Originally sworn in on January 5, 2011, Richard Blumenthal is serving his second term as a United States Senator from the State of Connecticut.
With a father who fled Nazi Germany at age 18, and a mother who left Nebraska’s farmland to become a social worker, Richard Blumenthal was raised with a deep dedication to public service, a duty to give back by helping others, and a bedrock belief in hard work.
Those values carried him through his childhood and his education at Harvard College (Editorial Chairman The Harvard Crimson, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude), and Yale Law School, where he was Editor-in-Chief of the Yale Law Journal. To a year working as assistant to Daniel Patrick Moynihan when he was Assistant to the President of the United States. And to enlisting in the United States Marine Corps Reserves in 1970. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Sergeant in 1976.
As a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Senator Blumenthal has prioritized the expansion of veterans’ access to health care and benefits while making sure proper oversight of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is in place. He has spearheaded legislation to address veterans’ concerns, including employment, pensions, housing, infrastructure, education, vocational training, and health care. Senator Blumenthal believes the VA has to meet the physical and mental health care needs of all veterans, including those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and military sexual trauma. The VA must also address the needs of the growing minority and women veteran populations. Senator Blumenthal is committed to securing robust funding to improve VA Connecticut infrastructure to ensure Connecticut’s veterans receive excellent care in state-of-the-art facilities.