Connecticut
CT leaders say they'll counter swiftly if Trump cuts more federal aid
Gov. Ned Lamont and the General Assembly’s highest-ranking leaders drew a political line in the sand late Friday.
If President Donald Trump continues to withhold huge blocks of federal aid for health care, education or other core programs, Connecticut’s done waiting to see if Congress or the courts will reverse the damage, leaders here wrote in a joint statement.
Connecticut’s piggy banks are large, and officials won’t hesitate to crack them immediately if vital programs are damaged, they indicated.
“Sound fiscal practices have positioned us better than most states in the nation,” Lamont wrote late Friday afternoon in a joint statement with House Speaker Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, and Senate President Pro Tem Martin M. Looney, D-New Haven. “If this pattern of devastating cuts continues, we will be prepared to exercise emergency powers. Although we hope that Washington reverses course, we must plan for the inevitable or unpredictable.”
Officials here also had expected to see deep cuts in aid from Washington, but not until late summer or fall with the congressional adoption of the next federal budget. Since taking office in January, though, Trump has used executive orders on several occasions to suspend grants, reclaim unspent dollars from states, or attach controversial new conditions to federal assistance.
The comments came hours after state Senate Democrats completed a closed-door caucus during which members vented frustrations about Trump’s latest unilateral move, the cancellation of $12 billion in public health grants to states this week, including $155 million for infectious disease management, genetic screening of newborns and substance abuse prevention in Connecticut.
“What no one could anticipate was how severe these cuts would be and how quickly they would occur to vital programs, sometimes without warning,” Lamont and legislative leaders wrote, adding decisions on when to restore funding would be made in the coming weeks on a case-by-case basis.
Their statement didn’t say, though, whether the fiscally moderate-to-conservative governor and his fellow Democrats in legislative leadership see eye-to-eye on which piggy banks are OK to shatter, and which can’t be touched.
Connecticut holds a record-setting $4.1 billion budget reserve, commonly known as its rainy day fund, an amount equal to 18% of annual operating costs.
But an aggressive series of budget caps, labeled “fiscal guardrails” by Lamont and other supporters, have generated roughly triple that $4.1 billion mark since their enactment in 2017. And what wasn’t deposited into the reserve, another $8.5 billion, was used to whittle down the state’s massive pension debt.
One “guardrail” alone, a provision that restricts lawmakers’ ability to spend certain income and business tax receipts, has forced them to save an average of $1.4 billion annually since 2017. Analysts say it will capture another $1.4 billion before this fiscal year ends on June 30, and closer to $1.3 billion in each of the next three years.
Though the governor and legislative leaders all have cited the rainy day fund as one coffer Connecticut may need to tap to mitigate impending cuts in federal aid, scaling back the budget caps that helped fill this reserve is another matter.
Lamont has been reluctant to tamper with this system, though he did express a willingness in February to scale back this savings mandate modestly by about $300 million per year.
Ritter and Looney, though, have been more direct about the need to reform this “guardrails” system, save less, and pour more dollars into core programs like health care, education and social services.
And the House speaker said Friday he believes these saved income and business tax receipts should be the first line of defense against Trump cuts.
It’s been 14 years since Connecticut has failed to make the full contributions recommended by pension analysts for its retirement benefits for state employees and municipal teachers, and Ritter noted the full $3.2 billion owed this fiscal year already has been budgeted.
And any “guardrails” savings Connecticut doesn’t need to reverse cuts in federal funding still could be sent into the pensions as well, Ritter added.
But cracking this piggy bank first would leave the larger, $4.1 billion rainy day fund available for later this summer or fall, when potentially more damage could occur.
With Congress aiming to find more than $880 billion in cuts to Medicaid — a cooperative health care program that sends $6.1 billion to Connecticut this year alone — officials here fear revenues that support nursing homes, federally qualified health clinics, hospitals and insurance programs for poor adults and children, could be in grave jeopardy.
And with recent tariffs ordered by the president increasing many economists’ fears of a looming recession, Connecticut may need its rainy day fund later this year or next to mitigate the big drops in tax receipts that often accompany a sharp national economic downturn, legislative leaders say.
Looney echoed Ritter’s comments, calling the president’s latest health care funding cuts “irresponsible, reckless and possibly disastrous” and showing Connecticut must have all resources ready to offset damage to its most vital programs.
“We can’t draw a line anywhere,” Looney added.
The Lamont administration opted not to elaborate on Friday’s statement after its release.
But the governor has warned on several occasions that Connecticut must understand it ultimately can’t offset all losses in federal funding if the cuts go as deep as some fear they will.
Connecticut will receive more than $10 billion in federal funding this fiscal year, a total that equals roughly 40% of the entire state budget.
“No state can restore every cut that comes from Washington,” the joint statement from Connecticut leaders adds.
Connecticut is taking a step to make sure workers are paid fairly.
On June 30, Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed Public Act 26-17, which enables the State Comptroller to issue a stop work order and withhold state funds to contractors that are not properly paying their employees.
The bill was signed on the construction site for Greeneville Elementary School, which is one of the four new elementary schools being built in Norwich. The State of Connecticut is reimbursing the city for 80% of the project, and the law applies to “any place where the state is making a payment,” Lamont said.
Wage theft can take many forms
It matters because wage theft can take many forms, from money taken from base pay, to money not given in benefits, Kimberly Glassman, director of compliance and government affairs for the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 478, said.
Local 478 also has a presence in the Norwich school building project, with 10 to 20 union members working at each site daily, Glassman said.
What do state leaders think of the Greeneville site’s progress?
Lamont is impressed with how quickly the work is going.
“They told me that the walls went up in the last two weeks, so a lot of progress is happening,” he said.
During the bill signing, Norwich Mayor Swarnjit Singh touted the importance of using union labor and the value of project labor agreements.
“We are on time and on budget,” he said.
After the bill signing, Singh said its possible the Greeneville School building could be complete as soon as the first quarter of 2027, he said.
“They’re not wasting any time,” Singh said.
State Rep. Derrel Wilson attended the original Greeneville School as a kid, and still lives in Greeneville. He was credited as being one of the driving forces for getting the workers bill passed.
“It’s exciting seeing this revitalization for our neighborhood, seeing active construction and watching individuals rebuild our community,” Wilson said.
HARTFORD, Conn. (WFSB) – The U.S. Supreme Court said Tuesday it will take up an appeal challenging bans on the AR-15 and other semi-automatic firearms, including the ban in Connecticut and in the Chicago area.
Similar bans are in place in about a dozen states. The case is expected to be heard in the fall.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong said the state’s assault weapons ban is lawful and that his office is prepared to fight the challenge in court.
“Connecticut’s assault weapon ban is lawful, lifesaving, and broadly supported. The gun lobby has flooded the courts in states across the country to get an assault weapons case up to this Supreme Court. We are prepared for this fight, and we are going to go in with everything we’ve got to keep these weapons of war off our streets, out of our schools, and away from our families,” said Attorney General Tong.
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