US SENATE CANDIDATE WILLIAM TONG SURGES IN FIRST DEBATE, OFFERS CONTRAST TO CAREER POLITICIANS

[Marc Bradley]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CONTACT: Marc Bradley
DATE: March 3, 2012
PHONE: 203-807-4583
EMAIL: ma...@williamtong.com

TONG SURGES IN FIRST DEBATE, OFFERS CONTRAST TO CAREER POLITICIANS

Focuses on failure of Congress and Washington, Raises Doubts About Murphy’s Record and Effectiveness

NORWICH -- At the first debate between the three Democratic candidates for United States Senate, William Tong surged, making an aggressive case for his candidacy by highlighting his plan to Reclaim the American Dream. He called attention to the failure of Congress and Washington, offering a stark contrast to his opponents, Chris Murphy and Susan Bysciewicz, and raising serious questions about Murphy’s record and effectiveness.

“Washington has failed the people of this state. Tonight we heard three very different visions for Connecticut and the nation. I’m the only candidate who can offer something different. Unlike my colleagues in the race, I’ve had a meaningful career outside of elective office and I have a strong record of legislative accomplishment. I’m not a career politician. I’m not an insider.”

Tong noted that more than 155,000 people in Connecticut remain unemployed and that there are more than 100,000 households ‘underwater’ in the state, meaning more is owed on their mortgages than those homes are worth.

Tong’s plan to Reclaim the American Dream focuses on jobs, housing, small businesses, and unemployment <http://www.williamtong.com/plan>. Among the proposals he highlighted were:

• A plan to help businesses hire by allowing employers to use a new hire’s unemployment check towards that employee’s full salary.
• An emergency plan to refinance America’s mortgage debt, allowing all homeowners with federally backed mortgages to refinance to 4% and saving households an average of $2,800 a year.
• A call for the Small Business Administration to double its loan guarantee activity, from $28 billion to $60 billion annually.
• Construction of five new vocational and technical schools and five new science and math academies in Connecticut.

Tong concluded, “We know what the Republican candidates in this race want to run against. They want to run against the failure of Congress and Washington, against career politicians who have spent their entire careers in elective office, against insiders. They can’t do that to me.”

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