Peter Tercyak

May 5th through 12th is #NationalNursesWeek. Each year, Nurses Week ends on May 12th to commemorate the birthday of Florence Nightingale.

Honored to have hosted the 28th Polish Day at the State Capitol today with an impressive community representation - Commemorating the 228th Anniversary of the Polish Constitution! Congratulations to all the honorees, the coordinators, the beautiful exhibit in the concourse, the music and everyone who played a key role during the planning process of this great event. I thank my colleagues, state leaders, dignitaries and everyone present celebrating with us!

The House of Representatives held a Memorial for the late Representative Ezequiel Santiago. We offered his family words of comfort and remembered him in a very special way. Although there was sadness, there were also happy memories on the impact he made in his community and the impression he left with his Legislative family.

I was happy to join my New Britain legislative delegation, including our own Rep. Bobby Sanchez, co-chair of the legislature’s Education Committee, for an important Public Forum on Education Friday, March 8 at New Britain High School.

Now that my legislative colleagues and I have Governor Lamont’s budget proposal in hand, officials from state departments and agencies have begun giving their budget presentations in public hearings before the Appropriations Committee of which I am a member.

Last week, the state took its first step in potentially introducing a Paid Family Medical Leave program. House Bill 5003, An Act Implementing a Paid Family Medical Leave Program, came before the Labor and Public Employee Committee for a Public Hearing.

Leaders of the House and Senate outlined a blueprint for the 2019 session, including Job Training & Workforce Pipeline, Paid Family and Medical Leave, More Affordable Prescription Drugs, A Green New Deal for Connecticut, Support for Small Businesses and Early Voting.

For over a month, many federal employees have been reporting to work and performing their duties - without pay. The government shutdown affects at least 1,500 Connecticut workers and they are struggling to pay their bills while they wait for their paychecks to resume.