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Senator Richard Blumenthal Esq.


Self Description

May 2012: "Sworn in on January 5, 2011, Richard Blumenthal is serving his first term as a United States Senator from the State of Connecticut.

Senator Blumenthal served an unprecedented five terms as Connecticut’s Attorney General, fighting for people against large and powerful special interests. His aggressive law enforcement for consumer protection, environmental stewardship, labor rights, and personal privacy has helped reshape the role of state attorneys general nationwide, and resulted in the recovery of hundreds of millions of dollars for Connecticut taxpayers and consumers each year.

A key player in the national fight against Big Tobacco, he helped bring an end to deceptive marketing aimed at children – a victory significantly lowering youth smoking rates, and compelling a multi-billion dollar settlement for Connecticut taxpayers. He also helped lead a coalition of all 50 states that culminated in historic agreements with social networking sites to better protect children from Internet predators.

As Attorney General, he advocated for reforms in the health insurance industry to assure critical health care coverage and lower pharmaceutical drug prices. He has worked relentlessly to eradicate corruption in state government and make state contracting accountable, fair, honest, and transparent.

His vigorous investigation and legal action against insurance industry abuses has successfully forced financial restitution and reform, compelled greater disclosure by insurers and brokers to consumers, and recovered millions of dollars for the state, municipalities, and individuals. He has successfully fought unfair utility rate charges, air pollution causing acid rain, general environmental wrongdoing, as well as a wide array of consumer scams and frauds.

Senator Blumenthal has personally argued several major cases in court, including his successful effort to uphold the Connecticut sex offender registry in the Supreme Court. He has fought and sued the federal government for failing to follow or enforce environmental laws and energy statutes, as well as imposing multimillion dollar unfunded mandates on local taxpayers under the No Child Left Behind Act.

From 1977 to 1981, Senator Blumenthal served as a U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, prosecuting drug trafficking, organized and white collar crime, civil rights violations, consumer fraud, and environmental pollution. He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987, and the Connecticut State Senate from 1987 to 1990. As a volunteer attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Senator Blumenthal saved the life of an innocent, wrongly convicted death row inmate who came within hours of execution.

Prior to his position as U.S. Attorney, Senator Blumenthal also served as Administrative Assistant to U.S. Senator Abraham A. Ribicoff, aide to former U.S. Senator Daniel P. Moynihan when Moynihan was Assistant to the President of the United States, and law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

Senator Blumenthal graduated from Harvard College (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude), and Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. From 1970 to 1976 he served in the United States Marine Corps Reserves, and was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant.

Senator Blumenthal lives in Greenwich, Connecticut with his wife, Cynthia, and their four children."

http://www.blumenthal.senate.gov/biography

November 2008: "First elected in 1990, Richard Blumenthal is serving an unprecedented fifth term as Attorney General.

Blumenthal’s aggressive law enforcement for consumer protection, environmental stewardship, labor rights and personal privacy, has helped reshape the role of state attorneys general nationwide -- and recover hundreds of millions of dollars for Connecticut taxpayers and consumers each year.

He helped lead the national fight against Big Tobacco to stop deceptive marketing aimed at children -- a victory significantly lowering youth smoking rates, and compelling a multibillion dollar settlement for Connecticut taxpayers....

Blumenthal previously served as administrative assistant to U.S. Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff, aide to former U.S. Sen. Daniel P. Moynihan when Moynihan was Assistant to the President of the United States, and law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Harry A. Blackmun.

He was U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, the state’s chief federal prosecutor, from 1977 to 1981 -- prosecuting drug traffickers, organized and white collar crime, civil rights violators, consumer fraud and polluters.

He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1984 to 1987, and then the State Senate from 1987 to 1990. As a volunteer attorney for the NAACP legal defense fund, Blumenthal saved the life of an innocent, wrongly convicted death row inmate, who came within hours of execution.

Blumenthal -- the highest Democratic vote getter in the state -- graduated from Harvard College (Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude), and Yale Law School, where he was editor of the Yale Law Journal.

He served as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve.

Attorney General Blumenthal lives in Greenwich with his wife, Cynthia, and their four children."

http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?A=2178&Q=295440

Third-Party Descriptions

March 2013: 'Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told military leaders that he appreciated their comments but criticized them for giving "lawyer-like" statements.'

http://www.cnn.com/2013/03/13/us/military-sexual-assault/index.html

May 2012: 'In the Senate, the legislation was introduced by Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). Soon after multiple outlets ran stories on this “rising trend” within some Human Resource departments, Blumenthal was one of the first U.S. legislators to speak out against the practice. Back in March, he said that he was “deeply troubled by the practices that seem to be spreading voraciously around the country,” and went on to call the password demands an “unreasonable invasion of privacy.” With those remarks, he also informed us that he was in the process of drafting a bill that would be ready soon.'

http://www.webpronews.com/password-protection-act-hopes-to-outlaw-employees-demanding-facebook-and-other-passwords-2012-05

January 2012: 'Won't someone think of the surprise parties? As I noted, critics are raising flags, including members of the U.S. Senate. Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut is fretting that Google's policy "does not give consumers the ability to opt out of such new uses of their data." He foresees potential abuses [5] such as this: "Private email messages might contain any number of personal, embarrassing, or otherwise damaging information, and Google's attempts to amplify and contextualize this information through targeted ads, Maps suggestions, or Calendar reminders could have negative consequences for users," he wrote in his blog. "These harmful impacts could range from the inconvenient (spoiling a surprise party) to the truly harmful (popping up a calendar reminder about an evening job interview while you're at work)."'

http://ifwnewsletters.newsletters.infoworld.com/t/7964635/121634393/608757/0/

May 2010: 'Whether out of some residual guilt about avoiding Vietnam or not, Blumenthal became a fierce advocate for veterans’ rights. He slipped from merely saying “I served during the Vietnam era” to saying “In Vietnam, we had to endure taunts and insults, and no one said, ‘Welcome home.’ I say, ‘Welcome home.’ ” He failed to correct many news reports that printed his spurts of hyperbole.'

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/23/opinion/23dowd.html

May 2010: "The New York Times reported Monday night that Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has claimed numerous times that he served in Vietnam, even though he obtained at least five military deferments and avoided ever going to war."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/05/17/AR2010051704346.html

June 2009: "In February, Connecticut’s attorney general, Richard Blumenthal, began an investigation into H.O.P.E. Alliance of Tampa, Fla. Mr. Blumenthal said the company had charged two homeowners $1,500 for services, directed them to stop making mortgage payments and then failed to help them save their homes."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/21/realestate/21mort.html

November 2008: 'A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds....Blumenthal, a Democrat, said the proposed regulation “would blow apart solutions and compromises that have been reached by people of good will in Connecticut and elsewhere.”'

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/18/washington/18abort.html

May 2008: "The attorney general of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, who has criticized the practices of Moody’s and other ratings firms, said that he was investigating how Moody’s had dealt with the possible errors in its computer models."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/22/business/22moody.html

April 2004: Connecticut Attorney General.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/29/nyregion/29TRIB.html

Relationships

RoleNameTypeLast Updated
Organization Executive (past or present) Connecticut (State Government) Organization Jul 10, 2005
Member of (past or present) Democratic Party / Democratic National Committee (DNC) Organization Nov 19, 2008
Student/Trainee (past or present) Harvard University Organization Nov 19, 2008
Organization Executive (past or present) Justice Department/Department of Justice (DOJ) Organization Nov 19, 2008
Opponent (past or present) Metro Entertainment Organization Oct 28, 2007
Supporter of (past or present) NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) Organization Nov 19, 2008
Member of (past or present) U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Organization May 23, 2010
Member of (past or present) US Senate Organization May 12, 2012
Student/Trainee (past or present) Yale University Organization Nov 19, 2008
Subordinate of (past or present) Justice Harry A. Blackmun Person Nov 19, 2008
Subordinate of (past or present) Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan Person Nov 19, 2008
Subordinate of (past or present) Sen. Abraham A. Ribicoff Person Nov 19, 2008

Articles and Resources

23 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 3]

Date Fairness.com Resource Read it at:
Mar 13, 2013 Military rape victims: Stop blaming us

QUOTE: McCoy was one of four alleged victims who testified Wednesday about a problem the military has acknowledged. About 19,000 men and women suffer sexual assault each year in the military, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said, though he noted that only about 3,200 assaults were reported.

 CNN (Cable News Network)
May 11, 2012 Should Congress Move To Ban Employers From Demanding Employees’ Facebook Passwords? Is it a big enough invasion of privacy to warrant government intervention?

QUOTE: If your future employer or current boss asks you for your Facebook password, it might soon be against the law. That’s because there is new national legislation against the practice of employers demanding access to employees’ personal accounts....“People have an expectation of privacy when using social media like Facebook and Twitter,” said Representative Perlmutter.

 WebProNews
Jan 26, 2012 How does Google's new privacy policy compare?

QUOTE: Much ado has been made about Google's new overarching privacy policy, but the company's not doing anything much different than Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, or Yahoo

 InfoWorld
Apr 26, 2011 Deportation Halted for Some Students as Lawmakers Seek New Policy

QUOTE: ICE officials in central Florida recently invited immigration lawyers to bring forward illegal immigrants facing deportation who did not have criminal records, offering provisional authorization for them to remain here and work legally.

 New York Times
Apr 26, 2011 Sony Says PlayStation Hacker Got Personal Data

QUOTE: An “unauthorized person” had obtained personal information about account holders, including their names, addresses, e-mail addresses, and PlayStation user names and passwords. Sony warned that other confidential information, including credit card numbers, could have been compromised.

 New York Times
May 22, 2010 Lies as Wishes

QUOTE: “I think that lies are like wishes,” said Bella DePaulo, a psychology professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara. “So when you wish you were a certain kind of person that you know you’re not, and maybe you’re not willing to do what it would take to become that person or can’t go back, then it becomes very tempting to lie.”

 New York Times
Oct 23, 2009 Sweet Spot: How Sugary Cereal Makers Target Kids

QUOTE: Obesity researchers for the first time have hard data proving that the least healthy cereals are the ones marketed most aggressively to children.

 Time Magazine
Jun 19, 2009 Mortgages: A Crackdown on Rescue Schemes

QUOTE: Scams that claim to help consumers avoid foreclosure have been on the rise lately as some individuals try to take advantage of financially distressed homeowners. Now state and federal authorities are intensifying efforts to combat these schemes while also reminding consumers that legitimate services are free and widely available.

 New York Times
Nov 18, 2008 Protests Over a Rule to Protect Health Providers

QUOTE: A last-minute Bush administration plan to grant sweeping new protections to health care providers who oppose abortion and other procedures on religious or moral grounds has provoked a torrent of objections, including a strenuous protest from the government agency that enforces job discrimination laws.

 New York Times
Nov 15, 2008 Online Age Verification for Children Brings Privacy Worries

QUOTE: performing so-called age verification for children is fraught with challenges....Child-safety activists charge that some of the age-verification firms want to help Internet companies tailor ads for children. They say these firms are substituting one exaggerated threat — the menace of online sex predators — with a far more pervasive danger from online marketers like junk food and toy companies...

 New York Times
May 22, 2008 More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings

QUOTE: The attorney general of Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal, who has criticized the practices of Moody’s and other ratings firms, said that he was investigating how Moody’s had dealt with the possible errors in its computer models. “One of the areas that most concerns us is the potential favoritism and abusive and illegal practices that involve dealings with the companies that they rate,” Mr. Blumenthal said in an interview.

 New York Times
Sep 11, 2007 A Genetic Test That Very Few Need, Marketed to the Masses

QUOTE: Critics say that advertising such a complex screening test to the general population might create unnecessary anxiety among women and lead to overuse of the test, which costs $3,120.

 New York Times
Jul 25, 2007 MySpace Boots Sex Predators: The social-networking behemoth is cooperating with law enforcement officials on the lookout for sex offenders, but will the cost of doing so be steep?

QUOTE: Is MySpace unsafe? Some state law-enforcement officials certainly think so, given a July 25 report that 29,000 registered sex offenders had created profiles on the world's most popular social-networking site.

 BusinessWeek
Jun 12, 2007 Vista Limits Choices, Google Alleges

QUOTE: Allegations by Google that Microsoft's new operating system unfairly disadvantages competitors has revived antitrust accusations against Microsoft and opened a front in a bitter war between the two technology giants .... Google, which submitted a 50-page document detailing its concerns, has told federal and state officials who monitor the consent decree that Vista's design makes it difficult for users who want to run Google's desktop search instead.

 Washington Post
May 12, 2006 No Space for MySpace?

QUOTE: A proposed law banning social networks from computers in schools and libraries could block access to a huge slice of the Net -- without protecting kids

 BusinessWeek
May 11, 2006 Hartford Settles Pension Charges Insurer Paid Brokers to Get Business

QUOTE: The Hartford Financial Services Group has agreed to pay $20 million to settle charges that it secretly paid brokers to steer pension funds to the insurer's annuities even though they may not have been the best choice.

 Washington Post
May 08, 2005 Conn. Stands in Defiance on Enforcing 'No Child'

QUOTE: ...[Connecticut Education Commissioner Betty J. Sternberg--Ed.] announced she would resist Bush administration demands for additional standardized testing...there is nothing small about the fight Connecticut officials have picked with the federal government, a dispute that combines states' rights, underfunded federal mandates and educational philosophy.

 Washington Post
Apr 20, 2005 Federal 'No Child' Lawsuit Filed: Bush's Premier Education Measure Taken to Court

QUOTE: The nation's largest teachers union joined school districts in Michigan, Texas and Vermont in filing a federal lawsuit yesterday charging that the Department of Education has failed to provide adequate funding for the No Child Left Behind initiative.

 Washington Post
Apr 14, 2005 Connecticut House Votes To Allow Gay Unions: Governor Expected To Sign Legislation

QUOTE: Connecticut's House of Representatives passed legislation Wednesday that would make the state the second to establish civil unions for same-sex couples, and the first to do so without being directed by a court.

 Washington Post
Jun 17, 2004 Nonprofit Hospitals Said to Overcharge Uninsured

ABSTRACT: ...the [nonprofit--Ed.] hospitals violated their obligation as charities by overcharging people without insurance and then hounding them for the money.

 New York Times

23 Articles and Resources. Go to:  [Next 3]