releases: https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-statement-on-passing-of-terry-backer
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
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| https://www.murphy.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/murphy-statement-on-passing-of-terry-backer | MURPHY STATEMENT ON PASSING OF TERRY BACKER | 2015-12-15 | 2015 | 2015-12 | Democrat | House | CT | Christopher Murphy | M001169 | www.murphy.senate.gov | legacy | MURPHY STATEMENT ON PASSING OF TERRY BACKER Tuesday, December 15, 2015 WASHINGTON Today, U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement on the passing of Representative Terry Backer, 61, of the Connecticut General Assembly: Terry Backer made a difference. A generation of public servants and advocates and citizens care more about protecting the quality of Connecticuts air and water especially Long Island Sound because of Terry Backer, State Representative from Stratford, who died last night after a long, courageous fight with brain cancer. I count myself among those who fight a little harder for the health of Connecticuts waterways because I knew Terry Backer, Connecticuts one and only Soundkeeper, and didnt want to disappoint him. His passion for the water, honed by the side of his father as they harvested shellfish for a living for decades, matured as he took on the official role as the states chief spokesman for Long Island Sound. To be honest, my early years in the state legislature were spent steering clear of Terry. To new, young entrants to the General Assembly, he could come across as a bit intimidating that fishermans beard and the gruff, coarse voice. And that reputation served him well, because people in Hartford had little interest in crossing Terry when it came to issues relating to the environment and energy policy his pet passions. But now, having gotten the chance to get close to him, I feel foolish thinking that he was anything other than a big teddy bear, with an occasionally rough exterior. Terry made everyone around him understand that Connecticuts economy and its cultural character were intimately tied to the health of Long Island Sound and the rivers and streams that flow into it. In large part because of Terrys urging, Connecticut set upon an aggressive course of cleaning up the sewage treatment plants that allowed dirty water to flow into the Sound. Today, the water in and around our state is cleaner than ever few beaches are closed every year and fish are returning to rivers that were barren of life for decades. Terry was heartbroken, though, to watch the shellfish industry virtually disappear from the Sound in his later years. And he knew that it was greater forces, outside the control of the Connecticut state legislature, that were causing the lobsters to head north to colder waters. He pushed me, and other federal officials, hard to reform our nations energy policies to combat climate change, knowing that rising sea temperatures threatened entire species and industries. I last saw Terry just a few weeks ago, as he joined me for a press conference to announce my efforts to eliminate tiny plastic microbeads from personal care products. Its a relatively obscure issue but these small particles have the potential to ruin Long Island Sound and kill thousands of fish if we dont get rid of them soon. Connecticut passed the strongest ban on microbeads in the nation this this past year thanks in large part to Terry. Its one of those issues that I might not care about if it wasnt for him. It was a cold day, and the event was outside. Terry waited in the car until it was his time to speak, and I had a feeling his illness might be getting the better of him. But he fought that cancer that was ravaging his brain for much, much longer than anyone thought he would, or could. Despite being so ill, he was there, shivering, standing with me on a beach on Long Island Sound, making one final pitch to preserve the waters that defined his life and career. And though Im so sad hes gone, Im glad thats the last time I saw him standing on the shores of Long Island Sound, urging us all on to preserve his legacy. To his very last breath, the Soundkeeper. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |