{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/murphy-grows-into-his-job", "Murphy grows into his job", "2014-12-05", "2014", "2014-12", "Democrat", "House", "CT", "Christopher Murphy", "M001169", "www.murphy.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Murphy grows into his job\r\n\t\t\t\t\r\n                \r\n                Youth, inexperience don\u2019t keep senator from speaking out\r\n                \r\n            \r\n            \r\n            \r\n                \r\n                    By:\u00a0\r\n                    Connor Radnovich\r\n                \r\n            \r\n\r\n                \r\n                \r\n                \r\n            Friday, December 5, 2014\r\n            \n\t\n\r\n            \r\n            On a grimy CT Transit bus heading toward Bloomfield, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy leans forward on the edge of his seat, listening intently to a woman with a black and white polka-dot scarf around her head and pink Uggs on her feet.\r\nHe\u2019s just asked her what he should be focusing on in Congress.\r\n\u201cGuns,\u201d she says, her tired face wearing more age than its 26 years. The woman, who identified herself only as Tiheesha, says the neighborhood she lives in is dangerous, and she fears for her child\u2019s safety. Tiheesha thinks more regulation of guns is critical.\r\nA woman in the back of the bus voices the same concern. But she tells Murphy what would really help is giving kids some economic hope.\r\nFor nearly an hour on this rainy Monday night, Murphy asks the same question of bus commuters: \u201cWhat should I be doing?\u201d\r\nOn the city bus, you don\u2019t hear about the issues blaring over cable news. The concerns that dominate this rolling forum are housing, education, safety and jobs.\r\nEvery time he visits his home state, Murphy schedules time to ride a city bus and talk to the people he meets. He figures he\u2019s done nearly 20 of the rides since last summer.\r\n\u201cPeople taking the bus in Hartford don\u2019t have a lobbyist, so you have to find them if you want to hear their voices.\u201d  U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.\r\nJust two years into a six-year Senate term, Murphy seems as comfortable and articulate on the bus as he is in the halls of power in Washington. And D.C. isn\u2019t going to get any more comfortable soon, as he and his fellow Democrats will be in the minority come 2015.\r\n\u201cPart of the problem with Washington is that it\u2019s easy to get disconnected from regular people,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cPeople taking the bus in Hartford don\u2019t have a lobbyist, so you have to find them if you want to hear their voices.\u201d\r\nUndoubtedly one thing on the minds of people on buses in Connecticut this month is the Sandy Hook shooting, as its two-year anniversary approaches.\r\nBefore the tragedy, Murphy hadn\u2019t spent much time on gun regulation. Afterward, it became a focus.\r\nHe said the worst day of his career in public service was April 17, 2013 \u2014 the day any chance for substantive gun control laws died in the Senate.\r\nHis wish list includes expanded background checks, outlawing high-capacity magazines and banning assault rifles.\r\nNone of that has any real chance of becoming law for the foreseeable future.\r\n\u201cI\u2019m going to still press for legislative changes, but I\u2019m under no illusion that we\u2019re going to pass a background checks bill in the next two years,\u201d Murphy said.\r\nWhat they cannot do is abandon the fight, said the senior senator from Connecticut, Richard Blumenthal.\r\n\u201cThe effort has to be sustained and relentless, and (Murphy) has devoted time and energy,\u201d Blumenthal said. \u201cWe\u2019ve done basically this whole effort as a team.\u201d\r\nBlumenthal called his relationship with Murphy a \u201cseamless partnership,\u201d where they work together on many issues, including the environment, mental-health care and sexual assault.\r\n\u201cUltimately, we\u2019ll get to a place where we\u2019re powerful enough to take on the NRA in the halls of Congress,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cI\u2019m young. I only get a six-year term, but I\u2019m planning to be around the Senate long enough to beat the gun lobby.\u201d\r\nHe is young. In fact, he is the youngest member of the current Senate \u2014 a position he has become familiar with over the years.\r\nAt 25, he was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives, defeating 14-year incumbent Angelo Fusco. Four years later, he ran for the state Senate and won. After two terms there, he ran against 12-term Republican incumbent Nancy Johnson in 2006 for the U.S. House of Representatives and defeated her by 12 points. Finally, Murphy was elected two years ago, at age 39, to the U.S. Senate as its youngest member.\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve always been playing from behind as far as age and experience are concerned,\u201d Murphy said.\r\nHe has combatted that by working to achieve expertise in individual fields. He was the co-chairman of the Public Health Committee in the Connecticut Senate at 29, becoming useful despite his age because he understood how Medicaid was financed.\r\n\u201cChris was absolutely an authority in health care,\u201d said state Sen. Gayle Slossberg, D-Milford, who was Murphy\u2019s vice chairwoman on the committee in 2005. \u201cHe had a point of view that was based on facts and evidence. You know Chris had done his homework.\u201d\r\nU.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Murphy provides a fresh voice to the Senate \u2014 one that\u2019s knowledgeable and articulate.\r\n\u201cWe don\u2019t always agree, but I always sincerely want to listen what he has to say,\u201d Corker said. \u201cHaving people like Chris Murphy in the Senate causes us to have a place for real debate.\u201d\r\nMurphy will lose the \u201cyoungest\u201d title in January, as two freshman Republican senators will be younger than he is: Tom Cotton from Arkansas and Cory Gardner from Colorado.\r\nIt\u2019s a label he is happy to relinquish.\r\n\u201cYou can\u2019t build a career on being the youngest,\u201d Murphy said.\r\nHis relative lack of age and experience hasn\u2019t kept him from jumping in on some of the most contentious issues in Washington.\r\nIn addition to his work on gun laws, Murphy has become a steadfast and vocal defender of the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.\r\nAlong with Sens. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Murphy is one of the leading defenders of Obamacare on the Senate floor.\r\n\u201cHe\u2019s a tremendous fighter for what he believes in,\u201d Stabenow said. \u201cBut he\u2019s able to speak in a way that shows his understanding and his commitment.\u201d\r\nStabenow said Murphy plays a critical leadership role in sharing positive stories that have come out of the new health care law.\r\n\u201cHe is one of the few Democrats willing to go to the floor ... and I think you have to respect that,\u201d said Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., who often debates the law with Murphy on the floor.\r\nBarrasso is a member of the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which Murphy chairs.\r\nThe two work closely on the committee and have traveled to Ukraine together, which gave them the opportunity to know each other better.\r\n\u201cHe\u2019s very smart and an effective communicator and he cares a lot about the people in Connecticut,\u201d Barrasso said.\r\nWhile Murphy may be in lockstep with Obama on health care, they often diverge on foreign policy.\r\nHe was public and adamant in his disagreement of the United States\u2019 decision to arm and train Syrian rebels to fight the Islamic State group, though he does agree the Islamic State should be confronted.\r\nHe doesn\u2019t think the administration fully grasps how damaging this country\u2019s surveillance program is to its perceptions overseas. And he is wary of military actions being taken outside the purview of Congress.\r\nTo Murphy, the most important foreign-policy issue\r\n\u2014 and another departure from the administration\r\n\u2014 is how much money the United States spends on military funding versus humanitarian aid.\r\nHe believes offering aid to at least the same level as the country offers military support should be a priority, and one that does not get a lot of attention in the current foreign policy atmosphere in Washington.\r\n\u201cThere are places in which the progressive foreign policy community needs to create a proactive vision that stands as an alternative to what John McCain offers, what Rand Paul offers and what President Obama offers,\u201d Murphy said.\r\nBack in Connecticut, as expected, foreign policy didn\u2019t come up at all during the bus ride. But, to Murphy\u2019s chagrin, his party will soon lose the ability to act on the issues he did hear about.\r\nIssues like gun control and immigration are probably going to have to wait a few years before they are seriously considered again.\r\n\u201cYou just have to recognize what you can get done and what you can\u2019t get done and be realistic about what\u2019s possible,\u201d Murphy said.\r\nSo what is possible?\r\nA lot of that is up to incoming Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Murphy said.\r\n\u201cHopefully we\u2019re not going to spend two years trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act and reverse the president\u2019s immigration orders and gut the Clean Air Act,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cIf that\u2019s what\u2019s on the Senate floor, we\u2019re not going to get anything done.\u201d\r\nThere are some key issues that have bipartisan support, including tax reform and mental-health care, he said.\r\nBut, he adds, there is peril in an intentional blockade by Democrats looking to reclaim the majority in 2016.\r\n\u201cThe danger is that Democrats repeat the obstruction of Republicans because they think that\u2019s the way to get back in power. And that will be tempting,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cIt will be tempting for Democrats to say, \u2018Well, let\u2019s just shut down the process and we\u2019ll get elected two years from now.\u2019 That would be a terrible outcome from this election.\u201d", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/in-the-news/murphy-grows-into-his-job"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8312768768519163, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}