Connecticut’s two U.S. senators blame the Trump administration’s tariffs for the high cost of school supplies as parents get ready to send their kids back to school this year.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said at a media briefing in Hartford on Monday that the tariffs are a tax on Connecticut parents because they increase the cost of back-to-school essentials, including shoes, clothes, supplies, and food.
“And it can range from 22% on juice boxes, grapes, and strawberries to 40% on apparel, to 40% on index cards, to 13% on binders and folders,” he said.
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy said millions of children nationwide will lose access to free school meals because of cuts in the Republicans’ One Big, Beautiful Bill.
“There are going to be fewer kids getting food in school,” Murphy said. “And there are more kids going to show up to school hungry and going to bed at night hungry because of the unconscionable cuts in the Republican budget bill.”
He said he and other Senate Democrats will push for a rollback of the cuts in upcoming budget negotiations in Washington.
“That will be a chance for us to say to our Republican colleagues, you want our vote on that budget, then you have to roll back some of the cuts that are going to devastate families,” Murphy said.
Congress reconvenes after its summer break next month.
