Plainville - Justin Bernier, Republican candidate for congressional district 5 today signed a pledge to oppose the "Cap and Trade" energy tax if elected to the House of Representatives in November. Bernier is the only candidate in the 5th district race to have signed the pledge.

Bernier signed the pledge before visiting the Plainville Electrical Products Company (PEPCO).

"PEPCO is the kind of company we ought to be encouraging and supporting in Connecticut," said Bernier. "This small business does high-end manufacturing that creates high-paying jobs in the energy industry --that's the future of America's economy. The Cap and Trade systems that Chris Murphy and Sam Caligiuri have supported hurt small businesses and families by raising the cost of energy even higher."

Murphy is a vocal supporter of the cap and trade bill -- he voted for the bill and publicly lobbied for it's final passage and implementation.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has scored the House plan as an $846 billion increase in federal revenue, a burden to be borne by taxpayers and consumers.

"Cap and Trade is a massive energy tax," Bernier said. "Americans will face hundreds of billions of dollars in new taxes if Chris Murphy gets his way on cap and trade. The end result will be higher prices on anything that requires energy to make or deliver - that's just about everything. Americans will face higher prices for everyday items, including groceries, appliances, and furniture, clothes and shoes, and of course, electricity and natural gas."

"Cap and Trade will move manufacturing jobs to China and India, where emissions standards are far less stringent than in the United States," said Bernier.

Bernier has proposed lower taxes on energy investment, streamlining the regulation process for new power plants and renewable energy sources, and ending frivolous lawsuits that unnecessarily delay energy projects for decades.

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) issued the following statement in response to the leak of classified materials related to the war in Afghanistan:

"The disclosure of tens of thousands of classified documents on the Afghanistan war is profoundly irresponsible and harmful to our national security. The Obama administration is absolutely right to condemn these leaks."

"Most of these documents add nothing to the public understanding of the war in Afghanistan. The materials -- which cover the period from 2004 to 2009 -- reflect the reality, recognized by everyone that the insurgency was gaining momentum during these years while our coalition was losing ground. That is precisely why President Obama carried out a policy review in late 2009 and subsequently ordered a surge of forces to Afghanistan as part of a comprehensive civil-military counterinsurgency strategy that is now under way under the command of General Petraeus. We should give General Petraeus and our troops on the ground the time and support they need to succeed. Although we know that the path ahead is difficult, we also know the consequences for our national security will be catastrophic if e abandon this effort and allow the Taliban and their allies to regain a safe haven in Afghanistan. That is the path back to 9/11."

"It is also important to recognize that Wikileaks is not an objective news organization but an organization with an ideological agenda that is implacably hostile to our military and the most basic requirements of our national security. Americans and our allies should be wary of drawing conclusions based on materials selectively leaked by Wikileaks, as it seeks to sap support for the Afghan war among the American people and our European allies."

WFSB-TV, Channel 3 and Connecticut Public Broadcasting Network, parent company of CPTV and WNPR have teamed up to host two gubernatorial debates at the WFSB studios in Rocky Hill.

The Democratic candidates, Ned Lamont and Dan Malloy, have been invited to debate the issues on Tuesday, August 3. Dan Malloy has accepted the invitation and will participate. At the time of this release, Ned Lamont has declined and will not be participating.

The Democratic Gubernatorial Debate will be broadcast on Channel 3 and WNPR at 3 p.m.

The Republican candidates, Michael Fedele, Thomas Foley, and Oz Griebel, have agreed to debate the issues on Wednesday, August 4.

The Republican Gubernatorial Debate will be broadcast on Channel 3 and WNPR at 3 p.m.

Dennis House, Eyewitness News anchor and John Dankosky, WNPR news director will serve as co-moderators. In this series of debates, viewers can submit questions for the candidates by going to WFSB.com or Face the State Facebook page.

The primary election is August 10, 2010 and the general election is November 2, 2010.

It's far from scientific, of course, but our poll question of the day at RegisterCitizen.Com asks readers who they are supporting in the race for Connecticut's 5th District congressional seat.

So far, the runaway winner, for the Aug. 10 Republican primary, is ... UNDECIDED.

Is Rob Simmons still running for U.S. Senate or not?

Well, he's airing TV ads with the message, "I'm still on the ballot."

One thing you won't get most candidates in Connecticut's Aug. 10 primary to talk about is whom they're supporting in races other than their own.

With the exception of the Ned Lamont-Mary Glassman vs. Dan Malloy-Nancy Wyman tickets in the Democratic primaries for governor and lieutenant governor, there are few public alliances between candidates across contested primary races.

In the Republican race for governor, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton dropped out (like Glassman on the Democratic side) to run for lieutenant governor as Michael Fedele's informal running mate. But the other two candidates, Tom Foley and Oz Griebel, chose not to run "with" a lieutenant governor nominee.

And when we asked our readers what slate of candidates they were supporting, it was all over the place. Even some who are supporting Fedele prefer his opponent in the lieutenant governor race, Lisa Wilson-Foley, and many supporting Boughton prefer Griebel or Foley over Fedele.

We looked for patterns of support between the U.S. Senate and 5th District Congress races, but honestly found none.

Support for Justin Bernier, or Sam Caligiuri, or even Mark Greenberg (who has endorsed Peter Schiff in the Senate race and vice versa) does not, apparently, tie to support to any one candidate for governor or Senate.

Congresswoman Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) praised the President's endorsement of the Paycheck Fairness Act and his call for the Senate to pass the Legislation, which will strengthen the Equal Pay Act and ensure that women are paid equally for their work. Echoing recommendations issued today by the National Equal Pay Enforcement Task Force, the President urged the Senate to take up the legislation originally introduced by Congresswoman DeLauro in 1997. Passed by the House of Representatives last year, the bill now awaits action in the Senate.

"In America today, women make up half of our workforce--and yet, they still only make 77 cents on the dollar as compared to men. And if you look at this statistic even closer, you find that African American women make 61 cents on the dollar, and Hispanic women only make 52 cents. In 2010, an incredible 47 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act, which was supposed to ensure equal pay for equal work, and 13 years after I first introduced the Paycheck Fairness Act, these numbers are shocking," DeLauro said.

DeLauro said in a press release that the entire economy is being impacted by this continued pay discrimination because more women are the bread winners for their families.

"By giving this legislation the real teeth it needs, through pay justification, prohibiting retaliation concerning salary information, and enforcing punitive and compensatory damages, we can ensure that this workplace inequity ends," Delauro said.

Chris Cooper, Communications Director for Fedele 2010, issued the following statement Tuesday after the CT Supreme Court affirmed the decision of the Hartford Superior Court on all counts of the law. The decision, the fourth such legal ruling in days, affirmed that Fedele 2010 may move forward with the disbursement of up to $2.5 million in Clean Election Program Funds:

"For the fourth time in a week, Tom Foley has seen his frivolous lawsuits fail in court. This time, the state's highest court entered a judgment sending a clear message rejecting Tom Foley's attempts to buy or win the election in a courtroom," said Cooper. "Mike Fedele will continue to move forward with his campaign to bring structural reform to state government, cut spending, and veto new taxes."

Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT) applauded the Senate's unanimous passage Monday of the SPEECH Act, a bill he co-sponsored, to protect the First Amendment rights of American journalists, authors, and publishers.

The bill provides a remedy in the U.S. federal courts to Americans who are victims of libel tourism, defamation lawsuits brought against American authors and publishers in countries whose protections of free speech are not as strong as those provided by the U.S. Constitution.

"This bill will protect the First Amendment rights of American journalists, authors, and publishers and free them from the chilling effect of foreign defamation judgments that are incompatible with our Constitution," said Senator Lieberman. "I commend Senators Leahy and Sessions for developing this bipartisan solution and urge the House to pass it quickly so the President can sign these important protections into law."

A Register Citizen editorial this morning wonders if Connecticut is about to make a big mistake via inattention to the most important race on the Aug. 10 primary and November general election ballots.

It's non-scientific, of course, but a RegisterCitizen.Com poll so far this morning finds, so far, that only 25 percent of readers can name all five major party candidates for governor.

Mark Greenberg's campaign for Congress released it's first television ad, a 30-second spot highlighting Greenberg's message of creating jobs, cutting federal spending, cutting taxes and taking our government back.

"We can no longer abide by a government that refuses to live within its means," Greenberg said. "Career politicians like Chris Murphy have given us huge new government programs we don't want, a bloated bureaucracy we don't need and a ballooning government we can't afford."

Greenberg, a successful businessman who has created hundreds of jobs over the past 35 years, has pledged to bring his conservative, outsider message to the voters of the 5th district -- and common sense business practices to the Washington establishment.

"I will hold Congress to the same standards that apply to any successful business: don't spend more than you have and don't create products or programs that people won't buy," Greenberg said. "The bottom line is that the voters of Connecticut are not buying what Washington and Chris Murphy are selling. I will bring real, positive change to Washington."

Dan Malloy and Nancy Wyman, the Democratic Party's endorsed candidates for Governor and Lt. Governor, today released their formal plans for their environment.

Malloy and Wyman's plan focuses on protecting our water, specifically Long Island Sound; lowering air pollution by investing in energy efficient technology and public transportation; and a renewed approach to land use that preserves open space and redevelops brownfield sites throughout Connecticut.

"Clean air, safe water and healthy land -- these aren't just descriptors of a great place to live, they're the critical elements for building business and making Connecticut a desirable place to work and live," said Malloy. "As Governor, I will bring a new sensibility to preserving the environment - something I spent 14 years doing as Mayor of Stamford. Together, we can achieve cleaner water, cleaner air, a healthier community, and a higher quality of life."

Malloy stressed that the state must be strategic about how it invests in the economy. As one example, he said that he would not support putting windmills in Long Island Sound.

Wyman echoed Malloy's belief that environmental concerns and revitalizing the state's economy should go hand in hand.

"An updated environmental and energy plan is a vital piece of the infrastructure improvements Connecticut needs in order to start creating jobs and sustain those jobs for the long term," Wyman said. "It is time for an administration that is proactive about lowering costs for business and boosting our economy by making transportation and energy efficiency a priority on day one."

Governor M. Jodi Rell celebrated legislation Tuesday that establishes a state-run incentive a program to help school districts pay for equipping school buses with three-point, lap and shoulder seat belts.

"Sadly, in a very real sense we are brought together by tragedy," Governor Rell noted in a bill-signing ceremony at Rocky Hill High School. Vikas Parikh, a 16-year-old student at Rocky Hill High died in a school bus accident in January of this year.

"This practical, common-sense bill establishes a program to help school districts all over our state buy school buses equipped with three-point safety belts," the Governor said. "It is not a mandate -- it does not impose costly new requirements in the face of extraordinarily difficult budgets. It strikes a critical balance between incentive and choice. I believe this is a good law -- it is not only well-intentioned, it is also well-crafted."

Under the program, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles will begin offering a program in 2011 that offsets a portion of the sales tax bus companies pay for school buses equipped with three-point seat belts. The program will be funded through a $50 increase in the fees paid for restoring suspended or revoked driver's licenses, commercial driver's licenses and vehicle registrations.

The program will run through at least 2018, at which time a legislative session will be held to determine whether the program should continue.