Issues

In the wake of January 6th — and as states across the country pass laws making it more difficult to vote and Republican election deniers run for office up and down the ballot — Chris knows that protecting our democracy has never been more important. He was a key member of the bipartisan group of lawmakers that reformed the antiquated Electoral Count Act to ensure that the electoral votes tallied by Congress accurately reflect each state’s vote for President. The right to vote is the foundation of American democracy, and Chris is a proud sponsor of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, legislation to restore the Voting Rights Act and stop voter suppression.

As the right wing justices on the Supreme Court roll back rights for millions of Americans while accepting free luxury vacations and travel on private jets, Chris continues to push for Supreme Court ethics reform. He’s introduced legislation that would require the Supreme Court to adopt a code of conduct since 2011.

In Washington, Chris fights to make sure that everyone receives equal treatment under the law. That means standing up for women’s rights and fighting to ensure women — no matter where they live — have access to abortion and contraceptives. After the right-wing Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade, Chris helped reintroduce the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would guarantee equal access to abortion, and the Freedom to Travel for Health Care Act, which would protect the rights of Americans to cross state lines to receive reproductive health care.

It also means fighting for LGBTQ communities and supporting legislation like the Equality Act to end discrimination in employment, housing, and more. Chris helped pass the Respect for Marriage Act, which protects federal marriage equality for same-sex couples and repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, and was signed into law by President Biden in 2022.

It means speaking out for Dreamers and immigrants, and Chris fought back against former President Trump’s Muslim ban by authoring legislation to block his racist and harmful policy. That’s also why Chris supports immigration reform that creates a pathway to citizenship, permanently protects Dreamers, and invests in humane border security.

Chris has become one of the Senate’s leading voices on national security and support for Ukraine. As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, Chris has led the charge to articulate a progressive foreign policy that centers democracy and human rights. Chris knows that a strong American military is foundational to our national security, but many 21st century threats to global security cannot be checked by military power alone. That’s why he’s pushed Congress to increase its investment in diplomatic efforts. As a longtime advocate for ending forever wars, Chris introduced sweeping, bipartisan legislation in 2021 that would ensure Congress has a seat at table when it comes to the use of force. 

Back home, Chris works to provide the best for our veterans. He has fought to end veteran homelessness in Connecticut, securing new funding to help tackle the problem in our state. When Chris learned that thousands of veterans with PTSD had been pushed out of the military with less than honorable discharges, he authored the Honor Our Commitment Act to ensure that these veterans would be able to get the mental health care they need and deserve. The bill was signed into law in 2018.

The fight against climate change is existential. That’s why Chris worked hard to pass the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the single largest investment in energy and climate in America’s history. The IRA has supercharged our efforts to tackle the climate crisis by providing critical investments in the clean energy economy, supporting communities on the front line of climate change, and putting us on a path to reduce greenhouse gasses emissions by 40% in 2030. He also fought hard to pass the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which made big investments in public transit, building a clean power grid, and tackling legacy pollution.

Closer to home, Chris is working to preserve Connecticut’s great outdoors for future generations. He has championed the cleanup of the Long Island Sound, helped build coastal resilience along Connecticut’s shoreline, and passed legislation to protect Connecticut land and waterways.

Following the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Chris vowed that he would do everything in his power to strengthen our nation’s gun laws. He introduced legislation to make sure every gun purchase goes through a background check and supports legislation that would make sure weapons of war have no place on our streets.  When it appeared that Congress was going to do nothing following the shooting at Pulse nightclub, Chris took to the Senate floor, filibustering for 15 hours until he secured a vote. After the tragedies in Buffalo and Uvalde, Chris worked across the aisle to break the logjam and pass the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first significant piece of federal gun safety legislation in 30 years. The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act was signed into law by President Biden just a month after Uvalde, and provides support for red flag laws, enhanced background checks for buyers under 21, narrows the boyfriend loophole for individuals convicted of domestic violence, and creates federal penalties for gun trafficking and straw purchasing. The legislation also provides landmark investments in mental health, school safety, and community violence intervention programs. Chris works with leaders in Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport to make sure that the conversation around gun violence doesn’t just follow mass shootings but addresses the reality they experience in their cities every day.

In 2023, he brought the gun violence prevention movement to Connecticut for a summit on the implementation of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and the future of the movement. The first-of-its-kind National Safer Communities Summit was attended by President Biden and Administration officials, Gabby Giffords, members of Congress, and gun safety advocates from Connecticut and across the country.

It’s simple: in the richest country in the world, everyone should be able to get quality, affordable health care. It’s an idea that Chris has been fighting for ever since he was first elected to public office. He has been a champion of the Affordable Care Act and fought alongside families in Connecticut to save the law from repeal. He introduced the Choose Medicare Act to allow every American and every business to buy into Medicare in order to drive down costs. And he authored the most comprehensive update to our mental health laws in a generation, the bipartisan Mental Health Reform Act, which was signed into law in 2016 and reauthorized in 2022. Chris is also committed to ending the devastating opioid epidemic, traveling across the state to hear from doctors, law enforcement and families impacted by addiction, and he’s fought hard to secure millions of dollars in new funding for treatment programs and prevention in Connecticut.

In 2022, Chris and Democrats in Congress took on Big Pharma and won by passing the Inflation Reduction Act and lowering the cost of prescription drugs for millions of Americans.

Whether it’s securing funding for job training programs in eastern Connecticut or supporting new tech startups in New Haven, Chris is working to make sure Connecticut companies have the tools and skilled workforce they need to create good paying jobs across the state. 

Connecticut is home to a powerhouse of manufacturers up and down the supply chain, and since he was first elected to Congress, Chris has worked hard to support them. He is working across the aisle to strengthen our Buy American laws; encourage new submarines, jet engines and helicopters to be made our state; and secure funding for job training programs that prepare people for high-tech manufacturing careers. His legislation, the BuyAmerican.Gov Act, was signed into law in 2021 as a part of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act closing loopholes that allowed federal agencies to skirt the law and give federal contracts to foreign companies over American manufacturers. 

Chris has also fostered Connecticut’s startup culture, introducing legislation to help new companies secure seed funding. Finally, Chris fights to make sure that every worker is treated with dignity, raise the federal minimum wage, provide national paid family leave and reduce the cost of childcare for working parents.