauded the labor movement for hard fought battles for workers’ gains “not given benevolently by corporate America,” and passionately called for an all-out push to elect Barack Obama on Nov. 4.

Saying he hopes the Employee Free Choice Act will be the first bill on the new president’s desk, Dodd emphasized that “this election will determine what kind of country, what kind of world, we leave to our children and grandchildren … We can’t afford four more years of Bush.”

The convention unanimously adopted a resolution reaffirming opposition to the war by national and state labor bodies, and asserting that Obama “shares labor’s opposition … while John McCain supports the war and President Bush’s military policy.”

The resolution urges unions to inform their members “of McCain’s pro-war position and how it is directly related to his anti-union economic policies; and how the continuation of the war is fueling the current economic crisis.”

Bill Shortell, representing the Machinists Union and the Bristol Labor Council, recalled asking, when the war began, “Is this an issue for us?” to which his buddy replied, “Who’s going to speak for me if the union doesn’t speak for me?” Shortell called on the delegates to “take a strong position and back candidates committed to get us out of Iraq and end this bloodshed as soon as possible.”

A heated debate took place over the endorsement of Jim Himes, a pro-labor, antiwar Democrat challenging incumbent Republican Chris Shays (4th Congressional District), a leading proponent of Bush’s Iraq war policies. Shays was the only representative from Connecticut to vote for additional funding of the war last month. He had angered the endorsement committee during an interview in which he objected to a question on the war, saying, “Why are you asking me about that? That’s not a labor issue.”

AFSCME delegate Blair Bertaccini got a round of applause when he called on the convention to “support candidates who support us as a class, as workers, not just one particular sector. Otherwise we will keep losing numbers and become irrelevant.” Himes won the endorsement overwhelmingly.

The convention also committed to help Democratic Reps. Chris Murphy (5th CD) and Joe Courtney (2nd CD) return to Congress. They both defeated Republicans in 2006 and have been targeted by the Republican National Committee for smear attacks.

Speaking to delegates from the 3rd CD, which she represents, Rep. Rosa DeLauro thankedd the labor movement for enabling her to win by large majorities. “With big margins I can take on the strong fights, which those with small margins many not feel free to do,” she said, referring to the vote against further funds for the war.

Delegates signed up for the Labor 2008 program, including speaking to members in their workplace and at home. Signatures were collected on postcards for the Employee Free Choice Act which will be presented to the new president in January.

A moment of silence honored prominent union leaders who recently died, including Merrillee Milstein, former District 1199 vice president and then deputy regional director of the AFL-CIO, known for her dedication and commitment to organizing and building diversity within the labor movement.

The convention adopted a strategic plan for the elections and legislative and organizing goals. A Diversity Dialogue will be held Sept. 20 with the aim of developing new union leaders. AFL-CIO representative Barbara Nicole Holtz urged delegates to attend, projecting the conference as a model for other states.

ARA connection

Retirees were called to action during the 2011 Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans convention when Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., urged the delegates to stand firm in the face of attempts by the Republican-controlled Congress to cut and privatize Medicare and Social Security.

Affirming that the Social Security fund is not in financial trouble now, Murphy said that if the cap on Social Security taxes on high incomes was raised, the solvency of the fund would be secured for the future.

Murphy was a candidate for U.S. Senate to fill the seat being vacated by Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., in 2012. Lieberman's pro-retiree voting record was only 50 percent in 2010 according to the ARA. Widespread anger greeted the recent proposal by Lieberman and Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., to raise the age for Medicare eligibility from 65 to 67.

Murphy also called for public investments in infrastructure to create jobs, noting that this would strengthen the whole economy and stimulate jobs in the private sector as well.

John Olsen, president of the Connecticut AFL CIO, called on ARA members to play a part in developing young leaders in the labor movement. He told the retirees to be vocal about the struggles they waged, the benefits they won and their outrage that these could be lost.

The ARA has been an active presence in the state since forming four years ago. The organization brings together retirees from many unions, including Steelworkers, Machinists, Teachers, AFSCME, SEIU and community organizations.

Saying that the lies coming from right-wing corporate controlled media have to be answered, Olsen called on the delegates to "talk to your family, neighbors and friends about the values we support."

Decrying the influence of corporate money in politics, he said legislators should force a vote on restoring taxes on the highest incomes and large corporations, a policy that is favored by a majority of the public.

"Is it moral that there are so many hungry and homeless, that someone gets locked up to get health care?" Olsen asked, telling the retirees it is time they refuse to accept this as the status quo.

Prior to the convention, Murphy issued a letter to constituents requesting voter support for his Supreme Court Transparency and Disclosure Act, saying, "To call out the growing right-wing political influence on the Supreme Court is important."

He said he was provoked to submit the legislation after learning of the "secret influence of right-wing donors on the Supreme Court" including Harlan Crow who made multi-million dollar contributions to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 and a Tea Party group started by the wife of Justice Clarence Thomas last year.

CT Holiday card presentation

CT Holiday card presentation to Congressman Murphy's office, December 20, 2009. Ask for support on health reform bill.

Greetings from Murphy

The Alliance of Retired Americans, an affiliate of the AFL-CIO, held a well attended meeting and holiday party at the offices of AFSCME Council 4 in New Britain on Monday, December 21 2009.

A legislative program was adopted for 2010. An aide to Congressman Chris Murphy gave greetings and emphasized that the vote for health care reform is the most important ever.

ARA endorsement

Alliance for Retired Americans endorsed Chris Murphy in 2012.

CARA meeting, May 2015

CARA meeting, July 2015

Senator Murphy met with the Connecticut Alliance for Retired Americans, including Win Heimer, Bette Marafino, MaryAnn Goggin, Marilyn Tyszka, William Tyszka, Amelia Smith, July 9 2015.

Connecticut Opposes the War

Murphy addresses the crowd

Some 300 people hissed and booed at the mention of Joe Lieberman's name during a Connecticut Opposes the War rally at the LOB cafeteria January 2007, which featured Democratic Congressmen Chris Murphy, Joe Courtney and John B. Larson, along with a whole host of progressive Blues.

So great is the continuing disdain for our Junior Senator, New Haven activist Henry Lowendorf promised a protest in front of Lieberman's Constitution Plaza office in Hartford, Thursday, Jan. 18 at 12:30 pm.

Before the rally began, Lowendorf said a group was talking and made the decision to picket Lieberman's office. "There may be people who want to do CD and occupy his office," Lowendorf said.

Working Families Party

According to Jon Green, executive director of Connecticut Working Families, "In 2006, our highest priority was electing Chris Murphy, when no one thought he had a chance, ... "In 2008, our highest priority was electing Jim Himes to Congress. In 2010, our highest priority was electing Dannel Malloy to the governor's office. ... We're batting a thousand so far."

In 2006, the almost 5,794 votes U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy received on the WFP line helped contribute to his victory over former U.S. Rep. Nancy Johnson.

Murphy‘s 2006 campaign helped launch it from “an obscure organization to a fairly serious player,” Green said.

Murphy said the Working Families Party endorsement gave his campaign legitimacy. He said with the two major party’s so divided voters don’t necessarily believe either, so having a third party endorse him lent “early legitimacy to my race.”

In 2006, Murphy said his campaign was outspent by Johnson three to one so having a third party that had already had some success in New York helped.

“These days voters are looking to hear from someone other than the candidates,” Murphy said. “They offered verification.”

Working Families Party 2012

Susan Bysiewicz, William Tong, Chris Murphy

The Working Families Party had their annual meeting August 27, 2011 in Hartford, CT. The Working Families Party led the successful fight for the "Sick Days" bill. Connecticut was the first state in the union to pass such legislation. Other successful initiatives where also noted along with Working Families election victories.

The meeting featured the three democratic candidates for US Senate Susan Bysiewicz, former Connecticut Secretary of the State, William Tong, State Representative and Chris Murphy, U.S. Representative and an information session on three "bold new policy ideas for Connecticut." Several hundred people attended the event.

The three bold policy issues discussed were: (1) The development of the Connecticut Partnership Bank, molded after the successful Bank of North Dakota (2) Green Jobs modeled after the the Green Jobs-Green New York action and (3) The development of a state pension fund for those in the private sector currently without a defined pension.

U.S. Rep. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who defeated a longstanding Republican to win a seat in the House of Representatives in 2008 and was re-elected in 2010, is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Joseph Lieberman. He is facing challengers State Susan Bysiewicz, formerly Secretary of State, and State Representative William Tong in the Democratic primary next year. All agreed that they would "draw a line in the sand" to protect Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

According to People's World writer Tom Connolly;

Murphy distinguished himself at the conference by calling for aggressive grassroots organizing to win working families issues. "It's not just about casting a vote," he said. "It's about creating a movement."

Labor support 2010

New Britain, Ct, Nov. 4, 2010 – A massive get-out-the-vote campaign targeted to Council 4 AFSCME members and their families made the difference in helping Dannel Malloy and other pro-worker candidates get elected in Connecticut, the union said today.

“Connecticut voters echoed what our union members were saying as they headed tothe polls: everyone deserves quality affordable health care, secure retirement and fair taxes,” Council 4 Executive Director Sal Luciano noted.

All of Council 4’s endorsed candidates prevailed in races for Governor (Malloy), Lt. Governor (Nancy Wyman), Attorney General (George Jepsen), Comptroller (Kevin Lembo), Treasurer (Denise Nappier and Secretary of State (Denise Merrill). Council 4- endorsed candidates also won their races for U.S. Senate (Richard Blumenthal) and Congress (John B. Larson, Joe Courtney, Rosa DeLauro, Jim Himes and Chris Murphy).

“We used people power to counteract corporate and wealthy donors pushing their anti-union agenda,” Luciano said.

Anna Montalvo, President of AFSCME Local 1522 in Bridgeport, said union members grasped the high stakes in the election:

“Right from the start of this campaign we had our boots on the ground, whether for Dan Malloy or Jim Himes or Chris Murphy. Connecticut staved off the anti-working family tide that swept the nation,” said Montalvo, who co-chairs Council 4’s political action committee.

Take Back the American Dream Conference 2011

Chris Murphy was one of the 158 speakers who addressed the Take Back the American Dream Conference 2011 . The Conference was hosted by the Institute for Policy Studies, and Democratic Socialists of America dominated Campaign for America's Future,

Women for Murphy

2012 endorsement

In 2012 national women, senior, environmental and labor leaders campaigned in Connecticut for Murphy, who then represents Connecticut’s 5th CD. The race is a toss up and could decide which party controls the U.S. Senate.

Cecile Richards, national president of Planned Parenthood, spent two days there. Murphy has a 100 percent voting record from her organization.

“It is abundantly clear that Linda McMahon is not a pro-choice candidate,” declared Richards at a rally held by the Yale Dems.

At a press conference at the Meriden Senior Center, the national Alliance for Retired Americans (ARA) representing 60,000 people in this state, endorsed Murphy who has a 100 percent senior voting record.

“We cannot elect candidates who see Social Security and Medicare as public goods that can be sold off for private gain,” said retired machinist James Parent. “The Republican plan to privatize Medicare would have seniors paying more – but getting less.”

Parent praised Murphy for his votes to end the donut hole on prescriptions in Medicare and in support of the Affordable Care Act, which provides services to 250,000 retirees in Connecticut.

“Over 600,000 people in Connecticut depend on Social Security to make ends meet, but Linda McMahon wants to, in her own words, “sunset” it,” exclaimed Parent, concluding, “This is absolutely wrong.”

‘Make It In America’ Jobs Push

According to Isaiah Poole, writing January 30, 2013;

Now that he is a freshman senator, Connecticut Democrat Chris Murphy says he plans in the coming weeks to continue the push he started as a member of the House to advance a “Make It in America” jobs agenda.

That agenda includes cracking down on China’s currency manipulation and violations of trade rules, tightening up “Buy America” federal contracting provisions and encouraging federal investments that would boost the manufacturing sector.

Murphy spoke that day on a call that included progressive writers and activists organized by the Campaign For America’s Future and the Alliance for American Manufacturing.

Murphy said that President Obama deserves credit for highlighting the need to create manufacturing jobs during his first term. Last year, the president promised to help create 1 million new manufacturing jobs by 2016 (a modest goal given the 5.5 million manufacturing jobs lost in the past decade). He said the president needs to underscore his commitment to that goal during his upcoming State of the Union speech.

“I’d like the president to make a pitch for investment in this country,” he said. That pitch includes the need for the federal government to invest in the infrastructure needed for economic growth, as well as the need to ensure American tax dollars are spent in ways that produce and sustain American jobs. “American procurement can grow American industry,” Murphy said.

Robert Borosage, co-director of the Campaign For America’s Future, also on the call urged President Obama to make jobs, fair trade and reviving American manufacturing a key priority in his State of the Union speech.

“Today, the Campaign calls on the president to use his State of the Union address to lay out a elements of a new strategy for the United States to enable us to compete sensibly in the global marketplace.” Since a 2009 meeting of world leaders in Pittsburgh on trade, Borosage said, little has changed, with the U.S. running a trade deficit of about $1 billion a day.

“For all the talk about insourcing, companies have used the recession to continue to ship good jobs abroad. China and its Asian trading partners make up over 80 percent of the non-oil manufacturing trade deficit. Our trade relationship with China is the most unequal in the history of nations,” Borosage said.

AFSCME conference

AFSCME's Council 4's annual conference and convention took place April 21, 2012 in East Hartford. Nearly 200 members participated in a day filled with inspiring speakers, including U.S. Reps. John B. Larson (CT-1), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) and Chris Murphy (CT-5), Lt. Gov. Nancy Wyman, Comptroller Kevin Lembo and Secretary of State Denise Merrill.

The conference closed with the presentation of Council 4 PEOPLE political action awards to Tom Stough (Local 991, Manchester), Jon Green of the Working Families Party, and State Sen. Edwin Gomes of Bridgeport (with Anna Montalvo accepting on Sen. Gomes’ behalf).

2012 CLW Senate victories

2012 CLW Senate Victories were;

Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Bob Casey (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Heidi Heitkamp (D-ND) Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Angus King (I-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Chris Murphy (D-CT) Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Jon Tester (D-MT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

The Connecticut Senate race provides a good opportunity to elect a progressive on national security issues to replace uber-hawk Senator Joseph Lieberman (I), who is retiring.

Rep. Chris Murphy is a young, accomplished Democrat who has represented the fifth Congressional District since 2007 when he defeated 24-year incumbent Republican Nancy Johnson. He has substantial involvement on national security issues, serving on the Foreign Affairs Committee and its Middle East and South Asia Subcommittee and has averaged 85% on Council for a Livable World’s PeacePAC voting record.

Murphy says: “One of the main reasons I decided to run for Congress in 2006 was that I believe so strongly that our country needed a more rational, responsible approach to dealing with threats around the world, particularly in Iraq and Afghanistan.” He has supported measures to exit from Iraq and Afghanistan on an expedited basis.

“I am committed to work towards an overall reduction of nuclear arms and to further safeguard the world’s nuclear arsenals.”

Murphy supports ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and a new round of nuclear weapons reductions talks with Russia. He also backs the Kissinger-Schulz-Nunn-Perry vision of moving toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Murphy told the Council: “I am committed to work towards an overall reduction of nuclear arms and to further safeguard the world’s nuclear arsenals.”

Chris Murphy grew up in Connecticut, and attended Williams College in Massachusetts, graduating with honors and a double major in history and political science. In 2002, he graduated from University of Connecticut Law School in Hartford, Connecticut. He practiced real estate and banking law from 2002-2006. He also served in the Connecticut General Assembly prior to being elected to the House. Murphy is known across Connecticut for his commitment to grassroots campaigning and maintaining a constant presence in his district.

Father Drinan Award

The Council for a Livable World's 2015 Father Robert F. Drinan National Peace and Human Rights Award went to Senator Chris Murphy, Representative Keith Ellison, and journalist Laura Rozen, June 9, 2015, Frederick Douglass Museum Washington, DC.

Fighting Women’s Health Protection Act

January 25, 2015 U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy are going on offense with the reintroduction of the Women’s Health Protection Act, seeking to put a stop to restrictive laws against women’s health care providers at the state level.

Last week, the House of Representatives passed the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act of 2014”, or H.R.7, that will prohibit federally funded abortions and exclude abortion from qualified health plans.

The Republican majority in the U.S. House was able to pass the bill on the 42nd anniversary of the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. But they canceled a vote on a bill that would have banned abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

“That constitutional right has been under constant, relentless attack for 42 years,” Blumenthal said at a Friday press conference in Hartford.

Although the Women’s Health Protection Act would have no direct impact on Connecticut, according to Murphy, laws have been put in place nationally at the state level to inhibit the privacy and health rights of women.

“Two hundred thirty restrictive measures have been passed in the states that handicap and undercut a woman’s right to choose,” said Blumenthal. “Women in many parts of the country live hundreds of miles from any place where they can seek to exercise their constitutional rights because of these laws.”

Current legal restrictions that have been imposed at the state level include anything from the width of clinic hallways, being required to watch informational videos prior to having an abortion, or closing clinics completely that provide abortion services.

The Women’s Health Protection Act would “establish a firewall” against state restrictions on a woman’s right to choose, according to Blumenthal. “It would say to the states that you cannot establish laws that seem to safeguard health when they sabotage individual rights.”

Gretchen Raffa, director of public policy at Planned Parenthood of Southern New England, spoke alongside the senators about the implications of restrictive legislation on the constitutional rights of women. Congress’ vote on H.R.7 “was a clear reminder on how far we still have to go make this right a reality for everyone,” said Raffa.

Murphy, along with more than one-third of the Senate, have co-sponsored this legislation supporting the ban on state health care restrictions for women. “This right is being denied daily to women across the country,” said Murphy. “That’s why we have to step in.”

Murphy and Blumenthal both agreed that they are going to be seeking Republican support in both the House and Senate. “It’s important for us to shed bright light on what is happening - we’re going to reach out across the aisle when we can to find Republicans of good faith who will work with us,” said Murphy.

Stephen Glassman, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut, commended Blumenthal and Murphy for leading on the issue and, “putting Connecticut in the forefront of those states that recognize that the right’s of women must be protected constitutionally.”

Filibuster reform

The Communications Workers of America is to make filibuster reform a top cause and they're trying to bring the rest of the union movement along. The union reiterated that goal in post-election comments.

"The 2012 election makes the reform even more paramount," it said. "Seven Democratic senators-elect - Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Martin Heinrich (N.M.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Kaine (Va.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) - have all already pledged to Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., to support rules reform. And Maine's Independent candidate, former Gov. Angus King won on a platform included filibuster reform as a major campaign issue.

"The American people want their elected officials to debate and address the major issues of our time and to move past obstruction for obstruction's sake," added CWA Legislative Director Shane Larson.

Netroots

Chris Murphy was a panelist at Netroots 2014.

Make Progress National Summit 2014

Generation Progress' Make Progress National Summit 2014 included speakers such as Senator Elizabeth Warren, Nancy Pelosi, Filmmaker Andrew Rossi, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sec. of Labor Thomas Perez Vice President of the United States Joe Biden, Sen. Chris Murphy, Executive Director of Generation Progress Anne Johnson, President of the Center for American Progress Neera Tanden, Policy Director at Generation Progress Sarah Audelo, Rep. Patrick J. Murphy, Former NFL player Donte Stallworth, Representative of House District 74 (TX) Mary Gonzalez, Mayor of Ithaca, NY Svante Myrick, Economic Policy Analyst Sarah Ayres, Educational Advocate Natalia Abrams, Executive Director of National Guestworker Alliance Saket Soni, Executive Director of the Energy Action Coalition Maura Cowley, Young Elected Officials Policy & Programs Director Dawn Huckelbridge, Filmmaker Tara Kutz, Student activist Ronnie Mosley, Roosevelt Institute Fellow Dorian Warren, Iraq War Veteran Tony Woods, Newtown High School graduate Sarah Clements.

People's Climate March

Labor and religious leaders were joined by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy at Union Station to urge residents to get on board the Climate Train for the People's Climate March in New York City on Sunday, September 21, 2014.

Action on climate change is a "moral and scientific and political imperative" said Blumenthal, who hopes the rally will make "an indisputable statement that the people of America, people of faith, working men and women know jobs and the environment are not in contradiction.”

"It is not often with one legislative issue that millions of jobs are created and millions of lives are saved," said Murphy. Using fuel cell production in Connecticut as an example he said, "If we create the demand for renewable energy, we will create jobs."

Lori Pelletier, executive secretary treasurer of CT AFL CIO said the 200,000 member organization is proud to be part of this historic event to raise awareness for safety, health, job security and environmental security.

Initiated by the Connecticut Roundtable on Climate and Jobs, the press conference highlighted mobilization by 13 labor organizations and several religious organizations. They are part of a large state-wide coalition of environmental, peace and community groups marching to insist the United Nations take immediate action on climate change.

Melodie Peters, president of AFT Connecticut said her members are going with the safety and future of the children they teach in mind. She thankedd Governor Dannel Malloy and the senators for "advocacy and tenacity" with Metro North which won additional seats and discount fares for tickets purchased at www.CTClimateTrain.org.

The Roundtable was launched two years ago by CT AFL CIO and the Interreligious Eco-Justice Network to "address urgent concerns about climate change while creating good paying jobs in the state."

Other union endorsers include CT Education Association, SEIU State Council, State Council of Machinists, CSEA/SEIU Local 2100, CT Alliance for Retired Americans, Council 4 AFCME, CWA Local 1298, Unite Here CT, UAW Region 9A, UE Local 243 and 32 BJ SEIU.

Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015

S 299, the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act of 2015, principal sponsors are Sens. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., and Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

By May 20, it had accumulated 33 co-sponsors, including 26 Democrats - Sheldon Whitehouse, Tom Udall, Dick Durbin, Thomas Carper, Amy Klobuchar, Barbara Boxer, Jack Reed, Debbie Stabenow, Jeff Merkley, Chris Murphy, Benjamin Cardin, Chris Coons, Dianne Feinstein, Jeanne Shaheen, Sherrod Brown, Mazie Hirono, Brian Schatz, Tammy Baldwin, Ed Markey, Heidi Heitkamp, Jon Tester, Claire McCaskill, Ron Wyden, Tim Kaine, Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren, Michael Bennet, Martin Heinrich .

"Principles for a Progressive Foreign Policy"

"Principles for a Progressive Foreign Policy- What Congress Must Do" by Senators Chris Murphy, Brian Schatz, and Martin Heinrich was published in Foreign Affairs, June 8, 2015.

The new world order demands that the United States think anew about the tools that it will use to lead the world, including reaching beyond the military budget to rediscover the power of non-kinetic statecraft. As relatively new members of the U.S. Senate on the Foreign Relations, Appropriations, Armed Services, and Intelligence Committees, we believe that Congress needs to help chart a new course to meet these challenges and play a more active role to help shape foreign policy coming out of the executive branch...

Human rights and gender equality should not be viewed as secondary to security issues, but appropriately recognized as essential to long-term global stability.

Finally, we believe climate change presents an immediate threat to the world, and the United States must invest time, money, and global political capital to address this crisis. In 2007, a group of 11 retired three-star and four-star admirals and generals unequivocally stated that climate change is a “significant national security challenge” that can serve as a “threat multiplier for instability in some of the most volatile regions of the world.” The United States must acknowledge what the science and national security experts are already saying—climate change is real, it is happening now, and it is solvable if the United States acts quickly.

Muslim connections

Senator Murphy has close ties to several radical Muslim groups.

NIAC connection

January 28, 2019.

NIAC worked closely with the offices of Senator Murphy (D-CT) and Representative Chu (D-CA) to introduce legislation targeted at ending the Muslim Ban by defunding it in Congress. The bill was released on the two-year anniversary of the Ban.

December 4, 2018,

In partnership with groups including the ACLU, NILC, SAALT, CAIR, and MPower Change, NIAC delivered petitions signed by more than 150,000 individuals to the offices of Representatives Judy Chu, Senator Murphy, Senator Van Hollen, and Senator Hirono. The petitions urged the next Congress to immediately take action to rescind the ban.

June 21, 2018.

NIAC assisted Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) in drafting a Muslim Ban reporting requirements amendment that was adopted into the Senate Appropriations Committee. This amendment called on Congress to lead oversight into the implementation of Muslim Ban 3.0.

Aril 20, 2018.

Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Chris Murphy (D-CT), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) issued a letter to the Trump administration requesting more information on the obscure case-by-case waiver process of Muslim Ban 3.0.

Murphy urges against unauthorized war with Iran

Press release Tuesday, July 16, 2019.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, on Tuesday opposed unauthorized war with Iran at a press conference in front of the U.S. Capitol. Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed an amendment as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to stop an unauthorized war with Iran before it starts. A similar amendment garnered a bipartisan majority in the Senate. Several Members of Congress joined the press conference, in addition to NIAC Action, Win Without War, JStreet, Peace Action, Ploughshares Fund, Foreign Policy for America, National Security Action, and Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister

Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and other Democratic senators had a secret meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Jahad Zarif during the Munich Security Conference last week, according to a source briefed by the French delegation to the conference.

A State Department official who spoke on background said that the State Department was not aware of any side meetings with Iranian officials that Murphy was engaged in.

The Munich Security Conference, an annual forum on international security policy, welcomes hundreds of world leaders each February. This year’s conference featured robust debate on the United States’ maximum pressure policy against Iran, China’s handling of the coronavirus and technology concerns, and the European alliance with the United States. Other Democrat senators at the conference included Sens. Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland. Former Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts also attended.

Both Murphy and Zarif spoke publicly during a two-hour session on Middle East policy, with Murphy and Zarif both fiercely criticizing U.S. policy.

President Donald Trump has reoriented American policy in the Middle East away from President Barack Obama’s friendly posture toward Iran. He departed from Obama’s Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear arrangement with the Republic of Iran that was not ratified by the United States Senate.

Trump has exerted instead a “maximum pressure” campaign against the regime, with 12 demands on Iran before a new deal is reached. Those demands include a full account of its nuclear program, ending its proliferation of ballistic missiles, releasing all U.S. citizens held on spurious charges, ending support to terrorist groups, withdrawal of forces in Syria, and cessation of its threatening behavior against its neighbors.

The “maximum pressure” campaign of sanctions has devastated the Iranian economy, which is in recession and faces rising inflation. It has made it difficult for Iran to pay foreign fighters engaged in supported terror operations. Iranians have taken to the streets in protest.

At the conference, Zarif said official retaliation for the killing of Suleimani had ended, although he suggested independent attacks from others in the country might follow.

Iran Nuclear Deal

IAPAC money

Senator Chris Murphy received money from the Iranian American Political Action Committee during the 2018 election cycle.

Thanks from NIAC

NIAC October 18, 2017 ·

Thanks Senator Chris Murphy for pushing to stop the Muslim ban! Today we helped deliver petition from 111K+ of you to say #NoMuslimBanEver. — at United States Capitol.

Lawmakers Address 2015 NIAC Leadership Conference

Washington, DC – “Thank you for the work you have been doing,” said Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), discussing the Iran nuclear deal before the 2015 National Iranian American Council leadership conference. “I really don’t think this would have happened without the really exceptional grassroots movement that took place during the summer.”

“This is a moment to tell the true story of the Iranian people,” Murphy observed, “and link together the American people and the Iranian people.”

Joining Murphy were Representatives Donna Edwards (D-MD) and Dan Kildee (D-MI), who discussed their support for the Iran nuclear agreement.

Representative Kildee discussed his efforts to secure the release of his constituent, Amir Hekmati, an Iranian American who has been detained in Iran since August 2011. Kildee noted that some called for the U.S. to condition its support for a nuclear deal on the release of American prisoners. However, he said, doing so would have been a grave mistake that only ensured the U.S. achieved neither goal.

Kildee promised to continue his efforts to secure the release of Hekamati and other detained Americans, and urged the audience to utilize social media to raise the profile of these cases. He said the lifting of sanctions under the deal will also help increase scrutiny of Iran’s human rights behavior. “How likely is a multinational corporation to place…an individual into Iran when they have a pattern and history of apprehending presumably innocent individuals to have leverage?”

Kildee also emphasized the need to understand that there is a political spectrum in Iran just as there is in the United States. “One mistake [is to] think of Iran as a monolithic society and to take the most extreme voices which gather the most tension…as if it is somehow representative of the Iranian people and I know that it is not,” he explained. “Imagine if the rest of the world accepted as a reflection of American political sentiment some of the commentary that you might be hearing in the context of the American presidential campaign.”

Representative Edwards applauded the work of U.S. negotiators in securing the deal, while noting the deal remains vulnerable to spoilers. She argued that the deal could be challenge the international community to think about weaponized nuclear capacities and move towards denuclearizing the rest of the world. Edwards also noted that the next President will need to actively implant the deal. “We will need a president who understands that not only did we get a deal but for our vision of the world we cannot afford to move away from it.”

National Muslim Democratic Council

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi headlined a Democratic Party fundraiser with leaders of Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood front groups in May of 2012.

The invitation-only fundraiser was sponsored by Reps. Keith Ellison, D-Minn.; Andre Carson, D-Ind.; and Steve Israel, D-N.Y., chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, and took place on the evening of May 16, 2012, at the W Hotel in Washington D.C.

In attendance were about 20 members of a Syrian dissident group and 10 officials representing Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas front groups. Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Executive Director Nihad Awad was perhaps the most prominent attendee and played a key role in organizing the event.

CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007-2008 Holy Land Foundation Hamas money-laundering trials, was described in FBI testimony as having been created by Hamas. In a 2007 federal court filing, prosecutors described CAIR as conspiring with other branches of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists.

The FBI officially severed relations with CAIR in 2008 because of its ties to Hamas.

Awad has openly championed Hamas and defended suicide bombings as "legitimate resistance."

Also in attendance was Jamal Barzinji, a founding father of the Muslim Brotherhood in America and co-founder of the Muslim Student Association (MSA), an incubator for Islamic radicalism in North America. MSA was the forerunner of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).

Barzinji was named in a federal affidavit as being closely associated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas. His name appears in a global phone book of Muslim Brotherhood members recovered by Italian and Swiss authorities in Nov. 2001 from the home of Al-Taqwa Bank of Lugano founder Youssef Nada, one of the leaders of the international Muslim Brotherhood.

During the fundraiser, Pelosi sat at the same table with Awad and Barzinji.

Speaking to the attendees in her 10-minute address, she said the Democratic Party should become the natural home of Muslim-Americans, because Republicans fan the flames of "Islamophobia." She focused exclusively on Islamophobia, a term devised by radical Islamists and their apologists to silence critics, while avoiding any mention of terrorism carried out by Islamists in the United States.

Also speaking were Israel, Ellison, Carson, and Reps Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn. Israel and Murphy were said to have been the most vehement among the members of Congress in attendance in terms of their incendiary accusations of Republican-incited Islamophobia. One observer said that it was striking that "there was not a scintilla of comments in defense of U.S. national security." However, they welcomed each of the Hamas and Muslim Brotherhood front groups represented at the event into the "Democratic community" without any mention of their well-documented terror links.

Following the speeches, a prominent attorney, Mazen Asbahi publicly rose to announce the creation of a new organization called the National Muslim Democratic Council (NMDC). Asbahi was Barack Obama's 2008 Muslim outreach director but was forced to step down when his prior association with a radical Muslim cleric, Jamal Said, became public. Said was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation terrorism financing trial.

The NMDC seeks to "maximize American Muslim support for Democratic candidates and policies."

On CAIR

“Our communities are stronger because of our faith and our diversity, and I salute the Council for empowering American Muslims to participate locally and nationally in political and social activism. By protecting and defending the constitutional rights of American Muslims, you support the rights of all Americans.” - Sen. Christopher S. Murphy (D-Conn.) (August 2014) .

“The council’s work in Connecticut and across the nation is greatly appreciated (October 2017.”

Support for the Council on American Islamic Relations

Chris Murphy wrote a letter of support to the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on the occasion of their 24th anniversary in September 2018.

Berlin Masjid

Saturday, May 11, 2013 “Senator Chris Murphy Visitation and Community Dinner”

Senator Chris Murphy will be visiting the Berlin Masjid this evening. There will be a Question and Answer session for the community with the Senator. Then in the evening, we will have our community dinner. All are welcome. Our speaker for the community dinner is Professor Mahmoud Ayoub who will be talking on Unity – The Need of the Ummah. Dinner will be served promptly at 6:00pm then followed by the talk at 6:30pm. Place: Islamic Association of Greater Hartford, 1781 Wilbur Cross Highway, Berlin, CT. Contact: Dr. Reza Mansoor, President.

CAIR-CT "FAITH IN FREEDOM" FUNDRAISING DINNER

MSA-CT is teaming up with CAIR-CT again for their annual fundraising dinner!

"I hope you can join us for this great event. Please fill out the form online to secure your table or ticket and show your generous support for CAIR!!!

The event will take place on Sunday, December 22, 2013 at the West Hartford Conference Center (Town Hall), 50 Main Street, West Hartford CT, and promises to be both inspiring and motivating.

The theme of our 9th annual banquet, Faith in Freedom, speaks to the resilience of our community and our continued involvement in the fight to uphold justice for all. Our keynote speaker will be attorney Norm Pattis, who will speak on “Islamophobia – 3 Faces of the New Racism”. We will also be joined by Imam Siraj Wahhaj from Masjid At-Taqwa in New York, Susan Campbell of the Hartford Courant, and attorney Hassan Shibly the Executive Director of CAIR in Florida. Other invited speakers include Senator Richard Blumenthal, Senator Chris Murphy, and Congressman John B. Larson.

Muslim Alliance of Connecticut

Senator Richard Blumenthal and Senator Chris Murphy attended the Muslim Alliance of Connecticut 8th Annual Leadership Banquet.

CAIR organized meeting

Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn., visited New Haven February 2017 to meet with constituents about major issues that have arisen in the two weeks since President Donald Trump took office.

In the evening, Murphy joined a group of Mosque leaders and other Muslims from across Connecticut at Yale Law School to talk about Trump’s executive order on immigration as well as other problems facing the Muslim community under the new administration.

“I want to fight this hand and hand with you,” Murphy told the approximately 30 Mosque leaders. “This is about political action at every level.”

Since Trump assumed the presidency on Jan. 20, Murphy has emerged as a leading voice of opposition in the Senate, especially on issues relating to refugees and immigration. On the day the president issued his immigration ban, Murphy responded with a Huffington Post op-ed titled “How Trump Just Made America Less Safe.” The following week he introduced legislation to block the ban.

Murphy did not mince words on Friday when describing the United States’ diminishing role as an international moral leader.

“We are shrinking today,” he said. “We are not respected in the world today. We are laughed at. What we are doing today is criminally immoral.”

Farhad Memon, the Connecticut chairperson of the Council on American Islamic Relations and one of Yale Law event’s chief organizer, said the gathering was intended primarily as a chance for Murphy to listen.

“We wanted to get together with Senator Murphy to discuss concerns that the community has at large,” Memon told the News. “He’s someone who’s out there on the Hill advocating for the rights of all Americans, but this was a way for him to hear directly from perhaps a constituency that is directly affected by everything that’s going on.”

While he appreciated Murphy’s realism and acknowledged the limitations of the Senator’s office, Memon said he hoped the Murphy would exercise the “power of the bully pulpit” on behalf of the Muslim community. The community’s job, Memon said, will be to press Murphy to advocate for it even when he might not feel “comfortable” doing so.

For Sajjad Khan, a Bangladeshi immigrant who now lives in New London, the meeting offered a chance to air his grievances about the Trump administration’s “civil right violations” and to show his support for Murphy. Khan said he was pleased with the message Murphy delivered and thought the Senator spoke earnestly. Still, Khan expressed concern about the ways in which American attitudes toward Muslims have changed recently.

“I came here as an immigrant, and then I became a citizen,” he said. “I am now feeling that I am not a U.S. citizen anymore. I’m a foreigner living in my own home.”

Duric connection

CAIR - Connecticut February 5, 2017.

Sen. Chris Murphy with Miki Duric of the Muslim Coalition of Connecticut.

Farhan Memon connection

CAIR - Connecticut February 5, 2017:

Sen. Chris Murphy with CAIR CT Chairperson Farhan Memon.

Yemen

The US House of Representatives passed a potentially historic resolution on February 13, 2019, calling for an end to US military support for the Saudi-led coalition’s intervention in Yemen that began in 2015. Although the US government has never formally declared its involvement in the war, it assists the coalition with intelligence and munitions and supports the aerial campaign with refueling and targeting.

What is already historic about the resolution (introduced by Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna of California and Mark Pocan of Wisconsin) and its Senate counterpart (introduced by Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont, Republican Mike Lee of Utah and Democrat Chris Murphy of Connecticut) is their invocation of the War Powers Resolution of 1973, which restrains a president’s capacity to commit forces abroad. Aimed to prevent “future Vietnams,” the act gives Congress the authority to compel the removal of US military forces engaged in hostilities absent a formal declaration of war.

Anti-war activists in the United States have been organizing against US support for the Saudi intervention in Yemen since 2015. While these efforts made an impact on the public debate about Yemen, they failed to move the policy needle—until an unexpected chain of events in late 2018 gave the campaign new traction and occasioned a momentous grassroots mobilization. The national organizing campaign is led by a combination of Yemen-oriented groups (the Yemen Peace Project, the Yemeni Alliance Committee and others) along with more established anti-war organizations like Just Foreign Policy, Win Without War, Code Pink and Peace Action. The addition of the ascendant Democratic Socialists of America contributed to the momentum. Yet it was the confluence of events outside the control of these groups—but to which these groups were well-positioned to rapidly respond—that propelled the campaign into broad Congressional support for War Powers resolutions in early 2019.

"No Muslim Ban ever"

Muslim Public Affairs Council - MPAC January 28 2019·

We're proud to host a congressional reception tonight with our friends at ACLU, Oxfam & National Immigration Law Center recognizing Members of Congress working to rescind and defund the #MuslimBan. Stay tuned to your feeds tonight for live updates.

Attendees included Reps, Judy Chu, David Trone, Katherine Clark, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Andre Carson, Pramila Jayapal, Zoe Lofgren and Senator Chris Murphy.

Trump's Russia ties

Members of Connecticut’s congressional delegation joined demands for a special prosecutor to oversee the investigation of Russian influence on the 2016 election after President Donald Trump fired James Comey as FBI director Tuesday May 9, 2017.

“The need for a special prosecutor is now crystal clear,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has called for a special prosecutor in the past. “President Trump has catastrophically compromised the FBI’s ongoing investigation of his own White House’s ties to Russia.”

In describing the gravity of Trump’s action, Blumenthal conjured memories of President Richard Nixon’s firing of Watergate Special Prosecutor Archibald Cox.

“Not since Watergate have our legal systems been so threatened, and our faith in the independence and integrity of those systems so shaken,” Blumenthal said.

Rep. Jim Himes, D-4th District, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, which is conducting its own investigation into possible ties with Russia, said , “The White House cited Director Comey’s handling of the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s emails as the reason for the firing, but many will be rightly skeptical of that explanation.”

“Whatever the merits of Director Comey’s decisions, the investigated has just fired the investigator,” Himes said. “That should never have occurred prior to the full and complete insulation of the FBI’s investigation through the appointment of an independent prosecutor and other measures.”

“I will do everything in my power to ensure that this irresponsible move doesn’t end the necessary work law enforcement is conducting to discover the truth about Russia, its interference in our democracy and any and all who might be complicit,” Himes said.

Sen. Chris Murphy joined Blumenthal in calling for a special prosecutor Wednesday morning.

“No matter the mistakes that Director Comey has made, the timing of his firing clearly suggests that President Trump is trying to influence or upend the FBI’s investigation into his campaign’s possible collusion with a foreign government,” Murphy said Wednesday morning.

“The president’s continued refusal to support the appointment of a special prosecutor would confirm America’s worst fears about the motivation for Comey’s firing,” Murphy added.

U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, said the firing of Comey while he was “spearheading” the Russia investigation “does not pass the smell test.”

“It is painfully clear that we need an immediate and independent investigation of all aspects relating to Russia’s meddling in our election. We need a review that the American people can have faith in,” Courtney said.

Courtney said the fact that Trump’s action was recommended by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, whom he called “a political appointee who barely survived confirmation in the Senate,” raised more doubt about the motives behind the firing.

Rep. Elizabeth Esty, D-5th District, said the White House has shown a “corrosive pattern of disinformation and obstruction” over the last four months, which has “impeded the public’s ability to determine the full truth” about possible Russian interference.

“The only solution that will restore public trust is for Congress to appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an independent investigation,” Esty said Wednesday morning.

Rep. John B. Larson, D-1st District, said demanding an independent investigation should not be a partisan issue.

“The firing of FBI Director James Comey should renew every American and every member of Congress’s call for an independent investigation into Russian involvement,” Larson said.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-3rd District, said the White House must provide “an urgent and thorough explanation” for its decision, given the ongoing FBI investigation into Russian interference.

“These events further underscore why I have continued to demand an independent commission with subpoena power in order to get to the bottom of the Russia investigation,” DeLauro said Wednesday morning.

"Ideas conference"

Democratic Party luminaries and 2020 presidential mentionables gathered May 2017 for an “ideas conference” organized by the Center for American Progress, the Democratic establishment’s premier think tank.

Its stated purpose was to focus not on “what could have been,” said CAP Vice President Winnie Stachelberg introducing the day, but on “new, fresh, bold, provocative ideas that can move us forward.”

Convened in a basement of Georgetown’s Four Season’s Hotel, the posh watering hole for Washington lobbyists, lawyers and visiting wealth, the conference quickly revealed how hard it is for Democrats to debate the future when Trump is taking all of the air out of the room.

Virtually every speaker dutifully invoked the theme of the day: resistance is not enough; Democrats must propose what they are for. Each then proceeded to rail at one Trump folly or another, calling on those assembled to join in defending what was achieved over the last eight years.

On the foreign policy panel, Senator Chris Murphy, who is seen a leader of progressive foreign policy thinking, criticized Trump’s “foreign policy by improvisation,” called for a special prosecutor, and delivered a strong defense of diplomacy and the State Department.

Bizarrely, with the U.S. headed into its 16th year of war in Afghanistan, the only mention of the debacle was Adam Schiff invoking disgraced former General David Petraeus on the importance of US aid in building a competent Afghanistan government. Apparently pouring over $100 billion in that feckless effort is not enough.

SR 59 endorser

By February 20 2019 endorsers of Ed Markey's SR 59 (Green New Deal) included Chris Murphy.

Staff

Sen. Chris Murphy's staff, past and present;

• Sonia Acosta
• Abigail Phillips Adams
• Katie Agati
• Lia Albini
• Maya Ashwal
• Laura Bartok
• Kathy Regina Bass
• Mike Bednarczyk
• Don Bell
• David Bonine
• Kristen Bossi
• Emily Boushee
• Claude Campbell
• Joanne Cannon
• Mike Carlo
• Kelley Anne Carney
• Marilyn Cheyne
• Thomas J. Clarke II
• Amanda Clinton
• Eamonn Collins
• Alexa Combelic
• Lauren MacPhail
• Kevin Craw
• Francis Creighton
• Kenny Curran
• Zachary Dendas
• Alice Diaz
• Matthew Dominello
• Caitlin Donohue
• Liz Donovan
• Joe Dunn
• Jessica Elledge
• Nicholas Fabiani
• Amanda Falcone
• Elizabeth Fasano
• Ben Florsheim
• Meghan Forgione
• Phillip Gamble
• Denise Garris
• Charlotte Gendron
• Maxwell T. Goldman
• Kaylie Hanson
• Chris Harris
• Ellen Hart
• Allison Herwitt
• Dana Honor
• Evan Johnson
• Alec Johnson
• Michael B. Jones
• Brittany Kane
• Mary Moffett Keaney
• Paul James Kidwell
• Danny Lee
• Misha Lehrer
• Danielle Lipsman
• James Lynch
• Brett Maddux
• Laura Jane Maloney
• Andrew Marone,
• Ben Marter
• Rob Michalik
• Anna Morozovsky
• Linda Forman Naval
• Charlotte Newman
• Ethan Palmer
• Adam Pase
• Daniel Penchina
• Elizabeth Perfetto
• Gaby Perla
• Caitlin Peruccio
• Stephanie Podewell
• Cynthia Quinish Pullom
• Laura Quinter
• Anant Raut
• Joshua Raymond
• Kayla Reasco
• Lee Reynolds
• Mark Ritacco
• Hilda Santiago
• Sean Scanlon
• Mary Schilling
• David Seyferth
• Daniel Smart
• Emily Smith
• Jasmine Smith
• Alan Lee Sundahl
• Joshua Thomas
• Shea Watson
• Harold Whalen
• Hayne Yoon
• Jesse Young

External links

• Murphy's website with the House of Representatives

References

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